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Month: June 2007
HeraldNet: 1,652 filmed running lights
HeraldNet: 1,652 filmed running lights
This intersection seems to spawn recklessness. To be fair the ticketed, this light is poorly timed; I can think of several times that, in low/medium traffic I’ve needed to wait several cycles to get through the light. Not that it excuses running the light, but frustration increases the likelihood. I guess that makes this rather akin to road-rage.
This does force one to ask a bigger question, though. There is something rather Orwellian about this system. Is this the first step down a slippery slope towards perpetual governmental monitoring? It may seem paranoid, but I find the question interesting. At what point do we say “no” with a camera based justice system? Cameras at work, at the store, at school, on the bus, now intersections. Where is the “line”, and how do we quantify it?
So damn tired…
I have no idea what’s up, but I’m just feeling wiped out. Some blasted bug, I guess. Argh…
It’s Friday, if you can believe it. And Sunday is July 1st; we’re officially over ½ through this year. Time’s moving fast enough that I’m starting to feel motion sickness.
I’m hoping the long anticipated healing of my car’s transmission will be complete sometime today. Though I do love taking the train, I do miss my car. Not particularly green of me, I know, but I like having flexibility in the morning (only two trains from
Lynnwood Beauty Academy
As a child of Lynnwood, this strikes way too close to home.
eMusic
One worry I had when I chose an iPod over sattelite radio was that my music would become stale. Howver, with so many podcasts, internet radio, and services like eMusic, Magnatune and the like, there is no excuse for musical stagnation. Heck, it's no effort at all, really. I love Irish music, and have spent my train ride to work listening to podcasts by LiveIreland.com and the Thistlepod (NPR's Thistle and Shamrock). All kinds of great new music. Life is good!
Our Family Hostage Crisis – New York Times
Our Family Hostage Crisis – New York Times: “Our Family Hostage Crisis”
It’s stories like this that make me a fervent believer in critical importance of open, transparent government. The leaders of Iran believe that they are exempt from scrutiny, that they are accountable to no-one.
On only one point do I disagree with Professor Bakhash. The actions of Iran in these cases don’t make the government look “inhumane”, they make them look evil. This shows them to be beasts willing to brutalize anyone who, ever so slightly, diminishes their power.
Save Net Radio
I am a heavy user of net radio. As such, I’m a bit impacted by today’s “day of silence”. However, I fully support the efforts that our net radio friends are working on to save this medium. The way things are right now, net radio stations are looking at a 300% royalty increase that will be effective on July 15th. And that increase will be retroactive to January. The net effect (please forgive the pun) will be many of these stations imploding. I am in full support of artists being compensated for their work. However, this will remove a revenue stream as well eliminating a channel to expand their fan base. There are two big losers with this system: artists and listeners.
I urge you to head over to savenetradio.org to learn more about the issue. From there, you also will be shown how to contact your representatives in Congress, where there is legislation underway to reverse this. With all of our efforts, we can bring about a more sensible solution to ensure that artists are fairly paid and internet radio is able to stay on the “air”.
Facebook and MySpace are like chalk ‘n’ cheese
Facebook and MySpace are like chalk ‘n’ cheese
Steve O’Hear does an excellent job of breaking down the differences between the two popular sites. He really brings out the somewhat subtle differences (at least the MSM hasn’t caught them yet). After reading this, I’m breaking down and looking into Facebook.
Junior Boys Godard Mashup
The way this blends music with the film snippet is amazing. Plus, I love this 80’s-esque electronica.
Cars
As a “true” American, I have a deep love for the automobile. However, I’m a bit urban in my love. Though I have a deep respect for the historical American auto (watch my head turn after a Hudson or Packard), for my Modern car passions, I turn to Europe.
German cars, mostly Volkswagen, garner my focus (It is important to note that I currently drive a Honda Accord; necessity, not passion). (I don’t know if I would have a wider range of loves if my wallet were fatter.) Comically, my favorite VW has been the van. Though discontinued in the US, the Multivan still exists. The fact that I covet one of these, and would be willing to ship it to the States (with a few years of saving my pennies, of course) marks me as a geek (as if I needed another marker). I guess I’ll need to put the Linux penguin on the back window.
What I find fascinating is the “why”. I can’t put my finger on a particular wow factor. Some of it comes from my cyclist/outdoorsy days, where the VW van was so cool…I could transport my bike and not need to pull the wheels off! I get to my destination, pull out bike and ride. Woo hoo! Perhaps it’s the link between the hippie and the bus. I think that it’s pretty deep, deeper than the cool lines and advanced design. Because, let’s face it, even the Multivan is not radically designed.
Well, who knows. I do love the things, though. And, yes, I’m planning my trip to the holy land of Wolfsburg someday.