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August 29, 2003
Friday Foldup
I'm at home today making this a long US Labor Day holiday. But there is no rest for the weary as I am still painting the interior of our front house. I hope to be done within a week but that depends on how tired I get.
In the mean time, check out any of the other Daynoters and perhaps Doc Searls.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha
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August 28, 2003
Thursday Tinseltown
A Jedi Knight would you be? Careful be you what you seek. See the clone tapes of the guy who was just goofing off playing Jedi knight but was unfortunate enough to have taped what he was doing and had some "friends" who uploaded it to the Internet. See the "Star Wars Kid" and the Clone Tapes here. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Speaking of Physics. Stupid movie physics that is, or as Hollywood producers would call it, enhanced effects. This site here debunks a lot of the special effects you see in movies. From guns that fire thousands of rounds without having to reload their 30-round magazines to people running through plate glass windows without getting cut to shreds, this site has it all.
Aloha!
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August 27, 2003
Golden Ears
Is that an Antares in your pocket or do you just have perfect pitch? Since before music went digital, singers have tried to make their voices sound better than they were. Whether it was using their own voices to sing harmony with to creating huge rooms to act as echo chambers, singers and their record producers have tried to make the proverbial silk purse out of a sows sighs.
Comes now the latest in computer digital magic, the autotuner (see the story here)
With musicians on the road touring for weeks on end, the autotuner has become a safety net that catches the occasional clinker on days when their voices may be off. (In a nutshell, the autotuner is told what key the vocal is in and analyzes the wave form in real time. If the singer is off-key, it will adjust the pitch to the closest note in that key.)
I'm not sure which would be worse, having a singer lip-synching to a perfect recording or having them singe live but through so much digital processing that they might as well be lip-synching. I guess the question becomes at what point does a live performance cross-over?
Global Warming: Superstition or Science? See this review of the book Taken by Storm:
One errant public metaphor discussed in Taken by Storm describes the earth's climate as a greenhouse. The air's content of carbon dioxide, methane and other infrared-absorbing gases emitted by human activities has increased, especially in the last 50 years. The increase in the amount of gases in the air acts to keep a fraction of energy in the climate system that would have otherwise escaped to space. In the simplified scientific starting point, that added energy should result in some global warming.
But the climate system does not act like a greenhouse, which mechanically blocks the flow of air, and thus keeps the enclosed air warm.
Climate is not that simple. It is a rich, nonlinear system where small changes in one of its many elements or variables may cascade to greatly affect others. Compound that with millions of variables, many interacting significantly with each other as one, two, then more, respond. Intricate computer simulations try to incorporate what is known in order to get to the important point: how the climate responds to the relatively small amount of energy added by the air's increased carbon dioxide content. But the climate system is not yet sufficiently known, and therefore, the simulations include uncertainties and their consequences as they cascade through the equations. [emphasis in the original]
Aloha!
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August 26, 2003
Tuesday Traffic
Striking Out. The morning commute today is more of an adventure then most days due to a bus drivers strike (see one short account here). Traffic, which is usually very heavy because of our overloaded highways, began slowing down even earlier than normal. Of course, it is purely coincidental that the strike was set to start on the first day of public school getting back in session. See some of the traffic cams here to see how things are going, or not, as the case may be.
Apply Yourself. Follow this link here to a paper on applied learning. That is, a paper that tries to make a link between a theory of learning and how to apply what it infers.
The human mind evolves by arranging perceptions by means of connections. Applied to learning, this means that it is important to understand how the mind makes connections, at different moments in time, and to develop tasks and learning experiences that complement the connection patterns and preferences. This paper outlines some of the categories around which adults perceive and to develop connections, and offers practical applications for online learning within the framework of those categories.
Aloha!
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August 25, 2003
Monday Mistral
My wallpaper for the week is different from what I usually
have. This one is from photographer Ansel Adams and his
"Suffering under a Great Injustice": Ansel Adams's
Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
(collection front door from the US Library of Congress here).
The specific image is of Mr. Tom Kobayashi, an internee at Manzanar.
Many of the images are available as medium resolution jpegs and/or high resolution tiff files for free download. Note that the tiff files can be as large as almost 20MBs so pause and reflect on this before clicking on one of them. Note also that you can purchase 8 X 10 inch or 11 X 14 inch archival quality prints from the negatives directly from the Library of Congress for something like $60US. This is a bargain seeing that Adams prints regularly sell for $175 and originals, printed by Adams, run as high as $40,000.
Another source of Adams's prints is the University of California
Fiat Lux collection here. The
collection includes 1,761 images from a book commissioned by the
University of California to commemorate its centennial
celebration. From start to finish Adams took four years to
complete the task of photographing the various campuses.
Photo Credit: 87.27.6.UCSD.11.10 - Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, long wharf, sculpture of native american plaque. Contemporary Image from Original Negative by Ansel Adams, UCR/California Museum of Photography, Sweeney/Rubin Ansel Adams Fiat Lux Collection, University of California, Riverside.
And finally, over
200 images from an effort for the US Department of the Interior
to document the western national parks see it here.
The title for this one is: Erupting, against dark sky, "Old
Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park," Wyoming. (vertical
orientation).
You can directly search the US National Archives & Records Administration here for this and other items.
I don't know if I've mentioned it here or not but Adam's images of the national parks, especialy Yosemite and Yellowstone are my favorites. I bought a print from the Adams Gallery called "Moon and Half Dome" (see it here) a couple of years ago. If I had the money, I'd get a bunch more.
Fair and Balanced. Not. I'm heartened to see that comedian Al Franken's new book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" has its sales boosted by the misguided lawsuit filed by Fox News (see the story here).
This story is filled with irony. Who would of thought a news organization, protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, would try to institute prior restraint on a work like Franken's? And Hollywood could not have written a character more full of himself than one of their spokesman who said; "the network was 'considering its options' on whether to pursue the case. 'We don't care if it's Al Franken, Al Lewis or "'Weird Al'" Yankovic,' he said. 'We're here to protect our trademark and our talent.'"
Talent. Is that how they view their reporters?
Aloha!
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August 22, 2003
Friday Feuilleton
Disclaimer: Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. (Insert my disclaimer here and the standard one here)
One blogger seems to be saying people are just people and you can't expect them to learn how to do everything themselves. His examples include how most people would call a plumber when they had a plumbing problem rather than, I suppose, try to fix it themselves.
I agree there is a time to do that, but I think each of us needs to have a minimum amount of understanding of how things work. So, to a certain degree, yes you must learn how to do everything. At least, everything you need to get what you want.
Let me give you a purely hypothetical analogy that is not based on any person, living or dead, in the past, present, or future. Suppose someone buys a shiny new Mercedes S600. While they may be rich, that doesn't mean they know anything about how cars operate. But the salesperson shows how to do the basics like opening the door, starting the car, and putting it in gear. In other words, the bare minimum that anyone needs to know how to get the car ready to go.
But, for whatever reason, the new owner can't seem to
understand the part about opening the door. I mean, why does she
have to use a key, especially one made specifically for this
lock? Why can't all locks be the same so that all keys would open
them? That would make life much simpler for the owner as she
wouldn't need to remember where she put her keys. Better yet,
have no locks at all! Why do we need locks anyway, all they do is
slow her down from getting in. Clearly, locks do not facilitate
her desire critical need to drive the car.
But, with the help of the salesperson she drives off the lot and takes her car home. The next day, she wants to go shopping but can't seem to figure out how to open the door. Clearly, the problem is with the door since she is rich and, by her definition, she can never be the problem in any situation. She demands that the car dealer install a new lock - which, the dealer wanting to please their rich customer, does.
Of course, this doesn't solve the problem because she still can't open the door. Well, clearly the problem must be in the poor workmanship of the dealer when they installed the new lock. Surely the problem is not with the owner so she has her lawyer write a demand letter stating the entire door must be replaced. Again, the dealership wanting to keep their rich customer, does so.
But heck if she still can't open the door. Clearly she must have a "lemon". So she fires her original lawyer because clearly he is incompetent, bad mouths him to all her rich friends, and has a new law firm sue the dealership.
So what's my point? Think about PC security. If you don't know what a network is, if you don't know why passwords are required, if you don't even understand what the fuss is about security - YOU WILL NEVER FEEL THE NEED TO LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT IT. And as long as you feel that way, you will make life less bearable for the others that do understand.
Well, you say, so what? What does it matter to me? It matters to me because I'm the guy that has to figure out what is going wrong and fix it. Even as the the person who is having problems is giving me information that has nothing to do with what is wrong. No, the network does not have to be reinstalled. No, Lotus Notes does not need to be reinstalled. No, Windows is working as designed. No, I installed all of the above in working order before I set the PC on your desk.
What you have to do is reset an expired password.
If you don't understand, at least at a functioning level, how things work, please realize the problem lies within you, not everyone else. Any resemblance to someone with brains, living or dead is purely coincidental.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
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August 21, 2003
Thursday Tool
There's a brief article from the UK Independent (see it here) that says the speed of modern communications is reducing the take Hollywood makes on its looser movies. In this case, they're talking about instant messaging and teenagers linked by cellphones.
In years past, it would take a day or two before the smell of a stinker would spread. Now, while the first viewers are still in the theater they are messaging their friends with a thumbs down. Obviously, if Hollywood would produce better movies the instant word of mouth could work to help them but this seems to have escaped the brains of the moguls.
In local news, some who feel it is legal to discriminate against others based on race went into hyperdrive yesterday when a federal judge ordered the private Christian Kamehameha Schools (founded in 1887) to enroll a non-Hawaiian student.
The case is a very complex one and this is just a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Yet to be decided is the underlying constitutional question of the school's controversial admissions policy that gives preference to students of Hawaiian ancestry based on the will of the late Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
One point of view is that since this is a private school, and accepts no federal funding, they should be able to have whatever admissions policy they wish to.
But the counter view is that constitutional protections do not end at the school gate. Hence, if there is illegal discrimination the long arm of the law could and should intrude into the operations of the school.
Whether this case will be the one to break the will of the princess I don't know. But if it isn't, there will be other test cases and I think eventually one will do so.
In my opinion, the trustees of the school should be preparing for that day rather than being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
Disclosure: I attended the Kamehameha Schools for a short time but did not graduate from there.
Aloha!
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August 20, 2003
Wednesday Whatnots
[rant_power="giga-watts"] Is there a role for government in monopoly industries such as power generation? You're damned f@#$ing right there is. I'm sick and tired of being reasonable in the face of people who hide behind "deregulation" when all they want is the unfettered right to rip people off.
I am fed up with leaches who slide behind the banner of deregulation.
I am fed up with industry attorneys and lobbyists wearing the cloak of "free enterprise" when what they want is neither free nor enterprise.
And finally, I am fed up with investors that make life more dangerous for me and my family because they don't care how they make their money as long as they make as much as possible. If you won't take responsibility for your actions, then I guess someone else will (see here how one company is behaving differently, and making money doing it).
See how FirstEnergy of Ohio, and its predecessors have put profit before public interest because it made them more money (in the short run) by reading US presidential candidate Dennis J. Kucinich on Larry Lessig's blog here.
What happened there has happened all around the country. Are you better off now then you were before deregulation? Is your phone service better? Is your bank better? Is there more quality TV programs to watch or better radio stations to listen to?
The open market economy may be the most efficient way of setting a fair price. But efficiency is the enemy of reliability and in certain industries, like power generation or banks, reliability is the critical need.
There is a small difference between spinning the truth and lying. I'll leave it up to you to decide which is which when you read this US House of Representatives site that lists various public policy issues that the current US President has tried to affect by, shall we say, means other than the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (see it here). Thanks to the Doc for the link.
License to Steal Most software purchased by you isn't really yours. By that I mean you purchase a license to use the software under certain conditions. You literally do not own the software. Go ahead, you can stop reading this post and go and read the small print license on almost any commercial software you purchased. Come back when you're done.
Okay, now that you're back, many of the newer licenses are now time limited. You know the kind where you purchase a license to use the software for a period of time. In many cases, the period of time is until the next version comes out. Then, the license (and the software) would expire and you could no longer use the program unless you paid for a new license.
In other cases, the period of time is set. That is, you can
use it for one or two years after which you must buy another
license, even if there have been no changes to the
program. In most cases, the company will probably do a
token update to give their marks customers the impression
that they are getting something new for their money but not
necessarily so.
This model essentially locks you into paying for the same service for the rest of your natural life. Contrast this with, for example, your buying a car or home. In these instances, when you finish paying off the loan, the car or home is yours. You own it and can do what you will with it. Under the license model, you never own the product. To continue the analogy, this would be a lease on a property or auto. You pay and pay, but never own.
As you would imagine, most people prefer to own what they pay for rather than leasing. And within the bounds of what you can afford, you have the choice. But what happens if you could no longer have that choice? What would you do if you could no longer own your home or car? How would things be if you were forced to lease them for ever and you could never own either?
Well, that's where we seem to be heading with software. As the industry matures and the growth potential curve levels off, companies are looking for ways to keep the money rolling in. Hence, many software companies are now switching to licenses that expire and force you to continuously pay them money, even if there have been no updates/upgrades.
I realize that if a commercial company doesn't make a profit it can not exist. But I also know when I'm being ripped off, and licensing positively reeks of this.
So, while you still have a choice, take a look around and see if you can't find alternatives to companies that see you not as a customer but instead as an open wallet to be plundered.
[rant=off]
Aloha!
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August 19, 2003
Googling
A website I read every once-in-awhile asked if it was okay to Google someone they were thinking about dating. In turn, the question got me to thinking about the bigger question I've talked about here before. Namely, privacy and the Internet. Below is, in large part, my response to the question.
There is a lot of information that is considered to be in the public domain. For instance, vital records such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and bankruptcies are routinely reported on in the newspapers. But when this information is compiled into a database, as it is when a search engine comes across it, creates troubling new questions:
1. Is it moral/ethical to do an Internet background check on someone regardless of why you are doing it?
2. What expectation(s) of privacy do we have relating to public information on the Internet?
3. Does the Internet bring both unprecedented access to information and, at the same time, presents new challenges to individual privacy?
As with any tool, the Internet can be used for many purposes. I know when I first got on the Internet I searched on my name and found at least two others (one in Canada and one, I'm not sure where, but he seemed to be associated with stocks/bonds/securities/banking so maybe New York?). I did this without any purpose other than pure curiosity.
But as I got more familiar with the Internet, I became concerned that maybe there was a little too much information out there in forms that made it easy for anyone to lookup. For instance, many states allow companies to put their entire phonebook listing up on the 'net. This is fine as long as you have an unlisted number, but not so fine if you don't and you start getting calls from tele-marketers. In fact, you can type in a phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx and if Google finds a match, will display the name, address, and link to Yahoo! Maps or MapQuest to show a map of exactly where you live.
A second example, when you register an Internet domain, you have to fill out a form that asks for your contact information such as name, address, and phone number. All of this is available on the Internet. Is this a Good Thing?
So, I began to try to limit the information that I had control over. First, no listing in the phonebook. And secondly, I changed the contact information for the domain registration for my website to a PO Box and fictitious phone number.
I realize I may be a little paranoid about this, but it is truly amazing that public information, in printed form, that we didn't give a thought about now becomes a whole different subject when it becomes available on the Internet.
I'll let you decide what public/personal information you feel comfortable with on the Internet and how it may be used but, as for me, it just gives me the creeps.
Aloha!
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August 18, 2003
Good News/Badnews
Gee, I take a one-day holiday and the world goes to you know where, without the aide of a handbasket.
Speaking of which, fellow Daynoter Mike Barkman got the good news/bad news last week (see it here). You can follow the link to see the verdict so I won't repeat it here, but I am reminded of an old joke:
A secretary walked into her boss's office and said, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you."
"Why do you always have to give me bad news?" he complained. "Tell me some good news for once."
"All right, here's some good news," said the secretary. "You're not sterile."
I know, some of you out there are saying how can I be so crass at a time like this? But I think that misses the point.
Mike is still with us. He hasn't gone anywhere, although many people may start referring to him as if he has. While he's here, he's still the same person he was week ago. The same man with the positive attitude that has weathered the storms that life has sent his way. Just because he has a time frame to deal with (as we all do, whether we realize it or not) doesn't mean he's lost his sense of humor.
So lighten up a bit and celebrate a life well lived.
My Wallpapper for the week is from NASA's Earth
Observatory page
here. The image was taken aboard the International Space
Station by astronaut Ed Lu using the now discontinued Kodak DCS760 six-megapixel digital camera (based on
the Nikon F5 body) with a 400mm lens. The image is of "The sliver
of the setting moon and clouds that shine at night - noctilucent
clouds...Noctilucent clouds are very high clouds that look like
cirrus clouds, but are much higher (75-90 km above the
Earth’s surface) than clouds that we observe every day.
They are optically thin and can only be observed during twilight
hours, when the sun is just below the horizon and only shines on
the uppermost atmosphere."
Aloha!
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August 14, 2003
Thursday Technobabble
Tomorrow is a state holiday (Admissions Day) so I won't have a post up. In fact, there won't be much of a post today, even though I scoured the 'Net trying to find interesting tidbits to report or comment on. I guess it's just one of those days.
For those who enjoy photography, you might find something interesting at this photoblog site here. If you don't like that one, perhaps you might like PhotoFriday, the weekly photography challenge. And if that doesn't get your limp Leica crying Mamiya!, then try the Theme Thursday site. Similar theme, different day.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
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August 13, 2003
Wednesday Wauls
Geek Alert! For you non-geeks
out there, you may want to skip on down to the next item. For
everyone else, here's the story of what may be the longest flight
of a civilian radio controlled model airplane so far (see it here and here. Note
both sites, but especially the second will probably expire the
announcements so get'um while their hot).
The TAM 5 took off from Cape Spear, New Foundland, Canada and landed 38 hours and 1,888 miles (~3,040km) later in Mannin Beach, County Galway, Ireland. Of course, the craft was controlled by humans only at launch and landing as it would have been very difficult to have someone follow the slow moving model plane (cruising at about 45mph). Otherwise, the plane was controlled by an onboard micro-processor autopilot that took its position from GPS satellites and followed a pre-programmed route.
While this is not the first unmanned Atlantic crossing, it is reportedly the first that meets the definition of a "genuine model airplane." Model airplane being defined as, among other things, weighing less than 11 pounds (~4.9kg) and an engine cylinder displacement of less than 10cc.
In either case, this is an amazing accomplishment and all should be proud of their work.
I've always said less, is more. That is, I tend to write short posts, when I write something at all, because I don't believe filling a screen full of words necessarily helps to convey a point. Doing so may not hurt, but it rarely helps.
Some long-winded people can write essays pages long that say the same thing I say in a couple of paragraphs. Does that make them "smarter" or their post "better" because they can write so much? I don't think so, although many do, perhaps impressed by the length of the posts.
But now comes usability guru Jakob Nielsen's recent posting on the subject (see it here). Now, I'm the first to say I don't always agree with Mr. Nielsen, but in this case I do. In summary, he's saying:
Excessive word count and worthless details are making it harder for people to extract useful information. The more you say, the more people tune out your message.
I think as the amount of data we encounter each second increases, we either have to become more selective in what we read or become overwhelmed and tune everything out.
That's not to say long-form essays should always be avoided. But if you want to convey an idea, keep is simple. If you can't do that, then perhaps you don't know the subject as well as you should.
Aloha!
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August 12, 2003
Tuesday Traipse
Many of the people who work at Microsoft are smart and insightful. I know this because some of them have their own blogs and you can see for yourself. I also know that Bill Gates did not become a billionaire by hiring dumb people.
So one must wonder why, after all the hoopla about stopping everything to do security scans of their software, we continue to get the buffer overrun security threat of the week (see MS Security Bulletin MS03-024).
On average, there is almost one security bulletin per week. No, not all of them are considered "critical", unless you happen to bitten by one of them, but I'm really concerned about known problems with unchecked buffers.
I haven't done any analysis of the number of these programming errors versus how many were being found prior to their review, but I seem to recall there is audit software to check for these problems. If this is true, then why are there any buffer overruns at this point?
I can only conclude that as long as MS doesn't take this seriously enough to audit all of their software that this will continue to happen.
Hence, this can but only accelerate the rate of Linux adopters who want to get off the security merry-go-round that MS seems to be on.
Speaking of Acceleration. Verizon finally got around to increasing my ADSL speed to 1.5mb/sec yesterday. Of course, I don't actually get that in real use, but I've been averaging about 1.2 to 1.3mb/sec and that is a noticeable increase over the 768kb/sec I was getting before.
So, as I've noted before, if you are a Verizon residential user at 768, call Verizon tech support and ask them to check if your line is qualified for the higher speed, if so, request the upgrade as there is no additional charge (at least here in Hawai'i) for the higher speed.
As to yesterday's post about my pager, the second tier tech support has not contacted me so far. I will give them until the end of today, if they haven't contacted me by then, I will terminate my pager service.
Aloha!
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August 11, 2003
Monday Manky
I had hoped that I could report that Verizon had increased the download speed of my ADSL service from 768 to 1.5mb/sec, as they had said they would in five days. But I can't. I called Verizon on Saturday, seven days after making the original request and Tech. Support (sounded like someone from India) said it was scheduled for today. Oh well, I guess it's okay to tell customers that a service will start in five days when you actually mean nine (if then).
I'll check on the speed when I get home this afternoon and let you know tomorrow.
Speaking of Inferior Support. For at least five years, I've had pager service through a local company that provide superior service. Pages reached me within 10 to 15 seconds of being sent. Sometimes, just to test the service, I would send myself a page and almost as soon as I hung up the phone the page would come in.
But, came the day when the local company was bought up by a national one. And little by little, the local company no longer was. First, they closed all of the local retail stores, laying off all of the workers, so you could no longer buy the pagers locally. Then they closed all of the service centers, laying of all of the workers, so that if you needed service on your pager you had to mail it to the mainland.
Now, the once responsive local company is nothing but a data center in a warehouse in a seedy part of town.
So when I needed a replacement for my pager, I had to talk to someone on the mainland. They sent me a cheap Chinese made replacement for my original Motorola. But only, it didn't work. Of course, this being a Friday afternoon local time, their technical support had long since closed for the weekend.
So I called them this morning and their first line technical support could not find anything wrong. So it is being escalated to their second tier. If only they had a local office I could just walk in, show them the problem, and get another. But no, I can't do that.
Except, I've decided if they can't fix things on their end, and I have to mail the pager back to them, I will terminate service with them and find a local company that has their own retail stores and technical support here. If I can't find such a company, I will simply not use a pager anymore and switch to my cell phone.
Aloha!
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August 08, 2003
Friday Flitter
I see fellow Daynoter Mike Barkman is reporting he has a tumour located "at the opening of the oesophagus into the stomach, and it does extend back up the pipeline for 8 cm or so" (see his post here). Sorry to hear of your medical problems Mike. I hope all goes well regarding your treatment. Know we are all pulling for you.
On related note, Robert Bruce Thompson's mother is not doing all that well.
If could spare come good thoughts/prayers for the two of them it would be appreciated.
Double Secret Probation. Or what should the creator of this toy get? I mean reeeeeaaaally, "Elite Force Aviator" action figure my foot. If he's an elite anything (other than just plain elitist), then an actor will win the governorship of California. Oh, wait.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
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August 07, 2003
Thursday Trouvaille
Ahh, this is the life. The wind in your hair, the bugs in your
teeth. Yes, the life of a dog with his/her head out the car
window. But as any well dressed dog knows, you have to have the
shades. Indeed, no fashion forward dog would be caught without
them. In this case, they are called Doggles (see their site here).
Not only do they look cool, but they were used post September 11th to protect the eyes of search dogs from dust and debris. The site says the lenses are anti-UV coated, made of tough polycarbonate so they are shatter resistant, anti-fog, and foam padded to provide a good fit.
Speaking of Cool. Foreign Policy has an article (see it here) about "Japan's Gross National Cool." The main point is that Japan is in the process of reinventing itself. By moving from the economic powerhouse of the 1980s, that everyone was trying to emulate, to the globalization of its "pop music to consumer electronics, architecture to fashion, and food to art, Japan has far greater cultural influence now than it did in the 1980s, when it was an economic superpower."
Whether this is a Good Thing I can't say...Thanks to Joi Ito for the link.
Turn Your Head and Cough Robo Doc has come to town, or at least to Johns Hopkins Hospital (see the story here).
Billed as the world's first remote-presence robot by its manufacturer, InTouch Health Inc, the robotic system works something like an ultrarealistic video game, complete with a joystick for moving it about. Looking at a computer terminal, the doctor directing the robot sees what the robot sees and hears what the robot hears. At the other end, patients can see and talk to the doctor's face displayed on a flat screen that sits on the robot's "shoulders." All of this is connected to the Internet via broadband and a wireless network. "Many health care facilities and long-term care communities lack the resources to maintain a staff of all the medial specialists needed," says Kavoussi. "The robot has the potential to fill this vacuum by enabling remote medical experts to ‘virtually' consult with caregivers, patients, residents and family members at the point of care, whenever and wherever they are needed."
Somehow, I don't thing the developers of tele-medicine had this in mind...Thanks to BoingBoing for the link.
Aloha!
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August 06, 2003
Wednesday Waterbrash
Where Do You Really Want to Go Today? BusinessWeek is making the case that Apple should, and is, becoming more than a PC manufacturer (see the story here). Indeed, the model being followed looks more like Sony than IBM.
Tim O'Reilly, founder and president of O'Reilly & Associates, says the push into services [by Apple] is a step in the right direction....As software and services become more important -- both to consumers and to generate revenue -- Apple's moves to capitalize on its brand and bring simple, elegant software and services to the Windows world makes sense...
O'Reilly likens it to the same strategic decision Sony made when it abandoned its Betamax video-recording technology in favor of the more popular but inferior VHS: "At some point Sony decided to compete on brand, software, design, and quality. That's what Apple has to do."
Perhaps Apple isn't dead yet.
Going Ape. In the spirit of yesterday's parody site, I bring today's candidate - Primate Programming Inc: The Evolution of Java and .NET Training.
So you want to keep programming jobs from going offshore to India but don't want to pay good salaries to do it? Is that sucking sound you hear the sound of highly skilled programmers in Pakistan taking the bacon from your plate? Well then, switch to Primate Programming at 69 cents an hour.
An Infinitive Number of Monkeys. Let's face it, some people are anal. You know them, the knitpickers. The guys and gals that just have to point out the cliche we just used. But even as a broken clock is right twice a day, and even as area residents clash with police amid the backdrop of pedestrians plunging to their deaths, I guess they have a point.
So I shouldn't be surprised that someone put up a list of what they call "100 Groaners" - words or phrases used in print/TV that does not belong in conversations (see the site here. But don't blame me if officials say the mastermind behind the scenes is creating a firestorm of controversy in a teapot).
Aloha!
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August 05, 2003
Tuesday Trainspotting
Verizon Horizon. As most readers of this site know, I began using two different broadband connections over six months ago to have redundant access to the Internet. This was because, inter alia, I was nearing the completion of my Masters thesis and access was critical to my completing it.
Once I graduated, I re-evaluated the need to have two connections, one through RoadRunner cable modem and the other through Verizon ADSL modem. I eventually decided to terminate the RoadRunner service, even though RoadRunner was at least twice as fast, and sometimes three times faster than ADSL.
I did this because RoadRunner was so unreliable, at least in my area. The connection would go down almost every day, sometimes more than once in that day. When I would call for technical support, the earliest a technician could come out was in two weeks. So, for the past month or two I've been living with a "slow" 768kb/s ADSL connection that has gone done only once since I started service (although there has been intermittent problems with DNS).
Recently, Verizon lowered the cost of the service and, this is the important part, increased the speed to 1.5Mb/s! The trick is, you have to call Verizon tech support to request the service and, of course, your line has to be qualified to run at that speed. Otherwise, the cost is the same so it seems a no brainer to request the higher speed.
Having no brain, I called Verizon on Saturday and they say the upgrade will occur within five working days. I hope to report in a week or so that the change has occurred, but who knows?
In either case, if you are a Verizon ADSL residential user at 768k, you may want to look into this as I don't know of any downsides. YMMV.
Cleaning Windows or How to set-up Windows XP in 147 steps or less. DiveIntoMark decided to document some of the steps he takes when WindowsRot(tm) sets in and it's time to reinstall Windows (see the post here). Having said all of what he says, in my opinion, it's still easier and faster than doing the same in Linux due to the installation programs that work in Windows. Upgrading or installing a non-trivial application in Linux is a walk through a mine field. Not impossible, mind you, but make one mistake and it will ruin your whole day.
I'm still optimistic that Linux on the desktop will become a reality someday, it's just not today.
Common Market. I guess it was only a matter of time but here comes the American Action Market (see it here). The first parody of the ill-fated Policy Analysis Market mentioned here earlier this week. Some of what is on the site:
Some of the contracts traded on AAM will be based on objective data and observable events, as on a horse track, e.g.
- the next White House lie to break into the news
- the next country to which the White House will issue an ultimatum, and when
- the next foreign leader to move from the CIA payroll to White House "most wanted" list
- the lifespan of various DARPA projects, such as Total Information Awareness [site] and Babylon [site]
- the first White House staffer to resign in disgrace, and when
- the President's approval rating on the day before Saddam is captured or killed
Aloha!
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August 04, 2003
Monday Monition
I haven't said anything directly about Adm. Poindexter, ret., and I'm not going to say a lot now, but I think the time has come to say something.
First, some background. Admiral Poindexter was the originator of the Total Information Awareness program, the Policy Analysis Market (the ill-fated attempt to trade "futures contracts that deal with underlying fundamentals of relevance to the Middle East."), and during President Reagan's administration - the Iran-Contra debacle - the sale of weapons to Iran so that the profit could be funneled to certain Nicaraguan forces.
All of these programs, in isolation, may have had merits. But it is this isolation, this firewall between open governance and his secretive, anti-democratic ideas, that made him so dangerous to freedom loving Americans.
Why? There are several common threads that run through his programs. All were hatched as responses to what, I am sure, he felt were genuine national emergencies that required extraordinary measures on the part of patriots like, in his estimation, himself.
I am reminded of the famous speech from the movie A Few Good Men, which, he probably would have much sympathy, if not understanding, with:
Jessep (Jack Nicholson): You want answers?
Kaffee (Tom Cruise): I think I'm entitled to them.
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives
You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessep: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessep: You're goddamn right I did!!
Secondly, and in relation to the above quote, all three of these programs assume that the ends justify the means. That it is proper to take the extreme measure of disregarding the Constitution in times of; again, in his estimation, great national peril.
But it is in exactly these perilous times that the Constitution, and the rights contained therein, is formulated. For in good times, there would be no need for them. But in bad, when the fever of pseudo-patriotism overrides all, is when the shield that is the Constitution against well meaning, but sadly misguided individuals, is most needed.
Thirdly, all were designed in secret with no opportunity for public comment or debate. Democracy does not and cannot exist in secrecy. Yes, I understand that any nation must keep its secrets. But the secrets are to be kept from its enemies, not its own people. The secrecy is a weapon against its foreign adversaries, not against its citizens.
Fourth, all would trade freedom for safety. I believe there must be balance between the two. Taking either to extremes would not support democracy. In the first instance, absolute freedom must assume we have no enemies. Clearly, this is not the case. In the second instance, absolute safety would require absolute governmental control.
I also believe the balance may shift back and forth as forces also shift. But the objective should always be to maintain the maximum amount of liberty as possible.
In closing, I am further reminded of another speech, not from a movie, but from one of our great orators and patriots:
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the house is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at the truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings...
Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us...
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! - Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775 before the Virginia House of Burgesses
Aloha!
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August 01, 2003
Friday Fodder
iPronto. Which TV remote weighs two pounds and costs $1,700USD? The Philips iPronto Wireless Home Control Center (see it here). It has an electronic TV program guide that downloads from the Internet via Wi-Fi connection (PCMCIA slot with removable IEEE 802.11b wireless network adapter included), large LCD touch screen display, and pre-programmed codes for probably most of the A/V gear you may have.
I gotta run.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!