Category: Here & There

Best Global Brands 2007

Interbrand have released their report on the best global brands for the year 2007.

The brands are valued using sales and a consideration of how important the brand is in the sector.

The top 10 brands for 2007 according to this study are:

1. Coca-Cola
2. Microsoft
3. IBM
4. GE
5. Nokia
6. Toyota
7. Intel
8. McDonald’s
9. Disney
10. Mercedes-Benz

Even though Google doesn’t make it into the Top 10, it is the brand that has gained the most in value over the past year; its brand value rising 44% in the past 12 months to $17.8bn, which put it in 20th place.

On the other hand, the biggest faller was Ford, whose brand value fell 19%, putting it at number 41 in the league.

[More: Interbrand, BusinessWeek]
[Source: BBC]

Extreme Web Development Job Offer

This gives the term “Extreme Programming” a whole new meaning…

Title: Web Developer
Job Type: 6-12 month contract (could go shorter)
Salary: $200K plus DOE
Taxes: No Federal taxes taken out for the contractors that accept a 12 month. (6 month contractors will have taxes taken out)
Location: Iraq
Start date: ASAP with 2 weeks training (one in Washington DC and another in Ft. Bening GA)
# of Openings: 1

So if you enjoy programming and have no problem doing it while being shot at, this is the job offer for you.

[Via: Houblog, Ajaxian]
[Source: CareerBuilder]

Traveler – Season One (ABC TV Series)

TravelerLast night, we finished watching the first season, and maybe only season, of ABC’s TV series “Traveler“.

The show is pretty much along the same style as FOX’s “Prison Break“. It has a really interesting and catchy storyline, and is very well done that it keeps you sucked in throughout the whole season.

The series is about two graduate students, Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, who are framed by their long time friend Will Traveler to make them look like they are terrortists responsible for bombing a museum in New York. When they tell the FBI about Traveler they are told that no one exists by that name. Cornered, suspects of terrorism and on the run, the boys realise that the only way to prove their innocence and clear their names is to find Traveler, find out who he is, why he’s trying to frame them and who is behind him; all this throughout an ongoing manhunt by the FBI.

I personally enjoyed this show a lot, I wish the first season was a bit longer than the eight episodes it was made to be. It did feel like it was compressed and cut short towards the end.

ABC apparently have dropped the series and won’t be renewing it for a second season, which I think is a big big shame. This show has potential to become one of the best on TV, at least as big as Prison Break, if not more.
There’s already a petition asking ABC to renew Traveler for a second season with over 18310 signatures including mine.

Anyway, whether the show is renewed or not, I recommend you check out the first season if you get a chance to. It’s really a fun and exciting series to watch.

Subzero Blue’s Top Search Engine Keywords

One of the things I find most amusing and interesting to check in a site’s statistics are the keywords people typed into search engines to find it; sometimes you’ll find some really funny and unexpected stuff in there.

Here are some of the top keywords people type and the pages they end up on for Subzero Blue:

– Arab Porn / Arabic Porn: Arab Porn Singers
– Madonna dancers: Hung Up On Madonna
– Nicole kidman sex: Sex with Nicole Kidman
– Last day at work: Last Day At Work
– What is happiness: What Is Happiness?
– Describe me / words to describe a person: 10 Words That Best Describe Me
– Robot sex dolls: Robot Sex Dolls
– Sami Yusuf: Sami Yusuf
– Middle east sex: First Middle East Sex Survey Results
– ass.com: ASS.COM TUNISIA

Interesting…
A lot of sex related stuff in there, further confirming that sex does sell.
No worries though, I won’t be turning this into a 100% sex related blog just to get more traffic.

Heroes Nominated For Emmy Awards

Superhero drama “Heroes” has been nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 59th annual Primetime Emmys.

Additionally, “Heroes” star Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) has been nominated for an award for Supporting Actor in a Drama, and David Semel for the Directing for a Drama award.

Personally, I think they should win all three awards. Heroes is the best series among the ones nominated (

8 Reality Checks for Aspiring Online Entrepreneurs

A great post about the eight questions any aspiring online entrepreneur should ask themselves before jumping into the adventure of launching a startup.

The list goes as follows:

1. Do you have passion?
2. Who are your competitors?
3. How much time can you afford?
4. How much do you know about the industry?
5. Is programming foreign to you?
6. How much budget?
7. Do you have a plan?
8. How is your network?

I totally agree this should be a checklist everybody thinking of launching an online business should go through, only moving on when he’s answered them all and checked them off.

The post is a must-read, check it out in full here: 8 Reality Checks for Aspiring Online Entrepreneurs

Heroes – Season One

I just finished watching season one of “Heroes” last night, and honestly this is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I can’t describe how much I enjoyed this series.

I heard about this show when it was just beginning over in the US, and how it was somehow a cross between “The 4400” and “Lost“, and I’ve been waiting to watch it ever since.

The concept of the show follows a rather simple formula, a bunch of people who find out they have super powers, a fight between good and evil, hard work to save the world; and a lot of great fun in between.

My favourite character of all in this series, from the very beginning, is “Hiro Nakamura”. The guy just rocks! He’s funny, cute, honest, simple, driven, radiates with a child’s innocence and he has a kick-ass super power: bending time and space. He’s simply the best.

I can’t recommend watching this series enough, it’s so much fun; I enjoyed every minute of it. I really can’t wait for Season Two to begin.