300 Miles for 3 Points

Yakima was fun. 300 miles to travel for 3 points. I got out of my car in Ellensburg to pump gas and was blown away by a 200-MPH wind. The family found me in Prosser. I was also attacked by rabid tumbleweeds, but I've had my shots, so that was ok. It was all good in the end, though, as the 3 points were enough to secure second place in the division for the team.

Meanwhile...It's berfday time for Facebook, sayeth the NYT, and the 5-year old is struggling under the weight of competing expectations among its users. While there are growing pains, there's no doubting the site's growing popularity. Advertisers certainly take note:

Facebook’s approach is to invite advertisers to join in the
conversation. New “engagement” ads ask users to become fans of products
and companies — sometimes with the promise of discounts. If a person
gives in, that commercial allegiance is then broadcast to all of the
person’s friends on the site.

A new kind of engagement ad, now
being tested, will invite people to vote — “what’s your favorite color
M&M?” for example — and brands will pay every time a Facebook
member participates.

“We are trying to provide the antidote for
the consumer rebellion against interruptive advertising,” says Sheryl
Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer and Mr. Zuckerberg’s
business consigliere.

...And while I usually don't pay any attention to Rush Limbaugh...oh, hell, I still don't. But he's the lead in to James Safire's CSI: On Language treatment of the word orgasmic.