Spacehamster’s Blog

The big downside to a Free Market Economy is the rise of a single company that can monopolise and dominate everyone else. Some obvious examples are Microsoft in the US, and Telstra in Australia. One other example that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention is, surprisngly enough, Google.

This recent article highlights the problem: Google has changed its Search algorithms so that some searched-for websites have a reduced page ranking. So they turn up less often in Google searches, resulting in reduced revenue. Considering that many websites rely heavily on AdSense and Google for their revenue, this is a serious development for web-based businesses.

Swarms of bloggers and webmasters of major sites like Washingtonpost.com, Forbes.com, Engadget.com and SFGate.com noticed a downgrading in their PageRank, Google’s measure of a web page’s value.

A site’s PageRank impacts not only its ranking in Google search results but also the price it can charge advertisers. A drop in ranking can have serious financial consequences, especially for smaller operators.

The search giant, through its dominant search engine and AdWords/AdSense network, is relied on by millions of websites not only for traffic referrals but for monetisation as well.

Google has long been the Media-darling of the internet, so it hasn’t received as much attention as Microsoft. But it does have the potential to become an even bigger monopoly than Microsoft when it comes to the future of the web.

Ironically, just about all of my favourite TV shows are overseas imports that I bought (or borrowed) as DVD boxsets. They’re not necessarily high-quality, but they entertain me, and occasionally make me think.
I’ve sampled several new shows this year. Kyle XY (too WB-teenagey for me), Chuck (not as clever as it thinks it is), and Bionic Woman (too generic, but Katee Sackhoff and the lead are great).

Pushing Daisies:Of those, Pushing Daisies is definitely my favourite. It’s a story about Ned, a Piemaker who can revive the dead by touching them. The only caveat? If he revives them for more than 60 seconds, something else will die. It could’ve been grim and gritty, but is delivered with great whimsy and charm. The constant nararation can be grating , and the cutesy delivery might drive some potential viewers up the wall. But the script and performance save this show for me. If you’re sick and tired of “grim and gritty”, this romantic show’ll be a breath of fresh air. I’d watch it for Kristin Chenowith alone.

The West Wing: Yes, several months later and I’m still watching this show. I miss Aaron Sorkin on TV. Why did the networks have to drive this man off the air?

Stargate: The spiritual successor to Star Wars. Fun and entertaining, but isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. The cast of the original show is exceptionally strong. The spin-off (Atlantis) doesn’t really takeoff until the 2nd Season. The 4th Season of Atlantis is thus far panning out to be the best yet.

Eureka: This show didn’t click with me until midway through the 2nd season. Now that I’m onboard with the characters and the humor, I’m really enjoying this show.

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Most Children’s TV is written down to kids. This one definitely isn’t. In addition to having above-average special effects for a “Kids” TV show, it also has some strong characters from Elisabeth Sladen and her young co-stars. If you want to keep your kids happy for an afternoon, this is recommended.

I’ve always been a natural pessimist by nature. I always expect the glass to be half-empty - it makes it easier to avoid dissapointment. So I’m openly pessimistic on whether Kevin Rudd can win this election or not. It’s entirely possible to win the Primary and popularity vote and still lose. Notice how both the mainstream media (and the commentariat) take leave of their senses during an election campaign?

Before the election started, the emphasis was on how Workchoices was impacting working families. How hospitals were in crisis. Now it’s all about the Prime Minister’s election-winning tax cuts. It’s also partly Labor’s fault - where are Labor’s election winning policies during this first week? Why doesn’t Labor commit to funding for Hospitals and Schools? I haven’t heard a single mention of Workchoices from Labor during the first week of the campaign. And why haven’t we ever seen more appearances from the rest of the Labor team? Why is it always Kevin Rudd or Julia Gillard on TV, rather than Wayne Swan or the others?

If (or when) Labor loses this election, it won’t be just because the Liberals ran a better campaign. It’ll also be because Labor didn’t fight hard enough for its core beliefs - better education and health for Australian families. And made the mistake of putting the focus solely on Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, rather than taking a team approach. Of course most people want to see Howard gone. But only if there’s a better alternative government. And although Kevin Rudd has proven to be a good alternative leader, I don’t think Labor has done enough to prove they have a good alternative government.

It’s not enough to be a Howard hater - you need to have a sustainable Alternative government to vote for. I think Howard is going to win the election and (hopefully) retire in 3 years. I look forward to seeing Peter Costello taking over as Prime Minister. It’ll be a fresh start for the Liberal Party and hopefully for the country.

Of course, I’d love to be proven wrong.

The Australian Prime Minister has finally called for an election on November 24th. He’s already fired the first successful salvo with a $32 Billion Tax cut. I note that those in the $34k-80k tax bracket don’t get any changes, so there’s nothing in it for me. I think Howard has had an extremely successful 11-year run. But he really should’ve handed over the reigns to Costello at the beginning of this year. After 11 years of playing maid-in-waiting, Costello deserves a chance to prove himself as PM. I’ll therefore be voting Labor this time around.

Despite this, I’ll be taking an impartial stance for this election. My mother observed that Australians are more interested in short-term gain rather than what’s best for everyone. So I’d say the Liberals have a real vote-winner on their hands with this tax cut. I’d prefer they invest that money into Health, Education and Infrastructure. It’s not as popular, but it’s the responsible thing to do.

Do I think Howard can win this election? Yes. But I think it will be a much closer contest than in 2004. I doubt that Labor can win back 16 seats. At best I hope they can peg back the Liberals huge electoral- and vote-winning lead and win back the Senate.