February 14th, 2006
I’m sure Dana Scully would know. She’s so cute when she starts describing esoteric phenomena with that dead-pan look. I wonder if she’d get this one though.
On Sunday, Grace and I were lucky enough to come eye-to-eye with a Giant Australian Cuttlefish at Linley Point while Scuba diving. Even better, I snapped a very detailed photo of these creepy (but somehow majestic and intelligent-looking) creatures.
Click on the photo to get a big version. It’s worth it. Grace and I just hovered underwater staring at this fellow for a good 5 to 10 minutes! I’m not sure what he thought of us. We were hoping to see him swim away but he just sat silently staring back at us. A glimmer of sunlight passed by and was saw the most magical transformation in colour.
This was one of our great and amazing scuba diving moments.
January 31st, 2006
I don’t normally write about politics, but after looking at Revealing China Censorship via Google Images, I have to object to the continual focus on censorship by so many self-righteous blogger zealots.
I do agree that the issue with Google, and their censorship in China, is worth examining. The most interesting aspect isn’t really the censorship, but the moral Google vs. the immoral Google arguments, those are entertaining. But, now it’s getting serious. And flawed. People are actually believing that the dominance of images of tanks shown for Tiananmen Square on Google USA should be what the Chinese see! Bloggers are claiming something is morally wrong because the Chinese site shows none of these, but rather images of life and people at Tiananmen Square.
What we are seeing is censorship, but not of Chinese content, but rather censorship of USA propaganda. In the USA when you say "Tiananmen Square" all that people think about is the tragic events of 1989. The entire focus is on this political event, not on the people in the square today, or the meaning of it at any time before. It cannot be possibly be in the interests of the Chinese people to pound into their brain a single event solely from a western perspective.
When you search for "World Trade Center", yes, you will find about half the images are those of the terrorist attacks. But, the first four are of the WTC, standing proud in its finest days. Many of the other images are healing images, images of memorials. Over time, the US needs to come to grips with this tragedy. Searching for vietnam does not bring up an entire page of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. No, in fact, there is only one war image on the first page. Just as seaches for World Trade Center, 20 years from now, may have fewer result images of the tragedy, and more relevance to the overall course of history.
Please do not tell me that thinking people believe that a 600-year-old public space where events and history unfolded in China should be represented by an entire page of tanks on Google Images! Please!
What we see as censorship looks different in China I suspect. I’m sure the most conservative Chinese views are that it serves political interests by suppressing unwanted and disruptive information. But, maybe there’s another view, and I’m guessing that there are Chinese liberal thinkers who believe that balance, and some minimization of USA propaganda might not be so bad. Neither Google produces balanced information. It’s as ridiculous to see no tank confrontations as it is to see a whole page of tank confrontations. Progress has to start somewhere, and I don’t think this is black and white.
This will surely be an interesting debate, but let’s be a bit more fair to both Google and to China. Admit that the contents of the Internet is prejudiced toward Western views. Do we really want to push Western values on everyone in the world? I, for one, want people to think for themselves. As did many people who founded the USA. By cooperating with non-western governments and swallowing our pride (and prejudices) a bit, maybe it’s all a good thing in the end.
January 28th, 2006
The other day, I mentioned to someone whose opinion I respect that "I think DRM is
necessary". His instant comeback was that DRM is dead. Forget it. It’s useless
junk.
It was hard to argue. From any thinking person’s perspective DRM is useless
junk. Recently Fred Wilson decided to Boycott the iTunes
Music Store. Three cheers, Fred. Cory Doctorow has many excellent
arguments against DRM. I couldn’t even believe what I was saying really.
DRM is necessary? Where’s my head at?
So why did I say that?
Because I think of "Digital Rights" differently. When I think of digital rights
management, I think of the rights of me, the music consumer. Yes, I want
them to be managed, assured, and I want technology to serve my interests. I
want to be able to watch and play what I buy where I want, without restriction,
and yes, I think technology should assure me I can do that. But, there’s no way
to talk about that kind of technology and call it DRM. DRM is evil, and it’s
pointless. We need a new word.
I’ll call it DRAT. Digital Rights Assurance Technology. That’s
what I want. DRAT.
What does DRAT do for you?
With DRAT, I am guaranteed that any content I buy will be mine forever. It doesn’t matter if there’s a new format 15 years from now. DRAT protects me. It makes sure that I’ll be able to use it, even (or perhaps especially) if that new technology doesn’t support DRAT. Such is the magic of DRAT.
DRAT guarantees me I never have to reacquire my music. If my house burns down, who cares. I bought my music with DRAT. DRAT keeps track of my ownership so long as I live, and I can always get another copy, if indeed copies are what’s happening in my player. Is my player storing my DRAT music? Maybe. Hmm, pretty small little gadget. Oh well, I don’t know how it works. The player just knows who I am, that I’m its owner, and therefore knows about all the DRAT content I should be able to listen to with it. Thanks DRAT.
More than that, DRAT means I don’t have to store my content. If I just bought the new release of the 6-part Star Wars video content set, but I happen to be over at my friends house, I can watch it over there with my friends even though I didn’t remember to bring it. There is no "bring it" in the world of DRAT. Why should there be? I’ll be watching video on demand here at my home someday, and why should I have to "take it" to somebody else’s house who has video on demand. DRAT is a major technology breakthrough for the VOD world since I never forget anything any more.
With DRAT, sharing is OK. I live with Grace, she has lots of music. Now that I’ve chosen DRAT, her music is suddenly available to me on my devices, in my car, on my computer. How did it get there? I don’t know. It’s probably not stored, right? It’s somewhere. How does it know? Who cares! DRAT takes care of it. Grace told DRAT I’m allowed to listen to her music, and magically I am. It’s great.
DRAT also does some surprising things. It protects my shareholdings in music. I love Pat Metheny. And now that I have DRAT, I know that the money I paid for Pat’s music goes to him and anybody he decides to share it with. I know that because of DRAT, nobody has taken the music I own and deprived Pat of his livelihood. I like Pat. I want him to succeed and make more albums. Sometimes I tell DRAT to let other people listen to my Pat Metheny albums. Sometimes they start becoming Pat Metheny shareholders, and sometimes they don’t. That’s my decision because I own the music I bought. But, Pat trusts me and I trust him. And DRAT makes it all work.
So, DRAT:
- Assures me my content is mine forever
- Frees me from having to acquire every time I need a copy
- Eliminates my need to worry about storing it
- Allows me to decide how I share it
- Protects my sharholdings in the artists I care about
Where can I get DRAT?
It doesn’t look like I can right now. The only people who seem to be working on DRAT are trying to use politics and evangelism, such as DigitalConsumer.org’s Bill of Rights. The technology people are so distracted by DRM that they haven’t been worrying about DRAT.
Can such things be solved with technology? Of course they can!
What about my money? Money is a digital commodity, managed with wire transfers, ATMs, credit cards, and legal instruments. My money is mine forever. I never have to reaquire it. I don’t need to keep it under my mattress. And if I travel to another country, somehow magically my money is there too! And I didn’t even have to "bring it all with me". Just like DRAT! Obviously, technology is solving the problem with money, and despite my mild displeasure with banks, I’d never accuse them of limiting the way I use it. I can give it to anybody, exchange it for any type of currency available, and (inflation notwithstanding) can use it 10 years from now just as easily as I can use it today.
The Irony
The irony is that if you decide "I’ll create DRAT", the first thing you might realize is that DRAT Version 0.5 Beta looks a lot like DRM. Somehow, you’d need to augment the formats we store now, adding additional data, like metadata. You’d need to figure out how to simultaneously make sure that owners were empowered and artist rights were respected by making the format open (such as TCP/IP).
So the DRM systems of today are one step needed for DRAT. But, alas, it seems a misstep. Nobody looks at DRM and focuses on the empowerment of the content owner. The "Rights Assurance" part of DRAT is virtually absent in DRM, and in fact has been replaced with "Rights Limitations".
One thing is certain. If I really had DRAT, I’d look for it on every player I bought. I’d want to be sure I used it, since I desparately want those benefits. If DRAT really served consumer needs, I bet lots of people would do the same. They’d want it on all their devices, just like Stereo, Dolby, or FM Radio. So, DRAT could be a stunning commercial success.
If you know of anybody creating DRAT, please let me know. Until then, I guess I just have to do without and keep navigating the unfortunate digital content space trying to obtain my assurances using whatever anarchistic means I can find.
Drat.
January 10th, 2006
I recently read a very good post on Kuro5hin about oil. Most who left comments thought it was pretty lame. I felt the comments were pretty lame. I am amazed at how people can take a common, shared problem like oil and comment as if they had some magical control of governments to "suggest solutions". It’s nothing other than intellectual masturbation to be so arrogant as to ignore what you can do in preference for arguing about what you think others should do.
Here is what I had to say…
Criticizing the original author’s rhetoric, or posturing about what you might do if you had omniscient control of governments and finance is pointless. Such a tedious thread. I tire of the propensity of unempowered psuedo-intellectuals to analyze problems from a "global perspective" (as if they could do something) while ignoring personal responsibility (where they can take action).
Regardless of how you feel about the original posting, it is relevant. There is a crisis of global oil economics which puts the USA in the unfortunate position of being the victim of its own oil addiction.
Most of us cannot do anything except try to elect responsible officials, write letters to Congress, and promote greater understanding of the problem. But, those are indirect actions.
What of direct actions? How much oil do you use?
97% of America’s transportation needs are powered by oil. Of that, 50% are used to keep America’s cars and trucks on the road. That is one barrel in seven used globally.
As you drive, count the number of cars that have better gas mileage than yours. If you count ZERO, you’re doing your part better than most. If you drive an SUV (but don’t really need one), a muscle car (and can’t find a better way to bolster your ego), it’s time to ask the hard questions.
My wife and I are US citizens living in Australia for the moment, but the car situtation here is about the same.
Recently, we scrapped our Jeep and bought a small economy car that gets about 40mpg. It’s really all we need. We didn’t do much offroading, and surprisingly, we can fit more in the back of our economy car than we could in the Wrangler. Last weekend, we took a short trip and it was likely that 90% of the cars on the road passing us were using 30% to 60% more fuel than we were. I noted that pretty much none of the SUVs had more passengers than our car would carry. We felt really bad that for all those years we wasted so much fuel with our Jeep.
In the early 80s, the US had just come out of a harrowing OPEC price increase that rocked the nation. The average MPG for new cars purchased in America in 1984 was 27.5mpg, the highest it has ever been. For whatever reason, Americans are taking steps backward. Today, the average fuel consumption of US consumer vehicles is 23.9mpg. Most SUVs top out at 20mpg. A significant percentage of the problem is thus directly attributable to consumer behavior. This is a problem for which each individual can take action.
Americans drive about 2.5 trillion miles per year. If every American were to drive a car which had better gas mileage, and the 1984 gas consumption figures were to return, America would use 333 million barrels of oil less each year. And that doesn’t place Americans at even the slightest inconvenience. More can be achieved if people try harder.
I’ll accept that there are many perspectives on these numbers and the psychology of American car culture and how it relates to oil dependency. But, I challenge anybody to argue that there is any reason why any American should buy a Ford Mustang GT. Even the stock version has a 4.6L engine, has two doors, and gets 17mpg in the city. You can’t use it for a family. You can’t use it for hauling things. You can’t use it for offroading or difficult situations. It’s unsafe, and it has a virtually useless trunk.
Its only purpose is waste.
(In-depth statistics about American driving habits are at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics).
