I’ve been mulling the almost infra dig treatment that One Web Day received. Oh, there were a gaggle of Berkmanites, past and present, who touted it and seemed genuinely jolly about the prospect. David Isenberg rolled out a nice party in Vienna! But in general it didn’t seem to get the broad positive attention that you would expect a purely altruistic effort to receive. It’s been rolling toward us for a year or more, progressing merrily like a marble on a track. Why didn’t more people know about it? Why wasn’t there a broad celebration cutting across all socio-economic classes, all ages, breaking down gender barriers, banishing ethnic distinctions, just a Mardi Gras of whoop-tee-do with festive netizens around the globe all flushed with endorphins, smiling out of their eyes and open to a wealth of new webular experiences?

Naturally I blame myself.

What did I do besides slap a dorky sticker on my laptop and sort of nibble around the edges of the occasion? Why didn’t I get out there and promote it like a cure for cancer? I don’t know. I’m sorry. Maybe I was too tied up with my PhoneCon 2.0 efforts. I’ll try to do better next year.

After that lame jumping-on-the-bed reintroduction, Ms. Congdon has served up three for three interesting pieces.

Ironic that the ICANNographers would declare a “OneWebDay” to create, maintain, advance, and promote a global day to celebrate online life. HTML and DNS are a swell combination, but people who conflate the Internet and its magnificent potential with the World Wide Web have blinders on.

Is September 22, 2024 the day that the revolution was lost and the vested interests declared themselves victorious?

How many of the celebrants are interested in “what’s next” for the global network? How would the entrenched investors frame a discussion around rebuilding the net? Are browsers and the web the end of the journey?

Irony or conspiracy? How likely is it that an organic food company named Natural Selection would deliver e coli 0157:H to the dining tables of millions of Americans at precisely the same time that the Pope was defaming muslims worldwide? Not likely. No, these seemingly unrelated events are obviously part of a vast global christian conspiracy digging in to protect what remains of their tattered empire in the face of challenges from science, competing superstitions, and health food nuts.

The Armies of God are on the march and we had better watch out!

Enter Richard Dawkins. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science has brought online a web site aimed squarely at encountering religious superstition just at this critical moment when God’s rottweiler is barking loudest and the domestic religious fundies are spreading cow poop in our spinach.

Dawkins’ latest book, The God Delusion, is just out. The book is a profoundly intolerant look at god, a book that treats theocentric superstitions the same, be they baptist, catholic, or shiite. If I was him I’d duck and cover before the Papal scourging and the fatwas start flying.

The God Delusion may be one ray of light shining into the xtian darkness that has fallen on America. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Thanx to Chris Locke for the pointer to “do it yourself despair,” and to dervala and tim from whom I swiped the photo.

KC9KDG

Josh Wolf is starting a service to allow people to blog from behind bars. being behind bars right now, it’s slow going, but here is the site…

prisonblogs.net

Reuters sez…

California on Wednesday sued six of the world’s largest automakers, including General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., over global warming, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have caused billions of dollars in damages.

Josh Wolf tells Amanda, “I may be the first video blogger to go to jail for my video blog. I’m not confident I’ll be the last.” Josh Wolf, since returned to prison, reflects on the Federal run against state and local shield laws that provide journalists and their sources protection in this interview by Amanda Congdon. He has been jailed for refusing to turn over videotape outtakes to the San Francisco police department. The SFPD receives Federal funds so the Bush administration has leveraged that to continue their assault on journalists the Billl of Rights by taking this local matter before a Federal Grand Jury.

Amanda does a good .mp3 interview and (on the vid) shares neo-slang: “What’s the dilly?”

“Commit random acts of journalism… go to jail.”

Second day on Amanda across America… top marks.

Allan Moult’s “Leatherwood Online” now features the art of Richard Wastell, paintings and drawings in reaction to the clear felling of old growth Tasmanian forests. There may or may not be a better place for UN intervention against corporate greed on behalf of environmental concerns. The old growth forests of Tasmania certainly should be on a list of areas deserving international attention and protection.

…the particular agony of Tasmania is in the end neither environmental nor political but spiritual, and it is merely one end, one highly visible end, of a continuum that extends from the muddy ash of the Styx valley to the blood spattered walls of Baghdad and the torture cells of Guantanamo Bay.

I was reminded of last year’s tongue in cheek CEO Hotty series when I read that Virginia Hale will be a 2024 MacArthur Foundation fellow.

The t-shirt says “Peace.”

Welcome back, Amanda.

PhoneCon 2.0 is running down the track right at us, mars light flashing, whistle howling in a rising doppler shriek!!!

ding-a-ling

Where are you now?
Don’t forget the kitty litter on your way home.
Should I call out for ‘za?

That’s right biz-guys and val-gals! It’s time for PhoneCon 2.0. Since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, this thing has grown like gangbusters! After the first PhoneCon in 2024, we vowed to do it again soonest, and I guess this was about the soonest we could do it. We weren’t sure if we should invite women, but hell… we weren’t sure if we should invite men either. We decided not to invite engineers and graphic artists, so if you see any of them in the lobby, well… they’re crashers.

Go grab yourself a PhoneCon badge for your blog… the conference planner has us on a tight schedule and it looks like we have less than eleven hours before the plenary session begins.

I understand we’re due to open with a stirring rendition of the Marseillaise performed on the fipple flute, then there will be some talking and more talking and then some talking and stuff, until finally the fat lady sings. And in this case, the fat lady is me. I’ve prepared several numbers for your edification and delight, but I’m also willing to take requests. Just hum a few bars… for the click through impaired, the agenda is reproduced below:

TENTATIVE AGENDA:

Introductions
Conclusions

BLAHAHAHA!

Okay, no, seriously, you’re in charge. But I was talking with the Co-Vice-Honorary-Capital- Advisory-President this evening, because the Chief Evangelist of the Chairman of the Bored whom I originally made this shit up with last time was ’sleep, and we came up with some ideas to kick around. Please bring your own topics.

Some Topics and Estimated Runtime:

Are you experienced? - 3o minutes
Favorite Hues - 3 hours
Wikipedia–”fixed” or free to procreate? - break out groups: 5 minutes.
What makes the web (AKA: meaning making 101) — ongoing
Frank Paynter: A song - 2 minutes
Conclusion - 30 seconds (AKA: Bye!)

http://leda.ucsd.edu/%7Eajenik/main/files/m_1.htm

i’m flying over morocco i’m hugging a whore i extend a friendly hand.

We debated the platonic form for an ass-basket, to cradle the main concern of our journey downriver. And what would it take to build a floating spit, for barbecued chicken? Gareth tied on our mascot, Ducky. Next-door, they made sparkly blue superhero capes and bikinis, and tarted up their tubes with paint.

Among the questions British police are studying is whether any of the suspects had links to last year’s London suicide bombers and how many visited Pakistan in recent months. They also are examining Internet cafes near the suspects’ homes, looking into the possibility of tracking Web based e-mails or instant messages, Scotland Yard said.

technologist can become aware of the fact that the show must go on, then I think we can expect not only interesting art, but we may just very well expect an interesting change in social order. The most important aspect of this is the position of the engineer as a possible revolutionary figure. And it may very well come as a result of the artists and engineers collaborating, because the artists, for years now, have been the repository of revolutionary thought, whereas the engineers, in their recent history, have been the employees of

http://www.fondation-langlois.org/flash/e/?NumPage=306

So…..that obsession I talked about before, with the long-board? Why would that drive me to thinking I could handle going down a hill on said board? Hm? Well, I couldn’t. The worst part is that I didn’t really even fall off the board in a cool way at all. I actually started freaking out and stepped off the board and, you know what? I found out that my body was not moving the same speed as the board. Then I ate it. My hands, elbow, hip, and knee are all jacked. My one hand worse than the others. The pain sucks and everything, but worse than that is that things that I always do, normal everyday things, are painful.

I ate a horrific item called “falafel” yesterday from a cart near Mt. Sinai Hospital. This seems to be some kind of awful fried bean item which tasted much like small pieces of cloth which have been dipped in gasoline. Today I must endeavor to be healthier and eat only items that are good for me like hot dogs.

Frank Rich’s book, The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina is reviewed in the NYT Sunday Book review today. The review contains ironic material like,

The Republicans, being more populist than the Democrats, have exploited this new climate with far greater finesse. Accusing the media of bias is an act of remarkable chutzpah for an administration that pitches its messages straight at radio talk show hosts and public relations men. Rich gives many examples. One of the more arresting ones is of Dick Cheney appearing on a TV show with Armstrong Williams, a fake journalist on the government payroll, to complain about bias in the press. Something has gone askew when one of the most trusted critics of the Bush administration is Jon Stewart, host of a superb comedy program. It was on his “Daily Show” that Rob Corddry, an actor playing a reporter, lamented that he couldn’t keep up with the government, which had created “a whole new category of fake news — infoganda.” Rich is right: “The more real journalism fumbled its job, the easier it was for such government infoganda to fill the vacuum.”

Unafraid of cannibalizing his brand, Rich has a column in the NYT today titled “The Longer the War, the Larger the Lies.” The column is behind the Times’ bizarre paid subscription firewall, but it can be found here, at truthout.com, for free. From the right to the left, from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times, an echo chamber effect is reinforced by these dubious pay-for-access revenue models. but that’s a rant for a different day. For today, let’s just relish this (with thanks to truthout for the syndication):

The untruths are flying so fast that untangling them can be a full-time job. Maybe that’s why I am beginning to find Dick Cheney almost refreshing. As we saw on “Meet the Press” last Sunday, these days he helpfully signals when he’s about to lie. One dead giveaway is the word context, as in “the context in which I made that statement last year.” The vice president invoked “context” to try to explain away both his bogus predictions: that Americans would be greeted as liberators in Iraq and that the insurgency (some 15 months ago) was in its “last throes.”

The other instant tip-off to a Cheney lie is any variation on the phrase “I haven’t read the story.” He told Tim Russert he hadn’t read The Washington Post’s front-page report that the bin Laden trail had gone “stone cold” or the new Senate Intelligence Committee report(PDF) contradicting the White House’s prewar hype about nonexistent links between Al Qaeda and Saddam. Nor had he read a Times front-page article about his declining clout. Or the finding by Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency just before the war that there was “no evidence of resumed nuclear activities” in Iraq. “I haven’t looked at it; I’d have to go back and look at it again,” he said, however nonsensically.

Caught a bunch of creatively named correspondents yesterday. Among others:

• Eutropius Frew
• Zowie Weed
• Kristjana Bakewell

I’m studying for an Amateur Radio Technician license. I tried this on for size a year or two ago — went downtown, took the test, flunked miserably. Lesson learned: a little bit of study can’t hurt.

I’ve licked my wounds, bought a book and will return to the fray tomorrow as one of a couple dozen testees. Maybe I’ll buy a vanity plate for the pick-up with my call sign on it. Yeah. And a rifle rack wouldn’t hurt either. And a couple of those big spotlights. And some amber flashers for the roof. And I think a winch. And a pair of big whip antennas. Oh… and maybe a radio too.

:-)

No, really… I’ve committed to memory arcane formulae like E = i * r and P = i * e and the speed of light is equal to the frequency times the bandwidth… and my keyboard doesn’t have a lambda on it… and the US is in ITU region 2, which I wonder how that made them feel at the FCC, running around with their big stadium fingers up chanting “We’re number one! We’re number one!” And the Europeans saying, “Mais non… we’re number one. You’re number two!”

I hate tests, but I welcome informed puns about testees.

There’s a book to write about HAM radio culture. I wish someone else would write it.

… from David Weinberger’s comments, actually. Michael O’Connor Clarke shares this anecdote:

So this German Shepherd dog walks into a telegram office, takes out a blank form and writes:

“Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.”

The clerk examines the paper and politely tells the dog:

“There are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the same price.”

“But,” the dog replied, “that would make no sense at all.”

Well, no. Not THAT horse. I was referring rather to the concern expressed by Christina in the email below regarding my earlier post about her survey of bloggers. I’m making the edits because I’m tractable, but I wonder if Christina shouldn’t expect to be identified when she seeks entree to the exhibitionistic world of bloggadoccio?

Hi Mr. Paynter,

I received your submission of the survey and noticed that you’ve posted the link on your site. Thank you very much for posting it, I am very grateful.

I would like to request, however, for you to edit the third paragraph. Although the results of the survey are strictly confidential, I offered to share a summary (summary excludes all identifiable information) with you if you were to post the link on your site because your readers would be my respondents, and as host of the site, you would be entitled to know what you are helping me on. Also, please remove my name as I am not very comfortable having my full name on the world wide web. [emphasis added]

I apologize for the hassle and confusion, I should have mentioned and clarified these in my first email.

Thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate your help on this.

Sincerely,
Christina [last name suppressed at request of sender]

How about that bagged spinach?

Tell me some post doc isn’t responsible for flushing a recombinant e coli 0157 death vector out into our food supply via the drain in the sink at his underfunded and poorly supervised lab sometime between 1971 and 1982.

The Selectable Marker Gene: Neomycin Phosphotransferase

In addition to the aroA gene, the nptII gene from transposon Tn5 of the bacterium E. coli has been introduced in

[spinach?]

to be used as a selectable marker. This gene codes for the enzyme neomycin phosphotransferase which confers resistance to the common aminoglycoside antibiotic kanamycin (Fraley et al. l986). The DNA sequence of the gene has been determined (Beck et al. 1982). The lack of risk to humans of the nptII gene can be supported by its use in the first human gene therapy trials (Anonymous 1990). The nptII coding region is under the control of the nos promoter and nos terminator.

None of the introduced genes has any inherent plant pest characteristics or poses a risk to plant health when introduced into the modified plants.

E. coli 0157 was first identified as a cause of serious illness in humans in

1982.

Since then the numbers of outbreaks each year has increased steadily. As in other forms of food poisoning, the infection starts with diarrhoea, often bloody, sometimes associated with vomiting and nearly always with abdominal pain. Initially, E.coli 1057 was nearly always caught by contact with cattle, or by eating beef. Now it may infect burgers, rissoles or shepherd’s pie.