Policy - A picture is worth...
This is the concentration of the media now. It will get worse if the FCC votes to end long-established rules on multiple ownership on Monday. The picture comes from this (eminently readable and worthwhile) post on Connected. Via Larry Lessig.
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Life, in Paradise
Took S. up to San Francisco to an event she's working. I also took the dogs and decided to visit the old neighborhood before heading back. After cutting through a particularly lovely section of the Tenderloin, I went down Polk to see if the neighborhood had changed any. Not much; same restaurants and shops, mostly, same traffic, same double-parked cars all over. Went for a walk around the circle at Fort Mason. I would have walked up to our old place, but C. decided he'd had enough of this little nostalgia trip and so we headed back.
Do I miss the city? Yes, but not enough to want to return. On the way back, I got off I-280 at the Pacifica exit and took Highway 1 home. Now 280 may be the "world's most beautiful freeway" (a title some find oxymoronic, although I'm partial to the sight of the low clouds creeping over the mountains and down the hillside by the reservoirs), but it doesn't compare to the glories of a trip down the coast road. Steep, wave-drenched cliffs alternate with long stretches of golden beach. It's still spring on this (the ocean) side because the hillsides are still green and the flowers are still in bloom; it's gone to gold and straw on the other side already.
Stopped at the Whale City Bakery in Davenport. Some guy was playing what looked like an electric mandolin, and playing it very well. There was hardly anyone there - the staff, me, two guys at a table, and some guy at the counter - but we were mesmerized. When he took a short break between tunes, there were several heartbeats of complete silence and then everyone applauded and cheered wildly.
And that's why I don't miss the city. These little moments of accidental serendipity seem to happen all the time in Santa Cruz. They hardly ever did in the city, because almost everything required so much planning and effort to make happen that spontaneity got squeezed right out. Nothing ever feels forced or rushed here. I mean, what can you say about a place where most everyone obeys the 25 MPH speed limits?
Took S. up to San Francisco to an event she's working. I also took the dogs and decided to visit the old neighborhood before heading back. After cutting through a particularly lovely section of the Tenderloin, I went down Polk to see if the neighborhood had changed any. Not much; same restaurants and shops, mostly, same traffic, same double-parked cars all over. Went for a walk around the circle at Fort Mason. I would have walked up to our old place, but C. decided he'd had enough of this little nostalgia trip and so we headed back.
Do I miss the city? Yes, but not enough to want to return. On the way back, I got off I-280 at the Pacifica exit and took Highway 1 home. Now 280 may be the "world's most beautiful freeway" (a title some find oxymoronic, although I'm partial to the sight of the low clouds creeping over the mountains and down the hillside by the reservoirs), but it doesn't compare to the glories of a trip down the coast road. Steep, wave-drenched cliffs alternate with long stretches of golden beach. It's still spring on this (the ocean) side because the hillsides are still green and the flowers are still in bloom; it's gone to gold and straw on the other side already.
Stopped at the Whale City Bakery in Davenport. Some guy was playing what looked like an electric mandolin, and playing it very well. There was hardly anyone there - the staff, me, two guys at a table, and some guy at the counter - but we were mesmerized. When he took a short break between tunes, there were several heartbeats of complete silence and then everyone applauded and cheered wildly.
And that's why I don't miss the city. These little moments of accidental serendipity seem to happen all the time in Santa Cruz. They hardly ever did in the city, because almost everything required so much planning and effort to make happen that spontaneity got squeezed right out. Nothing ever feels forced or rushed here. I mean, what can you say about a place where most everyone obeys the 25 MPH speed limits?
Policy
Molly Ivins, who never stoops to being a mere ideologue, hits the nail on the head again in this article about how the FCC has been taken captive by the industry it's supposed to regulate. Go here to protest to your congressman and/or register a public comment to the FCC.
Molly Ivins, who never stoops to being a mere ideologue, hits the nail on the head again in this article about how the FCC has been taken captive by the industry it's supposed to regulate. Go here to protest to your congressman and/or register a public comment to the FCC.
Friday, May 30, 2003
Politics and Society
Ah, so now you're bigot if you don't like Republicans? Oh, those poor oppressed GOP'ers. Let's just make it a hate crime to call any registered Republican mean or vulgar names, OK?
Now, I dislike the condescension, elitism, and hypocrisy of certain elements of the left just as much as I dislike the mean-spiritedness and intolerance of certain elements on the right. But comparing the above to having a cross burned in your front yard or being denied employment because of your race/religion/gender is specious nonsense.
I read Instapundit every day and like it. But there are those moments, like the reference to the article above, where Glenn Reynolds stops thinking and starts being a conservative ideologue. And that's precisely when Instapundit stops being worthwhile and interesting. (To be fair, I can make a similar criticism of, say, Noam Chomsky's writings or of the Tom Paine site).
Subscribing to any ideology - liberal, conservative, or anything else - means you've stopped thinking for yourself and have surrendered that most personal of prerogatives to someone else.
Ah, so now you're bigot if you don't like Republicans? Oh, those poor oppressed GOP'ers. Let's just make it a hate crime to call any registered Republican mean or vulgar names, OK?
Now, I dislike the condescension, elitism, and hypocrisy of certain elements of the left just as much as I dislike the mean-spiritedness and intolerance of certain elements on the right. But comparing the above to having a cross burned in your front yard or being denied employment because of your race/religion/gender is specious nonsense.
I read Instapundit every day and like it. But there are those moments, like the reference to the article above, where Glenn Reynolds stops thinking and starts being a conservative ideologue. And that's precisely when Instapundit stops being worthwhile and interesting. (To be fair, I can make a similar criticism of, say, Noam Chomsky's writings or of the Tom Paine site).
Subscribing to any ideology - liberal, conservative, or anything else - means you've stopped thinking for yourself and have surrendered that most personal of prerogatives to someone else.
Dining
When was the law passed mandating that every restaurant serving entrees priced over $10 must incessently play Kind of Blue as background music? Now, I love KofB. But is it really the perfect aural accompaniment to every single freakin' meal?
When was the law passed mandating that every restaurant serving entrees priced over $10 must incessently play Kind of Blue as background music? Now, I love KofB. But is it really the perfect aural accompaniment to every single freakin' meal?
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Software
Lots of news on the Open Source front. Microsoft loses a major deal to Linux in the German city of Munich. The President of India urged Indian IT professionals to favor Open Source over proprietary solutions such as MS Windows. This comes on top of actual or proposed adoption of Linux in Germany, China, Japan, Peru, and many other nations. Microsoft is attempting to counter this with steep discounts and alleged "slush fund". But the effectiveness of these tactics is being questioned.
The other side of this story is the continuing saga of SCO's suit against IBM and Linux. Now they're going after Linus Torvalds (maybe) and giving high-profile interviews. Novell has countered by threatening to sue SCO, as has a German Linux Group. SCO's share price has fallen despite positive earnings reports.
What does it all mean? My take is that Open Source Software (OSS) is winning both mindshare and market share, and SCO is desperately trying to capitalize on this either by extortion or by gaining some measure of control over Linux. I think this effort will fail and will somehow eventually, in some unexpected way, mark the tipping point for wide-spread acceptance of OSS. Why? Because SCO's claims will shown to be spurious. If and when that happens, it will set a precedent in favor of open source licensing, and the more conservative mainstream adopters will start moving towards OSS. I'll follow this over time to see how this prediction holds up.
Lots of news on the Open Source front. Microsoft loses a major deal to Linux in the German city of Munich. The President of India urged Indian IT professionals to favor Open Source over proprietary solutions such as MS Windows. This comes on top of actual or proposed adoption of Linux in Germany, China, Japan, Peru, and many other nations. Microsoft is attempting to counter this with steep discounts and alleged "slush fund". But the effectiveness of these tactics is being questioned.
The other side of this story is the continuing saga of SCO's suit against IBM and Linux. Now they're going after Linus Torvalds (maybe) and giving high-profile interviews. Novell has countered by threatening to sue SCO, as has a German Linux Group. SCO's share price has fallen despite positive earnings reports.
What does it all mean? My take is that Open Source Software (OSS) is winning both mindshare and market share, and SCO is desperately trying to capitalize on this either by extortion or by gaining some measure of control over Linux. I think this effort will fail and will somehow eventually, in some unexpected way, mark the tipping point for wide-spread acceptance of OSS. Why? Because SCO's claims will shown to be spurious. If and when that happens, it will set a precedent in favor of open source licensing, and the more conservative mainstream adopters will start moving towards OSS. I'll follow this over time to see how this prediction holds up.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Music
Tristeza não tem fin
felicidade sim
A felicidade é como a gota
de orvalho numa petala de flôr
Brilha tranquila depois de leve oscila
e cai como uma lágrima de amor
[Sadness has no end
Happiness does
Happiness is like a drop
of dew on a flower petal
It shines quietly then swings lightly
and falls like a tear of love]
If I could be anyone else for 5 minutes or so, I'd be João Gilberto singing A Felicidade.
Tristeza não tem fin
felicidade sim
A felicidade é como a gota
de orvalho numa petala de flôr
Brilha tranquila depois de leve oscila
e cai como uma lágrima de amor
[Sadness has no end
Happiness does
Happiness is like a drop
of dew on a flower petal
It shines quietly then swings lightly
and falls like a tear of love]
If I could be anyone else for 5 minutes or so, I'd be João Gilberto singing A Felicidade.
Software
A nice tribute to Dr. Ted Codd by C.J. Date at Database Debunkings. I'm kind of surprised at how little notice/commentary there's been since his death. It's due, I guess, to the relational model currently being out of fashion (until everyone realizes that the OODB-XMLDB-whateverDB nonsense is just hot air and hype and we see a "rediscovery" of relational).
A nice tribute to Dr. Ted Codd by C.J. Date at Database Debunkings. I'm kind of surprised at how little notice/commentary there's been since his death. It's due, I guess, to the relational model currently being out of fashion (until everyone realizes that the OODB-XMLDB-whateverDB nonsense is just hot air and hype and we see a "rediscovery" of relational).
War and Peace
Rumsfeld suggests that Iraq destroyed all of their WMDs. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, meanwhile, is confident that they'll be found. Two trucks were found that could have been used as mobile bioweapons labs, but no prohibited weapons were found. Now Paul Wolfowitz weighs in - WMDs were just a "bureaucratic reason" everyone in the administration could settle on as a reason for justifying the invasion. Stories courtesy of the The Agonist
UPDATE: Now Rumsfeld claims that WMD's will be found in Iraq.
Rumsfeld suggests that Iraq destroyed all of their WMDs. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, meanwhile, is confident that they'll be found. Two trucks were found that could have been used as mobile bioweapons labs, but no prohibited weapons were found. Now Paul Wolfowitz weighs in - WMDs were just a "bureaucratic reason" everyone in the administration could settle on as a reason for justifying the invasion. Stories courtesy of the The Agonist
UPDATE: Now Rumsfeld claims that WMD's will be found in Iraq.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Monday, May 26, 2003
Music: Unexpected Pleasures
When I went to Streetlight Records the other day, they were playing Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece - quite a contrast to their usual hip-hop/punk. I started (softly) singing along with "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River", which got a smirk from the tattooed and pierced 20-something salesgirl. Browsing, I discovered Gigi's One Ethiopia and also bought Joao Gilberto's Live in Montreux.
I'm listening to Veedon Fleece right now. Someone once described it as "incandescent", but that's not quite the right word for music this subtle and evocative.
In my mind, I'm walking through the streets of Arklow, head filled with poetry...
When I went to Streetlight Records the other day, they were playing Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece - quite a contrast to their usual hip-hop/punk. I started (softly) singing along with "You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push The River", which got a smirk from the tattooed and pierced 20-something salesgirl. Browsing, I discovered Gigi's One Ethiopia and also bought Joao Gilberto's Live in Montreux.
I'm listening to Veedon Fleece right now. Someone once described it as "incandescent", but that's not quite the right word for music this subtle and evocative.
In my mind, I'm walking through the streets of Arklow, head filled with poetry...
Sunday, May 25, 2003
War and Peace
The good folks at The Agonist point to several articles on the state of affairs in Iraq. From increased patrols in Baghdad to counter the gangs reported to be running amok to the rushed appointment of the bureaucrat now overseeing the occupation to armed and unpaid former Iraqi soldiers, things look to be unsettled at best, chaotic at worst. On a more positive note, oil sales will resume sometime in June.
They also ask the following questions.
I'll ask this question: are all of the events described above bumps on the road to peace, justice, and democracy in Iraq? Or are they markers on a path leading to a quagmire?
Time will tell. I'm not hopeful.
The good folks at The Agonist point to several articles on the state of affairs in Iraq. From increased patrols in Baghdad to counter the gangs reported to be running amok to the rushed appointment of the bureaucrat now overseeing the occupation to armed and unpaid former Iraqi soldiers, things look to be unsettled at best, chaotic at worst. On a more positive note, oil sales will resume sometime in June.
They also ask the following questions.
I'll ask this question: are all of the events described above bumps on the road to peace, justice, and democracy in Iraq? Or are they markers on a path leading to a quagmire?
Time will tell. I'm not hopeful.
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