NachoWorld

I feel like I’m on a promoting binge here. Check out Google’s SMS info service. It’s saved me at least one on the road when I was lost and needed directions (and didn’t want to lose 20 minutes by trying to find a gas station for directions). And I’ve used to figure out the the location of area codes from phone numbers I don’t recognize. It’s helped with my addiction to screening calls.

I’m crazy excited. Sprintpcs forces you to use its website in order to text message someone (for free via the web). I was able to socially engineer (well not really socially engineer, more like convince) a customer service rep to give me the email address format to text Sprintpcs phones via email (1234567890@messaging.sprintpcs.com). This allows me to use the American Airlines website, Orbitz and other airline websites to text me flight status updates. There’s a whole host of other internet sites that require emails rather than phone numbers to give you info via SMS. I know, not that exciting for most people, but it made my week.

I came across this article on the most underrated inventions in history. It was kind of interesting to see how concrete changed the world. But the authors sometimes extrapolated a little too much. Horse collars allowed a farmer surplus which allowed an Adam Smith’s type professional stratification which destroyed the feudal system and allowed for the industrial age? I’m sure there are a few extra inventions and political events in there that allowed that sequence to progress. It’s still interesting though.

By the way, this is my first aside, a la crazymonk.