Thursday, June 30, 2005

ABC News: Bill Cosby: African-Americans 'Not Holding Up Their End of the Deal'

ABC News: Bill Cosby: African-Americans 'Not Holding Up Their End of the Deal'

I think Cosby is calling it as he sees it. Truth is the lower on the economic scale you get (regardless of race) the less importance is placed on education when the opposite should be done. I will grant you that not everyone needs to go to college, nor should everyone, but there are fewer and fewer jobs that can be done by high school drop outs or even high school graduates who barely get by. If people want respect, they need to some to themselves. Constant cursing (not that I don't from time to time) and poor english skills are not going to earn anyone's respect.

Spain's Lawmakers Legalzie Gay Marriages - Yahoo! News

Spain's Lawmakers Legalzie Gay Marriages - Yahoo! News

For such a strong Catholic country this seems very out of place, but a refreshing change. I am not even affected by this but I figure gay people should have to be miserable (or happy) like straight people.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Workbench: BitTorrent Created to Enable Piracy

Workbench: BitTorrent Created to Enable Piracy

Whatever BitTorrent's creator may have actually had when he created the protocal, any weasel lawyer could turn this into a major headache for people who are using BitTorrent even for legit purposes. The recent Supreme Court ruling may only apply to servers in the US, but there still will be fall out in other countries.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Hollywood Can Sue Over Movie, Music Piracy - Yahoo! News

Hollywood Can Sue Over Movie, Music Piracy - Yahoo! News

To me this boils down to a matter of intent, but proving intent is a tricky thing sometimes. I can't say I am happy about the ruling.

Todd at Geek News Central had suggested not supporting any of the RIAA & MPAA companies (and the MPAA would be directly applicable in this case). The RIAA is easy to avoid, but the MPAA is tougher unless you want to completely give up TV & movies. Remember that many, if not all, motion picture companies have TV companies as well. I have tried to support independent film as I can, but even "independent" films are many times released by larger studios, which means of course they get their cut. Argh!

Bloggers Fighting Government Regulations - Yahoo! News

Bloggers Fighting Government Regulations - Yahoo! News

I have not followed this closely, but I would love to see how they would figure out the "value" of someone blogging about a candidate. What about the value of someone blogging about "anyone but John Doe"? Now if someone is PAID to blog for a campaign that would be another issue...

Monday, June 27, 2005

U.S. Box Office Hits Longest Modern Slump - Yahoo! News

U.S. Box Office Hits Longest Modern Slump - Yahoo! News

Big surprise that ticket sales are slumping given that tickets are up over $7 per person in the evening and concession prices are through the roof. For the price of a matinee ticket you can rent a DVD for the whole family to watch. You just need some patience, and if you really wait you can many times pick up these movies at your library for free. With shrinking entertainment dollars people are not willing to pay $28 just to get the family of four in the door and maybe another $30+ for food & drink.

EBay Losing Allure for Some Entrepreneurs - Yahoo! News

EBay Losing Allure for Some Entrepreneurs - Yahoo! News

To further complicate this, Ohio has enacted a law that for people who have eBay stores now must have an auctioneers license and required bond (something like $50K). Even people who do a lot of business, such as someone my brother knows, a retired guy who sold some $30K worth of stuff on eBay (mostly car parts). I can't figure out the justification for why large sellers on eBay need an auctioneers license since eBay is the auctioneer, not the seller.

Court: File-Sharing Services May Be Sued - Yahoo! News

Court: File-Sharing Services May Be Sued - Yahoo! News

Although I do not support the illegal copying of music & movies, file sharing systems do have legitimate uses. What do they do, stop all MP3 files? All movie files? What if mom & dad want to share a short movie of little Johnny with grandma? Or maybe both sets of grandparents and all the uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.? This is where file sharing makes sense. Besides going after a service is like the kid who stuck his finger in the whole in the dike when there are 100s of holes.

Nick Bradbury: Thanks, Dave

Nick Bradbury: Thanks, Dave

I would like to echo this, although I am a bit late in the uptake.

There is a comment here about how Dave can be "a right dick sometimes," in reference to the comments about Adam Curry. I don't know Dave at all, and I am not going to pretend to fully understand him (or any human being for that manner), however I am a programmer and have worked with programmers for 15+ years. This gives me some insight into the programmer psyche.

At the end of the day, programming is a creative process and a program is an expression of the programmer's creativity. I am not talking here about the art vs. engineering debate that has gone on for years in the industry (and, not doubt, will continue to go on). For programmers, creating a program is like painting, writing a book, or composing music.

As a result we tend to have a lot of ego tied up in our projects. Maybe ego is not the best word, but it is the best I can come up with right now. Programmers of all types have a passion for their work, from the creators of Doom 4 to Turbo Tax. Just like a painter or composer, they suffer through the bad reviews, celebrate the good reviews, and will defend their work like a mother defends their baby.

As a programmer, to see your name consistently left out of something you helped to create would be about as bad as seeing someone plagerize your work. It would be like someone putting their name on a Picaso. Was leaving Dave's name off Adam Curry's fault? Probably not - without seeing all the raw interview material we cannot know for certain. However given my insight into how programmers' minds work I can see where Dave's reaction is expected. It sounds like they two have buried the hatchet, and not in each other's head.

Pop Tarts - is there anything natural in them?

I found an opened Pop Tart packet where I had eaten 1 Pop Tart something like 2 weeks ago. It was just sitting in the open foil package, and not even folded over. Yet today the Pop Tart is still soft and reasonably fresh tasting. Makes you wonder...

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Random Mutterings

My leg is really starting to feel better, and it is even starting to look better. The problem with the infection is, as I think I explained before, is the toxins released by the strep. It leaves the leg looking red, hard, and nasty. In addition to all of that the steriod cream I have to get the leg to heal faster is drying the skin out something horrible and it looks like my leg had a bad sun burn and is peeling.

I spent some time a Borders today getting my homework for the creativity workshop done. I seem to have trouble getting things done if I am at home. I really need to get my lab/office setup so I have some space that is setup to really let me do some creative projects.

I have my computer pretty much setup and up to date. Windows update went nuts on my system and it took 3 separate sets of downloads and reboots to get all the updates. Norton took 2 reboots as well. I am still working on getting all the software setup back up. I got lucky because I thought sure my Palm was going to loose power before I could get it synced up to my system. Now I just need to hope that I can get my Pocket Quicken linked to the new file. If not I am going to have to spend a lot of time copying some transactions out.

Today I picked up a WD backup drive for my computer. I intend to backup at least once a week since it is basically copying changed files to a second hard drive. I also have an external drive to start ripping my CDs to, again. The backup drive has enough space to backup both drives, plus some space space in case I bump up my external drive, which I may do to get my photos off my main drive. If you do not have a backup policy in place, I would recommend it. After loosing my financial records not to mention several megs of photos I can't emphasis this enough. The drive I got today is $70 after rebates for 120 gig.

As a part of the restore of the system I am going to try and get my scanner up and running. I have several things I want to scan in and post on Flickr or my blog.

I am looking to play around some with the template of the blog. I have some things I want to try and I want to play around with some HTML. The big problem is time. I would like to also take some classes to maybe get a master degree, or maybe take some of those classes that pour in information so you can throw it all back up on a certification test. Too much to do, not enough time. I really need to get my wireless working throughout my house so I can sit in the living room with the stereo and work.

Unconscous Mutterings

Unconscious Mutterings:

  1. Useless::Trivia
  2. Radiant::Sun
  3. W::The president
  4. Unpaid::bills
  5. Geek:: Me
  6. Unfaithful::Religious Right
  7. Reboot::Steel-toed boots (how everyone REALLY wants to re-boot ;))
  8. No!::Yes!!
  9. Squad::Mod
  10. Fetish::Leather & lace

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Celsius1414: Zen Pockets

Celsius1414: Zen Pockets

I picked up this article through 43 Folders, a pretty cool site I recently added to my feed list.

I have to admit I do not carry a ton of stuff around all day, although I do carry more than I should. Mostly I leave my wallet locked in my desk, but it is getting out of control size wise and, since I am in need of a new one, been thinking about downsizing.

As for some of the other things mentioned - I could downsize a few keys from my keyring, but then again I only have 6 or 7 keys anyways so that is not a big deal. I hate cell phones, so mine stays in my bag, turned off. Half the time on the weekend I don't carry it at all. My PDA is slim and easily fits in my pocket. I slide it in and out when I think I will need it, otherwise I lock it at my desk (we have had some theft problems since moving).


[Update: Counted my keys this morning and I have 5. I could get rid of 2. The bigger problem is all the damn barcode thingies for store discounts. I actually have 6 of those.]

Browser makers warned against ad-blocking: ZDNet Australia: News: Software

Browser makers warned against ad-blocking: ZDNet Australia: News: Software

I think trying to draw an analogy to newspapers from websites is a bit of a stretch in this case:

1) The speed with which I get my paper is the same regardless of the number of ads. A webpage slows down as it has to bang different servers to get the ads, not to mention display the ads.

2) The ads in newspapers are, mostly, out of the way. It is not like you are reading and bam in the middle of the article is a huge ad. How many websites do that now?

3) Ads in newspapers don't have the potential to track where I came from, or possibly download spyware into my brain.

4) Figuring out what is an ad and what is content is many times much easier on the newspaper than on the web.

I don't mind suffering a few ads for some free content - I do that now with both online and offline sources. I realize that "free" content comes with costs - hosting space & bandwidth at the minimum. What I do mind is the constant barage of ads and overriding of content (mine or other peoples) without their permission or compensation.

Microformats

microformats

I have heard about some of these formats (or in some cases the standards) for years, although no one ever seems to be willing to adopt them on a wide scale. hCard was supposed to take off with beaming info from handheld to handheld.

For me hCalendar I think holds the greatest interest. With hCalendar groups could distribute their events calander through their XML feed and the receipient could get those items added to their calendaring program of choice. Better yet - conferences could use it to communicate changes through Bluetooth.

The only real problem I can see with using some of these formats within an RSS feed is finding a way to format things. Bloglines does some things with the weather feed they have setup, but we need a way to generically handle this.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

AFI Movie Quotes

Most everyone has probably seen the AFI Top 100 Movie Quote list. I have to say I was happy to see that "May The Force Be With You" made the top 10. The Akron Beacon Journal's movie critic put together some of his favorite quotes, and one he had, and one I also like, did not make the top 100. It was from Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back - "Do or do not. There is no try." Given some of the top 100 I personally feel that one should have made it. This got me to thinking about some of my favorite movie quotes.

"Laugh while you can monkey boy." Lord John Warfin (John Lighgow) from "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eigth Dimention." This movie is definately a cult classic, but I find the line useful.

"Listen, do you smell something?" Ray from "Ghostbusters." Such a non sequitor it takes a minute.

"I collect spores, molds & fungus." Igon from "Ghostbusters." Useful if you ever want to get away from someone.

"Is now one a time for a colorful metaphor?" Spock, "Star Trek IV". Spock was commenting on Kirk's swearing upon going back to the 20th century. Spock never picked up on swearing.

"Balance not just karate." Mr. Miagi (sp?) from "Karate Kid."

"Just making do with what I have." Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) in "Tremors".

"It's not my god damn planet, understand monkey boy?" John Big Bootee (Christopher Lloyd) from "Buckaroo Banzai".

"You have just opened a fortune cookie with no fortune, written by a master who does not exist. Leroy, there is one place, ONE PLACE (tapping on forehead) where you will find what you seek." from "The Last Dragon."

"With great power comes great responsibility." Uncle Ben from "Spiderman." Yea, more of a comic quote, but it WAS said in the movie...

Sunday, June 19, 2005

A little update

Since it has been awhile I thought I might update what was going on.

I think I mentioned my computer was down - fried hard drive. Fortunately everything was still under warrenty so I was able to get the drive replaced free, although I lost all my data. I have since gotten my computer back.

Last Saturday I was running a temperature of 103 and my leg was slowly becoming the color of a stop sign and was slowly becoming the size of a ham. A visit to an urgent care center got me some antibiotics which helped a little. By Monday things were still not much better, and by Tuesday the swelling was horrible. A trip to the emergency room resulted in a 2 day (3 if you include the day in the ER) stay getting lots of IV antibiotics and getting to pee in a jug. I got out on Thursday night.

My leg still is messed up - there is a rash from the infection (toxins as I was told) that I am still working on getting rid of even though the infection itself appears to be in check. The rash is worse on the back of the leg, which makes since because all the ointment I use tends to wipe off the back, plus the presure from keeping my leg elevated. However the ankle is looking much more ankle-like again and the swelling is considerably down.

I have also gotten my computer back and I am slowly getting this set back up. Right now I am working on getting my email and blog reading all caught up. I have a long way to go before the computer is completely setup again, especially since my wireless connection is acting up again. I must figure out why that does not hook up as it should.

Friday, June 10, 2005

GOP Leaders Weigh Raising Soc. Sec. Age - Yahoo! News

GOP Leaders Weigh Raising Soc. Sec. Age - Yahoo! News

One word - duh. As we live longer we are also more productive later in life than in the past. It only makes sense to raise the retirement age. Right now for those of us born after 1960 it is 67, and personally I expect it to be up to 70 by the time I am close to retirement age.

Instead of the damn personal savings accounts, how about not only some 401(k) (and similar program) reform AND training on how to work with them starting at an early age. Republicans are always yelling about smaller government (at least in social programs), so why not use what works BUT actually train people in how to make the maximum use of their 401. Oh wait, that's right, then we would have more control over our lives. (I guess I am in a crabby mood today....)

Bush Campaigns for Patriot Act Renewal - Yahoo! News

Bush Campaigns for Patriot Act Renewal - Yahoo! News


Those willing to give up a little liberty for a little security deserve neither security nor liberty.
-- Benjamin Franklin

"It doesn't make any sense to me, that if something is working, why should it expire," Bush said Friday.

The expiration was set for a reason - to allow for debate when we were out of the stress of 9/11. If these provisions have been so helpful, show me the numbers. Even then I doubt I would be convinced thanks to the Benjamin Fanklin quote I have above.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Google Maps Make Demographics Come Alive - Yahoo! News

Google Maps Make Demographics Come Alive - Yahoo! News

It will be interesting to see how long Google allows this to go on for free.
Tiger Tweaks Could Kill Folders

Tiger Tweaks Could Kill Folders



Thanks to new UI tools in the latest version of Mac OS X, stuffy old habits like organizing files into folders become obsolete. Welcome to the new desktop metaphor: search. By Abby Christopher and Mike Faden.

An interesting thought. Although machines & drives are much faster, in the past I have run into situations where having several thousand files in 1 directory drug the system to a crawl. Although we are probably up to a point where it would take 10s of thousands, possibly 100s of thousands, of files to seriously impact system performance. However how quickly would we quickly catch up to that with ripping/buying music, digital camera, etc.
Former Stripper Wins Nev. Judge Election (AP)

Former Stripper Wins Nev. Judge Election (AP)



AP - Ex-stripper Diana Hampton will soon have something new to wear — judicial robes.

At least she is honest about her past. I'm sure she will make a fine judge.

Why do we think that politicians and judges need to have a spotless past? Granted I would not want a judge who had a felony sitting on the bench, but let's be realistic. She was a stripper. So what?
How Do We Put The Genie Back In The Bottle

Google Maps Takedown



By nat

This reminds me of the the guy who overlayed the Yahoo traffic info on Google Maps, which we all knew would not last.

I was talking about the Google maps/Yahoo traffic thing with someone at work used the term content management. Here is the problem - All these people want to be our ONE source for information you get off the internet. Problem is - we all want to get our infomration from wherever and be able to stitch it all together later. Also I think it pisses off Google that THEY did not think of it.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

43 Folders: Dashboard Widget for Unix 'Remind'

43 Folders: Dashboard Widget for Unix 'Remind'

After reading this, I did some checking on Dashboard Widgets at Apple and I was reminded of the idea of a portal. This also reminds me alot of what Microsoft was trying to do with Active Desktop. I think it is a step in the right direction (as long as it can be transparent as described), but I still think we have a ways to go.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Police hope madam, 80, can stay out of trouble - Yahoo! News

Police hope madam, 80, can stay out of trouble - Yahoo! News

Who says prostitution is for the young?

China Orders All Web Sites to Register - Yahoo! News

China Orders All Web Sites to Register - Yahoo! News

Trying to control content on the internet is like trying to herd cats - impossible. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out, assuming we get the chance to.

Citigroup Data of 3.9M Customers Is Lost - Yahoo! News

Citigroup Data of 3.9M Customers Is Lost - Yahoo! News


Ooopsy!

One reason to keep an eye on all your accounts. I personally tend to get rid of information after awhile, but more and more I am keeping information that may be used against me, such as a lost account number.

Dolphins Protect Their Snouts With Sponges - Yahoo! News

Dolphins Protect Their Snouts With Sponges - Yahoo! News

An interesting find. I guess that gives a new meaning to "school of fish."

Monday, June 06, 2005

Court Rules Against Pot for Sick People - Yahoo! News

Court Rules Against Pot for Sick People - Yahoo! News

I find a few things interesting in this. First the Supreme Court has been siding more and more on the side of states' rights, yet it seems when drug laws are involved all of a sudden we stop that trend. Second the expert who said

"Our national medical system relies on proven scientific research, not popular opinion. To date, science and research have not determined that smoking marijuana is safe or effective," John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said Monday.

Given the laws against marijuana, research will never be done. So how do we do research (in the USA, other countries have) when no one can get marijuana to do research with, let alone without getting human test subjects thrown into jail.

Personally I am not a user, and at this point I have no disease that would be helped by medical marijuana. However it seems odd that we are closing ourselves off to a potential source of helping people. This seems to be a very chicken & the egg situation - medical marijuana will not be legal until research shows it is useful BUT research will not happen until at least provisions for research is made.

Report: Apple Switching to Intel Chips - Yahoo! News

Report: Apple Switching to Intel Chips - Yahoo! News

Step 1 - Switch hardware to use Intel chips.
Step 2 - Make OS work on any Intel hardware.
Step 3 - Overthrow Microsoft.

Ok, maybe that last step is a bit of an overstatement. The transition is not much of a shock to me given they use Linux as they basis for OS X and all subsequent releases. The switch over to Intel is probably not going to a big deal.

Microsoft should at least keep an eye on this. Apple has had a long history of providing a good user experience. If they proceed as I think they will it will be interesting to see if Apple can maintain their great user experience on hardware they cannot control. If they can this could be what the Linux camp needs to make a move onto the desktop.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

The Five-Bedroom, Six-Figure Rootless Life - New York Times

The Five-Bedroom, Six-Figure Rootless Life - New York Times

I don't get this, but then again I have never defined my life entirely by my job. To me a house is a place to keep me out of the elements and a car a way for me to get around. I may not have a bunch of ties to my community, but I still love my town and I could not see leaving it for a job. In fact I have stayed in my town and travel to my job, but it is one urban area to another.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Politics In Church? Depends On Your Party | Oliver Willis

Politics In Church? Depends On Your Party | Oliver Willis

Interesting.

I edit a newsletter for a not for profit genealogy society and one of the things that I am always careful of is urging people to vote, or even call their representative over an issue. Maybe it is time we start kicking some of these churches (and other tax-exempt organizations) off the tax-exempt bandwagon when they start getting into politics.

O'Reilly Radar > Anil Dash, Goatse, and Social Hacking

O'Reilly Radar > Anil Dash, Goatse, and Social Hacking

A fancier term for social engineering, but same idea. At least this one was relatively harmless, compared to the people who call up and get unsuspecting people to give up their credit card information.

Smart Mobs: A family of four,living just outside Barcelona

Smart Mobs: A family of four,living just outside Barcelona

Ok, I have been reading about this for years, and watching it on TV & movies for even longer. At least with text messaging it makes more sense. I'll believe it when I can go and see a working model in person and can buy equipment off the shelf.

However if we are going to make our houses "smart," why not hook them in with some limited computer control? Instead of having to text in and turn the lights on and off at random times, why can't a computer do that for us? How about various levels of notification - maybe an email if something is minor (the garage door was not closed in the morning) to going through a call list with one of those "press 1 to stop calls" type things if water is spewing from the kitchen faucet? Buried water detectors to control the sprinkler system? All these things are really doable, but currently they are technolgies that are not really tied together or VERY expensive.

Yahoo! Publisher's Guide to RSS

Yahoo! Publisher's Guide to RSS

I find this to be ery interesting, since I have had a lot of problems with RSS feeds and My Yahoo - some work, some don't. Seems the ones that don't buddy up to Yahoo or other corporate sites don't get handled right through Yahoo, but Bloglines works fine. Note to Yahoo - if you want to be my portal you need to work with all RSS feeds and not require a special ping to YOUR servers.

Review: Wireless Devices Live Up to Hype - Yahoo! News

Review: Wireless Devices Live Up to Hype - Yahoo! News

Given my problems with my current gear (purchased just before the "pre N" stuff mentioned in the article) I am definately keeping an eye out for real 802.11n stuff, even if it means disabling the included adaptor. My bluetooth has better connectivity in my living room than my WiFi. Wish I had built in bluetooth, the one thing I will change for my next purchase.

CNN.com - Study: Shoppers naive about retail prices online - Jun 1, 2005

CNN.com - Study: Shoppers naive about retail prices online - Jun 1, 2005

I do have to agree with The Geek that that this is a huge invasion of my privacy, but then again if Amazon, Best Buy, or my local grocer is going to gather information on me anyways I might as well benefit somewhat. I have not checked out my local grocer to see if I can get some custom coupons off the internet. The trick though is I want to get SOMETHING. I don't want to get charged more because I keep coming back to your site/store and buy the same thing.

I have been having trouble with this in real life as well. Give me some reason to remain a loyal customer. My bank, to attract new customers, offer free ATM use from other banks but for me, who has been a customer for over 10 years having all my accounts (save 1 CD and a small savings account I have had since I was 10) have to pay. You see the same thing in cellphone service. Essentially you are using your current customers to fund new customers.

What does this mean? If you are going to track my spending habits, give me something useful in return - discounts, new product info that is related to my spending habits. I'm a single male, I don't really care about feminine hygeine products or tampons. I buy maybe 1 bottle of wine every 2 years, don't tell me about the latest beer sale. If I have some kind of service from you, don't require me to call you and jump through hoops to get changes that the same services I could get if I was a new customer. Charging me more because you know my shopping habits or making me call you to claim a service is customer abuse, and one reason why many of us have no loyalty. Building a business model based on churn is not a way to sustain a business.

Vic Gundotra - Simple, Safer and Sexier

Vic Gundotra - Simple, Safer and Sexier

Let's try this again with comment.

Frankly I have not kept up with the latest & greatest in Longhorn (the next Windows version) and Indigo (the interface layer), because frankly it is still at least a year out and I can say that the feature set is probably not as gelled as everyone would like.

What I do like is Microsoft is FINALLY doing what the rest of the industry have been trying to do for years - multi-tier programming which spits the user interface away from the logic systems. Sounds like they have been moving in this direction for some time, but it sounds like they are finally going to achieve it.

Anyone who has developed on Microsoft products knows it takes 3 versions of something for MS to get it right. Windows 3.0 was when GUIs took off. We have had a few more than 3 releases since Windows went to 32 bit, and they are finally getting it.

One thing that I hope happens is they start to build hooks into Indigo to call out to third party apps. I think with extensions, add on, etc. that many individual programs use there is an obvious need for this kind of ability. I also want to see scripting ability out of the box, not from third party stuff. The big problem with scripting is the MS products themselves.

Vic Gundotra - Simple, Safer and Sexier

Vic Gundotra - Simple, Safer and Sexier

Vic Gundotra - Simple, Safer and Sexier

Vic Gundotra - Simple, Safer and Sexier

TV shows on DVD -- too much of a good thing? - Yahoo! News

TV shows on DVD -- too much of a good thing? - Yahoo! News

I have to agree that there are a lot of these coming out, but then again we now really have a good medium for releasing all the episodes from a series. VHS & Beta were not really great for this unless it was an extremely popular series. My brother has seasons 1 & 2 of XFiles on VHS and it cost an arm and a leg. DVD can not only hold more, but costs less to manufacture & takes up less space on the store shelves.

For me I have cut back on buying TV series since I joined Netflix and can get anything through them. The last series I bought was Charmed Season 1, and I may not buy any more.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Random Ravings

I just saw an ad for latest Fantastic Four that is coming out in July. Looks pretty cool. I am an old FF fan. My comic interests growing up were a little off the standard - Green Arrow instead of Superman. FF instead of the Avengers. It is nice to see the FF getting first class treatment.

Not happy with audioblogger

I had just finished my walk and I wanted to record some thoughts, more for myself than becuase I thought anyone here would want to hear the raving, and I just kept getting a busy signal from audioblogger. Grrrr!!! Looks like I will have to consider a microphone for my iRiver. It is an ancient 390 model, but it has 256 meg and I usually don't keep a lot on it.

Anyways I was relistening to David Winer's Morning Coffee Notes from 27 May. Although it was on a variety of topics, he got me thinking about creativity. He was commenting on how kids just sing for the fun of singing. They don't care if they are good or not, they just do it. The wider implication, and one he has made in a prior podcast, is that creativity is not limited to the "blessed few." As long as we are having fun (and not harming anyone), why can't we create whatever we want?

I have mentioned that I am taking a workshop on creativity. I have never really considred myself creative as most people think of creativity: Drawing or other visual arts, writing (in case you have not gathered that already), music, etc. A large part of that was the wonders of public education - Given the overworked art & music teacher if you did not show a natural talent you were pretty much left on your own to figure out how to do stuff. As for writing my high school experience was somewhat bipolar - one teacher wondered if English was my first language and another who thought I could possibly do some professional writing.

However on a wider scale, why do we all feel that our creation has to be perfect? Most artists i have met constantly talk about the imperfections of their work. There was a quote that said something like a book is never finished it just stopped in interesting places. Do we have to create to make money? Can we just create for the joy of creating?

Blogs, podcasts, and moblogs (to a point) are a way for everyday people to expresss some creativity in a more public arena. The price of entry on the web is much lower than when you needed to print up a zine or get some time in a studio to record.

And in a way these mediums also get us to exercise our skills. If you want to write, a blog can be a great way to motivate yourself to write everyday (or nearly every day). A moblog could be a way to motivate yourself to get some photos taken. You get the idea.

Speaking of creativity, one of the things I have learned, or more to the point relearned, is you need to refill the well. For me programming is my creative outlet. I have always said programming is more art than science, and I never really thought much about how creative it is until I read an articlethat pointed out for some programming can be as creative as painting or playing drums. The last 3 or 4 months have really zapped my desire to do much of anything creative, and even affected my job since the well was empty and I was just not able to make those weird leaps of logic that are needed sometimes (many times) in any creative endevor.

So how does one go about filling the well? For me it involves regular walking, getting to some live music (that ideally does not involve a smoke filled bar), going to the art museum or maybe a lecture. Even reading some weird books, or at least some books outside of my normal tastes.

Prosecutor: Jackson Sexually Abused Teen - Yahoo! News

Prosecutor: Jackson Sexually Abused Teen - Yahoo! News

Two words: THANK GOD!

Update: I thought I had commented on the one where they announced the closing arguments, and I was thanking god that the trial was nearing an end.

Israeli Companies Suspected of Spying - Yahoo! News

Israeli Companies Suspected of Spying - Yahoo! News

Hmmm... probably one of the most efficient spy organizations in the world combined with mandatory military service and you get businessmen who spy on their competitors. Who would have thought?!?

It may hurt the above board foriegn investment, but why do I see an underground of hiring Israeli "security experts" to do exactly what they are doing here?

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Pesky'Apostrophe. Better Than an Unexpected Period.

Pesky'Apostrophe. Better Than an Unexpected Period.

This hit it on the head on why I dislike organized religion. It is not the believe in god, it is the damn dogma of the church itself that is the problem. Stuff like what Pat Robertson did here makes it even worse.