Citizen.wired.net

I've heard it said that a consultant is someone who can put any idea into a 2x2 matrix. I guess that's true to some extent. But the matrix is only as valuable as the truth it contains. Searls' little pictograms really get across some important fundamentals. I just hope he's right.

Anarchy and Infrastructure. Doc Searls has an absolutely fantastic slide show on his site from his talk at the June JabberConf. Very compelling...

[Windley's Enterprise Computing Weblog]

The Devil Made Me Do It

2:10:14 PM

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With elections just around the corner the campaign silly season has begun, and we're seeing the introduction of all manner of half-baked, self-serving legislation. In one of the worst cases of legislation abuse I have ever seen, a group of Congressmen (can anyone guess who?) have co-authored a copyright bill that would severly limit the right of fair use. But they each added a disclaimer saying they don't really mean it.

This is disgraceful behavior. Some days I think I've awakened in the middle of the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil.

Copyright bill may severely limit your rights. ZDNet Jul 12 2002 8:02AM ET
[...]In an unusual twist, Coble and Berman stressed in their letter to colleagues that their authorship of the draft bill does not necessarily "constitute an endorsement of its contents." Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the full Judiciary committee, also helped in the creation and included the same unusual disclaimer.
Spokeswoman Gene Smith said Thursday that Berman opposes the bill and drafted it only at the request of House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.[...]

[Moreover - IP and patents news]

See also: The Devil Made Me Do It: Adolescent Attraction to Satanism [ | The Devil Made Me Do It: Adolescent Attraction to Satanism | The devil made me do it! | The Devil Made Me Do It: Juvenile Crime | The Devil Made Me Do It - Hot Site Award | The devil made me do it | The devil made me do it | The Devil Made Me Do It | Edmunds St. John: Newsletters | THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT! Stars Zoltan, Monica Ricci, Mimi Honey,

Wishing for a Way to Show Appreciation

12:48:59 PM

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Jim McGee sees a positive use for an idea with questionable origins -- teenage girls soliciting gifts over the Internet (No, Jim's idea has nothing to do with teenage girls.) I have been told, from time to time and with ample justification, that I am blunt, abrupt, and tactless (hence one of the reasons for this blog's name.) But I do like to show appreciation for extraordinary actions and events. I like this idea. I don't know that I would put one up (I already have more books than I'll ever read) but it would be nice to have a quick method of seeing what sort of useful appreciation gift you could send. From Jim McGee via Ron Lusk.

I like the idea...read the article “About Wish Lists” cited below, too. (By the way, I've reformatted this to make it a little less overwhelming....)
That Wish List Thing..... That Wish List Thing....
Someone gave me some great help the other day. It was one of those cases where a bit of knowledge he had saved me about 3 or 4 hours of just general Linux geeking out and experimenting. So I just hit his blog, happened to see his wish list and I saw a book on it that I really loved and he wanted. So I got it for him. That's really cool to me. Here's why -- in a lot of computer things, a little bit of knowledge can just save N hours (where N is an integer and usually > than 2) -- and, while I know that people generally don't mind helping, you sometimes just hate to ask. Either it makes you feel stupid or you just don't want to bother someone. Knowing that someone has a wish list means that if I feel this way, at least I can do something to compensate someone for their time. Time is valuable as is knowledge.
Was the book I got for this person the value of the time? Of course not -- but I don't think that's the point -- it's not about value as much as it is about appreciation. At least that's the case for me. For example, my security article continues to get serious traffic despite my writing it about 3 months ago -- and I'm still getting emails asking for more help! And you know something, I actually try to answer them. I wish I did a better job -- and I'm working on it -- but the reason I try is that these people show appreciation. And, like anyone who writes, you get addicted to the positive (or even negative) feedback.
About Wish Lists
Have You Made a Wish List for Your Blog Yet?
[The FuzzyBlog!] [Jim McGee: Blogging]

[Ron Lusk's Radio Weblog]

See also: wishing | Can Morita Therapy help with relationship problems? | Annual Events | The History of the JWS | Richard Bellamy - Praying, Wishing and Manifesting - Prayer and | Hong Bao -- ThingsAsian Article | "Battlestar Galactica Fan Appreciation Day" Media Kit September 1 | Oshogatsu (End of the year & New Year) Middle of | TearDrop Design | Welcome to Information For People, Inc. / Greeting Cards

We Just Don't Need This

10:17:21 AM

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I want a place where there aren't any stupid people, where my kids don't have to go to school with the kids of a stupid person, a workplace with no stupidity, a world where Chester has no place in it.

Hate Group To March In Gainesville. 11 Alive Jul 11 2002 11:13PM ET
National Alliance leader Chester Doles said, "Our goal is to have White living area, White schools, White workplaces, White homeland where non-whites have no place in it."
[Moreover - Atlanta news]

See also: Sydney Morning Herald - Money we just don ' t need to spend | We Don ' t Need New Ideas; We Just Need to Stop Having Old Ones | Indignant Online Sports - Just What We Don ' t Need | The Active Conditioning | Turrentine's now-classic composition from the 1970s | Ive heard the music, and because listeners will have initial | We don ' t need a general tax cut-- just a fair tax system | BBC - h2g2 - Badges? Badges? We don ' t need no stinkin' badges! - | Talkback: Just what we don ' t need | Alcohol True Stories For Young People