First of all... Happy Leap Year Day! I think we should all make February 29 a compulsory Day Off Everything, as the world needs to catch up with our calendar and so we need to give it a chance to do that with an extra day off. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
In two good examples of why technology isn't always the answer, we have the example of Howard Dean's failure in the candidacy for the US Presidential Election and the act of configuring the Common Unix Printing System (or CUPS). While these are two disparate subjects, the articles discussing these subjects are probably the best examples of why technological determinism doesn't work. While I'm an advocate of social software and open source, it's simply absurd to believe (as some do) that these technologies are going to change the world. They aren't. People change the world, not technologies. Read these articles and see what I mean.
Later tonight or tomorrow I'll also be discussing Cory Doctorow's latest offering, Eastern Standard Tribe.... Some good points and some not so good points.
My blog post titles may be getting a tad outlandish, but they do communicate the content of the post.
"Shock Jock" Howard Stern has been taken off-air in some part of the US due to concerns about offensive content. Stern rates enormously well in the States, in spite of the fact that in the context of his programs he makes a general practice of abusing women, African Americans and indeed most cultural groups. But while I don't defend Stern, I'm not sure censorship is the answer. Why people listen to that crud is beyond me. Stern would be much better ignored than blocked.
And a candidate for the Most Hysterical Nonstory Award, the BBC are reporting about a bunch of scientists getting their research so badly wrong that they almost put the Earth on alert for an incoming asteroid. The scientists thought the object they found in space was 30 metres wide and would do some serious damage. They also thought it was right on track to hit the Earth's atmosphere. The object was in fact 500 metres wide and passed the Earth at a distance of 12 million kilometres. The article itself is embarrassingly amusing, complete with a picture of the chief researcher's disembodied head floating around the text like the ship board computer, Holly, from Red Dwarf.
Just watched the penultimate episode of Extreme Makeover (for this season) and realise how much work I need done. Forget everything I've previously said about cosmetic surgery. If someone gave me the money I'd be out there getting everything done! Not that I'd think it'd make any difference to my lifestyle, but at least in the short term I'd feel like I was achieving something!
Apparently if I don’t blog for 48 hours people think I’ve collapsed or something, because I have had several enquiring emails today asking if I’m okay.
So first things first: I’m okay. Jaw is not 100% but is substantially better.
There’s actually a whole heap I want to blog about so I’ll begin with a few headlines here and expand on these in the extended entry.
Blog topics:
Grey Tuesday (ie: two days ago)
Red Wednesday (ie: yesterday, and for two reasons)
Blue Thursday (ie: for Virgin Blue and Jetstar)
Grey Tuesday
For those of you that don't know the story of the Grey Album, a product of DJ Dangermouse, then here's the summary: DJ Dangermouse remixed The Beatles White Album and Jay-Z's Black album. Whilst covering these song is fine under US copyright law, remixing them is regarded as illegal art. The Grey Tuesday site is the protest site against what is seen to be territorialism among record producers. Lawrence Lessig has probably the most useful things to say on the topic, but I guess my take on the matter is that while I'm against territorialism of any kind by fat record production companies, I'm not at all surprised they are pursuing litigation aganst DJ Dangermouse. I'm only surprised that people regard this as unusual enough a situation to set up a protest site.
Red Wednesday
I've topped up my red hair experiment with deeper red tones, as the colour tends to drain out rather quickly.
Also, I spent a couple of hours with Mitchell and Stephen on Wednesday night, exploring our ideas surrounding Cory Doctorow's Dot Communist Utopia (Reds in the bar, as opposed to under the bed). Thanks to Mitch and Steve - enjoyed the discussion.
Blue Thursday
Good news for Australian travellers with the release of $29 airfares to coincide with the launch of the El Cheapo QANTAS airline, Jetstar. Virgin Blue have matched the fares and doubled the seat allocation, so it looks like there'll be plenty of seats for awhile at rock bottom rates. I now have credit cards for both airlines (Qantas Visa and Virgin Mastercard) so I feel no loyalty to either airline. In other words, yay cheap flights for me!
I considered having a green Friday in this post but thought better of it. I'll probably end up wearing white and I doubt I'll be more environmentally aware than I am on any other day.
No, not the blog. The ache in my jaw. I've developed a nasty little condition called Temporal Mandibular Joint Syndrome, which thankfully should be temporary, and is probably a result of my teeth realigning themselves after the wisdom tooth was removed. Pain in the neck. Or in the jaw, as the case may be. Anyway, it hurts to speak and chew. So I'll be quiet and thin for the next week or thereabouts.
It's rare for Australian media to be heading the Blogdex, but that's the situation this morning, with an article being printed in the Sunday Telegraph, claiming that Osama Bin Laden has been surrounded in a mountainous area in Afghanistan, and would soon be captured. If the story is true then the heart of the terrorist movement will be dealt a severe blow. Unlike many of my colleagues, I doubt it will affect fundamentalism and extremist activities on a world scale. But perhaps it will provide some closure to the chapter in human history, of September 11.
EDIT: Thanks to Mitch for picking up the earlier slip. Proof I really shouldn't try and blog in the ad breaks of my morning workout.
40.8° in Brisbane at 1pm. Power still holding up for now. 35° in my office and 26° in my lounge room. Thank goodness for air con. I'm heading back there to watch Gosford Park on DVD.
So it got to 41° yesterday and only got down to an overnight minimum of 27.9° last night, and it's forecast to get up to 40° again today. Given at 8:00am it's 32° that looks pretty likely.
This is, of course, why I have air conditioning.
I've been quite comfortable at home EXCEPT when, for about 30 minutes yesterday, I lost power and had to leave my guests, Liz, Raechel and Andy sweltering in my lounge room without so much as a fan to blow air around. Precisely why the energy companies can't sustain power to Queensland homes in periods of extreme heat is beyond me. Surely they realise that at this latitude, there are going to be extreme weather days, and that these are going to cause problems with high power usage? I've generally been impressed with the work of Energex, the power company that services South-East Queensland, but it's in cases of extreme conditions that you discover how good a utilities firm can be. For their sake, as well as mine, I hope they get their act together today.
I'm fine. A mild ache around the jaw is all I'm feeling, but the most predominant symptoms I have are tiredness and hunger. Haven't been able to eat much in the first 24 hours after the extraction (not allowed to) so I'm low on energy and I suppose that's making me a bit tired. Otherwise there are no further problems, so I still believe my dentist is a genius :-) Anyone who wants her details is welcome to contact me!
Well what a lot of bother over nothing. The extraction of my wisdom tooth took all of about 3 minutes and I had no pain at all throughout the procedure. Of course I'm still numb from the anaesthetic but this dentist is a fair dinkum genius anyway. I'm to spend the rest of the day sitting back and watching TV in air-conditioned comfort and if there are any problems by tomorrow morning then something has gone wrong. It's enough to make me go back to the dentist! (And probably an indication of how *bad* my last dentist was.)
So thanks for the vibes folks - all much appreciated anyway - and I'm doing great so far!
This is a general warning that I'm getting a wisdom tooth extracted tomorrow. I expect it will be painful and unpleasant. All vibes, hugs and pethadine will be greatly appreciated.
In a story to be printed in The Bulletin today, and reported on ABC Online, Prime Minister John Howard has claimed that the intention by Telstra to launch a takeover bid for newspaper group, Fairfax, was foiled by board members who were concerned that the move would put major newspapers, like the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age under state control. This, the Prime Minister contends, is further evidence of the need to privatise the rest of Telstra.
Err... sorry... what???? Is no-one even remotely concerned about the country's dominant telecommunications carrier having direct control over media output? Is no-one even remotely worried that this would put Telstra as the controller of the networks, a major player in subscription television and a controller of some of the nation's most influential print media, in a rather frighteningly powerful position in a converged media environment? Is the Prime Minister so naïve as to think that privatisation of Telstra creates a competitive environment (choice and service for consumers!) when in the same breath he's believing that a Telstra takeover bid for Fairfax is a good idea????
Clearly the whole notion of diversity has suffered a fatal blow. Henceforth, when someone mentions "media diversity" it will have nothing to do with plurality of voices and distributed control of media channels. Simply, it must mean one organisation owning and controlling all media channels. It's just Orwell's 1984 with better fashion sense and twenty years late.
In the interests of getting people back to work, the solution to the present productivity virus called Grow (Version 3) follows in the extended entry. This way, you have no excuse not to get back to work, if you're frustrated by the game.
Drag the items across to the "Grow" logo in the following order:
1. Pipe (top left)
2. Metal brick (top right)
3. Sun (looks like an orange, second from the top on the right)
4. Egg (second from the bottom on the left)
5. Ladder (bottom left)
6. Mountain (second from the bottom on the right)
7. Propellor (third from the top on the left)
8. Cyclone (third from the bottom on the right)
9. Bolt (second from the top on the left)
10. Dish (third from the bottom on the left)
11. Rocket base (bottom right)
12. TV screen (third from the top on the right)
Hope people are coping with the heat around Australia at the moment. Brisbane is currently (at 8:38am) 30° having had an overnight low of 25.9°. Another sweltering day lies ahead.
In tech news, I thought I'd just direct people's attention to Soople.com, a resource that includes many different search methods (as well as a calculator) on the one page. Rather good, even if some of the search results are coming back in dutch.
Thankyou to all my wonderful friends and family for being part of my life. I love you all. And I'm grateful to have an opportunity like this to let you know how important you are to me. Valentine's Day may be a rather crass attempt by card companies to sell more cards, but for me, it's a chance to be grateful for the blessing I have in the love of my friends and family. I am a person who, regardless of my many failings, geekishness and argumentative stance, is driven by love. Without you all, I am nothing. Thankyou for being my inspiration and purpose in life.
Thanks to Callum for the link to the highly amusing story about Microsoft potentially losing its trademark on 'Windows'. After using standover tactics against the Linux site, Lindows.com, and suing them for using a name that's too close to Windows, Lindows.com have struck back and are arguing that the word 'windows' is too generic and shouldn't be trademarked. If they win, it could be anybody's Windows, Lindows, Sindows, Findows and even Spindows. How amusing!
Today is Friday the 13th. I'm probably not superstitious enough to be concerned about that, but I do suggest going to the pub early tonight. Might as well enjoy it.
Tomorrow is Valentines Day. I'm not one of those horrid individuals who is selfish enough not to be happy for those people who are in relationships. I wish you all a fabulous day! I did find some anti-valentines day cards rather hysterical, but in all truth, I do want people to take a moment to be thankful for the person you're with on Valentines Day. And if you're not with a partner, be thankful for the family and friends who are part of your life. Love should never be something you feel resentful about. We are all loved by someone, and we should all be grateful for that.
Slashdot are reporting that the Windows 2000 and NT source code has been leaked on the internet. Great. If you thought the 6 month delay on the security patch released on Wednesday was an unacceptable risk, then this is probably several million times worse. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for open source. But when the rather special human beings who write viruses to bring down networks in the manner of the latest MyDoom virus get a hold of this code they're going to spend a very great deal of time trying to break that code and releasing viruses into the wild to bugger up servers.
I've said it once and I'll say it again. Microsoft sucks. But I have to work with it, and it really irritates me when the rest of us have to suffer inconvenience as a result of viruses written by people who frankly ought to go have a shower, get up at 7am and go to work for a change.
In response to a query from a colleague about video footage in lectures, it's becoming increasingly obvious to me that libraries should be converting their video collections into digital format. It simply doesn't make sense to retain old VHS tapes of video footage when they take up so much physical space in the library, and when a few minutes of footage is all that's needed in most cases for lectures and presentations. It would be so much easier to grab a few seconds of footage to embed in presentations from a digital format than it is to swap between inputs, tapes and formats. Due to copyright restrictions, it's impossible to create a tape with the various small cuts of video footage you want, but sequentially screening a few minutes of content from multiple sources isn't breaching copyright. So while it's okay to keep swapping between tapes for the segments you want to show, it's not okay to create a single video with just those few chunks of footage. However, if the footage were all in digital format, the 'original' content wouldn't be compromised through copying, but you could show one segment after another, seamlessly. It just makes sense.
I wonder how long it's going to take for such a system to be adopted, and how many traditional media institutions will argue against it?
Upon handing out the evaluation forms for my graduate subject in marketing I announce that one page is an evaluation of the unit, whilst the other page is an evaluation of me.
One student who shall remain nameless said in response, "Oh so that's why you wore a dress today!"
:-)
My uncle, Dr David Gras, rocks. He's sent me the Bureau of Meterology calendar for 2004, and it's fabulous. How he got me a copy when it's been sold out for months is beyond me, but he's a star for getting it to me! Very much appreciated, David!!
*BIG HUGS* :-)
Today I'm back to assessing the outcomes of recent viruses and the promise of new technologies, and I'm considering some of the practicalities associated with technology use. And in spite of the geek in me that loves functionality, I have to say I still find the technology production market severely lacking in any sense of practical use and pricing for their wares. To save on space, I'm putting my comments in the extended entry.
Having spent the last couple of days designing and implementing the staff intranet at the Brisbane Graduate School of Business, I'm now back to blogging and sifting through emails. MyDoom is still affecting me in a bad way - not because I was infected, but because so many other people were. As a result I have a sneaking suspicion I'm missing a good 20-30% of my legitimate email as my SpamFighter technology tears through my mail server and simply deletes, without ceremony, an average of one email per minute. Still. It's better than dealing with a mailserver full of junk. I figure if it's important enough, people will email me again, or try my work address.
On the gadget front, I found the article from Brighthand on the upcoming handheld PC front a good starting point for considering the future of PCs. I represented the Business Faculty staff in an evaluation of laptops recently, and during that evaluation, I was exposed to several tablet-style PCs and the occasional PDA (although the PDAs were not part of the evaluation, the companies had a few demonstration models available). One of the problems I have with making a judgement on laptops, PDAs and so-called "smart phones" is that I always struggle to work out precisely why I would want the kind of functionality that is available on any unit.
When it comes to laptops, I find the whole concept of a "desktop replacement" model as faulty. Laptops are laptops. They are meant to be portable, and shouldn't be regarded as a replacement for a desktop. I primarily use a laptop for presentations at conferences, international tours and as a working machine as I wait for hours and hours in airports, or during my travels. My priority is simple functionality and programs to ensure I can keep up with my work, and connectivity to the internet so I can upload whatever I've been working on for retrieval on my desktop at some later point. As a result, I see laptops as more of an accessory to a desktop, than a premium product. Trouble is that the most portable and best connectors to the internet are the most expensive laptops. On average you'll spend four to five times as much on a highly portable laptop than you will on a desktop with more power and better upgradeability.
The PDA market is probably a better option than the tablet PC and portable laptop market. You certainly get as much power and functionality you need out of a PDA as you will out of a portable laptop, and it's designed to be better integrated to your PC. And you'll pay probably about the same for a decent PDA as you will for your desktop. The trouble is that I have never really wanted a PDA in my entire life. Back when digital diaries first became popular in the early 1990s, I bought a digital diary for my then partner (a) because he was entirely incapable of remembering where he was supposed to be at any point in time, and (b) because he liked technology toys. I like tech toys too, but I never wanted a digital diary, because I generally know what I have to do and where I have to be. And anyway, I prefer to keep my diary on the internet so I can access it everywhere without having to carry something around with me, and so that I know I'm accessing the latest additions. I am well aware that the PDA market is far superior to the kind of clunky functionality that the old digital diaries sustained, but I still don't want a PDA. I'm happy to play with them. I just don't want one. And probably until there's a flat, probably touch- sensitive, foldable keyboard (ie: something even better than this one from ThinkGeek) that can travel with a handheld, that has the kind of screen that I can read (that'd be wide and short, not long and thin), and that is priced under the $500 mark, I'm not going to be interested in buying one. And I don't think I'm alone.
So I suppose the alternative is the "smart phone". But again I'm unconvinced that the benefits outweigh the costs of these superfreak accessories. A phone shouldn't be so large and heavy that it converts the action of carrying your handbag (sorry fellas) into a weight-training exercise, and it shouldn't be so expensive to connect to the internet that it would be cheaper to buy, say, Adelaide than to connect to the 'net and transfer a file. Smart phones are beginning to go down the route of printers. They may be fairly cheap to buy, but the costs of running the things are so profound that their functionality options are wasted because no-one can afford to actually use them.
I'm beginning to wonder if the PDA market needs an equivalent of the Open Source Community in software, or the Niki or the SMART in the motor vehicle market. We need a cut-down, speed, programs and usability framework for hardware creation, available at low cost. And no, I'm not pretending to be the first to think this. Of course manufacturers want the same thing. It's just that in the batte to develop sustainability in the handheld market, diferentiators like increased functionality and a sexy design are often offered at the expense of considering the rather pragmatic considerations of how the device is going to be used, and how much it's going to cost to use it.
I guess these ideas will come to fruition eventually. Someone is going to be able to produce a cheap, handheld PC that is used as a desktop accessory, and that integrates with existing operating systems, and that doesn't require the user to develop hernias from carrying the thing around. I just want the day to come sooner. And in the meantime, my desktop and my brick of a mobile phone are still my best means of working and communicating.
It was always going to go to Labor. The Peter Beattie Government is a powerful force in this state amd the Opposition struggles to develop any credibility. And frankly, the swing away from Labor wasn't so much a vote *for* the Coalition, but a vote *against* the Labor Government. What was perhaps surprising, was the reduced size of the swing away from Labor. I frankly believed Labor would lose 10-12 seats - and that would *still* give them a strong majority in Parliament.
For those who don't know, the situation at the last election in 2001 was as follows. The National Party won 12 seats. The Liberals won 3 seats. One Nation won 3 seats and Independents controlled 5 seats. Labor won a massive 66 seats and had 49% of the primary vote. It was the most extraordinary majority of 42 seats. So far (at just before 9pm QLD time), Labor have won at least 60 seats, the Nationals have increased their share to 15 seats and Liberals have increased theirs to 5 seats. There are still 5 Independents, but One Nation has been cut down to just 1 seat (thank goodness). So in spite of the protest vote against Labor, the ALP will still have a huge majority. The ABC Election coverage is actually predicting that Labor will come out with 63 of the 66 seats it held before today's election.
This is really an amazing result. To adjust to the last massive swing to Labor at the 2001 election, with only a 3 per cent swing away this time, is a testament to the confidence in Labor expressed by Queenslanders. Well done, Peter Beattie.
In my latest Livejournal post on blogging, I consider the rather extraordinary claims made by a kuro5hin blogger on the curse of bloggers, blogging and Movable Type generally. The author of the post uses offensive language and very little sense in order to get across a perspective that is at once farcical and irrelevant. But the greatest irony is that the only context in which he could ever publish such claims is in a blog forum. None of the "legitimate" avenues for publication would touch him.
Thanks to Callum for this link to an article in The Observer about an Amnesty International Report decrying Microsoft as creating software that supports abuse of human rights. The charge is that Microsoft's software allows the Chinese Government to censor sites and content, and to imprison political opponents of the dominant regime. Amnesty say that Microsoft should instead be creating software that allows for freedom of expression.
Hmm.
While I sympathise with the Amnesty International case, I'm not sure how practical it is to claim that any company should be considering open access to all content online. I guess it comes back to the old problem of censorship versus freedom of speech. The software allows content to be vetted on the basis of keyword and conceptual strings. This was primarily done to ensure content that would otherwise be regarded as adult or restricted material could be flagged for censorship in schools, business and family environments. That functionality has been abused in China where keywords of "democracy", "dissident" and "human rights" and even country names like "Taiwan" and "Tibet" are used to target authors who are creating material that breaches regulations. The thing is that in China, every website has to be registered with the Ministry of Posts, and must not contain information that is critical of the Chinese Government. Many of us feel that such censorship is appalling, but if a resident creates a website that is hosted in China and breaches that agreement, then it's really not Microsoft's fault that the citizen has breached contract. While it'd be nice for Microsoft to be able to create software that would encourage diversity of political perspectives, I'm not sure how it could be practically implemented, without massively reducing the capacity to filter unwanted information in other contexts.
Anytime these issues come up, the tension between freedom of expression and freedom to filter information always emerges. I've always been an advocate of everyone having free access to everything and then choosing to filter information they find offensive. But if the software can't filter the content by keyword our options to avoid ideologically questionable material is limited. I like the idea of free expression, but unless the software accommodates freedom to avoid some content, then aren't we effectually limiting our freedom to choose?
Anyone not watching the one day cricket match between Australia and India should turn it on NOW (ie:5:45pm EST Sunday afternoon). It's 3/94 right now but the run rate is 7.83. Australia have to make 205 and the innings by Gilchrist has been frankly, astonishing. Go watch. Now.
This is just a reminder to Queenslanders who might read blogs online but fail completely to read any news that there is, in fact, a state election next weekend and you are obliged to vote. Details on procedures are available from the Electoral Commission in QLD, and an Adobe Acrobat report of polling booth locations is available for download (242kb). You can also check your enrolment details and even enrol to vote online.
One vote. One voice. Have your say.
