Popularity: 20% [?]

courtesy of Reuters

Even the most quirky of computer nerds can learn to flirt with finesse thanks to a new “flirting course” being offered to budding IT engineers at Potsdam University south of Berlin.

The 440 students enrolled in the master’s degree course will learn how to write flirtatious text messages and emails, impress people at parties and cope with rejection.

Philip von Senftleben, an author and radio presenter who will teach the course, summed up his job as teaching how to “get someone else’s heart beating fast while yours stays calm.”

The course, which starts next Monday, is part of the social skills section of the IT course and is designed to ease entry into the world of work. Students also learn body language, public-speaking, stress management and presentation skills.

“We want to prepare our students with the social skills needed to succeed both in their private life and their work life,” said Hans-Joachim Allgaier, a spokesman for the institute at Potsdam University where the course is being offered.

Popularity: unranked [?]

From InternetRetailer.com  Video rental retailer Blockbuster Inc. has offered to buy consumer electronics chain Circuit City Stores Inc., aiming to take advantage of the convergence of digital entertainment content and devices best exemplified by Apple Inc.’s runaway success with the iPod music player and iTunes online music store.

“Marrying digital content with devices is going to happen, by us or by others in the marketplace,” Blockbuster chairman and CEO Jim Keyes told analysts today. “Apple clearly has made the most progress in this avenue.”

Keyes painted a picture of Circuit City stores selling customers, along with extended warranties and maintenance contracts, subscriptions to movies, TV shows, video games and other entertainment content from Blockbuster. “For every customer buying a TV set or other form of consumer electronics, Circuit City now can sell a subscription service to digital content from Blockbuster.com,” Keyes said. He said Blockbuster stores also could sell a limited selection of electronics devices provided by Circuit City, and that Blockbuster could place kiosks in Circuit City stores.

Okay maybe the title is a little over the top but I was caught a little off guard by this announcement. And I see many people making comparisons to the vertical integration of products and services that Apple offers (via iPods, iTunes, etc) but this seems like an Apples to Oranges (I couldn’t resist) comparison to me. Will this actually work? Will Best Buy now purchase Hollywood Video? Or Netflix? What about Wal-Mart? They won’t want to be left out of this race? Stay Tuned.

Popularity: unranked [?]

I like free online Money Transfer services. A lot. And I have found another one trying to gain users and willing to put $25 into your account in order to get you to sign up. So I did. And they also offer bonuses for referrals. So I signed up and have placed the shameless plug in the upper right hand corner of the site and another one here in this post. So if you’d like and extra $25 to spend online or transfer to someone else, take advantage and sign up now.

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Hot Damn,  I got my NIN Ghosts I-IV today in the mail. I thought these things weren’t going to ship until May so I’m stoked. Yeah. yeah I already have the MP3’s and I already love the album that I’ve been waiting years to hear. So maybe I’m just old school but there’s just nothing that beats the emotional high of tearing the shrinkwrap off your brand spanking new CD/Cassette/LP and manhandling the latest release from your favorite musical artist. I remember back in the day before downloading my favorite albums via Napster/Shareaza/Binary Newsgroups/Torrent it was such a crapshoot when you bgought the latest album. Yeah maybe you’ve heard the advance singles on the radio but you have no idea what’s going to happen with the rest of the album. So anyway, I hope the precedent set forth by Radiohead & NIN can prove to artists that they can release commercially successful records without going through the labels and without making music tailored for the radio, or what’s left of it anyway. I’m still not quite sure that HD-FM is going to save radio, all though everyone said FM would kill AM and AM Radio is still around, right? Just wait until everyone has wireless broadband in their vehicles. What will radio do then? I’m not sure but I’m loving my new 2 Disc Set. Thank you Trent !!

Popularity: unranked [?]