News Corp to charge for all news websites
"The digital revolution has opened many new and inexpensive methods of distribution," Mr Murdoch said.

"But it has not made content free. Accordingly we intend to charge for all our news websites," he said.

Per the linked Business Spectator article, Murdoch considers his tabloid newspapers and propaganda engines to be just as newsworthy as the Wall Street Journal, and thus just as likely to succeed under a paid subscription distribution mechanism.

Once Fox News and the Herald Sun are dead, perhaps he can apply the same fiscal logic to MySpace, thus burning the centre out of his lies-n-trash vortex of Western culture for once and for all.

Per Archbishop Vincent Nichols, teenagers "throw themselves into a friendship or network of friends, then it collapses and they are desolate." In related news, the sky is blue and the sun sets in the west.

Transient online friendships 'hurting teens'
"The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has issued a dire warning to parents about social networking sites."

I'm beginning to notice a pattern forming whereby people who learn about a technology later in life use it in a very conscious, deliberate fashion. People who continue to use it in this way project their usage patterns onto other technology users, applying solid analogy to concepts in flux.

For example, a person unfamiliar with the Internet may (somewhat erroneously) compare the 'always on' nature of IM and SMS conversations to that of a traditional phone call. Skeptics consider the passive social connections Facebook users create through group memberships, photo comments and friend requests to happen in exclusion of face to face communication, instead of facilitating it.

Do these moral ambassadors consider anything more than anecdotal evidence and worst-case scenarios in their consideration of new technologies? Are they so blind to the nature of progress that they refuse to consider the possibility that negative social experiences preceded the advent of social networking, or that good social experiences could result from it?

The next time Archbishop Nichols takes the time to warn us all of the perils of the modern world, he'd do well to form a testable hypothesis and present us with some actual data supporting his ideas.

Or, he could just present us with a map of the internets, emblazoned with the words "Here Be Dragons..."

Around the turn of the century, music-producin'-perverts liked to mess with the proprietary audio CD format by adding multimedia content to them (or, by forcing PC users to listen through a sub-standard proprietary media player provided on the CD in order to prevent users from ripping the CD.)

Ordinarily, I could find a way to play the audio on my computer without running the promotional/restrictive programs on the data layer. This was shortly before I migrated my entire music collection to mp3s, only ever using my antiquated CD collection for road trips.

As I don't currently have my mp3 collection at work, I brought in some CDs to listen to in the meantime -- and, today, encountered the first multimedia/audio CD I've attempted to listen to in years.

Determined to listen to my CD in any way possible, I fired up Cygwin and ran this command from the CD's root:
cat * > /dev/dsp

I am now enjoying the raw output of every data file on the CD. I can quite happily say that no CD has been more listened-to than this one. Suck it, Sony/EMI.

I've been following this conflict closely through Twitter, which, despite criticisms that it makes disinformation easier to spread, has played a crucial role in facilitating continued communication between Iranians and outsiders.

Revolutionaries, throughout centuries of human civilisation, have thwarted censorship in order to share information and rally support using all available technologies. The distributed nature of the internet has increased the range of communication available to the Iranian populace to the point where individual activists can read first-hand reports and assist in real-time.

The stark difference between those reports and the ones made by mainstream journalists is disturbing. The prevalence of internet access has lent incredible power to independent journalists and eyewitnesses to share controversial details with the general public, making it possible for people to form their own understanding of world events from a myriad of sources.

The low signal-to-noise ratio of Twitter and other social networking services makes this task difficult. Conversely, by relying on a distributed (and often obfuscated) data source, these services allow users to self-publish and avoid censorship. In short, that low signal-to-noise ratio is the very thing that makes this freedom of information possible.

I was considering writing an Excel VBA project with self-modifying code, today -- reason being, I wanted to store variables (and possibly functions) in a worksheet created during runtime. Knowing this could be a Very Bad Idea, and not fully grokking the logistics of embarking on such a project, I hit the forums in order to better understand the Cthulhean task ahead.

While I was researching self-modifying Excel VBA code, I came across an Excel programmer who was expressing frustration over his attempts to change the code behind a form. The form contained a constant variable¹ which the programmer wanted to alter directly by changing the code. The code change worked, but the program wouldn't reflect that change in runtime. He couldn't figure out a way to force it to recompile/reinterpret the altered code without closing the form in question.

When asked why he didn't just use a regular variable, he said he'd tried that, but that didn't work either, it must be something to do with when the code is compiled/interpreted.

Evidently, the (fundamental) idea of using a regular variable and then assigning its value directly hadn't occurred to him.



1. "Constant variable" is one of my favourite all-time programming paradoxes.

"Yours is here.. Start shopping now!"

Any generalisation across an entire gender is bound to be false, and yet Dell have devoted an entire section of their web site to doing just that. Here are some of their “tech tips” just for women:
- Use a life organiser. Organising your life is hard; it’s best to let something smarter do that for you. Something like.. 100 lines of JavaScript.
- Get smarter by using your netbook as an e-book reader. Keep it up, and soon enough you’ll be smart enough to buy a regular laptop, like the ones men use!!1
- There is nothing more important in life than your fitness goals; decades of women’s magazines can’t be wrong.
… and so on. If only Dell had taken the initiative to tell me that the Inspiron Mini fits perfectly between the oven and the kitchen sink, I might run out and buy one.

I first found the “Della” site a few days ago, and noticed that it was linked from Dell’s main product listing page. “Della” still exists, but it would appear that it’s no longer linked from dell.com.

It would appear, perhaps, that the blogosphere has made itself heard...

Official release of Amazon's Kindle 2 DX: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/live-blogging-the-kindle-fest/

I'm interested to note that DRM wasn't even mentioned during the official overview/blog. Irrespective of technological advances, one of the fundamental advantages of books is that, once bought, they're yours.
If my Amazon.com account is ever deleted (by choice or force), the books I've bought from Amazon will remain mine. If I buy a Kindle, its licence agreement will legally oblige me to:
- Use my Kindle only for Amazon e-books
- Use only my Kindle for Amazon e-books
- Refrain from sharing my Amazon e-books with friends
- Refrain from tampering with my Kindle in order to circumvent these restrictions (or just read my books in another format).

...and: Amazon reserves the right to revoke my access to all my DRM-protected content without refund. (This has happened to at least one disgruntled customer.)

Fortunately, there are many other e-book solutions out there. Wired has reviewed a selection of them: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/samsungs-new-e/

More notes on Amazon's DRM policies are here: http://www.defectivebydesign.org/node/1097

“The beeps notifying the arrival of email are said to be causing a 0.5 per cent drop in gross domestic product in the United States, costing the economy $70bn a year.”

Michael Day is here to help us save the economy!

Oh dear. Is there anything we can't assign a dollar value to?

Last RvM (21/02/2009):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=2017204&id=1429813475 <- NEW
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66643&id=649872296&ref=nf
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=84853253&albumId=2320667

The one before, I think (01/2009) <-- i was not at this one i was at Rainbow Serpent 2009
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=119982356&albumId=2340542
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15837&id=1282093174&ref=nf

wewten tewten...

Another year's gone by, and once again February is ripe with blood, while jaded consumers battle wills with the death-diamond market, and self confidence tailspins in the face of bitterness and loneliness raging in synch with the status quo.

<< This response was removed by LiveJournal moderators in accordance with clauses XIV.1 and XIV.5 of the LiveJournal Terms of Service. >>

When I was 15, my high school ran a mandatory year/grade 10 class called "Work Education". We learned about industry sectors, resumes, job applications and workplace culture, and completed one week of work experience as a part of this subject.

I have no problem with this in itself. I do, however, have a problem with teaching children/teens that the only practical lifestyle involves full-time work or entrepreneurship. So, I was baffled when the last few lessons were spent watching a series of documentaries which the teacher presented as "alternatives to work".

We weren't asked to take notes-- only to watch. The series involved interviews with homeless people, wherein they described the scenarios that led to them becoming homeless. They discussed their lives in detail -- how they approached challenges like seeking food, shelter and transport.

Many of the participants had suffered extreme physical and mental abuse- one woman demonstrated her adaptive response to pain by burning her arm with a cigarette, explaining that she couldn't feel the burn at all. Further interviews discussed drug addiction and prostitution at length.

---

First, allow me to clarify that I don't take offence to being exposed to material like this, where pertinent. I do, however, resent being presented with a false dichotomy in the guise of "education"; in this case, presenting students with the dilemma of seeking traditional employment vs. being a homeless drug addict. He used the words "alternatives to work" (and only those words), then presented one outrageous "alternative", to encourage us to embrace the ideas presented earlier in the course.

I still wonder whether that teacher knew that he was presenting us with a false dichotomy or not; I don't even know whether it was his decision to include those documentaries in my school's Work Education curriculum. But I'm angry that this technique was used to manipulate my fellow students and I, and I'm disappointed in myself too. For all my adolescent cynicism, I didn't clearly recognise this technique until ten years on. I can't understand why the course content couldn't be presented on its own, as a guide to planning a career, finding and keeping employment, and understanding modern industry sectors.

This method of coersion belies a profound level of disrespect for all people; it is inherent in traditional schooling, and pervades our adult lives. "It is that they never do anything and never will do anything "worthwhile" unless some adult makes them do it."¹ This attitude erodes our confidence in our understanding, initiative and ability to think nonlinearly, fostering increased dependence on external guidance. This intellectual immaturity is the enemy of creativity and innovation.


1. John Holt: How Children Fail

You may remember my commenting on the new Mother ("Tastes nothing like the old one!") some months back. Coca Cola Amatil, seemingly finally understanding their inability to develop new flavours like the ones that built the foundations for their company, gave in and made their energy drink taste exactly like berry-flavoured V.

And put it in a bigger can.

Evidently, if you can't sell me a good product, I'll buy a crap one in larger volume. Is that enough low-grade stimulants to kill a pony in your pocket, or are you just REALLY pleased to see me?

It follows that a new market niche has been created -- the market for gigantic cans of mediocre-flavoured stimulants^w beverages. In this (and only this), new Mother stood alone, ostensibly because it wouldn't fit in the same shelf as Red Bull anymore. Now it stands alongside another, similar can.

Frucor (NZ brand best known for it's "V" drinks) has now released "Samedi", a "potion... believed to have the strength to awaken the dead". Cute. With the amount of glucuronolactone it contains, it also has the strength to cause brain tumours in the living¹.

So, I'm drinking this can of Samedi, keeping an open mind in the hope that it'll taste like nothing I've ever tasted before. Or, at least, that it doesn't taste identical to a competitor's product. Surely, only Coca Cola would sink that low.

Hey... this stuff tastes like Red Bull!

--- 10 minutes later ---

Additionally, a can of Samedi contains 57g of sugar. That's over 14tsp! I left it in my cubicle @ work, and now it smells like a candy store. I'm switching back to coffee..

--- 2 hours later ---

I couldn't finish it. Couldn't even get halfway through. I feel sick and my head hurts. The free coffee at work tastes better than this. Why do I do this to myself? Fuck you, Frucor.



1. ...or not. Apparently glucuronolactone is not only unlikely to kill you, but aids in detoxifying the liver. Sharing urban legends about popular soft drinks is fun, but not as much fun as drinking Jagerbombs!

Now, that's just silly. Following that logic, everyone everywhere will be hungover for the entirety of every year.

As some of you already know, I was touched, many moons ago, by His Noodly Appendage. I am, for most intents and purposes, a lapsed Pastafarian.

And so it came to pass that, one night, as I stared straight through the sky and out to universes beyond, a myriad of jellyfish did swarm to and fro. No noodles met my gaze that night. And when I finally did slumber, it was restless, my head swirling with unanswered questions.

The answers lay in the sea.

And I stayed on the land.

Some months hence, I conversed at length with a captive cuttlefish, on the nature of life and species. It raised more questions for me about octopod communication, learning, research, knowledge.

Then, BoingBoing wished me a Happy Tarvu Day. I researched. I watched the videos. I learnt something that I already knew -- Octopuses are holy creatures -- and Tarvu looked so easy to join!

Now, I don't know what to think. Pastafarianism? Tarvuism? Either?

I wonder if the Discordians would have me as a member.

Dear Mr. Murakami,

It is with great hesitation and, yet, great longing, that I write to you. I wish to make a difficult request.

May I, please, live in one of your stories?

I don't mean to suggest that I should be a main character, or, for that matter, that you should write about me at all. More that I could exist in one of your dreamscapes, clear, solid and whole. With more secrets and less fears.

Bright and hard, like the sun. Primal and unbreakable.

Please hurry, in considering my request. For I fear that, very soon, I will turn to sand.

Yours kindly,
Georgia

P.S.: If I cannot be accommodated in this unconventional way, perhaps, when the sun explodes, I will turn into a beach of glass. That would be ok, too.

My home contents insurance is due for renewal within a month, which has prompted SGIC to spontaneously shower me with written correspondence. First, they sent through the bill, which I'm happy to pay in order to have them continue to insure my material possessions.

Today, I received another letter from them, advising me about all the good reasons there are to stay with them. Which are:

- Up to 10% loyalty discount (I get 3% off, I believe, for remaining insured with them for 2 years).
- PLUS a handy magnet!!!

Words cannot express how dumbfounded I was. My first impulse is to feel slightly insulted, but well, it is a very large fridge magnet.

In their own words:

Often it's the small things that make a big difference - like this handy magnet with helpful numbers.

So stay with us and continue to enjoy the many benefits!

As an aside, the fridge magnet has numbers for Emergency 000, and numerous SGIC departments. So, if the magical marketing magnet doesn't do the trick and I do leave SGIC, this magnet will be nigh-useless to me anyway.

I was listening to an Ash album earlier this evening, and enjoying their semi-Lynchian juxtaposition of mid-20th century pop and 90's grunge inspired lyrics, when I reached the end of the album. Things got weird; distortion, squeaking, crunching... I presumed they were being "experimental" and playing with feedback etc.. but it sounded really good.

Turns out, whoever ripped the original album also ripped the multimedia track to MP3. And I kind of liked it better than the album. (Sorry, Ash.)

This all took me back to the days when, for ambient loungy background noise, I'd catenate the HDD of my Linux box to the audio device and have a good hour or two of random screeching, intermixed with the feather-light tones of ASCII-encoded files.

Fast-forward to this evening:

I just reached the end of "freecap_setup_eng.exe" and am about to queue up a few .JPGs to chill out to.

Peace and love,
Georgia

Yahoo! Answers is a wonderful place, because "Questions" and "Answers" are such open, malleable constructs.

Edging around the scene kids asking "what should I do when I'm sad", "how do I know when someone lieks me" and "how does my hair look", I found this the gem that now graces my Subject field. ( Here is my answer: )

I think the internet needs more pointless stories; who's with me?

A happy end to the bike saga... I brought my bike from Woodville Park train station to Super Elliots on Rundle Street, still sans one wheel, and missing the nut that holds the other wheel on. There is no optimal way to do this, but I swear my left arm is now musclier than my right arm from holding the seat up.

My chosen bike geeks had my beloved mountain bike fixed and ready to go by the time I had finished work, and I rode home via rivers, footpaths and random roads, enjoying the weather. The sun took its time setting, and warm and cool zephyrs burrowed inside the sleeves of my trenchcoat.

So, now, I'm at home, feeling fat 'n happy having dined upon the remains of a stir-fry that I expect will feed me all week. I've killed time on the internet and not felt bad because, for everything I *could* be doing, nothing is overdue yet.

Having spent this morning being an unduly grumpy product of my environment, I'm happy now. I think it's time to sit in bed and read. I don't do that nearly enough.

Peace,
Georg...