Category — General
the beginning of the end
Many people have declared blogs officially “mainstream,” especially after the whole Trent Lott debacle, however, I have the definitive proof. From the January, 2003, issue of Ladies Home Journal, I bring you “Their Heart on Their Screen.”
“Teenagers used to file first kisses and missed curfews safely under lock and key in a private diary. But today's tech-savvy teens are keeping a blog (short for Web log) or online journal instead. In essence, a blog is a form of personal publishing that allows willing diarists – sometimes anonymous, usually not – to create a Web page where they can share their stories in cyberspace, and update them frequently (there are now as many as 500,000). At livejournal.com, a blog home base, of sorts, the need to build a Web page or buy software is eliminated (users only have to sign up before letting it all out). And letting it out teens are. Says the site's supervisor and develope Jesse Proulx: 'Some kids even consider blogging a new form of therapy.' ” (p.88)
well this is obviously a bad sign. combined with starting this blog, well, i can honestly say in all likelihood blogging is dead, long live blogging, etc. etc.
December 29, 2002 Comments Off
books
Well two of the books that were gifted to me for xmas were the new version of McLuhan's Mechanical Bride put out by Gingko press and Marcuse's Technology, War, and Fascism edited by Doug Kellner. Both have been fascinating reads so far. Though I admit that I have been reading a bit too much fiction, I'm working through David Lodge right now, it is hilarious especially his work on academics.
December 29, 2002 Comments Off
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:36:35 GMT
Take-out standards. New York has take-out down to a science. When you purchase food to take with you for immediate consumption, you can be sure of three things when it is handed to you:
- your food will be placed in a paper or plastic bag
- plenty of napkins
- and if you purchase a cold, non-alcoholic beverage, a straw
In other parts of the country, straws are seldom distributed, napkins might be the customer… [kottke.org]
I wonder why this is. I posit that it might have less to do with say perfection of service than perfection of logistics.
December 29, 2002 No Comments
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:30:22 GMT
AOL Quietly Wins IM Patent. Tony Kontzer in Information Week is reporting that AOL has been awarded an important patent covering much of the technology behind instant-messaging services.
In the latest example of a potentially market-defining patent being granted without fanfare, AOL Time Warner quietly has become the owner of a patent, granted in September by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, that covers much of the technology behind instant-messaging services. Patent No. 6,449,344 appears to be a far-reaching one, with more than 200 claims that give AOL exclusive rights to a “communications system for facilitating locating a user who is connected to a communications network, preferably for the purposes of establishing point-to-point communications.” [Living Without Microsoft]
This patent will be busted, i think there is enough evidence to bust most of it as I type this. We've been debating this for some time on air-l the list of the association of internet researchers, and I'm fairly convinced that most of the claims can be insubstantiated due to prior art
December 29, 2002 Comments Off
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:25:44 GMT
What's Your Earliest Memory? [Slashdot]
My earliest memory is quite debatable in terms of which came first, but i know it was before I was four, because of the known history. The clearest one was 'banana soup' in that memory i had my first taste of campbell's oyster stew, and while i was not picky like my sister was at that time, i was curious as to what it was, my father assuming that i was picky like her, i suppose, told me that it was banana soup. Now, why my father was giving me such a food is interesting in itself, but it had to do with his being laid off as an electrician, which was a seasonal thing. this was my first recorded knowledge of a lie i think. Other competing memories are writing on the wall and getting spanked with a belt, unrelated incidents, though memorable both.
December 29, 2002 No Comments
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:18:04 GMT
Computer games 'to be classified'. Violent computer games are to receive film-style classifications so parents can monitor what their children are viewing, it is reported. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]
I had thought I'd posted on this before, but you know, this is nothing new, the u.s. has this type of thing, oz was working on it a few months back. I'm really very much against it on a wide variety of levels. I remember back when Tipper was promoting this type of thing to the world. I wonder why she shut up….
December 29, 2002 Comments Off
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:13:09 GMT
Will The First Humans On Mars Speak German Or French?. Plastic::SciTech::Space: The European Space Agency ("ESA") believes that by 2025, it will have the necessary technology to send humans to Mars and bring them home again. [Plastic: Most Recent]
contrary to the nascent nationalism of the peice above, i think that they will, social will providing, speak as many languages as possible. In short, lets not assume that each individual speaks only 1 language, even if that language is perl, lets say that everyone should speak at least 2, perhaps 3 or more. There is a certain benefit to this type of approach to education, it provides for a broader mind, a more accepting mind. I'd be suprised if shrub speaks anything except english, and we know he only does that poorly. for me then, I hope they speak german, french, spanish, english and perhaps a bit of mandarin, though arguably all astronaughts speak mandarin;)
December 29, 2002 No Comments
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 14:06:01 GMT
In Post-Soviet Russia, The Peace Corps Gets Sent Home To YOU!. Plastic::Work::International: In another sign of growing anti-Americanism, Russia has given the Peace Corps the boot. As an added afront, the Russians cite possible spying as an explanation. [Plastic: Most Recent]
This seems to me to be another indicator of the second rise of the nation state, i think we may be heading toward a reactionary phase toward globalization in which citizens and other state entities begin a round of isolation and reentrenchment. In this case, in the former Soviet Union, one can see this even more, but i guess the big indicator will be China.
December 29, 2002 Comments Off
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 13:34:59 GMT
i don't hate comics
as i pointed out already on bOingbOing, please do go check out comic genius Phoebe Gloeckner's "I Hate Comics," in which she sodomizes the entire neo-alterno-comix movement in one fell comic-strip swoop.

it is pure genius. i adore this lady.
i first saw her work in v/search, i must concur that she is pure genius, more people should read comics. i read them everyday.
December 29, 2002 No Comments
Sun, 29 Dec 2002 13:32:21 GMT
for the lady you love
when people say to me, "Susannah, what should i get the woman i love for Christmas this year?", i say, "Why, a Ladies Weapon, of course."

personally, i can't decide between "Claudia," the gold-plated MK2 hand grenade, and "Caroline," the pink gingham Beretta M92 pistol.
update: Cowboy X posted a Comment about the Hello Kitty Hi Capacity .45 with Scope, which is much cooler. buy your girlfriend/wife this one for Christmas instead.
this just demands further comments, but i'm not making them… well maybe a few like shouldn't all handguns be pink? or, isn't it the owners responsibility to ensure that the handgun is 'pretty'?
This however is somewhat antagonistic to my first conception was to think about Dune and the fish talkers…..
December 29, 2002 No Comments