Here are a collection of videos of some of the worlds most impressive ball runs in action, including the Mark Bischoff machine that was recreated for Anthony Hopkins’ obsessive character in the movie Fracture, to one built for a one-off ending to Sesame Street.

It’s my believe that the economic downturn will be much worse than it
is today, and that 50-80% of the venture-backed startups currently
operating will shut down or go on life-support (i.e. 3-4 folks working
on them) within the next 18 months.

Make a list of every Web 2.0 startup to raise an A or B round and
cross 80% of them off the list, because they will not make it to their
next round of funding or profitability.

Now, I could be totally wrong. No one can guess or time the markets
perfectly. However, planning for the worst is a virtuous idea, so I
encourage you to read on.

Everyone I talk to is feeling confused, paralyzed and anxious–many
are in full-blown depression. People are scared, and they should be.
This could be the start of a very difficult time for our country and
the rest of the world.

In this email, we’ll focus on the entrepreneurial and startup
depression and economic downturns/depressions–and how you can deal
with them.

We’ve tackled a whopping 26 Hive Five categories since the series’ inception, and I’m just going to tackle them all from oldest to newest. Without further ado, here they are.

2008 Summer Paralympic Games - The Big Picture - Boston.com
From September 6th to September 17th, Beijing is once again hosting athletes from around the world. Over 4,200 athletes - from six different disability groups - from 148 countries are taking part in the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games. Not only are the sports divided into events, but the events are divided into different disability categories, to even out the playing field as much as possible. The slogan for this years Paralympic Games is the same as the one for the Olympics held just last month: “One World, One Dream”.

Limiting Factors:

* Cost
* Number of People
* Length of Party

This is a lot of stuff. Take everything with a (margarita) grain of salt and make changes as you see fit. No party is exactly the same; likewise no party has the same requirements. And — depending on your state’s liquor laws, taxes, or store rip-off-ness, prices vary.

WordPress SEO - Definitive Guide To High Rankings For Your Blog
I started writing my beginner’s guide to WordPress SEO a while back, and have since done a load of posts on the subject, an article in the Search Marketing Standard, newsletters, and presentations. It’s time to let all the info of all these different articles fall into one big piece: the final guide to WordPress SEO.

Review: The Dark Knight || kuro5hin.org

It is little wonder that The Dark Knight has done so well in modern America, generating huge returns for its investors, and spurring talk even before its release of potential Academy Awards. This is not because the ‘dark’ setting and overt themes of the film have any legitimate resonance with the zeitgeist. No, the film’s subtext strikes a chord with the deep-seated convictions of the mainstream American public and with the interests of Hollywood investors.

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The Simple Dollar » What Features Are Most Important For Your Primary Bank? My Thoughts and Recommendations
As most longtime readers know, I’m a very happy customer of ING Direct for both my primary checking account and my primary savings account.

Before I joined ING Direct, though, my primary bank was one of the largest banks in the United States, one that had a branch in the town where I attended college (I won’t name them because of libel concerns, but I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of them). I stuck with them for a long time simply out of habit - the status quo bias at work - but when I started to get my financial life in order, I began to seriously look at the ways that my bank was costing me money:
My checking account didn’t earn any interest at all. Just before I moved, they made a big deal about rolling out a 0.25% APY interest rate for the account.
The account also had a rather high minimum balance - $300, according to my notes. If you went below that minimum balance at any point during the month, you were dinged with a fee - $2.95 a month, if I recall correctly.
They also charged a monthly maintenance fee for a pretty standard online banking service. This fee was $7.95 a month.
The savings account offered only a 0.50% APY.
While there were a lot of ATMs in town that were fee-free, if you were in a town that didn’t happen to have a bank branch, you got dinged hard with an ATM fee.

- Every meeting has a start time and an end time. That means it starts on time and ends on time. If someone is chronically late to meetings, the others must bring peer pressure to bear on that individual. If most of a company’s executives exhibit this trait, then find another company. It’s a sign of immaturity and disrespect for others.

- Every meeting is run by someone who is responsible for every aspect of the meeting including agenda, attendance, punctuality, and documentation. That person keeps everyone on topic and moves the meeting along using the methods described below.

- Key decisions that are reached during the meeting regarding strategies, plans or objectives should be published by whoever ran the meeting within one day. That also goes for follow-up or action required and an owner for each item.

Five rules of engagement for effective meetings

- Listening is good. Gratuitous speech is bad. Silence means consent. Don’t chime in just to hear your own voice.

- Presenting new ideas or brainstorming is good. Knocking down another’s idea is bad. There’s a time for reaching consensus.

- Attack the problem or issue, not the person you disagree with. “I don’t agree with you” is okay, but “I think you’re an idiot” isn’t.

- Stay on topic, but don’t beat a dead horse. Save other subjects for other meetings. Use a “parking lot” for important issues that may need to be revisited at a later date.

- Be open, honest, and forthcoming. Don’t hold back, bullshit, or sugar-coat issues. This is especially critical in meetings where key decisions are based on the information presented.

- Don’t just follow these rules yourself; teach them to others. Present them at meetings you conduct. Make work life easier and less frustrating for all your fellow employees and help to make your company more successful. It’ll pay off big-time in the long run.