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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
9:53 am EDT, Apr 20, 2004 |
Citations to names of individuals and groups involving:
o assassinations, organized crime, and scandals
o Wall Street and transnational corporations
o foreign policy and media establishments
o political elites from the Right and Left
o Cold War history and intelligence The index in the back of a book is covered by the copyright on the book. Even if it was technically feasible to scan the index, it would most likely be considered illegal. This is unfortunate. This is mostly due to the nature of book publishing, which evolved over many decades, and won't adapt to a digital age unless there is obvious money to be made. It's also due to our monoculture. NameBase |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
9:50 am EDT, Apr 20, 2004 |
Right Web explores the many ties that link the right-wing movement's main players, organizations, corporate supporters, educational institutions, and government representatives to each other in a new architecture of power. Right Web represents a revival of a former program called GroupWatch that profiled more than 125 private, quasi-governmental, and religious organizations which were closely associated with the implementation of US foreign policy, especially in Central America. Right Web, however, adds a new dimension to this earlier endeavor: It shines a spotlight on not just organizations, but on the dozens and dozens of individuals who develop the ideas, promote the policies, and provide the cash needed to make the right-wing the most powerful force in America today. I have no comment about the politics of the material here, but I find the concept worth noting. The medium is the message. Right Web |
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| Topic: Business |
1:53 am EDT, Apr 20, 2004 |
"What really works?" we wondered. Our curiosity prompted us to undertake a major, multiyear research effort; our findings took us quite by surprise. Most of the management tools and techniques we studied had no direct causal relationship to superior business performance. It doesn't really matter if you implement ERP software or a CRM system; it matters little whether you centralize or decentralize your business. It's much easier to be a tumbler than it is to remain a winner. And so, it seems, there is value in being reminded from time to time what really works. I've been meaning to blog this article, from the July 2003 issue of Harvard Business Review, since its original publication. What Really Works |
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Brainstorming, Influence, and Icebergs |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:26 pm EDT, Apr 18, 2004 |
A single column from Bob Colwell can make a subscription to Computer worthwhile. Two heads are better than one as long as both are actively trying to accomplish the same goal. But those two heads also can achieve less together than either could alone. It depends on many things. Cognitive humility is one of the general traits I like best about engineers: We know we don't have all the answers, and yet we recognize that our designs must move forward even when our imperfect knowledge can have serious or even life-threatening consequences. Brainstorming, Influence, and Icebergs |
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Spanish Leader Orders All 1,300 Troops in Iraq to Withdraw |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
1:01 pm EDT, Apr 18, 2004 |
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday he had ordered Spanish troops withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible. "I await your next command, able leader," said Zapatero to bin Laden. Spanish Leader Orders All 1,300 Troops in Iraq to Withdraw |
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| Topic: Society |
11:45 am EDT, Apr 17, 2004 |
For years I had been borrowing this particular piece of sartorial equipment. Now I felt that I had reached the stage in life where I needed something that fit right, set the appropriate tone, and was hanging in my own closet ready for use. I am not talking about a tuxedo. ... All right, I thought. I'll buy polyethylene. There were other decisions, too. I also had to choose a color. Did I want groin protection? Well, why not? A friend with a lifetime of experience warned, "Don't just go buy something over the Internet." How Do I Look? |
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A Different Kind of Intelligence Failure |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
11:32 am EDT, Apr 17, 2004 |
Adlai Stevenson writes in the New York Times: This finger-pointing reflects misconceptions about the nature of intelligence -- and suggests an intelligence failure of a different sort. If one looks closely enough, there is generally a chance to see what lies ahead. The failures of the Bush administration are not those of foreign intelligence but of a cerebral sort of intelligence. A Different Kind of Intelligence Failure |
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The Recording Industry Soldiers On |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
11:09 am EDT, Apr 17, 2004 |
In the past few weeks there have been some mixed developments in the recording industry's battle against illegal file sharing. This isn't just a legal battle, of course. It's a battle of information and ideas. As long as the recording industry lives and dies by the blockbuster, music listeners will be looking for ways to see deeper into the music catalog. The recording industry needs to catch up to music lovers, and soon. You still wanna hear my "Fox Force Five" joke? The Recording Industry Soldiers On |
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Vengeance Still Mine, Saith the Lethal Bride |
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| Topic: Movies |
9:52 am EDT, Apr 16, 2004 |
Despite their hilariously florid rapping, Quentin Tarantino's creations are also incredibly cagey: they never give the entire game away. This shrewdness is the template for the long dialogues in "Kill Bill Vol. 2," the most voluptuous comic-book movie ever made. In this deliciously perverse picture, everything is operatic, including the despair and the pauses. Tarantino's movies are about loss and betrayal, and "Kill Bill Vol. 2" is a double-burger helping of those motifs. It is rich, substantial and sustained, yet also greasy kids' stuff, a wrapper filled with an extra large order of chili fries, stained with ketchup, salt and cheese. I think Elvis likes it. Vengeance Still Mine, Saith the Lethal Bride |
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AT&T Wireless Launches Music Service |
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| Topic: Technology |
2:08 am EDT, Apr 16, 2004 |
Thrynn wrote:
] Interesting. But how extensive could the database be?
] And this really worth $.99? The linked article reports a database of "1 million popular songs." That's a significant database; as a point of reference, the Rhapsody database presently contains ~ 634,000 tracks. It's quite likely that the database of this particular service, as it now stands, includes tracks that are not licensed for electronic purchase. As an example, it can probably identify "Help!" I agree that $0.99 is too much just for an identification service. Here's my proposal for the business model of the service. * You capture the audio clip and submit it to the service. * The service performs the lookup and responds with an identification of the track. * The service offers to sell you the track for $0.99. If you choose to purchase the track, you can listen to it on your phone immediately and at any time. You can also download it at a later time from an affiliated web site and transfer it to your desktop, laptop, iPod, or other portable player. * If you decline to purchase the track after it has been identified, you are charged $0.10 for the lookup; such results are logged by the service and made available for later reference on the web site. Previously identified tracks can be purchased from the web site at any time for an additional $0.89. As a partnership between AT&T and Apple, this could be successful. AT&T Wireless Launches Music Service |
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