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NY Visit in Feb

Looks like I might be going to New York for the second half of February. Still pretty tentative and there’s probably a 50% chance it’ll all fall through. Did I ever tell you how much I hate flying? Usually a flight consists of 5 minutes of terror, 50 minutes of boredom and 5 minutes of … Continue reading “NY Visit in Feb”

Looks like I might be going to New York for the second half of February. Still pretty tentative and there’s probably a 50% chance it’ll all fall through.

Did I ever tell you how much I hate flying?

Usually a flight consists of 5 minutes of terror, 50 minutes of boredom and 5 minutes of terror. That’s pretty much all of my flying for the last five years – because it’s all been short haul trips to London or Paris.

I’ve been to the U.S. twice before, once to GA and the second time to NC.

Very different experiences – the first was family, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, The Fourth of July, fireworks, my utter infatuation with a very pretty girl and my heart being broken when she told me we could be “friends”. I hadn’t yet figured out that a 14 year old boy with freckles has a better chance of passing through the eye of a needle than scoring with a 17 year old girl who had a car. Go figure.

The second time was an invite from friends, a little love, a lot of heartbreak, missing my home terribly and a whole load of situations that I handled really badly. I met my first gay person and realised that I, and everyone I was friends with, had no idea what a gay person actually was. As I recall, he was funny, geeky and the first American I’d ever known to employ sarcasm and irony correctly. I hope he’s a professor somewhere. Teaching sarcasm or something. The only thing I sorta kept from those days was my friendship with Melody, one of the main reasons I went there. She’s incredibly patient, incredibly empathic, generous to the point of self-destruction and deserving of a Nobel prize based on the work she does. I was 20 and it was a long time ago. America is a very different place now.

Both times, of course, were punctuated by 5 minutes of terror, 7 hours of boredom and developing deep-vein thrombosis and 5 minutes of terror. The GA trip was even more special as we flew into Kennedy and then had to get a connecting flight to Atlanta. Joy!

I spent 8 weeks in GA and 6 weeks in NC. I’ll be spending 2 weeks in NY and if I’m honest I don’t want to go. I’m only into the new house, I don’t want to miss my kids for that amount of time. When I visit a new place I do go out and see the sights but hey I’ll just be yet another itinerant Irish tourist in New York. Nothing special about me.

But upwards and outwards. I just hope my iPods and laptops are up the challenge (battery-wise).

Anyone interested in meeting up should drop me a line. I know I’ll be busy but equally I know there are a lot of people in NY with whom I’ve had a fleeting acquaintance and it’d be good to meet up, chow down and help them realise that I really am as rude in real life as I am online but I don’t mean anything by it.

The plan is two weeks. That’s a lot of staring at hotel walls.

Henry Rollins at Vicar Street

Yesterday afternoon I visited the dentist. I hate the dentist. No, I don’t hate my dentist (she’s very pleasant), but I hate going because I fear it. But I broke a tooth in early January and I needed to get it sorted. Forty minutes later I’m walking out, feeling somewhat brutalised (at one point I … Continue reading “Henry Rollins at Vicar Street”

Yesterday afternoon I visited the dentist. I hate the dentist. No, I don’t hate my dentist (she’s very pleasant), but I hate going because I fear it. But I broke a tooth in early January and I needed to get it sorted. Forty minutes later I’m walking out, feeling somewhat brutalised (at one point I kicked out my foot in pain and made the “Nnnggggggggggggg” noise you make when someone gives you a stabbing pain in your skull and she said, “Did that hurt?”.

Quite.

Around five pm, I drove to Lisburn (Really. Would anyone miss Lisburn?), picked up my father and brother and drove to Dublin because we were going to see Henry Rollins for his Spoken Word 2008 Tour. He’s also in Belfast on 30th March and even though I’ve seen him this tour, he was that funny that I’d go see him again. Around the time the doors to the show opened, the anaesthetic wore off and I was reminded of the nasty pointy tools that had been poking in my mouth earlier with a dull ache that turned into a pounding headache by the time I got home after two in the morning.

Henry has excellent pacing. He tells heart-breaking stories intermingled with humour so you’re not immediately depressed by the subjects he talks about. This year he’ll tell you about his trips to Syria, Iran, Pakistan and Sweden. He’ll tell you enthusiastically about The Ruts and he’ll do his best to avoid talking about Dubya. (Indeed that section was the only bit of the gig I was unimpressed with. I know Dubya is an asshole. I’m tired and bored of hearing about it.)

Rollins’ enthusiasm for music is probably the best thing about his tours. Sure – there’s a lot this time round (I also saw him 2 years ago) where he’s constantly name dropping: David Lee Roth, huh, Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, sure, Nick Cave and Jello Biafra, okay, Ozzy, right, UK Subs, uh-huh….and the list goes on. It’s okay Henry, we know you’re a happening guy and you’re in the thick of it during happening times and god knows you’re definitely one of the “Famous People I Admire”. The only thing I really took home from the name-dropping was that Van Halen have reformed with David Lee Roth and they’re on tour. Holy shit. If only it wasn’t US-only.

Rollins remains the only Rock Star who I’d not mind marrying my sister.

Character and Social Networking

I’m a firm believer in a society founded on a results-based economy. Now that may be a term used by financial whizzkids out there in the real world, but what I mean here is that in your interactions with people daily, you should be considering the end result – what you want to get out … Continue reading “Character and Social Networking”

Now, that sounds terribly cynical in black and white and I must stress that I’m not advocating that we start categorising our friends and acquaintances on what we can get out of them because that would be a horrific application of the idea, but rather that we judge our own actions on the results that may occur. If I do this, what will happen?.

It’s this philosophy that gets you out of arguments by just apologising rather than scoring points. When I argue, I like to sulk for a little – just a few minutes of self-indulgence when all the witty and cutting remarks I didn’t say in the argument swim around my head. The result is the same – with these remarks I would have completely won that argument, but what would I have lost? Having won this argument, will I congratulate myself in my ivory tower, alone and proud?

Aldous Huxley, my flavour of the month, wrote:

And the prevailing philosophy of life would be a kind of Higher Utilitarianism, in which the Greatest Happiness principle would be secondary to the Final End principleâ€“the first question to be asked and answered in every contingency of life being: “How will this thought or action contribute to, or interfere with, the achievement, by me and the greatest possible number of other individuals, of man’s Final End?”

Seeing as Social Networks are now the ~~bubble~~ rage, how do you apply a social results-based economy to social networking? We see a little of it in social networks at the moment with the granting of “friend” status though some, like Robert Scoble, have popularised the friend status to the point that it becomes worthless. How can you complain about a limit of 5000 friends? Get over yourself. LinkedIn does a little better but is such a narrow niche and the recommendation system becomes reciprocal. You’re more likely to recommend someone who has recommended you, but who takes that first step?

With the Identity Crisis looming (and yes, it’s a crap name for my theory but you try churning out good names. We need Tim O’Reilly to popularise it and make a book!), we have to consider the consolidation of our various online identities into one semantic entity so that “the system” knows who we are but only provides that information to those we permit, to those who have some relevance to us. I don’t relish the idea of OpenSocial being the panacea there because it’s an advertising engine and I don’t see any of our governments stepping in to create something that they, by default, cannot control and mis-use.

The Jabber model works for me. I have the passwords which link my various online identities into one Island (server, service, online shopping portal). Other people verify this online identity is “me”. They have tenuous virtual connections to me through these other services which may or may not include an entry on my “Island”, we just may be strangers in strange lands elsewhere.

This post has rambled on long enough but the gist is: making your choices carefully and not based on reaction is what separates us from the animals. Being able to build social networks beyond the immediate family (or the Dunbar number) is a quality unique to humans as a consequence of our technology. The actions we take identify us as a person – they give us character. Through this display of character, we may be able to make connections to other people and have other people make connections to us on a basis of recommendation.

It would be nice to know that the people I associate myself with online all display good character. But in truth, I have no way of knowing and some of the people you’d expect to be fine, upstanding citizens simply are not.

BT – an exercise in excellence

Not content to let Orange and O2 be the only idiots in town, BT have stepped in. First they LIED about the activation date for the line itself and now they can’t give us any forecast of when the line will be made available to broadband. They claim to have no idea. What’s more: BT … Continue reading “BT – an exercise in excellence”

Not content to let Orange and O2 be the only idiots in town, BT have stepped in.

First they LIED about the activation date for the line itself and now they can’t give us any forecast of when the line will be made available to broadband.

They claim to have no idea.

What’s more: BT reckon that my entirely NON-rural address should be capable of a maximum of a 256 kilobit download speed.

I’m completely underwhelmed.

[ UPDATE: I will have broadband in 7-10 days. Whoop de frigging doo. At a seat-of-pants-tearing 512Kbits. Maybe.]

Humans. Overrated.

Humanity never fails to surprise me. Or disappoint. FakeSteve comments on Jens leaving Apple and the comments produce this gem. NO ONE ASKED YOU TO STAY FOR 16 YEARS OF BEING MISERABLE YOU SAD ASS LAMETARD FUCK MONKEY BITCHTARD GIRLY PUSS SHITBAG Ouch. I gotta remember that for the next time I’m told I’m not … Continue reading “Humans. Overrated.”

Humanity never fails to surprise me. Or disappoint.

FakeSteve comments on Jens leaving Apple and the comments produce this gem.

NO ONE ASKED YOU TO STAY FOR 16 YEARS OF BEING MISERABLE YOU SAD ASS LAMETARD FUCK MONKEY BITCHTARD GIRLY PUSS SHITBAG

Ouch. I gotta remember that for the next time I’m told I’m not getting a pay rise….

17/100 After the Event – Carrying the Conversation Forward

I may be a tad old-fashioned but if someone gives me their number or their email address, even in the form of a business card, then I assume they want me to use it. The Business Card is an amalgam of the Visiting Card and the Trade Card. Wikipedia provides: Visiting cards included refined engraved … Continue reading “17/100 After the Event – Carrying the Conversation Forward”

I may be a tad old-fashioned but if someone gives me their number or their email address, even in the form of a business card, then I assume they want me to use it.

The Business Card is an amalgam of the Visiting Card and the Trade Card.

Wikipedia provides:

Visiting cards included refined engraved ornaments and fantastic coats of arms. The visiting cards served as tangible evidence of the meeting of social obligations. The stack of cards in the card tray in the hall was a handy catalog of exactly who had called and whose calls one should reciprocate. They also provided a streamlined letter of introduction.

With the passage of time, visiting cards became an essential accessory to any 19th-century upper or middle class lady or gentleman. Visiting cards were not generally used among country folk or the working classes.

Trade cards first became popular at the beginning of the 17th century in London. These functioned as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to merchants’ stores, as no formal street address numbering system existed at the time.

When I started out, I was a lot less comfortable with making these lukewarm calls. It’s not the same as a cold call because there’s been some contact but it’s certainly got a chill about it.

If you’re not sure about the call, then attempt another way to remind the contactee. Using services like LinkedIn or FaceBook can be a good way, even if they don’t accept you as a contact or friend. You’ve made contact. Just pipe an email to them through the built-in invitation features and wait and see. The problem with this is that you have to have your LinkedIn or FaceBook presence updated. That’s easy enough on LinkedIn but be aware what “friends” can see. It’s not just that a potential contact may be offended by the photos of you in your gallery bench-pressing barmaids with the tagline “Absolutely shitfaced on the company tab and loving it” which might be career suicide in many cases, but also what people write on your Walls. Remember also that your friends can see your friends which means that a lot of the content produced by the eejits who shared your trip to the Canary Islands will be on show as well. I’m not telling you who to have as friends or to edit out friends who might be embarrassing, but if they are likely to be putting up photos of you dressed as Freddie Mercury with a racoon in your boxer shorts, then you might want to reconsider using FaceBook or any of the non-professional-oriented web sites. There’s always LinkedIn which is a lot more no-nonsense!

The old cliches are true, of course.

Women can smell desperation, and so can Venture Capitalists and other business operators. It’s not about getting the money or the business, it’s about doing the right thing for your business. Treat it like a child. You want to nurture it, not raise it to literacy and sell it into slavery.
The one about the chickens and the hatching? Conversations are just words. Just because you start off a conversation with someone, it doesn’t mean that you have to see it through. Business is about taking a few eggs and keeping them warm. Depending on the heat you apply, some of them will hatch. Some of them will burn. And some of them are really nice with toast and a little salt.
You’ll wait for an age for a bus, then three will come at once. Remember that you don’t have to get on any of them. You can be choosy with your business deals and I’d recommend that if you are sensible you can avoid picking up business partners that will, in the long run, bugger things up.
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one. So it failed, so it bollocksed up. You’ve still got your health, right? There’s always tomorrow? The rule I live with is that it’s okay to make mistakes, as long as they’re not fatal mistakes.

The point being, don’t be afraid to take the next step. The next person you meet might be the person who changes your life. And maybe it won’t be today, it might be in a years time when you’re in a different place.

But if you don’t make that callback. If you don’t make that first step, then you’ll never know.

[Chris Brogan’s 100 topics]

One restaurant I’ll never go to…

I don’t pay a lot of attention to reviews of things. Maybe a little more for things where it’s a mass market product, I’m only going to buy one and I know nothing about the product. Like when I was buying a dishwasher. I know nothing about them. I went for a triple-A model that I could afford with some aftercare because there’s no way I’m sticking a screwdriver into a device that uses a lot of water in it’s internals along with electricity. That just seems stupid and something best left to professionals.

I pay less attention to movie and food reviews because so much of it depends on the instance of delivery. Someone working their way through a mega-bag of super-crunchy nacho chips in the seat behind me won’t irritate me unduly but in comparison a couple of kids who insist on sending texts and flashing their little mobile screens at me will often send me into a quiet seething rage. Similarly with food. If it’s bad smelling I won’t eat it. But a review from three weeks ago will not give me a scare about somewhere.

But here in the news is a story about a restaurant review that went poorly and the owner of the restaurant has decided to strike back in a novel way.

Did he decide to invite every food critic in the city and make an honest attempt to impress them?

No.

He decided that the REVIEW was defamatory. And sued for damages. And won.

Here’s the story in all it’s stupidity.

What does this mean for the future? Will book reviews err on the side of being nice for fear that an author will sue? We’ve known that reviews in computer magazines were usually nicer than they should be where advertisers are concerned? Is this restaurant an advertiser in the Irish News? Is that what this is about? They pay XXX pounds to the Irish News for advertising telling everyone how good they are and then the Irish News turns around and publishes a less than sparkling review?

I’m disappointed in the legal system for this one getting through. But I guess it means reviews are utterly worthless.

10 million kids will die.

Tim Weber (BBC) has a report on the World Economic Forum which is going on right now in Davos, Switzerland. It was not just celebrity that drew the audience, the topic was weighty as well – actually, it was a tad pretentious. Mr Gore and Bono promised to discuss a “unified earth theory: combining solutions … Continue reading “10 million kids will die.”

Tim Weber (BBC) has a report on the World Economic Forum which is going on right now in Davos, Switzerland.

It was not just celebrity that drew the audience, the topic was weighty as well – actually, it was a tad pretentious. Mr Gore and Bono promised to discuss a “unified earth theory: combining solutions to extreme poverty and the climate crisis”.

In other words: can we fight extreme poverty without raising global consumption to levels that totally wreck our world?

That’s two pretty awful things and we need to think of solutions to them both. Gore and Bono accused the media of being too selective.

If you were to say: 10 million kids are going to die because of climate change, you’d read about this. Well, they are going to die next year, because of extreme poverty.

So what to do? Two immense problems require some tackling and it seems that the actions of two superstars will leave people thinking but not actually doing. I feel somewhat helpless and inadequate when I think of my contributions to fighting both climate change and poverty. My hands are already filled and I’ve not much more time for anything yet I feel I must.

Developing nations are just coming into their industrial revolutions even though they have some of the trappings of industry and the digital age. They’re starting to build the factories that we built half a century ago and producing fumes and pollution. And of course the response is that we need to give them room to grow – to develop their technology.

It’s been described as a bit rich to hold the developing nations to the same standards we now hold ourselves but I think now is a real opportunity to help them get to our level in terms of technological sophistry, without the burden of pollution. Scads of solar panels will fuel water pumps and purifiers, lighting and electric vehicles, long distance mesh networked communications devices. And this is how we should be tackling it.

And if I had a billion dollars, it’s how I would tackle it.

My excuses for doing the little I do are probably the same as most. I have a mortgage and a family to support. I want to be able to keep them warm and dry in this cold and wet climate. I want the children to be educated and informed and not held back in any way.

That’s the problem with knowing what is to be done and yet professing inability to do anything about it. “Green” technology has such a high cost of entry because it’s a boom business.

Going green, for instance with a wnd turbine or solar panel, can save you money but only if you have the money (and land and planning in the case of a turbine) to install it. What about better glazing and a more efficient modern heating system – but if people are paying exorbitant heating prices now due to inefficiencies then they’re hardly going to be able to afford to put in a new boiler with savings they don’t have and which could only be realised 10 years after the fact.

The biggest problem I have is that I don’t know what to do.

You ratted me out, you dirty rat…

Damien posted this link to a story on the Machinist blog about how smartphones (and not just iPhones) can get you into trouble. One exception to this is a search incident to arrest — if the police are arresting you, they can search you and your possessions without first obtaining a warrant. During the past … Continue reading “You ratted me out, you dirty rat…”

Damien posted this link to a story on the Machinist blog about how smartphones (and not just iPhones) can get you into trouble.

One exception to this is a search incident to arrest — if the police are arresting you, they can search you and your possessions without first obtaining a warrant. During the past few decades, Gershowitz explains, courts have given the police wide rein in conducting such searches. If police arrest a driver, they’re allowed to search not only the driver but the car, passengers in the car, and “containers” in the car — envelopes, wallets, aspirin bottles — that they find. And incriminating evidence they find — even if it’s not related to the crime they’re arresting you for — can be admissible in court.

In recent years courts have been asked to rule on the legality of police searches of electronic devices found during the course of an arrest, and judges have almost always come down on the side of the officers.

The most obvious answer is “Don’t do illegal stuff, ever” but frankly my experience of the police forces, admittedly limited to Northern Ireland, would make me hesitate to wonder if even this is enough.

The obvious thing to do, just in case you are involved in something dubious (and even then, looking at Dumb Laws it can be something as puerile and stupid as:

Those wishing to purchase a television must also buy a license.
Chelsea Pensioners may not be impersonated.
It is illegal to leave baggage unattended.
Picking up abandoned baggage is an act of terrorism.
Any person found breaking a boiled egg at the sharp end will be sentenced to 24 hours in the village stocks (enacted by Edward VI).

and other similar nonsense) is to password protect or otherwise encrypt your data.

From The Register:

“The last line of defense really is you holding your own password,” Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney at the EFF, said.

Aha, that may work in the US with the whole Fifth Amendment stuff, but what about in the UK where, of course, we care about.

From The Register again, regarding the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, 2000:

The RIP Bill contains one truly frightening basic assumption: if you have stored on your computer any form of encrypted message, you will be forced on request by the police to hand over the necessary keys to decrypt this data. If you do not have the keys, YOU MUST PROVE THAT YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN IN POSSESSION OF THEM, or you could be subject to a two-year jail term.

So much for the lack of self-incrimination.

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