When this post appears, it should mean that the site maintenance has ended.
Whiskey Bar: What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .
Friday, May 30, 2003
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Site maintenance ...
Just a note ... I'm changing a few things around over the next few days, so if things are a little outta whack, sorry! Weblog will not be updated and may go offline sporadically. This should be interesting.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
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Nerve.com - Nerve's Bad Erotica Contest
"My name is Julio, Julio Gottstein," he said, his smoldering eyes aflame in the victory he would soon celebrate. "And soon, I shall have you."
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
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Is PageRank dead? Jeremy Zawodny thinks so.
Excerpt:
You see, PageRank was a brilliant yet simple idea at the time: use the structure of the web itself to determine what is and is not popular. But that's behind us. Google is no longer concerned solely with what's popular. Like most companies, they also care a lot about what sells or what advertisers want. Many speculate that Google is responding to various pressures to keep blogs from tainting their results. Perhaps.
Google has a really hard problem to solve. It's not unlike the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. PageRank stopped working really well when people began to understand how PageRank worked. The act of Google trying to "understand" the web caused the web itself to change. Blogs are only a recent example of that. Oddly, unlike many of the previous problems with Google (see also: search engine optimization companies; link spammers; google bombing), blogs were not designed to outsmart Google. They just happen to use the web and hyperlinks the way we should have been using them all along. Now they're being penalized for that, it seems.
Monday, May 26, 2003
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"Comprehension is not requisite for cooperation."
Sunday, May 25, 2003
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Went for dinner and a few drinks last night on the Donauinsel.
 audblog audio post: Introducing my friend Helmut to blogging and audblog.
Friday, May 23, 2003
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Went to see Moloko at the WUK in Vienna last night ...
audblog audio post: Moloko: Just before the show
audblog audio post: Moloko: comments from up in the lighting booth ...
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
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If you have any lingering doubts that the music industry is in deep shit, just check out this year's Eurovision event. Or any other year's event, for that matter. Austria's entry by musician / comedian Alf Poier is a prime example. The song and video are here.
Eurovision 2003
Man is the measure of all things
by Alf Poier
I like most animals on this earth
But I really prefer little rabbits and bears
Soon all birds and beetles will die
But Adam's in bed with Eve busy reproducing
Rabbits live in the woods
Cats in the meadows
And cockroaches
Live under tiles
Little rabbits have short noses
And kittens soft paws
And Mother Holle likes her wool
From the african dromedary
The difference between animals such as apes and primates
Is no bigger than between noodles and pasta
But whoever wants to know more about animals should study Biology or inform
himself on my homepage
Some animals have wings
And others have fins
Some live outdoors
And others in cans
Small rabbits…..
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
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1000journals: Mobile journals connect people around the globe.
Random phrases scribbled on bathroom walls, collaborative writing, and collective collages of words and images are just some of the things that inspired SF graphic designer Brian Singer (going by the moniker “Someguy”) to create the 1000 Journals Project. This privately funded social experiment follows 1000 blank journals in their travels. To get things started, the first 700 journals were sent to those who asked, and then passed through hands and mailboxes of friends and acquaintances. The final 300 were distributed to interested parties who signed up on the website to receive them. The pages have slowly but surely been filled by people all over the world. Singer’s idea was to have the pages covered with a cross section of the population, capturing people from all walks of life, social status, and cultural groups.
Singer recently received the first journal to make it home, number #526, which traveled to Ireland, Brazil, and a number of states in the US. Because of the project’s popularity, the chance for willing participants to leave their own personal mark is no longer available, as the recipient lists have been filled to capacity. People can go to www.1000journals.com to see entries from #526, and get info on those in circulation. Someguy’s future plans for the finished journals include possible gallery showings and book forms.
Although the project began more than two years ago, the arrival of the first fully completed journal could be a sign of more to come. These global diaries feel especially significant in today’s uncertain times, given the desire to be a part of something bigger, and to connect with others on a worldwide basis.
Text courtesy: TrendCentral @ youthintelligence.com
Monday, May 19, 2003
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Two blogging articles by Warren St. John in this Sunday's New York Times. Nothing mindblowing, but worth a quick read, I guess.
A New York State of Blog
Focuses on Elizabeth Spiers, who "runs the Web log Gawker, a gossipy blog that she admits is small-minded and superficial." (I really like Gawker.)
Dating a Blogger, Reading All About It
A few local stories about people talking about their relationships in their weblogs.
The New York Times
(free registration required)
Sunday, May 18, 2003
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Update: She's A Flight Risk
So, I've made up my mind ...
Last week when I discovered this story, I felt that this could be true. Somewhere, I think we all would like it to be true and for Isa to be safe and have a nice happy ending and for the sun to set and for the world to be a better place.
As of today, I am no longer drinking the Cool Aid. I was doing my best to give this story the benefit of the doubt, but now I must confess that I believe that the story is just that. A story. A good piece of fiction.
I've really enjoyed reading the back-and-forth between the community at the Immersive Lounge and isa. Along with conversations with a few people who have much more technical talent than I ever will, several of the points made there helped me make my decision.
Then the poster on the flightrisk blog called "anonymous coward, esq" provided me with the tipping point.
The more posts I read by "anonymous coward, esq.," the more I feel that he/she and perhaps a couple other posters are frauds. Better yet, "anonymous coward" is planting information in the blog in an attempt to legitimize this story and keep people interested. A textbook example of good online guerilla marketing.
Even if some/all of what he/she has posted is true, all it is doing is trying to provide 3rd party validation of a base storyline that is fictitious.
One-time rising star reporter, Stephen Glass, who was fired from The New Republic in 1998 has written a novel about his life called "The Fabulist." In an interview, he said the following:
"I would tell a story, and there would be fact A, which maybe was true. And then there would be fact B, which was sort of partially true and partially fabricated. And there would be fact C which was more fabricated and almost not true. And there would be fact D, which was a complete whopper. And totally not true. And so people would be with me on these stories through fact A and through fact B. And so they would believe me to C. And then at D they were still believing me through the story."
That’s exactly what I think is going on here.
Identity, credibility and the veracity of information are all easily blurred by the Internet. That’s part of its power, and the author of this story is acutely aware of that power and is manipulating it in an incredibly interesting way.
And that’s why I’ll keep reading it.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
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Krugman v. Cavuto
The China Syndrome
By Paul Krugman
... Meanwhile, both the formal rules and the codes of ethics that formerly prevented blatant partisanship are gone or ignored. Neil Cavuto of Fox News is an anchor, not a commentator. Yet after Baghdad's fall he told "those who opposed the liberation of Iraq" — a large minority — that "you were sickening then; you are sickening now." Fair and balanced.
Potshots From a Hypocrite
By Neil Cavuto
... Since no good deed goes unpunished, leave it to The New York Times to take a shot at me. Not The Times itself, but columnist Paul Krugman, who blasts me for my apparent blatant partisanship. ... Now may I suggest you take your column and shove it?
Thursday, May 15, 2003
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Must See TV: Bush v. Bush
The Daily Show with John Stewart
The video is currently streaming off of the show's homepage.
On Lisa Rein's Radar: Bush v. Bush
Lisa Rein has archived the audio and video in case it does not get archived on Comedy Central.
She asks, "Why hasn't anybody in the popular press put together this kind of comparison?" Damn good question. I wish I had the answer. Hmm ... Maybe we should ask Helen Thomas ... She knows a thing or two about asking the Bush administration questions and what happens when you ask the wrong one.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
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A Survey of Blogs and Bloggers
Looks legit. Saw it on 2020 Hindsight.
The purpose of this survey is to examine the uses and users of Weblogs. We ask that only those individuals who access Weblogs participate in this survey.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
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audblog post: in my car on the way from the gym to work this morning ... heard a nice mix of moloko's 'familiar feeling." "
Moloko: Official Site
If you don't know 'em ... check 'em out.
Moloko: Statues
Site has streams of all the tracks from the new release.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
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Well, this is strange. Every now and again, I Google myself. Today, I discovered that a character from Anarchy Online uses my last name as a nickname.
Katelin "Nimeh" Mirabelli
Character Bio:
Level : 109
Breed : Solitus
Gender : Female
Faction : Omni
Profession : Soldier (Lieutenant)
Member of Society of Salvation
from Anarchy Online
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
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Two nice pieces by Steve Croft over at 60 Minutes.
Stephen Glass: I Lied For Esteem
One-time rising star reporter, Stephen Glass, appears in his first interview since he was fired from The New Republic in 1998. Steve Kroft reports. He has written a novel about his life called “The Fabulist.”
Halliburton: All In The Family
“So they helped to design the architecture for privatizing a lot of what happens today in the Pentagon when we have military engagements. And two years later, when he leaves the department of defense, Cheney is CEO of Halliburton. Thank you very much. It's a nice arrangement for all concerned.”
- Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center For Public Integrity
Richard Perle resigned as chairman of the defense policy board last month after it was disclosed that he had financial ties to several companies doing business with the Pentagon. But Perle still sits on the board, along with former CIA director James Woolsey, who works for the consulting firm of Booz, Allen, Hamilton. The firm did nearly $700 million dollars in business with the Pentagon last year.
Another board member, retired four-star general Jack Sheehan, is now a senior vice president at the Bechtel corporation, which just won a $680 million contract to rebuild the infrastructure in Iraq. That contract was awarded by the State Department, which used to be run by George Schultz, who sits on Bechtel's board of directors.
“I'm not saying that it's illegal. These guys wrote the laws. They set up the system for themselves. Of course it's legal,” says Lewis.
“It just looks like hell. It looks like you have folks feeding at the trough. And they may be doing it in red white and blue and we may be all singing the "Star Spangled Banner," but they're doing quite well.”
Monday, May 12, 2003
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Lisa Rein's Tour Of Alan Kay's Etech 2003 Presentation
Alan explains what his talk is going to be about: "...a little bit of complaining about where we are and what hasn't happened, pay tribute to a few things that were done a long time ago...(and) show you some ideas about how to make things better.." He also says that hopes to get the audience interested in Squeak so that he can enlist them in the project and that he will be previewing some alpha software at the end of his talk that he's really excited about.
Bio from MIT: Alan Key
Dr. Alan Kay is best known for the idea of personal computing and the intimate laptop computer, and the invention of the now ubiquitous overlapping-window interface and modern object-oriented programming. These were catalysed by his deep interest in education and children, which continues today. He was one of the founders of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and led one of several groups that together developed modern workstations and the forerunners of the Macintosh: including Smalltalk, the overlapping window interface, the EtherNet, Laserprinting, and network "client-servers".
Before Xerox, Kay was a member of the University of Utah ARPA research team that developed 3D graphics. His PhD in 1969 (with distinction) was awarded for the development of the first graphical object-oriented personal computer. His undergraduate degrees were in Mathematics and Molecular Biology (from the University of Colorado in 1966). He also participated in the original design of the ARPANet (which became the Internet).
After Xerox he was Chief Scientist of Atari, and from 1984 has been a Fellow at Apple Computer. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Arts, and The World Economic Forum.
He has received numerous honors including the ACM Software Systems Award and the J-D Warnier Prize.
A former professional jazz guitarist, composer, and theatrical designer, he is now an amateur classical pipe-organist.
Sunday, May 11, 2003
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Comments are up and running.
Took 10 minutes to install, including the tweaks to my blog template.
Cost? Nada. Thank you Squawkbox!
Friday, May 09, 2003
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Catherine Chalmers seems to have a vendetta.
Cockroaches as Shadow and Metaphor
Catherine Chalmers's SoHo apartment is alive with the sound of imminent death. Crickets, food for a rubbery green tree frog, chirp loudly. The frog sits in a terrarium, a big grin on its face. What's not to smile about? Plenty of other food, a horde of crawling mealworms, is nearby.
By Sarah Boxer
New York Times
(free registration required)
Thursday, May 08, 2003
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"... she's a flight risk."
This blog/story is reaching the tipping point.
Girl on the run or manufactured interactive storytelling? Fact or fiction? Real-time saga or future screenplay? Either way, it's an excellent experiment in online storytelling and the Internet's ability to blur the lines between fact and fiction.
I'd look for the mainstream press to get interested in this story (soon) for two reasons. 1) Fact-finders will try to get to the bottom of the story and determine its veracity. 2) The entertainment media could soak this story ... Real or not, this thing has screenplay written all over it.
While it reads like fiction, I'm far from certain. The story is being hyped (written???) by Sean-Paul Kelley, aka The Agonist ... the same guy who plagiarized some of his Iraqi war updates from Stratfor’s paid news service. More on that here.
... she's a flight risk is long (and getting longer with every post and comment), but if you really wanna know what it is all about, you kinda need to read it (and the related comments) from the start. A nice evening's reading, if you're interested in that kinda thing.
Links:
... she's a flight risk.
The Agonist
The Agonist: "flight risk" message boards
Wired News story
Weblogs discussing "... she's a flight risk."
Thursday, May 08, 2003
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insomnia-inspired audioblog of snoop dogg's track, beautiful, that i saw on mtv 2 at sometime around 2am
Snoop Dogg: Artist Page
MCA Records
Snoop Shoots 'Beautiful' Video In Rio, Makes TV Plans
MTV
Thursday, May 08, 2003
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Yes, those lying, imperialistic dogs have lied to you again.
They have told you that would would find /error2.php here
but we do not have such a file.
A fun 404 error page is here.
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
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happy, er, loyalty day...
Loyalty Day, 2003
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030430-26.html
... here is some reading material for the celebration:
Patriot Raid
By Jason Halperin, AlterNetApril 29, 2003
Saturday, May 03, 2003
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