Entries Tagged as 'Zimmerblog General'

questions I’d like to hear Amazon / Booksurge answer

Things I have not seen explained yet in the press, or would like to see someone ask Amazon:

  • What happened to Amazon’s selection promise — how can you be “world’s greatest bookstore” if you remove tens or hundreds of thousands of titles from your catalog at a stroke because they are supposedly “too hard” to acquire for your customers (via 24-hour POD ??)
  • How exactly Amazon proposes for Booksurge to handle the load of 400,000 or more new POD titles that took LSI 10? years to put in print. it is fair to say that booksurge does not have a reputation for operational excellence. not that they couldn’t fix that, but so far they have not said or done anything to indicate that they are serious about accommodating all the business they’re asking for.
  • Why won’t Amazon convert books from other POD formats into Booksurge’s — after all, Amazon is a technology company — let them do the work of reformatting tens of thousands of books — much more efficient to do it at the chokepoint programmatically than for thousands of publishers to do it individually. worst case is they have to buy a few extra printing machines and learn how to work ‘em. Not hard for a company with the resources of Amazon.
  • Why can’t Amazon just do a deal with LSI to put LSI printers in Amazon fulfillment centers?
  • Are your BookSurge reps ever going to be able to threaten anyone with Buy Button removal again, given that there will be an immediate viral response in the blogosphere if they do? given that the Buy Button threat is effectively inoperable — thanks to the power of the InterWeb — why don’t you just withdraw it?

It looks to me as if Angela Hoy is emerging as the heroine of this story. Apart from having the courage to speak out in the first place, which was huge, she is doing the best job of covering all the developments on a rolling basis.

Not a very bright idea …

News from the South Atlantic - Falkland Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha - South Atlantic Remote Territories Media Association
Friday night’s Force-8 gales proved to be too much for Colin Yeates, who had set off from Stanley on Friday in a second attempt to circumnavigate Antarctica in a rowboat. According to Fisheries Operations, who had promised to track Mr. Yeates’ progress, the Force-8 gale capsized his boat several times.

The fishing vessel, DORADA, was tasked to pick Mr. Yeates, who by this time had become concussed, up and take him to safety.

The 47, said he wanted another chance to circumnavigate Antarctica this year and had a harrowing backwards and sideways journey the first time, Mr. Yates had hoped he could be towed far enough away from the Falklands to leave the coastal pull that scuppered his first attempt in January but even with the extra distance he couldn’t cope with the gale-force winds.

After retrieving his boat, a survey of the damage was made and the Kevlar skin was found to be intact. Epoxies flown in by Lan put the boat back to seaworthy condition, only to have it capsize several times on the second attempt.

Cover detail of Subterranean’s A STORM OF SWORDS

Cover detail

asos


Limited edition from Subterranean Press.

The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate: A War Of Ideas

The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate: A War Of Ideas
A new book from Iraq Museum International (www.BaghdadMuseum.org) documents the war of ideas waged behind the scenes among contributors to Wikipedia, the world’s largest Internet encyclopedia.

(PRWEB) February 11, 2006 — A new book from Iraq Museum International (www.BaghdadMuseum.org) documents the war of ideas waged behind the scenes among contributors to Wikipedia, the world’s largest Internet encyclopedia.

The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate: A War Of Ideas
John Simmons, editor
Format: 2 Adobe pdf files
File Size: 3,585KB total
Printable: Yes
Mac OS Compatible: Yes
Windows Compatible: Yes
Handheld Compatible: Yes
Digital: 706 pages
Publisher: Iraq Museum International - www.BaghdadMuseum.org (February 10, 2006)

“The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate: A War Of Ideas” assembles a 700-page transcript of the heated online discussions among the users of Wikipedia, the world’s largest Internet encyclopedia, as they edited articles dealing with the notorious satirical drawings of Muhammad first published in Denmark.

According to editor John Simmons, “This transcript reveals the mechanics of the clash of civilizations.”

This is a good idea.

Fortune Takes A Look Back

To see the future of media, go to Slashdot.org - Feb. 10, 2006

If you want to see the future of media, go to Slashdot.org.

Two things distinguish it — it’s the most popular news and information site with the tech cognoscenti, particularly programmers and engineers. And all of its content is created by its users.

Actually, no. Slashdot is viewed with increasing suspicion by tech cognoscenti because of the credulous approach of the editors. And, of course, having content created by users is nothing new or special.

This article just makes Fortune look like an old-media dinosaur.

Charismatic Megafauna = Dangerous Pests

I love charismatic megafauna and follow news about them with great interest. I want to see them preserved. But the discussion is not going to get very far until people on the conservation side acknowledge a fundamental truth. To farmers and to parents with small children, food or 2)dangerous pests who fully deserve the immediate death penalty. Peaceful co-existence ain’t gonna happen.,

it’s this line of thought that leads me to support Pleistocene rewilding.

The case for mocking religion. By Christopher Hitchens

Slate: The case for mocking religion. By Christopher Hitchens
Therefore there is a strong case for saying that the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and those who have reprinted its efforts out of solidarity, are affirming the right to criticize not merely Islam but religion in general. And the Bush administration has no business at all expressing an opinion on that. If it is to say anything, it is constitutionally obliged to uphold the right and no more.


Absolutely correct. This is about freedom of speech and freedom of thought, which should be primary concerns for book-lovers everywhere.

muhammad image from Jyllands-Posten

the ‘Magnum P.I.’ movie

CNN.com - ‘Magnum P.I.’ coming to big screen - Jan 24, 2006
Rawson Marshall Thurber (”Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”) has signed on to write and direct the big-screen adaptation of “Magnum P.I.,” the 1980s series that made Tom Selleck a star.

Thurber is not making a spoof but rather something akin to the tone of the show, which mixed humor and danger. The story line for the Universal Pictures film sees Magnum, with the help of his former military pals, searching for a missing buddy.

Wow, this is really underwhelming.

  • “Dodgeball”?
  • No Tom Selleck?
  • “searching for a missing buddy”?

Snoozefest.

Sydney Penny IS Bernadette

AMC fans take note:

Download Images
Sydney Penny, pictured, plays the role of St. Bernadette Soubirous in the soon to be released film, “The Passion of Bernadette,” about Bernadette’s life after the Blessed Mother appeared to her at Lourdes, France in 1858. Ignatius Press, one of the largest Catholic book publishers in the U.S. and the primary English language publisher of the works of Pope Benedict XVI, is sponsoring the national premiere of the film Feb. 11, 2006

sydney penny as bernadette

Jefferson nickel facing forward


Cool.

2006 PDR promotes partnership for prescription assistance

What would make this press release really useful is data about

1) the number and dollar value of prescriptions served by the Partnership for Prescription Assistance
2) the approximate dollar thresholds of income v. expenses under which PPA help may be available (if mortgage and student loan calculators can be readily available on-line, why not this sort of info?)
3) the percentage of Americans who are able to get the best recommended medicine for their treatment before and after PPA

2006 Physicians’ Desk Reference to Promote Partnership for Prescription Assistance

More than 500,000 Physicians to Receive First of Its Kind Insert


WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ — More than 500,000 doctors will soon receive the 2006 Physicians’ Desk Reference including, for the first time, an informational insert about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). The PPA is a national program helping patients in need access prescription medicines for free or nearly free through public and private patient assistance programs. The insert is the latest in a multifaceted campaign to educate physicians and other health care providers on how they can improve the lives of uninsured patients through the PPA.


“We know that many patients struggle to afford their prescription medicines and are unaware that help is available. That is why the pharmaceutical research industry is leading an aggressive campaign to inform doctors and prepare them to educate patients about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance,” said Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). “This new effort demonstrates our commitment to locate, inform and mobilize as many doctors as possible.”


The Partnership for Prescription Assistance provides a single point of access to more than 475 patient assistance programs through a toll-free number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) and user-friendly Web site (http://www.pparx.org/). Patients will also receive information on government programs for which they may qualify, such as the new Medicare drug benefit, Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Programs.


“I know from my own practice that most patients are unaware of patient assistance programs or do not realize they qualify,” said Mary E. Frank, M.D., board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). “That’s why this effort to reach and educate physicians across the country and across specialties through a resource they use on a daily basis is so critical. The ultimate goal is the right medication for the right patient at the right time and, thus, an improved health outcome.”

More than 60 national organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Easter Seals, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, United Way of America, as well as a fast-growing list of state and local organizations, are working with America’s pharmaceutical companies to spread the word about the program.

To find out if there are patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist or visit http://www.pparx.org/.

Lame non-apology by Victoria Osteen


Lakewood Church:Lame Non-Apology by Victoria Osteen:I know that many of you have seen the recent news report on our trip to Colorado. Let me begin by saying that I have received so many of your emails and notes encouraging me and expressing your love and support. Each one of you means so much to me and I love you all dearly.

Regardless of how some have portrayed the situation, please know that it was truly a minor misunderstanding and did not escalate into what you saw or read in the news. Contrary to those reports it was my choice to remove myself from the situation. Nonetheless, it was a most unfortunate event and I truly regret that it happened.

The last thing I would ever want to do is let any of you down. And I promise you that I did not act in any way that would cast a bad light on you, my family, Lakewood Church or our Lord Jesus Christ. I value the position that God has placed me in and I can assure you that I will always walk in love and integrity. While I am not perfect, I will always seek to be a peacemaker and seek the high road.

As many of you have told me, I know that God has me in the palm of His hand. My confidence in God is stronger than ever—and I know that He is faithful to His promises.

Thank you for standing with me and, in spite of what you’ve heard, thank you for believing the best in me. I know that God causes all things to work together for our good— and I truly believe that when faced with adversities we all emerge better and stronger than when we were before.

During this season, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, Joel and I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. May peace and happiness embrace all of us and may 2006 be your best year ever.

Where’s the apology to the 100+ people who were forced to wait for two hours on a crowded airplane while the Osteens’ luggage was removed?

At least some people aboard the Continental Airlines flight were less than pleased after waiting about two hours at Bush Intercontinental Airport while the Osteens left the plane and their luggage was removed, said a woman who witnessed the incident.

“She was just abusive,” said Sheila Steele, who said she was sitting behind Victoria Osteen. “She was just like one of those divas.”

For shame.

Technorati tags: