19 May 2002
Sun, 19 May 2002
Joe Gregorio responds to my .net question
Joe says:
Sorry, I guess that wasn't very clear. Here's a list of the things fixed in SP1 and here is a link on how to obtain it.
Thanks, Joe!
Posted at: 22:03 | permalink
Song of the week
An old favorite Done in the studio by Dunne, Hankle, Watson, and Weibel.
Posted at: 21:58 | permalink
Image of the week
Duck in wishing pond at the aquarium, Vancouver, BC, circa 1999.
Posted at: 21:39 | permalink
More on backlinks from Robert Seymour
Robert Seymour continues the backlink story. This is one of the best ones that I've seen on the subject.
Posted at: 21:27 | permalink
Orchard strikes a chord with DecafBad
This article really struck a nerve with me. LM Orchard says, "Now I feel cloistered in over here at my company and I don't know if my employer necessarily sees a value in me attending things like this." I'm in the church on that one and I'll take it a step further: my employer sees no value in me attending things like this. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation", said Thoreau. That would be me. Blogging has definitely brought me closer to the people and places where I once found solace, but that's like dragging a carrot in front of a hare. Would you like the red pill or the blue pill? Where does it all lead? Can the relationships that develop on the web ever be real or are they destined to be as transient as the homeless guy in a box under the bridge?
Orchard goes on: "This is starting to sound like spoiled geek whining. It isn't that I want the company sugar-daddy to fly me to Milan every month-- I just start feeling a bit isolated and claustrophobic working with the same few dozen people, only a tiny handful of whom are actually technically-minded, week in and week out. So it's nice to feel a part of a wider community of like- or at least relatedly-minded people who are passionate about this stuff." And I resemble that remark. It disturbs me. Many of my co-workers would probably relay such stories about me. And that disturbs me. It's all too disturbing. Deeply disturbing. Why can't I just go back to 1997-1998 and stay there forever, when life was bliss? Why is it so hard to find (create?) that stimulating work environment again?
Finally, he says, "I want to hang out more with my fellow rock bangers." Somebody please, lead me to the rock bangers. I'm ready and waiting.
Posted at: 21:10 | permalink
BMW's new Mini Cooper S
I came across one of these while traversing Shadyside for lunch last week. The cool factor is off the map. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first example of a retro-car from a non-US manufacturer. Chrysler's probably the biggest purveyor of this kind of product with it's Prowler and PT Cruiser. [car.kak.net]
Posted at: 20:44 | permalink
More on Stephen Wolfram's book - A New Kind of Science
I came by this article by way of Ugo Cei's Be Blogging. To say the article is infinitely quotable is a mild understatement. For instance:
- The big idea is that the algorithm is mightier than the equation.
- She finds it humorous that when she told her boss she'd be busy on Super Bowl Sunday, he asked, "What's that?"
I haven't read the book so I can't make any vast conclusions about it but this article is fascinating. If the book's half that fascinating it would be worth the time to read the 1200+ pages. What I wonder is whether Bill Gates is reading this on his next vacation?
Posted at: 20:39 | permalink
Everything's imperceptibly connected
There is no spoon says:
Although I haven't read it yet, this subject matter sounds very closely related to that of Small Pieces Loosely Joined. Both books seem to be taking the network millions of people have become familiar with as a network (the Internet) as a sort of metaphor for the way our lives work. In Weaving the Web, Tim Berners-Lee says he originally envisioned the Net as a way to connect anything with anything. That's a cool vision, but these books sound like they have an even better one: Everything already is connected—the Web just helps us see the connections. [there is no spoon]
This makes me wonder if the connections he's referring to are metaphysical ones. It's kind of a weird application of Jung's synchronicity. If you and I arrive at the same idea simultaneously, what does that mean? Did we both plug into the same universal stream of consciousness? Clearly, the blog world allows us to race to the moment of disclosure. Sometimes this occurs with such frequency that the origins of a thought or idea are obscured. Hmm...
Posted at: 20:17 | permalink
Dan Rather Condemns US Media
There is no spoon on Dan Rather's condemnation of the US War coverage:
Rather II. No surprise here: the British press has published a much more complete account of Dan Rather's recent BBC interview in which he condemned the U.S. media for it's abysmal performance since 9-11. It even made DayPop. A choice (and especially incisive) bit: The White House was to blame for its failure to provide adequate information about the war, Rather said. "There has never been an American war, small or large, in which access has been so limited as this one. "Limiting access, limiting information to cover the backsides of those who are in charge of the war, is extremely dangerous and cannot and should not be accepted. And I am sorry to say that, up to and including the moment of this interview, that overwhelmingly it has been accepted by the American people. And the current administration revels in that, they relish that, and they take refuge in that." [there is no spoon]
Posted at: 19:56 | permalink
Ugo Cei notes Sybase is shipping with Cocoon
Sybase ships with Cocoon. From Sybase. Looks like it's still Cocoon 1, though. [Be Blogging]
I'm not sure whether my old friends from Computer Associates have made it clear which of their products are shipping with Cocoon, but I know there's at least one of them using it. I helped the intern responsible for getting it running in 1999.
Posted at: 19:53 | permalink
285 feet from heaven
Everest climb abandoned 285 feet from top - CNN 05-19-2002. Women abandon Everest attempt - CNN
Heartbreak on Everest - USA Today
Female Climbing Team Turns Back - Guardian, UK
All-female climbing team turns back 285 feet shy of summit - San Francisco Chronicle [Google US News]
Posted at: 19:47 | permalink
Robert Seymour nails Infoworld over link policy
Hyperlinks (are supposed to) matter. An InfoWorld article of mine called Hyperlinks Matter appeared online yesterday. As Robert J Seymour points out, the title was ironic in view of InfoWorld's no-links policy: ... [Jon's Radio]
Posted at: 19:44 | permalink
Church hires parole officer to watch priest
Church hires parole officer to watch priest - CNN 05-19-2002. Accused Seattle priest monitored by parole officer - Nando Times
Accused Priest Monitored By Police - Guardian, UK [Google US News]
Posted at: 19:39 | permalink
Just what we need, more speed traps
Traffic crackdown leading up to Memorial Day - CNN 05-19-2002. Pre-holiday, traffic cops cracking down - USA Today
Agencies combine forces to slow speeders - Kansas City Star
Authorities Crack Down On Speeders - Guardian, UK [Google US News]
If the US authorities spent as much time and money educating drivers as they did with reactionary BS like this, we'd have a lot less fatalities and a lot less frustration on our roads.
Posted at: 19:36 | permalink
Improvements in the works at VH1
MTV Wunderkind Is Drafted to Fix VH1. Viacom has brought in Brian Graden, the MTV programming president with an uncanny eye for hit programs, to resurrect VH1. By Jim Rutenberg. [New York Times: Business]
Message to Graden: Think about where VH1 got it's original audience. When I was watching in the late 80's, the variety of music being presented was astounding. Today, VH1 resembles MTV far too much, IMHO, and the mature audience that this article refers to isn't necessary digging that. If VH1 picked up one or two of the best shows from BET Jazz, it would help tremendously. Live from the Knitting Factory comes to mind. Also, a couple of the music oriented shows from Tech TV would be cool; the one that Herbie Hancock hosts, for instance. I remember Herbie doing Rock School way back when and I thought that was some cool television but I can't remember whether that was MTV or VH1. Also, put more artists on Inside Music with less repeats. Same thing for Story Tellers. Oh well, one can only hope.
Posted at: 19:29 | permalink
