Categories
Internet Travel

The world’s BEST and WORST places to use the Internet

People in the US don’t always know how good they have it compared to people in other countries.

Sure, you’ll complain about bad WiFi networks or crappy cell service, but at least you’re not trying to use the Internet while in a different country.

Categories
Websites

Why NORAD Tracks Santa

Every year we receive the same news reports from NORAD about Santa’s progress around the world.

Have you ever wondered how NORAD got into the Santa tracking business?

The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas
The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas

Categories
food Games How To

Competitive Milk Tasting: a how-to guide

If you’re an aspiring high school student looking for something to either pad your resume with OR if you’re looking for a rewarding career with very limited competition for a job opening (compared to other, more common offerings) – then has Web Watch have an option for you:

COMPETITIVE MILK TASTING

The Sensory Evaluation of Dairy Products
The Sensory Evaluation of Dairy Products

Categories
How To Video

How to pee during a filibuster

The rules of a filibuster are quite clear — you can usually speak for as long as you want, as long as you do stay on topic and don’t leave the floor.

In Texas, you’re not even allowed to lean or sit.  It’s not easy to continually talk about a specific topic for hours on end, let alone do it without a bathroom break.

So it’s the inevitable question: CAN YOU PEE DURING A FILIBUSTER?

Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate
Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate

Categories
10 Things How To

6 Government Agencies to Avoid Working For

Some say that the ideal job is one with the government. Not a lot of oversight, great (or at least reasonable) benefits, retirement is taken care of, relatively stress-free, etc.

In other words, once you have a job with the government, you’re pretty much set.

But there can be a downside to working for the Fed.

Categories
10 Things News Websites

Why today’s politicians are dumber than previous ones

Have you ever considered going into politics?

Sure, there’s some fame and fortune involved, plus the added bonus of actually feeling like you’re giving something back to the community that you represent.  This may work best in smaller cities and neighborhoods — being the president of your local Homeowners Association requires a completely different skillset than being the Mayor of your town.

Just like being Mayor requires different skills in some podunk town in the middle of nowhere than it does being Mayor of a major metropolitan city.

Face it – if too many cows on your byways is the biggest problem you have to deal with, then you’re not quite ready to attack the Major Politics of Today.

You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself
You Are Not So Smart:
Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook,
Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction,
and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself

All that’s not to say that representing a small political arena is for dumb people, and only smart people can manuever around Big City or National politics.

But maybe there are some trends that can identify whether the person representing your best interests is as smart as they can be when compared to their compatriots.

For instance, according to SUNLIGHT LABS analysis of the members of congress and how they use language, they can identify who present themselves at a higher-intelligent level vs those in congress is try to talk to the lowest-common denominator.

Using some analysis of speeches that all Congressional members have made, they’ve been able to determine the grade level that each Congressman typically speak at.

From a trending perspective, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as more and more years pass, Congressional speech patterns are getting worse and worse.  Web Watch calls it the MTV Effect (or, to update for the 21st century – the YouTube Effect).  Shorter attention spans and the rise of quick edit TV newscasts has resulted in what is – in effect – representatives that have lost the ability to sound like they’re talking intelligently.

They all may be extremely smart individuals.  But they’re certainly not all presenting themselves that way.

Let’s look at the LOWEST RANKING CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS and their level of grade school talk:

  • Rep. Mick Mulvaney (SC) – 7th grade
  • Rep Rob Woodall (GA) – 8th grade
  • Rep Rand Paul (KY) – 8th grade
  • Rep Sean Duffy (WI) – 8th grade
  • Rep Tim Griffin (AR) – 8th grade

vs

  • Rep Dan Lungren (CA) – 16th grade
  • Rep Liculle Roybal-Allard (CA) – 14th grade
  • Rep Jim Gerlach (PA) – 14th grade
  • Rep Tom Petri (WI) – 14th grade
  • Sen Daniel Akaka (HI) – 14th grade

(Just go with the grades higher than 12 to be collegiate level. Web Watch is just reporting what’s in the data, not making judgements on how its interpreted.)

Some of what the analysis shows is:

  • Simple speech tends to come from those who speak more.
  • Moderate members of Congress tend to speak at higher grade levels than do those members of Congress who would be considered more extreme.
  • Newer members of Congress tend to speak to a lower grade level than those who’ve been in Congress longer

 

 

 

 

Categories
News

Don’t spam your neighborhood mailboxes – you’ll end up paying the price

Mailbox
Mailbox

Here’s a story that Web Watch is 100% behind:  did you know that it is illegal to put anything that isn’t mail into or taped to a residential mailbox?

That’s right — every stupid pizza delivery flyer, real estate agent’s magnet, tree service, maid service, and more — anything that isn’t sent through proper mail channels is considered illegal use of a mailbox and those companies can be subjected to being billed by the Post Office.

Categories
Funny Websites

Reporting on Wall Street woes? Stock photography to the rescue!

Fiasco: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader
Fiasco: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader

Today, a quick one:

With this past week’s economic news just pummelling the stock markets around the world, sometimes you need to have just the perfect image that can encapsulate the feeling at the moment.  After all, 500 point drops in the DJIA don’t happen every day.