The world of bits and politics is getting all het up again.
First there’s this little matter of AT&T, Apple, GoogleVoice, and the
FCC. The fences around the playgrounds are coming down and the
property owners are not happy.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/08/01/att-responds-to-fcc-letter-re-google-voice-mobile-iphone-app/
Rep. Ed Markey (D‑MA) is trying for net neutrality legislation again.
A much more pro-neutrality administration might make a difference. PDF
link to the text included. At 13 pages this bill is considerably
easier to grasp than most.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/the-war-over-network-neutrality.ars
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It’s DefCon time and everyone is punditing.
More hacking of high security locks and access systems. I think these
guys are doing an important job but Bluzmanis’ grandstanding egoism
and bullying of the makers of these systems is quickly undermining his
credibility.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/electronic-locks-defeated/
Schneier mounts the bully pulpit and decries China’s Green Dam Youth
Escort filter/spyware package and then reminds us how much of that
technology we’ve allowed into our own networks int he west.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/08/building_in_sur.html
One the other hand you could get one of these and pretend you’re
security conscious. I think I’ve found a new desk lamp.
http://www.a2591.com/2009/08/im-not-security-camera.html
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Real Science is odder than science fiction. Welcome to the northern
most scientific outpost. Be nice to the bar tenders, beware of the
birds.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/svalbard/
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Photography
Jakov Cordina takes great pictures. And he’s show casing a, new to me,
widget that makes a flickr photostream embeddable slide show. (caution
there are a couple of videos with music included)
http://www.jakovcordina.com/post/86633471/photostream-slide-show
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Architecture
Three entries today. First the “ledges” are Sears tower are open. So
you can now stand on a piece of glass 1300+ feet up in the air over
Chicago. No way in hell you’re getting me up there but the sprogs
seem to like the floating over the city feeling.
http://sweetbakerygoods.com/architecture/architecture-sear-towers-1353-ft-high-glass-balconies/
Train cars are converted into churches in Russia. Some of these are
touchingly naive and some are small works of art. (The photos rock
too.)
http://englishrussia.com/?p=2248
The examples are of paintings and illustration but the Bauhaus
movement produced some Very Important Architecture. Never mind, just
read the story and look at the paintings.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/02/bauhaus-ninety-years-of-inspiration/
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Entertainment
Pop out and grab a coffee. You’ll about 10 minutes for today’s video selections.
Amy Crehore is a blue grass fiend and puts up some fabulouslinks. This
one is Josephine Baker and Thompson Jazz Orchestra from 1927. Can you
imagine watching this woman in person? Electrifying. The accompanying
music is Ahmad Jamal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsXyDrf9HO0
Cab Calloway and Bettie Boop. This can not go wrong. There’s tons more
treasure in the Internet Archive’s collection of vintage cartoons
including a whole lot of BB.
http://www.archive.org/details/bb_old_man_of_the_mountain
That’s it for today, enjoy.