December 2007 Archives

...and, because you, as an unsuspecting traveler, might be killed in a car accident on the way to the airport (by a terrorist in an unmarked vehicle--remember, we are still Code Orange!), all air travelers must now walk to the airport inside of a clear quart-sized plastic bag that is zipped closed. Shoes are to be off of the feet and carried plainly visible in the hands inside the clear quart-sized plastic bag so as to be ready for inspection by TSA at any time. Only three air holes, for breathing, are allowed in the top half of the plastic bag and may not exceed 1 inch in diameter and are to be fitted with .0001 micron filters suitable for trapping any and all air born toxins and pathogens. All sweat must be sponged out of the plastic bag and the sponge discarded before going through airport security checkpoints as liquids of more than 3.5 oz. remain banned from being brought aboard all flights. Remember, no traveler should take a sponge from a stranger at any time. Thank you, and have a safe flight.

Never mind me. I'm just grousing that air travel has become incomprehensibly cumbersome. Since we are far more likely to die in a car accident, why are we so hung up with air travel?

Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices
Travel Alert!: Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation will prohibit loose lithium batteries in checked baggage.

Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will no longer allow loose lithium batteries in checked baggage. These batteries may continue to be packed in carry-on baggage.

Under the new DOT rule, lithium batteries are allowed in checked baggage under one of the following conditions:

• The batteries must be in their original containers.
• The battery terminals must not exposed (for example placing tape over the ends of the batteries).
• The batteries are installed in a device.
• The batteries are enclosed by themselves in a plastic bag.

Loose lithium batteries found in checked baggage may be removed.

[From TSA: Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices]

Do you care about your privacy? What implications does all of this technology and surveillance have for freedom and privacy, for control and autonomy, for self determined destiny? I don't really know, but I'm horrified that this is not the topic of a great deal of American and international discussion!

Privacy state-of-the-planet -- it's not good
POSTED BY CORY DOCTOROW, DECEMBER 30, 2007 11:40 PM

The 2007 International Privacy Ranking rates selected countries in terms public surveillance. Each year since 1997, the US-based Electronic Privacy Information Center and the UK-based Privacy International have undertaken what has now become the most comprehensive survey of global privacy ever published. The Privacy & Human Rights Report surveys developments in 70 countries, assessing the state of surveillance and privacy protection. The most recent report, published in 2007 is probably the most comprehensive single volume report published in the human rights field." It's pretty dismal. Basically, no country in the world presents a healthy environment for people who care about their privacy. Link (Thanks, Sam!)

[From Privacy state-of-the-planet -- it's not good - Boing Boing ]

Need to add some pizzazz to your winter? Here are several photos I've shot in the last 12 months pre-sized and ready to use as a wallpaper for your iPhone.

How do you use these? Follow these steps for each photo you wish to use:

1. Click on the photo you want to use. A larger version appears in a new window.
2. Right click the larger photo and choose to download the photo. (Mac users will want to download it to your iPhoto library. Windows users, you're on your own baby. But, if you can manage to keep Bill's OS running, you can certainly figure this out!)
3. After you have downloaded and imported all of the selected photos into your iPhoto library, create an iPhone photo album in iPhoto.
4. Sync your iPhoto library (at least the iPhone album you created) with your iPhone.
5. On your iPhone, select your photos and go to the iPhone photo album.
6. Pick the photo you wish to be your iPhone's wallpaper.
7. Touch the wallpaper icon in the bottom left of the screen and follow the intuitive prompts.
8. Enjoy!

On this blog I have made no secret of the fact that I believe George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to be the worst, most incompetent president and vice president this nation has ever endured. In my lifetime I have never felt this way about any administration or party affiliation.

In my estimation, these men, with their Republican lackeys, have done more to seriously damage democracy, the balance of power between the three branches of government, freedom, America's public schools, civil rights, civil liberties, fiscal responsibility, privacy rights, the separation of church and state, international credibility, human rights, environmental protection, energy sustainability, social responsibility for everyone, and on and on. I can think of nothing they have done that is in the nation's long term best interest. And I am sadly astounded at how much the American people have been willing to tolerate. But then, I must remember that, above all, this administration mastered the whip of fear to cower the nation into surrendering our basic character, our substance of soul.

With the conglomeration of mass media, the noise machinery of fear and smear, the redefinition of key terms like "patriotism," and fenced in "free speech zones," they have effectively silenced free speech. Our words are the mechanism for critical thought, expression of dissenting ideas in a quest for truth, and explorations in problem solving. Americans no longer have a voice. Mass media tells us what we think so we don't have to do the hard work of thinking on our own, of finding credible information. No wonder so few people vote. No wonder so few people now believe in these institutions of government as effectively representing them and their real needs.

Rich Silverstein, the man responsible for the "Got Milk?" ad campaign, has designed three posters to help us encapsulate this period of presidential tenure. I encourage you to view each. They speak for themselves.

• Events
• Slogans
• People

These bumper stickers were all seen along the Pacific Coast, where hybrid vehicles abound:

No Wonder I like this state!

*The actual word was printed on the bumper sticker, but you can figure it out.

I had heard of this beach from a man living in Santa Monica. "Don't miss it!" he said. "But it's impossible to find. The locals want to keep it a secret. It's gorgeous and unlike any other." I had seen it on the maps of the California coast when I was downloading topography maps into my GPS. (I wanted to be sure to stay on the coastal area itself, mostly Highway 1.) So I told the unit to guide me to this beach, not really knowing what to expect. Interestingly, the GPS unit that came with the rental car did not have Pfeiffer Beach listed in Points of Interest!

The large, rather fancy stone sign for the beach is on the unassuming ancillary road to the beach itself--a full half mile away from the main road, completely impossible to see from the main road. You would never accidentally stumble upon this place even if you were looking for it. The road to the beach itself is long and just appears to be connecting private driveways to houses nestled in the canyon.

The day after visiting Pfeiffer Beach I learned from a lady, a native of the area who was breathing in the explosive costal energy of Point Lobos, that I was at Pfeiffer Beach on one of the two times per year that the sun actually peeks through the hole (which you cannot see in the pano below but can in the picture above) in the enormous craggy rock on the north beach. This magic hour appearance only happens at sunset and casts long fiery light in the ocean-soaked sands as the waves retreat during low tide. Every year photographers flock to this mecca as if participating in a holy observance, a spiritual awakening to be glimpsed only for a short time--long enough to last one all year.

I saw a giant picture (probably 6 feet by 4 feet) of this phenomenon in the hotel in which I stayed at Carmel. Astounding! If I had only stayed 2.5 hours longer, I wouldn't have missed it! But no worries, I've marked the calendar for next year's pilgrimage.

This place, the Pacific coast from Big Sur to Point Lobos, feeds my soul, or, as my guide the day before put it, "This is my happy place." But for me it's much more significant than just "happy." It's peace, equilibrium, Bach--a deep nurturing energy of soul.

The wind chill was all but unbearable. The extremely heavy tripod I use blew over! At times pictures of the sandy beach looked out of focus because the sand was being blown in high speed currents. This place is amazing!

Click on the picture above to see the panorama.

And, of course, you can view a nicer version using the Pangea Plugin (you must have the free plugin installed on your Mac) version at this link.

More, much more to come in the days to follow. I shot nearly 2,500 pictures of the Pacific Coast: Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Santa Monica, Cambria, Big Sur, Point Lobos, and San Fransisco to name a few. I shot over a dozen panoramas--a big first. Below is a mapped overview of the vacation travel starting in southern California, Los Angeles, and working my way north, San Francisco. The dots represent locations where large groups of pictures were shot.

I synced my GPS and camera and then merged the tracking data into the EXIF picture file data: Tah-dah: Instant locational photo journal!! Each picture actually knows where it was taken on Planet Earth and will be just a click away on Google Earth! I know, only a geek gets excited about such things! And I just love it!

Clicking on the NASA map above opens a larger version.

While shooting this pano, below, of the sunrise on the Manhattan Beach Peer, an older gentleman with a kind smile walked up to the homeless man on the peer, all bundled up, sitting in his wheelchair, and offered him $2.00. The homeless man turned him down scoffing, "What can you buy with just $2.00?" Well, maybe a cup of hot coffee from the shop just a block away would have been a nice addition to this cold blustery morning!

Click the image above to view the panorama.

And, of course, you can view a nicer version using the Pangea Plugin (you must have the free plugin installed on your Mac) version at this link.

National Geographic is providing, free of charge, an amazing collection of photos you can use as your computer desktop picture. Windows users call the desktop picture a wallpaper. Interestingly, Apple calls the desktop picture on the iPhone, wallpaper, too! Check out this link to the amazing collection. To whet your appetite, here are just four of the amazing pictures they are offering in resolutions of up to 1024 x 768. But the collection includes many, many others in categories such as Space, Nature, Adventure & Exploration, Animals, People & Culture, etc. I just wish I had taken them!

Let me put it bluntly, if the idiots running the government will label all schools in the United States as "failing" by 2014, when every single child (mentally handicapped children as well, learning disabled children, etc.) in the nation must be on grade level by an act of law, then I think those same politicians need to require zero emissions from automobiles by 10:00PM tonight! It's all just as absurd. And I read yesterday that scientists now think that the global warming issue is so serious we have probably already passed the tipping point: nothing we can do in our life times will reverse the infernal warming of our earth.

Read the entire article cited below carefully. It's not necessarily good news but political posturing? And if I read the tea leaves correctly, the US automotive industry has a large number of politicians in their back pockets. America's public school teachers have zero political clout, regrettably, and therefore can be treated with zero respect by the ugliness that has become our political machinery, which is hell bent on destroying America's public schools so they can patch that funding, along with the money they've been stealing from Social Security, into their own pet projects.

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe and utterly detest legalized corruption and irresponsible politicians who work for corporate America and their own private interests instead of the American people?! Yes, this administration has sunk to the lowest depths of any other in my entire lifetime!

California Wins Legal Battle to Make Cars Cleaner By Brandon Keim

The automobile industry's challenge to California's Clean Car law was rejected by a federal court today. Passed in 2002, the law requires new cars sold in California to emit 30 percent fewer greenhouse gases by 2020. In order for it to take effect, the Environmental Protection Agency needs to grant a waiver formally permitting the state to apply standards more rigorous than those contained in the federal Clean Air Act.

[From California Wins Legal Battle to Make Cars Cleaner | Wired Science from Wired.com]

You decided! (click to enlarge)

I heard back from Snap.com. Unless your site is parked at a .gov or a edu URL, you cannot avoid having advertisements appear on your site from the snap popup window. So, you will now notice that the snap bubble next to all of the links on my site are now gone. No more snap. As I told them, it was great fun while it lasted.

But, also no advertising on timtyson.com!

Here are a few Leopard tips I don't want to forget, so I'm including them in this post. If you don't know about them, enjoy! They offer some excellent shortcuts I'm trying to get in the habit of using for efficiency.

1. Control-F3 makes the dock active. Then type the first letter(s) of the application you want to use. When that application icon is highlighted press return to launch.

2. Apple-Space bar activates Spotlight. Type the first letters of the application you want to use. At the top of the list that appears is any application beginning with those letters. It takes surprisingly few letters to get the application you want. Press return to launch it.

3. When in Mail, if you highlight any important information and then hover over a data detected set of info, such as an address, click the down arrow that appears next to the data field, and add the data to an address book contact, the highlighted information automatically appears in the notes section of the contact's address book entry.

4. Not really 10.5, but QuickTime Pro 7.3 has an "Export to Web..." command under the File menu that generates the movies, code, and simple instructions that leverage javascript to work around Windows idiot obstacles to playing embedded quicktime movies through the Internet Explorer browser.

5. When using Safari 3 (10.4 or 10.5), you can select a URL from a source (Safari, Text, another browser, whatever), and drag it to an empty space in Safari's tab bar. When you drop the URL, Safari will then open another tab with this URL.

6. When in a printer's panel, hitting the Option key changes the Resume button into a Resume on Page button. This will allow you resume printing of a document put on hold while letting you choose from which page the printing should continue.

7. Spaces sometimes annoys me when it unexpectedly yanks me back to a different space to get to the Finder, and putting the Finder in all spaces is not intuitive. Here's how: go to Spaces in System Preferences, click on the "+" sign and navigate to the "application," Finder at: /System » Library » CoreServices » Finder.app and assign it to all spaces.

You know, we blindly push ahead with these free online tools without much consideration as to how long they will remain free--truly free. My site has used snap.com for a long time (in internet time). snap provides the little bubble popup next to links that reveals what the page at the link looks like so you can decide if you really want to visit the link or not. Today I discovered, much to my horror, that snap is now including advertisements in their snap window. [And, worse yet, it was an advertisement for that Vista operating system most everyone seems to hate! Hello! Not on this website!!] Certainly, they have to make money somehow. But I'm not sure I want to participate in that process. Well, actually, I am sure. I do not.

My site has always been, and I plan to always keep it (as long as I can afford the server space and bandwidth) ad free. This is primarily because of a personal loathing for unsolicited advertisement. Most people do not seem to be bothered by the unending bombardment of their attentional space by advertisement. I am. It drives me nuts. I actually have become rather skilled at intentional avoidance behaviors of unsolicited advertisements on the web, on TV, on billboards down the streets, etc. This is why I love services like iTunes, where I can spend extra to do without the unwanted advertising!

So, all of this to say, I just sent snap an email to inquire if I can continue to use their service on my site without "ad share" as they call it. If I cannot, or if I do not hear back from them in a timely manner, sadly, snap will come to an end at timtyson.us.

How long will other "free" web services, like flickr, del.icio.us, box, the google universe of products [the list goes on and on] remain free?

I played with Legos when I was a young thing. I certainly was in no was as creative with them as Nathan Sawaya is! He has turned Lego into an art medium. In fact, he has rightfully trademarked "The Art of the Brick." Check out his online gallery and this story about his work at CNN. Amazing!

I never have really given any thought to lacing up my shoes any differently than the way my mother taught me about 50 years ago! But... 43,200 ways to tie your shoes?!

Before you tie 'em, you have to lace 'em — and you can choose from among 43,200 perfectly legitimate ways to do it. A smart stringing strategy can actually improve your game, sportswise and otherwise, so Wired turned to Professor Shoelace (aka Ian Fieggen, an Australian programmer with a lace permutation fetish) for a rundown of the ins and outs. Here are four techniques:

1) Runner's stitch

Are your dogs yapping after a jog? This method alleviates pressure points inside the sneaker to give your pups some breathing room. Start with a horizontal lace across the bottom eyelets. Go straight up and emerge from the second set, cross over to the third, and go up to the fourth. Repeat.

2) Hacky weave

Popular in footbag circles, this method opens up the front of the shoe so there's more room to "catch" a hacky sack. Lace across the third eyelets, then dive into the second and emerge from the first. Now run the laces up, into the fourth eyelets. From there, crisscross to the top.

3) Skater special

We're talking ice skating, not skateboarding. To keep the instep tighter than the upper half of the boot, lace normally to the ankle at the desired pressure, then tie a square knot (right over left, left over right) and continue crisscrossing up the calf.

4) Two-tone tie

This one's pure fashion statement. You'll need two laces of different colors. String the first one across the bottom eyelets: Tuck the left end into the shoe; thread the right side through the second eyelet, then across to the opposite side, and repeat to the top. Now take the second lace and weave it through the first from bottom to top and back down. Weave until you run out of room. Then stuff the loose ends into comfortable spots inside the shoe. Kick it with your posse.

[From How to: Lace Your Shoes ]

After having returned the company from the very clutches of death, Steve Jobs, for all of his faults, has worked magic for Apple and himself.

Jobs has taken only a token annual salary of $1 since returning to Apple in 1996, for which he is recognized as the world's lowest-paid CEO by Guinness World Records. He is well-compensated by other means, however, being the frequent recipient of gifts from Apple's board of directors, such as a Gulfstream Jet and tens of millions of shares in restricted stock, which have contributed to Jobs's estimated net worth of $5.7 billion. (One incentive for this form of compensation: Capital gains tax on stock market profits is less exacting than federal income tax on earnings.)

[From Steve Jobs May Get a Raise | Epicenter from Wired.com]

Few things can be as exciting, as uplifting, a cause for a savoring pause as the sweeping beauty of a glorious melody. I spend much too little time feeding my soul with classical music which I so love! But, with the holidays at hand, I went to my iTunes collection and did a search for Пётр Ильич Чайкoвский. Ok, ok... so I typed it in English: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Out from the speakers popped the Berlin Symphony Orchestra's performance of Pas de deaux from the Nutcracker. Dear god that's just so plangent it's astoundingly brilliant, beautiful melodic composition! [Yes, remember, you can double click on any word on my blog for its definition.]

When I saw these pictures, they frightened me! I remember these cars. I actually believe they are the reason we now have imports from Japan and enjoy cars that actually run! Then, as the fear subsided, I was happy! Why was I in touch with some distant terror?

I went to concert as a teenager. The car that parked next to us was a relatively new blue Pinto, similar to the orange one pictured above. When they turned the car off and got out, it kept running--spitting, sputtering, backfiring, and jerking about in this most bizarre, convulsive manner. When the occupants were out of the vehicle, seeing us looking on in sheer terror of impending explosion, they casually said, "Oh, don't worry. It's always done that. It will stop in a few minutes." Dear god!

Another set of these is making the rounds on the internet. I love this guy's work!! I've posted about it before.

To see others, click the link to continue reading this post or this link to the source site where you can see many more.

Well said and certainly deserved!

On October 6, 1997, in response to the question of what he'd do if he was in charge of Apple Computer, Dell founder and then CEO Michael Dell stood before a crowd of several thousand IT executives and answered flippantly, "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

A little more than a month later, on November 10, 1997, new Apple Interim CEO (iCEO) Steve Jobs responded, speaking in front of an image of Michael Dell's bulls-eye covered face, "We're coming after you, you're in our sights."

On January 13, 2006, after a little more than eight years of hard work, Apple Inc. passed Dell, Inc. in market value, $72.13 billion vs. $71.97 billion at market close, respectively.

On July 27, 2007, Apple's value doubled that of Dell's, $127.81 billion vs. $63.65 billion, respectively.

This morning in intraday NASDAQ trading, a mere four months after becoming twice as valuable as Dell, Apple's market value passed 3 times that of Dell's, $165.66 billion vs. $54.42 billion.

Got any snappy retorts for that one, Mr. Dell? AAPL and DELL quotes via NASDAQ are here.

[From MacDailyNews - Apple now worth triple Dell’s market value]

This seems unseemly!

Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones: Scientific American

We compulsively wash our hands, spray our countertops and grimace when someone sneezes near us—in fact, we do everything we can to avoid unnecessary encounters with the germ world. But the truth is we are practically walking petri dishes, rife with bacterial colonies from our skin to the deepest recesses of our guts.

All the bacteria living inside you would fill a half-gallon jug; there are 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than human cells, according to Carolyn Bohach, a microbiologist at the University of Idaho (U.I.), along with other estimates from scientific studies. (Despite their vast numbers, bacteria don't take up that much space because bacteria are far smaller than human cells.) Although that sounds pretty gross, it's actually a very good thing. ...

But the bacterial body has made another contribution to our humanity—genes. Soon after the Human Genome Project published its preliminary results in 2001, a group of scientists announced that a handful of human genes—the consensus today is around 40—appear to be bacterial in origin. ...

[From Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones: Scientific American]

I found that last paragraph cited of interest as I have always joked with people, to see if I can get an incredulous reaction, that bacteria are actually alien life forms that are attempting to colonize the earth by mutating our bodies into their original alien likeness. Good God! Is it true?! <eg>

Below you'll find an alphabetical list of twenty words culled from frequent hits to Merriam-Webster OnLine and some popular submissions to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary. Click on the list to go to the Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary to vote for your pick for the 2007 Word of the Year. Once at the site, you can also click on the words to learn their meaning. Some are of particular interest.

This is astounding, and this is the least interesting of the ones they have on the web! I've been learning a lot about panorama photography, but this goes way, way, way beyond that--imagine panorama video! Yes. You can take control of the image and look all the way around you--in front, in back... all around. In this example you cannot look up or down.
Check out their site which explains the technological marvel behind all of this. The demo does a good job of explaining this. The un-web compressed videos have more picture information than HD.

And be certain to check out this 360º immersive footage shot on the ocean in a boat surrounded by enormous humpback whales. You feel like you're actually on the boat. These projects can be projected on a spherical screen for what must be a dizzying experience. Brilliant.

Linked up at Neatorama

I would ask Santa for this little gem! I've always wanted one that was the actual aspect ratio of my screen! The 4:3 monitors are ancient history, yet this is the first on-screen graphics tablet to be anything but!

Wacom Technology Corp. announced today the introduction of two new members to the Cintiq family--the Cintiq 12WX (USD$999) and Cintiq 20WSX (USD$1,999). The Cintiq 12WX combines all the advantages and power of direct pen-on-screen input with a new low-profile, lightweight and flexible design. The new Cintiq 12WX is aimed at professional creators of digital content looking to improve and streamline their workflow. Storyboarding for 2D or 3D animations, compositing for post production, designing graphics, as well as retouching photos are just a few of the many creative applications where the Cintiq 12WX will excel. The Cintiq 20WSX, the world's first wide-format desktop pen display. Combining the the same design elements and ergonomic enhancements as the Cintiq 21UX, Wacom's latest wide-format pen display is ideal for those who prefer to work with a 16:10 aspect ratio and may not require the increased resolution of the 21UX. I've been good Santa, really I have. [From MacMerc.com: Wacom announces new Cintiq Interactive Pen Displays]

Clever little gift idea. But I worry that the special heat sensitive pigment might cause cancer.

This clever mug automatically displays “OFF” when it is empty and ‘ON” when it is filled with coffee or tea. It is covered with a heat sensitive pigment which allows it to change from black to white or vice versa depending on whether it is filled or not. Charles & Marie are now selling the mug for $25. Via: Charles & Marie [From Neatorama » Blog Archive » On/Off Coffee Mug]

Getting a little brutal in time for the holiday shipping rush... Clever none the less...

Amusing Fedex ad that features UPS inside the Fedex truck. The words on the UPS truck are German. Competitive advertisement at its best. [From Fedex Advertisement Featuring UPS]

This is out of control! (But just in time for the holiday season!)

Pink is the color of fantasy. Our model, Chicken, looks like her mind is elsewhere when she wears this wig -- somewhere in a land of cotton candy and pinwheels where the air smells like sugar kisses. Pink makes your kitty feel elegant, modern and quintessentially feline. [From Kitty Wigs! Pink Passion]

Yes, 'tis the season to be jolly. But how, I ask, can I be jolly? I have so much to do I shouldn't even be spending this wee bit of time posting seasonal greetings! But I couldn't let December get too well on the way without celebrating Rudolph the Red-nosed Emoticon, and O Litho Tree, O Litho Tree!

Back to decorating the house. Way too much work!