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Summary: Sports, gadgets, graphic design, and all things Boston are just a few of the topics you can read about here. Suffice it to say, if it catches my interest I'll write about it.

Thank You, Drew

When the Delaware North Companies announced that they would auction off one-day naming rights to the FleetCenter² on eBay³, many Bostonians hoped that at least one winner would name it after the infamous Boston Garden. The Bank of America⁴ had declined to maintain naming rights when they acquired Fleet Bank, which opened up the door for this historic opportunity. Well, today is the day that everyone was waiting for. Drew Curtis of Fark.com⁵ won today's auction and his original name, the Fark.com Duke Sucks Center, was rejected. Bad for him, lucky for Duke, and historic for Boston fans everywhere.

Meet the Farkers

Delaware North Companies, owner and operator of Boston's FleetCenter, announced today that they have reached agreement with Drew Curtis on a naming rights deal to re-name the world-class sports and entertainment arena the "Boston Garden". After several less than appropriate name choices from Drew, the approved name selection was one we could all agree on. Drew, who lives in Kentucky, is the founder of a popular website which offers up offbeat news stories and posts to its community members—TotalFarkers. The deal will both go into effect and expire on Monday, February 28, 2005.

Monday, February 28, 2005 @ 13:02 » Comments

Google Maps + Google Local + Keyhole = Killer App

Lifehacker⁶ has an interesting blurb⁷ on the new Google Maps⁸ feature, which is far better than anything else out there. In technical terms, it kicks ass. 37signals⁹, a bunch of design and usability specialists, was quick to compare the competition¹⁰ on their Signal vs. Noise¹¹ blog, and you know who won?

Google Maps, hands down.

What I find surprising, however, is that no one has mentioned what role Keyhole¹² may play in all of this. Keyhole is a digital mapping agency that Google acquired last October¹³. Imagine the already impressive Google Maps superimposed on a high resolution photographic image! If you'd like an example of what I'm thinking, take a look at Keyhole's Boston Tour¹⁴ and notice how they overlay highways, locations, and venues on satellite imagery of Boston.

Something tells me that this is more "when" than "if" ... after all, Amazon¹⁵'s A9¹⁶ search engine recently rolled out street-level photos¹⁷ in their Yellow Pages section. The photos allow you to see the business you've looked up, so it will be easier to identify by sight if you're heading there for the first time. (The photos have also caused some surreal experiences¹⁸!) Google Local¹⁹ already provides similar yellow pages data, so integrating that piece with Google Maps and Keyhole could help create a new killer app. If there was any question about whether Google was satisfied with mapping out cyberspace, this should provide the most comprehensive indication that they are planning to map out physical space as well.

Bonus points if you can tell me what's located at the address I mapped!

Friday, February 11, 2005 @ 14:25 » Comments (9)

Letterman's Top Ten

Tom Brady was on Letterman last night, and it looks like a few of the recent Top Ten lists have been Patriots-related. On 04-Feb-2005, they were the Top Ten Things You Don't Want to Hear In A Huddle²⁰:

1. "I hope this game ends soon—I'm parked at a meter."
   Troy Brown, Wide Receiver
2. "I hope someone's TiVoing Desperate Housewives."
   Ted Johnson, Line Backer
3. "See you losers later—I just won the Iraqi election."
   Matt Light, Tackle
4. "Hey, I thought of another word that rhymes with huddle—cuddle."
   Tedy Bruschi, Line Backer
5. "Does anyone else's helmet smell like egg salad?"
   Rosevelt Colvin, Line Backer
6. "John Madden's hitting on your wife."
   Mike Vrabel, Line Backer
7. "Oh my God, Leonardo Dicaprio is in the first row—I think I'm gonna pass out."
   Larry Izzo, Line Backer
8. "The equipment manager screwed up, so we're all gonna have to share a mouth guard."
   Willie McGinest, Line Backer
9. "Hold me."
   Deion Branch, Wide Receiver
10. "Since we live in Massachusetts we should think about getting hitched."
    Adam Vinatieri, Kicker

And on 07-Feb-2005, they were the Top Ten Philadelphia Eagles' Excuses²¹:

1. Spent two weeks practicing the coin toss.
2. Discouraged by half time show's lack of nudity.
3. We were missing Desperate Housewives—who could think straight?
4. We're overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring metropolis that is Jacksonville.
5. Oh, suddenly referees are too good to take bribes?!
6. Who really wants to get Gatorade dumped on them?
7. Should have campaigned harder in Ohio.
8. It's totally unfair, the Patriots are really good.
9. Maybe being from the land of cheesesteaks ain't a good thing.
10. When Tom Brady looked at us with those gorgeous eyes, we just melted.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005 @ 09:33 » Comments

Yeah, Yeah ... Another Super Bowl

I've recently read a few sportswriters who made mention of the fact that Patriots²² fans are starting to expect victory. I never put much stock in it, since that's like saying that Red Sox²³ fans expect defeat. Having experienced three Super Bowl victories in Boston now, there has definitely been a change in atmosphere, though. After the two previous victories, I found myself on Boylston Street in Back Bay celebrating with thousands of people that were shoulder-to-shoulder in the street. They were jamming intersections, high-fiving people as they drove by, and generally enjoying the moment. After last night's game, though, it was a completely different scene; there was no one around. Sure, the bars were still pretty busy, but the streets were practically empty! I guess the general feeling was, "Cool, another victory. Well, I'd better get some sleep before work tomorrow." Ah well, I was still pretty excited.

Oh, and all politics aside ... there was an interesting blurb²⁴ on Condi Rice in today's New York Times²⁵. You may have to register for access, but the important part reads:

There is also evidence on this trip of Ms. Rice's two favorite side interests: football and music.

Ms. Rice said in Israel that she might try to stay up and watch some of the Super Bowl, which begins at 1:30 a.m. Monday local time, but aides said it was more likely that she would watch the very end of it while exercising in the early morning and later look at the whole game on tape. Meanwhile, she has told aides that the New England Patriots will win by 3 points.

The final score? For all three of the people who don't know, the Patriots beat the Eagles, 24–21. I wonder if that means Condi is a Patriots fan? We already know that Snoop Dogg²⁶ is (he's close friends with Willie McGinest²⁷). And if you missed any of the commercials, or just want to review your favorites, iFilm²⁸ has them all online²⁹. Enjoy!

Update: I guess the police presence³⁰ could have had something to do with how quiet Boston was last night.

Monday, February 07, 2005 @ 08:47 » Comments

On Super Bowl XXXIX

I know that things have been a little slow around here, but I felt compelled to share a few words uttered by a relative of mine. There's a striking similarity between his statement and my current opinion on tomorrow's match-up of the New England Patriots³¹ and Philadelphia Eagles³².

Phyladelphia with all its Trade, and Wealth, and Regularity is not Boston. The Morals of our People are much better, their Manners are more polite, and agreeable—they are purer English. Our Language is better, our Persons are handsomer, our Spirit is greater, our Laws are wiser, our Religion is superiour, our Education is better. We exceed them in every Thing.

- John Adams, Founding Father

And that was over two centuries ago. Look how much we've improved since then!

Saturday, February 05, 2005 @ 09:23 » Comments (1)

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