Monthly Archives: April 2007

Paul Simon: Old

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The first time I heard “Peggy Sue”
I was 12 years old
Russians up in rocket ships
And the war was cold
Now many wars have come and gone
Genocide still goes on
Buddy Holly still goes on
But his catalog was sold

First time I smoked
Guess what – paranoid
First time I heard “Satisfaction”
I was young and unemployed
Down the decades every year
Summer leaves and my birthday’s here
And all my friends stand up and cheer
And say man you’re old
Getting old
Old
Getting old

We celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas day
And Buddha found Nirvana along the lotus way
About 1,500 years ago the messenger Mohamed spoke
And his wisdom like a river flowed
Through hills of gold
Wisdom is old
The Koran is old
The bible’s
Greatest story ever told

Disagreements?
Work ’em out

The human race walked the earth for 2.7 million
And we estimate the universe at 13-14 billion
When all these numbers tumble into your imagination
Consider that the lord was there before creation
God is old
We’re not old
God is old
He made the mold

Take your cloths off
Adam and eve

Unexpected uses of iPods

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Like all good lists, there are 10 of these but my favorites are:

  • Train Doctors to Save Lives: iPods can double interns’ ability to identify heart sounds
  • Bring Criminals to Justice: using iPods to hold copies of wiretap transmissions in a large drug-conspiracy case.
  • Record Flight data: iPods as flight data recorders in light aircraft.
  • Flashlight:  For about $13, you can purchase Griffin’s iBeam, an attachment that will quickly turn your iPod into a combo flashlight and laser pointer.

Clear Channel launches social networking sites

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“Radio giant Clear Channel is getting into the social networking business. The company’s online music and radio division is introducing a dozen station-branded social networks in the coming months. Each social network will function essentially as mini-MySpace, but will be focused on the local community served by the station running it.

Not only can Clear Channel monetize the sites with targeted online spots from local advertisers, he says but also people using the networks have a better chance of making lasting connections with other users because they will share more regional affiliations. By contrast other social networks are focused on national and even international audiences.

Each social network will have a user experience similar to MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and others offer. Users can create profiles, customize them with HTML codes and widgets, upload photos, music and video, blog, and add friends. Users will also be able to customize their profile pages with videos from Clear Channel’s catalog of over 6,000 music videos licensed from major and independent labels.”

— Billboard

Does radio still “own” breaking news?

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We radio guys (back when I was a radio guy) used to pooh-pooh the daily newspaper as “yesterday’s news,” for their inability to cover breaking stories. The folks at The Providence Journal are changing that and they’re using a blog (among other tools, I’m sure) to do it.

They call their news blog “7to7” and it is “…is projo.com’s first reporting channel for breaking news. The news gets to the blog staff in a variety of ways: posting, e-mail, or dictation — whatever works well in a given circumstance. We’ve even set up a dedicated blog phone line and an e-mail address.” Publisher Howard G. Sutton takes this view:

“Decades ago, the newspaper business abdicated the franchise for breaking news to broadcast media. With the strength of projo.com, and a newsroom at least 10 times the size of any local competitor, we are poised to take back the leadership position for breaking news. When people in our market need to find out what it is happening right now, they will turn to projo.com and The Providence Journal. We are taking back the franchise.”

Editor Joel P. Rawson recently reinforced the initiative in his memo to the staff: “It is our goal to be the source for breaking news in Rhode Island, to dominate it, to own it.”

More on how “7to7” works at Poynteronline.

Case in point: I was cruising Digg yesterday and came across a story about a shooting at a mall in Kansas City. Full story with pix, only 18 minutes old. Of course, the local radio guys might have been all over this. But the point is, the radio guys have to work hard to be first with breaking news. It’s no longer theirs by default.

Blogger on front page of New York Times

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New York TimesIt’s stories like this one, on the front page of the New York Time, that put the “no shit?!” look on my face when someone tells me they’ve never heard of blogging.

Stories like this must make it a little harder for institutions and governmental bodies to deny access to bloggers. Not that the U.N. or the New York Times get much respect outside of The Big City. [Thanks, Henry]

“How did the mainstream press get it so wrong?”

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Bill Moyers'That’s the question Bill Moyers attempts to answer in “Buying the War” (Bill Moyer’s Journal on PBS). A damning indictment of the coverage of the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Tim Russert looked silly and Dan Rather was pathetic. I kept flashing on the old pre-WWII Nazi propaganda footage.

I always thought a good, strong, free press would be our last line of defense against the crooks and thieves we keep electing. (“Gooks in the wire!”)

After watching Buying the War on Tivo, we watched Moyer’s Conversation with Jon Stewart. An insightful look at The Daily Show. What it is and what it is not.

Following that, Moyers did a great segment with Josh Marshall, the political blogger from talkingpointsmemo.com. Blogging for Truth looked at Marshall’s perspective on the role of politics in the recent firings of federal prosecutors.

Watching these back-to-back was interesting. And somewhat reassuring (if you watch them in the right order). You’ll find video and transcripts on the PBS website. Good stuff.

Best vet blog

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A good blog is: personal, informative, timely, passionate, focused… and, yes, I do have an example in mind. Following excerpt is from yesterday post on Your Pet’s Best Friend:

“When we welcome a new client to our practice, part of the process is a questionnaire about their pet’s health history and environment. The last question is: “Do you consider your pet to be a member of the family?” and most people answer “Yes”. The human-animal bond is very strong. It’s very common for people to say that the pet is like a child to them. Cat-lovers often say that the cat owns them, rather than the other way around. Certainly many (most?) of us consider our pets as companions, as opposed to property. Thus it would seem that referring to ourselves as the “guardians” of our pets is just a nice way of saying how we really feel. [Trade Secret: the real key question is “Where does your pet sleep?”]”

If you come across what you believe is a better vet blog, send me the link.

Email Dumb Storm

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Earlier this month I ranted about the mindless, clueless use of the REPLY ALL button. We’re currently experiencing one of these Dumb Storms. The following exchange has been shared with 80+ people in our office. (Yes, I do understand that some of the recipients find this witty exchange delightful.) I’m posting in reverse order to make this (on-going) thread easier to read. This is the work email equivalent of Open Mic Night at the Comedy Club. And you’re chained to your chair.

“Word has already been passed back to Learfield from I-70 that the troopers are out in full force, so be careful and watch out”

“Watch out now… my son is a trooper

“We love your son, but would like to interact with him in a more informal manner.”

“I really think it would be a great idea if police officers were put to work protecting people from murder, rape, and other vicious attacks … instead of being used by the state, counties, cities, and towns as men and women in uniform who main duty is to generate revenue. I’d wager they would probably prefer to be fighting crime than ticketing someone who has the audacity to drive at 65 MPH in a 60 MPH zone on I-70 in St. Louis County. How dare anyone drive at such an “unreasonable” speed on what is, at that point in the highway, an 8-late thoroughfare!”

“Thank your son for performing his duty. Many people have died at the hands of wreckless drivers who thought they were doing nothing wrong until it was too late.”

“I second that!!”

“Me thinks (name) is a bit cranky.”

“Maybe he got a ticket on the way to work???

“Well if he did, at least it wasn’t me this time!!

Future of TV? Live video from your cell phone to the world

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“At the 2007 National Association of Broadcasters show, ComVu Media demonstrated live video transmitting at 30 fps at 640 x 480 resolution from a mobile phone over a wireless data network.

ComVu used its PocketCaster software to broadcast full screen video from a Nokia N95 multimedia device, transmitting over HSDPA data connection. Anyone using a Nokia N95 device — including field reporters — can now capture and broadcast video directly to air and concurrently stream live video to Web-portals, blogs and 3G-enabled phones. ComVu CEO William Mutual called the end-to-end solution “the future of news gathering worldwide.” — Podcasting News

If I was running a news operation, I think I might invest in one of these and see if it’s as cool as it sounds.