2006 new years resolutions

i guess it is this time of the year again and across the web people seem to post their new years resolution.

ok so here are mine

1. i guess the number one resolution would be to find a new job

1b. the new job should be more interesting and than the current one, preferably part of a scenario planning company (let me know if you are looking for someone)

2. start writing a book … no need to get it published, for now

3. get personal life back on track (whatever that means)

4. improve photography skills

5. read more internet and watch less tv

digg the boulevard press of the web?

there have been many stories about digg in the last couple of months. and there have been many stories comparing it specifically with slashdot. clearly those stories were driven by an amazing growth rate of dogg readers and users. i am one of the digg users and slashdot readers and over the last couple of months i have been wondering what is so cool about digg. well for me i have to admit the use of ajax on the site was an early draw. plus there was and is a certain element of being right at the news edge. it was amazing, i found stories on digg that were cool and i hadn’t seen them anywhere else yet. anytime i wanted to add a story to digg no matter how fast i got to digg the story was already on digg.

but recently i have found myself visiting digg much less frequently. and i began to wonder why.

the main reason was digg’s first page. the stories while they might be posted fast, were just not as interesting anymore, or they were very much alike. and what disturbed me most was that there were many stories that were not really tech related, but more something i would find on the cover of the ny post.

i guess the real strength of slashdot and editor driven content sites is that there is a guaranteed level of content quality, digg on the other site as it grows will face an increasing level of content spread and content garbage. one way to address this would be to set a diggs level for stories on the main page (right now there are stories with 44 to 350 diggs on the main page) and make sure that only the highest rated stories get front page attention. the problem with this though is that new stories will have a much harder time to make it to the front page and one of diggs advantages of being fast falls away.

while digg is still a site i will visit, i will probably visit it much less frequent, i will also still keep getting my insights from slashdot, but my worry for digg is that is becomes a site that deals in random news that are not really important — an interactive version of a boulevard press. and that might actually be a much better fit for digg than technology news. the problem with technology news is that there are many facets of it entertainment news on the other side is something that can be more easily handled in a digg way especially because readers of entertainment news are in a browsing mode anyway, tech readers a lot of times are much too focused on finding something they are looking for.

what is wrong with the US response to 9/11

great piece by robert steinback on the US reaction to the 9/11 attacks Fear destroys what bin Laden could not

“Terrorism is a tactic, an eventuality, not an opposition army or rogue nation. If we caught every person guilty of a terrorist act, we still wouldn’t know where tomorrow’s first-time terrorist will strike. Fighting terrorism is a bit like fighting infection — even when it’s beaten, you must continue the fight or it will strike again.”

the chronic of narnia rap

this is definitely a must see video …

The Chronic of Narnia Rap

(it is now also available for free at the iTunes store — update on this link: I guess since the iTunes store has started selling SNL this links doesn’t work anymore)

must read on the wiretappingate

bruce schneier’s excellent take on the bush’s wiretappingate

The Security Threat of Unchecked Presidential Power

one quote that just stands out:
“Laws are what give us security against the actions of the majority and the powerful. If we discard our constitutional protections against tyranny in an attempt to protect us from terrorism, we’re all less safe as a result.”

after all there is something that can change the rules — 9/11

this international herald tribune article Cheney says 9/11 changed the rules quotes vice president cheney:
“I believe in a strong, robust executive authority and I think that the world we live in demands it,”

now i know politicians from all sides are hypocrites most of the time, they don’t care about the truth and they say what they think people want to hear … but to hear from a republican that the current global threat situation demands a rethinking of the way the country is run is quite something.

after all we are talking about the party here that usually says there should be a small government and that there should be a literal, frames interpretation of the constitution. the constitution is pretty clear on a separation of power and the framers intent on the role of the president is much clearer than that on the right to own guns. after all the frames had just gotten rid of a king and they wanted to make sure that there wouldn’t be a new one. so for cheney to say 9/11 changed the rules and has to lead to a more power of the executive means that we throw out the framers intent.

but let’s ask another question here. 9/11 has certainly been a critical moment in US history — although i would say that it wasn’t a paradigm shift because the shift to a multidimensional global threat model has been going since the end of the cold war — but so was the beginning of the cold war. did the cold war result in an increase in executive power? actually not, it lead to a reduction.

what is ultimately the most ridiculous part of this whole current debate is that all of this is not necessary under the current law. the president could have used current ways and means, but just in order to show his power probably didn’t choose to do so.

very interesting technology view on wiretapping case

is there a possible connection between TIA and current NSA wiretapping case?

The new technology at the root of the NSA wiretap scandal

creating a parking space

this is a great idea. taking public parking spaces and turing them into public parks.

PARK(ing)

(thanks to www.boingboing.net)

why apple is better?

interesting article on the difference between the pc and apple business model

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28430

death penalty

it seems to be more or less certain now that tookie williams will be executed tomorrow. he will be executed for a crime he has committed more than 25 years ago. in the meantime he has been in prison.

now there are people who say the problem with the death penalty is that it takes too long for it to be executed. and they say that it is just punishment.

what is just punishment?
an eye for an eye? is that just? what does it do? won’t an eye for an eye lead to an eye for an eye for an eye? and what if the first eye was not any eye? how can we be sure?

what is the role of the justice system?
to take revenge? to enforce laws? to reduce crime? to restore civility?

who is god?
the judge? the governor? the president? the members of the supreme court?

the problem with the death penalty is not that it is not executed too slowly. the problem is that it is inhumane? it does not help the victims. if it does, please let me know how? did a killed person come up from the dead? isn’t it just one more dead person? is the feeling of revenge enough to get over the pain of a lost one? and even if that is the case, are laws there for the individual members of society or for society as a whole?

what are we teaching the members of society by executing problem members of society? we teach that society is powerless.

it is a sad day, but just another sad day in which this country is showing that it is capitulating in the face of its citizens.