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August 31, 2005
Winter ends and the drought continues
South East Queensland is in serious drought this year, in spite of the current rains. I thought I'd just list the dam capacities of the Easter Seaboard with their sources as a point of reference for future benefit, as well as point out some useful resources on this subject.
South East Queensland Dam Storage: 36.5%
NSW Dam Storage: 38%
Victorian Dam Storage: 53%
Of course, John Quiggin notes that part of the major problem Australia faces with water restructions and drought is inadequate planning. Given the issues with our climate, there are always going to be inequities with water availability, thus careful planning about water conservation really needs to be addressed, and urgently.
Posted by jj at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)
August 30, 2005
Brisbane by night
The rain has washed the streets clean, and left the black, double-patterned stain of traffic on both sides of the road. The air is warm, but there's a freshness in the breeze as it whips through the streets along the river. A chill passes across the new growth peeping from the branches of the tree beside my window. And geckos curl, timid, and shivering in the cracks between the bricks. Street lights and neon signs reflect gaudily in puddles by the road. And the kitchens close, as nine o'clock slips artlessly by.
It's a quiet, and balmy town. But it's home.
Posted by jj at 10:01 PM | Comments (1)
Just a couple of geek points today
Go to Pluto! Or at least, have your name go to Pluto in the collection being carried by the New Horizon spacecraft, to be launched in 2006. I have my participation certificate (#262879), because I'm a geek.
And on other geek related issues, the article by Andrew Orlowski in The Register responding to his RFI (Request For Information) on Creative Commons seems relatively trite, but there's a more interesting discussion on the subject in the thread at Slashdot.
Posted by jj at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
August 29, 2005
Paperwork
I've had a morning of it. It's not so much that I can't handle paperwork, it's that when you get through about 3 hours of it, you realise you haven't achieved anything all day. And that's frustrating.
Oh well. It's been an interesting morning in news at least.
1. NSW Opposition Leader, and Leader of the Liberal Party, John Brogden has resigned as Leader after calling former Premier Bob Carr's wife a "mail order bride" and pinching a journo on the bum at a press conference last month.
2. Fairfax has announced annual net profit of $259.69 million, down from the $276.01 million reported in the previous year.
3. Adobe and Macromedia shareholders have approved the merger of the two mega-powers of graphic development.
4. Days after the announcement of the Intel-Unwired Australia deal, the company's CEO Peter Shore has resigned.
5. iiNet has started offering VoIP services.
Interesting morning indeed.
EDIT: Late entry...
6. Stocks have dropped in light of rising oil costs on the Australian sharemarket. From AFP: "National turnover at 1230 AEST was 449.75 million shares traded for a total value of $1.67 billion with 307 stocks moving up, 526 falling and 306 unchanged."
Posted by jj at 3:04 PM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2005
Some links
I've been very neglectful of my blog the last several days due to various other concerns. To fill the void, I offer some of the links I've been sending to H to keep him entertained whilst he's overseas.
- Doc Searles now has a strategy for saving the web from splogging (automated blogging for the sole purpose of generating advertising revenue)
- The US National Science Foundation is planning an entirely new internet architecture. No need to panic though. It will probably take so long to build that any problems with the existing architecture will probably be resolved by the time the Global Environment for Networking Investigations, or GENI, is released from its bottle.
- Robert X Cringely thinks Google has peaked as a company.
- The BBC wants to sell music downloads, and is considering investments with partner businesses for the process.
- Intel thinks they can produce a technology that protects wireless networks
- Growth rate in traffic online is slowing (although that's probably to be expected - critical mass probably occurred in 2004)
- Intel have joined (and invested A$37million) with Sydney based Unwired Australia in promoting WiMAX mobile broadband capabilities throughout Australia
- On a lighter note, Natural energy has never been more hysterical than with a hamster powered phone charger.
- Jason Kottke is saying that the next killer app is desktop web servers.
- Engadget now has a Konfabulator widget.
- And in case that makes so sense at all, check out Konfabulator.
- Slashdot has an interesting thread on IT management from the IT workers' perspective.
- A Manchester Uni researcher is claiming men have higher IQs than women. Of course this finding is (stupidly) being interpreted that men are cleverer than women, rather than the actual finding which is that IQ tests inherently, but only marginally, favour men.
- And finally, in the cutest dog story ever, a lost dog managed to take the right train home and get off at the right station when he lost his owner.
Posted by jj at 6:54 PM | Comments (0)
August 22, 2005
Goodbye Pa
My grandfather died earlier today. He had lived through a couple of pretty serious heart attacks over a series of years and he had struggled with illness for the past five or six years so he was probably ready to go.
I haven't been in much contact with Pa over the past decade, but in my early years he was the most important male figure in my life. I loved him dearly and will always remember the way he used to talk to me in rhymes and the way he laughed with me. I still have a much treasured letter from him, written in capital letters so I would be able to read it as a 6 year old girl...
I KNOW YOU'VE TOLD ME MANY TIMES
NOT TO SEND YOU ANY RHYMES
BUT I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE WORD
THAT RHYMES WELL WITH "BIG BIRD"
...it goes on, but it's more of the same. He just loved making me laugh.
He was a great grandpa for all of my childhood, and my best friend for a very long time. Farewell Pa. I will always remember how wonderful you were to me.
Posted by jj at 10:02 PM | Comments (8)
Note to self
Canned soup almost always looks and smells far better than it tastes.
Posted by jj at 2:41 PM | Comments (1)
August 21, 2005
*tap, tap* Hello? Anyone there?
Is it just me or is the 'net really, really slow intermittently this evening?
Posted by jj at 7:46 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2005
Government versus People Power: Who drives e-participation?
I received a few requests to reproduce my presentation at yesterday's mini-debate at the United Nations International Conference on Engaging Communities. I took on the role of provocateur at the debate, arguing that governments should simply stay out of digital activism, except in terms of providing options for participation (facilitating network access) and in terms of responding to user-identified issues. In any case, I have reproduced the presentation in the extended entry for any and all interested parties.
JJ: The User perspective
The value of new technologies in generating social and political debate is clear: ease of engagement and the dig-down method of subject area searching and self-education online has brought about a period of active content consumption in a manner never achieved by traditional broadcasting and related media services. But the very frontier nature of new and emergent technologies in generating a public space for community engagement has brought into question the manner in which such spaces may be constructed and fostered to ensure equity of access and direct impact on decision making both in the public sphere and for private interests whether these be community oriented or commercially driven.
It is my contention that the best means of ensuring maximum impact and democratic participation in this digital age is to pursue a non-interventionist approach to community engagement. The value and difference of online media as a channel for social and political debate is based not in government information channels, but in user-driven knowledge exchange. This is not to say that Governments do not have a role in educating and informing about policy and process. It simply means that Governments and commercial entities should not attempt to moderate the content being developed by consumer-citizens.
In the case of digital activism, blogs and what Howard Rheingold calls “smart mobs” have begun to emerge as a significant force in changing public perception of ideas. Web logs or 'blogs' - for those that are unaware - are the online diaries of digital pundits who generate posts on any topic they can imagine, including links to websites and resources on issues as further reading or supporting material. These posts are displayed on websites in reverse chronological order so the most recent post is always at the top. And many blogs encourage readers to add comments to individual posts so a kind of ongoing conversation can emerge on topics, where bloggers and blog-readers can negotiate their positions on ideas without the intervention of a print media editor, a talk-back radio host or a conference chair who just doesn't pick your question from those eager to participate in debate from an auditorium audience.
As a technology-facilitated activist venture, blogs are growing in importance, with the US Presidential election campaign and democratic conventions being blogged and a run-down of “what the bloggers are saying” being reported now in mainstream media. Even News Corporation boss, Rupert Murdoch, has now admitted that the rise of blogging in opinion formulation and information linking and consumption is something that media institutions need to monitor. But the blogging community are also adamant that the value in blogs as they are now operating is in the user-driven approach. If there is insufficient knowledge about a topic or discussion about an idea, then a blogger can incite that debate and encourage other bloggers and blog readers to discuss an issue.
One of yesterday's most significant news issues was the development in Iraq of a new constitution and the end of US involvement in peace keeping activities in the region. But for the blogging community and the grass-roots pundits, the issue was the extraction of US troops from Iraq itself. Fueled by the odd story in the Washington Post and the New York Times, the bloggers yesterday were discussing the democratic principles behind remaining in the region and the impact this was having on public opinion, both in the US and across the rest of the western world. Traditional media as well as government rhetoric was used as weaponry in the debates, but it was the bloggers themselves - traditionally dominated by left-wing advocates and the odd (and often very odd) right-wing activist - that ran the discussion. Indeed, government intervention, hosting or rhetorical participation at this level would probably be regarded by the bloggers with some suspicion. Instead, the ambition of the bloggers is to attract the attention of mainstream media which then places pressure on governing bodies and representatives making decisions in the public interest. This is why blogs and other new media technologies have often been regarded as a so-called “fifth estate” - providing stops and checks on governments and media institutions.
Where governments do have a role in fostering community engagement is in genuine participation. It is perfectly reasonable for governments and governing bodies to aggregate data gleaned from user-driven and technology-facilitated activism, and to actively respond to issues raised.
Often the popularity and sense of personal importance that bloggers seek to achieve through blogging will be significantly positively reinforced when a blog post, public event or journal article is either tracked and responded to in commentary systems or on a public official's own site, or cited in mainstream media coverage.
Governments have for so long pursued formal management processes to deal with community activism that the perceived relevance of engaging in such activism has waned over time. Similarly, government and private sector driven community engagement strategies - the colonization approach to collaboration and participation - are widely perceived as condescending and untrustworthy. There is, it seems, a marked preference among technology users that governments have a responsibility to ensure the choice of access and participation than to drive the process of participation.
The role of governments must therefore be facilitating, rather than mediating; contributing rather than broadcasting; provocative and responsive, rather than rhetorical.
Beyond blogs and flash mobs, there are other social networking techniques both facilitated by technology and growing from technology-oriented communities. Online journals and public forums are driving traffic to the digital domain for further information and public participation. Brisbane's Ideas Festival is designed as a forum for community engagement with ideas, and will take place next year at QPAC as a QLD Govt funded event, with some fee-oriented events but a very large proportion of free events from public exhibitions, lectures, showcases and debates. It is a networking event to match up entrepreneurs and creative artists with venture capitalists and business interests, scholars with practitioners, public sector representatives with citizens.
But probably importantly, the Ideas Festival recognises that the ideas don't stop at the festival itself. Many of the participants attending the Ideas Festival will wish to receive further information and engage in debate on ideas presented after the event. As such, the Ideas Festival is implementing a track-back facility to watch the debate continuing after the event. As much as possible, there are also recordings of lectures being made and posted online - such as the recent Jared Diamond lecture and the John Ralston Saul lecture which will take place at the Cremorne theatre down the road next week. These recordings allow participation in a festival which would otherwise be inaccessible to those citizens who cannot travel or who cannot commit time to the issues that will be addressed in these public agorae. While the festival is government funded and facilitated, it is the users who will contribute the debate, and it is the users who will define the success of the venture.
Similarly, electronic journals such as On Line Opinion - a journal of social and political debate - allow for industry representatives and interested pundits to create articles and incite debate both within forums hosted by the journal editors, and outside in private blogs, discussion lists and independent forums. Founded here in Brisbane, On Line Opinion gets up to 60,000 hits per subject area per month for 19 main subject areas. Forum participation is lively, but it is the participation that occurs outside the boundaries of the journal itself that are profound: the journal is used extensively in mainstream media (print and talk radio in particular) in generating content for further discussion, and grass-roots discussions are emerging from the articles held in On Line Opinion.
OLO is not a government led initiative, nor a private institution in the manner of most mainstream media. It is instead a non-profit, with shareholding interest from Australian universities and think tanks, interested in generating and engaging with material for their own ventures.
The range of vehicles for public debate are profound in the modern age. But it is because these ventures have been permitted to grow organically, perhaps with some recognition and infrastructure concerns mitigated by government, but dominantly driven in terms of content by the users, that they have become so successful.
Each vehicle for community engagement cited fulfils a different function in community engagement, and thus each may be regarded as successful in their own right. If a blog gets 12 comments to a post then it might well be regarded as highly successful. If a festival attracts 50 downloads of a sound recording of a public lecture it might be regarded as similarly successful. And finally, if an online journal obtains 100,000 hits per day it might be regarded as successful. But importantly, mainstream measures of performance in the digital environment should be treated with some scepticism. Often governments and governing bodies are focused on % or total cumulative community engagements when it comes to social and economic issues. But this is not necessarily a useful measure of community engagement. Indeed, in the blogging world, just because a blog post doesn't get much in the way of comments doesn't mean the blogger has said something unpopular, uninteresting or useless, but that blog readers simply didn't have anything to add to the idea discussed. Again, it becomes important for governments and public officials to interpret the activism going on in the digital sphere as a mechanism to inform decision making on relevant topics. While I today have cited figures of active participants and blog trends, I'm also acutely aware of the fact that it isn't the numbers that matter so much as the influence and significance of user-driven social participation, facilitated by emergent technologies. And this of course is difficult to measure. But perhaps the most logical measure of participation is perception. And where technologies are engaging community members, the perception may be that participation is high. But where community engagements are clearly impacting on decision making and government engagement with community driven initiatives, perception of the “success” of a community engagement strategy is that much more pointed.
Because where governments are perceived to listen, their value to the community is substantially higher than where governments are seen merely to condescend.
Posted by jj at 10:55 AM | Comments (2)
August 16, 2005
Call to arms for AFL fan!
Australian Football League Footy fans - I need your help.
I've received an email from a blog reader who needs to know how he can get live broadcast access to AFL games in Germany. Apparently none of the digital or satellite services in the region offer AFL and the official AFL website only offers vision of games 24 hours after the final siren. Does anyone have alternative broadcast feeds available online - subscription or otherwise? And are there any subscription television networks in Germany that do offer live AFL coverage? What about those countries that generally offer live AFL? Do they also have websites containing the coverage?
All help much appreciated. A little bit of home footy is all we're asking, and I think that's an admirable goal.
Posted by jj at 8:35 AM | Comments (1)
August 15, 2005
*peers, disbelieving*
So the big question of the day would have to be, "Is the Walken for 2008 Presidential Campaign just a giant hoax?"
Posted by jj at 10:39 PM | Comments (3)
Australian screen industry problems
The ABC are reporting today that television and film producers from the Australian sector are calling on the federal government to inject A$15 million of funds into the sector to help prop up a failing industry. At the SPAA (Screen Producers Association of Australia) conference today, there will be little to celebrate, with fewer Australian films attracting visits at the box office and fewer Australian dramas attracting ratings in prime time television.
But what is the reason for this decline in interest for Australian content. Certainly there's no waning of interest in all things Australian, as lifestyle and reality programs based here will attest. One possible reason for the decline is a serious dearth of original ideas here in the Land of Oz, or at least, a resistance to original ideas among possible funding sources for drama and other content production. With the possible exception of Halifax FP and Seachange, there really haven't been many original ideas screened on Australian television in the past 15 years. And frankly, I'm reticent to even call Seachange original. You might even call it a better-written and slightly more adult version of Home and Away.
I wonder, indeed, about the tendency to focus entirely on the drama category in the first place. Some of the most successful dramas coming out of the US at the moment are either politico-legal (eg: Law and Order, The West Wing) or a combination of drama and comedy (eg: Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls). Then you have the rather bizarre mix of reality programming and fictional drama which is Lost. In contrast, Australia's offerings in the drama category are predominantly modern adaptations of the quaint Country-Vet/Hospital-Cop variety that have been churned out of studios for the past 30 years. McLeod's Daughters (country battlers), The Alice (country battlers), the older Blue Heelers (country cop battlers), and even the ancient Neighbours (bogun battlers from the suburbs) hardly present Australia and Australians as anything even remotely interesting. Frankly, if audiences want to see a bunch of country or suburban freaks/wannabes, they'll look at Big Brother or Australian Idol, and if they want to see something worth aspiring towards, they'll look at Renovation Rescue or Backyard Blitz. There are few attempts in Australian content production to take risks and focus on content that could be controversial and even remotely amusing, unless it's reality programming. Yet The West Wing, Law and Order, Six Feet Under, Queer As Folk and Desperate Housewives were all of them, highly controversial on release.
And the same goes for Australian film production. The US is presently in the clutches of comic book and superhero obsession with the likes of Sin City, The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, Spiderman and Batman series. Otherwise it's all about remaking (or reimagining) earlier classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bewitched or the Dukes of Hazzard. Really it should be an easy time for Australian film makers to release something extraordinary into the mix. But still Australian film makers have focussed on the typical Aussie battler, in amusing, squalid or quaint country contexts. Take this year's top box office products:
1. Strange Bedfellows (Michael Caton and Paul Hogan): Two Aussie blokes battling the system. Paul Hogan again? Please.
2. Somersault: Bogan bush love story set in the snowy mountains, with some token Aboriginals. Stereotypical in the extreme.
3. One Perfect Day: An Aussie battler returns from civilised society in London to the harsh urban bushland of a series of rave parties to discover which particular drugs killed his sister. Okay, modernisation of the bush fantasy, but there are still a great number of unpleasant Aussie steroetypes in this production.
4. Thunderstruck: Probably the most original of the top five, but still just a mockumentary about an AC-DC style band tour around the Australian countryside.
5. Love's Brother: 1950s Bush immigrant love story. They're a Wierd Mob for Dummies.
It's all a bit embarrassing. Not a terribly original, admirable or thought-provoking product among them.
I am not so arrogant as to pretend to understand the reason for declining box office and television ratings interest in Australian productions, but I think that as creative developers begin writing new content they ought to take some lessons from what is going on overseas. To engage current audiences, it might be worth considering some new ideas and even exploring some characters and storylines that are not 'typically Australian'. And rather than complaining about the cheap costs of importing American product, perhaps creators should instead be looking at the content of their programs, the settings and the writing in order to attract investment and interest in Australian productions.
Posted by jj at 10:40 AM | Comments (2)
Some home truths
I'm unashamedly anti-war. I'm not a coward, nor am I disrespectful of the great efforts of those who serve in the military, and I wish those remaining soldiers from the second world war much peace and thanks as they celebrate the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific. But I find the rationale for going to war is often lacking, and I am ashamed of the perversely undemocratic arguments that were used by the US, England and Australia to support the war in Iraq.
Now, as the Iraq war draws to a close, there are strong statements being made about the pseudonymous 'justice' of the supposed 'War on Terror', which should probably be more accurately called the 'War on Saddam Hussein and his cronies'. The Washington Post is noting that the whole vision of the Iraq War must, and is being lowered by US officials in order to meet deadlines. All the rationale and process originally deemed vital for the 'democratic' 'liberalisation' of the nation (read: extremist factionalisation and reduction of liberties amongst traditionally down-trodden sectors - such as women) is being modified now to the simple change of government that comes with capture of the country's leader. And even the New York Times is begging President Bush to understand that no-one in America believes the rhetoric nor understands the doggedly determinist attitude Bush Jnr is still placing on the military campaign.
War can be necessary. It's certainly an easy decision when you have governments openly declaring their intention to commit genocide as occurred in Germany during the second world war. But when the only people supporting terrorist activities are extremist pockets of disaffected failures, then the rationale for war is clearly bent. And I challenge anyone to find that citizens of a region battered by war are better off after conflict based on such flimsy theories.
Posted by jj at 9:13 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2005
Memories of cold
I'm an intolerant little frog. The past day and a half in Brisbane has been overcast and/or raining, cold, wet and miserable. Top temperature yesterday of 14° and we've only just made it to 14° again so far today.
This is the kind of weather I remember from my days at school in Melbourne's winter, where for days on end the sun was obscured by a thick blanket of grey cloud, and everything smelled damp, even if there was no rain. Never one for much in the way of natural insulation, I wrapped my lanky frame in layers of clothes, but still my long fingers tended to whiten and develop that slightly blue, pinched look of unremitting cold. I remember racing to get the seats in my classes closest to the heater, and the spot at the barre at ballet class every day, directly under one of the huge gas radiators that pumped warmth throughout the draughty hall.
Of course it wouldn't take long at ballet to work up a comfortable sweat, even in the coldest months of the year, but still I always reverted to the heat sources, convinced that my muscles would tighten and be at risk of injury if I allowed any part of my body to cool. During the early 1980s there was even a fashion in dance of wearing "plastic pants" - made from thin, acrylic, stretch material that we wore with a waist elastic so the top was folded down over the hips. The idea was that the "plastic" would keep our leg muscles warm and loose - crucial for the long, controlled and remarkably difficult tests of flexibility in the adagio, and the "big jumps" of the allegro sections of class. I doubt if the reasoning was sound, but I happily bound my body in these plastic pants, and all matter of other binding techniques, in the hopes that the warmth and sweat would have the dual effect of protecting muscles, and keeping my weight down.
All this, and many other memories of cold from my childhood seem to be communicating one thing: I really enjoy warmth, and really hate the cold. Enveloped as I am today in a high-necked skivvy, with the fan heater on full blast, and the oil heater radiating warmth, I'm still wrapping my long, white fingers around hot cups of tea in order to keep my slim frame from shivering.
I think I have had enough of winter. Come on Brisbane, bring on summer.
Posted by jj at 12:05 PM | Comments (4)
August 10, 2005
Ideas Festival Event - Sold out!
Thanks to all those who have purchased tickets for the John Ralston Saul event. Once again, we're all booked out - you do have to get in fast to get to the Ideas Festival events! - so I'm looking forward to a fabulous evening of engaging with the question of globalisation. For all those who missed out, we'll see what we can do to provide a digital recording of the lecture online. In the meantime, if you have any questions you want posed, or have any theories of your own about globalisation, feel free to post them here in comments and I'll see what I can do about getting answers for you!
Posted by jj at 4:18 PM | Comments (0)
August 9, 2005
YAY Discovery!
Go you good thing! :-)
EDIT: The coverage is hysterical on Sky News. Everyone keeps interviewing each other and saying how marvellous it all is! It's just like cricket, only dark and with space shuttles.
Posted by jj at 11:32 PM | Comments (1)
August 8, 2005
I'm cold
My fingernails have gone blue. This is absurd. It's 20° and I'm shivering.
Posted by jj at 11:55 AM | Comments (3)
Never fear! I'm still here!
I'm still alive and celebrating the new job, and various other happenings about the place. Okay Kasprowicz's wicket should never have been given out, but I figure the Aussies are just trying to put some interest in to the next decider in the Ashes series. And Discovery will hopefully touch down later today after some of the most fabulous spacewalking handyman work we've ever seen. Next time anyone has to clean the gutters, I recommend you get out there and imagine you're pulling out foam and spacers between the ceramic tiles of an aging shuttlecraft.
But in general, life has been rather good lately. Thanks to all those who have helped me celebrate in the past week or two :)
Posted by jj at 8:34 AM | Comments (2)
August 2, 2005
It's Official!!!
Okay for all those who have been patiently waiting my good news, I'm now able to officially let you all know what I am going to be doing for the next several years of my life.
I've been offered and delighted to accept a secondment to the Australasian Centre for Interaction Design (ACID), a Commonwealth Cooperative Research Centre, where I'll be managing collaborative research projects and creating commercially sustainable services for the corporate sector. I will be working extensively with business partners (from both private and public sector) in conducting genuine audience research on collaborative business tools, and developing clear processes to maximise retention of organisational knowledge and showcase creative industry portfolios. I could go on, but if you are interested, let me know, and I'm happy to fill you in on the details :-)
Related to the ACID secondment, I'm also co-developing a Think Tank with Rob Dew of Hyperion Technologies, Hamish Elton of SaleStream, and other Brisbane Graduate School of Business people. The Think Tank is focused on creative problem solving products and services, and will consider business needs for, and commercial development of, collaborative problem solving and information management tools. Anyone (graduates of BGSB or otherwise) interested in participating in the Think Tank, please feel free to contact me with your ideas.
There are actually a couple of other great news items on the list.... I've been sponsored by the United Nations to present at the forthcoming International Conference on Engaging Communities - a rare and much appreciated privilege. I'm also going to be MCing the John Ralston Saul event for the Ideas Festival in a few weeks' time. And I have finished one chapter of the two chapters I'm writing for the book I'm editing with Axel Bruns, Uses of Blogs.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Evan Douglas of the Brisbane Graduate School of Business and Peter Little in the Faculty of Business at QUT for approving this secondment and allowing me to stay in touch with BGSB, where I will continue to teach on a regular basis throughout the forthcoming secondment. I look forward to a fabulous and productive partnership in connecting MBA students with business plan opportunities at ACID. And I'd like to thank Jeff Jones, the CEO of ACID, and Sam Bucolo, manager of interactive design projects at ACID, for giving me the opportunity to work on such an exciting and switched on series of projects. This is a dream job.
Posted by jj at 8:18 PM | Comments (8)
Updates
I know I keep delaying on announcing anything, but with the blogging book and other work filling my days, and with no real resolution yet to one of the issues in the Good News list, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to wait just a little longer before I reveal the big news on all fronts. In the meantime, here's some relaxation linking.
:-)
Many will have already heard about the "newly discovered" planet sitting beyond Pluto in our solar system. Of course it's not really that new. People have been talking about Quaoar (aka Persephone, or even 'Rupert') since 2001 but it's taken until now for scientists to agree that it is, indeed, a planet, and in fact a lot bigger than had been previously considered. Now slashdot is reporting that hackers actually forced the latest news stories to be released. That might be romancing the issue a little, as it's more likely that it was just that a few Advanced Googlers who felt it was time the crew investigating Quaoar actually said something about their work, but it sure sounds better to blame hackers. 'Open source' has probably always meant 'open findings'.
Later today I'll be installing Google Earth for one of Rob Dew's classes, where students will be considering the possible uses for this tool. Some of the hacks associated with the (US-centric) relation of Google Earth, Google Maps (gmaps), are fascinating in tracking the world patterns. Boing Boing have pointed out the rather haunting simulation of high yield detonations on New York as calculated by gmaps.
As a regular user of Skype, I'm one of many who will be interested in the planned Skype WiFi phone. Engadget are reporting on the possibility of more news maybe coming this way on the subject. Soon. So not much information, but stay on the line.
And finally, MeFi can be useful on occasion. From that melting pot of the beautiful, the bizarre and the banal, I was alerted to Cameron Jones's work out at my old alma mater, Swinburne University of Technology. Jones uses nanocrystals printed with fractal designs on CDs to work with sound and image files. It's too difficult to explain in detail, so you'll need to read through the stuff, or just listen to what happens when you play the CDs he's created.
Oh, and I suspect I'm not the only one who really wants to see the Jamster Crazy Frog (currently appearing in the #1 song on the Australian charts) throughly beaten to a pulp.
Posted by jj at 8:59 AM | Comments (3)