crankygeek links

MTAMO – My Tweets Are My Own

2011-11-21T22:57:56Z

This is just a quickie note to let you know about a new site I’ve published, called My Tweets Are My Own, or MTAMO.

The site addresses the growing problem of employers monitoring and sometimes even dictating what is acceptable and unacceptable for their employees to say on the employee’s personal Twitter feed.

Naturally, this is also extended to Facebook, G+, etc – but the MTAMO abbreviation seemed most important to the Twitter crowd, since the bio space there is only 160 characters. Including MTAMO in your bio is a heck of a lot shorter than “My tweets are my own”, which is sort of why this site was created.

By changing the sub-domain of the site to your twitter handle, you can personalize the site with your own Twitter follow widget, Twitter picture, and share widget – and link to your personalized version to help other people understand that it’s simply not acceptable for employers to have that level of control over their employees personal lives.

OBVIOUSLY this excludes things like discussing projects for which the employee is under NDA or legally binding agreements. It’s meant more to address employers who wish to censor personal opinions, tone, etc.

Anyway – that’s all I have time for right now. Ramping up to launch phase two of a really cool project for Intel, so things are a little hectic. That said, I’d love to hear your thoughts on MTAMO in the comments after you’ve had a chance to check it out.

Possibly related posts:

The Case for Using Predator Drone Strikes Against Wall Street

2011-10-04T13:14:00Z

The Case for Using Predator Drone Strikes Against Wall Street Executives:
From a secret Justice Department memorandum obtained by the Rude Pundit:

Mr. President,

Since it is now the policy of our administration to target American citizens for killing by missiles delivered by Predator drone aircraft, I am proposing an expansion of the program to include targets beyond our ongoing conflict with al-Qaeda and its affiliates. I propose that we now target executives and others in the finance industry who so far have not been prosecuted for potential crimes that forced the economy of the United States into a long-term decline.

The legal authority for these actions rests with an earlier memo dealing with the targeting of [name redacted, but presumably Anwar al-Awlaki]. To summarize, targeting of American citizens may be done: 1. on foreign soil, even if no actual battles are occurring in that nation; 2. as long as there is an ongoing war; and 3. without regard to due process, as long as the administration is confident that the target has committed crimes against the nation.

To deal with those in reverse order:
- We can say, with certainty, that particular executives in various firms were responsible either directly for or directed others to engage in the reckless investment schemes that resulted in firms going bankrupt or in need of a bailout from the federal government. Under this condition, we can target [name redacted] of [firm redacted] who concealed $50 billion in loans in order to inflate the firm's value while at the same time personally taking several hundred million dollars in compensation. We know this occurred. We have evidence that it occurred. We know that [redacted]'s actions, in part, led directly to the financial crisis of 2008-2009.

- If the targeted killing of American citizens is justified in our ongoing war with terrorists above and beyond any previous congressional authorization, and if the military has previously been involved in the ongoing war on drugs, then we can say with confidence that the proposed targeted attacks on financial executives falls under the purview of the "War on Poverty," which was declared by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and which, like the ten-year war on terrorists and the forty-year war on drugs, has not been successfully concluded. This might seem to strain legal justification, but we are talking about criminals who have done grievous harm to the nation.

- One concern must be where we could target American citizens. Surely, we do not wish to use Predator drones within the borders of the United States. So we must wait until the targeted executives are on vacation or doing business in foreign countries. Once, for instance, [name redacted] of [firm redacted] travels to his private island in the Bahamas, the collateral damage from Hellfire missiles would be minimal.

The final consideration for moving forward with these actions is whether or not the targets are an ongoing threat to American and its interests. To put this in perspective, what has caused greater damage to the United States? Attacks by al-Qaeda or the crimes of the targeted financial officers and executives? For the average American, loss of jobs, foreclosure, and loss of retirement income, all due to the massive fraud committed by the proposed targets, are far more of a threat than terrorists have ever been, yet we limit our drone program to them.

To take this further, one might be able to say, with some degree of certainty, that more Americans have died as a result of the actions of the proposed financial industry targets, through suicide and loss of income and health insurance due to a contracting economy, than have been killed as a result of actions by terrorists.

As for an ongoing and current threat, the sociopathic behavior of terrorists leads us to believe that they cannot be reformed; the same presumption can be made about the proposed targets in the financial sector. This office has no doubt that, given the chance, [name redacted], CEO of [firm redacted], would allow another convoluted series of billion-dollar transactions that might end up in another bailout, thus costing the United States more of its diminishing treasure.

The total use of Predator drones against financial industry executives would most likely be minimal. After several strikes, we anticipate that others will turn themselves in to authorities for prosecution out of fear for their lives.

To conclude, our policy of "Capture or Kill" towards American citizens who are terrorists should be expanded to include others who terrorize the nation in more subtle ways than bombs or bullets. And since the administration has shown no willingness to capture any of these proposed targets, we are only left with the latter option.

Respectfully submitted,
[name redacted]

Random Thoughts Regarding the Murder of Troy Davis:
1. In

2011-09-22T14:19:00Z

Random Thoughts Regarding the Murder of Troy Davis:
1. In Slate, Dahlia Lithwick asks, "Will the Troy Davis case be the one that finally turns America against the death penalty?" and she concludes with the "faint hope" that it might. Here's the actual answer: oh, fuck no. See, we are a bloodthirsty nation that actually prides itself in being bloodthirsty. America exists now in a perpetual state of arrested development, stuck in a savage teenagehood: narcissistic, emotional, easily roused to uncontrollable bursts of violence, and filled with hate towards anyone who thinks differently. Just as we can be at war (do you remember that? We're at war still. Surprising, no?) with few visible consequences to the vast majority of Americans, we just don't give a fuck if a couple of innocent dudes are offed, as long as it's not our innocent family members and as long as we can keep offing the presumptively guilty ones, and don't even bother with trying to say that offing people is fucked up. That's the talk of pussies and losers. We're in the savage end days of empire, motherfuckers. Compassion is what gets you beaten down for the pennies in your pockets.

2. Let us not discuss the morality of the death penalty for a moment here. Let us talk about Troy Davis, executed last night despite witnesses recanting their testimony (which was the primary evidence against him), without asserting his innocence. Let us merely discuss doubt. Let us assume that it is primarily conservatives who support capital punishment. Let us narrow it even further and say that if you don't believe in climate change or evolution, you are probably someone who believes that government has a right to execute a convicted murderer. Now, let us address that presumptive person (who we might name "Rick Perry," but let's not get that specific).

Despite the fact that nearly every scientist on earth sees evolution as a fact and despite the fact that nearly every scientist on earth believes that climate change is occurring, you cling to the tiniest shards of doubt, believing that disproved studies are actually the pins that puncture what you think is the easily popped balloon of big science. Yet chances are that you don't give a goddamn about the multiple, actual doubts that exist in a case like Troy Davis's. No, you are content to allow a man to die because where you see strength in your doubt when it comes to some things, you see doubt as weakness and ill-resolve here.

And, you know, you're kind of a dick, too. Probably racist. That helps.

3. So, yeah, we're not getting rid of the death penalty. We're a killy nation. We like it. We get off on it, jacking it to the countdown of doom clocks, fingering ourselves as we hear the executions announced. Oh, shit, why can't they be televised so it can become our motherfuckin' porn? It's better than Asian paraplegic nipple torture and ball stomping.

Not to attempt to civilize something that is, by its nature, completely uncivilized, but we live in a scientifically advanced time. If we're going to do this totally devolved, barbaric act, could we at least have a rule or two? Like howzabout no one can be offed unless there's proof on video? Or that DNA tests have been done to redundancy? And that there's a confession? And that the trial wasn't tainted by racism or incompetent lawyers? Can we at least smack down our snuff hard-ons long enough to only do it if we are so abso-fucking-lutely sure that the only arguments left are that capital punishment is the violent vestige of a cruel earlier time we are too arrogant to leave behind and accomplishes nothing and costs a shitload? Can we at least, at the very least, only kill people in our name if it's such a slamdunk that even the person being murdered by the state could say, "Well, fuck me, at least you dotted all the i's"?

4. By the way, if you oppose the death penalty, that means you opposed the execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer, who dragged James Byrd to death in a 1998 hate crime. Yeah, it's hard to actually have beliefs that aren't convenient to the moment. The Rude Pundit is completely opposed to capital punishment. That makes him more Christian than any slavering yahoo calling on an eye for an eye. And he's an atheist.

5. Officer Mark MacPhail's mother believes that Davis's execution was justice for her son's murder. She had no doubt, despite there being no DNA or video evidence. In Mississippi, the family of James Anderson, a black man who was randomly beaten by white teenagers and then run over by a truck belonging to one of them in June, opposes the death penalty for Anderson's murderers, despite the crime being filmed by a surveillance camera.

Make of it all what you will.

6. This is who we are right now, America: the country that doesn't care about guilt or innocence. We fight wars based on lies, we imprison people without charges, we torture and murder the innocent. How's it feel to be that country?

Planned Parenthood in Indiana Forced to Abandon Poor Women:

2011-06-22T18:24:00Z

Planned Parenthood in Indiana Forced to Abandon Poor Women:
Indiana, an awful state that smells like exhaust fumes and ponds of pig shit in the summer, just got a whole lot more awful this week as Planned Parenthood clinics around the state stopped taking Medicaid patients yesterday because the clinics won't be reimbursed by Medicaid because a law that banned such reimbursements passed by large majorities in the senate and legislature and was signed by the craven Mitch Daniels, who believes that women should have choice over whether or not he runs for president but not over their reproductive systems.

So conservatives are showing their compassion to tens of thousands of poor women, who are damned to live in the fetid hellscape that is Indiana, by shutting down a place where they got pap smears, STD and cancer screening, birth control, pregnancy tests, and, yes, abortions. No doubt, in continuing with their obvious care for hopefully pregnant women, Republicans in the Indiana statehouse will make sure they all receive prenatal care, along with funds to pay for the births at well-regulated, safe, clean hospitals. No doubt, since obviously Republicans want to ensure that poor women have as many children as possible, they will make sure the children have awesome pediatric care, not to mention good schools to attend when they're older. No doubt at all. Because, otherwise, forcing women to have unwanted children would be the ultimate in cynical pandering to a backwards ass bunch of fucks who have no concept of a world outside the narrow purview of, say, Anderson or Fort fucking Wayne or godforsaken Terre Haute. Because, you know, pregnancy would become an unfunded mandate.

All but one Planned Parenthood is closed today in Indiana because of the new law. They await Judge Tanya Walton Pratt's decision on whether or not to suspend it. Two of the three STD experts retained by PPIN have been let go. State legislators said that the organization only has itself to blame because it refused to stop offering abortions. "If (Planned Parenthood) wants to receive taxpayer money," said Republican Senator Scott Schneider, "they can simply stop practicing abortion."

By the way, surgical abortion is offered at only three Indiana clinics, two in Indianapolis and one in Bloomington. Another offers medication for abortion. Otherwise, the other 24 Planned Parenthood offices do not do abortions. And no state funding went for abortion, but, sure, hell, it might have helped pay the rent on the office copier.

By the way, just to be extra dickish, the new law also bans Planned Parenthood from participating in a tax credit program that helps with fundraising.

Somewhere in DC, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence of a swill trough of a district is flogging his bare back, kneeling before pictures of women who died because of unsafe, illegal abortions, women bleeding out from doing it themselves, women who poisoned themselves. Yes, he scourges himself clean, knowing that Jesus wants these fallen souls, craving them like a butterfly collector, like a trash man, and he, like a good, filthy gravedigger, will help provide them.

Delightful Scenes from Today's Royal Wedding:
(Note: Photos may

2011-04-29T14:11:00Z

Delightful Scenes from Today's Royal Wedding:
(Note: Photos may not necessarily be of the royal wedding.)

Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace on April 29 in London, England. The marriage of the second in line to the British throne was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding.

Larry, the Downing Street cat, in a Union flag bow-tie in the Cabinet Room at number 10 Downing Street on Thursday, April 28, in London.

Royal supporters share a laugh as they wait along the processional route on the day of the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton, on April 29 in central London.

Alexander McQueen gown designer Sarah Burton (bottom L) adjusts Britain's Kate Middleton's dress as she arrives with her father Michael Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

Good Friday Message

2011-04-22T15:57:00Z

via twitpic.com

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Cranking

2011-04-23T02:26:13Z

Merlin Mann:

I’m done cranking. And, I’m ready to make a change.

An amazing, personal story about real-life priorities. You need to read this. And then, whenever (and however) it’s published, you need to buy Merlin’s book.

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On the gravel road

2011-04-14T22:32:26Z

Shared by crankygeek
I originally saw a link to this via Twitter, which I retweeted. I also added a note: "Derek, you continue to be an inspiration. Your grace seems limitless."

This feels like something I'd like to write more about, but I'm not sure what to say. I'm thinking about Derek and his family a lot, though.

I'm at the point with my cancer that the car has bumped off the pavement and we're driving on gravel now. What I mean is, the end of the road is somewhere up ahead, not too far, and I'm not going back to smooth speedy travel, ever. To keep moving at a reasonable pace, I have to pay more atten...

Easy Alarms

2011-04-11T20:03:53Z

Easy Alarms is a new app from my friends at RogueSheep.

"Easy Alarms will allow you to quickly create and store alarms and timers on your iPhone or iPod touch. Unlike the Clock app, Easy Alarms allows you to skip repeating alarms and to save useful timers."

It's free(!), and it's from the same folks that won an Apple Design Award for Postage.

In Brief: Photos That Teach Us What Bastards Republicans Have

2011-04-11T20:02:00Z

In Brief: Photos That Teach Us What Bastards Republicans Have Become:

If you wanna know just how far to the right the Republican Party has slithered, let's learn about someone you may not have heard of: Mary Louise Smith. Smith was named by Gerald Ford to chair the Republican National Committee in September 1974. That's the RNC, the same organization that used to be chaired by Michael Steele and is now chaired by Reince Priebus, which is really just a couple of nonsense words. That dashing young man up there handing Smith the gavel is the retiring RNC chair, George H.W. Bush. He would later be president. He had already fathered the engineer of our national demise. Later in her career, Smith would campaign for the elder Bush. David Broder would call her one of H.W.'s "biggest supporters."

But this is about Mary Louise Smith of Iowa, the first woman to chair the RNC. See, the funny thing is that she was a pro-choice, pro-Equal Rights Amendment member of Planned Parenthood at the time she was given that gavel. In fact, "Smith served on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Mid-Iowa from 1986 through 1992, and in 1989 she also became a member of Planned Parenthood Federation of America's National Leadership Committee."

In the 1980s, she kept trying to pull the GOP back from the brink of extremism, telling ABC News in 1984, "I'm sorry that [the GOP] seems to have swung so far to the radical right." In 1987, about Pat Robertson running for president, she told the Washington Post, "If the Republican Party lets itself be taken over by fundamentalist religious views and it becomes almost exclusively that, it will survive for a little while and then self destruct, because it won't provide a foundation of a party." Would that she had been right.

Yes, we used to be a more liberal nation overall. But the overarching goals of the Democratic Party have changed less than the seismic shift in the Republican Party. As it lurches back to the age of Hoover, it has left behind a history where there actually was a tent big enough for a Mary Louise Smith.

Note: The photo is from the New York Times on September 21, 1974.

The time will come

2011-04-02T21:36:14Z

Not many people have seen me in the past two or three weeks. If you had, you'd probably say, "Derek doesn't look so good." And you'd be right. After the high point of my living wake early in March, I took a turn downhill.

Soon enough, I found it difficult to get myself out of the house for such simple tasks as walking our dog Lucy. Right now I don't have the strength to do even that, and I don't feel comfortable driving anymore either. Going out for dinner with the family, or friends? Out of the question.

A drag of a morning

Here, for example, was how a series of simple tasks went this morning. I dragged myself out of bed (a pure mind-over-matter exercise against my body), put on my bathrobe and slippers, and had Lucy come with me. I opened our back door so she could go out in the yard, and I followed her. Half-way down the back steps I had to sit down on the stairs: I didn't have the energy to get all the way down to the back yard in one go.

A few minutes later I managed it, walking down the rest of the steps and into the yard, and sat on our lawn chair while Lucy ran around and did her usual doggy business. Ten minutes later it was time to go back inside. I propped the chair up again the wall of the house and walked, very slowly, back around the side of the house, up the stairs, and into the kitchen. Where I promptly had to sit down again on the first chair I could grab.

I had planned to make myself a bowl of corn flakes, but such a simple task seemed daunting. Instead I went to lie down in bed for 15 minutes to recover, after which I was able to prepare the cereal—but before I was able to eat it, I puked in the sink. Afterwards, the cereal went down fine, and I followed it with a Ritalin, which I hoped might push me into the realm of "not completely exhausted" later in the day.

A slightly better afternoon

Sitting up in bed, I browsed a few websites and listened to CBC Radio. At some point I nodded off for half an hour while my wife and kids were out looking for paint colours for the kitchen. But I did wake up feeling perkier. Right now I'm on the back porch typing this in the vaguely-warm spring sunshine, with the dog once again snuffling about. I feel like a tired but functional version of myself, rather than the depleted and worn-out lump I did this morning.

I saw my family doctor yesterday, and he told me that is the pattern for cancer patients: the two major debilitating symptoms are pain and fatigue, and my pain is under reasonable control. He encouraged me to move around as much as I can—which is what I was trying to do during my sit-on-the-stairs experience today—and to keep my mind active. At my lowest, sometimes that in itself can be difficult.

I wonder how long it will be before I can no longer walk unassisted? Before I can't make a sandwich? Before I'm pretty much bedridden? No one knows the answers, not my doctors, not me, but the time will come. That's scary.

Meet the geek under the beak: Microsoftie moonlights as Seattle Seahawks mascot Blitz

2011-03-28T22:25:15Z

You’ve probably seen him on the sidelines, in the stands or beating the drums at Qwest Field. After all, with his tuft of blue feathers and yellow beak, Seattle Seahawks mascot Blitz is hard to miss. Well, as it turns out, there happens to be a geek behind that beak.

Blitz is none other than Ryan Asdourian, a hardware marketing lead at Microsoft. Asdourian, a former University of Florida Gator mascot, has donned the Blitz feathers for the past five years. Asdourian was featured today in a Microsoft blog post – in part because of his efforts to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis.

Diagnosed with the disease in December 2008, Asdourian since then has been raising awareness and funds for the annual MS Walk through Team Blitz. In fact, for the upcoming MS Walk in Seattle, scheduled for April 3rd at Husky Stadium, Asdourian’s Team Blitz currently is in first place in terms of fundraising at just over $43,000.

But Asdourian still has a ways to go in order to hit his $134,000 goal.

Asdourian

This year’s walk will be extra special, with Asdourian telling the MicrosoftJobsBlog that mascots from 11 other NFL teams are expected to attend.

“We do a convention every year and this year some of the veteran mascots said they wanted to have it in Seattle to support me and help with fundraising,” Asdourian says. “So, even though the NFL is in lockout, all of the mascots are going to come together this year for a common cause.”

Personally, I’ve always been a bit of Squatch fan myself. But, since our Sonics left town, the next best Seattle sports mascot has got to be Blitz.

Asdourian is accustomed to working a crowd, helping to fire up more than 67,000 fans at Qwest Field on game days. But now he wants those same fans to join in his fundraising campaign, asking that each Hawks fan donate $2.

John Cook is co-founder of GeekWire. Follow on Twitter: @geekwirenews.

Original post on GeekWire: Meet the geek under the beak: Microsoftie moonlights as Seattle Seahawks mascot Blitz

Sweater Mystery Unravels

2011-03-24T16:00:00Z

(Retail | USA)

(I am working at the customer service desk. A conservatively dressed woman in her early sixties walks up to the counter.)

Me: “Hi. What can I help you with today?”

Customer: “Just a return.”

(She pulls out a very garish holiday sweater, covered entirely in bright red sequins.)

Me: “Okay, was there anything wrong with it?”

Customer: “No. I just must have been really f****** high when I bought it. Look at it! It’s hideous! I don’t even remember buying this thing. I must have been really baked. D***, this is an ugly sweater!”

Historically Hardcore

2011-03-21T16:42:43Z

A superb student project, creating a series of possible posters for The Smithsonian Museum. The copy-writing is spot on with these!

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Mobile Safari's privacy settings give web marketers headaches

2011-03-19T18:00:00Z

Those who make their money by working out who sent you to visit which websites via what adverts are scratching their heads and popping the Advil over what to do about Mobile Safari, which automatically blocks third-party cookies by default.

This makes it difficult for ad servers, tracking systems and ad management tools to link visitors to ads that brought them to the website. This, in turn, makes it difficult to measure the performance of paid-search marketing campaigns.

MediaPost reports that search firm Marin Software published a white paper about Mobile Safari and ad tracking last week. The paper says that Mobile Safari on iOS devices is a "major challenge" and that, on average, advertisers using third-party cookie-based tracking systems are undercounting conversions by 38 percent -- the actual conversion rates for iOS, minus for the third-party cookie based undercounting, were on average 23 percent higher than on Windows.

With millions already using iOS devices and the iPad 2 and, later this year, a new iPhone bringing millions more into the Apple fold, this is becoming a big problem for ad companies.

Mobile Safari's privacy settings give web marketers headaches originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Millionaire Dentist Steals Navy Vet's Credit Card And Buys 2 Large Pizzas

2011-03-11T22:05:12Z

Shared by crankygeek
Seriously? Hope this guy loses his business.

A millionaire dentist has been charged with credit-card theft and forgery after stealing a credit card from a Navy veteran and buying two large pizzas with it, reports WTSP. The 14-year Navy had dropped his card in the parking lot where his was buying supplies for his ...

Let's be honest

2011-03-10T14:07:11Z

Look around you. If you allow your children to become K-12 teachers, or work for the government, you must really hate them. Or enjoy seeing them treated like shit at every turn, called greedy, lazy, and too stupid to get a 'real' job, so they work in government.

Also, stop with the idiocy about what an honorable profession teaching is. Yeah. Until it's time to pay them. Or pay for supplies. Or a new school. Or allow biology teachers to teach biology. Or science teachers to teach science. Or to fund arts education. I told my son if he ever tries to be a K-12 teacher, I'll smack that idea out of his head. I love him too much to throw him or allow him to throw himself to the piranha like that.

(Don't even get me started on the constant lies we tell our military veterans. Other than elections, and two holidays per year, the government is happy to shit all over vets too.)

What we in this country have stated, clearly and consistently is we do not want teachers. We want people to drill answers to multiple-choice standardized tests into the skulls of our children, so we look statistically look good. The last thing, the last thing anyone in power in this country wants are millions of voters with decent educations who critically analyze the bullshit politicians from every party tell them. We do not respect education in this country, we fear it. We do not respect intellectual achievement in this country, we spit on it. Other than Cornell, where the fuck are the parks and buildings named after Carl Sagan? Where are the retrospectives on every fucking network about Salk, Sabin, Feynman, or the rest? Oh sorry, I can't find them, there's another fucking paen to Babe fucking Ruth on.

If you want respect in this country, there are two ways:

1) By whatever means possible, sans all consideration of ethics, morals, or law, become blind stinking rich.

2) Become extremely good at a popular sport. (But be a good lad, and shut the fuck up once your career's over. You're a fucking gladiator, nothing more. Enjoy your blood money and be quiet about it.)

No, preachers don't count. Billy Graham is an aberration.

If you think you're going to be respected in the U.S.A. for anything other than being rich or a sports star, you're fucking stupid. Ideals and dreams to the contrary wither in the face of clear evidence.

"The simple problem is that most people are getting too many notifications about things that just..."

2011-03-09T01:21:13Z

“The simple problem is that most people are getting too many notifications about things that just don’t matter.”

- Ben Brooks: The Very Difficult Problem of Notifications

Great overview of the problems facing any notification system, and I love this suggestion at the end: regardless of how you want notifications to be delivered, reducing the quantity is probably a good idea.

I’ve never received a push notification.

Really. It’s great. Every time that box comes up from a new app asking permission to send me push notifications, I’ve said no, because none of them have ever been important enough to interrupt me at any time of day.

My phone will only vibrate in my pocket if I receive a phone call, a text message, or a calendar alarm. That’s it. And since I receive a low volume of all three, I treat them all seriously. If I get a text message, there’s a very good chance that an Instapaper server needs attention, so I pay attention.

My phone’s on, with volume up, right next to my head when I sleep at night, because I know that any reason for it to make noise in the middle of the night will be something very important that I should probably wake up for. Similarly, I always discreetly take my phone out of my pocket to see why it vibrated, even in situations where that’s non-ideal (like during a meal with friends).

If your notifications are so plentiful that you can’t treat them that way, are they really that important? Do you really need to be notified?

HarperCollins Sets Checkout Limit On eBooks At Libraries

2011-03-07T13:00:00Z

HarperCollins doesn't want those eBooks of theirs to get torn up, so it makes perfect sense that they've set a limit of 26 checkouts for the eBooks titles it has licensed to libraries. Wait, eBooks can't get damaged, so, what's the big idea?

The publishing company has just recently instituted this new policy of the 26-loan limit, which means after that amount of checkouts is reached, the library must pay for a new license if they want to continue lending the book electronically.

According to the Libary Journal libraries were informed in a note from OverDrive, the company that distributes the digital books.

Libraries are none too happy with this decision, as evidenced by Pioneer Library System'sopen letter to HarperCollins, which reads in part:

The rationale offered by the publisher is since paper books wear out and need to be replaced if they are to remain in a library's collection, the same should be true of their electronic formats. The publisher argues that it should not be denied revenues that come from reselling replacement books and resources. Because the publisher assumes digital resources never deteriorate, they have set an arbitrary limit to the number of times an electronic resource can be accessed. Not planned obsolescence. Forced obsolescence.

What do you think? Should there be a cap on digital checkouts? If so, is 26 a reasonable amount?

You can also check out a video made by librarians showing what the equivalent 26 (or in some cases, more) physical checkouts would to do a book.

HarperCollins Puts 26 Loan Cap on Ebook Circulations [Library Journal]

Open Letter to HarperCollins & Readers of eBooks [Pioneer Library System]

Thanks to Consumerist reader April S. for the tip!

NetNewsWire Lite for Mac I’m pretty devoted to me beloved...

2011-03-07T03:58:00Z

NetNewsWire Lite for Mac

I’m pretty devoted to me beloved Reeder. That said, the new NetNewsWire Lite is looking pretty darn sexy and bringing a lot of features and functionality to the table for free. And, unlike Reeder, it looks very “Mac like”.

(via Chris Long)