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Wednesday, July 23, 2003 |
dive into mark
Greg Reinacker comments on "Aggregator HTTP tests". NewsGator's report card: http://www.rassoc.com/gregr/weblog/archive.aspx?post=6296:17:17 PM 
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Burningbird
Welcome Sign6:12:47 PM Howl into the void []
Burningbird
Al-l-l-most6:12:47 PM Howl into the void []
Burningbird
Perfect Little Princess. I kid you not, I was taking photos of my rock collection (rocks, Halley! Lots of them! You can have one of mine!) when Zoe lept up on the velvet backdrop and started posing. This cat is a natural -- bring out a camera and she poses. I can be running flash, strobes, what have you, and she just eats it up. Mama's little princess. And no cracks about Burningbird losing it over a cat....6:12:46 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Missouri Wins American Solar Challenge6:12:42 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
The RIAA's Hit List Named6:12:42 PM Howl into the void []
Orcinus
The forgotten terrorist. Hey, what happened to that anthrax guy anyway?You know, the one who killed a handful of people and terrorized the nation for the better part of two months?Yeah, that one. The one the FBI can't seem to nail down.The case that was a clear case of atte
6:12:38 PM Howl into the void []
Orcinus
Ichiro, Ichiro. Another sign of Ichiro Suzuki's utter coolness:Why No. 51? I'd originally heard that he wore the number 51 (he wore it in Japan as well) after the Yankees' Bernie Williams, who wears the same number. But Suzuki later told an interviewer (during the 2001
6:12:37 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Iraqis Wait to See U.S. Proof That Hussein Sons Are Dead6:12:30 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Palestinians and Israelis Still Far Apart on Prisoners6:12:29 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
S--o Tom/ Agreement Reinstates President; Mutineers Pardoned6:12:28 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Canada Recalls Envoy From Iran After Burial of Detained Reporter6:12:27 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
RIAAHitList. The RIAA hit list. Are you sued or not? I would have thought defaultuser@kazaa would get targeted.6:12:03 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Tyler wins Stage 16!. Tyler Hamilton on his win today in State 16 of the Tour de France. [via the brilliant notd tour blog]6:12:02 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Journos really are crazy for the truth. Unbiased (ideally) but not inhuman (hopefully) The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma at the University of Washington studies the effects of crazy badness ("if it bleeds, it leads") on reporters and studies ways in which the news media can better cover traumatic events in the life of the world: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. From a piece on the site, "9-11 Journalists Share Memories, Support," "Long before Sept. 11, he was interested in how journalists respond to the pain and misery they encounter in their work, and the lack of support they often find in a traditionally tough-minded business. Then he nearly died while photographing the World Trade Center attack, and found those issues hit closer to home than he ever imagined."6:12:00 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Now you see it, now you don't. Now you see it, now you don't. The infamous blink tag, maligned for so long by almost, but not quite everyone, can now be supported in IE. Isn't that great news?6:11:59 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Is the Moon a Good Place to store your Data?. Is the Moon a Good Place to store your Data? A company called TransOrbital of La Jolla, Calif., is seriously considering the idea of putting storage facilities on Earth's only natural satellite.6:11:58 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Surgical Simulators. They[approx equal]¥úre a little like Operation. Today students can practice all sorts of skills on surgical models like TraumaMan¨, the Hillway Man, or Geri, the Geriatric, who comes complete with wrinkles. There[approx equal]¥ús spinal surgery, gall bladder surgery, ultrasound/amniocentesis, suturing, and casualty kits. Some of them give me the I[approx equal]¥úm-a-silly-git giggles and naming a company Limbs & Things doesn't help. There[approx equal]¥ús the head with all sorts of things wrong with it, including [approx equal]¥[fl]Extraneous Lumps[approx equal]¥ÿ. The toe with refills is pretty nifty, but disturbingly life-like. There are strap-ons and table-top models.(Possibly NSFW) Some could make interesting conversation pieces.(Also poss. NSFW)
In addition, Somso, maker of the [approx equal]¥[fl]dial-a-prostate[approx equal]¥ÿ model above, also makes interesting non-interactive models like this fandex of a head, a larynx with tongue, or a fingertip. They also have neat models of animals, fungi, and flowers.
6:11:56 PM Howl into the void []
Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid
Bye, Joe. I don't know why Joe Lieberman doesn't just turn in his DNC card today. Because his attack on fellow Democrats is as good as a slam from the Bush Team. Since Al Gore boosted him into the national spotlight, Senator...6:11:37 PM Howl into the void []
Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid
A Tragedy. What happened to councilman James Davis in New York today was horrible, and based on his stirring biography it should also remind us how many people - especially young black men - are taken down in their prime every day...6:11:36 PM Howl into the void []
Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid
Sign #1 That You Have Arrived. People make merchandise like this about you. He-he! (via Mefi) Britney has one, you should too... ("found" by mr. crash davis)...6:11:35 PM Howl into the void []
Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid
Now It's Time For Phase Two. Bring on the tv show and the groupies....6:11:33 PM Howl into the void []
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report
ALA betta. A List Apart is recovering from server problems that plagued the site today.6:11:31 PM Howl into the void []
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report
Buymusic.com: out of tune with the times. Chris Kaminski of The WaSP on Buymusic.com's decision to support one browser and one platform instead of them all.6:11:30 PM Howl into the void []
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report
Kickin' it Dash style. Interesting links on a bed of one-liners.6:11:29 PM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Well Specified Web. NewsGator's report card. Posted by Greg Reinacker6:11:25 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Re-Opened Computer History Museum Explored4:19:24 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
My eyes! I'm blind!. Erotic pictures. Of clowns. NSFW, obviously. [more inside]4:18:30 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Teenagers find the internet very difficult to use ..... Teenagers find the internet a frustrating experience A survey in the north east of England finds that teenagers are increasingly being alienated in their online experience because they aren't being given the skillsets to cope with finding or using the information. Seems to be the old story of schools buying computers but the kids not being engaged enough on how to use them (which has been the case since I was stuck in front of an Acorn Archimedes fifteen years go). Here is a similar article from Australia which describes how their eductation system is coping with the issue.4:18:26 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
killing kittens?. Have you or your neighbors killed any kittens lately? Way back in the mists of time, a farkism combined a kitty with a couple of domo-kuns and came up with a saying equating masturbation with killing a kitty.
This site has taken the concept and is attempting to make it into a community weblog -- except the community is limited to those who are taking solo flights into orgasm.
The site seems almost innocent, at least now (though it'll probably get over-run with explicit commercial grossness in a while).
Although the interface is nowhere near as clean, my experience with the site reminded me of the early days of amihotornot. I was at it for hours, tripping out on who was masturbating in my state, and what they were thinking, let along who was doing what in other places all over the world (not many global participants, yet).
With this wierd mixture of deeply personal revelations and total anonymity, is this one of those things that only the internet can do? Or am I a total git for thinking this is interesting? (via memepool)
4:18:21 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Surgical Simulators. They?re a little like Operation. Today students can practice all sorts of skills on surgical models like TraumaMan¨, the Hillway Man, or Geri, the Geriatric, who comes complete with wrinkles. There?s spinal surgery, gall bladder surgery, ultrasound/amniocentesis, suturing, and casualty kits. Some of them give me the I?m-a-silly-git giggles and naming a company Limbs & Things doesn't help. There?s the head with all sorts of things wrong with it, including ?Extraneous Lumps?. The toe with refills is pretty nifty, but disturbingly life-like. There are strap-ons and table-top models.(Possibly NSFW) Some could make interesting conversation pieces.(Also poss. NSFW)In addition, Somso, maker of the ?dial-a-prostate? model above, also makes interesting non-interactive models like this fandex of a head, a larynx with tongue, or a fingertip. They also have neat models of animals, fungi, and flowers.
4:18:12 PM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
The Message Is The Medium. The title comes from Rohit's Rant on Personal Servers. <a... [more][back]Trackback from Mod-pubsub blog3:20:44 PM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
The Message Is The Medium. The title comes from Rohit's Rant on Personal Servers. <a... [more][back]Trackback from Mod-pubsub blog3:20:41 PM Howl into the void []
Morons Dot Org
Satire: Entire Town of Pipestone, MN Accepts Responsibility for Bush Blunder. The entire town of Pipestone, Minnesota has accepted blame for Bush's bogus assertion that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Africa...3:20:12 PM Howl into the void []
She's Actual Size, Nationwide, Believe
Re: You just gotta let it go
The second most screwed-up guy I know, the one who's skittish and paranoid, who spends compulsively and throws a tantrum whenever anyone disagrees with him or, you know, has anything like a good time or a fortunate windfall... the onw who turns every conversation into a discussion of HIS feelings and HIS problems... the one who bitched and moaned about being lonely until he met his girlfriend, then went and married her after nine months...
His (I assume equally screwed-up) wife is having a baby.
There's nothing I can do about it, so I'm just trying to let it go.
Some people just aren't happy until they can bring another person into the world to screw up .
3:19:08 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Kevin Smith and Greasy Reese Witherspoon. Proving that he is the geekiest man in film, Kevin Smith relates the tale of how he almost got to egg the house of Reese Witherspoon, and why he wanted to in the first place - a rather funny story. Would that all Hollywood ego-battles could be resolved in such a fashion.An old link, but worth checking out
3:18:57 PM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Great icon from a Javanese dance festival (thanks Dody and the NYTimes).3:18:42 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Overheated Europe struggles with drought3:17:53 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Bumper year for Afghan poppies3:17:50 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Bad summer movies wither on Web grapevine3:17:45 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Microsoft's Patent Problem3:17:10 PM Howl into the void []
rushkoff.blog
Real Estate. Real estate in NYC has gotten pretty damn expensive. I mean, really expensive. They want a million dollars for a loft these days. A two-bedroom in the village? One million dollars, please. Cobble Hill? Just under a million - but nothing's available, anyway. And even at these price levels, we're talking crrrap.My wife and I want to find a relatively safe and friendly place to live for a good long time, make or borrow some kids, send 'em to school, and not keep wasting everything we earn on rent. Please don't make us go to the suburbs...
Can we talk? I mean, there's so many issues to tackle, here: is NYC a place where the middle class (meaning those of us who aren't millionaires) can no longer live comfortably? Where will culture go if the artists and writers can't afford to be here? Is there a cool town somewhere else where our peeps are gathering? Asheville? Charlotte? Chicago? Oakland? Beacon? We'll go - someone just tell us. Or send a secret map-point.
Business-wise, this just isn't making sense to me. The real estate people say the high prices and low turnover is an indication that everything's going to go up even further. They say that just about everyone who is in their apartment is happy and doesn't want to sell it. I have trouble with this analysis. If it were the stock market, a low volume bull market means bad things. That it's not really real. I think the volume is low (and the prices have stabilized at these outrageous heights) because the people who want to sell are waiting for the real estate market to resume its rise. And this, in turn, would mean that a crash is imminent.
Or maybe I'm wrong, and the true community spirit has returned to NYC. Maybe these people are just happy to be where they are, and unwilling to sell at any price. If that's the case, then it means one can't really join one of these communities without a whole lot of dough, and then the only alternative is to start a community of our own.
Anybody ready?
2:20:18 PM Howl into the void []
rushkoff.blog
The Jewish Press Widens its Perspective!. The Jewish Week has won the rare distinction of publishing the Jewish print press's first review of my book, Nothing Sacred, that does not descend into paranoia, racism, or personal attack.The writer, Sandee Brawarsky, actually sidesteps most of the unnecessary controversy and gets to the heart of what I meant to explore in the first place: the possibility for a post-dualist relationship to belief and identity.
Yay!
2:20:12 PM Howl into the void []
rushkoff.blog
What's Next for Rushkoff?. First, some interesting stuff about the book, Nothing Sacred, at Zeek magazine. (Although one of the two reviewers, in an effort to critique my "scholarship," claims I've written that the Orthodox movement grew out of the holocaust, which I don't say. On page 73 I explain how it was a reaction to German reforms of the 1800's.)As for me, professionally and creatively, I'm moving "beyond" Judaism - at least explicitly - and back into some fictional and non-fiction considerations of what we might call 'open source reality.' (No, I won't actually be using that term.)
The first project is a graphic novel version of the comic I was writing for BPM magazine, called ClubZeroG. It's about some kids who realize they've all been dreaming the same dream together, and come to learn it may be more real than what they're living.
The second is a book based on a talk I've been doing for the past 5 years called "Follow the Fun." I'm still in early stages, but - most basically - it's about finding better ways of motivating ourselves to do good things. We're too dependent in this society on the very bottom level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: we use survival fears to propel us, even if our survival as individuals is not in question. I've been proposing that this defensive crouch is a great motivator for those who need it, but has limited value to those who have moved beyond it and might be able to apply their effort to helping others (networking). And this latter strategy will actually yield greater 'success,' especially as our definition of success evolves beyond acquisition. (But don't tell the Ferengis this.)
2:20:09 PM Howl into the void []
rushkoff.blog
Still Lapsed, After all these Months. In a particularly distressed moment, I made a remark in one of the comments sections, below, that:"As for me, I think my association with Judaism is coming to an end. I'm interested in it as an intellectual and as an ethicist, but I don't see it as a fruitful spiritual path - at least not as my exclusive spiritual path."
And a lot of folks got concerned that I was surrendering to organized Judaism's reaction to my book, or giving up, or taking my ball and going home after a little of what should have been expected resistance.
This is not the case. But my retreat from my statement may have also been wrong.
In all honesty, I remain a "lapsed Jew," (who happens to read Torah and observe the Sabbath). I also happen to believe that an informed, educated, lapsed Judaism might also be the most true form of the religion, today. And this is a large part of why I wrote my book. I was looking for evidence in Judaism that the religion could serve, or was even meant, as more of a runway than an airplane. A means, and not an end in itself. Better yet, a vehicle. And it seemed that everyone was staring at the car and no one was getting inside, for fear it would take them to a new place. And those of us who were actually driving around in it were being called 'lapsed.'
So I wrote my book, explaining that I saw Judaism as a process. And that we had to at least consider that this process (of ritual and text promoting iconoclasm, abstract monotheism and social justice) might have been lost as Judaism (for very understandable reasons) became more concerned with itself than its mission of protecting and promoting this process. I was writing for lapsed Jews like me, to give us the courage and ammunition to practice and argue for this new form of Judaism, whether or not it's called Judaism at all. And to reassure us that we're not abandoning something, we're evolving something.
Certain factions in institutional Judaism saw in my arguments something they had been looking for: a way to convince lapsed Jews (particularly GenX ones) to come back to Judaism. And I saw in these factions a willing audience for my ideas. So I ended up putting myself on a book tour where I engaged mostly with these people, and wrote mostly for their magazines. These are pretty much the only people who wrote reviews of my book, scathing and closed-minded though they may have been. This is all fine.
But - fundamentalist attacks, boycotts, and censorship aside - my conversation became increasingly about Judaism for Judaism's sake. My own focus began turning inward on the question of where and whether there were institutions offering the "kind of Judaism" I mean to practice, and whether the federations, philanthropies, or synagogues are to "blame" for Judaism's situation. This was a detour, and was a lot less fun, and a lot less interesting to me. On the whole, and as a result, I started to find it easier to speak about spiritual issues with Catholics (lapsed Catholics, mostly) than Jews.
So, on returning home from a harrowing tour, I ended up saying something very similar to what I started out saying. I honestly believe that who I am, intellectually, spiritually, and ethically, has been greatly informed by Judaism. But I'm a Jew looking out, not a Jew looking in. And I feel more "Jewish" when I'm engaged in helping the world or making it more beautiful or loving than when I'm working on Judaism or hanging out in a synagogue.
In this sense, my "association with Judaism" - meaning my focus on Judaism for Judaism's sake - must really come to an end, for my own good. I'm not interested in going to services, or in figuring out how to devise services that I *would* want to go to. I no longer want to think about what I can do for Judaism, but what Judaism can do for the world.
And that does mean interfaith support, social justice, the arts, literature, conversation, education, and thought.
I got an email that said, basically, my adversaries may be right - the process of inquiry that I'm advocating may take people away from Judaism. To which I say, yes and no. No - that's not really what my adversaries are saying. But yes, if you 'do' Judaism right, and keep asking questions, it becomes more of a runway to something greater than itself.
Judaism was created - yes created - as a means to get people to a more conscious, loving, caring, ethical place. It is a process that I've used, and I do believe it was divinely inspired.
But if you do it really right, I'd argue, it kind of disappears. The process shows you how nothing is sacred. And, more importantly, that the 'nothing' you end up with is truly sacred.
2:20:04 PM Howl into the void []
STANDING ROOM ONLY
FREDDY, JASON AND ME
SRO: Well thanks guys for coming to SRO for an interview. Youâre both about to appear in a movie together, Freddy Vs. Jason, right?
JASON: YES Yes yes yes yes...
SRO: Cool. Fighting together, being all evil and ugly. Good times.
FREDDY: IN YOUR DREAMS... DREAMS OF DEATH!
SRO: Uh, yeah. I donât really have alot of dreams like that. My dreams usually involve beauty products.
J: KIEHLS Kiehls kiehls kiehls kiehls...
SRO: Yes, Kiehls of course. I love their shaving cream.
F: COME CLOSER AND IâLL SHAVE YOU... TO THE BONE!
SRO: Oh! Wanna see my new scar?
J: COOL Cool cool cool cool...
F: WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, YOUâLL BE SCARRED... FOR DEATH!
SRO: Itâs pretty much healed. Knife fight, you know.
J: NO SHIT Shit shit shit shit???
SRO: Sort of. Now which one is related to Jennifer Leigh?
J: ME Me me me me...
F: Oh, yeah. Thatâs Jason, Iâm more my own franchise. I couldâve brought in some girl - let me tell you, Carmen Electra was calling night and day - but these starlets today... oy. They all think theyâre J-Lo and itâs gimme this, gimme that. Who needs it? Iâd rather work... ON YOUR COLD BLUE BODY!
SRO: Whatâs with the voice? Weâre right here.
F: Itâs my voice... OF EVIL!
SRO: I guess. Take it down a few.
J: CHILL Chill chill chill chill...
SRO: So the two of you, is this a posse or something? Iâm seeing Bad Boys II with headgear, maybe young it down. Replace the fedora with a mesh Trucker hat, rethinking the hockey angle. A whole Buddybuddy/ Action thing. Are you both ãBad Boysä?
F: Duh. Weâre psychopathic killers. WEâRE...
SRO: Do you both - oh Iâm sorry. Didnât mean to interrupt, my bad. Go on.
F: Oh. I was just going to say... uh... oh yeah, KILLERS OF YOUR FUTURE!
SRO: Grrrr... spooky. Villains then.
F: Have you ever seen any of our movies?
SRO: Actually no. I was busy those 48 hours of my life.
J: KILL Kill kill kill kill...
F: THIS WILL BE THE LAST MOVIE... YOUâLL EVER SEE!
SRO: Do you work for Blockbuster? I was a little late with The Goodbye Girl, jeez.
J: DULL Dull dull dull dull...
SRO: Tell me about it. Well good luck fellas with the new flick. Iâm sure Iâll see it, uh, at some point.
F: ON THE POINT OF MY BLADES!
SRO: Could you watch the sofa? I just got it covered.
F: Oh, sorry. Nice choice.
J: TWILL Twill twill twill twill...
SRO: Bye now.
2:19:56 PM Howl into the void []
Corante: Social Software
Ethnic clustering in blogging communities.This report by Hat Nim Choi studied and compared the LiveJournal and Xanga weblog communities, both of which seem to predominantly attract teenagers. While I'm not 100% confident about the methodology, the first figure from the results section is quite striking.
A LiveJournal user picked at random is overwhelmingly likely to be white, while a random Xangan is much more likely to be Asian or Asian-American. The author offers an explanation for this difference towards the end of the report:
Xanga's mostly Asian community could be due to how it is promoted. One of the reasons why Xanga has such a large community is because Xanga users tell their friends to create a Xanga site. They want more friends to read their web logs and get involved. Mehra, Kilduff, and Brass (1998) found that the relative rarity of a group in a social context tended to promote members' use of that group as a basis for shared identity and social interaction. Since Asians are in the minority in the U.S., it would seem that they would interact more with other Asian-Americans and therefore spread the use of Xangas among Asian-Americans. This could be one reason why Xanga users are predominantly Asian.
Interestingly, the Mehra citation directly echoes the content of Clay's earlier "Odd Associates with Odd" post.
Another interesting observation is embedded in this: teenager weblogs are often started by friends who already know one another and word of mouth is an important factor in growth in community sites such as LiveJournal. I'm not sure this is equally true of weblogging at large.
2:19:27 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
U.S. Reluctant to Broadcast Proof of Hussein Sons' Deaths2:19:15 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
A Geek's Tour Of North America?2:19:08 PM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Kodak's Blurry Picture. Plus, Amazon keeps booking, and AOL stays on track.2:18:40 PM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
AOL Stays on Track. The media giant reports solid Q2 results and keeps paying down debt.2:18:39 PM Howl into the void []
Tomalak's Realm
MIT Technology Review: Don't Break E-Mail To Save It. Vipul Ved Prakash, founder and chief scientist for Cloudmark. My perspective on design of spam filtration solutions is centered around exploitation of the various constraints of the spammer. One thing we don't talk about enough is the fact that spammers have rather serious constraints.2:18:05 PM Howl into the void []
Tomalak's Realm
News.Com: From June 19, 2002; Start-up wants your help to fight spam.2:18:02 PM Howl into the void []
plasticbag.org
Ponces and Spies...2:17:43 PM Howl into the void []
plasticbag.org
As spies, so pundits?2:17:41 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Congress to bicyclists: get a car!. Congress to bicyclists: get a car! A new transportation appropriations bill would eliminate $600 million of annual federal funding for "transportation enhancements" (more info here), such as bike paths and walkways, while increasing funding for highways. Is this a proper reflection of U.S. transportation habits, or just a scheme to deprive alternate transportation of much-needed funding?2:17:36 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
killing kittens?. Have you or your neighbors killed any kittens lately? Way back in the mists of time, a farkism combined a kitty with a couple of domo-kuns and came up with a saying equating masturbation with killing a kitty.
This site has taken the concept and is attempting to make it into a community weblog -- except the community is limited to those who are taking solo flights into orgasm.
The site seems almost innocent, at least now (though it'll probably get over-run with explicit commercial grossness in a while).
Although the interface is nowhere near as clean, my experience with the site reminded me of the early days of amihotornot. I was at it for hours, tripping out on who was masturbating in my state, and what they were thinking, let along who was doing what in other places all over the world (not many global participants, yet).
With this wierd mixture of deeply personal revelations and total anonymity, is this one of those things that only the internet can do? Or am I a total git for thinking this is interesting? (via memepool)
2:17:33 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
xray gallery. online archive of x-ray images2:17:24 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Morals vs Money. Sinn Fein "cashing in on the victims"? As Sinn Fein launch their new website they have been accused of "promoting the IRA and cashing in on violence". From a party which is bound by the Good Friday Agreement, is it acceptable to promote goods associated with the atrocities committed in Northern Ireland since the 1960's?2:17:21 PM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Berkshire Hathaway. How do you compute fair market value for unique assets?1:20:24 PM Howl into the void []
Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment
Bruce Umbaugh reminds us that today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Salon Blogs. (Here's a link to my first day's posts from a year ago.) Thanks to everyone who has chosen to pitch their blog-tents on our virtual turf!1:20:17 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Shots fired from within NY City Hall. Shooter still on the loose, but apparently wounded.1:19:12 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
West African Group to Send Troops to Liberia1:18:43 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
President Returns to Sao Tome as Deal Ends Coup1:18:41 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Canadian Buried in Iran, Envoy to Leave Tehran1:18:39 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Skeptical Reactions To SCO From Around The Globe1:18:35 PM Howl into the void []
How to Save the World
WHERE THIS BLOG IS GOING. I've just updated my Tables
of Contents (at top left), and realized that some of my categories have
begun to slop together. My business writing is often about business
weblogs and social software, and I'm not sure if that belongs in the 'Business Papers',
'Science
& Technology'
or 'Blogs
& Blogging'
category. My 'Environmental
Philosophy' posts often encroach into 'Politics
and Economics'. And do my book summaries (they're
not
really reviews) that include my own rambling perspectives belong in 'Arts
& Literature' or (since the books are often
political) in 'Politics
& Economics' ?
Such is the nature of taxonomy, and it points out the futility of the
efforts and dreams of some bloggers to create some kind of universal
ontology or taxonomy around the whole blogosphere. Won't work, guys.
Learn to appreciate complexity. That's why Google still rules.This post is to let my patient readers know where I think I'm going with How to Save the World. About a month ago I listed topics I was thinking of writing about, and asked for advice on priorities. Based on your preferences, I wrote eight articles, and gave up after zealous false starts on a few others (the argument for decentralization of business, for example, is something that interests me but is a nightmare to articulate or even make a compelling case for, as decentralized businesses seem to be struggling more than most these days). I've decided it's time to make a start on my book, tentatively called The World That Could Be. It will likely consist of a 100 page novella about a Utopian future (a dramatized version of what consultants call a Future State or what change managers now call an Invented Story), followed by a roughly 50-page quasi-'Instruction Book' (drawing from several of my 'signature' 'Environmental Philosophy' posts on New Collaborative Enterprises and Post-Capitalist Economics) explaining how that Utopian state might practicably be reached. No more preaching environmental philosophy, it's time for vision and action. If you're going to dream, dream big. I'm also going to put some structure around the Social Network Enablement and Social Software posts in my 'Business Papers' category, drawing about ten articles (some still to come) into a logical series. I have already granted two universities and a magazine permission to republish them, so it's clearly time to organize them into something cohesive. Business Innovation and Knowledge Management, two other major threads of my 'Business Papers' category, will continue to have irregular but lengthy posts. There is much being written on these subjects, but, from what I can glean, precious little actually being implemented. I was recently credited as an 'Idea Practitioner' in Davenport and Prusak's new book What's The Big Idea, and have been invited to participate in a KM study for the European Commission, but haven't blogged on either because, damn it, I want to proffer practical advice that business can actually use, and there's far too little of that going around. Now that my first stab at co-editing VO is complete, new 'Creative Works' will probably await news of whether my short story The Box has been accepted for publication. The latest issue of the literary journal to which I submitted it has been mysteriously delayed. But to show I bear no grudge, I will promote the journal as soon as it comes out even if it is Box-less. That might get me writing fiction again, either way. In case you haven't noticed, I'm no quitter. In any case look for more articles on the writer's art. Those who can't do, teach. I have quietly been building a website for my high school graduating class (1969, yes, I'm ancient) in an invisible category of How to Save the World, and am contemplating setting up another, more visible one for Salon bloggers' recipes, if there is interest. Is there? My 'Blogs & Blogging' category has always been inexplicably popular, so if I can figure out anything new and intelligent to say on that subject, I will post more. Ideas are welcome. As for 'Politics & Economics', I'm discouraged. There are some very fine political writers in the blogosphere (my blogroll has more political bloggers than any other category, too many in fact to keep up with). Being a Canadian, I feel out of the loop and completely unable to understand the continuing popularity of Bush. All that hasn't stopped me from expressing my uninformed and clumsy political opinions thus far, but you'll notice I've been more coy recently. There are others that simply do a better job of it than I, including quite a few of the Salon bloggers on my blogroll at left. My hat goes off to you, for your skill, your passion, and your dedication to the vital task of ridding America and the world of the undeserving and dangerous idiot who stole your highest office. Filling in the spaces, especially on weekends, will be shorter, lighter fare, on whatever takes my fancy -- travel, science, literature, film, music, photographs, and educational and whimsical posts on important subjects like ecological taxation and being good to yourself, as well as other subjects I know just a little about, but hope to learn more about by exposing you, kind reader, to my endlessly staggering ignorance and unfathomable conceit. Thank you for your patience as I figure it out. |
1:18:23 PM Howl into the void []
Morons Dot Org
Random: Stories we missed on Jul. 20, 2003. Here are URLs that were submitted to our queue on Jul. 20, 2003 but didn't make it into actual stories...1:17:24 PM Howl into the void []
birdhouse.org
TiGutz. Had a great visit from an Apple rep yesterday, came to help us solve some persistent Final Cut Pro lab issues. When he booted his laptop, saw this great wallpaper -- an x-ray of the very TiBook he was using. He sent me a copy. Higher-def version for posterity here. Something about this seems vaguely naughty, like it must have felt in the 1800s to catch a glimpse of a woman's calf or something. Music:...12:21:41 PM Howl into the void []
the reverse cowgirl's blog
Photo of the Day.
Marilyn and Building, Hollywood
12:21:34 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Signs of new momentum in Iraq12:21:18 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Anatomy of the raid on Hussein's sons12:21:16 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Daily Update: Affirmative reaction12:21:13 PM Howl into the void []
Christian Science Monitor
Constructive lessons12:21:11 PM Howl into the void []
Workbench
Internet routes around decency. This weblog is getting hundreds of hits from Google users looking for the name and pictures of Kobe Bryant's accuser (which have never been published here -- the issue was discussed recently).
The first weblog to reveal her name and photos has taken them offline after receiving 53,000 hits yesterday (compared to less than 100 on a typical day). The author's explanation for the takedown: "partly because it isn't fair to the accuser, and partly because people like to leech off my server."
Now that radio talk show host Tom Leykis has begun naming her, it's likely that others in the professional media will follow suit.
Searching the Internet for her name at this point is like wading through a cesspool -- wanna-be Matt Drudges, hucksters, and racists are all over it. The worst may be the site that's using photos and her home address and phone number to generate hits for these text ads (links omitted):
BUY SEXUAL DRUGS
Increase size and sexual stamina now!
$150/hr. Online Work
Get Paid for Taking Online Surveys/Polls
BUY SEXUAL DRUGS
Hot sexual stimulants for men and women.
Interestingly enough, Drudge is choosing not to reveal the name, even though he knows the information.
12:21:05 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Killing of Hussein's Sons Should Reassure Iraqis, Bush Says12:20:52 PM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
U.S. Will Give Iraqis Proof of the Deaths of Hussein's Sons12:20:46 PM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Mark comments on "Aggregator HTTP tests". Yes, and an XML tutorial, and an HTML tutorial, and so on...However, given the historical lack of compliance with even the most basic HTTP, XML, or HTML consumption practices, a few words of advice would not be out of line. And there's nothing wrong in general with taking general rules (like RFC 2616) and rewriting them as specific rules that go into greater depth about how a specific class of applications should behave. And writing test cases that cater to that specific class.
Likely it would go in its own RFC. But it's something that needs to be written, and it needs to be written specifically for aggregators, otherwise the entire class of applications will (based on previous experience) simply ignore the rules out of ignorance.
Simple question: how many aggregators pass all these tests today? Based on my logs, very very few. So there's obviously a need here.
12:20:44 PM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Signing Comments. Prior efforts from Paul Bausch, using PGP to protect identity: http://www.onfocus.com/pgp-demo.asp http://www.onfocus.com/index.asp?xml=2002_11_01_past.xml#3005 Posted by scottandrew12:19:54 PM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Dan Bricklin opines on the importance of domain ownership when publishing a weblog (or anything for that matter). My weblog is used as an example. In regards to the photos he attached: I am now 10 lbs lighter and dropping fast (thanks levoxyl) ;->12:19:26 PM Howl into the void []
Rayne Today
| Ä |
Feeling blue? Or maybe color #25?
Maybe a little dose of something lighthearted will pick up your spirits. Have a little fun and do some painting-by-number. You can do it at your desk, no muss, no fuss (assuming your internet access will let you get to this link).
You can even choose from a number of artistsâ works to paint. Iâm partial to Georgie OâKeefeâs floral works, myself.
Let me know what you pick; I'd love to hear what you think!
12:19:18 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Keyless Keyboard. A keyless keyboard designed to reduce RSI and other typing related injuries - sounds interesting, but slow, and of course useless for gaming. Bit pricey as well.12:18:15 PM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Surgical Simulators. They[approx equal]¥úre a little like Operation. Today students can practice all sorts of skills on surgical models like TraumaMan¨, the Hillway Man, or Geri, the Geriatric, who comes complete with wrinkles. There[approx equal]¥ús spinal surgery, gall bladder surgery, ultrasound/amniocentesis, suturing, and casualty kits. Some of them give me the I[approx equal]¥úm-a-silly-git giggles and naming a company Limbs & Things doesn't help. There[approx equal]¥ús the head with all sorts of things wrong with it, including [approx equal]¥[fl]Extraneous Lumps[approx equal]¥ÿ. The toe with refills is pretty nifty, but disturbingly life-like. There are strap-ons and table-top models.(Possibly NSFW) Some could make interesting conversation pieces.(Also poss. NSFW)In addition, Somso, maker of the [approx equal]¥[fl]dial-a-prostate[approx equal]¥ÿ model above, also makes interesting non-interactive models like this fandex of a head, a larynx with tongue, or a fingertip. They also have neat models of animals, fungi, and flowers.
12:18:11 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
The Wifi Slugfest Over Portland's PGE Park12:17:33 PM Howl into the void []
Gawker
To-Do List. 1. Try the oysters at the Mermaid Inn. 2. Pretend like it's 1991 all over again at Lollapalooza at the...12:17:24 PM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Japan's War On E-Waste11:20:10 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Remote Driver. Baby you can drive my car. Mini RC cars are all the rage but how often do you get to control a RC car in Tokyo from your browser. Bascule created a web interface for controling an RC car in their office, hooked up a couple of web cams on the track and now allows anyone with the Flash 6 plug-in to log in and drive their car for 60 seconds.11:20:07 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Congress to Big Media: Not so fast. Congress to Big Media: Not so fast Debate in Congress is shifting as grassroots organizers put pressure on to override FCC ownership rule changes. Not that Fox is looking to buy MeFi anytime soon, but still, who wants to repeat what happened in Minot?11:20:04 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Real or Memorex?. A soldier's letter home, or clever propaganda? This "letter" has been making the rounds as an email, supposedly from an officer, stationed in Iraq, named "Mark". He certainly seems to know a lot about what's going on. He loves his job, likes his generals, and admires the Iraqi people, who like him and other Americans; and he hates the press and the foreigners he says are fighting reconstruction. Sounds a little too good to be true.11:20:02 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
(Blown) Cover Story. Probes Expected in ID of CIA Officer Remember this story? Turns out it has legs, after all.11:19:59 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Surgical Simulators. They?re a little like Operation. Today students can practice all sorts of skills on surgical models like TraumaMan¨, the Hillway Man, or Geri, the Geriatric, who comes complete with wrinkles. There?s spinal surgery, gall bladder surgery, ultrasound/amniocentesis, suturing, and casualty kits. Some of them give me the I?m-a-silly-git giggles and naming a company Limbs & Things doesn't help. There?s the head with all sorts of things wrong with it, including ?Extraneous Lumps?. The toe with refills is pretty nifty, but disturbingly life-like. There are strap-ons and table-top models.(Possibly NSFW) Some could make interesting conversation pieces.(Also poss. NSFW)In addition, Somso, maker of the ?dial-a-prostate? model above, also makes interesting non-interactive models like this fandex of a head, a larynx with tongue, or a fingertip. They also have neat models of animals, fungi, and flowers.
11:19:55 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Hate on display.. Hate on display. The Anti-Defamation League has a visual database of symbols devised or co-opted by neo-Nazis and supremacist groups worldwide, as well as numbers and acronyms with racist connotations. Although most of us know what 88 means, there's also info about others such as the communist-separatist American Front and the Five Percenters. More neo-Nazi flags here; flags and badges here. Please remember: while racism is always immoral, symbols themselves can have several meanings.
11:19:33 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Kodak's Blurry Picture. The photography giant continues to struggle in the digital age.11:19:23 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Fool Writer's IPO. Here's your chance to get in on the ground floor of one hot commodity.11:19:20 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb: The Weblog Network
Bletter. E-mail newsletter demo. Looks very easy to use. It also creates an RSS feed. They are looking for beta users. This may be useful as part of the Weblog Network. It would also be nice if all you needed to do is put in your RSS feed and it would put the posts into the form itself. That way all you would need to do is work on the global template options.11:18:49 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Killing of Hussein's Sons Should Reassure Iraqis, Bush Says11:18:42 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Rebels Take Key Bridge in Liberia Capital11:18:40 AM Howl into the void []
the reverse cowgirl's blog
Jailhouse Cock.
Buffoonery goes gonzo-porno, featuring the tiny penis of eXtreme Elvis.
11:18:36 AM Howl into the void []
Morons Dot Org
Morons in the News: Report: Molestation Toll Likely Over 1000. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly has released his report on sexual abuse by the Catholic Church in that state...11:18:08 AM Howl into the void []
Gawker
NYC land grab. LES blogger Lockhart Steele describes the plot of LES real estate he's lusting after at today's land auction at the...11:17:56 AM Howl into the void []
Gawker
Remainders. á Places where you can still smoke á P. Diddy wants to buy the Knicks [via Fark] á Jewelry repair...11:17:54 AM Howl into the void []
Burningbird
FOAF Girl!. Have a brand shiny new FOAF file? Don't waste your time with small, tasteful little icons. Show your stuff. Show the world that you're proud of being FOAF'ed. Display... FOAF Girl! (borrowed from http://rdfweb.org/images/foafgirl2.png)...
11:17:49 AM Howl into the void []
How to Save the World
CONTEST WINNER.| Natasha
at the watch, one of
the best bloggers on the planet, guessed that this picture
was taken in New Orleans, and hence she wins the contest, but kind of
by default. No one was even close. It was actually shot in the
fictitious French 'village' in Busch Gardens theme park in
Williamsburg, Virginia. The building is a façade. Fooled ya!
I've e-mailed Natasha notifying her of her pyrrhic victory, and I'll
let you know what book she chooses as her prize. |
11:17:42 AM Howl into the void []
Workbench
My network is not working. Workbench has a new category, XP Networking, to document my struggles with a Windows network that is not working.
Up to this point, I've managed my home network with one problem-solving skill: Unplug the hub, count to 10, and plug it back in. I have now learned this technique has its limits.
Since Monday, our laptop can connect to the home Ethernet network, ping other machines, and ping Internet servers, but it can't browse the Web or check e-mail over a shared broadband connection on the primary PC. (Ping is an are-you-out-there tool that comes with XP: Open a command prompt and type followed by the domain you seek -- such as .)
After many failed experiments with the System Restore Wizard, Network Setup Wizard, and other false friends, I bought Microsoft Windows XP Networking Inside Out, a Microsoft Press book by Curt Simmons and James Causey.
As I read the 675-page book and learn more skills to supplement "unplug the hub," I'll be posting tips and observations in the category. I encourage other ill-prepared Windows XP network administrators to join me.
11:17:12 AM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Karl Dubost comments on "Aggregator HTTP tests". A few links to help you.And the famous unfortunately not well supported Content Location
and
http://www.mnot.net/http_compliance/list
11:17:08 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Signing Comments. My comments here: http://www.ideaspace.net/users/wkearney/archives/entries/000394.html Posted by Bill Kearney10:19:25 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Bush Says Death of Hussein's Sons Signals 'Regime Is Gone'10:19:03 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Rebels in Liberia Battle on Key Bridge10:19:02 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Hong Kong to Reopen Consultations on Security Law10:19:00 AM Howl into the void []
Radio Free Blogistan
More media junk.I'm still in the process of unifying my blogroll and my subscribed news feeds. Just added Gawker (and its excerpts will appear on the Mediajunkie page) for that New York expatriate feel.
Now I just have to remember to add plasticbag.org, another one that escapes me for days at a time till an inevitable link in brings me back. I do wish there was a standard transferable way to do categories in an OPML file. (I know I can manually add categories, but none of the aggregrators will respect them.)
A nice thing about blogrolling.com is the ability to make multiple lists (I think it's up to two for free users and unlimited for paid users). In Movable Type, I know people who use the template modules feature to create sidebar elements like link lists, and then include them in various templates, which at least means you can manage them in a single location. TypePad reportedly has some link management features built in.
10:18:48 AM Howl into the void []
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report
508 Blues. Why we removed the accessibility testing link from the bottom of every page of this site. UPDATE, 1 pm: Why we switched from Bobby to Cynthia.10:18:32 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Programming Wireless Devices With Java 210:18:13 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Roth IRA as Emergency Fund. Should you use a Roth IRA for non-retirement expenses?10:18:11 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Deciphering "Fair Value". Price doesn't always equal value.10:18:08 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
TV Wars. In its quest for deregulation, the FCC faces rare bipartisan opposition.10:18:06 AM Howl into the void []
the reverse cowgirl's blog
And You?.
I am, like, so Post-Cool right now.
10:18:00 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
It's not censorship if it doesn't work. GOP Warns TV Stations Not to Air Ad Alleging Bush Mislead the Nation Over Iraq They claim that the ad itself is dishonest, and cite the obligation of broadcast outlets to be free of misleading information. [approx equal]¥[fl]Such obligations must be taken seriously. This letter puts you on notice that the information contained in the above-cited advertisement is false and misleading; therefore, you are obligated to refrain from airing this advertisement.[approx equal]¥ÿ Despite the implicit threats, only one station has refused to run the ad, a Fox station.10:17:51 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Surgical Simulators. They[approx equal]¥úre a little like Operation. Today students can practice all sorts of skills on surgical models like TraumaMan¨, the Hillway Man, or Geri, the Geriatric, who comes complete with wrinkles. There[approx equal]¥ús spinal surgery, gall bladder surgery, ultrasound/amniocentesis, suturing, and casualty kits. Some of them give me the I[approx equal]¥úm-a-silly-git giggles and naming a company Limbs & Things doesn't help. There[approx equal]¥ús the head with all sorts of things wrong with it, including [approx equal]¥[fl]Extraneous Lumps[approx equal]¥ÿ. The toe with refills is pretty nifty, but disturbingly life-like. There are strap-ons and table-top models.(Possibly NSFW) Some could make interesting conversation pieces.(Also poss. NSFW)In addition, Somso, maker of the [approx equal]¥[fl]dial-a-prostate[approx equal]¥ÿ model above, also makes interesting non-interactive models like this fandex of a head, a larynx with tongue, or a fingertip. They also have neat models of animals, fungi, and flowers.
10:17:48 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Warning: anime cuteness!. Genki Gang has the most amazing anime-inspired hats ever. I wonder if I can get a Totoro one in time for the DC Meetup? Kawaii!(Sorry, Flash site so no direct links...click on Store then "hats".)
10:17:37 AM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Jim Dabell comments on "Aggregator HTTP tests". I think there's a danger here of simply putting an HTTP tutorial into the Atom RFC.Shouldn't this kind of stuff be factored out into a "best practices" document of some sort?
10:17:12 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Swiss Researchers Exploit Windows Password Flaw9:19:29 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Bletter. E-mail newsletter demo. Looks very easy to use. It also creates an RSS feed. They are looking for beta users. This may be useful as part of the Weblog Network.9:19:16 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Hmmm. Interesting. I had never seen this Yahoo search interface before.9:19:15 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Boston Globe. Blogs and political discourse. This article made it to the front page of the paper.9:19:13 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Joi on the future of microcontent. I posted a response. Scoble does too.9:19:11 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
eBay's Ad Play. The auctioneer's new ad service could significantly boost revenue.9:18:54 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb: The Weblog Network
Bletter. E-mail newsletter demo. Looks very easy to use. It also creates an RSS feed. They are looking for beta users. This may be useful as part of the Weblog Network.9:18:47 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
But Venus Bold Extended is the real heel.. Typeface Smackdown. (via Kottke.)9:18:42 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Ecotonoha - interactive ecology project - add a leaf, plant a tree. Ecotonoha - the word tree. Add a signature leaf to this interactive tree...between now and Christmas, for every 100 leaves added, NEC will plant a tree on Kangaroo Island as part of their Australian afforestation program. The tree is rebuilt each day - so far, 6,000+ participants are responsible for 60 new trees. An intriguing collaborative flash project designed by Yugo Nakamura.9:18:40 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Take 2 Thorazine & call me in the morning.. The American Gallery of Psychiatric Art. 'Sanity For Sale: 1960-2000'. Magazine advertisements for psychiatric medications in the latter half of the twentieth century.9:18:36 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Just give 'em what they want. "Every war needs a hero ... the facts don't particularly matter"9:18:35 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Hate on display. The Anti-Defamation League has a visual database of symbols devised or co-opted by neo-Nazis and supremacist groups worldwide, as well as numbers and acronyms with racist connotations. Although most of us know what 88 means, there's also info about others such as the communist-separatist American Front and the Five Percenters. More neo-Nazi flags here; flags and badges here. Please remember: while racism is always immoral, symbols themselves can have several meanings.9:18:32 AM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Kevin comments on "Dive into accountability". The LastModified plugin has an MTIfModified tag that will display conditionally if the entry's modified date is different from its creation date. That doesn't mean a change was actually made (see #34 and #42 above), but you could put the Revision History link in it and it wouldn't display if a post has never been re-saved--in other words, you'd still get some false positives, but no false negatives.Mark, I should have some code to send you by tomorrow. Hadn't thought about including a template tag to display the number of revisions, but it's a good idea and should be easy to stick in...
9:18:25 AM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Robb Beal comments on "Aggregator HTTP tests". Thanks for the thoughtful, effective leadership!9:18:23 AM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Mark comments on "Dive into accountability". On re-reading, that sounds unspeakably rude. In my defense, Kevin *did* express interest (via email) in writing such a system. If my Perl were better than "um, that's a for loop, right?" I might attempt it myself. Alas.9:18:21 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Bush Says Death of Hussein's Sons Signals 'Regime Is Gone'9:18:12 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Canadian Buried in Iran, Ottawa to Pull Ambassador9:18:11 AM Howl into the void []
Morons Dot Org
Morons in the News: Yet Another Member of Bush Administration Takes the Fall. Rather than admit that he was wrong in light of a pile of evidence suggesting he should have known better, Bush has found another person to take the blame...9:18:10 AM Howl into the void []
Morons Dot Org
Signs of Intelligence: Judge Throws out Terrorism Charges against Lawyer. A New York lawyer was charged with giving material support to a terrorist because she "conspired to help" him...9:18:08 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Signing comments. Some interesting ideas from Simon Willison : Signing comments on blogs. (spotter : Sam Ruby)...... Excerpt from Formerly Echo9:17:59 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth. I took a low-tech method to this problem. I use some of that free web space given to me by my ISP, and host my highest HTTP GETs there (I look at the web logs every couple of days to make sure that I don't find anything new). But, I do like the code method better. The best design I remember is using an ASPX file with an id that returns the desired image, but only to if the page referrer matches the desired qualifications. Posted by Doug Thews9:17:57 AM Howl into the void []
bOing bOing
XBOX fever hitting US troops overseas -- hard.9:17:19 AM Howl into the void []
bOing bOing
Helvetica to Arial: I'm gonna git you, sucka9:17:17 AM Howl into the void []
bOing bOing
New graphics book out from political street artist Robbie Conal9:17:13 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
Joe Conason's Journal. Iraq's impact on national politics can be measured in polls -- or by the panicky reaction of Rush Limbaugh.8:21:05 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
Congress to bikers: Get a car. A house subcommittee has voted to cut all funding for bike paths and other pollution-free transportation programs.8:21:04 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
Story Minute. When is a lie worthy of hanging a "gate" on it?8:21:03 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
King Kaufman's Sports Daily. Yes, Kobe Bryant is innocent until proven guilty. That's how it's supposed to work. And what was that girl doing there? The readers weigh in.8:21:03 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
Rebel from the yeshiva. Director Eitan Gorlin on "The Holy Land," his controversial film about a rabbinical student running wild in Jerusalem, and why some Jews don't like its explosive portrait of late-'90s Israel.8:21:02 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
Casualties of victory. On May 1, President Bush congratulated the armed forces on the "triumph" in Iraq. But that's no consolation to the family of Micheal Dooley, who was killed in Iraq on June 8.8:21:01 AM Howl into the void []
Salon.com
Sibling rivalry. My husband loves my sister -- he said so in his online diary!8:21:01 AM Howl into the void []
dive into mark
Atom aggregator behavior (HTTP level). A news aggregator is fundamentally an HTTP client, and there's a lot of prior art on how HTTP clients are supposed to work. (542 words)8:21:00 AM Howl into the void []
Orcinus
Creeping fascism. I was on a remote island much of last week and am just now catching up. Certainly worth mentioning was this piece:A Kind of Fascism Is Replacing Our DemocracyLike previous forms of totalitarianism, the Bush administration boasts a reckless unilateralis
8:20:53 AM Howl into the void []
Pesky the Rat
President Bush celebrates victory over Hussein brothers, declares himself Americaâs #1 Sex Machine.President Bush, excited after yesterdayâs killing of the infamous Hussein brothers, has declared himself to be a ãsex machineä. The connection between the military action in Iraq and Bushâs sexual prowess is unclear, but aids say the President plans take his status as ãAmericaâs #1 Sex Machineä very seriously.
ãHe understands that being a Sex Machine entails a certain amount of responsibility, perhaps greater than any responsibility he has had in his life,ä says White House spokescreature Betty the Ferret. ãHe has already purchased a new wardrobe, including sequined bath robes he plans to wear to press conferences.ä
The President has allegedly desired the title for some time. As a college student at Yale, he reportedly ran through the dormitory halls screaming at the top of his lungs, ãIâm the man! Yeah! Iâm a sex machine!ä However, fellow students say the display was nothing short of embarrassing, because at the time it was clear that Bush was nothing of the sort.
White House insiders say there is no doubt this time. First Lady Laura Bush is reportedly hiding in a White House bathroom, desperately reading ãLittle House on the Prairieä while snacking on pork rinds. Female White House interns now appear more ãperkyä. And Condi Rice is said to giggle like a schoolgirl during national security briefings.
The previous occupant of the White House, however, scoffs at Bushâs new status. ãBlowing up a couple oâ Husseins is the easy way to become a sex machine,ä says Bill Clinton. ãI did it the hard way. And I mean the hard way.ä
The President is spending his first full day as Americaâs #1 Sex Machine by jiggling his ass in the rose garden at 10:00, and then standing on the White House balcony for hours while looking ãruggedä and ãthoughtfulä. The latter has been a challenge for the President, but he thinks heâs gotten it down after sixteen viewings of ãBridges of Madison Countyä.
ãHeâs ready to take on the world,ä says Ted the Fire Ant, Bush Administration spokesman. ãHe knows heâs The Man and he doesnât need to prove anything to anybody. But just in case, he will continue blowing things up and landing on aircraft carriers.ä
Rodent Public Health Warning
Rodents are hereby notified that cats in the
8:20:46 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby
Better Messaging. Sean McGrath: The real beauty of messaging is the tremendous scope it provides for intervention in message flows. Where you can intervene, you can transform and Transformation is the only truth. I agree. However, I would like to add that once you accept that, you can go on to produce better models, ones that are more suited to transformation. For starters, it helps if the messages are cleanly and thoroughly specified. And adopt the use of a common set of data types when possible. And ones that don't obscure structure with XML escaping.8:20:39 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby
Signing Comments. Simon Willison has joined a discussion on signing comments. This is a topic that has fascinated me for some time, but I haven't done anything about... yet. Having signature authenticating web service would also be valuable in a posting API.8:20:37 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby
Well Specified Web. Mark Pilgrim has been busy capturing the rationalle for - as well as actually implementing - a simple yet comprehensive test suite for the transport transfer level semantics of well behaved and bandwidth friendly HTTP based aggregators. Bravo.8:20:36 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby
Stealing Bandwidth. I had two separate individuals including images from my site in their weblogs instead of hosting the images on their own site. One has now ceased. Thanks. The other hasn't gotten the message yet. Please don't do that.8:20:35 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
U.S. Reaffirms Identification of Hussein's 2 Dead Sons8:20:25 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Hopes Rise for End to Attacks8:20:24 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Hussein's 2 Sons Dead in Shootout, U.S. Says8:20:23 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Controlling Iraq: Hopes Rise for End to Attacks8:20:23 AM Howl into the void []
New York Times: International News
Letter From the Middle East: With U.S. in Neighborhood, Syria Eases Its Grip8:20:22 AM Howl into the void []
Washington Post: Front Page
Grateful W.Virginians Embrace Pfc. Lynch8:20:21 AM Howl into the void []
Washington Post: Front Page
As U.S. Lowered Sights, Information Poured In8:20:20 AM Howl into the void []
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report
ALA oops!. The good news is, A List Apart Magazine has moved to a faster, more powerful, and more secure server courtesy of our good friends at Evolvs Media, Inc. The bad news is, some articles and some of the site's functionality are temporarily missing in action. They will be restored soon.8:20:18 AM Howl into the void []
Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report
508 Blues. Why we removed the accessibility testing link from the bottom of every page of this site.8:20:17 AM Howl into the void []
kuro5hin.org
eBay still not using SSL. eBay still does not use SSL for passwords. Although there is an option to use it during signin, this is largely negated by the fact that you have to continuously re-sign in to perform various commands, the fact that you cannot have SSL be the 'default' login, the fact that most eBay sellers are not techno-knowledgable enough to understand what secure-sign-in is anyways so they wont click the tiny 'secure signin' link, and the fact that the eBay 'change your password' web page not only sends your new password back to them completely unencrypted but also has no option for using SSL to do the change.8:20:09 AM Howl into the void []
John Robb's Weblog
Old Wired article on Microsoft's MyLifeBits. "Someday, MyLifeBits will allow people to Google their own lives, (Gordon) Bell says." You can get started right now. Lots of people are using their weblog tools to publish a private weblog to their hard drive (a backup brain). They use categories to publish public weblogs to various locations. Tip for Radio users: in order to get to your desktop ("Home") weblog on your desktop, bookmark this location: http://127.0.0.1:5335/index.html Mark has a search tool for Radio that allows you to search your weblog locally.8:20:05 AM Howl into the void []
the reverse cowgirl's blog
Ooooh, Doctor, Examine Me With Your Tentacles.
For quite some time, my boyfriend has been working on "Spider-Man 2," building animatronic portions of the Amazing Arachnid's next nemesis, Doctor Octopus, a.k.a. Doc Ock. Recently, he's been pupeteering portions of the Bad Doctor's apparatus on set. At Comic-Con last weekend, SONY showed off the first clip ever of Doc Ock in action. It was phenomenal. Alfred Molina is awesome as the multi-tentacled Otto Octavius. On the panel, Molina talked about playing the part, making a lot of references to the pornographic aspect of wearing strap-ons at work. Because I took one too many film studies classes as an undergraduate, I couldn't help but see its center backpiece as looking like a big vagina and its tentacles as looking like a lot of penises. Clearly, what we have here is the first hermaphroditic comic-book anti-hero that can fuck itself.
8:20:00 AM Howl into the void []
the reverse cowgirl's blog
Whole Lotta Brown Sugah.
Paper features sexy fashions drawn by COOP. My favorite is this blackalicious babe all got up in D&G. They've also got a profile, "Born 4 Porn," on Jenna Jameson.
8:19:55 AM Howl into the void []
Oliver Willis: Like Kryptonite To Stupid
Bask In My Glory. Or somethng like that... Boston Globe: 'Blogs' shake the political discourse Oliver Willis, 25, doesn't match the old-school profile of political influence. He's not a rich man or a player in Democratic circles; in the 2000 presidential campaign, the most...8:19:46 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Keeping the Net Free. Saving the Net isn't just really about saving the net: the article is a great point of confluence on the issues of Intellectual Property, Property and Success as American values, as well as the future of the Internet as a true commons. Especially interesting is the observation that Presidential candidate Howard Dean's campaign contribution lead [approx equal]¥ã raised via the Internet [approx equal]¥ã is owed to a huge number of small donations, not to a small number of large special interests. If he's being bought, it's by his voters." [via Slashdot]8:19:44 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Gutenberg Bible. The Gutenberg Bible : the first book printed with movable type, is the one of the greatest treasures in the University of Texas's Ransom Center's collections. It was printed at Johann Gutenberg's shop in Mainz, Germany and completed in 1454 or 1455. The Center's Bible was acquired in 1978 and is one of only five complete examples in the United States. All 1,282 pages now available for viewing on the Ransom Center's Web site. Also check out the anatomy of a page.8:19:43 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
When Oliver Willis talks the blogosphere listens. Oliver makes the mainstream media!8:19:42 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Faux Faulkner. "GOLDILOCKS. Slim blond avatar of unreasoning womankind: who loved not the porridge itself, nor even the act of receiving it from whatever unknown animal might have been responsible for its preparation..."From the winning submission of the Faux Faulkner contest. Also check out Faux Hemingway.
8:19:41 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
contents: photographs, hair, soil. Not to be opened before 6970. The Osaka Time Capsule was buried in 1970 and contained 2008 objects (listed here). Two identical units were built, one of which is not be opened until the year 6970. That's a mighty long time to wait.Oglethorpe University's International Time Capsule Society is attempting to collect a comprehensive database of the world's time capsules, most of which, it appears, are missing. Online mini-time capsules can me made at dMarie.com. Alternatively, make your own or buy a proper one.
8:19:40 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Speed Rules. Technology is about finding the best road to your destination. Some are fast. Others are slow.Having one speed limit seems redundant. Put it to a test and let skills decide.
8:19:39 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
From Derby Winner to Horsemeat. From Derby Winner to Horsemeat. Victories in the 1986 Kentucky Derby and the 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic figured to have earned Ferdinand a cushy retirement when his racing days were over. Instead, his life apparently ended in a Japanese slaughterhouse in 2002 (NY Times link).The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation argues for a stop to horse slaughter in this white paper, and there is pending legislation to ban the practice. Sooooo, how many of you have visited a boucherie chevaline?
8:19:38 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
"In a real fourth reich you'll be the first to go". Hate on display . The Anti-Defamation League has a visual database of symbols devised or co-opted by neo-Nazis and supremacist groups worldwide, as well as numbers and acronyms with racist connotations. Although most of us know what 88 means, there's also info about others such as the communist-separatist American Front and the Five Percenters. More neo-Nazi flags here; flags and badges here. Please remember: while racism is always immoral, symbols themselves can have several meanings. (main link found via the "NSFW T-Shirts" TextAd from tinyninjas, which sells "biker" Iron Cross apparel; they do offer a disclaimer of sorts and do link to the ADL, but I still wonder if it's really worth it for MeFi to be associated with that kind of business)8:19:34 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Murals. Public Art in Los Angeles , including murals. The Mural Conservancy of LA. Murals in Tucson. Loyalist and republican murals in Northern Ireland. The murals of Diego Rivera (at the Diego Rivera Web Museum). the Diego Rivera Mural Project.8:19:31 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Children hogtied, shackled, sprayed, forced to eat vomit, stripped naked ... Mississippi Gulag. Remember Tranquility Bay? Kids being forcibly deported to Jamaica, where they have to earn their right to speak by advancing in a perverted "level" system, with punishment ranging from laying on the floor for hours to painful "restraint" sessions? A report by Assistant Attorney General submitted on June 19, 2003 to Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove sheds light on two different "correctional" facilities, the Oakley and Columbia "Training Schools" in Mississipi. Boys and girls aged from 10 to 17 are hogtied for hours, pepper sprayed for disobedience, forced to eat their own vomit during exercises, or stripped naked and locked in a dark room for days because of suicide attempts. Between torturing sessions, they have to participate in good Christian prayers. These kids have to suffer abuse that would lead to a nationwide scandal if it happened to adults (or if sex was involved). AP has a brief summary.8:19:29 AM Howl into the void []
MetaFilter
Monkeyfilter!. I'll say it: It's time someone did something about the Monkeys. Over the last two years they have established a clear cut pattern of terror & harassment in countries ranging from Eastern India, Jakarta, Tokyo, Sri Lanka or New Dehli, and the fact remains that it's only a matter of time before these crazed foreign monkeys make their way to places I could actually find on a map, or possibly even America, (possibly in this guy's pants). When they come, and they will, will our leaders protect us from their savage rampage? Or is it too late - are they already among us?!?8:19:27 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
The IPO Is Back. When it comes to new issues, it's quality that counts. Here's a few IPOs we'd like to see.8:19:21 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Amazon Keeps Booking. There seems to be no stopping this virutal giant.8:19:20 AM Howl into the void []
The Motley Fool
Play the Field. A few rules for winning the credit card teaser-rate game.8:19:19 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth. http://www.harrumph.com/020727.shtml contains some cute before and after shots of a creative redirect. I must admit that I am quite enamored of Martin's suggestion above and have now applied it to the remaining culprit. Posted by Sam Ruby8:19:17 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth -- Getting the message. A solution for Sam's little problem: change the picture identified by the URL they are referencing. I had this happen a while back so I changed the image to include a message, something like: "You're seeing this message because the...... [more][back]Trackback from snellspace8:19:16 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Signing Comments. Identity at comments really has two aspects, first and foremost, to discourage spam or to ban abusers, and secondly, to trace comments back to the person who claimed to make them. Neither of which needs to get into the complexity of signing. And both of which can be enabled by a set of centalized identity services, federating, or even each blog maintianing its own identity system, or even caching upstream identities. I suspect this is one of those cases where decentralization for its own sake makes it harder for the actual user, who now has to install a bookmarklet, rather than having had to do one of those click on link in email signup things. Atleast this proposal dosent waant to do the pgp signing stuff people were talking abot earlier. Why do we programmers have aa tendency to complicate things more than they need to be (its something i have to actively counteract in me too)? Posted by Rahul Dave8:19:15 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth. If you're feeling mischievous you could make your images require HTTP authentication when accessed from offsite, so that the page in question will pop up a username/password dialog box when the image loads. A lot more noticeable than a broken image. I did that once to get a particularly annoying linker off my back, but you don't really need it once you've got rid of the few folks who persist for a while after you introduce preventative measures. Posted by Martin Atkins8:19:13 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth. For a while, I would substitute the images for some of an inappropriate nature, but it was happening so often that I gave up. Bandwidth theft really sucks, and it is always some child posting to a forum or something. Posted by Simon Jessey8:19:12 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Better Messaging. Chuckle! Sean made a subtle change in where he linked the word thorough to. I've got no quibbles with that, after all Transformation is the only truth. Posted by Sam Ruby8:19:11 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Better Messaging. Sam Ruby picked up on my post about messaging. I couldn't agree more about the need for clean, thorough specification of XML messages. ... Excerpt from Sean McGrath, CTO, Propylon8:19:10 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Well Specified Web. Pedants... Posted by Mark8:19:09 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth. Martin, I did forbidden for a few days. That was ineffective in either case. Now, I'm doing a redirect. That got quickly noticed in one case, and corrected. Posted by Sam Ruby8:19:08 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Stealing Bandwidth. There are, as I'm sure you're aware, technical measures against such things. LiveJournal has a quick guide. Posted by Martin Atkins8:19:07 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Well Specified Web. Kinda ironic that a post on application-level semantics has the word transport-level in the title. T is for Transfer. Posted by Arien8:19:06 AM Howl into the void []
Sam Ruby's Comments
Better Messaging. I agree. However, I would like to add that once you accept that, you can go on to produce better models, ones that are more suited to transformation. For starters, it helps if the messages are cleanly and thoroughly specified. And adopt... [more][back]Trackback from Sam Ruby8:19:05 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Microsoft Improves Its Licensing Terms8:19:01 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Saving the Net8:19:00 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Hydrogenaudio AAC Listening Test Results8:18:59 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
The Growing Field Guide To Spam Techniques8:18:59 AM Howl into the void []
Slashdot
Australian Linux User Group Fights Back Against SCO8:18:58 AM Howl into the void []
Radio Free Blogistan
Claiming a Technorati identity.I signed up and uploaded a wrong-shaped photo to the new Technorati feature the other day but still have to add the code to my weblog to confirm. The lazy thing is to post it here, but I should add it to my template if I want to keep it around. I didn't do that with Blogshares. Does that matter?
Here's the snippet to identify me to Technorati as the owner of this weblog:
8:18:57 AM Howl into the void []
Rayne Today
| - |
Thereâs no manual
I watched the CENTCOM briefing this morning, listened as reporters asked in multiple languages and accents about the events leading up to and culminating in the alleged deaths of Saddamâs sons.
As I said yesterday, Iâm skeptical. There were skeptics present among the reporters as well, validating my own concerns. I listened intently because of my nagging doubts and uncertainty.
Maybe it was the frequent use of the words ãsonä or ãsonsä that did it, the anchors on multiple channels talking about Saddamâs son Udai or his son Qusai or both sons together, the crawl at the bottom of all the news channels flashing the word ãsonä or ãsonsä. Perhaps it was the degree of skeptically discerning focus I had on the message that did it, checking me short. Whatever the mental tripwire, I stumbled onto a painful truth.
I donât know what to do if a military car pulls into my driveway.
My husband is out of town again, within a couple hour commute, just for a meeting today. He could be anywhere on the road between here and there at any time, he could be in a conference call, he could be on the plant floor doing whatever it is that managers do day-to-day. What do I do if a dark-colored American-made sedan with military plates pulls in the driveway, regardless of where my husband is at any time?
Do I simply tell the man in the uniform who steps up to the door, Sorry, youâll have to come back, deferring the sober message until my husband is here? Do I call my husband immediately, before this uniformed member of the Armed Forces even steps foot out of the car? Do I demand my husband come home immediately, with no explanation? Do I tell him thereâs someone here from the military? Does the military handle it for me? Do I call the in-laws, the grandparents, and tell them a military representative is here?
There is no protocol. There is no book of instructions for me to follow, no manual of appropriate behavior for a wife and stepmother to follow. I donât think thereâs instructions for natural or adoptive parents, either; at least I havenât seen my husband thumbing through any military-issued information.
As if having a manual would make this any easier on the bearer of the message or the intended recipient.
While watching the CENTCOM briefing, I note thereâs been two more troop deaths yet again today. Somebodyâs sons died today, not just Saddamâs.
Two dark-colored American-made sedans with military plates will pull into two different neighborhoods. Two doors will be answered. And two people each answering the door will have to find the answers to the questions Iâm asking myself right now. Theyâll have to make it up as they go along in the blindness of grief, feel their way along in the grip of heartbreaking pain.
It wouldnât matter if every speck of Saddamâs gene pool was wiped off the face of the earth today. It wonât matter if the words ãsonä or ãsonsä arenât used again today in the news. It still wonât stop those vehicles bearing military plates which are already waiting for their mission today.
Dear God, please, not this house, not today. I donât think I can answer the door.
8:18:53 AM Howl into the void []
Rayne Today
| [fl] |
A letter to You-Know-Who
Hey, I owe you a huge apology; there are some emails Iâm still catching up on, going waaaay back like months now. Some of your emails are of a nature that really begs a better answer than I can give off the cuff ö or require some other action that will take more uninterrupted time than I have right now. In at least one case, itâs likely you really didnât need a prompt reply; it would be in your best interest if I didnât whip off an answer right away. Really.
I beg your continued indulgence; I havenât forgotten and Iâll try to respond shortly.
Thanks,
~Rayne
p.s. There are several of you, You-Know-Who·little comfort knowing youâre not alone, hmm?
8:18:31 AM Howl into the void []
birdhouse.org
Federal Bike Lane Funding Cut. Salon: A new congressional transportation appropriations bill will entirely eliminate some $600 million worth of annual federal funding for bike paths, walkways and other such transportation niceties in fiscal year 2004. Meanwhile, "highways would receive $34.1 billion in fiscal year 2004, which is $2.5 billion more than this year." Never mind the political fallout of U.S. oil dependency on the Middle East, or the fact that the average mileage per gallon for new cars and...8:17:56 AM Howl into the void []
Corante: Social Software
Friendster T-shirts: Pop culture. Glossosaurus is selling t-shirts with random Friendster images on them. Says Xeni (of BoingBoing, whose picture is on that t-shirt): "There are so many overlapping memes in that photo, the entire blogosphere could implode any minute now."
This is why I never believe the hand-wringing about impending mono-culture -- we are awfully good at inventing shibboleths like the Friendster t-shirt to describe new tribes. Those in Friendster who see one of these shirts will recognize it at once, while everyone else will think its a fairly generic image on a t-shirt, strengthening the difference between being in the Friendster tribe and out of it.
8:17:51 AM Howl into the void []
Burningbird
I wanna hold your hand. Networks of friends, or at least people that know each other, seem to be very popular lately -- I had two invitations yesterday to two different 'friends' networks. While I appreciate the thought and the invitation -- I really do -- I declined both; not because I don't care for the people, but because I don't care for these networks. (Not the least of which was because of the increased spam email I started receiving after joining Friendster.) AKMA also doesn't care for these networks, but this is primarily because he sees them as a dating service; though I'm sure that Margaret supports his explorations into social software, there is a limit to how far one takes one's explorations. (That's also one of my objections, though I'm not married. Since my experiences with online relationships of a tender nature haven't been very positive, I'm also not interested in anything to do with meeting people online for purposes of 'romance'. If I'm going to meet a lemon, I prefer to see the peel upfront.) AKMA has, however, created his own FOAF file, starting out with people he knows already have a FOAF file of their own, such as my own. I've...8:17:46 AM Howl into the void []
bOing bOing
Thackery T. Lambshead Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases8:17:45 AM Howl into the void []
bOing bOing
REALLY cheap new PPI8:17:44 AM Howl into the void []
bOing bOing
Will e-Voting work?8:17:43 AM Howl into the void []
Robert's Virtual Soapbox
"President Bush's 'Bring Them On' Picture Album"
Back in April, I posted a piece called "This Is What 'Liberation' Looks Like." I showed unpleasant images of Iraqi civilian casualties that the corporately controlled U.S. media have refused to show us, lest we morally superior Americans actually be confronted with the real-life consequences of our actions (gasp!).
The powers that be want the thousands of deaths and maimings in the illegal, immoral, unprovoked and imperialistic U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq to remain mere abstractions. That way, we don't have to deal with that pesky guilt thing.
Here is another collection of images from Gulf War II that the U.S. government and corporately controlled U.S. media don't want us to see. This time, these are images of the unnecessary suffering that U.S. troops are going through in Iraq so that "President" Bush and his corporate cronies can become even filthy richer from oil-related profits from the war in which young American men and women are dying and that the American taxpayers are funding at the expense of future generations of Americans (say bye-bye to Social Security and Medicare; Little Georgie had to have his little war for Daddy instead).
These images are taken from informationclearinghouse.com's "President Bush's 'Bring Them On' Picture Album."
8:17:38 AM Howl into the void []
Tomalak's Realm
SJ Mercury: Studios demanding too much in their copyright campaign. Dan Gillmor. The cartel believes -- and basically says -- that fair use is something copyright holders may provide or withhold at their whim. This stance tells customers they have no rights, except to spend or not spend.8:17:24 AM Howl into the void []
STANDING ROOM ONLY
REAL LIFE TOP FIVE
1. ANNIE LENNOX - ãWonderfulä - from her new album Bare. I first heard this album at my doctorâs office and the receptionist asked what I thought. ãWell,ä I replied, ãgreat music for killing yourself.ä Of course I eventually bought the CD and despite song titles like ãThe Hurting Timeä and ãThe Saddest Song Iâve Gotä, overall itâs alot more upbeat than I expected. ãWonderfulä manages to showcase her strengths - haunting, soaring vulnerability with a chorus that raises the roof. You know youâd be on your feet singing along with the rest of the audience and suddenly wondering which t-shirt to buy. Bare, my ass.
2. PATTI SMITH - ãRock and Roll Niggerä - from the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. Too bad the title carries so much baggage because itâs a great rocking anthem. Even Oliver Stone chose to underplay or overdub the ãNä word in the movie, a rather antiquated move compared to the post-Eminem and Pulp Fiction era. Smith tries to de-stigmitize the word in her own way by using it as an allegory for all outsiders. ãJesus Christ was a niggerä she wails and in her world the word is a declaration not an insult. Art is created ãoutside of societyä and she drives her theory home in a song made for driving fast and furiously away from those who would close your mind.
3. MACY GRAY - ãHappinessä - from her new CD The Trouble With Being Myself . Macy Gray may be an acquired taste, like Billie Holliday, and I may not understand all the words or get hung up on tonality but itâs not really about what she says. Holliday tapped into inner pain but Gray calls on her inner kid for her loopy lyrics and catchy hooks. ãHappiness for a day or two. Thatâs my limit, Iâm a junkie just like you.ä Sounds like Janis Joplin territory but itâs backed by a bouncy childrenâs choir shouting out ãHappiness!ä in an ode to Lifeâs addiction. Itâs summer, you gleefully jump on the trampoline while a sprinkler waters the lawn and a big shit-eating grin is spread across your face.
4. MADONNA - Gap Ads - sure to appear omnipotently everywhere soon. Iâve read several items despairingly referring to Madonnaâs recent decision to appear in Gap ads as if it signaled the End of Life On Earth. Given her recent track record, I donât see how it could be anything but an Up Stat. Take away my Gay Card but I felt she Jumped the Shark awhile back, Way Back When songs like ãMaterial Girlä were plump with irony as Madge rolled in the benefits of fame while simultaneously poking fun at herself. I didnât buy American Life. Any of it. Now she sounds like the goal she worked so hard to obtain is just a big fat bummer. Not much fun to be had anymore and who wants to dance to whining? I know some still swear by her but I feel the Lady Doth Protest Too Much.
5. BACK TO MINE SERIES - Ok, hereâs when I can pull out my Gay Card and do my ãI Know Something You Donâtä dance. Maybe... this is a tough crowd, but what the hell, I do love doing the dance. Not that much different from my ãIâve Had Too Many Cocktailsä dance or my ãTina Turnerä dance, so you can see the attraction. The Back To Mine series asks well-known music impresarios to compile a CD of their favorite tunes and music thatâs inspired them. I own three - Everything But The Girl, Danny Teneglia and Nick Warren - and all of them have at least one song you Canât Believe You Never Heard. The ten minute ãDo It Nowä on the EBTG - life in a song. Go ahead and dance but remember, your body has no power here in Munchkinland. Just release and enjoy.