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I like the idea of creating a map between cyberspace and real-space. I ran into NYC Bloggers, which maps, well, bloggers in New York by their subway stop. That led me to the above site, which takes a more macro scale.
It would be nifty if we could overlay a map showing links between blogs (sort of like you’ll see here) with a map of real-world geography. Who knows what unexpected affinities we’d find.
…I’ve always loved the US. The history, the Federalist Papers, science fiction, Hollywood, quirky independent movies, Central Park, bagels, the familiarity of the Upper West Side, the West Wing, the New York Times on a Sunday, New York, all the more after September 11th, drinking places without carpets, strange food and strange sex, landing men on the moon, digital technology, the nations come together, the scale, the presumption of liberty, the sense of possibility, the eager embrace of the future.
I love it all, and not as a phenomenon to be observed from a distance, or contained within the USA. I want the whole planet, the whole solar system, the whole galaxy, to be full of bustling humanity, and if the price of that is a McDonalds on Pluto, I’ll close my eyes, think of a Tuscan trattoria, and order a Big Mac and fries.
There’s more–go read it–but I really like this. Except that I won’t eat at McDonald’s, and the minor point he seems to miss is that I don’t need to, and neither does he.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) filed the “Content Protection Status Report” with the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, laying out its plan to remake the technology world to suit its own ends. The report calls for regulation of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), generic computing components found in scientific, medical and entertainment devices. Under its proposal, every ADC will be controlled by a “cop-chip” that will shut it down if it is asked to assist in converting copyrighted material — your cellphone would refuse to transmit your voice if you wandered too close to the copyrighted music coming from your stereo.
The report shows that this ADC regulation is part of a larger agenda. The first piece of that agenda, a mandate that would give Hollywood a veto over digital television technology, is weeks away from coming to fruition. Hollywood also proposes a radical redesign of the Internet to assist in controlling the distribution of copyrighted works.
This three-part agenda — controlling digital media devices, controlling analog converters, controlling the Internet — is a frightening peek at Hollywood’s vision of the future.
Just in case there was any doubt left in your mind that these guys are evil.
The town of Art, TX is for sale. Asking price $299,000.
Now, mind you: Art is barely even a wide spot in the road, located midway between Llano and Mason on State Highway 29. I’ve spent the night there, at the guest house attached to the Hoodoo Cafe.
U.S. Protests Mexi-Canadian Overpass. So funny it hurts.
If you’ve ever fought a bad road project yourself, you know what I mean.
The New York Times has a review of the new BMW 745. In addition to pointing out that dealers allow new buyers 3 hours to get acquainted with the car before actually driving it, the reviewer mentions this anecdote:
My beagle, whose job description is “scan roadsides for squirrels,” is in the back, moving from one side window to the other. Each time he shifts, sensors in the seat take note, and the right rear headrest whirrs up as the left one whirrs down. For the next two hours, the headrests dance in tandem, as if trying to provide comfort for restless spirits.
I like high-tech gadgets as much as the next guy, but come on! This is technology run amok.
From the New York Times: A Faulty Rethinking of the 2nd Amendment
There is one striking curiosity to the Bush administration’s advancing its position at this time. Advocates of the individual-right interpretation typically argue that an armed populace is the best defense against the tyranny of our own government. And yet the Bush administration seems quite willing to compromise essential civil liberties in the name of security.
With all the other civil liberties George II (and even moreso, Ashcroft) is keen to delete, he definitely shouldn’t be so gung-ho about leaving guns in the hands of the peasantry.
I love the idea, but I’ve recently learned that the greenhouse gases associated with the manufacture of solar cells are pretty significant. So there’s no easy way out. The Rocky Mountain Institute has long promoted the concept of “negawatts”–that is, making more energy available by not using as much of it in the first place. I think this should be our highest priority.
SonicBlue ordered to track ReplayTV users’ viewing choices
A federal magistrate in Los Angeles has ordered SonicBlue to spy on thousands of digital video recorder users — monitoring every show they record, every commercial they skip and every program they send electronically to a friend.
This is insane.
There was a fascinating article in the Times yesterday, and a real breath of fresh air in all the midst of all the grim news coming out of Israel. “Revenge doesn’t have to be about getting back. Revenge depends on a reversal of power.”