One crazy ride down the mountain

This video is amazing, and shows the ingenuitely people have in trying to stretch seasonal businesses in new ways. 

So, when an Austrian ski resort is short of snow, what to do? Why not build a high-speed, 3-mile single-rail rollercoaster in which nutty people sit on the equivalent of a bicycle seat and careen down a steep mountain? Makes sense to me. 

And having been to Mammoth and other Northern California ski resorts in summer and tasting more than my fair share of dust while mountain biking down the mountain, I'm issuing a callout: Build one of these puppies and I'll be one of your first customers. Hell, I'll even be a beta tester. 

Dog TV? For reals?

A new digital TV channel promises to deliver programming for -- get this -- "stay-at-home dogs." 

Dog TV promises programming like the video above, simulating what a dog might see from a moving car. There'll also be video of dogs playing or "relaxation" programming such as a faraway boat moving across a tranquil lake. A Marketwatch podcast even mentioned dogs like watching "SpongeBob Squarepants."

Here's how DogTV describes its vision:

"DOGTV's subscription-based channel organizes programing into 3 to 6 minutes of relaxing, stimulating and behavior-improving segments that work collaboratively to provide just the right balance for the daily routines of our beloved “stay-at-home” dogs."

Dog TV is a fee-based service, at $5 per month. Marketwatch reports there won't be any commercials, although I can see some crazy marketing trying to figure something out.

Update on Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 3:19 PM by Logan Molen

The smart folks at Newsy saw my post and pointed me to their own much more informative take on Dog TV, which I'm sharing here.

'The Kids Are Alright,' Don Tapscott style

Don Tapscott is is one of our most brilliant thinkers, particularly when it comes to reforming education. 

I question a few of his points in this two-minute blast but appreciate his passion in defending the youth of today -- the ones us Boomers are leaving with one big, heaping pile of stink to clean up.