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photoshop album unlockDecember 31, 2004
Canada matching all donations to tsunami aid.
The Canadian government, until January 11th, will match any donation to major relief operations working from Canada.In other words, you double the size of your donation if you send money this way, rather than by sending it directly to an affected country or donating in your own country.
Donations to Oxfam Canada, the Canadian Red Cross, World Vision Canada, UNICEF Canada, Care Canada, Doctors Without Borders, World University Service of Canada , Salvation Army, Canadian Food for the Hungry International, Save the Children Canada, and SOS Children's Villages will all be doubled by the Canadian government -- but only until January 11th.
Best wishes to everyone for the new year.
Posted by tshey at 10:44 PM
Peace and joy in small things
When I think of all that will be gained this year - and all that can be lost - I am reminded of the words of William James:
May the New Year see you find peace and joy in small things.
(Snow crystal close-ups from the Bentley Collection)
Posted by tshey at 10:42 PM
The first zoo dedicated to artificial life
Cyberzoo, by Argentinean artist Gustavo Romano, is a virtual zoo where it is possible to experience the wildest expressions of the artificial life. Its mission is to promote the conservation of endangered species (such as viruses, worms etc.) and the habitats in which they live and participate in projects of recovery and reintroduction of artificial life.
Related: exhibition of computer viruses, the COchineal, Trojan horses and bugs installation.
Posted by tshey at 10:38 PM
SMS donors give $20m
More SMS donation campaigns for tsunami relief in Germany, Spain, Singapore, Pakistan and Australia.Posted by tshey at 10:33 PM
How Did Animals Escape Tsunami?
No wild animals were found dead along the Sri Lankan coastline, adding credence to the belief that beasts have a sixth sense that warns them of impending disasters.Posted by tshey at 10:32 PM
The America I Wish We'd Been This Week
This is a personal essay, likely to make some people angry but perhaps to many others seem worth the read. It's about the kind of nation I wish the United States had shown itself to be this week.
The White House just announced that the US will contribute US$350 million to the relief efforts. First of all, let me say that I'm proud that my government is beginning to respond in a way more proportional to the magnitude of the crisis. Then, let me say something clear and unequivocal: it is nowhere near enough.
Rather than go into a whole thing about why I think that, let me instead draw a picture: I wish we were the America that would look at a tragedy like this and, without hesitation, live up to its highest ideals.
Imagine, if instead of offering a few million dollars and a press release, the president had flown to Indonesia, and, standing in solidarity with the victims, had announced that the United States government was going to, say, cover one third of the relief and reconstruction costs, a figure of five billion dollars. Imagine further, that the president took the opportunity to reaffirm the US commitment to compassion and global cooperation in pursuit of freedom and prosperity, as, in another context, another president once did.
Here's the speech I wish I'd heard from a U.S. president standing on Indonesia's shores:
We find ourselves today at the scene of a terrible tragedy.>That would be a president I'd look up to. That would be an America in which I'd be proud to live.I know our entire nation, and the entire world, joins me when I say to you that we grieve for your loss and we feel in our hearts your pain. Perhaps never before has a disaster so awoken us to how small our world has become, and how close our bonds have grown. Perhaps never before have we really understood what it means to live on a small planet.
We know something about national tragedies. We remember well the outpouring of support, from every nation on Earth, when we experienced a day of terrible destruction and murder. You stood with us then. I am here to show that we stand with you now. I say to you today: You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are not without friends.
Thousands of our brothers and sisters are dead. Millions more have experienced the kind of personal tragedies we all hope never to face. Money alone cannot heal these wounds. Our best doctors, our finest relief workers cannot take away that pain. No amount of help will smooth the rough waters and leave all as it was before.
At the same time, we can make smooth the road to recovery, and we will. The United States is a powerful and wealthy nation, a nation which enjoys the blessings of liberty and prosperity. We here today affirm that the United States is also the friend of the world.
Where there is the eternal night oppression, we seek the sunlight of openness and freedom.
Where there is the heavy burden of poverty, we seek the uplifting power of progress and prosperity.
Where there is the sting of despair, we seek the balms of justice and hope.
Where there is now a world divided and at war with itself, we seek a better tomorrow of unity and peace.
Today, we make manifest our commitment to that better future with a promise to the peoples of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya. We will stand with you today and in the difficult days to come. Our wealth, our strength, our knowledge are yours to use.
We will help in every way we can.
First, we will help in the most direct and quick way: with money. The United States here pledges five billion dollars to the disaster relief effort, and an equal amount to the reconstruction efforts to follow. This is a way we can help. Please accept our offer.
We will also bring all our influence to bear to see that the massive debts which have been so troubling to many of your nations in recent decades are forgiven. There are times when one must insist that your neighbor repays you, and there are times when you say to your neighbor that you understand that he has other needs more important than his debt to you. This is one of those times. It's time to cancel these debts.
We will also bring our know-how to the job. We offer our help at the highest levels and we will bring to bear our expertise, our technology and our science. Everything we have learned about responding to disasters we will share with you. Every help we can give as you plan your response and recovery, we will deliver. Our military and civilian first responders are on their way. Thousands of other aid workers and volunteers will follow after. Americans will be here when you need us.
Finally, we will remain constant. Too often, we remember the victims of disasters only while their faces flicker across the television screen. We will make sure the world remembers the victims of this disaster. We will not falter or fail in our commitments. We understand that the rebuilding work to come may last years, and we pledge to work alongside you until the job is done.
What is that job? That job is to coax meaning from this tragedy by making sure that every community destroyed by this terrible catastrophe is rebuilt anew, rebuilt better, rebuilt in ways which leave its people more able to secure for themselves stability and the blessings of peace, liberty and prosperity. We cannot undo the past, but together we can build a better future.
So I leave you today, my friends, with the heartfelt sympathies of our nation, with our prayers, with our deep respect for the bravery and courage you have shown, and with a pledge that we stand with you now in this darkest hour, and we will stand with you still, when a new dawn breaks over these waters.
Thank you, and God bless you all.
(Posted by Alex Steffen in WorldChanging Miscellany at 12:08 PM)
Posted by tshey at 10:17 PM
December 27, 2004
Kanyakumari Collaborates
While we face a tough time ahead, I am glad that some WorldChanging stories can be reported, even in the face of the tsunami tragedy.
The picture is taken from the southernmost tip of India, where until today there were hundreds of tourists trapped at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, off the coast of Kanyakumari district. In an amazing display of humanitarian collaboration and bravery, the local fishermen saved roughly 500 of the 600 trapped people, while the role of relief agencies was severely limited by the breakdown of communications and bad weather. Even as I write this, most local media can only offer conflicting figures.
A majority of the deceased from the mainland were local fishermen who had gone out in the sea, to net their nightly catch. Throughout the day and night, and the following day, small boats and catamarans, perhaps too small to brave the violent sea, were plying up and down the strait that divides the island from the Indian mainland.
While the Indian Air Force kept dropping food and medical supplies, it is the fishermen who've kept the Kanyakumari death toll (524) as low as it is. Most of the saved were not locals, but tourists, including a Supreme Court judge.
There were no riots or cases of civic indiscipline reported in that district, nor in any other part of India, during the rescue efforts. Thankfully, the Indian media has taken due note of the effort.
Also, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, has offered extensive aid to Sri Lanka, and at least four Indian Navy ships have already carried medicines, food and water to Galle, one of the most affected areas in Sri Lanka.
One of my media friends is a TV show host, and is writing live accounts of the frenzy on our community blog while rushing around in search of loved ones.
We are also setting up a database of helplines and donation funds, more on that soon.
(Posted by Rohit Gupta in The Second Superpower - Cooperation, Politics and Activism at 04:59 AM)
Posted by tshey at 12:48 PM
Bloggers in SE Asia cover quake and tsunami disaster
Image: Screencap of TV coverage in Bangkok, Buddhist monks chanting for the souls of those who died in the disaster. At present, the international death toll stands at nearly 24,000. Ron Morris in Thailand says, "Since the first tremor from the Sumatran quake was felt in Bangkok over 36 hours ago, we have been blogging the latest news about the disaster. Includes screen grabs from Thai TV and links to locals who took photos of the wreckage after the tidal waves." Link
Cameron Sinclair of the nonprofit group Architecture For Humanity tells BoingBoing, "Two members of the WorldChanging.org crew live close by the Tsumani disaster and are reporting on whats going on: Link. As for reconstruction issues, a page is being set up at Architecture for Humanity to cover this: Link."
Here is a photoblog maintained by a man named Fred in Sri Lanka, with snapshots of the destruction in Jaffna, where he lives and works: Link. Here's another Sri Lankan blog maintained by "Zeus": Link. See also this livejournal maintained by a man named Ernest who was in Phuket when the catastrophe hit. Link. Here's a personal blog maintained by a person in Malaysia, with posts related to the event: Link. Blogger Rezwan in Bangladesh posts about a near-miss here.
BoingBoing reader Dav asks how he and other displaced Western tourists can help.
"Just since I know you guys are at the nexus of a lot of information: I'm here in Thailand on holiday, been staying on the island of Koh Samui on the east side of Thailand. We had been planning to go to Krabi (one of the places hit hard in southern thailand) in a couple of days for a psy-trance party. Now we're thinking of keeping the flight tp Krabi and trying to volunteer to help however we can. Any ideas on how to find out if any organization would want volunteers and where/what? I tried a few sites like Red Cross, etc but didn't notice any info on emergency volunteering and the net connection is so slow it is difficult looking around."
Pointers to other blog coverage welcome, submit sites here.
Update: Alex Steffen of worldchanging.com says,
"Some South Asian bloggers, including a couple of my colleagues from Worldchanging, have set up a blog tracking relief efforts and how folks can contribute: tsunamihelp.blogspot.com.And here are more eyewitness blog accounts from bloggers in Phuket, Thailand: Sutton: Link 1, Link 2, and the French Photojournalism Association: Link. (Thanks, Jim Basman)"We're also going to be posting more throughout the day on Worldchanging. This is not "just" one of the worst disasters of the decade, one where every bit of help will be needed to save lives and rebuild, it's also a call to change the way access to basic science is shared on our planet.
Most of the tens of thousands of people who died yesterday might have been saved with better scientific, communications and warning systems."
Posted by tshey at 12:47 PM
A collection of first-person accounts of the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami from LiveJournal
Posted by tshey at 12:47 PM
Wikipedia is covering the Indonesian earthquake/tsunami
Their breaking news coverage is impressive.Posted by tshey at 12:47 PM
A Washington Post writer's amazing account of swimming in the ocean when the tsunami hit
"I felt afraid, powerless to prevent myself from being washed out to sea."Posted by tshey at 12:46 PM
Surviving the Tidal Wave - A First-Hand Report
We don't, as a general policy, cover news per se on this site, but the Indonesian earthquakes and their aftermaths are clearly something more than your average news story. We'll be posting more about solutions later today, but for now, this story of survival caught out eye:
"As the waters rose at an incredible rate, I half expected to catch sight of Noah's Ark. Instead of the Ark, I grabbed hold of a wooden catamaran that the local people used as a fishing boat. My brother jumped on the boat, next to me. We bobbed up and down on the catamaran, as the water rushed past us into the village beyond the road.
few minutes, the water stopped rising, and I felt it was safe to swim to the shore. What I didn t realise was that the floodwaters would recede as dramatically as they had risen. All of a sudden, I found myself being swept out to sea with startling speed. Although I am a fairly strong swimmer, I was unable to withstand the current. The fishing boats around me had been torn from their moorings and were furiously bobbing up and down. For the first time, I felt afraid, powerless to prevent myself from being swept out to sea.
"I swam in the direction of one of the loose catamarans, grabbed hold of the hull, and pulled myself to safety. My weight must have slowed the boat down and soon I was stranded on the sand.
"As the water rushed out of the bay, I scrambled onto the main road. Screams and yells were coming from the houses behind the road, many of which were still half full of water, trapping the inhabitants inside. Villagers were walking dazed along the road, unable to comprehend what had taken place."
(Posted by Alex Steffen in QuickChanges at 08:35 AM)
Via WorldChanging: Another World Is Here
Posted by tshey at 12:46 PM
Earthquake/Tsunami Aid Blog
A group of volunteers set up a blog to coordinate information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts in response to the devastating Southeast Asian earthquake and tsunami. [Link]
Posted by tshey at 12:45 PM
PressThink's Top Ten Ideas for 2004: Introduction
These are my top ten ideas for the year 2004. The year in press think, as it were. I chose not the "best" ideas, but the ones most useful to me in figuring out what's going on. They weren't necessarily born in '04, either. But they emerged this year. Some have authors; usually it is many authors. Ready?Here they are:
1. The Legacy Media. 2. He said, she said, we said. 3. What the printing press did to the Catholic Church the blogging press does to the media church. 4. Open Source Journalism, or: "My readers know more than I do." 5. News turns from a lecture to a conversation. 6. "Content will be more important than its container." 7. 'What once was good--or good enough--no longer is." 8. "The victory of affinity over geography." 9. The Pajamahadeen. 10. The Reality-Based Community.
Now if I were Time magazine, this post would be called Idea of the Year, and I would unveil one as the "winner" right now. There is a certain temptation in that. But somehow I feel a top ten list is an established gimmick, "okay" if you do it well. Picking Person of the Year is an extreme gimmick. It falls into this dead zone between journalism, and hype. (See Time's managing editor James Kelly try to manuever in the zone: "I think it's very problematic to do God. Partly because I suppose you could do God every year.")
This post is about ideas 1-3 on my list. In future posts I will unfold the others. Discussion of all ten can begin in comments now. (Particularly if you have ideal quotes and links for numbers 4-8. Help me out and post them, please.)
(Continued at PressThink)
Posted by tshey at 12:44 PM
December 25, 2004
"This is the crime of the century"
Spectacularly weird quote, as translated by NPR, from "Raisa," a 55 year old Yanukovich supporter, on Yuschenko's "coup" of the Ukraine election:This is the crime of the century -- worse than Hitler, worse than Chernobyl. This is a battle to Armageddon. It's a battle between the Antichrist and Christian peoples.
They are turning people into orange zombies... all of them have abnormal sexual energy.
Posted by tshey at 03:00 AM
Silence Booths
Restaurants, libraries and other businesses are slowly bringing back phone booths, without the phone this time.Posted by tshey at 02:10 AM
Blog Art
Have I mentioned lately that Anne Davis is an amazingly inspiring teacher when it comes to blogs, both to her students and to me. It's rare to find someone who can make it all seem as fun as she does, and you just know her students are going to fall in love with writing because of it. Her kids have published a whole page of Blog Art to inspire me and, hopefully, some others as well. Very cool!
Posted by tshey at 02:09 AM
East LA Xmas tamale pilgrimage
Xeni Jardin:
Phonecam snapshots from a family pilgrimage to the best tamale shop in Los Angeles, Tamales Lilianas, on First street near Cesar Chavez. We passed some beautiful makeshift Christmas altares in the street, big murals of la virgen de guadalupe all decked out with tinsel and fake pine wreaths and Hello Kitty and blinkie Snoopy lights. And guys on the street were selling pirated CDs of of Mexican holiday pop music. Cheesy carols from Los Bukis and stuff, bootlegged, on blankets. I love the street in East LA this time of year.
Tamales are an essential holiday tradition in Mexico and in every place where Mexico is felt. Christmas without them is like going tree-less. There's always a long line at Lilianas if you wait until Christmas Eve to go pick them up, but the longest of lines is a small penitencia to pay for that fragrant corn vapor that fills the car on the drive home. If there is a perfect scent, this is it. I sat in the back seat, with the bag pulled up around my face like I was huffing glue. Maybe Liliana sneaks a little crack into the masa or something. Me intoxican. De dulce, de rajas con carne, de pollo con chile verde, y sencillo, de elote. Irresistibles.
Larger phone-snap images: Steaming hot bag of fresh tamales, La Virgen on Cesar Chavez, and long line outside Lilianas.
Posted by tshey at 02:06 AM
Atlanta Airport 2004
Traveling for the Christmas holidays, as Bill O'Reilly would call them. Got to spend 6 hours in the best place in the world: the Atlanta airport. Plane supposed to depart at 7:22 pm left at 12:40 am. These are pictures from the last swing though this carpeted Valhalla, in 2003. New, similar shots coming soon.
Posted by tshey at 02:06 AM
Artist Julia Christensen investigates community reuse of old KMarts, Walmarts, etc.
Pictured above: The Sugar Creek Charter Elementary School in in a renovated K-Mart. Charlotte, North Carolina.
Julia Christensen began investigating how Communities are Re-Using the Big Box in January of 2004. Throughout the spring and summer of 2004, she traveled over 17,000 miles around the country in her car, visiting the sites and meeting the people who are making these transformations possible. She has been collecting a growing collection of photographs, interviews, stories, and documents relating to the renovations, and has been giving presentations in communities about how towns are dealing with this common situation. She continues to travel around the country, visiting towns and giving lectures about the reuse of big box buildings in the United States. Julia is also exhibiting photography, installing video and sound work from field recordings collected throughout her travels, and creating a book of her research.
Posted by tshey at 02:04 AM
CYBER CLAUS
In the night of 12/24/07, though sensors woven through the very fabric of the house had thus far registered a complete absence of sentient bio-activity, I found myself abruptly summoned from a rare, genuine and expensively induced examples of that most priceless of states, sleep.Even as I hurriedly dressed, I knew that dozens of telepresent armed-response drones would already be sweeping in from the District, skimming mere inches above the chill surface of the Potomac. Vicious tri-lobed aeroforms that they were, they resembled nothing more than the Martian war machines of George Pal s 1953 epic, The War of the Worlds .
And while, from somewhere far above, now, came that sound, that persistent clatter, as though gunships disgorged whole platoons of iron-shod mercenaries, I could only wonder: who? Was it my estranged wife, Lady Betty-Jayne Motel-6 Hyatt, Chief Eco-Trustee of the Free Duchy of Wyoming? Or was it Cleatus Mainframe Sinyard himself, President of the United States and Perpetual Chairman of the Concerned Smart People s Northern Hemisphere CoProsperity Sphere?
You re mumbling again, big guy, said Memory, shivering into hallucinatorily clear focus on the rumpled sheets, her thighs warm and golden against the Royal Stewart flannel. She adjusted the nosecones of her chrome bustier. Also, you re on the verge of a major fashion crime.
I froze, the starched white tails of an Elmore of Shinjuku evening shirt half-tucked into the waistband of a favorite pair of lovingly-mended calfskin jodhpurs. She was right. Pearl buttons scattered like a flock of miniscule flying saucers as I tore myself out of the offending Elmore. I swiftly chose a classic Gap t-shirt and a Ralph Lauren overshirt in shotgun-distressed ochre corduroy. The Gap t s double-knit liquid crystal began to cycle sluggishly in response to body-heat, displaying crudely animated loops of once-famous televangelists of the previous century, their pallid flanks streaked with the sweat of illicit sexual exertion. Now that literally everything was digital, History and Image were no more than Silly Putty in the hands of anyone with a BFA and a backer in Singapore. But that was just the nature of Postmodernity, and, frankly, it suited me right down to the ground.
Visitors upstairs, chief, she reminded me pointlessly, causing me to regret not getting her that last chip-upgrade. Like on the roof.
How many? And this was Samsung-Sears s idea of an expert system?
Seventeen, assuming we re talking bipeds.
What s that supposed to mean?
That Nintendo-Dow micropore sensor-skin you had em stretch over the Realistislate? After those Columbian bush ninjas from the Slunk Cartel tried to get in through the toilet-ventilators? Well, that stuff s registering, like, hooves. Tiny ones. Unless this is some kind of major Jersey Devil infestation, I make it eight quadrupeds plus one definite biped.
It can t be Sinyard then. I holstered a 3mm Honda and pocketed half a dozen spare ampules of gel. He d never come alone.
So maybe that s the good news, but I gotta tell you, this guy weighs in at close to one-forty kilos. And wears size eleven-and-a-half boots. As an expert system, I d advise you to use the Mossad & Wesson bullpup, the one with the subsonic witness protection nozzles She broke off, as if listening to something only she could hear. Uh-oh, she said, I think he s coming down the chimney
[Originally published as "Cyber-Claus", in The Washington Post Book World Dec 1, 1991. A very merry Christmas to all, and may Memory and President Sinyard rest easy upon you.)
Posted by tshey at 02:04 AM
Gokurousama blog
iMorpheus has a great blog called the Gokurousama blog.
Gokurousama means "Thank you for your troubles" in Japanese and it is also the name of this blog. Gokurousama celebrates and recognizes the hard work of others.I say gokurousama when I get out of taxis, when someone as completed a chore or when I pass a gardner. It's similar to, but slightly different from another great Japanese word, otsukaresama. Otsukaresama is less about thanks but still acknowledging someone for some hard work. This is often said when toasting after a hard day of work or after working together on a hard project. Interestingly, working hard together is often considered more important than winning. This, in a way, is the backbone of the socialist work ethic that drives Japan. But I digress...
The Gokurousama blog and the pictures on it are a very good way to understand the Japanese way of gokurousama. It's also the spirit behind good service and a very nice way to show appreciation of good service. A simple gokurosama will go a long way and is much more respectful than flipping someone a hundred yen coin. iMorpheus has also started a Gokurousama flickr group and has linked the group to the blog so that others can post. You can learn more about it on his blog.
The next time you watch an old Samurai or Yakuza movie, listen for the boss say, "Gokurojyaaa" to one of the henchmen after he returns from killing a foe. ;-p
Comment - TrackBackPosted by tshey at 02:01 AM
December 22, 2004
[no title]
2004: the year blogging got boring and the year commenting systems broke. The year Bit Torrent got really big and the year the Motion Picture
Association Of America somehow became a world power. The year Indymedia finally managed to frighten someone and the year MoveOn.org managed to convince no-one. The year of podcasting, and the year no-one had anything to say. The year no-one paid any attention to Mperia while labels like 555 starved to death -- but that's okay, because people with day jobs tell us that art on the net should be free anyway. The year I actually read someone on a website say "I want hospitals to compete for my business." I find myself desperately looking forward to that man's first tumour. The year that the half of America the coasts sneer at as "flyover country" voted George W Bush back in because, according to one of his creatures, "they like the way he walks, they like the way he talks, they like the way he points at things." The year the rest of us laughed at the electoral college system, while looking uncomfortably at our own stark lack of choices in our next general elections. The year I heard Air America radio and realised the left wing in America is beyond doomed. The year I saw The Daily Show and understood that Jon Stewart and his team realise that too. The year that the ambient sound of Britain became a collective mumbling noise. The year I discovered videoblogging and the year I discovered that almost no-one knows what to do with it.
2004: another step to the boneyard in the continuing Death Of Western Culture. You're welcome.
___
Sent from handheld
Posted by tshey at 04:55 PM
The Long Tail the book and the blog
Chris Anderson is writing a book about The Long Tail which started as one of my favorite articles that he wrote for Wired. He has also started a blog about the Long Tail. The original article is online at Wired.
Comment - TrackBackPosted by tshey at 04:50 PM
Alaska man builds huge "Mecha" in his garden
In the back of his southern Alaska garden, Carlos Owens is building an 18-foot-tall steel mecha, an exoskeleton that can transform its wearer's motions into eight-foot strides and the devastating sweep of a steel fist.
When completed, the idea is for the pilot to be able to strap himself into a padded compartment, and then control the mecha with the motions of his own body. When the pilot walks, the mecha walks, when he raises an arm and opens a hand, the mecha does the same.
As he can't afford top-of-the line equipment, he's using a hydraulic system to transfer the motion of his limbs to the larger structure, and a gas engine mounted on the back to generate the power needed. In all, the system can exert about 3,500 pounds per square inch, or more than enough to set the ton and a half creation in motion.
Early this year, a University of California, Berkeley, team unveiled BLEEX (Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, see picture) system which allows users to merrily carry massive loads, or could help people with atrophied or poor muscles to walk normally.
In the short term, Owens is more interested in the entertainment value of a monster crushing cars, or fighting others like it.
He nevertheless foresees a day when tools like his might be used on the battlefield instead of tanks, or dropped into the middle of a raging forest fire to help firefighters.
See also Sarcos' exoskeleton.
Via CNet and Engadget.
Posted by tshey at 04:48 PM
The Graphing Calculator Story
"I was frustrated by all the wasted effort, so I decided to uncancel my small part of the project. I had been paid to do a job, and I wanted to finish it. My electronic badge still opened Apple's doors, so I just kept showing up."Posted by tshey at 04:39 PM
TTC to go wireless with ads on subway
Technology reporter Simon Avery wrote in Globetechnology that the TTC plans to be the first public transit system in North America to bring television and digital advertising onto its underground platforms and into its subway trains.
The Internet-based wireless network, which relies on the same Wi-Fi technology used to create ''hot spots'' for surfing the Web in cafes and airport lounges, will be deployed on a test basis this spring. Eventually, it could allow riders to use their own laptops or handheld computers on the subway.
Smartmobs reader Phillip Jeffrey of UBC adds to this: "This reminds me of that scene from Minority Report when USA today updates Tom Cruise being wanted while on the train".
Thank you Phillip !
Posted by tshey at 04:38 PM
December 14, 2004
Jonah as Little Red Riding Shoes
It must have been really really really hard everyday for Jonah's mom to see those big blue eyes, curly brown hair and brilliant inquisitiveness.
I think I'm going to be the smothering type of mom...my poor future kiddies.
Thanks to Jonah's mom for this exquisite pic!
How could I not reblog this? -- tim
Posted by tshey at 09:08 AM
December 13, 2004
Viktor Yushchenko Poisoning Timeline (Guardian UK/AP)
Monday December 13, 2004 8:01 PMBy The Associated Press
A timeline of events related to opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko's dioxin poisoning:
- Sept. 5: Yushchenko has dinner with Security Service chief Ihor Smeshko and his deputy Volodymyr Satsyuk.
- Sept. 6: Yushchenko falls ill. Ukrainian doctors treat him for food poisoning.
- Sept. 10: The candidate is rushed to the Rudolfinerhaus clinic in Vienna, Austria.
- Sept. 21: Ukrainian prosecutors and parliament launch probe.
- Sept. 21: Yushchenko tells parliament he was poisoned by ``Ukrainian political cuisine that kills.''
- Sept. 30: The candidate returns to the Rudolfinerhaus clinic after complaining of excruciating back pain.
- Oct. 31: First round of Ukrainian presidential elections. Yushchenko leads but not enough for an outright victory. Runoff scheduled for Nov 21.
- Nov. 15: Parliamentary commission says it has no conclusive evidence Yushchenko was poisoned.
- Nov. 21: Presidential runoff. Supreme Court later declares runoff fraudulent, strips Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych of victory and calls a new vote for Dec. 26.
- Dec. 10: Yushchenko returns to the Rudolfinerhaus clinic for more tests.
- Dec. 11: Austrian doctors say Yushchenko was poisoned by dioxin.
- Dec. 12: Prosecutors reopen probe into Yushchenko's poisoning.
- Dec. 13: Lawmakers revive parliamentary commission investigation.
Posted by tshey at 05:35 PM
Netflix adds social networking
Tim Finin points to interesting news from Online DVD rental leader Netflix, which is looking for ways to keep ahead of its competitors.
In its latest move to fend off competitive threats, Netflix will let subscribers invite friends to peek at DVDs they've watched and read their opinions of the movies. If the invitation is accepted, the sender automatically gets reciprocal rights to read the friend's lists and reviews.
Netflix, facing competition from Blockbuster Entertainment Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), began testing its networking system last week and plans to expand it to all 2.3 million subscribers next month.
The company has long encouraged subscribers to post DVD reviews openly but those capsules appear in a scattershot manner and generally don't provide much information about the writer. Under the new system, people can focus on the picks and pans of those whose opinions they value.
Hacking NetFlix describes how the NetFlix Friends List Feature works.
Posted by tshey at 04:13 PM
December 11, 2004
Kena Hits The Streets of Ukraine
Amongst the hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets in recent weeks in the Ukraine to protest the election fraud, was the Ukrainian street artist Kena.
He told us - "in the morning I have returned from Kiev where passed, and passes these minutes meeting against falsification of elections, to support of the president which has selected people. .for these days I was in a heap of that crowd which was from five hundred thousand up to one million Protestants which you for certain saw on the TV in news, veins at friends and slept 4 hours per day..and 2 hours back I have returned from meeting which was in my city (odessa) and on him was about two thousand people."
Posted by tshey at 10:38 AM
[no title]
The doctors said extensive tests showed a form of dioxin had been used, leaving Mr Yushchenko's face disfigured.
Mr Yushchenko was taken ill in September as he campaigned for the Ukrainian presidency. Mr Yushchenko's supporters staged mass demonstrations to protest against election fraud, and the second round is now being re-run on 26 December.
Posted by tshey at 10:36 AM
Remember Run DMC's music video for 'Christmas in Hollis'?
Well I'm announcing my intention to do a shot for shot remake of it one day. I'm not exactly sure when, I'm not exactly sure why, but I want to do one, dammit. It needs to be done.
[Kenyatta, count me in... -ts]
Posted by tshey at 10:35 AM
SLAVEGROOVE
Some exerpts from SOUTHERN SLAVERY, AS IT WAS:"To say the least, it is strange that the thing the Bible condemns (slave-trading) brings very little opprobrium upon the North, yet that which the Bible allows (slave-ownership) has brought down all manner of condemnation upon the South." p. 22
"As we have already mentioned, the 'peculiar institution' of slavery was not perfect or sinless, but the reality was a far cry from the horrific descriptions given to us in modern histories." p. 22
"Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence." p. 24
"There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world." p. 24
"Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical care." p. 25
"But many Southern blacks supported the South because of long established bonds of affection and trust that had been forged over generations with their white masters and friends." p. 27
"Nearly every slave in the South enjoyed a higher standard of living than the poor whites of the South -- and had a much easier existence." p. 30
Posted by tshey at 10:32 AM
P2P television?
Guido Ciburski, a television software engineer, wants to launch Cybersky, a Web service that aims to do for TV what already applies to music and video, which can be downloaded free from the internet.
At the end of January, his company, TC Unterhaltungselektronic, will unveil its Cybersky TV web service which will enable broadband users to distribute video programmes free, and exchange them with others.
![u22[1].jpg](http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/yyy/u22[1].jpg)
Viewers will need a television connected to a computer set up to upload a chosen television programme on to the internet, where other viewers will be able to download and broadcast it on their own sets almost instantaneously.
As soon as one subscriber uploads a programme on site, it becomes immediately available to other participants. So, the more subscribers, the greater the choice of programmes.
The concept has alarmed Germany's established TV companies, and is likely to concern other broadcasters around the world.
Cybersky's response to charges that it will be illegally broadcasting copyrighted programmes without permission is that its peer-to-peer system does not technically amount to distribution.
His company is used to going to court to defend its innovations. Six years ago, they developed a device called the TeleFairy which enabled viewers to skip TV advertising. Germany's broadcasters sued but a five-year legal battle ended in victory for the inventors last summer.
Via The Independent.
Posted by tshey at 10:31 AM
The Slayers Stake - Prop Replica.
The Stake will be shipping early 2005 and comes in a "satin-lined, black wooden box" with the words "Into every generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a chosen one..." on it.
Alternatively, you could carve a piece of wood and save yourself $90.
Posted by tshey at 10:29 AM
Nokia Spyphone for only $1800
The Nokia Spy Phone looks and acts like a normal cellphone, but it allows the spy to listen in at any time whether the owner is on the phone or not, according to Engagdet.
"It also has a mode in which it appears to be off, but isn t. Or, better yet, you can just dial a special number and listen in to what s going on in that purse, conference room, bedroom..."
Posted by tshey at 10:24 AM
December 10, 2004
TiVoToGo Any Day Now: I Bet 1 Billion Space Dollars
Matt Haughey over at PVRblog noticed a new 'Media Access Key' page on the TiVo website that he guesses signifies TiVoToGo is on its way. I'd just like to toss what I've been hearing the last week or so, which is that, yeah, it's about to drop. In fact, I sort of expected it this week, but at this point I'm thinking early next week. This isn't a sure-fire insider tip or anything just triangulating from various, possibly-related bits and emails I've collated. What do they call that? Oh, right: I'm guessing.
But any day now, seriously.
TiVo To Go on its way? [PVRBlog]
Posted by tshey at 01:55 AM
The PVRBlog Interview: Ten Questions with TiVo's Director of User Experience, Margret Schmidt
This past summer, I was building some new website interfaces (it's part of my day job) and thinking about TiVo's combination of power and simplicity in their interface and I got to thinking about all the things I wished I could ask someone about the TiVo UI but was afraid to ask. Then I realized I could track down someone at TiVo HQ and corner them for an interview. Thanks to a few designer friends in the Bay Area, I ended up speaking directly to the top, the head honcho of all that is TiVo User Experience, Margret Schmidt.
Margret was kind enough to answer ten questions about how TiVo's UI was originally developed, how new features are added, and how the sound UI came to be, among others. I'm grateful for TiVo and Margret taking the time to do this, so without further adieu, here's the interview:
(Continued at PVRBlog)
Posted by tshey at 01:55 AM
Personal Broadcast Networks Sketch.
After some thinking and conversations with people it became clear that the whole concept of PBNs is not clear. The more I dive into it the bigger and more complicated it becomes. I've constructed the stack diagram below to help guide me and communicate to others what I am thinking. The foundational services of PBNs are provided by caching, distributed computing, and P2P applications. Individually, these technologies are massive and powerful. When combined and focused by a common API set and services set to serve personal content creation, they become a high energy laser beam.
These APIs will be embedded in and services made available to the personal publishing tools (Blogger, TypePad, Radio UserLand, MSN Spaces, LiveJournal, WordPress, etc.). Hopefully, we can create easy to use interfaces that people can take control of to do new and interesting things. Many of the existing interfaces, particularly for caching and distributed computing, are locked away in obscurity. I'd love to unlock them to see if they can grow in the light or wilt and die.
Via the various plug-in architectures available in the personal publishing tools, plug-ins will be created to harness, process, and analyze data that comes back to the content creator via the PBN foundation services. You can see some of my ideas above. I will expand on these ideas in future posts.
(Continued at Dann Sheridan's Weblog)
Posted by tshey at 01:55 AM
De-spamming Your Inbox The Hard Way
ajain writes "Even after using precautions like dummy email address in public forums, I have been plagued by the spam mails for long time now. Accidentally, I hit upon a not-so-elegant but effective solution recently: Ever thought of shutting down the mail server temporarily to stop spam to your inbox permanently? Well, it seems to work. In my case, a two-day shutdown resulted in 97.5% decrease in spam traffic! Here are the details and a step-by-step guide to this desperate-method of spam reduction. I think I'll model, simulate and then optimize the amount of shut-down time required for spam levels to drop to zero!"Posted by tshey at 01:55 AM
Famous Atheist Now Believes in God (AP)
AP - A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God — more or less — based on scientific evidence, and says so on a video released Thursday.Posted by tshey at 01:55 AM
Sprint and Nextel enter merger talks
Breaking news: According [paid subscription req.] to the Wall Street Journal, Sprint and Nextel have entered merger negotiations. The merger would treat the two companies as equals. Sprint is the nation s third largest carrier while Nextel is the fifth (but most profitable thanks to higher revenue per customer). Sprint s landline phone business would also be included in the deal.
MobileTracker will follow this rumor closely.
Update: More information has been added to the WSJ story. Some facts and figures:
- Deal would be valued north of $30 billion
- Top three wireless carriers (Cingular, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel) would control 75% of US market
- The new company would have 38.5 million customers
- Both companies saw a boost in stock trading today: Nextel shares closed up 6.5% while Sprint shares closed up 8%.
Update 2: The New York Times has a similar piece posted for tomorrow s paper. No paid subscription required.
Posted by tshey at 01:55 AM
How to Submit to the Eyebeam reBlog
Want to submit something to the Eyebeam reBlog in a way that we can actually post it? Now it's as easy as 1-2-3
1. Sign up for del.icio.us.
2. Become marginally familiar with using it (it's super easy and great!).
3. Post your link to del.icio.us with your comments and include the tag 'eyebeam-reblog' as such:
Our reBlogger will automatically see your post.
Thanks, and happy hunting!
[It will point you out to shey.net, too -- so, if you don't get reblogged there, you'll still have a chance at the no-prize here.]
Posted by tshey at 01:54 AM
December 09, 2004
The corn husk evening dress
![pic_runway_ep1_austin[1].jpg](http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/yyy/pic_runway_ep1_austin[1].jpg)
Project Runway is a reality series in which twelve fashion designers compete for a New York Fashion Week runway show and $100,000 to launch their own clothing line.
The challenge of episode 1 was to design a glamorous outfit for a night on the town, made from materials bought at a popular Manhattan supermarket.
Austin's winner outfit was made of corn husk and duck tape (more stylish but less fun than the "Rope Candy, Lifesavers, Tic Tacs" outfit).
Dried husks were rubbed between the palms of his hands to make husk flakes that he then applied onto the duct tape that shaped the pattern.
Via Styleborg.
Posted by tshey at 09:00 AM
Shut Up Already
Two designers have made these warning cards for obnoxious cell phone users, available in convenient PDF download-and-cut-out form. It's a good way to make it clear to people they're talking too loudly, and a good way to eventually get into a good, American fist-fight. Then someone can hand you a card that explains why they found your teeth in their soda to be "more than a little annoying."
"Shut Up Already" [DraplinIndustries via MobileWhack]
[Hey, look, Futura fonts! Welcome back, Futura. -- tim]
Posted by tshey at 08:57 AM
More OG Love
If you ask artists (and art lovers) from around the world which other artists they admire the most for sheer talent, there is no question that Os Gemeos (the Twins)would be there at the top of the list (with Swoon not too far behind). All you need to do is experience pieces on the street like the two below and you understand why. These pieces were spotted by Momo in Havana, Cuba. Truly beautiful stuff...
Posted by tshey at 08:55 AM
Question of the Day
Posted by tshey at 08:53 AM
December 04, 2004
Toyota's idea of the "union of driver and vehicle"
Toyots'a "i-unit" aims at uniting the driver and vehicle to expand human abilities and possibilities.
![toyota_iunit1[1].jpg](http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/yyy/toyota_iunit1[1].jpg)
The upright position allows the wearer/driver to move among other people, while inclined position ensures stable handling and high speed.
A driver support information system uses sound, light and vibration to facilitate interactive communication.
The body is built using environmentally friendly plant-based materials such as kenaf.
The mountable, walking "i-foot" robot can climb the stair and is driven with a joystick.
![toyota_iwalk1[1].jpg](http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/yyy/toyota_iwalk1[1].jpg)
Now, my obsession is to go to EXPO 2005 in Aichi next year where these prototypes will be displayed.
Via Gizmodo.
Posted by tshey at 12:55 PM
Grand Thieves Audio modologues
We're tired of stealing cars. So we're stealin' the soundtrack...
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, an earth-shaking game of theft, prostitution, , and beautifully animated racist depictions of Cubans and Haitians. You are free-wheeling Tommy Vercetti, driving any car you can pop the lock on, taking s out to the lighthouse, enjoying all the pixilated pleasures the 80s can offer you. Bunk is making the game that much better because we're putting somebody in the car with you. We're carjacking the game with a mod of our own...This is only the beginning, the first in a series of monologues (or modologues) and performances we're testing out. Send us yours and we'll feature them on the page...(Modologue: Machinima-style dubbing that modifies game-play through an alternate narrative.)
"On Bunk, we've published the beta of the "Grand Thieves Audio" project. These MP3s constitute our attempt to carjack the audio on "GTA: Vice City." These audio files attempt to recontextualize the playing experience along subversive avenues. The idea is to create the illusion of new (subversive) nonplayer characters in the game through the audio."
These modologues combine the audio dubbing of machinima with the infiltration of game mods (since sticking them in your MP3 folder does not alter the code of the game). Unlike Machinima, which dub sound tracks over edited clips of game play and turn the player into a spectator, these monologues, or "modologues," let the user play in a different narrative context.
These files represent the first attempts to infiltrate the game. I hope other performers will record some and send them our way so we can build a library.
Current downloads include: Army Recruiter (since video games are now tools of recruitment), Mama Vercetti, The Driver's Ed Instructor, and Arnold Schwarzenegger (though this last is anachronistic and probably more suitable to "San Andreas")."
Posted by tshey at 12:49 PM
Pachinko.ParlorAisle.Empty.A
Posted by tshey at 12:42 PM
Google reveals Iraqi prison abuse photos on photosharing site
The Associated Press found what appear to be new photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse by US military personnel -- by Googling for them, then paying 29 cents a copy for reprints through on-line photo sharing service smugmug.com. The images appear to date from May 2003, which may make them the earliest evidence of such alleged abuse. Snip:
[The AP] reporter found more than 40 of the pictures among hundreds in an album posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site by a woman who said her husband brought them from Iraq after his tour of duty. It is unclear who took the pictures, which the Navy said it was investigating after the AP furnished copies to get comment for this story.Story, and link to the smugmug.com photosharing site (the images referenced are no longer publicly accessible through that photo-sharing website). The AP report says:
These and other photos found by the AP appear to show the immediate aftermath of raids on civilian homes. One man is lying on his back with a boot on his chest. A mug shot shows a man with an automatic weapon pointed at his head and a gloved thumb jabbed into his throat. In many photos, faces have been blacked out. What appears to be blood drips from the heads of some. A family huddles in a room in one photo and others show debris and upturned furniture.
(...)
The images were found through the online search engine Google. The same search today leads to the Smugmug.com Web page, which now prompts the user for a password. Nine scenes from the SEAL camp remain in Google's archived version of the page. "I think it's fair to assume that it would be very hard for most consumers to know all the ways the search engines can discover Web pages," said Smugmug spokesman Chris MacAskill. Before the site was password protected, the AP purchased reprints for 29 cents each.
Nine scenes from the SEAL camp remain in Google's archived version of the page.Any 1337 BoingBoing readers who sleuth the url for Google's cache of the smugmug gallery in question are invited to let us know.
Update: More images said to be from the smugmug gallery in question are published here: Link (Thanks, pemdasi)
Posted by tshey at 12:28 PM
December 03, 2004
RexMas Greetings
Moth posted a photo:
Holiday decorations at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, MD.
Posted by tshey at 05:20 PM
Mariko Takahashi's Fitness Video for being appraised as an "ex-fat girl"
This video is a little strange. I mean, not out of this world strange...just 'girl with poodle cut muscles exercising with poodle people' strange.
I'm counting on you people to please explain this video...check out some excerpted pics:
Thanks to Janice for the link!
Posted by tshey at 05:17 PM
MTA gets the word out
Posted by tshey at 05:15 PM
[no title]
Blog Torrent is software that makes it much easier to share and download files using the bittorrent protocol. Blog Torrent is easy to install on your website... Blog Torrent is easy for users: even if they don't know what bittorrent is, they get an installer that downloads the file they want. But most of all, Blog Torrent makes publishing with bittorrent painless.
Why does Blog Torrent matter? Making it easy to blog large video files means that people can share their home movies the same way they share their photos or writings. It lets people create vast networks of truly peer-to-peer video content-- video that was made by individuals and shared with individuals, no bandwidth budget or distribution deal needed. Does this mean that we can do for television what blogs have done for news? Let's find out...
Posted by tshey at 05:10 PM
December 02, 2004
The Spread of Weighted Lists
All items in a list are not created equally. That's the idea behind weighted lists that, via font size, emphasize popular items and minimize unpopular ones. This list of cities at Craigslist, this list of tags at Flickr (excerpt shown at left), and this list of goals at 43things are a few examples.
The cool thing is that by merely altering font sizes, these lists suddenly gain a dimension; You can still find items alphabetically but you can also use visual weight to find the most requested items. My guess is we'll be seeing a lot more of these weighted lists.
Posted by tshey at 07:42 PM
New Open Source Media Center Released for Windows
Media Portal turns your PC into a very advanced Multi MediaCenter / HTPC. It allows you to listen to your favorite music & radio, watch your video's and DVD's, view, schedule and record live TV and much more. You get Media Portal for free/nothing/nada/noppes and best of all it is opensource. This means anyone can help developing Media Portal or tweak it for their own needs!
Posted by tshey at 06:54 PM
Ann explains reBlogging
[I think Ann is doing an awesome job... --tim]
Posted by tshey at 06:49 PM
December 01, 2004
Giant lizard gets star peacefully
Godzilla received his very own star on Hollywood Boulevard yesterday, and the ceremony went off without a hitch.
Producer Shogo Tomiyama appeared at a ceremony outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the 2,271st star is located.
"I'm here representing Godzilla. Unfortunately, he cannot speak English," he said. "We're very excited he is being honored in America."Appearing far shorter in person, Godzilla showed up for the event, but was in a very good mood, according to onlookers, and failed to crush a single building.
Now 50, the mutated beast, of origins still unknown, will soon star in his final film, GODZILLA FINAL WARS.
Posted by tshey at 12:36 PM
Big head people in Tokyo stores
Giant headed people in Tokyo stores are a sign that Christmas is coming. [more at winkie.org]
Posted by tshey at 11:18 AM