mobrec

So
Today is the 20th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web (not to be confused with the Internet). Apparently, today is also the 15th anniversary of Linux. I wonder how pervasive Linux would be had the WWW not preceded it. It seemed it was the world wide interest, adoption and coding that made Linux what it is today. Well, I suppose the same could be said for the Interwebs as well.

In any case, raise your glass for two of technologies finest. And note that Microsuck 'innovation' had nothing to do with either of them.

Technorati Tags: ingenuity, innovation, internet, linux, technology, webdev, webtools

So
The already awesome LibraryThing has recently added Twitter integration making it easy to add books into your online library on the go.

Technorati Tags: books, librarything, mobile, twitter, webtools

So
Some handy twitter hacks for the wordpress blogging software, if you are so inclined.

Technorati Tags: blogging, hacks, twitter, webtools, wordpress

So
A Japanese study shows that riding on two wheels makes you smarter. Thank you Vespa.

It might be telling that the test was conducted with riders in their 40s and 50s. That would tend to screen out the young morons who weave in and out of highway traffic on their ballburners wearing nothing but sunglasses. So either you are smart enough not to do that in the first place and make it to 40 or natural selection cleans things up and you don't make it to 40. That doesn't appear to be part of the study, however.

Technorati Tags: cognition, science, vespa

So
Why would any reputable company put an easily accessible button to delete audit logs from an electronic voting machine? I think I just answered my own question by assuming that they are reputable.

I am fairly certain that this function doesn't exist on the ATM machines that they manufacture. It would seem that Diebold considers cash more important than votes. I guess it also helped the head of Diebold, Walden O'Dell, deliver on his (in)famous promise to “helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president [Bush] next year.”

“Deletion of the records in either log would make it impossible to monitor operator access to GEMS or to reconstruct the sequence of operator access, defeating the purpose of [federal guidelines] that GEMS version 1.18.19 was required to adhere to.”

Under guidelines established by the Federal Election Commission in 1990, tabulation software used in all US elections must automatically create and permanently retain electronic audit logs of important system events while tallying votes. The guidelines state they are intended to provide a “concrete, indestructible archival record of all system activity” and are “essential for public confidence in the accuracy of the tally.”

I think that the proposed truth and reconciliation commission has a lot of work ahead of it.

Technorati Tags: dubious, politics

So
The SOA Social web site fails at the most fundamental level — it's RSS feeds don't actually take you to the item they reference. Rather they take you to a truncated entry on the soa social site itself (presumably to drive up ad revenue; otherwise, just to be incompetent). Annoying and missing the point of having a feed. More FAIL from IBM.

Technorati Tags: dubious, ibm, soa, webtools

So
Dear Republicans: stuff a sock in all of the phony 'outrage' over the economy and the stimulus package. Seriously. Your time for outrage was when 2.3 Trillion dollars went missing from the Pentagon or when $9 or was it 50 BILLION (no one knows for sure) went missing from Iraq or the illegal no-bid contracts to Cheney's henchmen let alone the cost of the war in Iraq itself. Why didn't we hear a peep then? Was it because it was the Republicans who were benefiting at the taxpayers expense?

Once we stop handing out money to the banks so they can pocket it rather than make the loans they committed, we should at least this time around we'll have something to show for the money spent.

If we had a serious press corp in the US they would be asking these follow up questions every time one of the right wing mouthpieces started spouting forth their talking points. I want to hear them answer. They won't because they won't be asked. Oh, an someone please remind the right that saying anything bad about the President is 'treason'.

Technorati Tags: dubious, economy, politics, propaganda

So
The DSLR camera that I shoot with has been selected to go on the next Space Shuttle mission. Well, not, my camera, but the same model camera that I use, the Olympus E3. Take that, Canikon buying robots!

The E3 was chosen because Olympus' flagship model was created “to survive the toughest shooting environments”, although its splash- and dust-proof magnesium alloy body is unlikely to be tested on the ISS (unless astronauts are particularly sloppy about their house-keeping).

Technorati Tags: cameras, e3, olympus, photography, spaceshuttle, technology

So
Every found the need to get a group of people together online somewhat spontaneously? If so, then you see the obvious utility of tinychat . I can see this being an awesome tool to use in conjunction with twitter to facilitate group interaction without losing one side of the conversation.

Technorati Tags: chat, tinychat, twitter, webtools

So
I wanted to riff a bit on a theme that a collegue of mine touched on earlier in the year regarding the relative importance that some people place on ultimately arbitrary dates. Why do people put so much emphasis on making resolutions at the start of a new year? or a new month for that matter? Is it simply the need for a 'clean' boundary to demarcate things?

The interesting thing is, people seem to find these significant dates all over the place. Recently, there was a modicum of apocryphal hysteria in the tech community because the representation of time in computers was going to be 1234567890 last week. And, to add surety to that, that same day was Friday the 13th, that assuredly unlucky day for all. *GASP*. Yet, somehow, the date passed without incident (as far as I am aware).

What of other dates that are supposed to have such significance? As was previously pointed out, even the concept of 'what day it is' is a bit of a made up construct depending upon which calendar system you happen to choose (Gregorian, Julian, Islamic, Hebrew, or Chinese, etc).

What of these 'special' dates themselves? It appears that over the years they have just multiplied (seemingly at the whim of the greeting card industry). We now how Teacher's Day, Grandparent's Day, Student's Day, Administrative Assistant's Day, Valentines Day, Earth Day, Groundhog Day, Arbor Day and the list goes on and on. In many cases these 'holidays' are celebrated on different days in different countries; in some cases they aren't celebrated at all. My point is, why can't you be nice to these people on every day? Why is a 'special' day needed to take action? Is something that happened (or didn't) on Earth Day, really more special than if it happened (or didn't) on any other day?

I fear that such relative value placed on arbitrary days can be the source of resentment and disappointment for some. For sure, some dates, such as anniversaries should be noted and commemorated accordingly (birthday and wedding celebrations and more solemn remembrances of those no longer with us). These are tied to actual events on actual days and (if one chooses) have actual significance. No need to wait for the first of the month to celebrate or for the next greeting card holiday.

I recently rediscovered these quotes; both of which relate back to this whole theme:

“I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates that they have made of the value of things.” — Benjamin Franklin

and

“We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” — Oscar Wilde

I guess this is my long, rattling way to say “make the best of every day, express your gratitude and recognize, that, after all, good or bad, it is just another day”.

Technorati Tags: holidays, ideas, time