by Bob | Oct 31, 2011 | Life notes
(Read with your best Andy Rooney whiny voice): Do you ever wonder why people like to dress up in stupid costumes and have their kids go door to door begging for crap food? Yeah, me too. What’s the deal? OK, maybe I spent 20 years in the theater and the circus and greasing up my face no longer holds an appeal. I understand some people like to play pretend as it lets them get out of the personality box they live in the rest of the year.
But some people take this spooky stuff really seriously.
Yesterday in the check out line of the local grocery store the clerk asked the lady ahead of me if she was going to enjoy Halloween. She said no, she believes in spirits and didn’t want to do anything to encourage them. Come on, people! Is the 2011 or 1211?
Maybe no one will show up at my door if I close the curtains and turn out all the lights and I can eat all the Reese’s peanut butte cups myself while I re-read parts of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (affiliate link).
by Bob | Oct 12, 2011 | Life notes, Local Tech Notes
Update: After several tries I got both my IPhone and IPad working with the new iOS. It appears I was a victim of Apple’s popularity and lack of planning. Their servers were overloaded with people trying to download the new system.
Just because I’m sitting in front of my computer I think it’s good idea to get iOS 5 THE MOMENT it’s released. Dumb. As. A. Brick. Which is what my iPhone is now.
I cannot restore from backup. I cannot upgrade. Apparently the servers are overloaded. So, I am not alone. I am with Stupid.
Here’s hoping they get this sorted out soon. I need to make a phone call.
by Bob | Sep 18, 2011 | Life notes, Local Tech Notes
Nearly 2 years ago I posted a list of some of my favorite podcasts. Reviewing that post I see some have disappeared and some I don’t listen to as regularly as I should. And there a some that I listen to regularly now that are not on the list. I will update my favorites some day soon, but want to mention one I listen to daily (working days): Marketplace Tech Report. It’s a 5 minute or so tech news show with a twist. John Moe and team highlight often under reported but really interesting stories often with a touch of humor.
Last week on Market Place Tech I heard a story about Harvard wanting to borrow your computer to help develop a better solar cell. Remember SETI? I used to run a program on my computers that allowed the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence to use your idle computer cycles to analyze data gathered from space. This project is similar in concept: You download an application that connects to the project’s system, the application downloads raw data, runs through some algorithms and sends the analyzed data back to the mother ship. It’s a neat idea. And while the Tech Report highlighted the Harvard Solar Cell program, it’s really one of several you can participate in through the World Community Grid.
So I’ve signed up and am now allowing my computer to help on projects from alternative energy to curing cancer. Why not? It’s a bit of work to create an account and set it up, but it’s better than having your computer be a slave in a botnet sending out spam, now isn’t it?
by Bob | Sep 8, 2011 | Life notes
Let’s imagine Steve Jobs was in a position to set policy for the government for various programs and one of the programs he had oversight for was the Post Office. Would we be at the position today where the Post Office was on the brink of collapse? No. In fact, 10 years ago he would have been laying the groundwork for eliminating the Post Office altogether. Or at least transforming it in to something else that would by now be unrecognizable as the Post Office we know. At some point he would have come out on stage and said, “Oh and one more thing, Post Post Office.”
I have no idea what that would be. I’m not Steve Jobs. And he’s not in control of any aspect of the government, at least not directly. And if he were, in reality he would not be able to push his new policy/concept through the tangled web of politics. And that’s the problem.
Even if there are people with the vision of Steve Jobs working in the government, or even half the vision of Steve Jobs, they would be frustrated by the inability of our current system to keep up with let alone get ahead the pace of change in science, technology, and economics. There are too many competing interests that slow the pace of government change. This used to be seen as a virtue. The back and forth of politics keeps us from making extreme decisions that can turn out to be wrong.
But deliberateness and consensus building could prove disastrous. Climate change, economic upheaval, these are just two of the biggest problems that require bold and fast action. But few companies can turn visions in to products that work beautifully and make the public happy. And so far, no government has found a form to do the same.
by Bob | Jul 11, 2011 | Life notes, Local Tech Notes, Open Source Web Development, Social Media
Last week I had my 15 seconds of almost fame. I’ve been an Amazon Affiliate for years. When I got m
y email from Amazon that they were closing my account because of the sales tax law passed by California. For some reason my name got passed to a couple journalists as a spokesperson for the 10,000 or so affiliates who had their business shut down without recourse.
So while I was up on a ridge above Loleta watching my daughter rider her mustang I did a phone interview with a writer from SF Weekly. I tried to steer him to someone who had actually made some good money and so had more at stake, but I guess they couldn’t connect.
A couple days later I was interviewed by a reporter from the Eureka Times-Standard. Again, I tried to slough her off to someone else. But she was persistent so there I am again. I guess it shows how easy it is to get noticed using the right keywords in social media posts, especially if the topic is newsy.
Although I hadn’t made much money from my affiliate program, I know others who have made thousands and will now be forced to find alternatives. These folks generate income by adding value floating on top of the Amazon retail river. Since Amazon cut them off, the State of California will not gain any income from their sales tax. In fact, big players in this realm will simply move or move their “official” address to another state, thus reducing the revenue in income tax for the State as well. This is a fine example of unintended consequences of what seems like a sensible action. I understand the State needs revenue, and don’t mind paying sales tax. But this was clearly not the way to go about it.
This actually does hurt me more than I let on as I have been working on a number of personal web projects where the Amazon Affiliate program would have played a part in building sustainable revenue. I guess I will have to rethink that part of my plan. I’ve also been looking longingly at property in the state of Washington.
If you have a story to share about your Amazon Affiliate program, I’d love to read it. Put it in the comments!
by Bob | Jun 11, 2011 | Life notes
Yesterday’s The Writer’s Almanac featured one of my favorite poems of all time: Question, by May Swenson:
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Read or listen to the rest >>
I used to recite the first lines regularly and hearing that poem in my ears as I ran this morning and caught up on some podcasts brought home once again how ephemeral and fleeting experience and life is. I think I will return to reciting that poem or others like it on a daily basis. The regular reminder of death creates a sharpened edge to the day. The knife edge of melancholy and joy in the moment. The beauty of death is the grace it sheds upon the living.
