Tom's Journal

WANT!

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:59:11 GMT

I always wondered where the computer in the Jetson’s home was kept.

I bet this company ends up making it:
http://www.thureon.com/armarac/demonstration.htm

Google first search engine to support IPv6

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:15:56 GMT

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/289767722/looking-towards-ipv6.html

If you have an IPv6 connection, then try http://ipv6.google.com

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:14:24 GMT

One of the best West Wing moments was the last 5 minutes of the pilot:

Thanks to la_directora for linking to this.

Video about Power Exchange... a family business!

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:56:50 GMT

http://current.com/items/88864320_family_friendly_sex_club

Hugs

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:20:04 GMT

I’m such a sucker for videos like this:

(Originally seen on the obama_2008 group here.)

Ooops...

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:10:21 GMT

I’ve been watching Sue Simmons on TV since I can remember. She was the local anchor on Channel 5 when they did “Live at 5” when I was in... gosh... 6th grade?

I didn’t see it last night, but la_directora did and so did millions of others when she said:

Surprise!

Mon, 12 May 2008 05:51:27 GMT

“Microsoft move suggests not reversing Yahoo decision” (WSJ, May 9): “Microsoft Corp. released potential proxy board members from their agreements to serve in the event it made a hostile bid for Yahoo Inc., following the software giant’s decision last weekend to end its effort to buy the Internet company. Members of the proxy board received a short email from Microsoft’s law firm Sullivan & Cromwell Thursday morning, five days after Microsoft announced it was dropping its unsolicited bid for Yahoo after an unsuccessful three-month courtship. Neither a Microsoft nor Yahoo spokesman could be reached for comment. The move is a clear sign that Microsoft isn’t planning a sudden reversal of its decision and comes amid speculation that Microsoft and Yahoo sides will restart talks as several large shareholders have expressed their disappointment that a deal wasn’t reached.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121027770070978351.html

Wow! MS isn’t done with Yahoo! What a surprise!

Oh wait... it ISN’T a real surprise. It is a manufactured surprise to give the media something to talk about. When I predicted this some people (crs and lonesomepolecat) disagreed while others (rainbear, etler, kimuchi) agreed with me. Look who’s laughing now?

This ain’t over.

LJ Vacation

Sun, 11 May 2008 16:03:07 GMT

I won’t be reading LJ for this week. Too busy at work.

I’m in SF for the week. Email me if you want to reach me.

Technical Announcement

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:32:20 GMT

Be sure to upgrade your ethernet cables to Cat6 before you run IPv6. It isn’t required for the protocol. It just makes the OCD people happy.

Yahoo! and Microsoft

Wed, 07 May 2008 11:19:21 GMT

One of the under-reported parts of the story is that Microsoft still has the option of doing a hostile take-over attempt of Yahoo! They certainly have the cash on hand to do it.

Brilliantly, since the media has decided to under-report it, if Microsoft goes that route, the media will be in a wonderful position to call it “a surprise move by Microsoft.”

Computer Networks: 10 years ago vs. today

Mon, 05 May 2008 17:42:30 GMT

1995-8: Explaining over and over to people that when one uses NAT to “hide a company behind one IP address”, you get a certain amount of firewall protection “for free”

2008-9: Explain over and over to people that with IPv6 you don’t need NAT, and you can STILL have a firewall.

Congrats to barking_iguana for appearing on Blue Jersey.com!

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:03:43 GMT

If you read www.BlueJersey.com (or read the bluejersey import) you may have seen LJ’er and friend barking_iguana’s posts making it to the front page (A Single House Upon A Hill ). Hopefully this will be the first of many.

For those of you outside NJ, bluejersey.com is the big progressive news site in NJ.

"black enough"

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:59:52 GMT

Media links

Sun, 04 May 2008 18:24:15 GMT

The Audacity of Government: If you listen to only one episode of This American Life, I hope it is this one.

We’ve noticed a trend in actions taken lately by the U.S. government. Tiny things you probably haven t heard of, but with big implications. So we ve decided to spend an hour admitting and discussing what everyone knows is true: America’s become a jerk.

But if you don’t have time to listen to that, at least check out Tom Hanks endorsing Obama:Video

Dems win House seat in Lousisana!

Sun, 04 May 2008 16:39:16 GMT

Don Cazayoux (D) defeated Woody Jenkins (R) in a special election to fill the LA-06 seat in the House. This is a telling sign about what might happen in November in the Obama vs. McCain race. In this conservative state the “don’t vote for a liberal” tactic just plain didn’t work. The Republicans are now nervous:

Both the DCCC and NRCC advertised heavily here. The NRCC referred to Don Cazayoux (a Cajun name) as “Don Tax You” and claimed he is a “liberal,” which is a big insult in rural Lousiana. They also tried to tie him to boogeyman Barack Obama and boogeywoman Nancy Pelosi. The whole nine yards. At this point, the Republicans assume Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee and LA-06 was a field test of their November strategy to paint him as a big-government, high-tax, arugula-eating, orange-juice-drinking, Ivy League, out-of-touch liberal. Only it didn’t work, even in a very conservative area. The next field test is scheduled for May 13, when Travis Childers (D) dukes it out with Greg Davis (R) in a runoff for Sen. Roger Wicker's old seat in MS-01.
By tomorrow every Republican in the House is going to be thinking “There but for the grace of God go I.” If a well-known strongly conservative GOP candidate with 28 years experience in the state legislature can’t win an open seat in a heavily Republican district that the GOP has held since 1975, what is going to happen in the many open seats and marginal Republican districts in November? To make matters worse for the GOP, the DCCC has $44 million in the bank (of which it spent $1.2 million on this race) to the NRCC’s $6 million (of which they spent $500,000 in LA-06).

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/electoralvote/63153.html

The Onion: NHL star called to the big leagues

Sat, 03 May 2008 11:23:06 GMT

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/nhl_star_called_up_to_big_leagues

Donna Brazille

Thu, 01 May 2008 13:00:25 GMT

Donna Brazilla on Colbert... where she struggles to not say who she’s supporting. Colbert sings to her and, well, I think they were offering sex to each other.

Dilbert is making fun of me wahhhhh

Thu, 01 May 2008 12:16:36 GMT

http://www.dilbert.com/animation/comic/2008-04-30/

I'm in the top 15

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:27:12 GMT

The Obama in 30 seconds commercial that I am in is in the “top 15”. Vote today.

Sadly I think the footage was great but they put it together into a rather boring commercial. Not boring, just a “zero” as far as overall impact. Bummer.

Vote on the top 15

Want to see *MY* favorite commercial? I think these people should win the contest.

Update: All 15 on one page

TrekStor showcases i.Beat blaxx portable media player

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:37:27 GMT

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/trekstor-showcases-i-beat-blaxx-portable-media-player/

Wait a second.... read the name of the product again. “I.Beat blaxx”

Say it out loud if you aren’t offended yet.

Someone in marketing is gonna get in trouble.

Academics are starting to study The Show with Ze Frank

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:04:35 GMT

http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2102/1962

The links are to some of the best episodes. Definitely worth killing an hour or so by reading this. (well, I’ve only read the first page or so. I can’t wait to get to the end and find out if he liked the show. :) )

A self-help seminar sampled for use in a song used as music for a video from the original seminar series

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:36:09 GMT

You know how techno/trance/whatever often samples from old movies, radio broadcasts, and instructional videos?

Well, a local Yoga DJ...

Hey! Stop laughing. This guy really DJs at yoga dances. I’ve been to one and it was a fun time and a great workout. (We now return to our regularly schedule blog post.)

Well, a local Yoga DJ used a sample from a self-help seminar. The seminar heard it and was excited. They then took video clips from their workshop and remixed it to the song.

So now we have A self-help seminar sampled for use in a song used as music for a video from the original seminar series.

Get Fuzzy sneaks in a pro-pot message

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:26:21 GMT

http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20080427.html

Review: Passing Strange (on Broadway)

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:22:24 GMT

I saw the new broadway musical “Passing Strange” with quietchris and salliesandbags on Thursday night. It was awesome. Tickets are still cheap, as it hasn’t been “discovered” yet. I highly recommend you see it.

It is the story of a young black man that grew up in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood who leaves for Amsterdam to become a musician and artist. He later goes to Berlin to explore the very different scene there.

The story is semi-autobiographical. The “narrator” is “Stew” and he tells the story of his life as he plays guitar. People sing and dance and act out what he is saying. The main charactor (himself as a youth) often shares the microphone with him. The band is on stage and shares part of the acting duties.

I loved the show. While I enjoyed the music and singing, I thought the writing was the strongest part of the show. It was funny and somewhat self-referential. That is, the show didn’t take itself too seriously even though it was powerfully talking about important serious issues. You’d have to see it to understand what I mean.

Site: http://www.passingstrangeonbroadway.com/
Wikipedia: Passing Strange

Now playing on Broadway in NYC.

Framing the campaign

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:11:41 GMT

MoveOn is having a contest to make a pro-Obama TV commercial (“Obama in 30 Seconds”). The more videos I vote on, the more critical I get of the bad ones.

A lot of the videos are saying, “we love him!” which, I think, is a turn-off. You don’t convince someone to change their mind saying, “you should love him because we do”. You get people to change their mind because they see how something will help them, and that makes THEM think that the person is great.

I’ve also notice a lot of videos emphasize the phrase “work together”. In the world of framing, the words that you pick aren’t important because a dictionary says they are important, but because the audience’s brain thinks they are important. So, saying “Don’t think of an Elephant” makes everyone instantly think of an elephant. The “don’t” gets lost. The phrase “work together” makes me think of... work. Ugh. I hate work. I’m not saying that a good slogan would be, “Everything will be easy and done for us”. However, from a framing perspective, “work together” makes brains think “work”. That’s negative.

Many of the videos talk about nothing but “change”. 30 seconds emphasizing how Obama will change the country, change the world, change your live. I vote negatively on these. Change is scary. I don’t want “change”. The typical person doesn’t want “change”. However, the typical person, when asked if they would like a particular pain in their live alleviated they would agree to have that happen. If you then ask them, “but that’s a change!” they’d say, “Sure! But ‘change’ can be good or bad, and when the government does it the result is usually bad. But you didn’t say ‘change’ you said you’d {improve this, fix that, etc.}. That’s something I want!”

When Bill Clinton got elected he kept talking about “jobs, jobs, jobs”. He didn’t say, “I’m going to change you job. I’m going to change the economy so that you have more jobs”. He just talked about the word that people like, “jobs”. And not “work”, by the way.... your brain likes to hear that there will be a job in your future, but not “work”. Ugh... nobody likes “work”. “Working Mothers”, “working families” oh those are terrible phrases. “Creating jobs” is so much more friendly to the brain.

Similarly, negative images are strong, visual images are strong, a negative visual image is very strong. Don’t show a before and after picture because people will remember the “before”. Don’t show a single freakin’ sad face.

I vote down any video that would have been great 2 months ago, but is stupid after the primary is over. Duh. Alas, 10% of the submissions seem to be in this category.

Videos should “say it visually”. ...oh, and text captions doesn’t count as “say it visually”. Don’t say “a healthy environment” or put that text on the screen without showing children playing happily in a beautiful green park.

Lastly, defining yourself defines the opponent. McCain’s slogan “The American President Americans have been waiting for” is fucking perfect. By defining McCain as an American, it reminds you that Obama isn’t. (though, McCain was actually born in Panama, and Obama was born in Hawaii AFTER it became a state). I vote against any video that doesn’t recognize this and backfire by not simultaneously defining Obama AND negatively defining McCain.

In short:

Explain how an Obama presidency will personally benefit the person watching the video
Remind people of how things will be different not by saying “there will be change” but by saying what the end-results of the change will be
Don’t talk about policy... that’s boring
Don’t brag that you love Obama. You sound like a cultist.

My favorite video so far? The one that pretends it is 2012 and this is a re-elect Obama advertisement showing the many ways that our life is better now. Each is shown visually, in text, and with a voiceover. Parents smiling and happy as they hug their son coming home from war, people happy to be working at high-paying jobs, children happy in a lush green park, etc. etc. The only problem with this commercial is that it is a bit presumptuous (which means it screams “ego”) to some people. Maybe tone it down a bit or see what test audiences say.