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By admin | Published: March 9, 2009

And we’re back

The forums have been completely revamped and the entire site moved to a new host.

Enjoy

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end of an era

By The Prisoner | Published: February 13, 2009

I’m thinking of taking down this site. I’ll probably start a new one, with more control on a better hosting service. This site has been a great toy, one of several I really enjoy playing with, but I’m looking for a little more adventure.

The new site will probably morph back into this one, I do seem to have a one track mind for topics, but I think it will focus much more on technology and the social aspects of coping with it. I have begun the initial design steps and have found a (hopefully) more customer service oriented host.

The plan is to incorporate spaces for other writers and to develop more dialog. I hope to have several discussions and create a resource that will allow people to find useful ways to make technology work and not to just work with technology. It will look at all sorts of technologies, from arts to housing and will incorporate the forums in a more open and general way. I’ll also try to use tumblr more effectively to bring ideas into the mix and of course there will be editorials.

Since my focus at work has been security lately, I suspect that I’ll focus a lot on how we balance security and privacy and if you read this blog you’ll know I’m very concerned with how technologies are used to infringe upon the little privacy we seem to have left. I’m hoping it’ll generate a little traffic, but if it doesn’t, well at least its a fun hobby.

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G1

By The Prisoner | Published: February 11, 2009

Google stated in a law case that privacy doesn’t exist and we should just get used to the idea.

here is one article

Here is another

My views are clear on this but what can I do to protect myself from the onslaught of privacy limiting technologies that track my whereabouts? There was also another article in the Metro today regarding a man that was released from his job because he kept a blog, on his own time, on his own server. The bus company was upset about his comments on snow removal.

So we have a double standard. The corporations are allowed or even encouraged to limit our privacy while we are being told from these corporations that we just don’t have any.

It’s time to lobby government to start protecting an individual’s rights to privacy. Technology liberates us from many mundane tasks. It should not be used to track us or we should all start calling ourselves Winston

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Two new pages

By The Prisoner | Published: February 10, 2009

I’ve created two new pages for this site. The first is a photoblog that allows me to steal erm…..repost….photography from around the world and show it to whomever happens past. It’s a great fun toy and it brings me hours of entertainment. The tool is Tumblr and it’s a way people can share art and ideas.

Please take a look at the photos, the artists deserve our attention.

The second page is the Tech-society page and in this area I’ll be bringing other people’s ideas about technology and society for you to read. It’s another Tumblr feed but will focus almost entirely on text and video relating to technology in society.

Enjoy.

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hundreds of words each year

By The Prisoner | Published: February 9, 2009

Each year hundreds of words get put aside as quaint or unworkable. Here’s a great resource.

save the words

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Two performances

By The Prisoner | Published: February 3, 2009

Lip-synching is not performing. So maybe this should be “one performance” instead.

The giant entertainment orgasm that is the Super Bowl had a lot of stuff happening aside from football, Steve Perry and Journey did a fine performance. Bruce Springsteen did a fine performance. Oh, yeah then some woman pretended to sing the Anthem.

I have no time for fake. I don’t care one bit about the excuses. Of course something might go wrong. That’s why people go to see live performances. Not to see the mistakes, to see the professionals manage to do amazing things in front of people, to see them rise above small errors to create magic, to  watch atists perform.

The studio is a place for perfection. You can tweak and smooth and redo till it’s just dreadfully perfect. But you can’t beat a live performance for heart and artistic moments.

And don’t get me started on the fact it was an ANTHEM. Gah….

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Four, as far as I can tell

By The Prisoner | Published: January 29, 2009

The house of commons  in Canada is usually a pretty stable place. Sure, from time to time the question period can get a little rowdy, but for the most part, it’s just dull as a glass of warm water. Lately, however, it’s been more fun. We now have four very aggressive leaders in the house. In fact, if current affairs remain we really have four prime Ministers. Each leader of the four main parties seems able to dictate to the house.  How odd.

First, there’s Mr. Harper.  He’s the official Prime Minister and leader of the government. He’s a fascinating fellow. He spins like a top on policy, dropping ideals and picking up new ones as he goes. He said, government needs a fixed term to reduce costs of elections, but then called one early, just because. When it looks bad for his bills, he just closes the house down. He said deficit budgets would never occur, but then presented one. He said the economy is strong, then decided that keynesian spending was required to bolster it. It goes on and on, but the deal is, he’ll say and do whatever he wants to keep his party in power. Good for him.

Next we have Mr. Ignatieff. He seems to think he’s in power now. As official leader of the opposition he does hold sway, but really, demanding the Tories make reports on progress is just silly. They must, they owe us an accounting, particularly if they are running a deficit. So his demand is really just showboating, don’t you think? In the end all it did was alienate the NDP and the Bloc, two players that might be of real value in the months ahead.

Speaking of the NDP, we now have a wonderfully animated Mr. Layton spitting and scratching at the Grits as if they stole his iPod. Let’s face it, he had a chance a while back to govern and the Liberals pulled the rug out from under him. No doubt that has left a rather bad taste in his mouth. I’d be spitting vitriol, too.

And finally the Bloc give us M. Duceppe . He is, in my limited opinion, the only steady voice. While the others are scratching each other’s eyes out he stays his course. Give Quebec more or go away. In the days ahead I think his party will steer the house in a very Bloc direction by creating an opportunity to be the balance of power in the fight for the house.

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18 photos

By The Prisoner | Published: January 27, 2009

I finally found a way to publish a few photos. It hasn’t been easy to find a viewer I like and make it work. Even now, I’m sceptical that it actually does. I think it may be just cached images on my workstation.

At any rate, if they do work you’ll see 4 nice shots of the Regent’s canal near Camden locks, six nice photos of the area around Hampstead Heath and eight ok photos of the Kew Steam Museum. I admit it, I’m a steam engine junky. I just love the noises they make. Kew has two of the largest engines ever made, 70″ and 100″. They are massive machines that  used to pump water from the river into the cities domestic water system. 

As for Hampstead Heath, please see the movie “scenes of a sexual nature” as it highlights the area in a way I never could. One thing is certain though, as in the movie where several short stories are told in different locations around the park, you can see from my shots that the park is a series of vignettes that unfold each time you turn a corner or climb over a rise. It’s a wonderful park.

And what can I say about the light I had that day along the canal towpath?

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2.5 million people

By The Prisoner | Published: January 20, 2009

Never in my life has one man seemed to hold the hopes of so many people. Barak Obama is human, he will make errors, make bad choices, make enemies. He’s bound to, we all do. It’s interesting to see how people are reaching for him, though. Today he became the 44th president of the United States.  I wish him well but alas, I don’t hold him in any high regard.

I suppose that it’s important that he’s black. It seems this indicates (at least to many) that the United States will be more inclusive. I’m not sure how this is so. I would like a few months to pass before I decide whether I will consider him a evangelical orator with a clear vision of how to lead without force, of how to be an instrument of change or whether he is just another politician that’s working very hard to earn a huge salary. He’s got four years to show us what he means by change. I hope he means social responsibility, fiscal care and a limiting of aggressive military interference.

It’s quite likely that he will simply be another American president, although he will always be the first African-American one. For the most part the past presidents have displayed the same understanding of the cultural variations of the world that make television sit-coms so mind numbing. I’m hoping this incredibly bright, seemingly forward thinking man makes the effort to solve the pressing issues of the day while he has time.

Issues like universal health care, homelessness, education and global warming. Issues like developing peace in the world instead of policing ideologies and arming nations with questionable ethics.

It’s where I’m pinning MY hopes, anyway. Add me to the collective hopes of the 2.5 million who came to see his inauguration in person and the millions around the world who watched as he promises to lead, not crush the world.

Let’s hope change is really on its way.

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85%

By The Prisoner | Published: January 19, 2009

I had a good laugh at this

Everyone knows this. Manufacturers just keep dumping new “features” on these devices and all anyone really wants is a telephone and possibly email and text. And don’t get me started on “office applications”

It just shouldn’t be so confusing that people get stressed out.  What ever happened to “ease of use”? What is wrong with purpose built tools like a bubble level or a hammer? Why are productivity tools so bloody unproductive?

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