May 2003 Archives

The Scout Report today had a link to this interesting web site, Lists of Bests. It a list of "best of ..." lists, like the AFI top 100 films, Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction, etc.. Good stuff and neatly all in one place.

Although these lists are subjective or contain the results of subjective judging, I like to see what knowledgeable people liked rather than just diving in randomly. If I want to see a good old movie, why not start with one from the AFI list? Then if I like it I can check out something else starring the same actor or director.

On an unrelated note, my grade school alum Spinning-Jennie has a wish list for her grade school library posted on Amazon. Send them a book, you'll feel good about yourself.

I saw an article last night about HP's new pricing units based on something they call a "computon". It's a way to do pricing of hardware based on usage, allowing the user to utilize capacity as needed. It makes the high end systems more affordable, etc., etc..

While this is all well and good, it is yet another case of mainframe capabilities from years ago being re-invented. My goodness, we can charge by the hour for computer usage. Isn't this kind of thing that created the PC revolution? Didn't users want to pry the systems away from the acolytes of IBM and CDC and put the power on the desktop in the users hands in a form that was cheap and ubiquitous?

I guess we are doomed to recreate the mainframe again and again. What next OS virtualization, clustering, subscription software ... ?

Saw Stomp last night in Boston.

It was a great show that I have been wanting to see for some time. Better yet, it was a team activity, so the tickets were not associated with a cash outlay on my part.

What did I think? I enjoyed the show immensely. The rhythm and creativity was beyond belief. As a person without rhythm I was blown away. On the flip side, it was a bit long and the theatre was a little hot. Of the bits incorporated into the show, I enjoyed the newspaper bit the least. The basketball bit was great. Overall, it was a great show, but I wouldn't see it twice, unlike the Blue Man Group. Three stars out of four.

I am in Boston this week for work meetings this week.

Some of the highlights for me include Boston Commons, which feature in one of my favorite children's stories, "Make Way For Ducklings." We also made time to enjoy the fresh seafood at Legal Seafood.

Hopefully today I'll be able to hit the freedom trail.

Sometimes a ranting monologue posted on the web takes on a certain disonance that it transcends ordinary prose and crosses the line into poetry.

Here is an excellent example:

I agree in some aspects. I think there is a little too much hype surrounding blogging at the momoment, especially since conceptually it's not too different from me posting interesting items on my office door.

Spinning-Jennie who revealed yesterday that she was a classmate of mine from 5th and 6th grade posted photo's from those glory years.

My photo is fabulous.

Thanks, Jennie.

Today while tail'ing my refferrer log I came across this entry.

Being the curious type of person, I thought I would check the link out.

Turns out spinning-jennie went to grade school with me. She linked to my blog after googling me. Small world, no.

Of course, I am still having difficulty figuring out just who this person is. I went to four different grade schools. They were located in Richland Center, West Allis, and two in Milwaukee. My fondest personal memories are the time I spent in Richland Center and at Manitoba (the grade school, not the Canadian Province).

Spinning-Jennie give me some hints.

To me this is hilarious.

Crow Lake, by Mary Lawson.

This is a good light read. It's the kind of book you might take with you on a vacation flight. Not too thick, interesting writing, but it won't keep you up nights wondering what's going to happen.

The basic story line is about a child who looses both parents and life in her rural farming community. The story flashes back and forth between time periods in an interesting way and creates story threads that will hold the readers interest.

One negative comment is that this story at points seems to be a non-story. There isn't the classic build up -- resolution events that some people seem to enjoy. Don't get me wrong their is tension and build up, but it's not like a thriller style book where everything is neatly resolved for the reader in the end.

The book has great descriptions of place and I can clearly imagine them in my head. I would say the writing was very strong. I would read another book by Mary Lawson if I ran into one.

I noticed on mamamusings an entry with this quote.

This struck me as very interesting. I mean the content is on a public server, on a public network, published with public protocols. Yet it is private.

This illustrates a couple of things for me.

• Everyone has a different definition of blogs and blogging.
• The "publicness" of a blog is related to the whims and/or legitimate concerns of the blog owner / administrator.

P.S.

In the comments to this entry, Liz points out that "Yes, it's public in that it's made available publicly. But the writing space itself is not public, any more than my personal web page is a public forum." I agree. For instance I would hate for people to post comments with links to obscene material or hate filled writing. (And thanks for the comment Liz, it's only my third so far, but who is counting.)

So blogging is public in terms of distribution and consumption, but not public in terms of the content. It's also probably not a forum for name calling, public debate, or vigorous protest. [O.K. It might be a place for name calling, but only at the decree of the owner / administrator, see Dave Winer for details.]

Perhaps blogs are public like shopping malls are public. I mean anyone can go their, but you can't hold a protest inside of one, unless the mall owner sanctions it.

The tension between public and private is very interesting to me.

Of course, a blog could fulfill other purposes. As I have noted before, it could be for fiction, non-fiction, journalism, op-ed, serious research. See "Blogging is a Container."

I have always enjoyed the spunk and pizzazz that goes with this poem by Jenny Joseph.

Today while I was out enjoying the weather at Como Park, in St. Paul, MN I ran into a bunch of women with purple clothes and read hats. I had to take their pictures.

I believe this to be a group of women who meet regularily and who have been featured in the local paper a while ago. I can't find their web site it they have one.

When I am an old man I plan to tell rambling stories, travel on greyhound busses and frighten small children with my teeth. I also plan to wear an aftershave that smells offensive.

I recently noticed that I my digital camera, has taken over 2100 photos. I got this camera new last October. It works fine. I think the focus is a little flaky indoors, but mostly it's ok.

I started thinking about how much 2100 photos would have cost me if I had used a traditional film camera.

2100 frames ÷ 36 = 58 rolls of 36 exposures
58 X $6 = $348

Now this camera cost about $400 last year, including extra rechargeable batteries and a larger memory card.

Now you might argue that I wouldn't have taken so many photo's had I not been using a digital camera where I can delete them so quickly. You would definitely be correct. However, there are a lot of great photo's that I might have missed had I not snapped so many.

I gotta say this kind of calculation sure takes the sting out of wanting to upgrade my digital camera every two years.

The "six degrees" of separation meme has always been interesting to me. Blogging gives an interesting portal into this phenomena.

Check out myelin: blogging ecosystem.

Also Recommended Reading .

So in my words the first ten Ammendments exist to prevent government from abusing it's power.

There is a significant problem however, that has arisen in our modern world. My "papers, and effects" are no longer simply stored in my house in a locked box. My papers and effects are in banks, brokerage houses, insurance companies, doctor's offices, distant web servers, and employers files. Each of those institutions may decide to turn over my person information, papers, or effects without a warrant if they choose. The government might simply just ask for your records.

I would even argue that companies may have incentive to turn over your private information to the government. The governement is a powerful entity, most companies wouldn't want to pay legal fees in protecting a customers rights, especially when it could result in additional government scrutiny or regulation, or loss of favorable government contracts.

It goes along with a thought I have had recently about corporate influence in the modern U.S. It seems to me that the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and subsequent Ammendments do a pretty good job of protecting us from the government, but offer no protection from corporate corruption, and even less from the alliance between business and government.

While I believe in mostly free markets and capitalism, you will note it is easier to put a person to death than for a corporation to be dissolved even when it's crimes are just as serious. If you are anti-government regulation just go back and study the meat industry of the turn of the century. Corporations want to profit, they don't have consumers inherent rights in mind.

A good example of the dangers posed by this alliance between governement and business is the state of video surveillance. Today we will are living in a constant state of video surveillance, not by the government but by private entities. If you don't believe me, then count the number of cameras you pass by on your way to work. How would you feel if you knew your every movement was captured and put into a file, that would be used against you later. It's not all that hard to connect the private cameras into a larger network now. (Add in the fact that it is trivial for a person to modify these digital images, if you want a real fright.) In a few years shared video surveillance will be the norm. Shades of 1984, by George Orwell.

It's almost unfathomable to me that today in the U.S. you must show your papers to move about the country and we are under constant surveillance, but you freely travel from France to what was East Germany without interference.

Now perhaps you think video surveillance is no big deal. After all you don't do anything wrong right? Try and go into a department store with your video camera on and see what happens. Is the department store doing something wrong?

O.K., you say, "What should be done?" Well the first thing I would like to see if corporations to voluntarily state in their privacy statements whether they will turn over your personal information to the government without a warrant. Then I could do business with companies that are "IV Ammendment friendly".

One more thing, I want my library to be "IV Ammendment friendly" as well. One aspect of the "Patriot Act" allows the FBI to get a FISA warrant and get your library records to see what you are reading. The library is then prohibited from telling you that your records were requested. This has prompted some libraries to begin purging their records on a hourly basis so that their are no records to request. I admire this kind of thinking. Check out these new library posters.

NARA Exhibit on the "Charters of Freedom".

My favorite sailing book has to be Desperate Voyage, by John Caldwell.

This book tells the harrowing story of a novice sailor who sets off from Panama to be re-united with his bride following WWII. His mis-adventures are phenomenal. You will never forget his battle with the shark or his adventures in cuisine. I can't believe he lives to tell the story.

The first two-thirds of the book are stronger, but it's still a fun read.

If you like sailing and adventure you will enjoy this book.

I recently finished First You Have to Row a Little Boat: Reflections on Life & Living, by Richard Bode.

If you are looking for a technical manual on sailing this isn't the book.

If you are looking for a thoughtful book on how to navigate life through the metaphor of sailing this is a great book. In the book it's almost as if the act of sailing becomes a parable or meditation on life. I personally like these kinds of books. The book is not so preachy that it the book has the answers to lifes vexing questions, but it has an interesting way of framing the questions and suggesting paths.

I heartily recommend this book to any sailor or person who loves the romance of the water and can stand light philosophical reading.

Pinned Hiker cuts off arm

The national news has covered this story pretty extensively. A climber got an arm pinned under a largish rock, and after running out of water he took the grisly option of cutting off hiw own arm rather than face death from exposure and dehydration.

Swiss Army Cybertool Pocket Knife

I had wondered about this conceptually ever since reading Mike Turner's story in BackPacker magazine. (The article can also be found on the author's web site, www.jeffrennicke.com)

Mike's story is haunting as he gets both legs pinned under a very large boulder four days into a nine day solo trip. When his body is found it is weeks too late. While reading the story I kept wondering if back-country amputation would give a person a fighting chance. While I doubt it would have work in Mike Turner's case, given the fact that he was in the middle a large wilderness area and he had both legs pinned it seems to have worked for Aron Ralston.

Mike Turners story is especially haunting as he left behind photographs and some thoughtful diary entries. Mike was a pastor, and judging from the article led an examined life full of faith and love for his family.

My backpacking friends jokingly worry about me performing a pre-emptive amputation, just in case a limb gets pinned. Ne fears there. I don't plan to go on any true solo trips until I am in better shape and have a lot more experience under my belt.

If you haven't read about my latest wilderness adventure, please check out "Hiking around Snowbank Lake, BWCA".

A few photos from my shrubs and trees.