This is a bit of a cynical / fun post. It's halloween, and I am just sitting here reading the news and waiting for kids to come and get some candy.

I use the term news loosely.

I have a cycle of sites I check out - one of which is/was digg. Digg, if you are brand new to the internet, is a site where users submit news stories. After a story is submitted, everyone who has an account votes on the stories. The more votes, the more visible the story. That way only the best stories get “to the front page” - or so the theory goes.

It was an interesting experiment, and I think it behaves exactly like you'd think something would behave under mob rule (not swim-with-the-fishes type mob :D) - chaotic and mostly unhelpful. (I think it's a good example of why there is an Electoral College).

Stories that make it to “the front page” are often:

• Windows vs Linux vs Mac.
• Firefox vs IE.
• The Wii vs PS3.
• Some sort of rumor (often about Mac or a game)
• Something that has the term “fanboy” in it (often a Mac vs PC TV spot)
• Something with the word “ever” in it
• A top 10 list of something completely pointless and obvious
• A clip from the TV on youtube.com

Almost every story on the digg site is a blog, and it's painfully obvious that the vast majority of people who are writing these blogs are in it for the ad revenue. The content on these blog is often shallow at best - hardly worth anyone's time - and it's been getting progressively worse. I can't think of the last time I actually learned something from a site linked to by digg.

I didn't want to say that much about digg, but I think the only way digg would become useful is if it implemented some sort of AI to check out the content of the stories it links to. For now, I think I am scratching digg off my list of sites to check for new information because it doesn't seem to contain any.

As my parting gift to digg, here is my top 10 list of ways to move around:

1. Walking - this is accomplished by putting one foot in front of the other. This has been around for years and is quite handy.
2. Skipping - a slight variation on walking, this technique increases your overall velocity. While a bit more complicated than walking, it should get you where you want to go lickety split.
3. Running - a bit faster than skipping, and keeps you from looking silly (mostly).
4. Bicycling - requires a 3rd party accessory, but allows you to obtain further distances than running with less exertion.
5. Skateboard - between running and a bike, but allows you to do cool tricks on your way to point B.
6. Skates - my wife likes skates more than skateboards.
7. Driving an Automobile - in general this causes a lot of waste, but if you have to travel medium distances (say over 30 miles) this a popular option.
8. Train - an often overlooked way to move around. Good for longer distances and allows one to consume alcohol while traveling.
9. An Airplane (or a boat) - this is a popular choice for overseas travel.
10. Bending Space Time - if you need to travel from galaxy to galaxy, or even just interplantary, this is a popular option.

I am authoring a book about my amazing ways to move yourself around - look for it and buy it the moment you see it.