The Past Catches Up With a Future Superman
Here's a Smallville story from the New York Times.
The New York Times > Arts > Television > The Past Catches Up With a Future Superman
Pawlenty floats drug deal with Indians
An amazing concept that I would have to see to believe. Talk about thinking outside of the box. WOW!
Pawlenty floats drug deal with Indians: "Imagine this: You go to a casino in Minnesota to play the slots and pick up your prescription drugs at the same time.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday that he has had preliminary discussions with leaders of northern Minnesota Indian bands to see if they'd be interested in using their sovereign status to act as wholesalers and distributors of prescription drugs."
Great Esquire article.
Esquire: "
Dear Mr. President, Here's How to...
...Make Sense of Your Second Term, Secure Your Legacy, and, oh yeah, Create a Future Worth Living "
Altered HIV Attacks Mice Tumors
Wired News has a great article about UCLA AIDS Institute using a genetically modified HIV o attack some cancer cells in mice. Defientely worth a look:
Wired News: Altered HIV Attacks Mice Tumors
Web-only album wins Grammy
Minnesota native, Maria Schneider, took home a Grammy Award last night for her album "Concert in the Garden." It is great to see a fellow Minnesotan win an award, but even cooler for the entire venture to be delievered through the web. CNet News has the story: Check it out:
Web-only album wins Grammy CNET News.com: "Jazz composer Maria Schneider took home a Grammy on Sunday for her album 'Concert in the Garden,' without selling a single copy in a record store. "
NewsForge | Dead disk drive? What would Fonzie do?
interesting.
NewsForge | Dead disk drive? What would Fonzie do?: "In the '70s TV show 'Happy Days,' the character Fonzie was so cool that he could make a dead jukebox play just by giving it a thump in the right spot. If Fonzie were working on computers today, he'd probably use some of these
tricks for getting a reluctant hard drive to come across with its data."
NyTimes: 36 Hours: In Minneapolis
Today's New York Times has an article about a weekend visit to Minneapolis. I don't know if it just me or if it is common, but the article sounds less fantastic, but more normal of a visit.
The article does a nice job of highlighting the classics of Minneapolis (Sebatian Joe's, Al's Breakfast, Lake Calhoun, etc). Maybe that is why it isn't special to me, just normal. Hopefully those New Yorkers like and will try a summer visit to Minneapolis AND Saint Paul. I don't hold much hope for most of them to want to try a Minnesota winter quite yet, it is better for them to try a June day first.
Check it out:
The New York Times > Travel > Escapes > 36 Hours: In Minneapolis: "Even today, the words 'Minnesota winter' send, well, shivers, as well they might, with the average temperature last month at around 13 degrees. But in Minneapolis it has all become bearable with the advent of polyester fibers, seven miles of glass-enclosed interlocking skyways that connect downtown buildings and an art and theater scene that doesn't stop percolating just because the ice is two feet thick on the Lake of the Isles, where the former Vice President Walter Mondale can be seen daily walking his dog, come rain or blizzard. The favorite pastime in the Minneapolis winter is to quit your whining and go outside and play. "
Record walleye
check out the lunker!
Read the story from the Star Tribune:
Preist's record walleye has a catch to it
Cops stop U-Haul, bust kegger in back
Kick Butt! Remember kids, do a full vehicle inspection before you hall that couch to you friends place tonight. "Yes Dad." Ok have a good night. "We Will"
Cops stop U-Haul, bust kegger in back: "Police found more than they bargained for when they stopped a U-Haul truck with a burned-out taillight."
BioForge - Biological Innovation for Open Society
This is an interseting site that just caught my attention via a Slashdot posting. BioForge got its name from the Open Source software development site SourceForge. SourceForge helps developers communicate about new projects and help foster a community of developers to share their skills across many projects.
Check out BioForge:
BioForge - Biological Innovation for Open Society
WoW in the NY Times - This one's for you DG!
The New York Times is featuring an artcile on the MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW). Check it out:
The New York Times > World of Warcraft Keeps Growing, Even as Players Test Its Limits: "It was 4:33 p.m. Thursday, and 263,863 people were reaching through cyberspace to explore the sprawling World of Warcraft.
On the windswept plains of the Arathi Highlands, priests and paladins battled creatures of elemental fire and water as they strove to free the spirit of an entrapped princess. To the south, leather workers and alchemists crowded around auctioneers in the bustling underground city Ironforge to hawk their wares while speculators sifted for bargains"
A Glimpse at Google
Here is a great Post story about Google's management styles and what they think their future needs are. You have a better chance at a Google job if you're 1) in Asia 2) want to develop for mobile devices.
Check it out:
Google's Missing Piece (washingtonpost.com): "Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page yesterday offered their most detailed glimpse inside the company's operations since selling shares to the public in August, including the firm's inability to swiftly hire enough computer engineers abroad to foster innovation. "
N. Korea Admits to Nuclear Weapons
Here is an AP story via the Washington Post. This could get interesting.
N. Korea Admits to Nuclear Weapons, Suspends Talks (washingtonpost.com): "North Korea on Thursday announced for the first time that it has nuclear arms and rejected moves to restart disarmament talks anytime soon, saying it needs the weapons as protection against an increasingly hostile United States. "
IBM : PC Business :: Microsoft : OS Business
So there is an analogy that I've been talking about for a while now. It is open PC architecture compared to open software. My hypthosis is that the future of closed software product will loosely follow the path the PC business has followed. If I would have told you in 1988 that IBM would be
out of the PC buiness, you would think I'm crazy, but just last month IBM sold its PC business to a Chinese compnay.
If my analogy is correct then Microsoft will be out of the OS business in 10 -15 years. It is an interesting thought, but one that may not be so crazy.
The cranky user: Performance anxiety
Here is an important sentament that I need answers too. Personally I think Bill Gates is the one that has to answer.
check it out:
The cranky user: Performance anxiety: "Computers are getting faster all the time, or so they tell us. But, in fact, the user experience of performance hasn't improved much over the past 15 years. Peter looks at where all the processor time and memory are going."
The economics of sharing
Check out this insteresting article on sharing from The Economist.
Economist.com | Economics focusTechnology increases the ability of people to share, but will they share more than just technology?
BY NOW, most people who use computers have heard of the “open source” movement, even if they are not sure what it is. It is a way of making software (and increasingly, other things as well), which relies on the individual contributions of thousands of programmers. The resulting programs are owned by no one and are free for all to use. The software is copyrighted only to ensure it remains free to use and enhance. In essence, therefore, open source involves two things: putting spare capacity (geeks' surplus time and skill) into economic production; and sharing.
An apostrophe conundrum
Oh the problems we face!
An apostrophe conundrum
Graduate Cryptographers Unlock Code of 'Thiefproof' Car Key
Very cool nerd-spy type of thing. Thanks to Brent Heeringa for pointing me to this story.
Check it out:
The New York Times > National > Graduate Cryptographers Unlock Code of 'Thiefproof' Car Key: "Matthew Green starts his 2005 Ford Escape with a duplicate key he had made at Lowe's. Nothing unusual about that, except that the automobile industry has spent millions of dollars to keep him from being able to do it."
Cyber warfare: steganography vs. steganalysis
Check this out, it is a very cool technique for hiding data in data, for copyright proctection, spying, et al. A UMM grad at Carnige Mellon U was working on steganography for his disseration. I've only had brief conversations about it, but it is some cool stuff.
Check out the article:
ACM Queue - Cyber warfare: steganography vs. steganalysis - For every clever method and tool being developed to hide information in multimedia data, an equal number of clever methods and tools are being developed to detect and reveal its secrets.: "The rise of the Internet and multimedia techniques in the mid-1990s has prompted increasing interest in hiding data in digital media. Early research concentrated on watermarking to protect copyrighted multimedia products (such as images, audio, video, and text) [1, 8]. Data embedding has also been found to be useful in covert communication, or steganography. The goal was and still is to convey messages under cover, concealing the very existence of information exchange."
Rice in London, Middle East politics
today's Post article about Rice's visit to London to meet with the UK Forigen Minister and the Prime Minister. I've copied the best paragraph from the article here. The classic good-cop-bad-cop routine. Hopefully we can transition to good-cop-good-cop and not the opposite.
Osensibly, the talks with Iran are going well in my eyes. What I'm really looking for is the spark that will send Iranians to the polls. As Barnett indicated in his Esquire article Iran could be the largest ally to the U.S. in the Middle East. Once we get one country to first tone down the rhetoric for Isreali destruction, then recognize Isreal and open formal diplomatic relations the rest of the region will fall into line.
As I see it the biggest problems in Middle East are Saudia Arabia, Syria-Lebanon, Iran. Iran in moving in the right direction. Syria is close to the biggest problem, behind the Palisitians, they cause the most trouble to thier neighbors (just ask Lebanon).
Finally, Saudia Arabia, with a Bush in the White House it gives us the best chance and least likely-hood of real changes coming to their society. The Bush family and the House of Saud could really pass for cousins with how tight they are aligned from GHW Bush and down the line. Saudia Arabia will probably be the last in the region to adopt real reforms to its system. The are proud protectors of the holiest shrines in Islam and want their society to reflect the days of Mohammed with modern conviences.
Check out Dr. Rice's visit to London:
Rice: Attacking Iran Is 'Not on Agenda' (washingtonpost.com): "So far, the United States has been playing the menacing bad cop in the background as the Europeans play good cop in negotiating directly with Tehran. But now the Europeans are pressing Washington to take part in the talks, on the grounds that the essential issue is security in a region where the United States is a major military power."
Actor Ossie Davis Died at Age 87
A recent Kennedy Center honoree and a great actor has died this morning in Maimi.
Actor Ossie Davis Found Dead in Hotel (washingtonpost.com): "Ossie Davis, an actor distinguished for roles dealing with racial injustice on stage, screen and in real life - and perhaps best known as the husband and partner of actress Ruby Dee - has died at the age of 87."
Why Hackers Do What They Do, a research paper
This is a very intereseting paper from tow guys from MIT's Sloan School of Mgmt and Boston Consulting Group. I've only checked out the stats at the back of the paper, but it seems to be very intersting.
Check it out:
Why Hackers Do What They Do (PDF, research paper)
Uranium & North Korea
Here we go, it looks like we may building a case to take down Kim Jong Il. Now it is really hard to argue for Kimmy. If you've read anything about North Korea you know that he is not being very nice to the PDRK.
After reading
Pentagon's New Map I have a greater understanding of how our military force should be used. Now the administration just has to build the case in a more meaningful way. Rather than build it on just the WMD situation, the main reasons should be that he is a bad guy. If Bush can show that, then we can add the WMD facts to say he is a really bad guy selling nuke parts to other bad guys.
Check out the story and see if you agree:
The New York Times > Washington > Tests Said to Tie Deal on Uranium to North Korea: "Scientific tests have led American intelligence agencies and government scientists to conclude with near certainty that North Korea sold processed uranium to Libya, bolstering earlier indications that the reclusive state exported sensitive fuel for atomic weapons, according to officials with access to the intelligence."
Software Freedom Law Center
Via Slashdot: There is a new Open Source service to developers, the Softare Freedom Law Center. The law center will connect open developers and lawyers to assist in legal matters for free.
check it out:
Software Freedom Law Center
see the C|Net news story at:
Lawyers ride shotgun for Open Source.
State Chairs Endorse Dean for DNC Chief
The larger picture on state endorsement for Howard Dean as DNC chair.
Check it out:
State Chairs Endorse Dean for DNC Chief (washingtonpost.com): "Former Vermont governor Howard Dean took control of the race for Democratic National Committee chairman yesterday by easily winning the endorsement of the Association of State Democratic Chairs and later picking up the support of one of his rivals, former Denver mayor Wellington Webb."
Now we're talkin'
MN State DFL'ers (Democrat Farmer-Labor) members are putting their weight be hind Howard Dean to be the new DNC chair. Minnesota has 6 of the 447 votes on the Feb 12 election. Nancy Larson, a DNC voting member said she will vote for Dean because "I appreciate his candor."
Commentary:
If Dean takes this election way from the 'conservative' members of the DNC it will be a big shift in the role of party chairman. Typically the chairman is at most a consensus builder, but the role of chair is more akin to a "managing partner." The chair will help keep all of the state folks informed of the party message from Washington and help keep family problems in the "family."
I support Howard Dean for DNC chair and I think most Democrats would agree. For too long we've been trying to play the Repblican game by their rules. We need create a compling image of Rosevelt's Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
American want to have faith and their leader and believe her when she speaks. If a candidate for office has to convince or tell the American people what 'I ment was..' then she's lost.
Geo. Bush won the 2004 election becuase Americans couldn't convice themselves enough to believe in John Kerry. Many were blinded by hatred for GWB that they would vote for anybody who ran for President. I know becuase that is essentially what I did.
It is time for Dean to pave the way for the new Democrats: Hillary Clinton, Obama, etc cast in the mold of Paul Wellstone and his green bus. Wellstone told Minnesota what he believed in and had a genuine desire to improve the lives of all Minnesotans. If he were alive today he would still be a senator from Minnesota.
Any who, I went a little overboard, check out the Trib story:
DFL leaders back Dean to lead national party: "'I really appreciate his candor,' she said. 'I think the Democratic Party has been too timid and played it too safe, and that hasn't been a winning strategy.'"
