One of my favorite websites just got a little bit better: it just launched EmptySpaceAds! Move your mouse to the margins of the page and you’ll see the new ads come up.

EmptySpaceAds is the same start-up I was working for before I left to go back to school, so it’s really exciting for me to see this development.

Now, I know ads aren’t exactly exciting for most people – who likes ‘em? They replace regular content and get in your way as a result. That’s why EmptySpaceAds is so great – it’s in the margins, so it won’t replace any “real” content, and it doesn’t get in your way like many pop-up ads.

For publishers, it offers similar benefits. You can increase the number ads you show on a page (and therefore your revenue), or you can replace your ad units with EmptySpaceAds. Either way, you’ll see a boost in your revenue. And, best of all – you don’t have to sacrifice content that brings customers to your page.

Check them out at: PeopleOfWalmart.com and EmptySpaceAds.com.

Kumo is Microsoft’s new search engine that was released internally this month. No one seems to be talking about it much externally, and it doesn’t show up in Google Analytics under “Search Engines”. Kumo is, however, listed as a referring site for my site, CareerCup, which helps prepare for technical interviews. Almost all the Kumo users are, of course, from Redmond with a couple in Bellevue and Toyko.

Well, hey – while it’s not so nice to look for a new job while at work, at least you’re using Microsoft’s search engine to get there. Your boss must be thrilled.

But, if you’re still looking for a new job, I’ve got one for you.

I think this is my favorite testimonial:

“I used to be an honest person; but now I don’t have to be. It’s just so much easier this way. I’ve gained a lot of productivity by not having to think about doing the ‘right’ thing.”

Todd J., Investment Banker

Note the investment banker part. Tee hee

ABSTINENCE-ONLY DRIVER’S ED.
BY SUZANNE KLEID

- – - -

Thanks for making it out on a rainy Saturday, kids. Slippery out there, huh? Let’s get started. We’re gonna have some fun today!

Car accidents are a leading cause of death for teenagers. The school board and your elected representatives want to make sure that you and your families are spared from such a tragedy, which is why the money for driver’s ed was eliminated from the budget. Whereas last year I was teaching your older siblings how to shift and brake and three-point-turn during a six-week course, it has since been decreed that I actually need just one afternoon to tell you the only piece of safety information I’m permitted by law to share:

The ONLY 100 percent effective method for avoiding car accidents is to ABSTAIN from driving until marriage.

Read the full thing. It’s good.

Wed, Dec 26, 2007
Philadelphia International Airport, (PHL) to Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, (SEA)
Flight: United Flight 2234 operated by US Airways (on Airbus A321-100/200)
Depart: 05:55 PM, Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
Arrive: 09:09 PM, Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA)
Total Travel Time: 3 hrs 14 mins

3 hours west to east? Nope. Don’t think so.

Sun, Sep 23, 2007
Philadelphia International Airport, (PHL) to Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, (SEA)
Flight: US Airways Flight 753 ((on Airbus A321-100/200)
Depart: 05:55 PM, Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
Arrive: 08:57 PM Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA)
Total Travel Time: 3 hrs 2 mins

Sorry.

Mon, Sep 3, 2007
Flight: Delta Air Lines Flight 533 ((on Boeing 757-200)
Depart: 02:23 PM, Atlanta, GA (ATL)
Arrive: 04:30 PM Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA)
Total Travel Time: 2 hrs 7 mins

Ooh… two hours coast-to-coast… I want to be on that plane!

And yet… it used to work at some point:

Tue, Feb 27, 2007
Flight: United Flight 2032 Operated by US AIRWAYS( nonstop )
Depart: 08:35 AM, Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA)
Arrive: 04:31 PM, Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
Total Travel Time: 4hrs 56min

At some point, between Feb 27 and Sept 3, Travelocity forgot what a timezone is. Travelocity still doesn’t know. Nice work, guys.

A Canadian cruise ship struck submerged ice off Antarctica and began sinking, but all 154 passengers and crew, Americans and Britons among them, took to lifeboats and were plucked to safety by a passing cruise ship.

The Chilean navy said the entire MS Explorer finally slipped beneath the waves Friday evening, about 20 hours after the predawn accident near Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands.

No injuries have been reported.

Not only was there one in Seattle, but it was just a few blocks from my apartment. I took a small detour on my way to work this morning to visit it.

I was somewhat impressed by the thoroughness of the Kwik-E-Mart makeovers:

Repainting the outside

Squishee & Buzz Cola Machines

Changing the sign on the top of 7-Eleven

Cardboard cut-outs of Simpsons characters (Ralph, Chief Wiggum, Lisa, Bart, Maggie, etc)

Kwik-E-Mart Chairs

Employees wearing Kwik-E-Mart uniforms

I have a few more pictures up on my Picasaweb album.

It’s the last thing – employees wearing Kwik-E-Mart uniforms – that stuck me as being strange. As it just so happened, the guy at the cash register was indeed Indian. Ok, fine, dress up your stores… but your employees? Really? Are they commodities like that? And in those stores who have Indian/Pakistani employees, it feels a tad uncomfortable – like the stereotype is screaming at you.

The makeover, while somewhat amusing, just strikes me as being a little tacky. It’s like 7-Eleven is a Disneyland ride, themed and all. But hey, that’s marketing, right?

While true, Google can tell you the answer to life, the universe and everything.