Bill Moyers' speech to the National Conference for Media Reform

Free Press News : Bill Moyers' speech to the National Conference for Media Reform

This is one of the most pointed, emotional and powerful speeches I have read in a long time.

I have a deep respect for Bill Moyers developed over years of watching and listening to him on various PBS programs.

I trust Bill Moyers.
I like Bill Moyers.
Bill Moyers reflects many of the values I hold, values I want my children to have. Values I think are important for the future success of the United States.

Given this, I read his speech several times. Its deeply disturbing. Its even more disturbing that it was not carried in the newspapers, radio or television.

Read, listen or watch his speech and draw your own conclusions. I recommend reading it once or twice first.

Intellictual Property Justice League

The IP Justice League of America. This site is just too cool to not post.

http://ipjusticeleague.com/

This American Life

From WBEZ in Chicago | This American Life

TAL or This American Life is a delightful program that Barb and I listen to while we wait in the car for the kids each Sunday. They are available via RealPlayer as well as for purchase on CD.

Welcome to Plogress.com!

Welcome to Plogress.com!

This is a very interesting site. It has summaries of legislative activity for each member of Congress and the Senate available as RSS feeds.

They also have links to find your legislators by nine digit zip code (but you already know who your representatives are, right?).

The RSS feed link is at the bottom of the page for each representative.

Movies that have been considered the greatest ever

Movies that have been considered the greatest ever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I like this list. There are tons of others, but the movies they highlist are very close to my taste and the links are very useful as well.

'This is how science is done'

Guardian Unlimited | Life | 'This is how science is done'

This is an article by Michelle Feynman, Physicist Richard Feynman's daughter. Her exerpts of her father's letters are a wonderful insight into the personality of one of the brightest minds of our generation.

Update - today Michelle was interviewedby Renee Montagne on NPR.

Consumer Note - we changed our phone provider

Not a big deal, but I thought its something we all face on a regular basis. I'm not a cantidate to drop our land lines and go wireless. Its not cost effective, I'm concerned about the loss of our land phone number and its not worth the hassle.

What prompted the change? A number of things.

First, for some magic reason, we can get DSLnow. I think we are still 17000 to 18000 feet from the Marlton and Moorestown CO's, but something changed in Mount Laurel and I'm liking it.

Next, I had AT&T as our long distance carrier. Last time I checked, they had the best International plan and fewer billing issues than MCI and others. I was wrong. Billing is months behind and, to top it off, time for each call is off by a factor of 10. In other words, when I make a five minute phone call, it shows up as 50 minutes. Also, calls within NJ and to Philadelphia are $.20/min. The big reason I had AT&T was international calling. For $3/month, we can call Ireland and England for 11 cents and 9 cents a minute respectively. Prior to my AT&T contract, it appears I was slammed and didn't have a default long distance carrier. In this situation, your randomly assigned a LD carrier and you have no default plan. I paid something like $1/min for a call to Ireland. This made my head hurt and I vowed to never, ever let this happen again.

Last, we have Verizon DSL. Combining voice and data gave

Arrested Development's Coming Back!

TV Squad

Thank goodness someone at Fox has the sense to keep Arrested Development.

It almost seems like there's a plot to cancel every show my wife and I think is well written.

What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have?

What Color Eyes Would Your Children Have?

Interesting site and very educational. Its been years (don't ask) since I had Biology, but this brought back some nightmares.

Its a very accurate site and it even gives the breakdown based on the basic genetic maps of two generations (your parents/in-laws, you and your spouse).

The Mermaid by Heinz Insu Fenkl

The Mermaid by Heinz Insu Fenkl -- The Endicott Studio Journal of Mythic Arts, Summer 2003

The origins of the Starbucks logo. Is it a mermaid or Siren?

'This is how science is done'

Guardian Unlimited | Life | 'This is how science is done'

This is an article by Michelle Feynman, Physicist Richard Feynman's daughter. Her exerpts of her father's letters are a wonderful insight into the personality of one of the brightest minds of our generation.

Select few redefine human abilities

CNN.com - Select few redefine human abilities - May 3, 2004

Very good article in CNN about people who have extraordinary physical abilities such as greater than normal lung volume or capacity and muscular strength. One woman, a champion free diver, has the ability to survive very low oxygen levels in her blood (a normal lower limit is 70%, she goes under 50%). As a result, she can old her breath for over six minutes.

I'm in awe. With training, and in my 20's, I could hold my breath for two minutes. Most couch potatoes can't manage one minute!

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs

I (finally) ran out of graph paper that I had left over from college. I didn't want to take the time to drive in to Philly to the Drexel book store and it seemed a bit absurd to buy graph paper when I have a powerful desktop computer and high resolution monochrome laser printer.

This site fit the bill. They don't offer log/log or semi-log graph paper, but I really don't need it now. If anyone knows where I can get PDF files of log graph paper, let me know.

The Keep-It-Clean Plan

Real Simple | Cleaning | The Keep-It-Clean Plan

My daughters don't realize it, but they will be starting the 19 minute daily clean-up plan.

Who wants to break the news to the girls?

Consumer Groups Hail Lowering of the "Broadcast Flag"

Consumer Groups Hail Lowering of the "Broadcast Flag"

I'm delighted that the Court of Appeals overturned the FCC Broadcast Flag rule.

The Pseudoscience of Intelligent Design

The Pseudoscience of Intelligent Design || kuro5hin.org

Great article about Intelligent Design. Not only because it supports my opinion that Intelligent Design is not science, but because it methodically picks apart the ID 'foundations'.

Stupid drivers

I took a quick end-of-week before the weather gets crummy ride on Friday. A ~20 mile loop before it got dark. It was a very relaxing ride and my goal was to do a moderate pace based on my heart rate monitor rather than speedometer.

I was averaging a 140-145 bpm pace until the last 2 miles of the ride. Due to construction on Elbo Lane, the shoulder was very rough and it quickly narrowed to no shoulder. I have a mirror on my handlebars as well as one on my glasses, so I saw the SUV approach. I was traveling at ~25MPH on a 40 MPH section. The driver *had* to see me ease off the shoulder, but waits until he/she is on my ass, then laid on the horn. I screamed at them, but I had enough room to

I started to try and catch them at the light (I'm sure I could have...), but my heart rate reached a new high - 199 bpm. Rule of thumb for your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age in years. My maximum heart rate would be 181. I was using 195 as my tested maxiumu, so now I suppose I will use 200.

I remember the license, make and model and I was close enough to the SUV to see what neighborhood they live in. I really don't think drivers take this into account when they abuse bicyclists. We can be a very vindictive lot. I would not vandalize a car, but in the distant past, I used to remove the core from tire valves.

new bicycle computer

I finally got around to installing a new computer on my road bike. The computer on both the Cannondale and DeRosa crapped out and after repeated attempts to revive both computers (adjust cables, clean contacts, adjust magnet/pickup spacing), I just gave up.

After some shopping, I bought a Cateye Mity 8 and a Cateye Mity/Enduro Mounting Kit from Bike Nashbar. This way, I can have the same computer on each bike. The Mity 8 can maintain settings for two bikes, so this will let me log my mileage easily.

Simplicity

Voluntary Simplicity & Simple Living Resource Guide - What is Voluntary Simplicity?

This is an interesting article that outlines 'rules' to simplify your life. I have been giving this more and more thought and I think everyone needs to consider your work/life balance.

The biggest problem I have is #3 - limit your work outside the home to 30 hours a week. Hmmmm. How about 50-60?


My favorites are #1 (Mass balance) and #10 - Practice saying no.

Mass balance is something we are discussing at home. Nothing comes into the house unless something of equivalent size/mass/density goes out (sold, thrown out, bartered, given away). We are making headway, but its a work-in-progress.

Practice saying no - I have to focus on getting more done with the time I have and this includes saying no to things I might otherwise take on. This would include, but not be limited to Local School Board, new hobbies, expanding existing hobbies/obsessions and graduate school.

NPR - Poetry Month

NPR : Poetry Month: 'Totally Like Whatever'

Taylor Mali is a 'slam poetry' content winner several years in a row. I heard this broadcast driving around last week and made a note to blog it.

Taylor is *very* articulate. His enunciation is very deliberate and even over the radio he commands your attention. There has been an anti-intellectual undercurrent since I was a teenager. Teens, in particular, need to be encouraged to state and stand by their convictions.

This poem should be included in every middle and high school english class.

Totally Like Whatever

"In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?"

Going to Atlanta Soon... (won't) be a dental floss tycoon

OK, its a Zappa reference.

I'm driving solo to Atlanta to pick Sarah up from Tech. I'm considering driving straight through, but will most likely split it across two days.

I'm burning driving mixes for the trip. So far, I have about six hours of Richard Feynman Physics The Feynman Lectures on Physics Volumes 1-2lectures from Cal Tech.

I plan to use a combination of MP3 CD's playing on a portable CD player and audio CD's that I can use in the van's built-in CD player. I'll borrow Sarah's iRock device that will stream content from the CD player to an FM station on the radio.

Another source of interesting lectures is the Reith LecturesReith Lectures. Reith thought that broadcasting should be a public service and in his memory, the BBC invites a guest lecturer to deliver a series of lectures that they make available online.

Weather info could go dark

Weather info could go dark

I really, really don't like Sen. Rick Santorum. Not only was he a factor in "No Child Left Behind" (or "Every Child Left Behind" as we call it), but now he wants to prohibit NOAA from publishing data for public use that we (taxpayers) paid for.

What is really happening is that companies like Accuweather who publish weather information data on a subscription basis look at NOAA as a competitor. Why pay for Accuweather when you can get it from NOAA for free.

Well, maybe because its SUPPOSED TO BE FREE. The US Government provides lots of necessary services in a very cost effective fashion and one of them is to collect and publish weather and oceanographic data. Duh.

By the way, here is the Mount Laurel Weather ForcastMount Laurel Weather forcast from NOAA.

The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

Peter's Evil Overlord List

This is an awesome list from the FidoNet days. I think Peter covered just about all the cliche issues in all the SciFi/Thriller/Action genres.

I have not figured out #99, unless this is a floppy disk reference:

Any data file of crucial importance will be padded to 1.45Mb in size.

Make ISPs Read YOUR Fine Print

broadband News Make ISPs Read YOUR Fine Print - Rogers customer creates his own EUA

This is brilliant. I have hand written some wierd stuff on checks in my day, but this guy takes it to a new level. He has printed his own End User Agreement on the back of checks he writes to pay his Internet provider.

As the article notes, it would be a tough sell in court, but its an interesting twist. Most of us have received 'checks' that tie you into contracts to switch your voice provider or tie you into credit cards/loans. Why not turn the tables?

Singlespeed Bicycle Conversions

Singlespeed Bicycle Conversions

Sheldon Brown is the 'definitive' source for bicycle articles on the 'net. This is a good overview of options to convert a street bicycle to a single speed bike.

Customizing the Microsoft Smartphone 2002 Home Screen

Customizing the Microsoft Smartphone 2002 Home Screen

Great tech article on customization of the SmartPhone Home Screen.

I'm just testing this out and will post any Home Screens I develop.

Proposal Seeks to Lure More Students Into Math and Science

This was posted to Dave Farber's IP Mailing List, but it deserves much wider distribution and discussion.

The kids attending college for math, science and engineering deserve as much encouragement as they can get. As a parent of a Georgia Tech Chemical Engineering student, I'm prejudiced, but I have believed this since I was in college 30 years ago.

From: Randall <>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 09:37:59 -0400
Subject: Not /everything/ Congress does is stupid

Proposal Seeks to Lure More Students Into Math and Science

Two key House Republicans next week plan to introduce legislation designed to steer more U.S. college students into math and science careers.
Their bill would forgive interest on undergraduate student loans for those majoring in math, science, engineering or technology. In return, students would have to agree to work as science, technology, engineering or math teachers or professionals for a minimum of five years.
Frank R. Wolf, R-Va., chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds science programs, is the bill¹s sponsor. The chief cosponsor is Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Mich., a physicist who is a senior member of both the Science Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee.
³Our knowledge-based economy is driven by constant innovation,² said Ehlers. ³The foundation of innovation lies in a dynamic, motivated and well-educated workforce equipped with math and science skills.
Unfortunately, U.S. colleges and universities have experienced a steady decline in the number of American students² earning degrees in math and science.

Home Theatre PC Guide

Home Theatre PC Guide

Very good overview of PC based Home Theater options. It points out the pros and cons of the Hauppauge tuners, touches on High Def and dual tuner cards.

My design goal is to combine the best features of ReplayTV and DirecTiVo.

ReplayTV is networked. None of this wimpy serial connections or WiFi, but 100 mbps ethernet. It also has commercial skip (its awesome). The screen turns blue for a second and then your back to your show. Sometimes it screws up because it uses a sideband signal from the broadcast to determine when a commercial starts and stops, but it works well enough for most recordings.

DirecTiVo has two tuners, an intuitive interface, and a programmable 30 second skip that lets you blow through commercials after some practice. The most awesome feature is the dual tuners. Why, you ask? Well with two tuners, you can watch and record a show or record two shows and watch a previously recorded show at the same time. This may sound like overkill, but during sweeps week, or with three kids, or during the Olympics and Tour de France you would be surprised at how useful it is when you want to stay married.

Opt-Out Prescreen Website

Opt-Out Prescreen Website

This web site allows individuals to opt out of prescreened offers from various companies. This list is used by Exuifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion.

You can opt out for five years or permanently. You can also complete this process via phone by dialing 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688).

A Living will is the best revenge

Columns: Living will is the best revenge

This is an editorial by Robert Friedman from the March 27, 2005 St. Petersburg Times.

My favorite exerpts include:

* I want to be placed in a hospice where protesters can gather to bring further grief and disruption to the lives of dozens of dying patients and families whose stories are sadder than my own.

* I want the medical geniuses and philosopher kings who populate the Florida Legislature to ignore me for more than a decade and then turn my case into a forum for weeks of politically calculated bloviation.

* In particular, I want House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to use my case as an opportunity to divert the country's attention from the mounting political and legal troubles stemming from his slimy misbehavior.

* And I want Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to make a mockery of his Harvard medical degree by misrepresenting the details of my case in ways that might give a boost to his 2008 presidential campaign.

* I want Frist and the rest of the world to judge my medical condition on the basis of a snippet of dated and demeaning videotape that should have remained private.

* Because I think I would retain my sense of humor even in a persistent vegetative state, I'd want President Bush - the same guy who publicly mocked Karla Faye Tucker when signing off on her death warrant as governor of Texas - to claim he was intervening in my case because it is always best "to err on the side of life."

* And because Gov. Jeb Bush is the smartest and most righteous human being on the face of the Earth, I want any and all of the aforementioned directives to be disregarded if the governor happens to disagree with them. If he says he knows what's best for me, I won't be in any position to argue.