Redefining Spoilers

Warning: This post contains a mild speculative spoiler for the TV show Lost. By "speculative" I mean it isn't a true reveal based on a leaked source, but it turns into a discussion on how a show like Lost may be "redefining" the concept of a spoiler. I think it's relatively tame, but read on at your own risk.

As many of you know, I'm spoiler averse when it comes to TV shows. I don't even watch the "Next week on..." upcoming episode trailers as I feel they give too much away. I can't even count the number of times I've gone running from a room with my ears covered when a commercial for an upcoming episode appears during a sporting event.

This is especially true when it comes to Lost. The show is so deeply layered that part of the fun is putting the pieces together and speculating as to where they are going with it, but actually "knowing" is a whole different story. There was a big controversy last year when the plot twists of the season finale were revealed online prematurely, and it's starting up again with alleged spoilers of this season's finale starting to crop up online as well.

One of my favorite spoiler-free Lost sites recently entered the controversy. Lostpedia is a wiki dedicated exclusively to the characters, episodes, and situations of Lost. An absolutely brilliant idea to help people keep track of the overlaps and connections between characters. It wouldn't make sense to do this for a lot of shows, but with so many overlapping flashbacks, flashforwards, and parallel storylines the site becomes invaluable.

The admins of the site do an excellent job of setting spoiler free ground rules. The actual articles can only include factual accounts of episodes that have aired. Spoilers are relegated to separate "theory" and "discussion" tabs on the Wiki, keeping the articles themselves clean for anyone who wants to catch up and/or refresh their memory.

Of course, with any community driven wiki project the site is primarily self policed. There was a recent situation where one bad apple posted finale spoilers right in the middle of an unrelated article without warning, triggering a big debate on spoilers. I respect the right of a curious public to post and seek out spoilers to their favorite shows, but only if they are in their proper place. Warnings and hidden text ensure people know what they are getting into; an ambush in a site that is supposed to be "clean" is another thing altogether.

On the main page of Lostpedia, they also post Lost-related news articles. Updates on the writers strike, interviews with the cast and creators, a synopsis of the video game, etc. All well and good since the blurbs are pretty neutral and there is a clear warning if the outgoing link to the article may contain spoilers.

Which is why I was slightly annoyed at the most recent article posted to the main page:

(This ends my preamble, and I'm now moving on to the "What is a spoiler?" question promised above. Turn back now if you want to be kept completely pure.)
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Matthew Fox keeps quiet on 'Lost' ending

Matthew Fox has claimed that he is the only actor on Lost to know how the show will end. Fox confirmed the news to the Daily Mirror and revealed that fellow cast members probe him for answers: "Yes, it’s true. They understand I can't talk about it, but sometimes they’ll ask, just hoping I’ll blurt it out."

As I said I truly appreciate the job the Lostpedia folks do in trying to keep a clean environment to the best of their ability. It's a fairly well known fact that the cast doesn't know how the show is going to end. So the reveal that one actor does know begs the question of "Why does he know?," which leads me to believe it must be important to the plot and how he's playing his character NOW to set up how it will end. And since Lost is starting to introduce time travel fairly heavily into the plot, I think I know where this is heading. Awesome, but less awesome than if I were surprised by it.

But is this defined as a "spoiler" by traditional definitions? Not really, but extending the umbrella to include "information not learned from the show itself" would place it in this category. Maybe it's just how my mind works. Technically I suppose the fact that I learned that nobody knows the ending paired with the correction that one actor does is what did me in. But in today's day and age you'd really need a full on media blackout to ensure a totally pure experience. And that would mean turning off the Internet :(

Hopefully I'm wrong and this will be little more than a red herring caused by my overactive synapses. But regardless, it's interesting how a show like Lost can redefine television and redefine the definition of "spoiler" at the same time.

PS: This post is loosely based on a ranty comment I submitted to the Lostpedia Blog shortly after reading the above linked article. The admins seem to have chosen not to publish my comment (probably wise of them in hindsight if what I'm guessing does prove to be spoiler-esque), but I felt it was a thought provoking enough situation to repurpose here.

Pilgrimage

I've just returned from a four-day holiday in the Greater SF Bay area (where fellow TowForm contributor BoRyan was my gracious host), with the pilgrimage-like goal of exploring every rail system found there; a full trip report with all its minutiae is outside the scope of this blog, but within the scope of this blog (with 15 posts tagged 'maps') will be a later post reviewing a few of the many transit maps I collected.

While waiting for that, behold the accompanying two pictures, taken personally by me during side-pilgrimages of this trip. :)

This sounds familiar...

iPhone-A-Friend

n. The act of using a regular cell phone to get information by calling someone who is sitting at a computer and can surf the internet by proxy.

"We are hopelessly lost. I'll just use my iPhone-a-friend and my mom can get us directions from Google Maps."

"When are you going to get a real iPhone, you cheap ass?"

via UrbanDictionary

118.com Ask Us Anything

Yet another iNetNow:

Found this on Wikipedia (via nested tangents, read below for that...also, in the following quote, material between [] is added by this post's author for clarity and amusement):

Since May 2008, 118118 [a British directory assistance provider, coincidentally a subsidiary of InfoNXX] has introduced a service where you are able to call and ask any question you want and their info team will find you the answer. From "How tall is the Eiffel Tower?", to "What Bars are open late at night?"

Sure enough...it is described here:

When it comes to finding numbers, we’re the professionals. But that’s not all we can do for you. We can find as many numbers as you need in one call and we’ll put you straight through if you don’t have a pen. We can even tell you what films are on at your local cinema and give you show times. We can tell you what time your next train leaves or let you know what the nearest tube station to your destination is.
In summary, we can

• give you all the numbers you ask for during any call
• find you the business you want and tell you how close it is
• expertly search for business numbers or addresses even if you only have a small amount of information
• put you straight through to the number you want
• tell you what’s on and locate your cinema, give you the times and even tell you who’s in each movie
• give you departure and arrival times from the national train timetable
• tell you the nearest train or tube station to your destination
• give you directions over the phone to wherever you need to go

And if you call us from a mobile, we’ll always text you the numbers you need and for free, so there’s no extra charge and you don’t have the usual scramble for a pen and paper.
It’s no wonder we’re the most called number in the UK every day.

I wish them well. I like this idea wherever it appears, which is why I enjoy AskMeNow, and mourn iNetNow and Voce.

For your amusement (perhaps I should make this a separate post) I found all this through one of my famous mental/wikipedia nested tangents:

• I was listening to the first track of Vico C's Vivo, which begins with appears to be a short sample of the same song as used as the background music of the commercial I'd previously known as 'that Honda Rube Goldberg commercial'.
• I suddenly wanted to watch this commecial, since I never get tired of it, so I googled 'honda rube goldberg', and found it has a Wikipedia article, where I found out:
• Its name is 'Cog';
• That song is "Rapper's delight" by The Sugarhill Gang
• It's inspired or been spoofed by other commercials, including one for 118118.
• Naturally, I went to the Wikipedia article for 118118, where I found out about Ask Us Anything.

I should put a dummy entry in my HOSTS file for en.wikipedia.org so I get work done.

McCainpedia

Democrats Launch McCainpedia

Politically I think this is slightly dirty but necessary.

Comedically I think it's hilarious, and the irony that the Democrats are taking the democracy out of the wiki only makes it funnier.

The web connoisseur in me says either call it something else, or make it a standard, fully editable wiki with a slightly stronger registration policy in place and zero tolerance to ban users by IP who vandalize or violate terms.

And while you're at it, do one for Hilary and Obama too that can be cross linked between parties and issues. Equal time for the 21st Century, and let the smart mobs shake out the true facts.

McCainpedia

PS: For the record, I predict someone will put up equivalents for the Democratic candidates by the weekend.

How Apple is changing DRM

Cool article on how the insistence on DRM by record labels drove Apple to dominance, and how Apple might change the rules to stay on top now that the labels are leaning towards no DRM.

How Apple is changing DRM

Location-based services may be coming to an iPhone near you

There is a lot of independent evidence circulating that the 3G iPhone,
rumored to be coming this June, will include and take advantage of a
lot of location based services. One service already out there but in
beta is BrightKite. Seems to be a robust form of the old AT&T friend
finder. The whole idea of a location aware, truly web connected device
opens up some enormous possibilities. Location based
Google AdSense anyone?

[Via Ars Technica]

True Fans

Neat article on the secret to thriving as an independent artist.

1000 True Fans

Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to escape the long tail?

One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

Adventures in Public Transportation

We went to see Mason Jennings play in Santa Monica last night. (Actually at Barnum Hall on the Santa Monica High School campus...odd venue.) Since my wife works in Westwood and we live on the east side, it made more sense for me to take the bus to her office than to go crosstown in two cars.

I know that public transportation in LA (especially the bus) has a bad reputation, but I was pleasantly surprised. Got on at Vermont & Sunset and arrived in front of UCLA 55 minutes later. The bus has a tv screen showing news, trivia, games, and ads. There's also a map (powered by MSN) with GPS that always shows you where you are and announces the next stops. It was on time and relatively clean, though the comfort of the seats left a little to be desired. Riders were mostly students, though that probably had more to do with the route and the time of day (I rode at 4:30pm).

The trip planner on the website was also relatively impressive. Granted it could have a little better error correction and navigation, but not having to enter a city and using a / between intersections is pretty brilliant. I'm surprised the mapping engines haven't picked this up as the standard instead of fumbling around with thethe mishmash of &/and/+ that they always have. Also surprised we didn't pick this up for the surfboard, as for me it's much more fast and natural to type a / without looking than & or +.

International Harassment, or Why AT&T Still Puts $$$ Ahead of Customer Service

Warning: Rant ahead...

Woke up at 6:30 this morning to a call on my cell. It was too early, so I let it go. Immediately rang again, but had stopped by the time I got to the phone. Immediately rang again in my hand. I noticed an unfamiliar 503 area code. Though normally I let numbers I don't know go to voicemail, I figured three in a row might be an emergency so I picked up anyways. The caller said something in Spanish. I said "wrong number" and hung up.

Mildly annoyed at the early hour, I figured I could still salvage some sleep. Seconds later it rang again. "Numero incorrecto. No hablo español" I barked in elementary Spanish that I hoped was pretty close to accurate. 10 seconds later it rang again.

Now both angry and intrigued, I got up and Googled the area code. Portland, OR.

I tried Googling the full number to get a name to go with my prank caller, at which point I realized something was odd. The number had too many digits. It wasn't Portland. It was an international call from El Salvador!

After a total of 7 calls between 6:32 and 6:35 (2 answered, 3 ignored, 2 sent to voicemail with a minute plus of silence and background noise as the message) it finally stopped and I went back to bed.

It started up again at 8:02am with 9 in a row, a short break, then 15 more between 8:25 and 8:50. These again had a mix of long blank voicemails, hangups, and long pleas to leave me alone obtained via Google Language Tools.

I thought I finally got through to them with the phrase: "Si usted llamar a este número de nuevo, estoy llamando a la policía. ¿Entiendes?" (which translates to "If you call this number again, I am calling the police. Do you understand?"). Nope. 13 more from 10:11 to 10:13. 1 more at 11:06. 8 more from 1:46 to 1:49.

When the phone rang at 1:59 I answered it ready to explode, but it was my sister asking if I knew anyone who wanted her extra Red Sox tickets. The text message to my Boston friends was only half composed when another call came in. I repeated my Spanish phrase about calling the police from memory before the caller started laughing at me.

Ready to jump out a window, I finally decided to call AT&T and have them block the incoming number for me via the switch. We used to have to call Cingular/AT&T and other carrier partners to have this performed quite a bit at Voce. It usually required a trouble ticket with a 24 hour turnaround time and tier 2 assistance, but it was definitely doable. At the rate this was going I'd be able to deal with the possibility of a long turnaround time if I knew an end was near.

After navigating an overcomplicated phone tree and waiting on hold for slightly less than I anticipated I was connected to Christina. I explained my tale to her and asked if she could have the number blocked; she said she'd certainly figure something out and diligently started her research. After a few minutes I decided to reveal that I used to work for an AT&T MVNO and it was fairly standard to do this via tier 2 but it wasn't a function of the Telegence system. She said she was reading something about it but thought they might not have that ability anymore.

A few more minutes went by and a brief time on hold, after which Christina came back and told me it was not possible to have it blocked on the switch, but I could subscribe to a new Smart Limits parental control product they had that would allow me to restrict incoming calls. Her suggestion was to activate Smart Limits for the number in question, but only for a couple weeks hoping they'd get the idea and/or get bored of pranking me. I said that would work for me so long as she could credit my bill for the prorated $4.99 for the new feature, deciding not to point out that the existence of this feature contradicts the "it's impossible to block a number" statement, instead changing it to "It's impossible to block a number for free."

She said that wasn't within her authority, but she'd ask a manager and under the circumstances it would probably be possible. After a brief stint on hold she came back to tell me unfortunately the fee couldn't be waived since I do have the free option of ignoring the call, thus it wouldn't be reasonable to provide me the credit. Personally I could care less about the 5 bucks (actually more like $2 if I only kept the feature for 10 days), but on principal I wasn't going to budge. Also, ignoring the calls wasn't really a "Free" option, as AT&T dings you for airtime whenever you check your voicemail. She agreed and went back to the manager...and was promptly shot down again. This time I was told that the option was free since I could check my voicemail from a landline free of charge (even though I don't have a landline), and thus policy couldn't be broken in this case. (In full disclosure, I also thought that I was docked minutes when a call was sent to voicemail even if I didn't answer, but she corrected me that this is only true when roaming internationally, not domestically.)

I told Christina that I appreciated her help and knew she was just doing her job, but found it ridiculous that AT&T cared more about making $5 then helping out a loyal customer with perfect payment history and no complaints on an overpriced plan. She asked me if I was asked to take a survey would I say she solved my problem; I told her I'd say she was excellent but her employer was questionable as usual.

I understand policies exist for a reason. And I know that a good number of customers will try to game them anytime they can. If I had a recurrent prank calling problem involving multiple numbers or if I was complaining about a stalker or a jilted ex who wouldn't stop bothering me I can see the company holding firm to a degree. But there is gray area in everything, and each example should be viewed on a case by case basis. 60 calls from the same international number in 6+ hours sounds like extenuating circumstances, and you won't waive less than five damn dollars off of someone's bill one time for them to try out a brand new cash cow of a feature for 2 weeks? You've got to be kidding me.

PS: Ironically, it's now 3:30 and I haven't received a call from the bad number in over 90 minutes. Maybe Christina did block it for me afterall...

PPS: Why am I protecting the identity of a foreign prank caller? The number in question is 50379118478

PPPS: Looking at my AT&T account and looking at my live bill, it's dropping the last digit from the number to make it appear to be domestic. Ironically enough, in this configuration it's also labeled as a free Mobile to Mobile call :)

PPPPS: And yes, I do feel better after writing this.

[END RANT]

Trapped In An Elevator

Not meaning to go blog crazy, just finding a plethora of cool stuff.

Check out this time-lapse security camera video of a guy trapped in an elevator for 41 hours. Keep your eye on the box at the upper right.

TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR

I love the very end when they presumably put up an "Out of Order" sign.

Shoeless

Fascinating NPR story on the conspiracy of footwear, and why we don't need it.

Feet Hurt? Stop Wearing Shoes

Most interesting bit of trivia:

"In the Middle Ages, people began wearing shoes with higher heels to avoid stepping in other people's excrement. Today, high heels are considered sexy."

Full, multipage version of the article here:

How We're Wrecking Our Feet With Every Step We Take

Roll Your Own CNN Shirt

CNN.com has this weird new store where you can order a t-shirt with a news headline on it.

SvN points out that you can screw with the URL to make it say whatever you want it to say. So...


Anyone remember which website we used to be able to do that with? Was it Pronto, or maybe Lycos411?

My first (clumsy) Apple Store purchase: Airport Extreme (N)

While most readers will know that I am far from being a MacOS convert (though I do appreciate the fact that MacOS X is now Unix-like, as opposed to proprietary previous versions), I do actually own Apple products:

An older (B/G) Airport Express, which I originally bought (not at an Apple Store, but [I think] at Fry's) because I'd read it could extend my Linksys-powered home wireless network, but then saw extensive use with AirTunes first by the developers at Voce, then by me at home;

An iPod shuffle, given to all Voce employees at Christmas 2006, which saw heavy use as my PMP until succeeded by my BlackJack II (see my previous post).

However mildly unenthused I may otherwise be about Apple, kudos to them for one of the least expensive and most user-friendly implementations of 802.11n, namely the latest generation of Airport.

As my first step into the 802.11n world, I went on April 5 to my local Apple Store and got an Airport Extreme (N) and another (newer) Airport Express (N).

First, for your amusement, a description of this first-ever visit to an Apple Store (I'd walked by, of course, making various gestures): I'd read the reviews and made my mind up, so I just had to pick up one of each and pay. Due to the well-laid-out store, the former was easy. The latter is where I came out as a clumsy Apple newbie. I looked this way and that for the cashiers. After two full rotations, a salesperson came over and asked if I needed help. 'Yes, where is the checkout, please?' 'Here on my belt!' and produced a small hand-held touch-screen POS. I didn't examine it too closely, but it was clearly neither an iPhone nor an iPod touch. It would be sweet irony if it were a Windows-Mobile-powered Pocket PC. 'Would you like your receipt printed, or emailed, or both?' 'Both please, apple(at)chuljin.com.' At first, the same blank stare as when Borders cashiers look up my Borders Rewards account by its email address borders[at]chuljin.com. Catch-all email isn't quite catching on, pun intended. Finally, I couldn't figure out how to carry the bag. Once I did, I thought it was a really cool bag.

Now the reviews:

Airport Extreme: Setting this up was simplicity itself. It was never going to be my main router (nor indeed even route); I was going to just use it as an ethernet switch and 802.11n(-only) access point. The configuration wizard had a 'path' for precisely this need. I soon added a USB hard drive, which it also then quickly and easily (but securely) shared out. Fortunately, it exposes any drive[s] as Samba shares, so you don't even have to have the Airport software installed to use them (but if you do have it installed, it thoughtfully automatically maps them for you).

Airport Express: Since I didn't have anything else supporting 802.11n (though I'll soon upgrade the internal cards in my laptops), and I didn't want the Extreme to be like the first person who had a telephone, I also got an Express. This is where the wheels came off (a little). I configured it to join the Extreme's new N-only network, and after it updated and rebooted, it had the happy green light, but could be seen by neither the configuration utility nor AirTunes on computers on the separate (but all-bridged-together) G network unless the Extreme was in N(G-compatible) mode. But I wanted the Extreme on 5Ghz (N5 or N[A-compatible]) mode (to take advantage of the less-crowded new airspace), so I gave up and joined it to my existing Linksys-powered G network. Otherwise, it works great, just like my Express 'G' I know and love. It even accounts for latency, it seems: I tried sending audio from iTunes (via 'Multiple Speakers') to the new Express, connected to my stereo, the old Express, connected to a pair of computer speakers, and my laptop's internal speakers, and the audio at all three was in lock-step. Whole-house audio, anyone? I admit a little disappointment at the N-vanishing issue, but still, it's a killer product, with a new feature I might eventually use, for no more than the original cost.

I recommend them both.

Samsung BlackJack II, and a related mild indictment of AskMeNow

When, for reasons well-known to some readers of this blog, I suddenly needed to find a new mobile carrier on February 1, I decided to return to the AT&T fold.

Because, from their point of view, it would be a new contract, I was entitled to new-customer pricing on devices, so I decided to rediscover my madness for Windows Mobile with a Samsung BlackJack II, which I quite recommend unless one has a need for an esoteric feature it doesn't have.
For me, the coolest feature was the built-in GPS, which works out of the box with (for example) Google Maps Mobile. Since I was actually more interested in more technical GPS information than moving maps, I soon installed GPS Skinner, and later gpsVP. The GPS feature has now become just about my favorite toy ever.

How does this relate to AskMeNow?
Early in my GPS experience, I was motionless in downtown LA and one or the other of those applications reported my altitude at several hundred feet, which seemed high to me (in retrospect, I think because it hadn't fully triangulated).
I decided, instead of Googling, to Ask AskMeNow Now.
Me to AskMeNow, 3/11 5:54pm: 'What is the altitude of Los Angeles?'
Me to AskMeNow, 3/11 6:47pm: 'What is the altitude of Los Angeles?'
I guess their NLP didn't get the point. I almost repeated it, prefaced with 'Cmon, this is easy, ', but waited until:
Me to AskMeNow, 3/12 3:26pm: 'What is the altitude of Los Angeles?'
And at last, AskMeNow to Me, 3/12 3:29pm:
Los Angeles, CA
Elevation: 5ft/1m
73.1 ?F / 22.8 ?C
Clear
...and that seems a bit low (but probably is just the minimum altitude for LA, which is horizontally huge), but the mild indictment is that it took three questions over two days to get the answer.
I suspect some sort of AI fields easy obvious questions, sending the others to humans (cf. Pronto and iNetNow), and this happened to all three questions, the first two getting lost in the 'human queue'. AskMeNow, GetTheAnswerLaterIfAtAll. I *love* automation, but some things just need a human touch.

Crawling The 'Deep' Web

Interesting and valuable, though I'm surprised it took someone this long to try...

Google Spiders to Start Crawling The 'Deep' Web

For text boxes, our computers automatically choose words from the site that has the form; for select menus, check boxes, and radio buttons on the form, we choose from among the values of the HTML. Having chosen the values for each input, we generate and then try to crawl URLs that correspond to a possible query a user may have made.

Single Click Directions

Never thought I'd be giving Microsoft kudos for a mapping feature (I've been a little resentful since they killed Line-Drive directions when they bought MapBlast), but here's something so obvious it's brilliant:

One-Click Directions to a business from common starting freeways and/or cardinal directions.


The ending text of "This is the last intersection, and this next one is too far" is also a nice touch.

(It still has that impersonal Microsoft feel to it though. I mean, have you ever heard anyone call it the Rosa Parks freeway in real life?)

How long until Google and Yahoo copy this? I say before May 1 for Google. Yahoo is a tough call; they keep saying they don't need Microsoft in these merger talks, making it a slippery slope to steal the feature.

Disagreement Hierarchy

How to Disagree

DH0. Name-calling.
DH1. Ad Hominem.
DH3. Contradiction.
DH4. Counterargument.
DH5. Refutation.
DH6. Refuting the Central Point.

via SvN

Burn the Rope!

Awesome videogame. The song after you win is the most rewarding game ending I've ever seen.

You Have To Burn The Rope

South Park Kills Off the Top 10 Youtube Videos

ATA Bankruptcy

I found the contrast between the celebratory anniversary banner at the top of the website and the content immediately beneath it to be quite amusing:

ATA Airlines Discontinues All Operations

ChaCha Adds Call In Service

ChaCha looks to be going Pronto on us...

ChaCha lets you, literally, ask a question

To use the new service you can call 800-224-2242 (which spells "chacha") and specify the information you want to an automated attendant. ChaCha then sends you a text message with the answer. You can access your questions and answers on the Web as well.

I tried it out and found it accurate and fast. Within a few minutes of me asking where I could get a veggie burger and a margarita in downtown San Francisco it came back with an answer: Perry's Downtown, 185 Sutter Street "They have a full bar, it's casual and good ratings." Bravo!

Gmail Custom Time

The annual event continues, this time with time travel (sort of...)

Gmail Custom Time

(courtesy of Chris)

Update: Google seems to have gone wild this year with the April Fools magic.

Mozilla Turns 10

Red letter date in the history of the Internet today:

The Worst Swear Word

Why Kids Curse

Max asked in a hushed voice: "Dad, do you know what the worst swear word of all is?"

His son then went on to explain that "damn" must be the worst. When Bloom asked why, his son said, "I listen to my babysitter talk on the phone, and she uses the 'f' word, and the 's' word, but she never says 'damn!'"

6.7

Stumbled onto our rating at blogged.com tonight:



All things considered it's not too shabby. It says the rating calculation judges:

Editor reviews are provided by professional editors who evaluate a blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style.

Wonder which ones we got marked down for... :)

Political Genealogy

Totally random news story:

Study finds Clinton related to Jolie and Obama to Pitt

Best part was the disclaimer at the end:

Having famous cousins makes for interesting conversation but it "should not influence voters."

TextOnPhone

Found this neat little iPhone/iPodTouch eBook reader called TextOnPhone. Over 25,000 books, including a decent catalog of recents and classics, all for free.

They also have a Facebook App that emulates the iPhone experience on a desktop.

Thorough video review here showing off some slick features:



Shameless plug: Guess which recent novel is included?

Book Autopsies

Super cool...

Dettmer: Book Autopsies

via SvN

Sox May Boycott Japan

Interesting standoff going on down in Florida right now. The Red Sox are threatening to boycott their season opener in Japan and not board their plane this evening upon finding out that the coaching staff will not be receiving a $40,000 travel stipend as previously promised by Major League Baseball.

More details:

Boston.com

ESPN.com

Gotta love and respect the players standing up for the coaches like this.

Robot Dog

via SvN

Jury Recap

I had planned a post at the conclusion of my epic 6 week jury duty, but then got so caught up in getting Timely Persuasion out the door that I never got around to it. Thought about scrapping it altogether since so much time had passed, but since I still get asked about it quite a bit I figured it was still worth blogging about for the record.

I'll try to keep this somewhat abbreviated, but here we go:

I served as a juror on a toxic tort case for 6 weeks from January 2 through February 21. Plaintiff was a Caltrans worker who used to spray herbicides on the sides of the freeways. He did this in various capacities from the early 70s through the early 00s. One of the pesticides he used in the 70s was called Paraquat, which at the time was sold by Chevron. The man went on to develop pulmonary fibrosis and subsequently died, so his family was suing Chevron claiming that Paraquat caused his illness and death.

During the trial it came out that this was a retrial, though we weren't privy to what happened the first time around. We were also barred by court order from discussing the case or doing any online research about things related to it. This drove me crazy as you can imagine, but I was a good citizen and upheld my civic duty for the long duration. (The night the trial ended I'm surprised I didn't manage to single-handedly crash a Google server with all of my pent up questions, but we'll get to that in a bit...)

Complicating matters, the plaintiff also had some other medical conditions that may or may not have played a role in his fibrosis, primarily something called GERD. This causes excessive heartburn and acid in the esophagus, which can theoretically lead to one inhaling small amounts of gastric juices and developing pulmonary fibrosis.

Further complicating matters, the plaintiff sprayed Paraquat from about 1972-1979, then never used it again because the EPA made it a restricted use pesticide that required special training and licensing, so Caltrans decided to stop using it. He was perfectly healthy until at least 1987 and possibly 1997 (different experts interpreted his medical records differently) before developing the disease. The evidence showed that Paraquat is very toxic, but it tends to kill you quick or not at all. Linking this 15-25 year delay to the disease was the key question for us in the jury room.

We were nearly hung after several days of deliberation, mainly due to the fact that a lot of the documents referenced in the case were not "in evidence" so we weren't allowed to see them, and partly due to some confusion over jury instructions on how to answer certain questions if the answer was "the evidence did not prove it." In the end we had a 9-3 verdict for the defendant. Everyone was in agreement that there wasn't any evidence to support Paraquat as the cause, though the 3 on the plaintiff's side were basing their vote on reasons why the evidence may not exist. I fully understand and appreciate their positions and if I could find anyway to vote that way myself I would have, but playing by the rules and relying on the facts I just couldn't make that leap. (Personally, I do feel that Paraquat is bad and should probably be further restricted or outright banned both from what I heard at the trial and things I found out on my own afterwards. But even with that hindsight, I still don't think Paraquat had anything to do with the death in this particular case.)

At this point, it'll probably be helpful for me to introduce the cast of characters via the power of the Internet (thus keeping this post somewhat on topic for the theme of our blog...). As a disclaimer before I start, keep in mind that the following analysis is just my opinion (and sometimes the opinions of my fellow jurors) based on our experience listening to these people firsthand or discussing it privately in the jury room after the fact. It should not be held up as "fact," only personal impressions based on a limited window of exposure. Had the same cast of characters been involved in a different case with different facts or different evidence, the opinions reached may have been different. Also note that I didn't view or even know of the existence of any of these websites until after the conclusion of the trial.

With that out of the way:

The Lawyers

Raphael Metzger - www.toxictorts.com
Co-counsel for the plaintiff who tried a small portion of the case, though it seemed to come out during the trial that he was the primary attorney the first time around. The main point he was trying to get across in his questioning was that nobody knows if Paraquat can't cause fibrosis after such a long delay because nobody has ever done a study to investigate it. I agreed with that logic and that fact, but he also wanted us to then go in the opposite direction and say "because a study hasn't dis-proven it then it must be true" which I had trouble buying. Can't have it both ways.

He was also the source of some unintentional comedy throughout the trial when his wife would loudly whisper questions for him to ask, pass him notes, or otherwise interrupt when he was speaking. Probably well intended, but as I told his partner when the trial was over it was extremely distracting and seemed to undermine his credibility. A few of us even saw the Court TV guy rolling his eyes and smirking while this was going on. The benefit of the doubt side of me wants to say this was part of an act to play up the "David vs. Goliath" analogy of a worker vs. a big corporation, but I can't quite convince myself of that.

One last note on Metzger: For whatever reason I got a strong ambulance chaser vibe off of him during the trial, and when I was finally allowed to Google and looked at his website it seemed to confirm my hunch in both the chosen URL and the content. Oh my...

Allen Stewart - www.allenstewart.com
Co-counsel for the plaintiff who tried the majority of the case for that side. Website is a heck of a lot classier, though the audiovisuals at the top are a little over the top, especially since I can't figure out how to turn off the sound.

Website aside, this guy was just a dynamite lawyer. Passionate, energetic, smart, personable (with a little bit of a forgivable Eddie Haskell streak), and a heck of a lot of fun to watch in action. A lot of times (especially in his closing argument) he almost had me revved up and swayed onto his side, but when I took a step back and saw it was all heart and no substance logic prevailed.

I would love to see what Stewart could do in a case where the evidence even slightly leaned towards his side, and if I or anyone I know is ever in the unfortunate position of having a legitimate toxic tort claim I'd recommend him in a heartbeat. Only criticism I have is that he always made a big deal about how much money expert witnesses were being paid for their testimony, when from my perspective this was a little hypocritical since he came across as a hired gun for the retrial and was probably earning a comparable if not greater fee for his expert lawyering.

Lawrence Riff - www.steptoe.com
Primary counsel for the defense; tried virtually the whole case by himself. Another great lawyer. Seemed like a respectable, stand-up guy throughout. He was big on facts and getting the science explained which was helpful to the jury. Putting him head to head with Stewart was interesting, as it played up the "Lost" themes of man of science vs. man of faith. Similar to what I said about Stewart, I'd be very interested to see what Riff would do in a case where the evidence wasn't in his favor. Would he still be a likable, stand-up guy, or would he play dirty and give me a different opinion? I'll probably never know.

I can't really comment too much on his website since it's the site for his corporate firm and not him as an individual, but I do really like his little essay on defending toxic tort cases toward the end of the page. Going with my concern on what he'd do in a different case, reading this after the fact put me at ease that my perception was the real deal and I hadn't been conned or taken.


The Experts

Dr. Ronald Crystal
Plaintiff's expert. Brilliant man. Likable and well spoken. Comes across as a touch arrogant at times since he was so confident and self assured in his opinions. Only problem was he didn't really back up any of his testimony with evidence or studies, though this may not have been his fault as most of the studies referenced were not admitted into evidence by the judge anyways.

Robert Wabeke
Plaintiff's expert. One of the few things the jury unanimously agreed on was that this guy was a terrible witness. There were at least three different times where Stewart asked him a softball of a question and he answered in the opposite as to how you expected, which led to "Are you sure about that? Let me repeat the question.." after which he'd quickly change course. It was almost like he was caught not paying attention while in the witness chair.

One other note: His email address starting with "chemriskman" reminds me of that infamous guy who applied for a job at iNetNow and had "smack-a-ho@hotmail.com" as his email address ON HIS RESUME! Fastest way to look unprofessional...

Dr. Talmadge King
Defense expert. I liked this guy, but a lot of the jurors thought he crumbled under cross examination. I agree he was less elegant under cross, but my interpretation was he was being asked vague questions and being forced into an "only answer yes or no" game that he just didn't want to play.

I found it interesting how it came out during witness questioning that many of the witnesses and lawyers have crossed paths before in previous cases. Made me wonder why they didn't anticipate some of the questions/tactics that would be used on them and take the time to anticipate how to answer them. You'd think it would be more of a chess match and less "I don't recall."

David Garabrant
Defense expert. Another really smart guy. The jury put him toe to toe against Crystal and they came out more or less at a draw, putting enough doubt in each others opinions in an "agree to disagree" sort of way. Unlike King, he came out swinging in cross examination with a stern yet professional push to give full answers that went over fairly well.

Dr. Carlos Pellegrini
Defense expert, and primary proponent of the GERD/Fibrosis connection and theory. What I liked most about this guy was that he was honest enough to say "My theory has not been proven to scientific certainty. Everyone agrees there is something there and it warrants more research. Some support it, some don't. But I believe it, and I'm going to prove it one day." This was quite refreshing after so many other witnesses on both sides would say "I'm right, everyone else is wrong" to have someone give an honest answer that acknowledges the gray area.

The plaintiff's lawyers worked so hard during the trial to write off this GERD theory as made up pseudo-science that it became an important part of the case. In the end a number of us felt that we were being asked to choose one unproven theory (GERD + Aspiration = Pulmonary Fibrosis) vs. another unproven theory (Paraquat + a long, slow smoldering effect on the lung = Pulmonary Fibrosis decades later). Given that choice, the only viable answer was "not enough info on either, could be one or the other, not proven either way."

Final Footnote

After everything was over and I started Googling in full force, I looked up the old trial online. You can do so here, using case number BC256293. (Sorry; won't let me deep link)

I about fell out of my chair when I saw that the first time around the plaintiff sued over 40 different companies, seemingly Caltrans and the manufacturer of every chemical they ever used. It also appears that everyone settled out of court except for Chevron. Finding this both solidified my feeling that we reached the right verdict, and made me lose a little faith in our legal system that such a blatant abuse of the system would be allowed to occur. At least it answered one pressing question I and several other jurors had during the trial: Why aren't they suing Caltrans, as it would have been a slam dunk.

Thus concludes the short version of my experience and the longest ever Towform post. Remember, it's just one man's opinion and thought process during and after his jury service. Happy to answer questions in the comments if any.

Daylight Savings Time: Why?

Almost time for my favorite rant again. But this time there's something new to contribute:

Study: Daylight Saving Time actually raises utility bills

...While lighting bills were reduced, air-conditioning units had to run more often, because people were home on hot afternoons when they'd otherwise be still at the office. Heaters had to be run on cool mornings, too, when people got up and it was still dark outside.

You also have to love the bold statement contained in this quote:

Professor Matthew Kotchen, who pioneered the study, noted, "I've never had a paper with such a clear and unambiguous finding as this."

I'm all for killing DST, as it makes for a tidy end to my pet peeve. But that would mean 2 less Towform posts per year...

1000 Hours

Ever wonder what would happen if you ran your iPhone stopwatch for 41 days and almost 16 hours?

Travel Supplies for Time Travelers

I was at a dinner last night, and a fellow mentioned that he'd been in Echo Park a few weeks ago where there was a new "time travel" store.

I then randomly came across this posting on Gizmodo. I believe they are one and the same:

http://gizmodo.com/362641/eco-park-time-travel-mart-whenever-you-are-were-already-then

My favorite item was the Time-Freezy Hyper Slush.

Not an Employee

I saw this site and virtually swooned. I'm going to hang their manifesto on my wall. Considering the title of our blog, I know you all will appreciate....

"We’ve escaped.

Escaped the office, the factory, the regimen, the rat race, the vultures and that goddamned rock.

And all the more, we collaborate.

Independent, but never alone."

Web 2.0 vs. Web 1.0

"Please go to the following URL..."

7 Things you don’t see in Web 2.0 from Web 1.0

Why can't Apple and Microsoft play nice?

Having issues with iWeb formatting text that had me up most of last night:



Took me 90 minutes to figure out that it wasn't playing nice with copy/pasted text from MS Word (even if reformatted in iWeb). Probably a better way to work around this, but best fix I've come up with is copying, pasting into TextEdit, recopying to convert to plain text, re-pasting into iWeb, and reformatting. Not sure who's fault it is (Microsoft, Apple, or mine), but it sucks when I thought I was done and now having to reformat 70+ pages. Guess it's time for me to really learn how to code...

(I do find it hilarious in a painfully ironic way that Google's contextual ads look at this mess and decide to offer up "Download Adobe Acrobat 8")

Gmail - Live!

I especially love the mouse pointer on a stick...

1.1.4 & Starbucks Connection

Apple just dropped iPhone 1.1.4 moments ago; I'm upgrading as I type this.

Also, another story is floating around that Starbucks is closing all of their stores tonight at 5:30pm local time for a special 3 hour employee training session. Coincidence?

Coffee chain to close all 7,100 stores for employee training.

One BILLION Dollars

Analysts at Marketwatch speculate Apple is losing buckets of money due to iPhone unlocking:

Sacconaghi estimated that between 25% and 30% of the more than 4 million iPhone units already sold have been unlocked to work on other wireless networks, and that each unlocked iPhone results in Apple's missing out on $370 in earnings over the phone's two-year contract period. If Apple were to hit its 10 million-unit sales target, the unlocked devices would cause the company to forgo between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion over two years, he said.

But a blogger at CNET.com disputes the math with much aplomb:

Which is why -- and, jeez, how many times does the Macalope have to say this? -- it makes absolutely no sense to say that Apple is losing this money. If these phones are in countries where Apple has no contract, the only thing you can say is that Apple should get an exclusive contract there faster (easier said than done). If they're being used by people who just don't like the exclusive provider Apple's signed with, then these are people they'll never get anyway.

(Quick little postscript: I'd never noticed the "live updating" stock quotes inside a story at MarketWatch before. Pretty slick.)

Make My Logo Bigger!

This video is just too good for words.



Make My Logo Bigger Cream

Yahoo vs. Google: The Class Struggle

I can't really get my head around "why" this would be so, but it is somewhat interesting.

Poor People Use Yahoo, Those Better Off Use Google

Final Draft + Google Docs = ?

Interesting twist on Web-based word processors, intended for collaborative screenwriting.

Final Draft + Google Docs = PlotBot

(via Webware)

VD

It's that time of year...


Be My Anti-Valentine

Danger Dogs

Interesting (and entertaining) LA Weekly article on street vendors, guilty pleasures, and governmental double-standards.

THE BACON-WRAPPED HOT DOG: SO GOOD IT'S ILLEGAL

Be sure not to skip the comments. My favorite:

In Germany you can get grilled hot dogs at every hot dog stand and at many corners from carts. Especially in Berlin. What is the matter with the Americans... so many are fat, probably from boiling hot dogs, but won't allow any one to have a well tasting hot dog. This country is getting duller by the minute. And to jail people for broiling hot dogs... what a country. In the meantime Bush and his cronies, who have and still are killing thousands, are strutting around like peacocks, when they should be jailed and sent to Guantanamo forever, demonstrating the joys of Waterboarding for a paying public.

Benefits of eBooks

March 2 - March 8 is "Read an eBook" week. Timely Persuasion is scheduled to be released February 29 (jury duty permitting.) I think I smell a connection...

In the meantime, I like how this article on eBooks acknowledges (and actually hopes) they never replace paper books, but still manages to give a long list of compelling reasons why both can live together side by side.

30 Benefits of Ebooks

On Strike

Although it may be a little late for this, Towform has gone on strike until the WGA goes back to work.

Check out our live video from the picket line for more.

Lost In Translation

Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang’s Company-Wide Memo Regarding the Microsoft Takeover Bid

"Everyone seems to agree that Microsoft would fuck Yahoo up but good."

Put the Consipracy Theory Down and Walk Slowly Away From Your Computer...

Hey team. Just to counterbalance my previous comment on the possibility of something fishy going on with the communication cables being cut, here's another take on what could be happening over in the Mid-East. I am still leaning towards malfeasance of some kind but I think this is a pretty even-handed look of what's going on over there. From Wired.

"As a security guy, I'm paranoid, but I don't understand the threat model here. On the other hand, four accidental failures in a week is a bit hard to swallow, too. Let's hope there will be close, open examination of the failed parts of the cables."

My favorite among the comments:
"I really don't care what they find when they pull those cables up...

...as long as it isn't bite marks."

Text Toilet

The US probably isn't quite ready for this yet, but with Finland's cellphone penetration up over 100% it's a brilliant idea.

Use SMS to Unlock Public Restrooms

If you need to use the facilities, people just need to send the word "open" to a short code listed at the bathroom, and the door is unlocked remotely. If the room is vandalized, a short-term record of the phone number that unlocked the door prior to the vandalism can help authorities track down the vandals.

(via 4Info Mobile Search Blog)

The Internet is Down!

Shows what a fragile world of technology we live in...

Internet failure hits two continents

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
-Extensive Internet failure has affected much of Asia, the Middle East, north Africa
-Two undersea cables believed damaged, possibly by a ship's anchor
-It has caused major disruptions to business, television and phone services
-Several reports say damaged cable in the Mediterranean could take a week to fix

Spinning Woman: Left or Right Brained?

I was listening to someone say today that there's this cool new visual test that will tell you if you're a left or right-brained thinker.

Herald Sun Story
(read this first)

So, I took the above test and low-and-behold it tells me I'm a right-brained thinker, which didn't really jive with the descriptions they give. I definitely share more in common with the left-side.

As a natural skeptic, I found it preposterous that a "test" could tell you something like this.

So, I found a more scientific explanation and of course it's muddier than some "simple minds" would have you think:

Science Line Explanation

And lastly, I still can't see the spinning woman go counter-clockwise. So, I used this to help me:

The Answer

Ah, much better!

What brain side are you?

Counterpoint

Another side of the debate, from the other side of the pond.

I Hate Macs

"I hate Macs. I have always hated Macs. I hate people who use Macs. I even hate people who don't use Macs but sometimes wish they did. Macs are glorified Fisher-Price activity centres for adults; computers for scaredy cats too nervous to learn how proper computers work; computers for people who earnestly believe in feng shui."

Right of Way

Minor fender bender last night. Thought I'd draw out the scene with Skitch and see what the Towform jury thinks. (Cars anonymized to eliminate bias.)

Three-way stop at a slightly goofy intersection. Just after 6pm, mostly dark and slightly rainy. Cars are represented by the numbered dots (ignore the satellite image cars).

Car 1 and Car 2 reach the intersection and stop at the same time. (Car 1 may have been slightly first, but it's negligible and a virtual tie.) Both are signaling left turns.

Car 3 is approaching the intersection but has not yet arrived. They are signaling for a right turn. (I don't recall if the signal was on or not, but will assume yes for this exercise.)

Cars 1 & 2 are at a standstill for about 3 seconds. Car 1 slowly edges into intersection. Car 2 remains at the stop sign. Car 3 arrives at about this time.

Car 1 completes their left turn, and has a small accident with Car 3. Point of impact is approximately the black dot in the image.

Corner of the rear passenger-side bumper of Car 1 is scratched, while the front driver-side corner of Car 3 is dented.

Drivers exit to exchange pleasantries. Car 1 says "Three way stop, I was there first, my right of way." Car 3 says "Doesn't matter. I was taking a right, you were taking a left. Right trumps left."


Who would be the at-fault party?

The Internet was Formerly Retarded

Found this great article about how truly AWFUL the internet used to look WAAAAAAAY back in 1996. Some great screenshots using the WayBack Machine.

"...many of the best preserved ones were created by fast food and soft drink corporations because they were some of the earliest adapters of the internet. They viewed the medium as a chance for inexpensive advertising and invested dozens upon dozens of dollars into it. The results are tremendously humiliating."


"Additionally, very few web designers had even the most rudimentary of aesthetic sensibilities, and nearly half of them were clinically retarded."

iMovie is a dangerous thing

So I grabbed some footage and photos from a fishing trip to Mexico that had been sitting on my hard drive for a few years, fired up iMovie for the first time and 2 hours later here's what I did. Forgive the pacing and camera work. It was all done with my Fuji Finepix 3000.

Feedback on the iPhone Interface

Edward Tufte is reknowned for his books and articles on interface meets design meets data presentation. (search his site for the article PowerPoint and businesses)

Anyways, he just put up a posting on what the iPhone does right, and a few things he thinks could have been done better.

http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00036T&topic_id=1

(make sure to check out the video link in the article for an actual demo)

And speaking of interface, with the new moveable home page icons, here's my latest first page setup:

After going through several iterations, I've finally moved my frequently used icons to the upper-right hand corner. This provides quick access for my right-hand thumb.

Browser History Timeline

Geeky fun. But where is Mosaic?

Browser History Timeline

Another

Interesting name. But I sorta dig the logo...

Look Up Web For Me

Marcavage Strikes Again

We all know the Liberty Bell is no place for religious communists. :)

Macworld Prediction

Thought of this yesterday afternoon and wanted to get it "on the record" before the keynote. I have no insider information and have not seen this specific prediction elsewhere; it's just a personal guess based on the "There's Something In The Air" slogan and connecting a few existing dots.

-A MacBook (and/or the rumored subnotebook) with a built-in HSDPA modem for high speed data access on the AT&T network. It would leverage Apple's existing carrier relationships, give them a new slice of coveted subscription revenue, and simplify the usually clunky process of activating and configuring an aircard.

We'll see what develops soon enough. Feel free to mock or praise me in the comments.

All That Glitters

31 Minutes!

Glitz-Free Globes

The first Golden Globe of the night went to Cate Blanchett for her supporting role in "I'm Not There" and that pretty much said it all about the awards ceremony Sunday that was wiped out by the Hollywood writers strike.

Because Blanchett wasn't there. Neither was anyone present to accept the best drama award for "Atonement," the final award of the 31-minute, news conference-style fiasco that raced through 25 winners so fast, it was as if the Hollywood Foreign Press Association just wanted to get it over with.

Holy Grail In Action

We've talked about the Google drag-to-reroute feature before, but it blew me away to see how well it worked in practice.

My wife was on the 5 South headed to a baby shower in Costa Mesa. She texts me and says "Something's on fire. Billowing black smoke, traffic on the 5."

I hit SigAlert.com:


Uh oh, lanes closed. Plus...


Big accident, and that's the fire. Google Maps w/traffic:


And after one simple drag and drop:


"10E to 710S to 5S will get you around it."

Done in literally 90 seconds. What a difference 4 years makes.

PS: The authors of Towform do not condone texting while driving. Use a bluetooth headset.

User Determined Computing

Interesting thoughts on a soon to be released Accenture study (rightfully) claiming that most users home computer systems and programs make them better workers and more productive than the ones at the office.

User Determined Computing

Today, home technology has outpaced enterprise technology, leaving employees frustrated by the inadequacy of the technology they use at work. As a result, employees are demanding more because of their ever-increasing familiarity and comfort level with technology. It’s an emerging phenomenon Accenture has called “user-determined computing.”

I also like the dig the blogger takes at Accenture's website towards the end.

I wasn't hugely impressed with Accenture's own website, which didn't comply with the most basic standards of Web 2.0. For one thing, it's Flash-based, with no options for a quicker loading, HTML version. And the Flash doesn't load quickly. Secondly, a pop-up window greets you on your immediate arrival requesting your participation in a survey. Not a good start.

(via SvN)

Change the World

Bits and pieces of this have already been told, but an interesting "for dummies" overview of how game changing the iPhone really is.

The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry

Fwd: Dash

Testing posts via email (by way of forwarding) from our correspondent
"live" at CES.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: derteufel
Date: Jan 9, 2008 1:36 PM
Subject: Dash
To: Jake of All Trades

Just got a demo of the Dash Express. Looks very cool, though I'm now
more excited about the community saved searches feature than I am
about the traffic.

MadTV iPod Ad Spoof

Spoofing Apple and Feist simultaneously:

Programming Crash Course

The code portions of this Daily WTF blog tend to be a little over my head, but I find some of the anecdotes on dealing with people and users to be hilarious. Case in point:

Could You Explain Programming Please

Cursor*10

Most clever little online game I've played in a long time.

Cursor*10

via Webware

Most Evil Game Ever

Mario Knockoff is the Most Evil Game Ever

I can't even try to expand on the title. Just watch.

My favorite is the stuff that happens at the level 3 flag (towards the end of the third video).

New iPhone Firmware 1.1.3

Since the majority of us have iPhones, I thought I'd post.

http://gizmodo.com/339055/full-video-demo-of-apple-iphone-firmware-113-features

What I like:

• Google Maps drop pin
• Multiple recipient SMS
• And moving around home page and dock icons (you can even create multiple home pages)

And yes, Google has finally returned the cell phone tower triangulation technology that last powered AT&T's friend finder. Why they just got around to it now, I'll never know.

Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness.

A nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests. The discovery's first application will probably be in treatment of the severe sleep disorder narcolepsy.

Siegel said that orexin A is unique in that it only had an impact on sleepy monkeys, not alert ones, and that it is "specific in reversing the effects of sleepiness" without other impacts on the brain.

New Lost Experience ARG

Oceanic Air is Back...

www.flyoceanicair.com

And on a related note, the trailer for Season 4 is being shown in theaters and online:

Bart vs. Homer

Playing with Hulu and found a neat feature where you can create your own short clip from any episode they have and embed it online.



Quality is pretty decent, and features like this show they realize the need to retain the social aspects if they really want to be the "legit" YouTube.

Alexander Graham Theft

Book argues that Bell stole phone idea

In "The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret," journalist Seth Shulman argues that Bell — aided by aggressive lawyers and a corrupt patent examiner — got an improper peek at patent documents Elisha Gray had filed, and that Bell was erroneously credited with filing first.

I found this line most intriguing:

Bell, not Gray, actually demonstrated a phone that transmitted speech. Gray was focused instead on his era's pressing communications challenge: how to send multiple messages simultaneously over the same telegraph wire. As Gray huffed to his attorney, "I should like to see Bell do that with his apparatus."

Scold the cell squawkers

Scold the cell squawkers

A woman at the Rose Cafe shouted her eyeglass order into her cell -- going into great detail about her family's medical plan (they have flexible spending; they'll pay after the first of the year). So I blogged her conversation, including her phone number, and she got calls from around the world: "Eva, your glasses are ready!" I'm guessing she has newfound respect for others' profound disinterest in her life.

Barry sure does. He shouted his number across a Venice Starbucks. I went home and called it: "Barry, I know everything about you but your blood type." Next time I saw him, he took his calls outside.

Smack The Penguin

It ain't elf bowling, but it ain't bad.

Happy Xmas to all...

Super Smack The Penguin

iPhone Hacking as Internship

Apple hires author of the unofficial iPhone SDK

Lucas Newman of Delicious Monster has been hired by Apple as an “iPhone engineer” according to a post from “Chief Monster” Wil Shipley.

Newman is an avid iPhone developer who worked on the first native iPhone game, Lights Off and helped iPhone Atlas develop their initial 5-step native application install guide back in August.

(Above is paraphrased because, to quote the second commenter on the original article: "Please proofread your posts. This one is utter gibberish.")

Related: Wired puts Jailbroken iPhone on top 2007 gadget list

Video from a Time Traveller

Okay, so this could be hoaxed. But its an intriguing story.

A Norwegian man was working on his kitchen plumbing when he claims he inexplicably travelled into the future and met his future self. Bonus: he has video from his mobile.

Yeah, that could be his dad, I guess. And the story is frustratingly light on the details - like...how did he get back? What did they talk about?

But interesting nonetheless. Maybe interesting enough for Jacob to dig up more...

Trajan

More at the Retire Trajan blog.

Social Enemies

Parody sites start anti-social networking trend

Tired of phony online friends? Make enemies instead. Riding on the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, new Web sites are poking fun at online friendships that connect you to the people you like, by turning attention to the ones you don't.

"I didn't understand these fake-friend war chests that people were so busy building online," said Bryant Choung, a technology consultant who started Snubster last year.

Kevin Matulef, the creator of Enemybook, said the idea for his Facebook application started as a joke last summer when friends at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were asking if someone was a real friend or a Facebook friend.

"It started basically as a satire, sort of a parody of some of the superficial aspects of Facebook and the connections that you have, but now it's kind of evolved and it allows people to express themselves via their dislikes," said Matulef, 28.

Snubster
Enemybook
Hatebook

More Copyright in the Internet Age

The debate around the bubble video is getting more and more interesting. Some of the best opinions from both sides:

TechCrunch

Misunderstanding Copyright Law And Ruining Everyone’s Fun

Fair Use Vs. Free Speech in the Internet Age


Plagiarism Today

Analysis on The “Bubble” Controversy

Update: Bubble Video Reposted)


Lane Hartwell (the photographer)

My statement regarding the “Here comes another bubble” video dispute

My statement regarding the new version of the video


The Richter Scales (the band)

Credit and "Here Comes Another Bubble"

DMCA Takedown of "Here Comes Another Bubble"

Announcing "Bubble" Version 1.1

Me too!

I think I've said this before, but the best side effect of Google's innovations is that they light a fire under Yahoo to stop being so stagnant.

Yahoo Maps Gets Drag-and-Drop Rerouting

Props to Yahoo for the comparison of old route vs. new. I also liked the rubber band effect on the drag, but have to agree that Google showing you the name of the street you're dragging onto wins out.

Now, when will someone give me my web based LineDrive directions back?

MacWorld Bloopers

Copyright Controversy

Controversy surrounding the video Bo previously posted about the tech bubble.

Misunderstanding Copyright Law And Ruining Everyone’s Fun

So the video that everyone has been talking about is history. It is the victim of a bullying tactic by a photographer and her lawyer. Once again, a perversion of copyright is being used to destroy art.

The video, set to the tune of We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel, mocked just about everyone in Silicon Valley as being part of a new technology bubble. But the video has now been taken down, because Lane Hartwell, the photographer who took one of the pictures that was included in the video, complained that she wasn’t paid for her work. She hired a lawyer, and the creators, Richter Scales, decided to take it down rather than fight that Hartwell had no right to stop them from using the image.

Helpful Help

This might be one of the worst website help articles I've ever encountered. I know MySpace shouldn't be required or expected to teach basic html to their users, but a little effort via description or simple tools would go a long way.

How do I add color, graphics, & sound to my MySpace Profile page?

• Simply go to "Edit Profile"
  
• Enter the desired HTML or CSS coding where appropriate.
  
• If you do not know HTML or CSS, you can reach out and make a new friend by asking someone who has color, graphics, and/or sound on their Profile page how they did it. People on MySpace are friendly and always willing to help, so just ask! This is a great way to meet new people!
  

Lenny Lynch

This should play well to our small audience...



More at LennyYoung.com

Word of the Year

This one's for Chris:

Merriam-Webster's word of '07: 'w00t'

Where are they now?

Jeeves' Retirement

Bye Bye Payphones

Um, what took them so long?

Also, remember this database from the Surfboard?

AT&T to Disconnect Pay-Phone Business After 129 Years

AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. phone company, plans to leave the pay-phone business after 129 years as more people use wireless handsets to make calls on the go.

The first pay phone, installed in 1878, had an attendant who took callers' money, AT&T spokesman Michael Coe said. Inventor William Gray set up the first coin-operated phone in 1889 at a bank in Hartford, Connecticut.

At their peak in 1998, there were 2.6 million pay phones in the U.S., San Antonio-based AT&T said today in a statement. That number fell to 1 million this year, including the 65,000 phones AT&T has in 13 states.

Pay phones, especially those in booths, have played a role in U.S. pop culture for decades. Clark Kent started using them to change into Superman in the 1940s. In the 1989 movie ``Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure,'' a phone booth doubled as a time machine. In 2002, actor Colin Farrell played a man trapped at a phone by a sniper in the film ``Phone Booth.''

It's A Gas Gas Gas

Wis. drivers line up for gas at 33 cents

An employee closing Trig's Minocqua Shell for the night mistakenly entered the price of a gallon of gasoline as 32.9 cents instead of $3.299 on Monday night.

He left about 10 p.m., but drivers could still use their credit cards to buy gas.

Word of the bargain spread fast in the rural northern Wisconsin community, with 42 people buying 586 gallons of gas in an hour and 45 minutes. One person had pumped 27 gallons and two purchased 18 gallons.

"I was very upset that there's that many dishonest people," said store manager Andrea Reuland. "They knew there was a problem, and they took advantage of an employee's mistake and I think that's terrible."

Back to...

Back To The Future Flux Capacitor Replica

Three thoughts:

1. Guess what I want for Xmas...

2. $220? My word!

3. TFAW.com needs to work on their "related items" algorithm at the bottom of the page, as it seems to think any other movie starting with the words "Back To" is related to BTTF.

Shift Happens

A little long and slow, but interesting.

The Luxembourg broadband stat was especially surprising to my dial-up using self back in 2003...

glumbert - Shift Happens

The Chuck Norris Effect

Hilarious, but also pandering a bit if something like this can really have an effect on an election. Have to give them credit for the buzz factor though.

Chuck and Huck: GOP's Delta Force?

Here's a Chuck Norris fact you may not know. If Chuck Norris endorses you and appears in one of your campaign's TV ads, you take the lead in an Iowa poll and your Web server crashes.



(In Huckabee's defense, in the article he says "We didn't seek his endorsement, but we're sure lucky to have it.")

Friendship Bracelets Are the Next Big Thing!

Are we in another bubble?



I believe so, but it's being around to watch it.

(UPDATED 12/20 to new video link)

The Science of Santa

Santa Claus is coming to town -- for 34 microseconds

"We estimated that there are 48 people per square kilometer (120 per square mile) on Earth, and 20 metres (66 feet) between each home. So if Santa leaves from Kyrgyzstan and travels against the Earth's rotation he has 48 hours to deliver all the presents," he said.

"He has 34 microseconds at each stop" to slide down the chimney, drop off the presents, nibble on his cookies and milk and hop back on his sleigh, Larsson said.

The SMS Novelists

I can barely fathom this:

In Japan, cellular storytelling is all the rage

"In just a few years, mobile phone novels - or keitai shousetsu - have become a publishing phenomenon in Japan, turning middle-of-the-road publishing houses into major concerns and making their authors a small fortune in the process.

Remarkably, half of Japan's top-10 selling works of fiction in the first six months of the year were composed the same way - on the tiny handset of a mobile phone. They sold an average of 400,000 copies."

via TechCrunch (with inspiration from Kit)

From the Future

I know sports isn't usually on topic for our blog, but the technology bits and time travel undertones are quite Towformian...

A letter to the Junior High Sports Guy