New & Improved: JackRabbit Café In 'Dynamic Views' Mode!

Wanna see something cool?

The image above is this blog viewed in the Flipcard option of Blogger's Dynamic Views. I don't know how long this option has been available--I space out occasionally--but I like it, I like it, yes I do!

Check it out:

The normal URL for this blog is http://jackrabbitcafe.blogspot.com.

Just type /view after that URL for Dynamic Views (the URL then becomes http://jackrabbitcafe.blogspot.com/view.)

Here are the options you'll then have as a reader:

Flipcard:

• Mouse over any of the cards to see the post title and comment count. As you scroll down, additional posts will continue to load.
• Click on a card to see the post in full view. You can navigate through the posts using J (older post) and K (newer post) or the arrow keys. Hit escape or click Back to all posts to return to the Flipcard view.
• In the upper left, click to sort by Date, Author and Category.

Mosaic:

• Clicking on an individual tile will expand that post to the full width of the view, and clicking again will collapse the post back into its original position.
• The exact position of the tiles is randomly determined each time the blog loads, but they will appear chronologically from top left to bottom right.
• Once a tile is expanded, you can page down by using the "up" and "down" arrow keys as well as J and K.
• This view is optimized for the tablet viewing, and supports screen rotation.

Sidebar:

• Optimized for quick reading and browsing.
• Left sidebar is list of chronological posts, with comment counts and thumbnails for individual posts.
• J and K arrow keys will navigate through the posts, and comments can be displayed on the same page by clicking the Show link.

Snapshot:

• This view will display only the posts which have images.
• Clicking through any photo will display the full post page, with naviagtion links at the bottom for Newer and Older posts
• Mousing over any photo will display a post snippet

Timeslide:

• This view breaks the blog content down into three different areas:
  • Left column: Enlarged picture with a post snippet, title, and snipppet displayed in chronological order
  • Middle column: Displays just the post title and snippet
  • Right column: Displays just the individual post titles
• When searching for posts in this view, the results will be highlighted.

Dynamic Views: told ya it was cool!


Tweet

Doesn't Facebook Know I Hate Long Goodbyes?

UPDATED below...

(They know everything else about me...)

I have a Facebook page, but I've largely lost interest in it. Reading the latest Tourette's-like comments on the social networking site is the online equivalent of being trapped in an elevator with Chatty Cathy. My interest in playing Mafia Wars is non-existent. I don't keyboard-flirt. And I surely dread the possibility of reconnecting with some long-lost high school dude who sold me bad Mexican weed in the 1970s.
I read something in the Los Angeles Times this morning that piqued my interest. It's about a site called Seppukoo, which was built to allow a snarky way to exit Facebook while alerting your online "friends" that you have done so. Facebook's recent tweaking of their privacy settings actually results in less privacy, and it should be remembered that Facebook is not remotely a "community." Besides, I already have this blog, and if I want to shoot the shit with friends, I'll go old school and pick up the phone. Hell, e-mail is old school now, too.
So, I logged on to Seppukoo in an attempt to exit Facebook in a blaze of sarcastic glory. But guess what? Facebook's fascist overlords have jammed the site, and it's currently inoperable.
Here's the message I received when I tried to post that on Facebook:


I'll keep trying, though; something about that blaze of sarcastic glory appeals to the smart-ass in me...

(UPDATE): Responding to pissed-off users like, well, me, Facebook has changed their privacy settings again.

(Maybe I'll hang around. But don't invite me to play Mafia Wars anymore, OK?)

Michael Jackson Died?

AC/DC Viral Video: "Rock 'N Roll Train" Shot In Microsoft Excel.

From Slate's "The Big Money": 

What you see: This one is short by video standards, clocking in at just 1 minute, 25 seconds. Still, AC/DC fans get the full effect of the guitar-heavy music video in a throwback, dot-matrix kind of way. The graphics are little better than a Wall Street Journal ink dot drawing, but if you are a fan of chunky, early-’90s style font awkwardly scrolling down the screen, you are in for a foot-stomping treat.

Take out/take-away: For those about to rock, get out your Excel spreadsheet! … Hmm, maybe not. But there is a reason for this low-fi approach. The creators wanted to produce a video that could be easily shared, one that would evade corporate firewall protection. Even the least permissive firewalls allow Excel spreadsheets, the thinking goes.

Social-media effect: It's six months after the ASCII version of the Black Ice video was launched, and it's still generating a buzz, picking up a dozen new Twitter tweets in multiple languages in the past week alone. Geeks seem to love the retro feel. But, as always, what the suits at the label want to know is, Will it sell any records? It's hard to argue with these stats: The album has hit No. 1 in 29 countries, earning double-platinum honors in the United States. Judging by the comments left on YouTube, even Microsoft's Excel brand looks a bit cooler.