French iTunes Law Passed

Could the passage of this law really change the face of online music for France or anywhere else? With the loophole allowing artists to sign their own deals, I don't think so. Add into this the panel/commission that decides when the law applies... I am very curious to see whether the energetic passing of the law translates into real action on the part of the courts. I don't think it will create the "state-sponsored piracy" that Apple is decrying, but it will perhaps make the digital music distributors rethink their constantly shifting online models.

Green Housing 101

Inhabitat.com is starting a series purporting to explain the in's and out's of green housing and the associated LEED certifications. So far, so good... although I've said it once and I'll say it again: Americans hate public transportation. It's viewed by anyone with a car as lower-class or demeaning, even when it's simply a good idea. There are plenty of other legitimate arguments against it, but I feel like it's this root problem that prevents the other ones from being solved...

United Auto Workers on the right track?

I am encouraged by the UAW president's article about investment in the future in the form of transitional and alternative fuels, as well as mass transportation (this is one of my biggest pet peeves, but I'm not sure how likely this development is...)


perhaps if this massively influential group can guide the bulk of its constituents towards a more intelligent approach of environmentalism and "green" transportation, we are not beyond hope after all?

New Sitcom in the making?

Pretty funny pilot, although I am struck as I realize it's 11:35am and I'm watching internet TV that hasn't even been picked up. I think my lunch-break should probably end *right* now.

Doing More With Less

Amen. This guy pretty much lays it out for us, as far as streamlining our world goes. I'm not sure if I buy into the numbers he throws out there, but the simple fact is that we can see this in every facet of our life. If you try it for just one month, you'd be surprised how much you save in terms of money, refuse, and your own health. The only problem I foresee is that most americans I picture as unable to keep themselves to a schedule, so if they buy the large economy sizes, they'll just eat the whole thing in the same amount of time as they would have eaten the smaller portion. Stupid americans. But those who are able to budget their food intake, it just makes sense to buy in bulk.

What to do about Sustainable Cities?

Urban Ecology has an interesting article about the transition from our current cities into a "green city" scenario, the reasons why we have to do it, and how we might go about it. Very good read, with the discussion following shedding more balanced light onto the idea.

Preach it, beatch!

I am completely torn as to whether this is real or totally put-on. But either way, it's pretty damn funny. "You f***ed up! You know your ass is doomed!"

Dance, Monkey!

Oh yes, you know you like it.

Failed States Index 2006

This is a great in-depth look at the process many of these countries have been going through. Fascinating read.

The Pillow Peace Process

So I guess we're pillow-fighting to "ease tensions" in England, France, and Israel. Good to know. I don't suppose we're going to play tag or musical chairs and somehow figure out how to ease international tensions like, say, suicide bombings and racial cleansing. Although in the grand scheme of things, I've always been a big fan of shoe golf. Perhaps if we could just get world leaders to kick off their shoes and compete in a nonsensical, but very competitive, game then we could distract them from screwing up their respective countries...

Way to go, Mexico!

Well, at first I was amused, but now that I think about it, is that really so far off from what our candidates do? Most specifically avoid the big issues in favor of touting a few  emotionally charged, but generally unimportant issues. Although I do like the fact that at least the Mexican voters are getting into it. I mean, as a for instance, "frustrated voters have lobbed plastic bottles, paper airplanes and inflated condoms at candidates." I would totally throw things at candidates. That way at least we'd have a president with good dodge reflexes...

Millenium Prize

As an audiophile and video geek, I am of course keeping my eye on the HD-DVD vs Blue-Ray developments, which were sparked by the research of Shuji Nakamura. However, the numerous applications of his LED research are alot more wide-spread than I had realized. I, for one, am definitely going to swap over my incandescent bulbs to LEDs...

Rectum? Damn near killed em!

You pretty much just have to see it yourself... am I the only one laughing uproariously at this?

Losing the War on Terror?

Well, it's not like it's never been said before, and now we're simply confirming it.I think one of the most interesting quotes was: "...it's clear to nearly all that Bush and his team have had a totally unrealistic view of what they can accomplish with military force and threats of force."

well put.

I mean, if we continue this war on terror indefnitely, we'll just have two thirds of the world's land-mass in pseudo colonialized american territories, with severe rebel/guerilla insurrection issues. Am I being alarmist or realistic? who knows. But I don't think this direction is one we can allow the administration to pursue any longer. It just doesn't make sense.

Damn those Fat Germans...

Well, here we go again, letting other countries out-do us in things that we really should be the world leaders in. With easily the highest worldwide problem with obesity, it's a 440 lb GERMAN that gets run over by a car and survives only because he's morbidly obese. Come on people, if you're gonna be fat, you might as well utilize it. Where's that good-old American ingenuity? I am seriously disappointed in all of you. Now let's get out there have some creme-pies and a bike ride.

Ancient Greek Planet Calculator

this is another interesting, anecdotal story, specifically about a device that might have been used to calculate planetary data in the first century B.C, but I just really liked the quote that the "jackboot of the Romans came through" and ruined the Greeks' advanced civilization. hah. Stupid romans.

Romane Eunt Dormun?

anybody remember the monty python quote from Life of Brian?

Megacities

I have to admit, I had no idea these cities were so huge. I think alot of my perceptions of the world's cities are probably holdovers from years ago. I don't really think I'm alone here, either. I'd be willing to bet that these problems are pretty serious in alot of other places besides just these massive cities, though. Perhaps some of the success stories could be used here in the US and in places like China...

G8 Summit 2006

I cannot help but be fascinated by the different shades of glass we each see the world through, and none is more interesting to me than the perspective from outside our country. The G8 (Group of 8) Summit is such an under-hyped occurrence in this country, but it seems to me like it should really be one of the most important aspects of global politics. Next year, Russia will be hosting it for the first time since being brought into the fold, post-Cold War. Their G8 member country profiles are fascinating, too, in the manner they summarize each country succinctly as possible.

I think I'm drooling with fascination...

A More Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift would be so proud.

Startups and America

Fascinating read, albeat long. It focuses most apparently on the IT/silicon valley style of startups, but I would assume that there is a large carryover to other kinds of startups, as well.

George W a Sun-Tzu thinker?

hmmmmm

as many are aware, I am not the biggest George Bush fan. However, it is not because of his foreign policy blunders or the Iraq war that I dislike him. This article brings up some very interesting food for thought on the subject of foreign policy and anti-terrorism. For me, the jury is still out on whether this has all been worth it, and probably the answer will be many years in coming. Short, but fascinating read, though. Thoughts?

Universal Software Radio Peripheral aka "Software Defined Radar"

This is such a fascinating project, I don't even know where to begin. It reminds me alot of the kinds of things that were done alot in the earlier days of computing, with guys just throwing together crazy hardware/software hybrids to do the most bizarre things for no other reason than just to see if it could be done. But of course, this has a myriad of applications. Some concerns are cited in the comments below the article, but not the least of which is how this will be treated by the various industrial lobbyists, and in turn, the government's regulatory arm in the form of bans against this sort of "cowboy radio" hijacking or whatever you want to call it. Best part though, is that it doesn't actually break any laws, I don't think, because it doesn't actually capture usable data, it simply takes note of the signal and the physics data associated with the physical signal. For now, anyway... <grin>

Crazy Monkey Pellets!

Well, I would definitely try this if they could promise me one thing: a portable smell-dispenser so that I could pretend I was eating little pellets of General Tso's Chicken. mmmmmmm.... yummy.


Who's with me?

Violence and Videogames

well, here's another one of those ridiculous scenarios where people try to link the two. <sigh>
While we're at it, we should really ban books, TV, public speech, and human interaction. Then we'd be safe for sure!

Top 50 Sustainable Cities

I had no idea that this was even done, but it's a fascinating read. Lots of surprising stuff in there, too. I like that my top four choices of cities to move to are in the top 12 ranking spots. Go northeast!

New Nuke Plants

It's about time.

Energy Self-Sufficient Villages

This recent article in the New York Times brings up a number of key points about alternative energy. One of which is that the finances don't always make sense initially; it's a steep climb requiring significant capital up-front. However, once the technology is developed and implemented in a real-life scenario, the subsequent installations will go much quicker and with less investment required. That's why projects such as this are so important, I think. Let's just hope that the government grants don't evaporate, and the push is constant and consistent until the program yields results.

Qatar moving up in the world?

Not really sure about all this growth down there. Dubai has had incredible growth, but there will have to be alot more substance to these areas if they hope to maintain the growth. They've already started a partial shift in the financial markets due to the move of significant operations to Dubai, but I think you would have to see more development in other areas. They don't have direct manufacturing boons, although they could make a killing in less tangible operations, such as information collection/mining. If they were able to reestablish themselves as a serious economic hub in addition to their tourism, then we could very well see a power shift from europe towards the middle east. Wouldn't it be interesting if we shifted off of the emphasis on oil, only to stumble into dependence on the Middle East for finance, high-tech management, and administration? I mean, it would be hard to find a more centralized place to establish a true center where all the countries of the world could meet. hmmmm.

just thinking out loud...

Actors/Activism

Well, this subject has always been one of my pet peeves, and it was brilliantly regaled in Team America: World Police. However, I'm not opposed to movie stars being activists, I'm just opposed to them imposing unresearched and un-thought out rants against things they know little about. This article on Foreignpolicy.com is a sort of tongue-in-cheek guide to stars on how to use their "star power" to be a good activist... funny, but pretty point-on.

Salacious in the Cretaceous

Ohhh, the Onion. You make me laugh. I mean, "Triceratops and bottoms" and "The extinct sink the pink"? Hilarious.