A while back, I wrote that they should move the Olympics on the grounds of the crackdowns in Tibet and the jailing of journalists as well as other areas of ill will towards people. Now I have found one more reason why we should not support the Olympic games in China...Censorship. While, the IOC had originally announced to the world as had China that the censorship would be lifted for journalists, this has not and will not be the case for the duration of the games.
Several reports on ZDF's Heute and CNN's Headline News programs have shown evidence that China is censoring the journalists right in the Olympic press pit. They even blocked access to the ZDF's website which makes it nearly impossible for the Germans to turn in reports.
Now it turns out according to this report in reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/olympicsNews/idUSPEK15086520080730) that the IOC agreed to allow China to clock certain sites and censor the traffic. Not only does this go against the Olympic charter but it makes the IOC a total joke. They display with the Iraq national team was so pitiful, I thought to myself, where is this going? Now I know where it is going. The IOC has given in. They no longer press China on tough issues and they wont press for changes in the censorship.
While many people have refused to comment, I have chosen to take a stand here and now. I DO NOT support the Olympics in China. Period! While, my father was angry when carter canceled the US team going to Russia in 1980, I instead have a different suggestion. Create an alternative games for countries who do not want their athletes going to the smog infested capital of the world, where journalists are beaten, jailed and censored unlike anywhere else in the world.
We should also disband the IOC and create a new organization run by athletes for athletes. No more BS from political groups and governments. It is time that athletes are allowed to compete as athletes and not as pawns of their governments.
As for my idea of the Alternative games, they could be planned for any place in the world with the infrastructure willing to host them and would welcome all Olympic qualifiers. This would allow people to take part and perform in a grand stage without the politics of the IOC or the restrictions of the Chinese who obviously are trying to politicize the entire Olympic movement, just as Hitler did in 1936. Enough is enough and I again say "NO Olympics for China!"
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Is the Washington Post aiding the Enemy?
I was horrified to find an article in the Washington Post, suggesting that we should negotiate with the Taliban instead of sending more troops to Afghanistan. But then I looked at the source of the article. It was written by a Dr. Ali Ettefagh in Tehran, Iran. While I normally would not have made anything of such an article, the whole premise that we should negotiate with the Taliban just absolutely shocked me. It amazes me even more that the Washington Post would endorse in any way shape or form the policy that the article is espousing.
One need only look back 10 years when the Taliban were firmly in control of Afghanistan and blowing up religious symbols that had stood for a thousand years. They basically put the people and the country of Afghanistan into the dark ages, yet they themselves were allowed to use technology. Women were not allowed to be educated and strict Islamic extremist law was implemented, complete with public executions in facilities that were build for peaceful sporting exhibitions.
These are the same group of people that Dr. Ettefagh is suggesting that we negotiate with. All we need to do is take one look at some of the film from that era prior to 9/11 from Afghanistan and jump up and shout a resounding "No Way In Hell!"
While I am one who is definitely concerned with journalistic freedoms, I also have family members and friends who are currently fighting over seas and everything that they have fought for seems to be forgotten by the one paper that is supposed to be the supporter of American freedoms. My friends have died there and the things they gave their lives for, most of us take for granted. It is not a war about anything materialistic as has been suggested by many outlets. It is a war about doing the right thing. This is something that people who have become obsessed with President Bush have forgotten.
The article, http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/ali_ettefagh/2008/06/understanding_a_changing_talib.html, which does not even seem to matter to anyone at the post, is obviously pushing a very Iran centric theme. Negotiate till people are blue in the face. But the author tries very hard to compare the wars fought by the US after 9/11 to the drug wars of the 1990's.
The complete and utter failure of Dr. Ettefagh to understand that this is no 1990's drug war and that this is a war for the freedom of the Afghanistan people, only serves to highlight the fact that this article should not have been in the Washington Post in the first place. If this had happened during any other war we have fought over the history of the US, heads would have rolled and the owners of the paper would have been thrown in jail for treason.
Our papers in America are no longer the bastion for the red, white, and blue but are now the mouth pieces of our enemies and the Washington Post is right at the top of that list. Maybe the next time Bush names the Axis of Evil, he can include the Post in the list. While I do not necessarily agree with the policies of our government, I certainly do not endorse the undercutting of our brave men and women in uniform the way that this article does. It is a total dis-service to them and should be called for what it is; pure and utter rubbish which does not belong in a paper that would be read by the American people.
One need only look back 10 years when the Taliban were firmly in control of Afghanistan and blowing up religious symbols that had stood for a thousand years. They basically put the people and the country of Afghanistan into the dark ages, yet they themselves were allowed to use technology. Women were not allowed to be educated and strict Islamic extremist law was implemented, complete with public executions in facilities that were build for peaceful sporting exhibitions.
These are the same group of people that Dr. Ettefagh is suggesting that we negotiate with. All we need to do is take one look at some of the film from that era prior to 9/11 from Afghanistan and jump up and shout a resounding "No Way In Hell!"
While I am one who is definitely concerned with journalistic freedoms, I also have family members and friends who are currently fighting over seas and everything that they have fought for seems to be forgotten by the one paper that is supposed to be the supporter of American freedoms. My friends have died there and the things they gave their lives for, most of us take for granted. It is not a war about anything materialistic as has been suggested by many outlets. It is a war about doing the right thing. This is something that people who have become obsessed with President Bush have forgotten.
The article, http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/ali_ettefagh/2008/06/understanding_a_changing_talib.html, which does not even seem to matter to anyone at the post, is obviously pushing a very Iran centric theme. Negotiate till people are blue in the face. But the author tries very hard to compare the wars fought by the US after 9/11 to the drug wars of the 1990's.
The complete and utter failure of Dr. Ettefagh to understand that this is no 1990's drug war and that this is a war for the freedom of the Afghanistan people, only serves to highlight the fact that this article should not have been in the Washington Post in the first place. If this had happened during any other war we have fought over the history of the US, heads would have rolled and the owners of the paper would have been thrown in jail for treason.
Our papers in America are no longer the bastion for the red, white, and blue but are now the mouth pieces of our enemies and the Washington Post is right at the top of that list. Maybe the next time Bush names the Axis of Evil, he can include the Post in the list. While I do not necessarily agree with the policies of our government, I certainly do not endorse the undercutting of our brave men and women in uniform the way that this article does. It is a total dis-service to them and should be called for what it is; pure and utter rubbish which does not belong in a paper that would be read by the American people.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Plurking the Karma Thing
It is kind of funny that I have been using Plurk (http://www.plurk.com) for the past month and have come to the realization that people are very much rank and rating oriented. Everyone complains about their Karma as it is called on the site.
Everytime people’s Karama reached a point where they got the benefits of having high karma (usually just colors and emoticons), they complained louder. The funny part is that over 30 percent of the messages on the site were about the Karma.
I find the whole rules thing with Plurk a bit annoying as well. It seems to me that just because someone has something interesting to micro blog, they should not be penalized for posting it just because they have posted more than 30 times in a day. But they do penalize you.
One more funny change is with the Karma growing as well as the number of users on the web site, they have begun to throttle those plurkers whose Karma is over 60. Real nice. You cant have anyone reaching 100 otherwise the balance and the game would be pointless.
For me, I just ignore all of it. I find that the conversations posted are 90% of the time well worth the dozen or so replies. You will find that the items on the site with the most replies are generally things of value although occaisionally, one of my food or coffee plurks draws more replies than the news plurks that I have become known for.
When Social Networking began to become an item, many people thought of Facebook or Myspace, but these days it is more about Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) and Plurk and for good reason. No bulky items cluttering the user’s pages and the sites are all about communicating. If we had these sites 10 years ago, the world would be much more at peace. It is funny but I have rarely seen anything negative in my adventures of Plurking or being onTwitter. Maybe we should make all world leaders join just to see how they would handle it or make it a pre-requisite for becoming president.
For those of you who follow me on the social networking sites, I have added a partial list of the sites I am on. You can find me there and feel free to give me a holler or a request to be a friend.
My Social Networking Sites
Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/semipro)
Plurk (http://www.plurk.com/users/semipro)
Pownce (http://pownce.com/semipro/)
Bright Kite (http://brightkite.com/people/semipro)
My personal Sites
Virtual Apple II (http://www.virtualapple.org)
Wazoom.com (http://www.wazoom.com)
A Voice from the Minor Leagues (http://football.wazoom.com)
Bill Martens Photography (http://photo.wazoom.com)
Everytime people’s Karama reached a point where they got the benefits of having high karma (usually just colors and emoticons), they complained louder. The funny part is that over 30 percent of the messages on the site were about the Karma.
I find the whole rules thing with Plurk a bit annoying as well. It seems to me that just because someone has something interesting to micro blog, they should not be penalized for posting it just because they have posted more than 30 times in a day. But they do penalize you.
One more funny change is with the Karma growing as well as the number of users on the web site, they have begun to throttle those plurkers whose Karma is over 60. Real nice. You cant have anyone reaching 100 otherwise the balance and the game would be pointless.
For me, I just ignore all of it. I find that the conversations posted are 90% of the time well worth the dozen or so replies. You will find that the items on the site with the most replies are generally things of value although occaisionally, one of my food or coffee plurks draws more replies than the news plurks that I have become known for.
When Social Networking began to become an item, many people thought of Facebook or Myspace, but these days it is more about Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) and Plurk and for good reason. No bulky items cluttering the user’s pages and the sites are all about communicating. If we had these sites 10 years ago, the world would be much more at peace. It is funny but I have rarely seen anything negative in my adventures of Plurking or being onTwitter. Maybe we should make all world leaders join just to see how they would handle it or make it a pre-requisite for becoming president.
For those of you who follow me on the social networking sites, I have added a partial list of the sites I am on. You can find me there and feel free to give me a holler or a request to be a friend.
My Social Networking Sites
Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/semipro)
Plurk (http://www.plurk.com/users/semipro)
Pownce (http://pownce.com/semipro/)
Bright Kite (http://brightkite.com/people/semipro)
My personal Sites
Virtual Apple II (http://www.virtualapple.org)
Wazoom.com (http://www.wazoom.com)
A Voice from the Minor Leagues (http://football.wazoom.com)
Bill Martens Photography (http://photo.wazoom.com)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
World Records on the Internet
Today, Firefox is attempting to set a world record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours with the release of their newest version of the Firefox Browser. While this attempt is seen on the surface as just a really cool idea, it has serious undertones for the Internet at large.
With an approximate 30-50 million users all trying to download the same software from the same servers all in the same day, I can see some serious slow downs on networks occurring very rapidly. Until now most of these type of slowdowns have been related to social networked viruses that made their way through the home computers and office PC's of millions of users all over the world.
But this slowdown that will result will be the direct result of people purposely trying to download a new software package. Having just upgraded to FF3 RC3, I, for one will not be participating in the download. This is not because I don't want the latest version but it is primarily due to the fact that I do not want to contribute to the willful destruction of the Internet as we know it. Besides, I can download the new release tomorrow or the next day and it is not going to make much difference in my experience with Firefox.
Slowdowns in places like India where the Internet is already at a crawl, could place so much burden on these locations that they will be cut off from the rest of the world for several days. I am sure there are several multinational conglomerates around the world that will not appreciate the inability to communicate with these offices.
While I have not seen anyone take the same approach as I, I am sure that once the Internet starts to slow down, people will either give up on the Internet for the day. However, there are those who can not escape having to use the Internet. Financial institutions all over the world already use the Internet as their primary resource for communications but if they suddenly can not send or receive trades, updates or End of Day items, there could be some serious hell to pay. The losses financially could balloon into a number of the sort that we have been seeing with the Sub-Prime losses all over the globe.
My recommendation is that while this type of thing is fun and it is cool to say you set a record or were part of the record, I am saying, "Just say NO!"
URLS:
Get Fire Fox -- http://www.getfirefox.com
World Record Attempt -- http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/
With an approximate 30-50 million users all trying to download the same software from the same servers all in the same day, I can see some serious slow downs on networks occurring very rapidly. Until now most of these type of slowdowns have been related to social networked viruses that made their way through the home computers and office PC's of millions of users all over the world.
But this slowdown that will result will be the direct result of people purposely trying to download a new software package. Having just upgraded to FF3 RC3, I, for one will not be participating in the download. This is not because I don't want the latest version but it is primarily due to the fact that I do not want to contribute to the willful destruction of the Internet as we know it. Besides, I can download the new release tomorrow or the next day and it is not going to make much difference in my experience with Firefox.
Slowdowns in places like India where the Internet is already at a crawl, could place so much burden on these locations that they will be cut off from the rest of the world for several days. I am sure there are several multinational conglomerates around the world that will not appreciate the inability to communicate with these offices.
While I have not seen anyone take the same approach as I, I am sure that once the Internet starts to slow down, people will either give up on the Internet for the day. However, there are those who can not escape having to use the Internet. Financial institutions all over the world already use the Internet as their primary resource for communications but if they suddenly can not send or receive trades, updates or End of Day items, there could be some serious hell to pay. The losses financially could balloon into a number of the sort that we have been seeing with the Sub-Prime losses all over the globe.
My recommendation is that while this type of thing is fun and it is cool to say you set a record or were part of the record, I am saying, "Just say NO!"
URLS:
Get Fire Fox -- http://www.getfirefox.com
World Record Attempt -- http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/
Friday, June 13, 2008
Is Mars Getting Closer?
Ok, I have to admit, the headline is a bit misleading. But it is more of a question of are we getting any closer to going to Mars? We have robots and rovers there but so far, not a single man has gone to any other planetary body since 1974 when Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt left Mare Serenitatis.
But this week, nasa at least got the ball rolling with the awarding of the design of the next generations spacesuits to a Houston based company, Oceaneering International, Inc. (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/spacesuit.html) Of course, this is only half the battle but at least if the guys go anywhere they will have new spacesuits. It almost reminds me of the old Jose Jimenez jokes that Bill Dana did on the Steve Allen Show back in the 1960's. "Why, I even got a helmet and gloves!"
All joking aside, this is serious business. And with a $180 million contract, this type of business will provide a ton of good high paying engineering jobs. If the whole Mars trip costs $200 billion by the time man lands on Mars, this will be an adventure well worth it in economic growth and hopefully a bit of restored pride in both NASA and the US.
While politicians like to complain about the costs, they all know that these are the types of jobs that cant be shipped over seas or farmed out to third world countries. These types of jobs also allow for economic prosperity. It was the whole space program in the 1960's that caused the economy of the US to boom, even in a time of war. In spite of our fighting in Vietnam, we were still able to cause the average American consumer to actually have a high level of confidence in the basic economy, all the way until the oil shock hit.
Unfortunately, we are in the middle of another oil shock that is shaking the foundations of almost every country in the world, but this is primarily due to the fact that while the oil companies are making record profits, the workers have not benefited int he same way. If the US doesn't find a way to distract the American consumer at this point, all may be lost. Especially the space program which is the first to be cut any time that there are funding issues elsewhere.
In my book, if we make it to mars on the schedule that President Bush laid out, then it will be an absolute miracle worthy of the stories that are still told about the men who went to the moon. Will this be Bush's legacy? The man who brought Mars closer to us? Dont bet on it but hopefully as more contracts are awarded to US companies, we will find that the date of the trip and man setting foot on Mars will get closer with or without all of the external circumstances.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
ABC Sportscaster Jim McKay Dead
No one can forget the Wide Wold of Sports intro for ABC Sports or the way that Jim McKay was a mainstay in the world of announcing at a time when the sports world needed someone like him.
He announced almost any major sports event and the ones most people remember him for are 1972 and 1976 Olympic games. In 1972, the Israeli athletes were murdered and he was the one voice which came through with a sound of reason amongst the madness that followed the incident.
In 1976, it was he who presided over the games, announcing as Jim Walker won the 1500 and Bruce Jenner won the decathlon.
He began sports casting in 1961 and was a main stay in tv broadcasting during an era long ruled over by the great news casters of his day. But it was Jim McKay who with stood all the ups and downs and became beloved by many in his time.
We thank you for the memories Jim and wish there were others like you. Jim McKay was 86.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
My new twitter like toy, Plurk
Over the past six months or so, I have posted over 3000 messages on twitter, put up with the ups and downs of the site and grown to love the site in spite of its short comings. That was until this week when I discovered the promised land of social networking micro blogging sites.
Plurk, has a flavor much like that of twitter, in fact most of the twitter folks are there. There is one distinct difference. Plurk allows you to take part in a pure conversation directly in the users plurk, creating a near real time conversation between many people, much like the party lines of old.
While it has a ways to go to be perfect, Plurk is definitely a step up from the singularity of the twitter world. It allows you to follow multiple discussions all within the same time frame with by the minute break down of the Plurk chain, making it easy to find discussions you are taking part in. Another nice feature is the fact that the handling of the microblogger follows similar patters to the twitter ones.
If you havent tried out Plurk yet, you should. Just a bit of fore warning. It is addictive and you will find yourself among the sleep deprived of your fellow Plurkers. But until you get to the point of completely screwing up your sleep patterns, have fun and enjoy the graphical interface.
URL's
My Plurk -- http://www.plurk.com/user/semipro
My Twitter -- http://www.twitter.com/semipro
Plurk, has a flavor much like that of twitter, in fact most of the twitter folks are there. There is one distinct difference. Plurk allows you to take part in a pure conversation directly in the users plurk, creating a near real time conversation between many people, much like the party lines of old.
While it has a ways to go to be perfect, Plurk is definitely a step up from the singularity of the twitter world. It allows you to follow multiple discussions all within the same time frame with by the minute break down of the Plurk chain, making it easy to find discussions you are taking part in. Another nice feature is the fact that the handling of the microblogger follows similar patters to the twitter ones.
If you havent tried out Plurk yet, you should. Just a bit of fore warning. It is addictive and you will find yourself among the sleep deprived of your fellow Plurkers. But until you get to the point of completely screwing up your sleep patterns, have fun and enjoy the graphical interface.
URL's
My Plurk -- http://www.plurk.com/user/semipro
My Twitter -- http://www.twitter.com/semipro
Friday, May 30, 2008
Space Ambassadors Needed
Ever wanted to tell someone about going into space and be an evangelist for Space? Now you can. The National Space Society and Virgin Galactic are starting a space ambassador program or as they say on their website, "Space Ambassadors can be anyone — you just have to have a passion for space and the ability to effectively communicate that excitement to others. Teachers and artists are particularly encouraged to apply. Membership in the National Space Society is not required to participate, but is encouraged! "
Check it out at https://www.nss.org/cgi-bin/register/tdregister?$Origin=SpaceAmbassadors
They say on the web site that one lucky ambassador will be chosen to fly. Gosh, maybe I have a chance to go up after all :D
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Netaudio Ads...Real or Scam?
Several months ago, I wrote a blog entry on this site about having joined the Net Audio Ads craze that was hitting. While it all seemed like it would be the latest and greatest way to add monetization to my web sites, it has panned out to be anything but.
Over several weeks, the idea went from a few people signing up to viral and then to Net Audio Ads being on the blink to them back tracking on the fees, to them not starting the service to the people who signed up thinking that there was a large advertising machine behind the group being asked to sell advertising.
Now the only thing that ever plays on my blog is an ad for Net Audio Ads. In April, when I looked, I had made a whole penny off my ads. That's right folks, 1 red cent!!! Now when I look, they don't even give me credit for that one. The funny thing about that is, I get more in one click through on Google Ads than I have ever gotten from Net Audio Ads.
My feeling is that the way they hyped the site and the service far too much and basically the only thing they are left with now is no ads. And while this seems to be the way it is, I haven't removed their ad module from the blog because I want to see this story to the end.
I don't know if anyone else has been following this or had experience with this group but I would definitely be interested in hearing how other have made out with it.
Over several weeks, the idea went from a few people signing up to viral and then to Net Audio Ads being on the blink to them back tracking on the fees, to them not starting the service to the people who signed up thinking that there was a large advertising machine behind the group being asked to sell advertising.
Now the only thing that ever plays on my blog is an ad for Net Audio Ads. In April, when I looked, I had made a whole penny off my ads. That's right folks, 1 red cent!!! Now when I look, they don't even give me credit for that one. The funny thing about that is, I get more in one click through on Google Ads than I have ever gotten from Net Audio Ads.
My feeling is that the way they hyped the site and the service far too much and basically the only thing they are left with now is no ads. And while this seems to be the way it is, I haven't removed their ad module from the blog because I want to see this story to the end.
I don't know if anyone else has been following this or had experience with this group but I would definitely be interested in hearing how other have made out with it.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A new openess in China?
Over the past week or so since the big 7.9 magnitude earth quake in China, we have seen scenes of the destruction and the suffering unlike any we have seen out of China before. One might ask, is this just a convenience to get the sympathies of the world or is the open reporting for real?
It has been amazing with reports by phone, satellite, and even video phone, seemingly coming to the world without impunity from all of the reporters there. Never before have we seen this aspect of a country that has become synonymous with human rights abuses and closed borders.
It is refreshing to see this, but then comes the ultimate question of "will it last?" Once can only hope that it does last. And now that the country goes into a three day mourning period with more than 35,000 people dead, 200,000 plus injured and millions left homeless, the situation is far from over there.
The only thing that has been a bit like the old days is China's refusal to accept most aid but that has been changing too with a team of search and rescue experts from Japan being allowed in to help in recovery efforts. Also, the world has generously offered stocks of food and water and China, unlike burma has been readily accepting this help and distributing it with no holds barred.
Everyone thought that the Olympics would change China. My feeling is that maybe it takes an act of God to change China and now that we have one, China seems to be changing very rapidly. Even dissension and questioning of the government has been allowed very openly after more than 7000 schools collapsed throughout the country. The reporting of this dissension has also been freely allowed and almost encouraged.
While China is still communist, one can only hope that now that the country has seen one of the worst natural disasters in human history, that the country can truly change and become the real world player that it has the potential of being.
It has been amazing with reports by phone, satellite, and even video phone, seemingly coming to the world without impunity from all of the reporters there. Never before have we seen this aspect of a country that has become synonymous with human rights abuses and closed borders.
It is refreshing to see this, but then comes the ultimate question of "will it last?" Once can only hope that it does last. And now that the country goes into a three day mourning period with more than 35,000 people dead, 200,000 plus injured and millions left homeless, the situation is far from over there.
The only thing that has been a bit like the old days is China's refusal to accept most aid but that has been changing too with a team of search and rescue experts from Japan being allowed in to help in recovery efforts. Also, the world has generously offered stocks of food and water and China, unlike burma has been readily accepting this help and distributing it with no holds barred.
Everyone thought that the Olympics would change China. My feeling is that maybe it takes an act of God to change China and now that we have one, China seems to be changing very rapidly. Even dissension and questioning of the government has been allowed very openly after more than 7000 schools collapsed throughout the country. The reporting of this dissension has also been freely allowed and almost encouraged.
While China is still communist, one can only hope that now that the country has seen one of the worst natural disasters in human history, that the country can truly change and become the real world player that it has the potential of being.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Double Amputee Allowed to Compete
Over the past two years, many news reports have covered Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee record holder in the 100,200, and 400 for disabled athletics. Many of the articles I have read have not been so favorable on him competing against able bodied athletes and fulfilling his dream to compete in the Olympic games in Beijing.
Oscar was born with several deformities which cost him his legs at the age of 11 months old. Obviously with the advances in technology, he can now compete on a fairly level playing field with other runners. Not disabled athletes but able bodied ones. This is the way it should be. However, not everyone feels that way and after the way the International Association of Athletics Federations ruled, it is obvious that they didn't feel that way either.
The IAAF ruled that Oscar Pistorius had an advantage over his able bodied competitors because his prosthetics gave him an advantage of having to expel 25% less effort over the same distance. Yet, in spite of this supposed advantage, he has failed to automatically qualify for the Olympics. In the IAAF testing, it is unknown exactly what they based this judgement on but one can only assume that they based it on him being completely whole in body which he is not.
Now, finally after all the wrangling and testing and the sheer hell that these people and organizations have put Oscar through, The Court for Arbitration of Sport has made a decision that he can compete for his country. Luckily, this decision is final and there is no appeal for the IAAF at this point.
Because of his failure to qualify automatically to compete, it is highly likely, according to some reports, that he will go to Beijing as part of the South African 4x400 meter relay team which is allowed to take 6 athletes to the games to compete. I sincerely hope that Oscar Pistorius does well and performs his best there as the whole world will now be watching. Not because the man will break any world records, but because he is now joining the ranks of the able bodied athletes after being forced into a classification most of his life that he neither asked for nor had any choice in.
To all the nay sayers in the world, who thought that Oscar Pistorius was not capable of competing or that he had a technological advantage, I say "go Oscar Pistorius!!!"
Oscar was born with several deformities which cost him his legs at the age of 11 months old. Obviously with the advances in technology, he can now compete on a fairly level playing field with other runners. Not disabled athletes but able bodied ones. This is the way it should be. However, not everyone feels that way and after the way the International Association of Athletics Federations ruled, it is obvious that they didn't feel that way either.
The IAAF ruled that Oscar Pistorius had an advantage over his able bodied competitors because his prosthetics gave him an advantage of having to expel 25% less effort over the same distance. Yet, in spite of this supposed advantage, he has failed to automatically qualify for the Olympics. In the IAAF testing, it is unknown exactly what they based this judgement on but one can only assume that they based it on him being completely whole in body which he is not.
Now, finally after all the wrangling and testing and the sheer hell that these people and organizations have put Oscar through, The Court for Arbitration of Sport has made a decision that he can compete for his country. Luckily, this decision is final and there is no appeal for the IAAF at this point.
Because of his failure to qualify automatically to compete, it is highly likely, according to some reports, that he will go to Beijing as part of the South African 4x400 meter relay team which is allowed to take 6 athletes to the games to compete. I sincerely hope that Oscar Pistorius does well and performs his best there as the whole world will now be watching. Not because the man will break any world records, but because he is now joining the ranks of the able bodied athletes after being forced into a classification most of his life that he neither asked for nor had any choice in.
To all the nay sayers in the world, who thought that Oscar Pistorius was not capable of competing or that he had a technological advantage, I say "go Oscar Pistorius!!!"
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
WWDC Sells Out....What????
WWDC, the developers conference for Apple which is held each year at Muscone Center in San Francisco, apparently has sold out. While the exact number of tickets available for the conference is not known, it is a bit odd that there were 6000 some attendees last year and it wasn't sold out but this year, it is sold out at 5000.
Is this a limitation being placed on the number of people by Apple or is it real? Who is to say, however, after my experience with last year's conference, it almost doesn't seem to matter.
We went to last years conference looking for meat and potatoes developers information yet, got spoon fed apple sauce marketing crap from companies all over the spectrum. The ever elusive developers information on the iPhone was not only non-existent but the short run through that they did in the keynote, which supposedly had information available on the WWDC web site wasn't even available until the conference closed. Not much good for any question and answer sessions with the Apple developers when you have them right there.
But of course, with the popularity of the Mac increasing as a computing platform, it is no real surprise that they would say it is sold out. However, I find the numbers to be just a bit too artificially set and it is with doubting heart that I believe this is any more than just a marketing ploy. Of course with past history as an example, this is no real surprise.
The only real surprise is that it took a year for them to add the iPhone track to the program. This track should have been made available in last years conference when the iPhone was the entire focus. But instead, Steve chose to come on and say that we didn't need an SDK. Then in February, he decided we did. Now as the throngs of the Apple faithful clamor to Muscone with hopes of seeing the next generation iPhone and other goodies, will they be once again disappointed the way we were with a second round of Leopard stuff that wasn't really relevant to developing much of anything.
To this accord, I say "Please, Apple, make up your mind, quit faking the numbers, and get the meat and potatoes on the table for us real developers to eat."
Is this a limitation being placed on the number of people by Apple or is it real? Who is to say, however, after my experience with last year's conference, it almost doesn't seem to matter.
We went to last years conference looking for meat and potatoes developers information yet, got spoon fed apple sauce marketing crap from companies all over the spectrum. The ever elusive developers information on the iPhone was not only non-existent but the short run through that they did in the keynote, which supposedly had information available on the WWDC web site wasn't even available until the conference closed. Not much good for any question and answer sessions with the Apple developers when you have them right there.
But of course, with the popularity of the Mac increasing as a computing platform, it is no real surprise that they would say it is sold out. However, I find the numbers to be just a bit too artificially set and it is with doubting heart that I believe this is any more than just a marketing ploy. Of course with past history as an example, this is no real surprise.
The only real surprise is that it took a year for them to add the iPhone track to the program. This track should have been made available in last years conference when the iPhone was the entire focus. But instead, Steve chose to come on and say that we didn't need an SDK. Then in February, he decided we did. Now as the throngs of the Apple faithful clamor to Muscone with hopes of seeing the next generation iPhone and other goodies, will they be once again disappointed the way we were with a second round of Leopard stuff that wasn't really relevant to developing much of anything.
To this accord, I say "Please, Apple, make up your mind, quit faking the numbers, and get the meat and potatoes on the table for us real developers to eat."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Apple Camera Nabs Thieves...err...Stupidity nabs thieves
I have read several articles this week that Apple store employee, Kait Dupalga of White Plains, NY, had her MacBook stolen and recovered it by remotely capturing a photo of the thieves using it. While many stories on the net had everything from this being miracle work, to the Mac having anti-theft devices, it is amazing how few people check their facts before actually publishing a story such as this.
First, the Mac does not have an anti-theft device. The fact that the Mac was remotely accessible was due to Back to My Mac remote access that is part of the $99 a year .MAC package offered by Apple, Inc.
Second, this is no miracle. When you have stupid thieves who use a computer as is, they are bound to get caught. These idiots didnt even change anything. They just fired it up and using the browser, were shopping for beds.
Third, It begs the question why the owner had no security set on the computer. No passwords, nothing. If Ms. Dupalga had been smart, she would have installed a security package such as Lojack or Undercover. But she did no such thing.
All I can say is she got lucky. Extremely lucky. The fact that she was able to get the shot of the guys and that it was someone her room mates knew and recognized, obviously payed dividends. But if you want real security on your system, get one of these programs and install it.
Back to My Mac -- http://www.apple.com/dotmac/backtomymac.html
Undercover -- http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/
LoJack for Laptops -- http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/
Verey I For Mac -- http://www.bak2u.com/verey.php
First, the Mac does not have an anti-theft device. The fact that the Mac was remotely accessible was due to Back to My Mac remote access that is part of the $99 a year .MAC package offered by Apple, Inc.
Second, this is no miracle. When you have stupid thieves who use a computer as is, they are bound to get caught. These idiots didnt even change anything. They just fired it up and using the browser, were shopping for beds.
Third, It begs the question why the owner had no security set on the computer. No passwords, nothing. If Ms. Dupalga had been smart, she would have installed a security package such as Lojack or Undercover. But she did no such thing.
All I can say is she got lucky. Extremely lucky. The fact that she was able to get the shot of the guys and that it was someone her room mates knew and recognized, obviously payed dividends. But if you want real security on your system, get one of these programs and install it.
Back to My Mac -- http://www.apple.com/dotmac/backtomymac.html
Undercover -- http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/
LoJack for Laptops -- http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/
Verey I For Mac -- http://www.bak2u.com/verey.php
Where are the militaries of the world now?
When countries have felt threatened in the past, they have rushed in their militaries with lightning speed. Such was the case in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq and other hot spots. But the Burmese people who have one of the largest despot militaries is seeing no such help.
We will send billions to Africa in aid, but barely a trickle to Burma. And not only that, the aid that is being sent is now being stuffed into military warehouses to support their military rations or marked with the names of generals of the regime and then handed out. It is odd that these jokers think that the people will be fooled about where the aid came from when the box is clearly marked, Kingdom of Thailand, China, India, US Aid, or others.
It sickens me to think that the big countries are going to sit by idly and let the Junta in Burma kill 2 million people. It is time for these countries to quit fighting over the wealth of the world and for them to step up and to fight for the humanity of the world. I am surprised that the US has not resorted to aid shipments in the manner which it took with Yugoslavia in the 1990's. Drop pallets of MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat for you non-military types) and water rations from C-130's flying over head and let the people have them. Protect these flights with F-18 fighters and Navy carriers and tell the Junta straight up that if they interfere, we will destroy their military and military bases in a fortnight. (this could be done since they seem to conglomerate in certain areas).
It is high time that the crimes that are being committed against the Burmese people cease and that the real aid begins to happen. The Burmese have suffered long and hard at the hands of these idiot generals and it is time that it comes to an end. The US, UK, and all the coalition forces or NATO or other militaries, should step up and make this mandate happen immediately.
We will send billions to Africa in aid, but barely a trickle to Burma. And not only that, the aid that is being sent is now being stuffed into military warehouses to support their military rations or marked with the names of generals of the regime and then handed out. It is odd that these jokers think that the people will be fooled about where the aid came from when the box is clearly marked, Kingdom of Thailand, China, India, US Aid, or others.
It sickens me to think that the big countries are going to sit by idly and let the Junta in Burma kill 2 million people. It is time for these countries to quit fighting over the wealth of the world and for them to step up and to fight for the humanity of the world. I am surprised that the US has not resorted to aid shipments in the manner which it took with Yugoslavia in the 1990's. Drop pallets of MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat for you non-military types) and water rations from C-130's flying over head and let the people have them. Protect these flights with F-18 fighters and Navy carriers and tell the Junta straight up that if they interfere, we will destroy their military and military bases in a fortnight. (this could be done since they seem to conglomerate in certain areas).
It is high time that the crimes that are being committed against the Burmese people cease and that the real aid begins to happen. The Burmese have suffered long and hard at the hands of these idiot generals and it is time that it comes to an end. The US, UK, and all the coalition forces or NATO or other militaries, should step up and make this mandate happen immediately.
Talk about timing!!! China Espaces the Glare.
This week after the world had the weight of its criticism focused squarely on the Junta of Burma and the Chinese for its handling of the Tibet issue, something happened that has turned all that criticism on its head.
An earthquake of 7.8 struck killing more than 10,000 people at last count. While most people are still focused on the Burmese Junta's handling of the cyclone aid, their criticisms of China and Burma have suddenly waned. Call it the sympathy factor or the ADD factor.
Of course, at the same time, the Olympic torch relay has been reconfigured and seems to no longer be the main focus of the government. Unlike other governments around the world who have been criticized for their handling of a natural disaster, the response of the Chinese government has been praised to extents never seen.
The focus of the government has rightfully turned to rescue operations and they have implemented the usage of their military in a manner that is consistent with the military being the people's military. Even the US government failed in this respect with the Katrina response, at a time when it could have won the hearts and minds of the people. Now China has obviously learned from that and the Burmese government failures and they have squarely focused the full efforts of their military machine on recovery and rescue operations.
But are we being too soft on China now that they have their own issues? will the focus on their human rights abuses be lost in their great response to something that no one expected them to step up to the plate in? Or is the Chinese government the ultimate propaganda machine that has learned that the real way to help change people's minds is to do something that shows benevolence and compassion? Only time will tell, but I have noticed that the reporting in this disaster has been clear, numbers concise and accurate, and even the reporting by foreign press freely allowed, seemingly without restriction.
It is my feeling that the government of China will play this up, try to show it's best face in the Olympics and then go right back to being the over bearing, people beating, polluting country that it has been once the focus is off. But the only things people will remember will be the handling of the earthquake response and the Olympics. And in this, the people of Darfur, Burma, and Tibet will be forgotten once again and left to their own devices.
An earthquake of 7.8 struck killing more than 10,000 people at last count. While most people are still focused on the Burmese Junta's handling of the cyclone aid, their criticisms of China and Burma have suddenly waned. Call it the sympathy factor or the ADD factor.
Of course, at the same time, the Olympic torch relay has been reconfigured and seems to no longer be the main focus of the government. Unlike other governments around the world who have been criticized for their handling of a natural disaster, the response of the Chinese government has been praised to extents never seen.
The focus of the government has rightfully turned to rescue operations and they have implemented the usage of their military in a manner that is consistent with the military being the people's military. Even the US government failed in this respect with the Katrina response, at a time when it could have won the hearts and minds of the people. Now China has obviously learned from that and the Burmese government failures and they have squarely focused the full efforts of their military machine on recovery and rescue operations.
But are we being too soft on China now that they have their own issues? will the focus on their human rights abuses be lost in their great response to something that no one expected them to step up to the plate in? Or is the Chinese government the ultimate propaganda machine that has learned that the real way to help change people's minds is to do something that shows benevolence and compassion? Only time will tell, but I have noticed that the reporting in this disaster has been clear, numbers concise and accurate, and even the reporting by foreign press freely allowed, seemingly without restriction.
It is my feeling that the government of China will play this up, try to show it's best face in the Olympics and then go right back to being the over bearing, people beating, polluting country that it has been once the focus is off. But the only things people will remember will be the handling of the earthquake response and the Olympics. And in this, the people of Darfur, Burma, and Tibet will be forgotten once again and left to their own devices.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Recovering from a crash
Over the years, there have been several times where I wished I could back data up to something that would never loose my data. But this dream is probably the dream of every engineer or programmer on the face of the earth. Of course, this dream is probably the biggest dream there is. Unfortunately, a recent database crash caused the dream to come back again.
In this day and age with free storage online and the availability of big hard drives cheap, the problem of hard disks failing is becoming more prevalent. Which leads to other failures.
Is this problem leading us into an era in which we truly are going to loose everything? If we were to suffer a magnetic pulse on a large scale around the world, such as that caused by an asteroid hitting the earth, it would be foolish to think that anything of our data would be left other than that which is in print format.
Should we even be thinking about the paperless office that people have been trying to create since the 1980's, rather foolishly and unsuccessfully in reality. But what is the flip side of that thinking. If we go back to using just paper, things slow down, and also we use more natural resources that are already strained beyond belief.
So what to do? In the short term, I would say that if it is important, back it up on two different mediums. Use online as well as offline resources. If it is really important, print it out. And if it is even more important that that (imperative to your life), put a physical and a media copy in a safe deposit box.
Luckily I dont have much that is in the final category but I keep thinking how many web sites would become my only copy of items I have created should I loose my hard drives.
In this day and age with free storage online and the availability of big hard drives cheap, the problem of hard disks failing is becoming more prevalent. Which leads to other failures.
Is this problem leading us into an era in which we truly are going to loose everything? If we were to suffer a magnetic pulse on a large scale around the world, such as that caused by an asteroid hitting the earth, it would be foolish to think that anything of our data would be left other than that which is in print format.
Should we even be thinking about the paperless office that people have been trying to create since the 1980's, rather foolishly and unsuccessfully in reality. But what is the flip side of that thinking. If we go back to using just paper, things slow down, and also we use more natural resources that are already strained beyond belief.
So what to do? In the short term, I would say that if it is important, back it up on two different mediums. Use online as well as offline resources. If it is really important, print it out. And if it is even more important that that (imperative to your life), put a physical and a media copy in a safe deposit box.
Luckily I dont have much that is in the final category but I keep thinking how many web sites would become my only copy of items I have created should I loose my hard drives.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My Coffee and I
I have always appreciated a good cup of coffee. While there are tons of places that supposedly specialize in making a good cup, I have found that most of the places are just barking in the wind. That has in turn made me take to buying the coffee and grinding it myself.
While most people are happy with the MJB or some other form of canned coffee from the store, I appreciate a bit more flavor in my coffee. Especially a bold or extra bold coffee. This is why I normally will turn to Seattle's Best, Tully's, or Starbucks for my beans or Peets when it can be come by. But they only do the trick half way.
The one coffee that I have enjoyed the most outside of Kauai is the coffee from the Gold Coast Coffee Company in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. For anyone who has visited the Big Island, this is a no brainer. The Coffee Samurai (http://www.countrysamurai.com/) is owned and operated by a third generation Japanese descendant and has by far the best coffee there is.
I don't normally endorse too many things but this place has coffee that will not only fill the air with an aroma that is absolutely distinct, the brewed coffee is a different flavor from anything you have ever had before.
If you are going to the Big Island anytime soon, be sure and pick some up or you can order online from their web site. It is definitely well worth the price.
While most people are happy with the MJB or some other form of canned coffee from the store, I appreciate a bit more flavor in my coffee. Especially a bold or extra bold coffee. This is why I normally will turn to Seattle's Best, Tully's, or Starbucks for my beans or Peets when it can be come by. But they only do the trick half way.
The one coffee that I have enjoyed the most outside of Kauai is the coffee from the Gold Coast Coffee Company in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. For anyone who has visited the Big Island, this is a no brainer. The Coffee Samurai (http://www.countrysamurai.com/) is owned and operated by a third generation Japanese descendant and has by far the best coffee there is.
I don't normally endorse too many things but this place has coffee that will not only fill the air with an aroma that is absolutely distinct, the brewed coffee is a different flavor from anything you have ever had before.
If you are going to the Big Island anytime soon, be sure and pick some up or you can order online from their web site. It is definitely well worth the price.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Apple ][ and my Life this week
This has been a weird week. I haven't had much time for almost anything and everyone keeps asking why. Well, when you look at what I have done this week in the world of Retro-computing, hopefully you will understand.
First, lets talk about Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange. (www.callapple.org) This has been my baby over the past 10 years and I am finally stepping aside and letting Mike Pfaiffer run with it. But in doing this, it meant that I had to re-do the web site, clean it up, and delete the items not needed on the server. I also had to write a standards document for the production of the magazine. While this might seems like an item that you would have on hand anyways, I hadn't updated any of the items in the document in many years.
Also the 30th anniversary issue of Call-A.P.P.L.E.. 30 Years. How did it get to this point in time. But that is the legacy that is the Apple II computer. It is now 30 years and still going although we now cover the Mac as well.
And speaking of the Apple ][ or Apple2 as it is known, the retro sites we have re-released this week include our Apple Archives site (www.applearchives.com), the Beagle Bros site (beagle.applearchives.com), and the Willamette Apple Connection site (wac.callapple.org). These three sites constitute a good portion of information available for the Apple ][ series computers. Also a ton of software and manuals to go with the packages.
So, if you still have a penchant for the Apple ][ computer and liked the IIgs laptop mentioned in my last post, check out these sites and re-live the 1980's like it is still here.
First, lets talk about Apple Pugetsound Program Library Exchange. (www.callapple.org) This has been my baby over the past 10 years and I am finally stepping aside and letting Mike Pfaiffer run with it. But in doing this, it meant that I had to re-do the web site, clean it up, and delete the items not needed on the server. I also had to write a standards document for the production of the magazine. While this might seems like an item that you would have on hand anyways, I hadn't updated any of the items in the document in many years.
Also the 30th anniversary issue of Call-A.P.P.L.E.. 30 Years. How did it get to this point in time. But that is the legacy that is the Apple II computer. It is now 30 years and still going although we now cover the Mac as well.
And speaking of the Apple ][ or Apple2 as it is known, the retro sites we have re-released this week include our Apple Archives site (www.applearchives.com), the Beagle Bros site (beagle.applearchives.com), and the Willamette Apple Connection site (wac.callapple.org). These three sites constitute a good portion of information available for the Apple ][ series computers. Also a ton of software and manuals to go with the packages.
So, if you still have a penchant for the Apple ][ computer and liked the IIgs laptop mentioned in my last post, check out these sites and re-live the 1980's like it is still here.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Apple II gs Laptop
Ben Heck's name has become synonymous with great computer hacks. Once again he has hacked a system which no one said could be done. This beautiful machine not only allows the spirit of the machine to come alive but is a one of a kind machine that Ben is auctioning off for charity.
http://benheck.com/04-14-2008/apple-iigs-original-hardware-laptop#more-366
Check it out.
http://benheck.com/04-14-2008/apple-iigs-original-hardware-laptop#more-366
Check it out.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
A Mistake in position on the Olympics
Initially, my thinking about the Olympics was that we should go forth in non-protest, but as things have ratcheted up in the last few weeks with China cracking down on dissenters and on the Tibetans, I have become more and more soft on my stance. While I have never supported protests against the olympics, I am now for moving them all together from China. We could move them some place like Sydney or another city that already has infrastructure to support the games.
Such a move would not only be a wake-up call for the Chinese government but even the mere threat of such a move would hopefully get them moving in the right direction. And if it didnt, we could always set a deadline for them to do it and at the same time have another city prepare for the games.
One may wonder what it is that made me change my stance. In the world of free journalism, there are few of us who are as well known as Wu Lihong. A ecologist who has spear headed China's AIDS campaign and their anti-corruption campaigns is now in Jail for three years for speaking his mind on the Olympics.
While there are many of us who have spoken our minds on it, few if any of us have served time for our thoughts. But now, Wu's wife is having to figure out how to survive in a country where the government doesn't care what happens to a person's family. With 2 Billion people, who can blame them much on this but as one who cares about people, this type of attitude is not only unacceptable but is completely abhorrent.
Which brings me to Tibet. Just because the Chinese government claims something as their own, it does not make it so. I say to the Chinese government: Get a grip dudes! Let the Tibetan people live in peace and quit jailing people for speaking their mind. The deaths of nearly 200 people for protesting something that is frowned upon in all free countries is unacceptable.
NO MORE OLYMPICS FOR CHINA!!!!
Such a move would not only be a wake-up call for the Chinese government but even the mere threat of such a move would hopefully get them moving in the right direction. And if it didnt, we could always set a deadline for them to do it and at the same time have another city prepare for the games.
One may wonder what it is that made me change my stance. In the world of free journalism, there are few of us who are as well known as Wu Lihong. A ecologist who has spear headed China's AIDS campaign and their anti-corruption campaigns is now in Jail for three years for speaking his mind on the Olympics.
While there are many of us who have spoken our minds on it, few if any of us have served time for our thoughts. But now, Wu's wife is having to figure out how to survive in a country where the government doesn't care what happens to a person's family. With 2 Billion people, who can blame them much on this but as one who cares about people, this type of attitude is not only unacceptable but is completely abhorrent.
Which brings me to Tibet. Just because the Chinese government claims something as their own, it does not make it so. I say to the Chinese government: Get a grip dudes! Let the Tibetan people live in peace and quit jailing people for speaking their mind. The deaths of nearly 200 people for protesting something that is frowned upon in all free countries is unacceptable.
NO MORE OLYMPICS FOR CHINA!!!!
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