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This pretty much sums up my feelings about the show LOST

I haven’t really chimed in about the democratic race — but after yesterday, and the lack of concession by Hillary, this is the first thought that went through my head.

You’re going to have to find fake Prada bags and Rolexes somewhere else — cops did a major crackdown of shops in Chinatown.

But don’t fret too much, there are still a few people walking around, whispering in your ear, “prada prada, gucci, movado?”

I think the iPhone is iconic enough that people can recognize when you’re holding it upside-down.

It is especially funny when it’s a product placement in a television show. After seeing Minnie Driver hold the iPhone upside-down at least 3 times within the last 2 episodes of “The Riches”, I figured I’d post it. Or am I just wayyy too into technology?

Here’s something you don’t see every day. Google was giving me intermittent page errors

Errors usually give a little bit of insight into how sites are being ran. It looks like google is using squid for caching.

The best ideas come from finding something you do all the time, realize you do it, and then automate it.

With me, I discovered that I frequently go to the base domain of a website by going to the URL, highlighting and deleting the junk on the end of the domain name and then pressing enter. I HATE doing it. I also have to do it when websites don’t link to their home page.

So here’s an easy solution. A bookmarklet!

Drag the link below to your bookmarks bar (or in IE, right-click and add to favorites):

Here is the code:

var url = new String(location.href);var re = new RegExp(’https?://([A-Za-z0-9.-]+)’);var res = url.match(re);location.href=res[0];

Enjoy

This is an open letter to the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau

The current Emergency Alert System takes advantage of tv networks to deliver crucial information in the event of an emergency.

As someone who spends much more time online instead of watching tv, I would like to propose a new system that is more in sync with today’s technology.

There should be a national Email Emergency Alert System (EEAS) that people can voluntarily sign up for. E-mailing the list would be reserved only for Emergencies. The user can also optionally give their zip code so that the EEAS could additionally give local emergency information (such as a tornado touching down or a flash flood warning)

The service could also be created in such a way that other departments could initiate an emergency, allowing for a decentralized alert system that can quickly reach the people it needs to reach.

Please seriously consider this enhancement to an archaic system. And please, whatever you do, do not send out test e-mails that test the system. We’ll get them.

Sincerely,

Billy Chasen
billychasen.com

After many months of work, I finally finished and displayed my “Beating Heart” piece. You can view the video below.

It was shown at the American Heart Association’s 2008 Heart of New York Gala yesterday. Everything (thankfully) went perfect and the responses ranged from disgust to joy.

Here’s something you may not know about New York City. Bars need a special permit for dancing. The signage for it is still hilarious to see.

I took this in a pub last night.

I wonder what their definition of dancing is. Would they escort me out if I start bobbing my head?

According to this article:

Nightclubs are also restricted in zoning, meaning cabaret licenses are only granted to venues in major commercial centers, industrial or manufacturing districts, effectively making it illegal to dance in any residential area. In 1960 there were 12,000 cabaret licenses in the five boroughs. Now, in 2006, there are less than 200.

The permit process is long, costly and uncertain. Approval is required from the Department of Consumer Affairs, the NYC Planning Commission, the Fire Department, Buildings Departments and local community boards, among others, all of whom work independently of each other.”