first, let's go back to 1998. web just started. the best way to generate traffic? get linked from other sites. wait, i guess that's still the best way to get traffic. eh, whatever.

link exchanging, anyways, is what the web ran on, before search engine optimization became such a big deal. now its seo and link exchanging, in that order. ok i'm rambling. my boy darryl pimped my photoblog over at his site, so i think it's only fair that i should pimp his photoblog over here. his concurrently commencing photoblog. that means it started on the same day as mine. it's a race that no one can win!

let me also point you towards youos. it's what everyone thinks google is going to do next - a web-based operating system. it doesn't make that much sense, because it's somewhat limited and you need to have an operating system to connect to the internet and use a web browser in the first place. in other words, it sounds to me a lot like microsoft bob, a shell on top of a shell on top of a shell. the only reason i point to it is not because it might one day replace windows/macos/linux, but because it's a pretty sweet technical accomplishment.

and finally a word on the nba finals. i'm 85% sure when geoff informed me that the mavericks closed out the suns in game 6 that i said something along the lines of "so what, mavs in 5 right?" i can't really verify this, because i didn't even write about cooperstown, let alone give a nice preview of the nba finals. anyways, that seemed about right to me then and now, which makes espn's behavior over the last week all the more annoying/befuddling. i have been turning sportscenter on when i wake up every day (minor sidenote: i am still sleeping on thad's couch, the one from south hall, etc - i plan on doing that until jen moves in and i actually bother to set up some other furniture), and i heard the espn promo for the nba finals every day this week, until today. so the way espn has chosen to build up this finals is "the heat overpowered the pistons, and the mavs stand in their way next". that's it. no narrative for the mavs, and a promo that i think is decidedly pro-heat. then i looked over a few experts picks, and listened to some of the other segments on espn, and people are actually PICKING THE HEAT.

this, i can't comprehend.

everyone was talking JUST LAST WEEK about how the pistons just weren't good in the playoffs, in the cavs series or in the heat series. now all of a sudden the heat get all the stories and they overcame a really tough challenge from the pistons and riley and shaq want to return to glory, etc etc. some might argue that this is the best way to get viewers, but jesus christ, at least mention that the mavs played in one of the best playoff series in recent memory (v. spurs) and were able to contain an explosively fun suns team and dirk is basically unguardable at this point and the little general is doing it all in his first year as head coach and josh howard and devin harris are the most surprisingly fun players to watch this year and jason terry looks like a child molester.

well, don't mention the last one.

but jesus, whoever thinks there aren't fun storylines on the mavs side is freaking clueless.

and whoever picked the heat to win this series (or the mavs to even face much of a challenge from this team) is delusional. i'll be amazed if shaq has a dominant game this series, and i'll be amazed if gary payton or jason williams can do ANYTHING against terry/harris and i'll be amazed if anyone can stop dirk. really, the only man in the nba who can stop dirk at this point is dirk himself - bowen stood helpless for large parts of round 2, so don't even try to pretend that anyone on the fucking miami heat stands a chance.

i'm sure this would have more weight before last night, when these things happened:
dirk shot terribly
howard shot terribly
the heat shot 70% in the first quarter
the heat lost by 10

thanks for indulging me.

update: zach and geoff brought this to my attention. i was stupidly watching basketball when it happened last night.