Releasing the spiders, & letting Boston off the hook

Technorati Profile
(They have you save a post with the above link for signup confirmation; finally decided to join and get in the swim of it all, after having been weblogging for almost a year now.)

Hey, don't blame me for the spiders in the title -- that's what the button in Technorati says. Being in a town that just had a 2-million-dollar cow over boxes with flashing lights under bridges, one can't be too careful with what you say these days.

Listen, while we're at it, go easy on Boston over this one, alright?, despite the fact the same promotion went off without any fuss in all the other major U.S. cities. Remember that two of the planes of September 11th took off from Logan airport, and that we get these LNG supertankers in Boston Harbor, and that makes you kinda nervous.

Just as when I was obligated to wait on line last week to then hurriedly disrobe and empty my pockets to get on a flight, we've got to be ready and willing to put up with all the hassle that comes from erring on the side of caution. (Why, they even took away my aloe vera gel -- I was unwittingly carrying more then three ounces.)

In my case, I had a small reward: at the Newark airport, I turned around to find none other than Bill Russell standing behind me(!) It was 6:30 am, and he plainly was not ready to start talking to anyone, so I just told him, "Mr. Russell, it's an honor."

No sooner had the words left my mouth than someone from the airline came up to escort him around the interrogation line, which I thought was only appropriate for such an accomplished and principled gentleman.

Excerpts from his 2001 book, "Russell Rules : 11 Lessons on Leadership from the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner"

Endless Vistas... of confusion

Having been at this tech thing for a goodly amount of time, I've had this policy (and learned survival skill) for almost as long: Never Buy The 1.0 Version Of Anything.

So it's been with a complete lack of surprise that I've been watching the news of Microsoft's introduction of Windows 05 (which drifted to 06... no, make that '07). IDG's Computerworld, which has been around since only the giant Mainframus Rex roamed the earth, put it succinctly (Jan. 25):
"Wait! Don't buy Windows Vista! Microsoft's new OS is the best Windows ever. But don't buy it!"

They've updated that story since (Feb. 2, by Mike Elgan,) with the amusing headline, "Windows Vista: The 'Huh?' starts now; Microsoft is confusing everyone with its new OS..." The story explains that no one knows for sure what you'll have to do to upgrade from XP: "Microsoft created this confusion by failing to tell anyone what the proof requirement would be for using an Upgrade version of Vista. Meanwhile, the Upgrade versions are poison."

Then there's the fact that MS has introduced Vista in "10 -- count 'em, 10 -- versions. Instead of giving us a simple new upgrade path to the future, they instead gave us a homework assignment."

But wait, there's more! The first "service pack" from Microsoft -- aka, bug fixes -- won't be available until late in the year. Major peripheral vendors aren't ready yet for the new operating system. (Also, attention iPod Nation, Apple is warning everyone not to upgrade to Vista yet if you want your iTunes to work, at least until the next version of iTunes "in the next few weeks.")

The Why's and How's
It's like this: software companies only make real money when they ship a major new version. It's sad but true, but most often software that's shipped (by just about everybody, and I'd love to know who this isn't true of,) is still in the beta stage, and the companies depend on the unpaid labor of all the eager-beaver early adopters, and innocent newbies, to debug their software for them.

Generally, by the time the second update is available, that application is ready for primetime. But not before.

Vista has been delayed over a year (and retailers were dismayed, to put it mildly, when it wasn't ready as promised for their biggest season, the holidays), so just as with the famous release of Windows 95 so many years ago, with 3000 known bugs, MS pushed this release out the door before they had to start to consider closing theirs.

Related, on Rosswriting.com:Scouting the Techno-Frontier
(An editorial for the AltaVista MarketSpace webzine, 1997-98)

Engineers Rule -- Again?

I could not resist a quick comment on a 1/16 article in Wired on "How Yahoo Blew It" (via the Boston Globe's Business Filter).

The article concludes, "At Yahoo, the marketers rule, and at Google the engineers rule. And for that, Yahoo is finally paying the price."

As a former Digital employee, I found this highly ironic: being an engineering-driven company was exactly what was usually blamed for DEC going down, down, and finally out.

"And the seasons, they go round and round...", in Joni's words.

Is quoting a lyricist too cheesy? Okay, then, how about Sir Isaac Newton, the inventor of gravity? As Newton's Second Law of Psychics states, "What goes around, comes around."
(...Excuse me, I'm getting a call from the Editor; just continue reading, and I'll get back to you with whatever little copy edits he might have. "What is it now? Can't you see I'm busy!?")

(Back to the serious part --)
Last summer, I went to a groundbreaking at Gordon College where Ken Olsen was being honored by naming their new science building after him. I got close enough to watch as a steady stream of his former employees came up to express their heartfelt appreciations to him, and got to see the flash in his eyes. So only then, since he was gone from Digital by the time I worked there, I felt like I got to see who Ken Olsen really was.

But I sure got to hear a lot about him from the old DEC people who were still there, and the story was told that when he came into the company cafeteria, he'd pass by all the execs and go have lunch with... the engineers.

That stuff about Google people getting a day a week to work on their own projects? That's exactly what was going on at Digital in its heyday, and it all came from Ken.


Ken Olsen, in 1972
(from DECedOut.org, a site by and for loyalists)

"Baaack it up!" * (Before the Botnets get it)

Here’s one of the most ancient and didactic of the sacred injunctions of Computerdom, but one which potentially carries an even greater urgency for us now:

MAKE BACKUPS OF ALL YOUR VITAL INFORMATION --- Today

(How boring, I know: it tends to fall into that same bin with your dear sainted Mother telling you to clean up your room, or to stop doing whatever it was that you kept doing that just really drove your mother up the wall. But it’s one of those simple essentials we all know is true, yet somehow still need regular reminders to do.)

What sparked this particular ringing of the alarm was a positively scarifyin’ article by John Markoff in the New York Times last week, on the “Attack of the Zombie Computers” (which, damn, they've already archived and are charging for).
===

Botnets -- programs that secretly install themselves on perhaps millions of personal computers and band them together into a network to commit Internet crimes – “are being blamed for the huge spike in spam that bedeviled the Internet in recent months, as well as fraud and data theft. Security researchers have been concerned about botnets for some time... what is new is the vastly escalating scale of the problem."

"A security researcher analyzed the information contained in one 200-megabyte file that he had intercepted. The data came from 793 infected computers, and in a 30-day period, it generated 54,926 log-in credentials and 281 credit-card numbers, affecting 1,239 companies, including 35 stock brokerages, 86 bank accounts, 174 e-commerce accounts and 245 e-mail accounts."

That was in one file.

Said “David J. Farber, a Carnegie Mellon computer scientist and an Internet pioneer, ‘It’s an insidious threat, and what worries me is that the scope of the problem is still not clear to most people.’ Referring to Windows computers, he added, ‘The popular machines are so easy to penetrate, and that’s scary.’”

“The consensus among scientists is that botnet programs are present on about 11 percent of the more than 650 million computers attached to the Internet. A computer security researcher… who coordinates an international volunteer effort to fight botnets (said,) ‘The war to make the Internet safe was lost long ago, and we need to figure out what to do now.’”

Let’s revisit that last statement: “The war to make the Internet safe was lost long ago.” You know, just a moment of consideration of this concept, assuming it’s credible, must give one pause. We could quite possibly wake up one day and find the Internet down. Really down; brought to its knees.

But you don’t need the Web to crash for it to be a disaster; it could be your own personal information swiped from your computer, or the system of a company you’d entrusted some juicy bits to. Perhaps you’d hear a lonely whistling sound, as the breeze blew through your empty bank account.

I really don’t think this is alarmist in any extreme way. “Shift Happens.” We’ve just got to be truly prudent, and create our own backups. Then, if the unimaginable does occur, you can say, with considerable relief, “Well, at least I’ve got a copy of everything.” (That might be handy if you had to go to court to get your money back from the bank, for instance. You know, the one that charges you $35 for any oversight or slip of the pen?)

Protecting the data on your machine is just the start. For example, I’ve got one bank account that I use (sparingly) to buy things over the phone or Web, but I just leave a little in there, and the bulk in other, disconnected accounts. It’s not foolproof, but it lessens the odds of potentially getting thoroughly cleaned out in one swell foop.
===

Related, here:
"Hey, NYT, What About Fair Use?"
===

* - “Baaack it up!” Couldn’t resist quoting the anonymous garbageman who woke me with this cry every early morning, numerous years ago, as he guided his truck in backwards to pick up the refuse from the restaurant I lived next door to.
(That was “Maddies,” for you Marbleheaders, which is actually named “The Sail Loft.”)

Great Signs, and one wonders...

Found while searching for something else -- some irresistably funny signage:

(The bottom line reads, "Also, the bridge is out ahead." Oh; thanks.)

Another clever one:

Kudos to North Vancouver.

This is from an inscrutable weblog named, "City Comforts, temporarily known as Viaduct, the blog." Huh? It then contains the mysterious description, "What was this Blog About?", which they claim was, "Cities, architecture, the 'new urbanism,' real estate, historic preservation, urban design..." So naturally, the current item at the moment is on the new Apple iPhone (but I'm linking here to Macworld's take).

It appears they have a big debate going on in Seattle about fixing the Viaduct, asking the timeless question, "Could Seattle do without its elevated highway?" Funny to read from a Boston perspective, where they went in the opposite direction and Dug Big, for the greatest public work project/boondoggle in history. With that in mind, we applaud Seattle's elevated thinking.

Planting Seeds of Synergy

I just participated in a reasonably unique event this past weekend, and thought it would be a very good one to share. In a word, it was and is all about chemistry.

Mitch Ditkoff, founder and fearless leader of Idea Champions, a New York-based corporate training company (who I occasionally do some writing and training for), decided to bring together all the different people who work for them, to see what untapped interactions might result.

He announced it as, “a gathering of great souls, mavericks, innovators, free electrons and other assorted gypsies who will be working with Idea Champions in 2007.” (That’s pure Mitch-ese; but it’s always offered with a wink.) “The purpose of this gathering is for us to get to know each other a little better. I know all of you, but all of you don't necessarily know each other. There are a lot of synergies, positive sparks, and collaborations just waiting to happen…”

And, boy, did they ever. The old saw, “the atmosphere was electric” found its full expression in that room. I thought I’d pass this wonderful idea along, for anyone who collaborates with physically disconnected knowledge-worker units. For all the unquestionable benefits of electronic communication, I've come to the conclusion that there's a level where it's still very much a face-to-face world.

(That great "out of the box" illustration above was done for I.C. by Kent Lew.)

~~~
Mitch and his team are also notable for developing Free The Genie, “a deck of 55 creative thinking cards that help aspiring innovators get unstuck, out of the box, and achieve extraordinary results.”

(Blogospherists: no less a luminary than Seth Godin said about Free The Genie, "This is really, really good stuff.")

Related, here:
The "(How-Not-To-Approach-An) Innovation Committee" skit

Happy New Year, Month, Day...

In what I promise is the last of these meandering, relatively off-topic holiday posts:

I'm in NYC for a bit, so I decided to go, for the first time, to Times Square for the New Year's madness. You know, it's one of those either you've-got-to-do-it-once or once-is-enough things; I thought I'd go and see which one it turned out to be. That would be the latter; although it was fun and I am glad I went. Once.

Almost chickened out when I read in the days before that the city expected one million people -- 1,000,000 people! -- to be there, and that the police would be herding them into "pens" to keep things under control. So I decided to just go into the area for awhile earlier, then leave, just so I could catch the flavor and energy of it all. Of course, once I got there, obviously the only proper thing to do was stay for the climax.

There had to be vids of it on YouTube, because there were so many people holding their camcorders over their heads taping it, and sure enough, a search on YT for "Times Square New Years 2007" produces an ample supply.

I picked this video because that's as close as I got: at 57th Street on 7th Avenue, 15 blocks away. We could see The Ball, though it's hard to spot here; it descended into the spot where the fireworks come from. The papers suggested that you get there by 5 pm to get a penned-in spot in Times Square, where you would then not be allowed to leave for food or any other calls of nature. Uh, no thank you; I was going for a good time.


...and you are there! Sort of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jg-5S1U7tU

15 Houseplants Can Reduce Indoor Pollution

Practical Tips Dept. (Green desk)

"As few as 15 houseplants in an average-size home can offer a significant reduction in the number of indoor contaminants.

"Look for plants such as philodendrons, spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum), and golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) -- all have long been appreciated as houseplants for their decorative qualities and are highly effective in removing molecules of formaldehyde. This contaminant is present in many household items, including particleboard, carpet backings, some grocery bags, facial tissues, paper towels, and permanent-press clothing.

"Flowering plants such as gerbera daisies and chrysanthemums are excellent choices for removing benzene -- frequently present in gasoline, inks, oils, paints, plastics, and rubber -- from the atmosphere.

From "Ask Martha" in the Boston Globe, December 28, 2006

This is according to -- Gack!! -- Martha Stewart! Maybe she learned this in "that place where I was." (I'll admit I never thought I'd find occasion to quote this insufferably hyperactive housekeeper, and convicted abuser of market insider information. But she shore do know her houseplants, I guess.)

I might add that Pothos, mentioned here, are very hardy, tolerant plants that will not faint dead away if you forget to water them for a few days, or even a week. Just the thing for those of us whose thumbs are a pale green at best.

Unmentioned in this article is the fact that living with plants has an unmistakeably soothing effect on one's nerves, too.

The article also reminds us that, "Plants produce oxygen." That's good: scientists are beginning to suspect that oxygen might have some role in respiration, perhaps even some beneficial effects on the brain.

Web 2.0 and "Rational" VC Investing

Couldn't resist a quick (snarky) comment here: the Wall St. Journal, in "Today's Free Feature" of this date, created an e-mail discussion between two venture capitalists on the dodgy subject, "Is 'Web 2.0' Another Bubble?" (via Techmeme)

Saying he saw no bubble forming, one of the gentlemen, David Hornik (a partner at August Capital), made the following astonishing statement:

"Venture capitalists will rationally stop investing in ideas that don't bear fruit."

As an editor, I yearned to append, "...once the bubble bursts."

Back during the dot-bomb days, I understood that VCs' M.O. was to fund 20 companies in a sector that could support one or two, in the hopes that one of theirs makes it. I may be a rube where high finance is concerned, but that sounds intrinsically bubbly to me.

Mr. Hornik seems to confirm this track record by later referring to, "...the irrationality of the Web 1.0 ascendancy." Yet he also states, "While many Web 2.0 companies will fail, they will not likely fail in significantly greater proportions than has been the case with other venture investments historically."

So was there or was there not an Internet bubble? Was the the year 2000 that long ago?

Winky Dept.
This could well be considered a risky post on my part, since I'm still hoping some angelic or partnerized investor will be interested in funding my own Breakthrough E-Commerce idea!

Season's Greetings!

MERRY CHRISTMAS
(and/or Happy Holidays)!

Wishing you the best of all

An Exchange About GPS Monitoring of Kids

I just got involved in a fun exchange in David "Pogue's Posts" at nytimes.com*, still in progress as of this writing, on the serious subject of parents electronically monitoring their older children.

I happened to see a new post before anyone had added a comment, so I sallied forth, and got an intriguing response a few comments later. (Mine was #2, it turned out, then #9 is where I replied to #7's objection to my first one, while saluting #4's input. "Martha" makes a useful point at #20, among numerous other interesting windows on the topic, including pleas from creeped-out teens. I'm done, though, 'cuz like Stan Lee used to caption, "Nuff Said!")

The "net" consensus: In the long term, a trusting relationship will result in a healthier, happier person. Fear Strikes Out.

(Yet one more thing I'd like to do a search on, sometime: At what age do children generally start to become aware of themselves as individual entities, and to develop self pride?)

* -- "Wordsy" tangent:

Traditionally, something was "in" the New York Times. But in the current environment, no one says "in" a website, it's either "on" (that's old techie style,) or "at" (the marketing way). I might as easily used one or the other there.

Seems like people often refer to a site that supports a company's products as "on Acme.com," but a destination site like a newspaper, where the site itself is the offering, as "at." On the other hand, doesn't everyone say "on AOL"? Funny how language evolves.

("So what?" -- Hey, I clearly labelled this a tangent!)

Speaking of which:
...that would be Stan Lee, the founder of Marvel Comics, the guy who created the first superheroes with human problems and senses of humor (...who doesn't appear to have his own site, so we're giving you the Wikipedia page).

(Note: This is what you'd have to call a real holiday-style, freely tangential post, hm?)

TNT's NBA broadcast focuses on New Orleans today

Kudos to TNT to devote all their between- and after-game airtime to bring the still-broken condition of New Orleans to the forefront. This was on the occasion of the first game played in New Orleans by the itinerant "New Orleans/Oklahoma City-nee-Charlotte Hornets" since Katrina hit the criminally weak levies to remodel the city.

And a heartfelt shout-out to Ernie Johnson, the longtime host of Turner's NBA halftime show -- hang in there, Ernie! Great to see you back. I've always enjoyed your considerable wit, the smooth way you literally "moderate" the show, your always evident humanity, and now your courage.

I was one who was really annoyed when the bull, Barkley, first joined your fine china shop, since I really enjoyed you and Kenny Smith before he and his great big mouth arrived. But now the youngster's calmed down and settled in, and the three of you are a clever, relaxed, enjoyable ride on the subject of professional basketball.

What a contrast with how ESPN handles its NBA share, the much larger one, unfortunately. I like a lot of the individual on-air personalities, but they're clearly being conducted to deliver all opinions at a high pitch, with that constant, macho hurling of challenges.

Don't you hate those ESPN shoutfests? On one of their regular shows, we're invited to watch as those two guys -- I'm not going to name it or them, because we shouldn't encourage them to carry in the manner they do -- argue and yell at each other as they sprint through a tightly timed series of the day's hot topics. It's exhausting, but even better, it leaves you in a cross, contentious mood. Just what we need more of in our world today.

It's "Crossfire" on sports, and it was an advance of civilization when that CNN show went off the air, sunk, it seemed, by John Stewart's gutsy appearance on their show to beg them to stop.

-- See, now, here's a great example: Barkley says he could compete in the Eastern Conference today, Reggie Miller says if you can run up and down those stairs (the lower bowl of the arena) in 20 seconds, I'll believe you -- and the next thing you know, Charles is charging up the stairs. The camerapeople are quick and zoom back to catch it, and he arrives back in a respectable time, but clearly winded, to the merriment of all.

This kind of spontaneous fun happens so seldom on television these days; it makes you wonder why.

(Note: I wrote this last night while watching the basketball post-game show, after which it was just too late to do any more with.)

Related (satire), here:
"Dance vs. Hoops"

The "Greenest" Cities

The Green Guide, an environmental newsletter, has ranked Eugene, Oregon, at the top of its survey of America's most eco-friendly cities in 2006, "cities whose green achievements set the standard for others." The ranking is based on eleven criteria, including air quality, recycling, green space and transportation. Austin, Texas, was runner up and Portland, Oregon, came third. Boston was ranked a fairly respectable 11th.

Eugene is “well known as a powerhouse of green industry, clustering sustainable businesses like an environmentally minded Silicon Valley. …Residents enjoy numerous bike trails, clean air and water, parkland and outlying wilderness areas.

“Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85 percent of Eugene's power, reducing greenhouse gas emissions considerably. A little over 16 percent of Eugene is green space, including athletic fields, city parks, public gardens, trails and waterfront. The city has over 2,500 acres of publicly owned wetlands.”

Reuters’ story on the survey was headlined, "’Greenest' U.S. city faces same problems as others," as if to reassure us that we shouldn't bother going to all that trouble to act cooperatively with our home environment, because it makes no real difference.

The article, as you might expect, has a much more positive tone. But problems still sell better at the newsstand than solutions.

The city of Eugene has adopted aggressive environmental policies aimed at conserving energy, using alternative fuels and fostering an industry of green businesses. By 2020, Eugene aims to be carbon neutral in its buildings and operations... Eugene's entire fleet of diesel vehicles including heavy machinery and fire trucks run on a biodiesel blend. (Now at two-thirds, soon the entire fleet of its 400 automobiles will be hybrids...)

Nonetheless, Eugene struggles with many of the same problems facing other growing U.S. cities: urban sprawl, congested roadways and limited public transportation.

Eugene's vision is to transform the city's downtown into a more vibrant area with mixed commercial- and residential-use buildings to stem city sprawl, while buying up land for new parks and bike paths. Voters approved a $27.5 million bond in November to purchase land to build new parks, upgrade existing ones and expand hiking trails.

Connecting it all will be the city's new rapid transit system of large hybrid-electric buses that run in dedicated lanes with special traffic signals to guarantee consistent commuter times similar to train travel.

Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy says business and the environment are no longer in opposing corners. "People used to say you can't be good for business and protect the environment at the same time," said Piercy, a former state lawmaker who became mayor in 2005. "That is absolutely not the truth."

(By Daisuke Wakabayashi, publ. Dec. 11, 2006)

(Related, here:)
- Cambridge to ban or regulate leaf blowers

- Dell Starts Recycling Program with Free Home Pickup

Easily Jazz Up Your Site with Embedded Video Clips

'Don't know about you, but this year I sensed the conclusive sea change to video as The fundamental medium of communication. (I can just hear the incredulous cries: "Dude! Like, get with it, man -- that's really old news!" But, look, I'm a writer -- what do you expect?)

Obviously, most people have long turned to TV for most of their information input, as sad but true as that is. But what's really tipped the scales this year is Internet video: YouTube and all its clones, where we can now be the Producers instead of just the prodigious swallowers of footage.

Why "sad" but true? Because movies are naturally superior at conveying emotional information, but a far smaller pipe where thoughts and ideas are concerned. We may live by the former, being the "feeling machines" we are, but we need the latter to build things.

But I digress. YouTube's wonderful, genius stroke is to allow you to embed a video on your site, where viewers can watch it without leaving your page even though it's stored on YT. Like this:



(This is something I just put together for Dodge Street, a music club in nearby Salem, Mass., adding it to their site -- which is not otherwise my work, thank you! -- after first getting their video "ingested" from an older analog camcorder. I will post something more erudite as soon as such becomes available.)

There's nothing like moving pictures with sound to make an impression on humans. This YouTubian technique just makes it so easy, and you don't have to store bulky video files on your own server, or send those coveted eyeballs to another site to see your clips.

(Related, here:)
"What will make the Web universal is video"

Classical Radio Lives To Tell The Tale

We are pleased and relieved to note that the expected demise of round-the-clock classical radio here in Boston has been averted, at least for the time being. On December 1st, WCRB will begin to broadcast from 99.5 FM, because its present 102.5 will undergo a remarkable personality change into a country music station.

(These days we have to specify that’s “terrestrial” radio, although that’s a misnomer, since you don’t pick up broadcast radio waves by sticking an antenna in the ground, right? Their medium is usually referred to as the “airwaves.”)

Classical stations around the country have been falling like so many decrescendi in these past years, presumably as the generations that were more attuned to it have moved on. Over and over, classical stations have been sold to fill the gaping need for more pop/rock/dance music on the dial.

The reason this is such a big deal to me (besides the fact that I spent a few years as a weekly and frequent pinch-hit announcer on Miami’s former classical station, WTMI, since dance-popped,) is that WCRB is the only consistently quieter, more relaxed sound that’s always available on the public airwaves around here.

Concerned about road rage? As thousands of monitored plants from dozens of studies will tell you, classical music is soothing, calming, gently supportive, and all those similar qualities so frighteningly missing from Storrow Drive, Route 128, et al, for at least six hours each weekday.

We must duly note that public radio WGBH (89.7) programs classical weekdays from 9-4, after and before the invisible talking heads take over with their “All Things Confounded” and so on.

‘GBH has always played a much wider selection of music and composers, with the relative freedom of a listener supported, not-very-commercial station, while WCRB has always seemed to have a three-composer rotation: Mozart, Beethoven, then one of the others. (And there were only a handful of the others; but now it’s clear that they were fishing in a slowly drying pond, and were feeling considerable pressure to popularize.)

This blogger at Perfect Fifths, for “violin, viola, and cello players and fans,” reports that the signal on Lowell-based 99.5 is “much worse.” “I tested out the signal tonight from my home in Watertown, and unless they boost the signal, it’s pretty bad.”

= = =
UPDATE December 4th:
We're pleased to report that WCRB's signal is coming in loud and clear at 99.5 FM, at least up here on Boston's North Shore.

The Channel Getting Cleared?

Since the topic is Radio In The News; and we are all for a tilt back towards greater local ownership of media, for all the reasons stated in this bulletin of Nov. 17th:

“Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold has weighed in on the announced Clear Channel buyout and divestment of nearly 450 radio stations, and count him among the crowd that is happy to see the break-up of the media giant's reign on American radio.

"’Clear Channel has been the poster child for rapid consolidation in the radio industry, which has severely damaged the diversity, local flavor, and popularity of radio,’ said Feingold. ‘I hope the recently announced sale and divestment of around 450 stations marks an end to this ill-conceived experiment. And I urge the FCC to start taking more seriously its obligation to ensure the greatest benefit to the radio listener through increased localism and competition."

From FMQB (Friday Morning Quarterback), a radio industry magazine begun in 1968.

Senator Feingold might be celebrating a little early, though, since Clear Channel is only selling those stations that are not in the top 100 markets. In those city-states, they often own quite a few stations, meaning we're hearing a much smaller number of editorial voices than we realize.

Hey, NYT: What about Fair Use?

I was amused at a dialog that just popped up as I read one of David Pogue's columns in the New York Times. (I was going to add, "online," but then a dialog wouldn't have bluudy-well popped up out of the print edition, would it?)

From the NYT and “Powered by Rightslink, the copyright clearance center,” it offered to give me a “Quick Price Estimate for reproducing the article to use in your own materials."

By stating via pull-down menus that I was inquiring about republishing an “excerpt (max. 250 words)” on “a non-profit internet site” for three months, I was invited to pay $200 dollars, or $400 for a year. Oh, sure; I’m eager to pay for a quote that clearly would be covered under Fair Use.

That would be the “Fair use… doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.”

(That’s in the words of the faceless, numberless contributors to the Wikipedia’s page on Fair Use.)

This is going to influence me to stop quoting the New York Times, who can perhaps be forgiven for trying to find additional ways to save the newspaper business but are making an unfortunate choice here. What has fueled the nearly universal adoption of the Internet is exactly the reasonable application of appropriating other people's material.

That's assuming, of course, that we're talking logically here, about quoting a small chunk of someone's work with proper linking/attribution. (As we know, unreasonable out-and-out theft of other people's intellectual property has also been rumored to occur; but that's not what we're talking about.)

Dear David Stern: how about "One, two, three, T"

I'm watching the Celtics game -- as I write this they're up 78-70 at the end of the 3rd quarter vs. the Bobcats (the who?) at the new Garden -- flipping to the Suns-Spurs game, and watching as players are promptly called for fouls for even thinking about scowling at the ref's.

They got some new rules this year, see? David Stern says no more whining and complaining, no more temper, no more emotion directed at the referees.

Dear Mr. Stern,
You've done a great, in fact exemplary job of shaping and promoting the NBA. There must be an ample supply of marketing books based on what you've done. But the thing about emotions, especially some of the most intense type brought on by physical exertion and battle, is that they have got to go somewhere. They do not dissipate just because they are not not permitted.

How about a simple system of 1, 2, 3? If he counts to three, he pops the T. It sure worked great in my family, growing up.

It gives the guy, his breath heaving, sweat dripping liberally from a body that's been literally crashing into other athletes all game, a decent chance to vent a little. But it clearly draws a line, institutes a clear discipline, and everybody's happy.

= = = = =

Wow! Paul Pierce just aced a beauty after taking the hit from an airborne Bobcat, fortunately with no claws extended. Big foul for that.

The Celts have dancers this year for the first time, which for the tradition-soaked Celtics is a very big deal whenever it rarely happens.

Yuck.

During the game, sideline reporter Eric Dickerson contributed, "As Red Auerbach used to say, "Keep it simple, fellas."

Oh, geez, it's going right down to the wire. Final possession, Celtics need a stop...

Nope -- tie game. But they've got the ball with a short clock.

Five seconds on the clock, Pierce has the ball...

Overtime! "Free basketball," as the expression goes. But will Sczerbiak still have the hot hand?


...Delonte West! For the game! And, in fact, their first win of the season. And you were there!
; - )

(10:28 pm)

Another Long-Overdue Wrong To Be Righted: Leaf Blowers

In what has already been a very good news day ; - ) ,
this heartening item appeared in the Boston Herald*:

"Leaf blowers may have to take leave: Cambridge mulls ban"
By Laura Crimaldi, 11/8/06

"Cambridge city officials this week established a Leaf Blowers Advisory Committee to determine whether the noisy lawn and garden machines should be muffled for good or least regulated.

"Last year, Palo Alto, Calif., banned use of the cacophonous gas-powered deleafing devices in residential zones, joining more than a dozen of California communities that have outlawed high-octane leaf blasting or limited the hours that the turbo garden contraptions can be in use.

"The yard-clearing conundrum isn’t just about neighborhood racket, leaf blower naysayers said. It’s also about health risks and actually robbing your lawn of the nutrients needed to stay healthy.

“'Everybody has this idea that it’s important to get the leaves up,' said Karen Carmean, co-chairwoman of the Cambridge Public Planting Committee. (But,) 'it is the best thing for trees to have leaves on the ground around them because it creates leaf mulch.

"The leaf blowers also kick up dust particles that pose a health threat, Carmean said. 'Particulate matter is more dangerous than we thought it was a few years ago.'”

Okay, it isn't known as The People's Republic of Cambridge for nothing. And yes, the price of not cutting your own lawn will go up along with the extra time it'll take to rake.

But I was particularly happy to see this possibility being considered, because them dang things are a pet peeve of mine, and I hadn't even considered the issues of mulch and free-flying particles. Just the damn noise!

Such a peeve, in fact, that i was moved a few years back to vent into my keyboard on the subject; to wit:

It's a Loud, Loud World
Here's a piece of technology that has all the nerve-shredding abilities that we've outlined, but absolutely none of the usefulness, the practical value, of tools that at least accomplish something. The leaf blower just moves unwanted material from one place to the other, where it is equally unappreciated. Its slogan? "Let them clean it up."

Happy Basketball Season!

In honor of the start of the season:



Let's go Cel-tics! (They say that was Red Auerbach's favorite cheer, and the fans present at last night's Goodbye and Hello game really put their hearts into it.)


Too bad we're in the same conference as,



"Okay, check it in..."

(Logos courtesy of Chris Creamer's SportsLogos.Net.)