UPDATE 2:
Mike Davidson has taken comments form the S vs. N blog into consideration and redesigned/rewritten the browser upgrade page that was the source of much criticism. I love the way weblogs create an instant community available for peer review and I love even more when companies admit they are not perfect, listen to suggestions and enhance their product as a result. Cluetrain at work!

UPDATE:
Mike Davidson, an art director at ESPN.com, is among those to post a comment in response to Signal vs. Noise's post.

Other sites have weighed in about the ESPN redesign, as well. Some share my views, others don't:

• Zeldman


• Signal vs. Noise - 37 Signals


• DesignFlea


• AltText

If we go to war right before, or during, the NCAA Tournament CBS may move coverage over to MTV. Other possible channels for the basketball broadcasts include VH1 and TNN. These three stations are owned by Viacom, parent company of CBS.

Does this mean seedings will be voted on by viewers of TRL?

Kottke points to a great tutorial for creating a Lomo effect in Photoshop. I've been wanting a Lomo for quite a while, but maybe this will save me $150...

Here's my first attempt:

While I expressed my displeasure with ESPN's new homepage the other day, I will commend them for building a site that conforms to web standards, as Jeffrey Zeldman points out.

ESPN launched a redesigned homepage that just blows my mind how poorly executed it is. They actually have constant techno music playing for no reason!!!

Theybill the redesign as "part TV, part Internet, all good!" If I wanted part TV and part Internet, I'd have signed up for WebTV.

The site just has too much going, too many colors, eats too much bandwidth, it's all that people thought was cool in 2000 but that in reality made the internet detrimentally dificult to use. With all of the information that a sports site like ESPN needs to present, the efort needs to be on usability and information architecture, so that info is displayed in a manner people can quickly access and easily understand. They don't need to be trying to blow people away with wiz bang motion graphics and music!

Google Buys Pyra, creator of Blogger, according to this SiliconValley.com article.

Wonder what this fortells for the future of blogging...

Looks like one this week's Onion stories is already out of date.

CNN is reporting that CIA Director George Tenet testified to a congrssional committee that North Korea has ballistic missile capable of hitting U.S.

This news comes only 1 day after Osama bin Laden reminded the U.S. that al Qaeda is still a threat.

And yet the president and military still seems to be singularly focused on Iraq. While I'm sure that Saddam is up to no good and that eventually there does need to be some change in Iraq, I think that it's becomming increasingly clear that he's only our third most important enemy at the moment.

So why is it that the Bush administration still seems so intent on pushing for war in Iraq? Why not finish off Osama and deal with North Korea first?

Maybe I do need to go out and get my duct tape and plastic sheeting.

NASA launches a new Web site. Nice, clean design. A first for a government agency, at least that I've seen. One interesting omission, as I see it, is that while they do a great job of directing different user constituancies (students, press, etc.) to the appropriate section there's no link for Scientists/Researchers.

Let's just hope the backend is as well thought out as the front end because this weekend's unfortunate tragedy will undoubtedly test the new site. (via Kottke)

ESPN article quotes basketball phenom LeBron James saying he "didn't know I was violating rules," in regards to his accepting $845 worth of jerseys from an Akron store.

Now, this was well after the Ohio High School Athletic Association launched its investigation into his Hummer H2, and every sports fan in America knew that "capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value" would result in forfeiture of amateur status according to Ohio High School Athletic Association bylaws.

My favorite quote from the article:
"'When I went in (the store), you know, I was just going in there as being, you know, another player, and they was trying to reward me for my good grades,' added James, who has said he has a 3.5 grade-point average."

Good One LeBron! It was a reward for good grades! A free Big Mac, maybe. A free ice cream cone, OK. But how many members of your school's Honor Roll were given $845 worth of free jerseys? How about those with perfect attendance? Was this good grades=free jerseys contest announced to the entire student body? I'm thinking probably not!

Coverage contines on TV and across the internet about the tragic breakup of the Columbia space shuttle yesterday morning.

While the loss is most tragic for the family and friends of those lost, they all take some level of comfort that those 7 aboard lost their lives doing something they loved. They worked hard and persevered to accomplish their goals of space travel.

These astronauts really are today's fearless pioneers and adventurers. We seem to take for granted that anyplace can be reached safely and quickly. But it wasn't always the case.

When Christopher Columbus or Ponce de Leon set off by boat, that they faced the great unknown beyond the horizon. Lewis and Clark, as they set off across the U.S., knew of the danger they faced during their journey. Today the entire earth seems to be known and fairly safe -- but space is still today's great unknown. It is today's unexplored frontier.

Those who blaze the new trails know the risks and take them on willingly because the sense of adventure and discovery outweighs those risks. And all of mankind ultimately benefits from their sacrifice.

I think most of us admire this sense of adventure the astronauts display and to som eextend live vicariously through them. Perhaps this is why so much coverage is devoted to them. Why so many people who have never met any of them feel compelled to sign eulogy books and build tributes. Seven lives is not a lot in terms of numbers. That many probably die in accidents in a major city each day. Seven skiers died yesterday in an avalanche in Canada, but that only received a 15 second mention on CNN. But the symbolic lives they lived for all of us make their untimely passing seem so important and sad for all.

Some Good Weblog Coverage:
• Saltire's Columbia coverage
(via megnut)
• Dave Winer's Scripting News coverage
• Nixlog Collection of Infographics
(via kottke.org)
Posted by blipsman at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

Columbia shuttle breaks up over Texas at 8:00 am CST.

More:
• Minute-by-minute recap of Columbia Mission Report
• Shuttle debris visible on National Weather Service radar
• Crew Profiles (Fox News)
• ebay pulls Columbia debris listings

Having conviced that Ohio High School Athletic Association that his acquisition of a $50k+ Hummer H2 was proper, LeBron James sees his high school career end because a local store gives LeBron retro Gale Sayers and Wes Unseld jerseys worth $845.

BronBron's team must forfeit its previous game, which means losing it's #1 national ranking. As he's no longer on the team his school loses it's lottery ticket, as it's game probably will no longer be a hot Pay-Per-View ticket.

But LeBron probably ins't harmed. He already knows he's the first pick in the NBA draft, and now he can sign up his agent and start negotiating some endorsement deals.

I'm placing bets that LeBron drops out of school within the month so he can concentrate on creating his Kingdom... Long live King James!

Chicago White Sox announce that Comiskey Park will be renamed U.S. Cellular Field. Yet another classic stadium name bites the dust in the name of the almighty dollar. One Hundred years of history replaced for $68 million over 20 years.

Hasn't U.S. Cellular heard about the stadium curse? Should the company get its Chapter 11 papers in line now, in anticipation of joining the likes of United, Conseco, Enron, PSINet, Adelphia, U.S. Air, TWA, etc.?

And now that Ted Turner has announced his departure from AOL Time Warner, how much longer will his name remain atop the stadium of the AOLTW-owned Atlanta Braves?