Someone go start this web site!

So I am a regular reader of two "News Voting" sites, Digg and Reddit. In case you're not familiar with the concept, the way they work is as follows: the site displays a list of web links (usually to news articles) that people have posted, and if you find that story interesting, you cast an "up" vote for it, or if you don't like the story, you can give it a "down" vote. The sites keep tabs of these votes, and the running vote tally determines which stories are displayed on the first page. This is cool because it guarantees that unlike CNN or Fox News, the bias of a few editors will not be able to shade your view of the news. This ends up exposing you to a lot of news stories or articles that you might not have seen otherwise. The underlying concept is cool, however there are three glaring faults that both Digg and Reddit suffer from.

First off, despite the promise of the general populace determining the balance of news stories, these sites end up leaning about as far left as you possibly can. This suggests that the average internet news reader is exceptionally liberal, as there are more Bush Impeachment stories on these sites than you can shake a stick at. Secondly, often times, things that get voted as popular aren't totally new things; sometimes they're just new to the voters on the site. So an item with a generic title of "hilarious pic!" often times turns out to be something from a two-year old email forward that enough people found novel to get it sufficient votes for front page.

My third complaint is by far the biggest, and it really takes a lot away from the potential that these sites have. Both sites allow users to post messages in a comments section for each article. This sounds like a good thing, because it should provide the ability to do some point/counterpoint discussions on various articles. However, in practice, the majority of comments you read on these sites are written by incredibly stupid people who usually haven't even bothered to read the article they are writing about. And while there are indeed a few thoughtful, intelligent comments here and there, they are far outweighed by the aforementioned morons who post un-thought out garbage with sub-8th grade grammar.

A different favorite website of mine, Fark.com, completely solves the third problem; its user community is one of the most sharp and witty of any I've encountered. However, Fark.com lacks the democratic voting systems that underpin Digg and Reddit; the articles available on the site are chosen by a handful of editors.

So what I propose somebody start is a vote-based news site like Digg or Reddit, but with some sort of IQ test required to vote or post in the comments section. Someone wanna get on that for me?

One Year Later Car Review- 2007 Acura TSX

A little over a year ago, I went against my better judgment and waltzed over to West Chester Acura with Grace to look at a 2007 TSX. However, after a 30 minute test drive, we were both in love with the car, and ended up driving home with it.

So after a year and change worth of time, are we still in love with the little black four door with the squared off trunk?

Absolutely.

The TSX makes a perfectly competent commuting car, returning decent fuel economy from its four cylinder engine. It also makes a perfectly competent highway cruiser; noise levels are good, and the seats are plenty comfortable for extended stays. But put it onto a twisty road, and the TSX comes alive. Throw the TSX into a curve, and it responds with reflexes that could easily trick you into thinking the car is a thousand pounds lighter than it really is. No fuss, no drama, the car just goes exactly where you point it, and then chides you to give it a little more on the next run.

Between the motor that stays silky smooth all the way to its 7000 rpm redline, the perfectly dialed-in chassis, and great interior comfort, the car is just plain fun to drive. It's a car that you're happy to get into, day after day. Add to that the decent fuel economy and classic Honda reliability, and you have a formula that pretty much can't lose.