Posted January 30th, 2008, in: Videos
I don’t like to blog about generic politics here, but I really don’t want Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic candidate.
Also, I really don’t like to support the Democratic Party or the Republican Party but since one of the two of them will almost definitely win the presidential election, I re-registered as a Democrat just so I could vote against Hillary Clinton (generally, I register undeclared).
As far as Democrats and Republicans go, I really think Obama is the best choice.
Here’s a good video of Obama speaking and then being interviewed at Google’s headquarters.
Please, DON’T VOTE FOR CLINTON!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4yVlPqeZwo&rel=1]
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Posted January 29th, 2008, in: FOAFr| Semantic Web
Last night you said you wanted to discuss our differences on the matter of whether or not it would be a good idea to have an App that organizes and allows users to mine Social Graph Data from across different services and transcodes and hosts the data as FOAF and other semantic social data formats, injecting social graph data into the Semantic Web (and/or services unknown to us today). …Or something like that.
So here, in public, let’s discuss the why’s and why-not’s of this idea.
This is a public conversation and anyone is welcome to jump in.
-Andrew
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Posted January 28th, 2008, in: New Media| Semantic Web| Technology| Videos| Web 2.0
Originally, I saw this on Vimeo, which is a pretty awesome alternative to YouTube. Video quality is usually way better anyways. I was gonna embed the vimeo version but WordPress is pretty limited with respect to embedded content. So here’s the youtube version.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=553DckaDiko&rel=1]
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Posted January 25th, 2008, in: Uncategorized
I live in Sebastopol CA.
When I was younger, I used to be really into mushroom hunting. My friend Wes and I would go out and look for mushrooms and then look up the ones we’d find. I always wanted to find a Fly Agaric because they’re so damn pretty.
I noticed a bunch yesterday when I was walking, and I was going to leave them alone until my desk got attacked today by some ants (for no reason. There’s nothing for them here and I even just cleaned everything too). The Wikipedia says Fly Agarics contain a natural insecticide. Maybe having these pretty darlings on my desk for a few days will make the ants go away.
Aren’t they beautiful? They’re like the quintessential fairy-land mushrooms. Big too!
Amanita Muscaria are generally considered poisonous, but are also ‘psychoactive,’ causing a delirium or dream-like state. Don’t eat them. Delirium is not a desirable form of intoxication, especially at the cost of the sickness these mushrooms also promise. These mushrooms are good for looking at, and possibly for killing bugs.
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Posted January 24th, 2008, in: New Media| Semantic Web| Technology| Web 2.0
If you’re interested in being cool, go subscribe to the Talking With Talis Podcast. (iTunes Link HERE)
I have to say, first, that I don’t really understand exactly what it is that Talis does, and second, that it looks pretty interesting.
Either way, the podcast is great. A series of interviews with people working in the Semantic Web, Library and Knowledge Management spaces, if I’m saying it right.
There’s no better companion for the walks I have been going on lately than my little ipod loaded with people talking about the emerging Semantic Web.
The conversation is usually pretty down to earth too, so don’t worry if you’re not a programmer.
Also, be warned: Sound quality is often TERRIBLE.
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Posted January 24th, 2008, in: Uncategorized
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Posted January 22nd, 2008, in: New Media| Technology| Videos| Web 2.0
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&rel=1]
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Posted January 21st, 2008, in: Scam Email Mashups
From Mr. James Nkonor
ATTENTION:
I write, asking for your indulgence in re-profiling funds to tune of
Twelve Million, Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$12.8m)
which we want to keep safely overseas under your supervision.
In other words, we would like you to receive the said funds on our
behalf. The Funds were derived over time from a project awarded to a
foreign firm by my Department, and presently the actual contract cost
have been paid to the original project executors, leaving the balance in
the tune of the said amount which we have in principle obtained approval
to remit overseas.
Kindly pardon the use of a medium informal as this for reaching out to
you to make a request of great importance to us.
Currently, I work as a Director of Projects at The Department of Minerals
& Energy here in Pretoria . I have the authority and approval of my
partners involved in this transaction to negotiate a suitable
compensation for your participation and I propose 22.2 percent, while we
also propose that we receive 46.6 percent and 31.2 percent be earmarked
for purposes of taxation.
This endeavor has a minimal risk factor on your part provided you treat
it with the utmost discretion. You are advised to reach me through email
for further clarifications.
I am available for further clarification via email or fax: +2711 507 6324.
I kindly wait to hear from you.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr. James Nkonor
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Posted January 21st, 2008, in: Cultural Acceleration| Intellectual Property| New Media| Technology| Web 2.0
In case you missed it and you probably did if you’re the type of folk that will read this, I wanted to steer you toward the last episode of the PRI show, To The Best Of Our Knowledge.
Their Podcast is broken down by segment and can be found here (itunes store url).
Part one, is about apocalyptic settings in fiction… I really thought the last part was interesting. An author named Jonathan Lethem Scott Westerfeld wrote a novel, apparently for teens, about a scenario in the future where Social Currency via the Web is everything (or something to that effect) – a sort of Social Software Hell. The interview touches on some ideas about privacy and technology and also why Teens may relate so well to dystopian settings. All very interesting to me.
The other segment is about plagiarism and there is various anecdotal fuel for discussion there too.
It’s amusing to me that I would find it strange that both of these topics, Intellectual Property and Privacy, be touched on by a radio program in the context of being completely unrelated. I’m so used to thinking about these two topics as parts of the big can of worms that is the Digital Age we’re just starting to come to grips with.
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Posted January 11th, 2008, in: Intellectual Property| Music Industry| Technology
The Pirate Bay is an infamous (or just fairly reliable) BitTorrent Tracker that has previously been completely out of range from legal action by the RIAA and others because they are in Sweden where the law apparently doesn’t consider BitTorrent illegal.
The site actually even throws a giant bird at all the lawyers that send them cease and desist letters and other threats, often responding with childish obscenities. And they post it all on their site HERE. Pretty audacious (and funny).
According to TechCrunch, according the The Wall Street Jounal,
Based on evidence collected in a 2006 raid on the offices of The Pirate Bay, Swedish prosecutors say that by the end of January they expect to charge the individuals who operate the file-sharing service with conspiracy to breach copyrights.
The Pirate Bay’s operators say they are expecting the charges and will prepare their defense with the aid of government-funded lawyers for a trial later this year. “We’re not worried,” says Fredrik Neij, a Pirate Bay co-founder. “We think the law is on our side.”
The Pirate Bay’s operators say they have been followed in recent weeks by camera-toting private detectives in foreign-registered cars. In September, they filed a police complaint claiming that MediaDefender, a U.S. counterpiracy company, had been hired by several Hollywood studios and music companies to hack into their site and shut it down.
MediaDefender, which itself was hacked by a shadowy group last year, denies the accusation. “We’re a reputable public company,” says Chief Executive Randy Saaf. “We’re not going to be doing hacking. That’s silly.”
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