Category: Digital Culture

Yahoo and the Internet Archive?

Post author By griffey
Post date October 3, 2005
No Comments on Yahoo and the Internet Archive?

Wow! Huge news today from Yahoo and the Internet Archive, among others:

The Open Content Alliance, a project that Yahoo is backing with several other partners, plans to provide digital versions of books, academic papers, video and audio. Much of the material will consist of copyrighted material voluntarily submitted by publishers and authors, said David Mandelbrot, Yahoo’s vice president of search content.

So Yahoo et al are going the opt in route, rather than opt out, which was Google’s plan. There is a lot of support for the idea that Google’s plan is completely within the bounds of copyright law, screaming from the various interest groups notwithstanding. It’s very interesting to see Brewster sign up to work with Yahoo on this…I’m curious to see where it goes.

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Digital Culture

The Disneyfication of us

100_0093

Originally uploaded by griffey.

I only realized a couple of days ago that I hadn’t added our copious Disney trip pics to the flickr account. I’m still adding them (we took an enormous amount of pics) but the ones that are there are cool. I like this pic of Bets and I at Epcot.

For the record, the hat was a necessity to keep from killing myself. I burned the first day I was there, and my face and neck had to have some shade. It’s not just that I’m rocking my new Tennessee-ness.

Digital Culture Personal

Squid? Or Savior?

I’m sure that most people have seen by now that the first ever film of a live Giant Squid (Architeuthis) was captured by some Japanese researchers, and stills from the film have shown up at National Geographic.

squid

But I think something more is going on.

Is it just a coincidence that the Squid reveals itself to us now, after all these millenia? Choosing now to come forward and appear before our cameras? I think not.

Behold! The truth!

FSM vs Squid

These Giant Squid are the messengers of the One True Being: The Flying Spaghetti Monster. They are truly created in His image, and low he has given unto us their smaller brethren as tasty fried snacks. Truly He is a benevolent entity.

This also explains why we are to dress as pirates in worship: because it reminds us of the times when we were on the sea, and closer to the Messengers of the FSM (rAmen). Many pirates may have indeed been touched by their noodly appendages, and brought closer to the FSM in so doing. This also brings into the realm of Holy Scripture such works as Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, wherein a Holy Messenger attempts to convert Ned Land and the rest of the crew of the Nautilus.

I am in awe of the revelation of the grand designs of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. You should be too.

Digital Culture Personal

Arrrr!

jolly roger

Today be th’ official Talk Like a Pirate Day. If’n ya be a scurvy dog n’ want to read th’ blog as it’s meant to be read, you can read the translation here. This is also the grand high holy day of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, be ye touched by his noodly appendage.

Avast! I’ve been re-christened with my true pirate name! What’s yours?

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Flint

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. Like the rock flint, you’re hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you’re easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

For more pirate goodness: the Flickr tag for pirate.

Arrr!

Digital Culture

Katrina: The Gathering

Just funny, funny stuff (at least for us game geeks) from Broken Toys:

Katrina: The Gathering

Find Looters astrodome

Digital Culture Library Issues

LibraryThing

Aside from the not-so-hip title (seriously guys…LibraryThing?) and the needs-prettier-interface/UI, the tool itself rocks like Dokken.

LibraryThing

There are a few things I’d like to see happen with it, though (listen up, developers!): one, you need geographical information, or at least the ability to form groups so that you can keep track of who around you has what books. Second, you need the ability to check in/check out books to other users, with email ticklers for returning. Third, you need to be able to sort by some shelving order (ie: I shelf mine alphabetically, so sort that way, OR if I want to go full on Library of Congress, give me a shelving order for that).

That said, it’s a cool tool I expect I will play with. It also imports Delicious Library files, which is nifty.

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Digital Culture

Google University

Google launched a new “platform” page today, with Google University. Some of the interesting things about it: this is the first time that I’ve seen Google launch a page that simply collects their services for a certain demographic without adding any new services and this is the first time that someone can simply sign up for a Gmail account without and invite or a cell phone (although it does appear that the secondary account has to be from a .edu). Even more interesting to me is the order in which they’ve decided to present their services: all of the communication services (Gmail and Google Talk) first, mobile search (Google SMS, which rocks my face off), maps, and only then do we get down to Google Scholar, the only real search system of the bunch.

It says a lot about Google’s growth that they present a search engine 5th.

Digital Culture

Apple does it again

Just a ton of news coming out of Apple today…top of the list:

The iPod Nano

Wow. It’s beautiful, tiny, and has a color screen. I’m impressed again by the amount of detail that Apple puts into it’s products.

Apple just keeps doing things right.

Digital Culture Personal

NOLA blogging

Found by Shel, a phenomenal blog detailing some of the street-level issues going on in NOLA:

The Interdictor

Sobering post from today:

In case anyone in national security is reading this, get the word to President Bush that we need the military in here NOW. The Active Duty Armed Forces. Mr. President, we are losing this city. I don’t care what you’re hearing on the news. The city is being lost. It is the law of the jungle down here. The command and control structure here is barely functioning. I’m not sure it’s anyone’s fault — I’m not sure it could be any other way at this point. We need the kind of logistical support and infrastructure only the Active Duty military can provide. The hospitals are in dire straights. The police barely have any capabilities at this point. The National Guard is doing their best, but the situation is not being contained. I’m here to help in anyway I can, but my capabilities are limited and dropping. Please get the military here to maintain order before this city is lost.

Wow. I’m just more and more shaken by the news coming from NOLA. So much suffering, and the real suffering hasn’t started yet. Right now, people are suffering from immediate loss…loss of home, loss of friends, loss of family. Later will come the real hardship: no job, no paycheck, no insurance. What do you do when not only is everyplace and everyone you know gone, but everything you know is gone. The whole city is gone. The people who are still in NOLA are the ones without cars, without resources to get out of the city in the first place. What can they possibly do after this?

Books Digital Culture

Building on yesterday’s…

…post about D&D, here’s a page from Wizards of the Coast that has a TON of free PDFs of old D&D products. Tons of great reading here, and more adventures than you could shake a vorpal sword at:

Previous Edition Downloads

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