Sony / BMG shoot own foot with DRM

Just saw a snip on the Black Friday Morning News about the Sony / BMG DRM fiasco (apparently Sony wasn’t sure that installing spyware on their cusomters machines was a bad thing). Anyway, some “industry analyst” made a comment that I hadn’t thought of: “Sony just gave kids another reason not to buy CDs and to download music instead” I guess because I have never really been an [illegal] downloader of music, I hadn’t thought about this impact. But why should kids today buy music when the music companies are going to mess up you...

Workshop on iNames

Kaliya Hamlin just pointed me towards this: Invitation to learn more i-names and datasharing using XRI and XDI by Andy Dale on the afternoon of Monday December 5th. Who will find this workshop useful? Those who want to have data from web-based applications (i.e. transaction processing, membership management) as well as basic forms (i.e. registration, surveys, etc.) integrate automatically with the back-end databases. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it Alameda for this event, but lookforward to somethign similar in...

ActivistCash.com goes after progressive organizations

I just wanted to carry this over from my personal blog. Dan pointed this site out to me, and I felt the need to share with others…. ActivistCash.com goes after progressive organizations – I am a big fan of sunlight. I believe it makes the best disinfectant. And there is nothing wrong with sites like fundrace or guidestar or the center for responsive politics or they rule that all try to point out the influence and sources of money for politicians and other organizations. But ActivistCash.com is a little different. The site claims: ActivistCash.com, a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom, provides the public and media with in-depth profiles of anti-consumer activist groups, along with information about the sources of their exorbitant funding. But is does so with well written but heavily biased narratives about individuals and organizations. It is the kind of site the left needs to go after the bevvy of right wing organizations that are funded by the same cabal of ideologues. Everyone should take a look at the site and see what the enemy is saying about your favorite organizations, especially environmental organizations… [Read the rest at...

Congestion Pricing NYC

<p>I have been meaning to write about this for over a week. After the election, the NYT ran an [l:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/nyregion/11traffic.html?emc=eta1|article on the NYC Partnership's working group on congestion pricing NYC streets]. The article (or rather the Partnership) forced the freshly re-elected (and term limited lame duck) Mayor into a bad spot, and the administration [l:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/12/nyregion/metrocampaigns/12congestion.html?emc=eta1|shot back] that they were not considering congestion pricing.</p> <p>Well why the hell not! According to the [l:http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/Statistics/regin04.htm|NYS DMV] there are 1,848,570 vehicles in NYC. 1,742,212<br /> cars, and commercial vehicles (excluding taxis and limos). There are 8 million people in the city. Fewer in manhattan and way fewer car owners. The peopel who have cars and commute into the zones that would be effected by congestion pricing have the money to spend on the extra fee, and it is probably a bargain in exchange for their time. Driving a car in the city should be expensive and it should be discouraged using market based schemes. Who is the mayor afraid he is going to piss off? outer borough voters? Why does he care? he has said he is not going to seek any other office when his term is up.</p> <p>The NYT ran [l:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/nyregion/18traffic.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1132635835-0VVXYRbkuGjELk7R4+O0AQ|another article] last week on this issue. This last one made the point that this is a business issue. Snarled traffic is bad for business. </p> <p>Bring it Bloombie! Bloombucks would do it! </p> <p>I would say though, that unlike all the other plans being suggested that there should be Friday and Saturday night fees. not day time, but if you are out between 7PM and 2AM you should have to...

Wanna build a house with me?

<p>Obviously, not going to happen in NYC. But wouldn't it be nice to have a house outside of the city? In the "country" somewhere? Well, my friend Hope mentioned [l:http://www.alternatives.com/cob-building/what.html|Cob] construction to me. It is the process of building with an earth/sand/clay/straw mixture that allows you to really "sculpt" the structure. Durable, eco-friendly, and the website claims "Fun!". So come build a house with me! I haven;t figured out where yet. But who needs [gh:node/259|Ready Made's] mediation shack building plans now!</p> <p>This is the best idea I've had since cultivating my own gourmet mushrooms.*</p> <p>*<i>Yes, I had the idea. No, it hasn't been realized...