Friday, September 30, 2005

e volution




one of M-W's definitions....
Main Entry: evo·lu·tion
Pronunciation: "e-v&-'lü-sh&n, "E-v&-
2 c (1) : a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state : GROWTH (2) : a process of gradual and relatively peaceful social, political, and economic advance d : something evolved

Are we evolving? things may becoming more complex, but to smaller amounts of specialized groups... majority of our society is using technology that they have little control or knowledge of it's inner workings.... are things getting better? it seems our world has become ever more fragile, a bit more insecure, too much paranoia... we accept technological advances, yet do not know the implications of our consumer purchases and the market shifts which are occuring... are things gradually becoming more peaceful? politically -- no way..... economic? the global economy is creating more wealth for fewer individuals... is it feasible to have a prosperous world for the majority of individuals?? if everyone was educated, everyone had a job, everyone had a place to live and food was available to all... can these circumstances exist and be sustained without depleting every natural resource we have here on our precious earth??? sure the modern world kicked off by the industrial revolution has made life 'better' for us, but has it made poorer nations 'worse'? what is it that you, as an individual can do.. to help the world move in the right direction? is our exponential growth in world population going to help us out?


What are we doing here???

Monday, September 26, 2005

why I don't have an ipod, yet...

I didn't say that I don't own a mp3 player yet...
(I own a cheap 256MB usb-flash drive based one)
but I still have yet to join the masses of i-pod affectionados... Why? I'm holding out for future, much better versions... they will come, but patience is required as they are still making plenty of $$ off of current incarnations....

Here is what I want in my I-pod:

A) Wireless syncing/playing built in.

My computer has 802.11 wireless capabilities and Bluetooth, the I-pod should be able to support one of these standards for wireless data transfer without the need for an additional adapter. I'd like to be able to get a headphones, car & home stereo products that allow me to connect the I-pod wire free (Yes I know about the iTrip, but it's an external accessory and a short term playing solution, quality doesn't cut it for me) Okay, but here's one more longshot add-on. If I can get internet in the room from a wireless router, or my laptop, or my cellphone... the I-pod should be able to take advantage of that connection so that I can play internet radio (aka my personal web music collection)

B) Cross platform syncing

I'm a geek. I don't have just one computer. It would be nice to be able to use the ipod with more than one computer, and be able to transfer more music onto it just by connecting it to a computer (see point A, wirelessly)

C) Sharing music made easier

I want my friends to be able to check out what I've been listening to, sure I know there is some copyright issues here but friends can borrow cd's and return them to me, I'd like them to be able to do the same with my digital music collection.

D) The longer I wait, the more features I get for my buck!

“Who wants or needs downloads if you can just stream it whenever you want? Disks are so overrated.” Nullsoft cofounder Tom Pepper Tom and I think on the same level...




Some neat devices on the horizon that would complement my 'I-pod of the future':

Airtunes Express - 802.11 Home Stereo

Bluetooth Headset incorporated into nice shades

Bluetooth Car Stereo - Pioneer DEH-P70BT: (available in europe)

If I was impatient, this could maybe tide me over:
Bluetooth MP3 Player from BoomGear

Saturday, September 24, 2005

freedom of speech - journalism shifts

With past days of print-only publications, the news/media could put a spin on any story they'd like... And I'm sure influential partys or officials could potentially impact the way which these stories were presented to the public.

Enter present day, and the world of bloggers... We, you and I, are now reporters... on a small and distributed level with not as many readers... but we have the option of voicing our opinions globally.. Digital cameras integrated into our phones, are starting to provide information and pictures from scenes which classic reporters are not able to respond to quick enough to capture the true chain of events... I admire some news organizations for recognizing their weaknesses and starting to embrace 'common journalism'.

The world may now know the truth, if they could only find/trust the information sources and take their contents and treat them as opinion and not necessarily fact.. as all views expressed are the individuals alone, and not necessarily reflecting the ideals of the group, city, country, or any other division/classification...

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

social networking experiments

90's -> 99's -> 05's
homepages -> IM profiles -> webspaces (mis?)representing us

When you meet someone, it typically means you physically see, talk to, or perhaps shake hands and exchanged hello my name is... nice to meet you.

The internet has changed our perceptions of what it is to 'meet' someone, no longer are we bound to the specific communities we physically live and work in...

These social communities: (Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, AOL, LinkedIn, Match, IM chats) to name a few have become another way which we can narrow down the scope of 'who we'd like to meet' and if we wanted to... create digital and/or personal/professional relationships with these people...

These types of social networking experiments are simply that, attempts to get people to break the mold and try new ways of connecting with others you 'don't know, yet'.... We all want to have a network of friends, peers, acquaintances that can help eachother out or provide knowledge in a realm where we are thirsty for more... the initial bad stigma of using these 'geek services' has faded, people are beginning to recognize their worth in connecting people and expanding circles of friends and relationships.

I hope that face-to-face contact will remain important, but as our daily lives become busier.. at least we can stay connected --

Thursday, September 15, 2005

shaving...

One of man's most dreaded activities in the daily routine is shaving.. It just takes time, time you could be sleeping... time you could be eating breakfast... or just time you could be enjoying your coffee in the morning while reading/watching the news.... but every now and then, work, girlfriends, mothers would like to see your face shaved because society thinks that's more socially acceptable....

I admit, the Gillette Sensor was a marvel of the technology... lets sell a two blade system, which actually does make shaving a bit easier... we'll make more profit, and sell the blades for more... people bought it, and then starts the ridiculousness....

a room full of razor engineers.. what can we do to make more profit and make shaving easier? Wait.. that guy over there has an idea.... Let's make a razor with 3 blades? 3 blades! you are crazy!! nobody is going to buy a razor with 3 blades... but we can try, market it well... start selling the two blade system for the same price or more than the jacked up 3.. then people will have to switch and we'll discontinue the 2 blade system... brilliant!!

6 months later...
a room full of razor engineers... scratching their heads, what can we do to make shaving more expensive and easier?? hmmm... one guy raises his hand, a lazer beam that zaps all the hair off your face! great idea, but we don't want to invest in the resources and maybe people would be afraid of shooting lazers on their mug.. hmmm... one guy suggests, lets make a razor with 4 blades!!! brilliant! meanwhile a small team breaks off to start working on the next revolutionary blade, 5 blades!! not 6.. six is too many, but 5 blades!!

true story...

and one of the reasons why I continue to boycott higher blade systems.. buy two blade razors and stop the madness!! shave with them until your face bleeds because they are so dull... the razor blade 'model' will remain, sure... but this trend of more blades is better is just total ridiculousness and has to stop before someone cuts off their head!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

'96 Pathfinder SE

With winter quickly approaching, I need a way to get around town and up to the slopes!



only 65k miles! Nice...