Akkam’s Razor

The Google System Blog lists some of the hardware that is supported by Google’s Android SDK:

• Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
• Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
• Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
• Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)
• QLite for structured data storage
• Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
• GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
• Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)
• Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
• Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

When you look at the hardware on a fully-optioned phone, you get an opportunity to rival the iPhone interface (let’s be honest, that’s what’s sexy). I’m particularly thinking of the ability to run a server on the device, and the possibilities to tie in location, hand-movements, speed, time, directionality, and context (based on previous use) into the interface.

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YouTube Direkt

As any of you visiting via inferior browsers (OK, browser - MSIE) may have noticed, the layout has been FUBAR. I’ve been working on a three-column theme and some interesting applications of the Wordpress plugin Who-Sees-Ads for both contextual advertising as well as contextual content. I was also going to upgrade to the newest version of Wordpress. I’ll take another shot at it this evening - if things don’t look normal, that’s why.

Presidents are incredibly tight-lipped about the contents of their PDBs, or Presidential Daily Briefings.  Very few of them have ever seen the light of day via FOIA request and subsequent declassification, with very few exceptions.  The most recent and notorious example was that of President Bush's August 6, 2001 PDB, pre-9/11, which was titled "Bin Laden determined to strike US", detailing various avenues and methods of attack.  In Scooter Libby's obstruction case, the defense attempted to gain access to PDB-related documents, hoping to use a greymail defense - one that was only partially effective .

The Nixon library just released a bundle of documents, as reported by the Federation of American Scientists at the Secrecy News blog , including some that shed insight on the PDB process, specifically indicating that PDB's are often contain 'intelligence' from newspapers and other journalistic resources. 

As for the selection process that determines what to include in the PDB, Mr. Marshall wrote in his Top Secret Codeword report, "It is derived… to a large extent, I believe, from a sense of what's timely as judged from the New York Times, press, and wire service coverage."

This is particularly troubling, given allegations of partisanship and declining journalistic standards, and especially as there are no safeguards in place to prevent a bad-actor from planting a story to advance the agenda of a group, nation, corporation, or individual.  Who can tell if the same processes are in place today?  We've heard that 'chatter' from blogs has even made it to the PDBs.  And it's not as though this administration has ever indicated that they wouldn't just pay for the news they want.

As a hypothetical, Dick Cheney was the firewall to George W. Bush in the lead-up to the Iraq war.  The neocons are well connected through the press and various think tanks - for example, Judith Miller stenography towards advancing their goals.  When biased reporting, originating from neocon corners and con-men, get laundered in the newspapers, and then get legitimized as actionable intelligence by our government, the consequences are much more dear than journalistic integrity. 

I'll be taking the next couple of days off to recover from a vasectomy.  It's been a unique experience - not for the procedure, mind you, but how other men react to it (and I guess how women don't).

The decision to do it is easy - I have three kids, all girls, all under 4-years old.  Ironically, when we first started to try having kids, we though we were infertile.  Well, not so much.  Three is a nice number.

After our third daughter was born, we dreaded the inevitable "are you going to keep trying for a boy" question.  My boilerplate response was that there is no tangible reason for needing to have a boy.  I don't terribly care about the legacy of my name, plus the simple fact that in this modern age, women can vote, own property, and execute contracts.  The need for sons to carry on the name, inherit the business, and work the fields are done.  My girls are all I need.

There could be horrible circumstances where something could happen to my family where I might want to start again, but I think and hope it would be more likely that I'd be too distraught to start all over again.   Baring  that, I'm secure in saying that I'm fine with a vasectomy.

My male friends and acquaintances?   Not so much.  Even gay friends who presumably have no interest in having children are leery of the idea.  Sure, if you talk about punching someone in the nuts, every man instinctively clenches his knees together, but this is a modern, minor, and justifiable procedure.  Some friends are legitimately afraid of all doctors and needles.  That's understandable.  But then there's others that have some sort of Samson-and-Delilah reaction, that our somewhat less of a man because your semen no longer contains sperm.  I don't think I've lost anything not being a breeder.

The procedure was short and relatively painless.  I had, um, taken care of the man-scaping the night-prior, based on the advice of a friend who said that you might not want a septagenerian shaving you down for surgery.  Then, during the procedure, I had two young nurses assistants and two doctors in the room.  It was strange to me, but I guess if one deals with penis and scrotum, all day, its no big deal.

The procedure simply involves local anesthesia, and incision on each side of the scrotum, identifying and extracting a section of the vas defferens, clipping, knotting, and cauterizing the same, and closing up.  I was advised to keep ice on the area in 15-minute intervals, no heavy lifting, no showers for 24-36 hours, and no 'activity' for 3-4 days, keeping an eye out for fevers and infections, swelling, and bleeding.  After 30 ejaculations, a sample has to be tested to insure their is no sperm present; Pregnancy prevention precautions should be used until then.

I felt pretty good when I got home, but feel a little achy.  We'll see tomorrow… 

The concept of "flare" is inspired by the seminal 90s movie, Office Space, where Jennifer Anniston's character gets berated by her employer at a Fridays-Bennigans-Houlihan's knockoff for not having the required amount of "flare" on her uniform.  The "flare" is supposed to be the equivalent of a sticker filled bumper or the backpack covered with band patches and buttons.  What does it all mean in terms of webculture?

I've read his entire three part series, even though his "Part 0" disqualifies me, due to my emphasis on work/life balance:

These posts are not appropriate for people for whom work/life balance is a high priority or for whom lifestyle is particularly important — if that's you, there are plenty of existing career planning resources for you already!

That said, a few chestnuts of wisdom.

Let's say I wanted to make money off this-here blog.

Let's say that instead of taking a part-time job, I poured that time into this site.  What kind of traffic would I need?

If I wanted it to equal the revenue from a part-time job, estimating the net income at $150 per week, I would need at least 500,000 visitors monthly.

If I wanted to equal the gross monthly salary earned at minimum wage ($14,872 annually, working off $7.15, although that's not the minimum wage in many states) I would need approximately 800,000 visitors per month.

If I wanted to hit the vaunted six-figure ceiling, I would need approximately 7,500,000 visitors per month.

This is EXTREMELY rare territory.  As in notgonnahappen.   

All of the above were calculated using the Blog Modelling [sic] Tool, which is available as an XLS here. 

Attytood points out that John Fogerty skipped the part of Fortunate Son that might be difficult for the NFL, Red State America, most of the neocons, and the Republican Party in general…

Here are the words we didn't hear on national TV:

Yeh, some folks inherit star spangled eyes,

ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,

And when you ask them, how much should we give,

oh, they only answer, more, more, more, yoh,

PhiladelphiaWillDo notes that soon-to-be-former Senator Santorum is already in retirement mode.

Needlenose reports that the Florida pastor tapped to replace Ted Haggard, the Rev. Joel Hunter of Northland Church, has already resigned due to a dispute over the Christian Coalitions interpretation on the Conservative philosophy.  He had hoped to address poverty and the environment, hoping to move beyond abortion and gay marriage.  Their response was "'[t]hese issues are fine, but they're not our issues; that's not our base.'"

A roundup of some of the best SciFi ships ever on Filmcritic from Wired.com.

From Orwell's essay, Politics and the English Language. Via Population Statistic.

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Last week I sat down and looked at how I spent my typical day, outside of work.  Here's what I found.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.

Facebook got a facelift [rimshot] last night (story with details on Techcrunch).  There are some good changes, notably the ability to collapse sections you don't really care about.  But what is big news is also a little troubling…

• The BE-friending, DE-friending, making and breaking up of relationships
• Adding or Removing Group Membership.
• Changes to your status.
• Additions, deletions, and changes to your books, movies, and TV-Show changes.
• Your RSVPs to Events.

A quick email out to my student staff and the responses tells me that users aren't necessarily aware of the privacy concerns, their implications, and what control they have over them.

Wow.  That is way TMI.  That is pretty scary.  Now to limit myself in using facebook. 

I just looked…that is too creepy.  I wonder if people can still see all that when you block your profile?

I don't like it. Is there a way to prevent your friends from seeing this info?

It looks like a good idea is to restrict everything to friends - it looks like the default is to let Everyone or Friend-of-Friends to see everything.