Surrounded by Books

Wonderful.

"It's full off books!" (with apologies to Stanley Kubrick).

Neil Gaiman, a writer who I really admire, has an outstanding library.

I look at these pictures and it's induces a feeling of relaxation similar to looking out out at a beautiful Caribbean beach. I love my little library and it's a comfort to me, but Mr. Gaiman has a LIBRARY!

Rain Garden!

Yeah! We're getting a free Rain Garden!

Visit the new place

I've started a new site, focused more on business, life, and technology. Come and visit! http://firsttodaythentomorrow.wordpress.com/

Get Your Bag On

So, the rumors are flying about the much hoped for Apple "iTablet." If they're true, it could be another market changer.

I think it will also be a fashion changer. Why? Because if you're a guy, you'll have to carry this larger-than-an-iphone/ipod device. That's the whole point. It'll be too big to clip to your belt, sooo - welcome back the "Murse" or man-bag.

I'm serious. For those like me who really hate carrying anything and have long suffering (albeit not silent) wives and girlfriends who complain when we ask, "Can you stick this in your purse?" it will be a real dilemma. It will have to be a really terrific device for me to want to carry it about. And if it is, then I'll need a bag. And if I'm already carrying a bag, I just as well put all the others things I might need in it. And being a former boy scout and admirer of James Bond, I'll want to be prepared for ANYTHING.

So, it begins.

Or restarts.

In 1985 I made my first trip to NYC for a job interview at a big ad agency. I was right out of grad school and didn't have a chance for the job. But I wanted the experience of the interview and to make the trip. I spent days walking all over the city, and everywhere I saw fast walking guys, listening to their Sony Walkman tape players, stored in their nifty shoulder bags. So I bought a gray pleather bag from a street vendor, put my bright yellow Sports Walkman in the bag, and started walking faster. Somewhere along the line, probably when I had to share in carrying diaper bags and baby items, carrying the bag fell by the wayside.

I've actually got a bag set aside - a leather East German military map bag. It's small, flat, and has lots of pockets for pens and such, but it wont let me carry lots of crucial survival gear, so it's ideal. I hope the iTablet will fit!

Not the works!

So, what's happening when your brain is idling? This little frantic piece of music is what's playing in my head, especially when I'm building something, or plotting revenge on that stupid cat!

I couldn't help but smile to hear this all harmonica version.

My daughter Jen and I use this for important life decisions, like what we'll eat for supper. Unfortunately, each of us always throws Spock!

Blueberry Crumb Coffee Loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 packages Blueberry Muffin Mix, Martha White, if available
• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon peal, grated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup flour, all-purpose
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter

Directions:Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8x4 inch loaf pan with foil and lightly spray with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine muffin mixes, water, sour cream, egg, lemon peel and lemon juice in large bowl until moistened. Spread into prepared pan. Mix flour, sugar and butter with a fork until blended. Crumble over batter.

Bake 55-60 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes. Using the foil, lift loaf out of pan. Cool completely. Cut with serrated knife.(Serves 12)

Man on the Moon

Last night was thrilling. The only thing I can relate it to is that same feeling I had as a nine year old boy watching Neil Armstrong step foot on the moon.

But I'm also cautioned. I remember thinking, "this is only the beginning" way back in 1969, but frankly, it was only a brief peak, all to short.

As I drove out of my neighborhood early this morning a blue pickup was just ahead of me. I had to brake as the truck briefly swerved and the driver thrust his arm out the window and flipped off as he passed a house with Obama for President signs. It took the edge off my euphoria.

We have a long way to go.

Jim, I miss you so.

I was reminded by The Edge of the American West that Jim Henson died 18 years ago today. It's hard for me to understand how this loss effected me. I didn't personally know the man, but I love his creation and completely connected to his vision and talent.

Even today, watching this clip from his memorial service and now as I write this, I find tears filling my eyes.

Unfortunately, the video is no longer available.

Coming Soon

Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film


Gots to admit. I do love that trailer.

This calls for a true hero

This is not for me, but it's a brilliant idea and merits study. One way solo trip to Mars.

This is not for me, but I can see that for many, it would be a completely rational decision, and not a suicidal one. The mission would be planned so we'd continue to send supplies, but we just don't plan on bringing them back. Not right now.

And what if it were a true suicide mission? Would that be completely awful? I believe, but can't track it down at the moment, that the physicist Freeman Dyson calculated during World War II that it would have been more more effective to remove the gun turrets from bombers and reduce the crew by 2 - making them lighter and faster, but could not carry the argument of the "gallant gunner defending their crewmates". It's counterintuitive, seems cruel, but bears consideration.

When a boy, I dreamed of space flight, but not particularly of heroism. I dreamt of the Star Trek variety, take everyone with you in complete comfort, be back home in time for tea.

This Just In

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Eye Bra Looks Silly Cool

I have a similar mask I wear for that occasional weekend nap - or when I end up on the couch if my snoring gets too loud. But this one looks like a weird super-hero mask - and training bra all put together. Still, looks like a good idea.

Lights Out Sleep Mask

Build A Little Birdhouse In Your Soul

I've gotten this song stuck in my head. What first sounds like catchy nonsense from They Might Be Giants quickly resolves into some deeper nonsense.

Where does a song like this come from? Maybe a claim like, "I could write a song about anything!" And a challenge, "OK, what about that nightlite?"

How did I come across it? I've always enjoyed the Giants and had heard it before, but a snippet of it in the new show "Pushing Daisies" brought it back to mind and firmly planted it there.

I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
So the room must listen to me
Filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e

My story's infinite
Like the Longines Symphonette it doesn't rest


Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

And the Winner Is . . .

Watched the Academy Awards last night.  Of the five Best Picture nominees, I'd seen two - and very recently.  No Country For Old Men last week and Michael Clayton the night before the awards.  Both are excellent films with terrific performances.

For the most part, I do not enjoy award ceremonies.  I find the production numbers tedious.  Most of the banter is lame.

But Jon Stewart did have one good line.  When discussing the nominees, he mentioned Norbit and said "Too often the Academy ignores movies that aren't good."

Fun With Sterotypes

Thanks the gods they left us humble Americans out.

And I did like this bit from the end of the article:

In Heaven…
the mechanics are German
the chefs are French
the police are British
the lovers are Italian
and everything is organized by the Swiss.

In Hell…
the mechanics are French
the police are German
the chefs are British
the lovers are Swiss
and everything is organized by the Italians.

When In Rome

Although I may be a snob, I read the classics for one reason and one reason only:  they're terrifically fun to read.  If you haven't been turned on to Robert Fagels and his translations, go immediately to your library or favorite online book buying source, and get your hands on his editions of The Illiad, The Odyssey, and The Orestia. 

I just got my copy of The Aeneid.  It is ever so nice.

Oh, and back to the snobbish part:  These four works are critical for a modern thinking person to know.  And while you're at it, get the Gardner Gilgemesh and the Seamus Heaney Beowulf.

There will be a quiz.

Like Father, Like Daughter

DSC00765, originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

Captain Randy Goes Partisan

Maybe the Ideal Thin Client?

I'm seeing lots of complaining on the web, but I think this might be the ideal Thin Client for a mobile population: The Macbook Air.

The complaints: it doesn't have a CD/DVD Drive. It doesn't have an ethernet port.

The response: you don't need those.

Why? This is a mobile device. If you use a full sized laptop you know - it's heavy. I use a Macbook Pro, myself, but use it primarily as a desktop machine and lug it home or when traveling. The key word is "lug". In the year and a half that I've had it, I've probably used the CD/DVD drive 3 or 4 times.

I've never used the ethernet jack - I use wireless both at the office and at home.

In the ideal world, I'd use a powerful desktop system and use something like the Macbook Air to carry with me. It's easy enough to VPN back to my office where all my data would safely sit. Or use Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) feature that allows you to remote control another Mac.

So, although expensive, the Macbook Air could be safe, data free, and give me all of the capabilities of the desktop. If I want entertainment, I can download music and movies. If I need to load software from disc, I can "borrow" a PC or Mac drive wirelessly. This is getting damn close to the light, completely sealed, and disposable client that I've long imagined.

And so, a little story I pulled from my archives - written in 1993.

Can I Help You?


A picture of a man stared at him from the screen. It examined him for a few moments without expression, then raised one eyebrow carefully. “Can I help you?” it asked him.

A smile crept onto Arthur's face and he shook his head, then brought the back of his hand up to hide his mouth from the screen image.

"Actually, I'm here to help you. I . . . "

"Excuse me, but I am Mr. Cole's agent. May I asked how you came in possession of Mr. Cole's notebook? I can instruct you how to return it if you… "

"I don't have business with Mr. Cole or with his notebook. I want to talk to you."

The agent looked back at him for several seconds without changing, then remembered to present human expressions, blinking and eye movement, tilting and changing the angle of its head. The agent had been customized as a Caucasian male, age 30 to 35, black hair cut short. The small window also showed white shirt and a simple black bow tie.

"If you have no business with Mr. Cole, please return this notebook to the nearest postal substation, which is located" the agent paused and looked down at what what would have been a desk had he been an actual person. The pause allowed for a referencing fix on the notebook from a positioning satellite, "two blocks north on Front street." A map and compass appeared next to the agent's moving picture and pointed out the way to the post office.

Arthur turned the screen away from the bright, noonday sun, now almost directly overhead, to avoid the glare. He looked up Front street, then back at the notebook's screen. "I'm not stealing this, I only…"

"This notebook is the personal property of Stuart Cole. If you do not return it immediately to Mr. Cole or deposit it with the police or in a postal receptacle I will terminate the data link and render the unit permanently inoperable. It will not be possible to reactivate the unit after I terminate the link, thereby rendering the unit useless. In addition, I am prepared to alert the authorities with your location and description."

"I'm the authorities! Please give me a minute. I just need to speak with you for a few seconds." Arthur reached for his wallet to show the agent his badge when the screen suddenly went blank and he felt the back of the unit warm, uncomfortably hot.

"Damn!" Arthur flipped the unit over and held it carefully by one corner. "Why couldn't you wait!" One of the uniformed officers shook his head at him and grinned knowingly. Arthur tapped the screen tentatively with his pen, but he knew that the agent had completely discharged the power cell into the tiny bit of circuitry that made the notebook a notebook. Now it was useless piece of plastic. The screen remained gray and inert.

"I told you not to try it here. They always do that." The officer turned to watch the paramedics zip Stuart Cole into the bag and lift him onto the gurney.

"They do not always do that." Arthur grumbled. He straightened, shaded his eyes with the dead notebook. He thought for a moment about putting it in the bag with Mr. Cole but decided against it. He turned, dropped the notebook into a sidewalk trash can and headed for the bus.

Time For The Thin Client

So, US Customs Agents are searching and confiscating laptops and phones.

Articles like these make two things clear: The current US government is an enemy to it's own people. And it's time to move forward into a completely net-centric computing model.

I'm so completely opposed to the warrantless search of electronic devices I can't even speak about it. So let's leave it by the side of the blog and move on to the people's solution: stop carrying your data with you.

It's not easy today. The net is not ubiquitous. That makes accessing your data difficult. But it's certainly possible, as the article suggests, to travel with raw laptops with absolutely nothing on them. One simply needs to connect to a VPN (Virtual Private Network) and access all of the data safely and remotely (if somewhat slowly.)

Actually, the ideal device for this is the iPhone or the new iPod Touch. I bought the iPod Touch for my wife and it's shockingly simple to use the web interface to connect to my companies exchange server and use my email and calendar. I use gmail as a default file storage system - so there's no need to lug around the data - it's all sitting there. It fits in one's pocket or on one's handy utility belt (next to the Bat-a-rangs). My bet: within 3 years and no more than 5, this will be the most widespread model of computing - laptops will be largely sessile.

OK, back to the government. Remember this? That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. Time to get altering.

Mostly Cloudy

Testing - trying for embedded weather forecast:

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar

Long Gone and Now Ashes

This past Saturday my childhood home caught fire and was damaged beyond repair. It was the home I grew up in, out on the prairie of Southern Illinois, my great-grandfather's house. I spent the first 18 years of my life there.

I learned of it though the weird light-speed grapevine that the modern world has stumbled upon. A neighbor and family friend who lives nearby called my mother to tell her the house was on fire and three fire trucks were there. My mother lives near us here outside Columbus, Ohio. She promptly called me. I, in turn, called my father, who still lives near the old farm. He was at breakfast in town, and said there was no problem when they left their house, but the diner where they were eating was across from the fire station and the trucks were gone.

An hour or so later he called me back and said, yes, the house had caught fire and was badly damaged. All of us, my father and mother, long divorced, and myself, were rather matter of fact about the place. It was an old farmhouse, and we'd all been gone for some time.

It's a shame really, but I'm no longer connected to that life. My great-great-grandfather came over from Ireland in the early 1860's. His brother who traveled with him, promptly joined the Union Army and is buried with an Army marker. My great-great-grandfather traveled on to Illinois and settled there.

My Uncle Bill still lives in what was my grandparent's house - on the original farm. But he wasn't a farmer - he spent his years as a truck driver. My grandfather, who died in 1967, was a farmer, and my father was too. So was I. Or more accurately, I worked the farm that my father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and his father all worked.

It was a typical farm house, but with a story. In the basement you could find massive cracks. And the circle of massive walnut trees, each with frightening scars from limbs torn off by the prairie wind. The story was told that not long after the house was built in the 1920's, it was completely destroyed by a nighttime tornado. None of the occupants were seriously injured. If I remember correctly, there may have been one broken leg. And my great-Aunt Gladys had her long hair trapped beneath a bed frame, which turned snow white over night (at least that's the story I was told, and Aunt Gladys did have white hair). They rebuilt the house on the same, cracked foundation. And throughout my childhood I would come across bits and pieces, buried in the garden or yard, left by the destruction of the first house.

As you might imagine, my childhood dreams were filled with the threat of tornados. I clearly remember the dream of them lining the horizon, ominous and inescapable. In my teen years the dream-tornadoes became mushroom clouds.

I do think of my childhood as happy, although far from idyllic. Work on a farm is hard and I was glad to leave it behind. It's been the best part of 30 year since I left for college and it's a distant, different life. I have no particular nostalgia to return to the farm, no desire to remodel the farmhouse and take up residence. But it was reassuring to think of it still there. It was a connection, now lost.

My daughters have no concept of what my childhood was like. I've worked hard to provide them opportunity, let them learn, travel, decide what they want out of life. But they don't know that skinny little farm boy, bundled up against the icy prairie wind and accompanied by his best pal, Nicky, a black and tan German Shepard. He'd lean against that little farmboy's side, providing some bit of warmth while he worked the handle of that rusty red pump to provide water for the cows. There's no point in going back. There's nothing to see and the property belongs to someone else. We held the ground for a little over a hundred years and profited by it, but now it's time to let it go.

And here, courtesy of Google Maps, is how it looked recently. During my era, there were three red barns and a metal shed we used as a garage, not the trailers and surrounding buildings, and no pond. Click the "-" to back slowly out - you might get some idea of where the old farm is.


View Larger Map

The zen state of the in box

DSC00719, originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

Inspired by Mr. Rhone, here's my newly processed-to-zero home inbox!

I'm ready for the Christmas music now

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas.

While you're at YouTube, look up the Muppets and John Denver - one of my favorite Christmas Albums, but the video from the TV special is not available on DVD.

Captain Randy On The Bridge

Captain Randy On The Bridge, originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

OK, traveling for business isn't completely a pain.

Oh the whole, I'd rather be in Columbus.

(With apologies to W.C. Fields.)

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

You just have to know where to look

This article claims that TV is becoming dummer. (I know it's mispelled. It's a joke, son).

New trend in TV viewing is to dumb down content

This is new? Anyone watched game shows, soap operas, sitcoms, and wrestling, for Christ's sake, over the last 60 years?

But there are wonderful, challenging, and entertaining things on TV. Take for instance "Deadwood" or "Rome" - both amazing shows. Too bad HBO was too shortsighted and canceled them both. I think the new show "The Tutors" has promise on Showtime. And of course, there's "Battlestar Galactica".


You are watching BSG, aren't you? And don't give me any of that "I don't like scifi" crap. BSG is one of the deepest, most complex, multifacited shows on TV.

Books By The Yard

A new Half Price Book store opened up in Westerville this past week - I'm a big fan of used book stores. I'm likely to find something of interest every time I go. For example, this time, in a rather large stack I bought for under $50, I found and am reading a very interesting book on Gin. Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva the Eighteenth Century Gin Craze.

But I never sell books there. I rarely sell books at all. But to take them there is pointless. They offer you an insulting pittance. Frankly, I'd rather give them away. Even leave them in a public place for them to find a new home on their own. Actually I do sell books, but only ones I don't like. So buyer beware.

And this. Well, this just offends me. Books by the Yard.

Books as a design element. Not your books, things that you are interested in. Things that you treasure. Just any old books. Things that might look nice, if you don't look too close. Why not stack those empty shelves with a beautiful collection of Readers' Digest Condensed Books (and I won't even talk about how those offend me!)? What not some encyclopedias, or better yet, law books?

Please, dear reader. If you aren't interested enough to buy and read books, then fill up those spaces with your Franklin Mint plate collection. Or some of the bobble head figures. Shot glasses from around the country. I'd actually be interested in seeing these displayed on your selves. But please, not the books by the yard.

Here's the secret: I judge people based on what they're reading. You get points for reading virtually anything. Fake displays are incredibly distasteful. You are not living in a furniture showroom.

Apparently, Mr. Balmer can't figure out how to use Outlook, either.

Mr. Ballmer may have a decidedly low-key office, but he uses an Excel spreadsheet to track his calendar.

Take Two - They're Small . . . And Cheap!

I think that saying the "Big Three" are going to have a problem with this is an understatement.

Toyota plans ultra-inexpensive car


How ultra-inexpensive? According to the article, about $6,200. And they're talking new manufacturing techniques, new materials. I'm sure just reading the article is sending Detroit auto execs running for the Pepto.

What do I have to say? About damn time. Cars are far too expensive and complex, and frankly, structured, for the most part, in 19th century technology. I'd love to see something cheap, safe, and fun.

About damn time.

Oh, and where's my rocket car?

With Ultimate Power Come Really Cool Toys

Ah, the things one can do with a little help from Google Maps.

Follow the link yes, this one for a little something amusing from Geogreeting.

Of Stages and Screens

Yesterday we saw Dreamgirls. This is a not very good movie filled with remarkable performances.

I could tell the audience loved it, and yet, I wonder if they knew what they were missing. Dreamgirls (click that link for the Broadway show info) was originally a stage musical and much is lost in "opening it up" and transferring it to the screen.

Lost, you say? But audiences were applauding during the movie? And the critical acclaim is off the charts. What could they have possibly have lost?

Well, for one thing, the movie entirely misses the pauses, the extended silences, the full stops. This particular movie roars right along, never pausing, never hesitating for a moment. And in those moments you'll find everything. In the silence we see the tension, the anger, the fear, much more than in shouting, even more than the anguished solos. It's in that moment when it all stops that we really see the characters.

There are some remarkable performances. Eddy Murphy is amazing. And Jennifer Hudson was perfect. Beyoncé Knowles has really long arms. But performances, great costumes, even terrific music don't make a movie. Translating a musical to a movie is so difficult I can only think of a few that work, and most of them are simply filmed stage presentations. Yes, Fred Astaire could do it, but Fred Astaire could do many things that mere mortals can't.

So, yes, they were fated to fall short, but the direction and editing of this movie don't help. Jamie Fox looks like he can't really decide if he's really in a musical or not. And some of the transitions from dialog to singing are jarring. This late bunch of movie musicals seem to be directed by people that really don't get American musical theater. And don't get me started on "Moulin Rouge!" There was a detestable, ugly movie directed by someone that literally hates musicals.

I suppose there's simply that part of live performance that film can never do, and I say this as a great lover of movies. There is a thrill of witnessing a live performance. I don't know if you've ever seen a real, honest-to-god Broadway musical. Take, for example, the showstopper in Dreamgirls, "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going." In the movie, Hudson nails it, but at its end she is nearly run over by the next scene. There's not time for a deep breath. On stage, well, they don't call it a showstopper for nothing. If you put Hudson on stage for that scene and song there'd be a moment where the hair on your arms would stand up, where you'd not only feel the deep anguish of the character, but you'd be aware that you were seeing something, really participating in it. And in that moment you'd realize just how good the performer is, better than you'd thought anyone could be. Then that would pass away as she brought the song to an end and the audience would be on its feet. The show would literally stop.

You can't do that in a movie, you tell me. Well, you'd be wrong about that. It could have been done, could have been better, but, then again, it would have been artificial.

I've done many plays and musicals (been a while, though). But I've never had a shot at a showstopper. My dream role: Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls. That roll gets to do all the fun songs, then, if done right, bring down the house with "Sit down you're rock'n the boat." Let me know if you're staging a version and I'll be there, checkered vest and all.

Address Book Of The Dead

Today, for an unexpected reason, I started to edit out my address book - it had swollen to nearly 2000 contacts, many of which were far out of date and no longer in my industry (OK, I'm the one that switched industries).

But in quickly going thru them, I found 3 friends and acquaintances who had passed away. It was a shock to see their names, as if I could still pick up the phone and call them. And it was difficult to delete their records. It seemed another death, and this time, at my hand.

And then I came across the name James Kim. He was likely a brief contact at a tradeshow, or someone I met when in his office when I was on a press tour. You might remember his name recently from all the press. He's the one that died after he and his family got lost in the Oregon wilderness.

Hence, today is mortality recognition day. Here's to us, the living. And for those who have passed, there are we remember you.

Rodney O. Lain
Kelly Mayhew
Sing-Si Schwartz
James Kim

Two Snaps Up!

OK, using this as a test bed and playground again. Today's example: Snap.

But please, before clicking on the link (D'oh! Too late?), just "hover" over it.

Anything happen?

OK, nothing more to see here. Move along.

Randy. Captain Randy

. . . and that's when it started getting weird.

Hmmm? What? Oh, there you are!

Sorry. Got distracted for a moment. Or a couple of months. Insert appropriately chagrined smiley face here.


First, thanks to Hedwig for prodding me back. No promises that I'll keep it up.

Next, I'll catch you all up on the gap at a later time. Perhaps.

Oh, and before I go, I'll pass on that the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale is terrific.

It's refreshing. It is a reboot, but a solid one. The villain is appropriately evil, but over a matter of a 110 million dollars, not world domination. Bond is amazingly tough, but not indestructible. And there are few gadgets and none of them difficult to say, "sure, he could have one of those."

I liked it a lot.

My favorites of the series are, in ranked order:

Goldfinger
Casino Royale (the new one, not the Woody Allen mess)
Dr. No
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Live and Let Die

Oh, I suppose I should provide a link, this being the internets, and all.

http://www.writely.com/

Writely, Writterly, Writtenly

Well, now. Here we are using an online word processor. How 1985.

But, then again, we're using a browser, so this must be Web 2.0.

So far, so good.

Andy's My Hero

Macworld: Opinion: Leopard's top-secret secrets: "And besides, it's a testament to Apple that they routinely produce products that are worth speculating about. When I get a new Microsoft product in the mail it's often like that moment when you've got both feet on the brakes but you know that the car can't possibly stop in time. You don't know what's going to happen. You just hope it won't hurt too much."

And I like his speculation. I 'spect that Apple has some interesting things up it's corporate sleeves that we'll learn about late this fall, in time for the Xmas buying season, and even more in January at the Macworld Expo.

Oh, and this is worth a chuckle, too:

"I mean, Microsoft is so desperate to distract attention from their inability to ship that they’re sending Bill Gates out to end hunger and disease as a diversionary tactic. That’s desperate."

But as I feared

Manhattinhand: No, I wasn't REALLY shot at....

I really liked my Moleskine before

But now I think I love it. Any notebook that can save your life is worth carrying

Manhattinhand: Holeskine

Very nice, but where's my Slow Glass?

Yes, this is interesting stuff: Electrochromatic Glass: Instant Darkening - Gizmodo

But for real imagination, try and find a copy of "Light of Other Days"
by Bob Shaw, a short story published in the 1960's. It's haunting - and has stayed with me in the many hears since I read it.

And apparently, it may be possible.

science, science fiction, light

Yes, we are up to something

And a few germs aren't going to make our giant tripod war machines break down, neither.

Almost Too Fair

And now, for this word on net neutrality, from The Daily Show.

It's hot outside - let's stay in and watch movies

If i only could. Today would be a perfect day for big glasses of rum and lime over ice and the Marx Brothers.

Stack o books for the beech

On Friday we head off for our yearly vacation on Cape Hatteras and I have my stack of books ready to go. This year's includes:

• Straight Man by Richard Russo
  
• Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge
  
• Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte
  
• The Gilded Age by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner
  

Unfortunately, I will not be able to include my yearly James Lee Burke fix. For the first time in years, he's late (although only by a week). Ah, well. We'll have to catch Pegasus Descending the following week or so.

Avast there, Matey!

Sitting here in my home office, if I turn to my left I see a shelf full of books on this list. When did I become a fan of sea books?

Well, O'Brian cinched it, but I've always been nuts over a great tale - and the ones on this list certainly are crackerjack ones!

Bookmarks Magazine: 101 Crackerjack Sea Books

Sea-low-can-th

And they're mighty tasty, too!

OK, I haven't actually eaten coelacanth and have no intention to, but I can bet that may people looking at this video are thinking, "I wonder what it tastes like?"

For the record

Might I say, for the record, that I prefer not to hear or read any more about Star Jones, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (or their kids), Brittney Spears, Madonna (going on 25 years of hearing too much about her), global warming nay-sayers, defense of marriage-gay basing-bigots, anti-flag burning jingoists, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, what movie star is dating what other movie star, the latest powder keg in the middle east, but-but-but Clinton! Republican apologists, stay-the-course-damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead-things-are-much-better-than-the-liberal-media-is-telling-you-in-Iraq-head-in-the-sand-my-country-right-or-wrong red staters.

I prefer to have a pleasant, uninterrupted by the national tragedy of the moment, summer vacation. I'm assembling my stack of books and will soon head for sun and sand and cold Coronas.

Try not and blow up the planet while I'm gone.

Captain Randy Falls In Love With YouTube

Let it never be said that Al Gore doesn't know funny.

Captain Randy Discovers Wufoo

A moment of joy, shared.

Here's something that I found a breath of fresh air. A joyful, awe inspiring 3 minutes, 42 seconds. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Apparently no good Samaritans on Everest

This is utterly depressing:Hillary Blasts Climbers Who Left Dying Man

"Mount Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary said Wednesday he was shocked that dozens of climbers left a British mountaineer to die during their own attempts on the world's tallest peak.

David Sharp, 34, died apparently of oxygen deficiency while descending from the summit during a solo climb last week.

More than 40 climbers are thought to have seen him as he lay dying, and almost all continued to the summit without offering assistance."

The book "Into Thin Air" put me into a full out funk for days. And now this. How many people passed him going up to the summit and then again on the way back down?

Some days I think we're all evil idiots.

everest

This Month's Help for the Clueless: Dell

Isn't it surprising and interesting that when apparently successful companies run off the end of the cliff they start grasping at straws?

Take a look at this: Mac News: Apple News : Dell Eyes Retail Again, With Apple Stores as Model: "Struggling to maintain its lead as the top personal PC maker, Dell plans to once again enter in the retail business when it launches two stores at shopping centers later this year. In contradistinction to Apple, which stocks products on-hand for customers to carry out after purchase, Dell will maintain its direct model by having shoppers place orders online for later pick-up at the store."

So, Dell sees Apple becoming wildly successful at their retail strategy. They failed at their own approach - mall kiosks where you could see a couple of computers, but had to order and wait for the computer to be delivered. So, if that didn't work, what should they do? Scale up, of course!

No, that's not right. Apple is succeeding because they have a very specific vision. First, they carefully scout locations and pick and pay for prime retail spots. Next, they went to retail experts from places like the Gap. Next, they designed stores that are clean, elegant, and uncluttered. The computers are all up front, all available and fully functional. And if you like what you see, you can take it with you. Oh, and Apple isn't targeting computer shoppers. They're targeting shoppers. A much bigger group. The local Apple store is always busy, always crowded.

I've said for some time, Dell does one thing very well: they have manufacturing a commodity PC down. They don't engineer anything, don't innovate beyond the manufacturing/inventory/production cycle.

So, Dell, if you want a chance at succeeding, don't just copy the surface of the Apple Store, copy the whole thing.

And the movie opens with this scene

KILLER BUG AIR SCARE
"A WOMAN who arrived in London on a flight from Africa yesterday is reported to have died from the deadly and contagious ebola virus."

And it ends with just a small band of plucky survivors. Time to head for the hills?

Actually, I'm told that Ebola isn't really that contagious. And no, thank you, I don't shake hands any more.

It's better to laugh

If only to keep from wearing a tinfoil beanie.

Dear NSA
"Q: Where did I leave my keys?
A: Inside pocket of your gray jacket (it's hanging in the front closet)."

Where exactly does one get tinfoil?

Also works for drunk typing

Just what I needed - a good laugh. Frankly, never even read the page and it probably is important for some people, but I was laughing too hard to continue.

PawSense helps you catproof your computer.

When it hits 25% we invade Iran

USATODAY.com - Bush approval rating hits new low

You think I'm kidding? The way I see it, the Bush administration pretty much has to create some sort of military, "line up behind the flag" moment sometime far enough ahead of the November mid-term elections to maintain any semblance of power.

July sounds about right.

Random Beach Bum

Random Beach Bum
Originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

It's rare that I like photos of me, but this one, I like.

Maybe it's because I look at this picture and see myself relaxed and happy in my Tilley Hat.

It is a damn comfortable hat.

Film at 11 (what time is it now?)

OK, experimenting with something - let's see if this FilmLoop thingie works.

Well, I'm back

Cinnamon Bay ,
originally uploaded by cinemamurray.

But it would have been so nice to stay.

I was simply amazed at how beautiful the Virgin Islands are, and specifically, St. John. And so easy to travel to from the Eastern Time Zone.

Terrific, relaxing vacation.

On a side note: there are so many more super rich Americans than I'd ever really thought about. In my daily life I'm sure I see them, but there, in the islands, it's completely clear who has not just money, but extreme amounts of it. Frankly, I'm not envious, just astounded. Who has the millions and the time to sail about the Caribbean in the spring for weeks at a time on multimillion dollar yachts? Apparently far more people than I ever imagined.

Well, good for them. Glad to see someone doing so well. As for me, I'll dream of going back sometime in coming years.

And I use to call a green pepper a mango.

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Another Reason Not to Live in Jurassic park

I like Florida well enough to visit, but I don't think I could live anywhere that dinosaurs crawl up into your back yard to eat your pets and bugs the size of your hand might land on your face in the middle of the night.

Alligator Knocks on Fla. Woman's Door: "So now the alligators are going door to door. When Lori Pachelli heard someone knocking at the door of her home in a gated community in this southwest Florida community earlier this week, she looked out to see an unwelcome visitor on her front stoop: an 8-foot alligator."

Another point in favor of nice, quiet Ohio. Nothing bad could happen here. No siree, Bob.

That is not an invitation for you to send me a list of all the bad things that could or have already happened here. Screwed up presidential elections do not compare to a freak'n eight foot lizard knocking on your door. Yeah, "Land shark". Not so funny now, is it?

humor, florida, ohio, SNL

Not jumping on the bandwagon, but running along side

I really hope they are fully committing to the complete cheesiness.

Film Article | Reuters.com: "As film back-stories go, this one is fairly serpentine. The Samuel L. Jackson thriller 'Snakes on a Plane,' which wrapped last September in Vancouver, went back before the cameras this month for five days of additional shooting in Los Angeles."

What they don't point out is that "Snakes On A Plane" is a long standing Hollywood in-joke/complaint. It represents the worse possible "high concept" idea and is a phrase equivalent to "what'cha gonna do?"

That someone really made it as a movie is both scary and funny. Scary if they were serious about it. Funny if they embrace the absurdity.

What is brilliant is that the studio understands the groundswell of internet attention and have gone back to shape the movie to more appeal to this audience.

I smell a hit!

humor, movies, snakes on a plane, hollywood

Just a few more weeks till spring break.

I may not come back.

Special Relativity Of Framing

When I saw the link to this article I though, "hmm, sounds link an interesting physics article." Sorry, no. It's a badly framed article about cosmic rays and their aging-like effects.

Was Einstein Wrong about Space Travel? | Science Blog: "Consider a pair of brothers, identical twins. One gets a job as an astronaut and rockets into deep space. The other stays on Earth. When the traveling twin returns home, he discovers he's younger than his brother.

This is Einstein's Twin Paradox, and although it sounds strange, it is absolutely true. The theory of relativity tells us that the faster you travel through space, the slower you travel through time. Rocketing to Alpha Centauri -- warp 9, please -- is a good way to stay young.

Or is it?"

OK, please, if you're going to do popular science writing, get it right. Einstein wasn't wrong. You, article writer person, are. Einstein is talking about the effects of speed. You're talking about the effects of cosmic rays. So, putting on my scifi hat, I simply raise shields, no more cosmic rays, but still special relativity effects when traveling at sub-light, but very fast speeds.

Now, if I'm traveling faster than light (see the article below), then we can also forget about relativity.

These 2 things have nothing to do with one another. The writer thought that they were being clever, but frankly, they're just confusing people that might not understand.

science, ftl, Einstein, aging, relativity, cosmic rays, tags

Just Bury Me In A Captain Kirk Coffin

CNN.com - Scenes from Homer found in Cyprus 'warrior tomb' - Mar 20, 2006 "In one large painting, Ulysses and his comrades escape from the blind Cyclops Polyphemos' cave, hidden under a flock of sheep. Another depicts a battle between Greeks and Trojans from the Iliad."

This is an astounding find, but reading about a warrior being buried in a coffin decorated with scenes from the Odyssey made me smile. Essentially, he was buried in a pop culture themed grave. It's like having a NASCAR funeral, or being buried in a box decorated with scenes of the Death Star and Ice Planet Hoth.

Don't get me wrong. I believe the Odyssey is one of our greatest stories - a remarkable piece of literature. But I also don't forget that it was popular entertainment for people 2,500 years ago.

OK, so I want to be cremated, after anything useful is removed. But before you light the fire, dress me in my Star Fleet best.

star trek, homer, humor

Faster than light travel possible after all?

After reading this article, I'm left with the question: Is faster than light possible? Evidence for Universe Expansion Found: "Physicists announced Thursday that they now have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second."

If the universe expanded that quickly, did it physically move through space over that trillion-trillonth of a second? Or did it move from marble sized to universal sized in the same period without traveling through the intervening space?

The term "inflation" brings to my mind the expansion through space. Perhaps I'm getting it wrong, but if this is so, there's got to be some big implications.

Should we start construction on our starship fleet now?

science, ftl

Pope Randy the First Blogs Again

You are the the Hierophant card. The Hierophant, called The Pope in some decks, is the preserver of cultural traditions. After entering The Emperor's society, The Hierophant teaches us its wisdom. The Hierophant learns and teaches our cultural traditions. The discoveries our ancestors have made influence the present. Without forces such as The Hierophant who are able to interpret and communicate traditional lore, each generation would have to begin to learn anew. As a force that is concentrated on our past and our culture, The Hierophant can sometimes be stubborn and set in his ways. This is a negative trait he shares with his zodiac sign, Taurus. But like Taurus he is productive. His traditional lore can provide a source of inspiration for the creatively inclined, and his knowledge provides an excellent foundation for those who come into their own in the business world.

Image from: Morgan E. Cauthers-Knox.



Which Tarot Card Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

That's always bugged me, too

Dividing by zero is verboten. It's "undefined".

So, why doesn't someone get around to defining it?

All of which goes to show why I never got beyond my college intro Calculus course.

And also brings to mind another concept that was hard to get my mind around. What lies at the end of the universe? A friend in high school, forever immortalized in his theory, stated, "it's a wall of dirt clods." Hence the "Keith Carol Dirt Clod Theory."

The above picture brought to you by the Dynamic Einstein picture generator.

humor

Posting from the Dashboard

In my never ending quest to find the easiset way to post, I'm trying the new "Widget" for Mac OS X "Tiger".  

Not bad - I press F12, type a few lines, and there you go.  

Of course, no easy links, no pictures, only BOLD and itallic.


Easy, yes.  Helpful?  We'll see.

And so it begins again . . .

10,000 years ago humanity one it's first and perhaps greatest battle by destroying the vicious and highly intelligent evil, furry elephants. And now, the cycle begins again.

Study: Elephants Might Seek Revenge

What? You thought we were the only evil, intelligent race on this planet?

Save this for the "Famous Quotes from Evil Idiots" File

Latest Business News and Financial Information | Reuters.com: "'Americans depend upon imports to fill the gap,' McGill said. 'No combination of conservation measures, alternative energy sources and technological advances could realistically and economically provide a way to completely replace those imports in the short or medium term.'"

I believe he was twirling the ends of his long mustache and laughing maniacal while saying this.

My Name Up In, er, Pictures!

OK, this is kinda cool:





Spell with Flickr

Another strong argument for the Long Tail

This excellent article, recommended by BoingBoing is a strong argument for the Long Tail, even though it doesn't specifically mention it. Making Light: The life expectancies of books

Think of all those books, in print for the blink of an eye, unavailable, lost, buried. Why? Greed and stupidity. The concept of the Long Tail tells us that every book ever written would be read by someone, if they easily available and inexpensive.

But publishers are greedy and they want things to never expire from copyright. They might be able to squeeze another nickel out of it. And here comes the stupidity part: if copyright periods were reasonable, they could make untold billions. That's right, billions.

Imagine a system where you could go to a site, say Amazon, and order any book, not just those currently in print. For a small fee, say $.99, just like buying a song from iTunes, you could download ANY book ever printed.

How many books have been printed in human history? Now, multiply that times $.99. Over what period? Probably everything ever printed would be purchased every year. I'm betting the turns would be more often than that. Billions and billions.

What's fair for copyright? As an author, I would be happy for my lifetime plus 25 years. That means I would profit from anything I created, and my heirs would too, and the world would profit forever after.

What about corporations? Here's my radical statement for the day: corporations are not people. They are legal shelters and agreements. Fuck 'em.

long tail, copyright, publishing

Just a little problem with my secret lair

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nasa team sees explosion on Moon

Nope, just a little problem with security on my secret lair.

Damn you, Mr. Bond!

The Holiday Letter - '06 Version

A happy holiday season to you and yours!

The Narrative Instinct

Sometimes you see something, in an unexpected place, some little, passing idea, that makes one more piece of the cosmic puzzle fall into place. Perhaps it will mean nothing to you, but for me, it is a critical piece of understanding both the universe and my own nature.

The New Yorker: FAR FROM NARNIA: "The day we sat down at the Eagle and Child, Pullman told me about a speech he had delivered in May, 2004, at a colloquium on science, literature, and human nature. In the speech, he speculated on the possible origins of this "very clear and strong" sense he has that there is, inherently, "a right shape and a wrong shape" for any given story. Where do these shapes come from, and how can he recognize them with such certainty? Not surprisingly, Pullman rejects the notion that he's receiving direction from some "higher power" when he apprehends that the story he's working on is either whole or broken. His certainty might be a sophisticated form of cultural conditioning, he supposes, or simply the gift of experience. Because Pullman is an admirer of "The Language Instinct," the book by the evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, I suggested that, if linguistic grammar is hardwired, perhaps a grammar of narrative is, too. "I don't think that's implausible, but we just don't know," he said."

If you don't know Pinker, get yourself directly over to your local library, better yet to amazon.com and load up, starting with "How The Mind Works" and yes, "The Language Instinct." Oh, and don't forget, "The Blank Slate," where Pinker postulates that we may also have built in modules for ethics as well, centered on the key concept of fairness.

Do we sense the shape of a tale? Do we know a bad story from a good? Damn straight we do! And I don't believe it's just a matter of conditioning. Humans are story tellers and hunger equally for a good tale. And we know when a story is rightly told. Mr. Pullman does indeed know this, the part of telling a good story, that is. We'll have to leave it to Mr. Pinker to ferret out the actual hardware for making it all work.

Thanks to Hedwig for pointing out this excellent article.

his dark materials, new yorker, steven pinker

Will VideoBlogging Become Mainstream?

Recently I discovered that my TiVO (relegated to the living room TV since it doesn't do High Definition) now offers several web options, including the daily video blog, RocketBoom.

It's completely low end TV, but I'll give you this: Amanda Congdon is the Giada Delaurentis of video blogging.

A little cleavage never hurt an otherwise boring presentation.

video blog, rocketboom, food network, amanda congdon, giada de laurentis

Snoopgate: It's now official - George Bush is a felon.

I'm not shocked, but I'm saddened at the revelation the the President has authorized the illegal spying on US citizens. Such arrogance. All he had to do was get a warrant - they were easily available. But Bush and his crew have decided that as President, he can do anything he pleases.

This is not the case. It is now the duty of Congress to investigate and impeach. The President has by his own admission, broken the law over 30 times. Is this not more serious than lying about sex?

I, personally, am fed up with this administration. It's no longer just about politics and culture. This is about the rule of law, our constitution, and the true separation of powers.

snoopgate, Politics

Something else you don't expect to see on the news

"'Now we're going to get snow penises popping up all over town,' he said."

Not unless you show us some snow boobies, first.

Registration Required - bastards. Try anybody for both ID and password.

See on The Obscure Store

Make friends with a librarian

There are many things and people that many of us don't think much about or value for that matter. Very few know and value the importance of librarians in general and research librarians, more specifically.

Joe Kissel reminded me of this today. Interesting Thing of the Day: Membership Libraries: "And there's something else: reference librarians who are positively itching to help you find information. I always have to avert my eyes when I walk by the reference desk. If I make eye contact, I invariably get this guilt-inducing "why-aren't-you-asking-me-where-to-find-old-periodicals" look, and I just can't bear it."

Even more so in this age of electronic data. Yes, there's lots of information at my fingertips. But is it the right information? Is it authoritative? What am I missing that's not online?

Who knows these things? And even better, who can find out? A librarian

Something to add to my Xmas list.

This is exactly the type of thing I have always wanted.
Celestron SkyScout

How cool is that? Of course, I live in Columbus, Ohio, which has to be one of the cloudiest places on the planet, making the Skyscout next to useless here, but it would be a joy when sitting on the beach at Hatteras on a warm July night.

Just imagine a more universal device. I point it at something and ask, "what is that?"

"The object is a Curta mechanical calculator, circa 1950 and appears to be in near mint condition. The current ebay price for a similar object is $635."

Or "That is an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. You are within striking distance and I strongly recommend that you step back an additional 3 meters."

Damn useful thing to have.

In a word: Yes

IS GEORGE BUSH THE WORST PRESIDENT -- EVER?

And you've got to admit, that's a difficult thing to do. Especially when you have really tough competitors for the job like Nixon, Andrew Jackson, and yes, Ronald Reagan.

You and Me and P. B. Shelley

Just the other day Hedwig mentioned Ogden Nash and her delight in reading him. I keep his "Verses from 1929 On" on a table in the guest restroom, along with "I Saw Esaw" and a volume of Frances Bacon. She's right. Nash is a delight.

I had lunch with Hedwig yesterday and lent her this volume. And today she's had a burst of creative energy. My Pash for O. Nash. Great fun.

And here's the old man himself, reading one of my favorites. You and Me and P. B. Shelley

A clear statement on the war

Here is a remarkably clear statement on what needs to be done about the Iraq war:

The Forward Newspaper Online: Costly Withdrawal Is the Price To Be Paid for a Foolish War: "For misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C sent his legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their sins."

I highly recommend the entire short article for your reading.

Would it be alright if we spied on you just a little?

You've got to admit, this is some hutzpah.


I got this email today from Progressive (auto insurance).

"Get $50 for participating in a research study.
As a valued Progressive Direct customer, we're inviting you to participate in an innovative research study. The purpose of this study is to help us reduce the cost of car insurance. And you’ll earn $50 just for participating.

How it works:
Let us know you'll participate by visiting us online.
We’ll send you a TripSensor –- a matchbook-sized device that easily plugs in near your vehicle’s steering column. Just plug it in, drive as you normally do, and forget about it. In six months, we’ll ask you to unplug the TripSensor and send it back to us, and we'll send you $50. It's that easy.
The data you provide are for research purposes only, and will not,
under any circumstances, have an effect on your current or future
car insurance rate.
Participate today and earn $50. Just visit us online today."

No, they'd never just this information to effect my current rate. I'm sure they're just interested in my gas milage. Or how fast I'm driving. Or how much. Or how hard I step on the breaks. Or if my seat-belt is fastened (it always is, by-the-way - that one they can have for free).

No thanks. I don't need fifty bucks that bad.

More Proud Papa

Although I knew this was coming, I had forgotten it was today, and when I turned the page in my morning Columbus Dispatch, I was pleased to see a photo of my daughter, Kathleen, and this glowing article.

High-school student using her bass as ticket to travel

There are fewer pure pleasures as seeing your children succeed. She's chosen, for now, the path of the artist. It's a noble and difficult calling, but I couldn't be happier at her choice.

An Office Cargo Cult?

Something strange is happening at my office building.

Last Thursday I noticed an odd little collection of items in the parking lot. There, in that white-striped corner, next to the handicap parking, I saw a black Swingline stapler, a large binder clip, and a paper clip, all arranged carefully in line. A single thumb tack was placed near them, but not in line.

Nearby, I saw scattered on the other side of the walk, an offering of rubber bands and a black, dry erase marker.

I told Sean about it Friday and we went back down to the parking lot to look at it. As far as I can figure, either a tribe of feral office workers hiding in our building was trying to attract cargo from the office supply gods, or we were witnessing the evolution of paper binding tools. I am thinking seriously of changing my title to "Office Anthropologist."

On Monday, as I pulled into the parking lot, there it was. A large truck from Continental Office Supply, its rear door open, the engine running, but no one in sight. Apparently, the display had attracted the cargo.

But yesterday, the stapler was missing. I suspect the gods will be displeased. If I can find a stapler to "borrow" from someone's desk, I'll try an appease them. I'm also thinking of starting another display to attract different types of cargo. Maybe a collection of MatchBox cars. Or perhaps I can put out some calculators and old Palm Pilots and my first generation iPod.

cargo cult, religion, humor

Penn Jillette is a Smart and Brave Man

I saw this today over on Metafilter

NPR : There is No God

Excellent. Much better than Kathy Dahlen where she claims that "Gazing at that mass of gray nerve tissue, I was unable to reconcile the evidences I had known of self-sacrifice and forgiveness, or even this suicide, with the notion that a human life consists only of one's biology."

I heard Dahlen's essay a few weeks back and it struck me instantly as incredible mushy thinking, but typical of religious thinkers and believers.

It's a tough pill for some to swallow, but as Jillette points out "So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. "

Good man, that Jillette.

religion, NPR

Big surpise: Dvorak Doesn't get it

John Dvorak's Second Opinion: Backlash against Sony shows a bigger problem for media - Computer Hardware - Computer Software - Software - Opinion "Writers like myself and my editors make 1/10 the money people can make in the movie or music business for doing about the same amount of work (content generation). Our value is lessened by the fact that we cannot protect the written word from rampant copying. It started with the printing press, bootleg publishing, plagiarism, Xerox machines, email, online pilfering, cut-and-paste, etc., etc. We simply got used to it and live with it.
Sony and all the other big media companies are simply going to have to live with what writers and editors have lived with for some time: a big cut in pay."

It's simply amazing to me that "content producers" can't get over the idea that they'll be losing money. What they're really afraid of is is missing out on potentially making more money. They have the idea that someone, somewhere might not be paying them. What the can't see is that everyone, everywhere, would pay them for access to content (movies, music, radio shows, books) long unavailable. It's the long tail.

I'm sorry, Mr. Dvorak, that you don't make as much money as you think you should, but I hardly think you're only making a 10th of what your worth. From my perspective, what you produce isn't worth paying for as is.

But what about "wanted" pornography?

Leading Catholic cardinal warns parents about buying iPods for Christmas due to porn: "''The technology itself is not dangerous, in fact technology in itself is good,' Keeler said. 'The danger lies in the fact that there are not safeguards or regulations in place to protect children or teens from being exposed to unwanted pornography.' "

Talk about jumping on the bandwagon. The iPod is simply a listening or viewing device. You have to put what you want to see or listen to on their yourself. It ain't gonna just pop up, unasked for (although if you put porn on your iPod, it might show up in embarrassing times.

If iPod pornography is outlawed, then only pornographers will have iPods. Or teenagers. Or guys. Pretty much everyone, just like now.

I drink my coffee black

It's required, being a Murray. The rule is "you can start drinking coffee at any age, as long as it's black." My grandmother, may she rest in peace, would return from the grave and lecture me sternly if I started putting milk in my morning coffee.

I do, however, enjoy "coffee drinks", which I consider treats, not really coffee. And I've learned to ask, without embarrassment for a "grande soy chai latte, no water, extra hot." I just imagine myself Captain Picard ordering a drink from a replicator, "Tea. Earl Gray. Hot."

But alas, some never get over the fear and embarrassment.Lexington Herald-Leader | 11/10/2005 | I drink the coffee but don't speak the language: "We all will drink vending-machine coffee before I speak Starbuck again."

starbucks, Star Trek

Leave Your Brain Alone

I just finished reading the excellent On the Sea of Memory : A Journey from Forgetting to Remembering by Jonathan Cott. It is a touching and thought provoking review of memory and loss. Mr. Cott had 36 electroshock treatments and lost fifteen years of memory.

And then last night, on the way home, I heard this on NPR, 'My Lobotomy': Howard Dully's Journey. It is simply the most stunning thing I've ever heard on the radio.

I can barely speak of it. Both the lobotomy and electroshock are such crude and cruel treatments. How primitive. How misused.

The mind is something the brain does. Please, don't equate the brain with Heath Kit radios and Christmas chemistry sets. We have such a short time as conscience, thinking beings. Could stirring the brain with an ice pick ever be thought of as a good idea?

npr, memory, brain, mind

Moving up the Singularity Date

Google side-steps AI rumours - ZDNet UK News: "''We are not scanning all those books to be read by people,' explained one of my hosts after my talk. 'We are scanning them to be read by an AI,'' Dyson wrote in a posting on Edge.org following a visit to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of John von Neumann's proposal for a digital computer."

Upon reading this my insightful comment was "Fuck".

Useful term, that.

Well, we've all been wondering what Google's been up to. So, either they have a pet infant AI or they're planning for one. I hope their policy of "Don't be evil" is holding up.

Paging Dr. Asimov. Paging Dr. Asimov. Dr. Asmiov to the AI delivery room STAT!

AI, singularity, Asimov

DRM - More on the creeping evil

A friend and college, Adam Engst, vents his frustration on a seemingly simple and perfectly legal task, made agonizing by "Digital Rights Management" TidBITS: iPods Defeating Insomnia.

And it's more than annoyance if you've been following the news. This very week, Sony is in extremely hot water by installing what amounts to a Trojan horse and causing lots of problems.

DRM is simply this: the entertainment industry's attempt to remove well established consumer rights. I won't go out on a limb, yet, and claim that I won't buy anything with DRM, but I do urge you to contact your congressman and representatives and urge them not to support any legislation that removes or reduces your right to legally view, copy, time and place shift any media you purchase.

Amen

Betraying Jesus
The author of “God’s Politics” explains how American Christianity has distorted the gospel and become spiritually bankrupt.

"Tragically, and not without some painful awkwardness, today’s evangelicals are walking a precarious tightrope between these two conflicting views of Jesus. By training, Jesus is Lord; his teaching must carry absolute authority in our lives. Yet by experience, evangelicals have accepted the ethical conclusions of theologies that have a low view of Jesus’ authority. This conflict is at the heart of the problem of present-day evangelism."

Brilliant and insightful.

I'm no longer a believer, but this is exactly the reasoning that brought me to the point of painful questioning. Frankly, it is not reconcilable. True Christians give it all up and walk away from the trappings of life. The are pacifists unto death. Don't know many of those.

Richard Nixon Back Again

My daughter knows all the words to "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel - and she's interested in what all the names and events mean.

Sometimes, history has a way of repeating itself that's simply not funny at all.

Capitol Hill Blue: White House keeps dossiers on more than 10,000 'political enemies'

So, how do I get on the list?

Oh, for the breakdown of the lyrics, if you didn't live through most of it like the rest of us old farts, click here.

politics, Billy Joel

That reminds me, I need to do some shopping

This would never work here. "Sir! Please stop fondling the wall!"

Designer creates wall of breasts

Hmmm, wall boobies.

Boing Boing

boobies

The "Code" is why you don't know much about history.

Hedwig pointed me to this SFgate.com article Balboa film festival offers rare peek into naughty past.

Many of you, I bet, never even heard of this and know nothing about the code. But it's important. Here's why: it totally screwed up most peoples' understanding of history, life, and pretty much everything.

I love movies, god help me, I do. But very rarely do we find a movie that really gives us a real piece of truth. If you shape your view of what it means to be an American largely from movies and TV, what do you think and believe? You probably believe that Americans are virtuous, hard working, and largely moral people. Mostly white, too. And never the bad guys. The great American West was a golden age of good over evil and the struggle over savagery. Our heros are strong, tall, strong, and silent. Bad guys are easy to spot. And our leaders are good and enlightened men.

But then the viewer is confronted with something like HBO's "Deadwood" or "Rome". I've seen the arguments. "They swear too much. There's too much sex. They weren't that violent."

It's hard to take. The Hays Office and the administration of the code forced movies into a complete alternate universe. And you know what's really a shame? It was self inflicted. The studios felt that if they didn't crack down hard on themselves, then the government would.

Want another thought to give you pause? The Hays Office, the code - everything that attempted to sanitize life and make movies and TV acceptable to the powers that be - they're still around. You betcha. It's now called the Motion Picture Association of America. That's right, the MPAA. The folks that want to keep you from recording TV. The folks that want every single electronic device manufactured under their control. They no longer care about your morals. Frankly, they never did. They're businessmen, not artists. They could just as well be selling soap. Or cigarettes. They put the code in place to protect their industry, but the effect was what Washington wanted: a gullible, easy to control public. And now what do they want? They want to control and charge and remove long held rights. They hated the VCR and are livid about TiVO. And computers make them foam at the mouth. They don't want you to record, time or place shift anything you watch. They don't want you to make a backup copy of a DVD your purchase, or copy it to your laptop to watch on the road. And most of all, they want more money.

And here's the gag: they totally miss the point. If they would embrace the technology the could collect untold billions. That's right, billions. Starting today. Here's how: put everything online. Everything. Do exactly the opposite of what they're doing. Take the over 100 years worth of commercial movies, put them in full high-definition glory, and let anyone download and view them for a buck. Sure, charge a bit more for things just released, but let's be generous and say anything over five years old is a buck. Recent experience with "the long tail" tells us that every single movie would be downloaded and paid for every month. That means movies that haven't made a cent for decades (and for some, a century or more) would suddenly be making money for the movie industry. Billions and billions.

Idiots. And they don't care what damage they do as long as they get richer.

long tail, mpaa, censorship