I would like to leave work…
I would like to … leave work early today to focus on the economy.#
Science Addiction
A dormant blog by Devanshu Mehta
September 24, 2008
Smart Work, Green Planet
David Isenberg- among other things, of stupid network fame- is in Holland, for Cisco’s Connected Urban Development.
Cisco has officially launched its first Smart Work Center in Almere, a city near Amsterdam. Smart Work Centers are designed to provide work related services like offices, big-pipe Internet connections, conference rooms, telepresence facilities, child care (hej this is Holland!), food service (and support for all of these) so knowledge workers can come to work without coming to the downtown office. The first tenants at the Almere Smart Work Center are HP, IBM and the city of Amsterdam. Several more smart work centers are under construction around the Netherlands.
September 23, 2008
Bailout Should Include 4 Conditions (no, 5!)
Obama Says Bailout Should Include 4 Conditions – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com
Adding some specificity to proposals he has already made, Mr. Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, called for a payback plan for taxpayers if the bailout succeeds; a bipartisan board to oversee the bailout; limits on any federal money going to compensate Wall Street executives; and aid to homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages.
I like it- I’m not an economist, I don’t play one TV and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night. But specificity from the candidates is good. Will look for McCain’s specifics.
UPDATE: And McCain, not to be outdone, wants five conditions on the bailout:
McCain insisted on greater accountability, a way for taxpayers to recoup the cash fed into the fund, total transparency in the review and implementation of the legislation, and no profits for Wall Street execs.
September 23, 2008
The One-Twenty-Ate
My wife and I just started a food blog called The One-Twenty-Ate which is a silly pun on the Rt. 128 that forms the beltway around Boston. We plan to write about restaurants, food shops, food events, things we cook, and anything else we find interesting (as long as its edible).
August 22, 2008
waiting for the Obama SMS…
waiting for the Obama SMS…
August 5, 2008
Advani Plans to Go the Obama Way
Advani, in the footsteps of Obama.
Drawing inspiration from the Illinois senator, the BJP wants to target the youth vote in a big way using technology. Therefore, like Obama, a website is being designed for Advani where his speeches will be uploaded right away and like Obama, text messages on cellphones will be a big weapon to get the attention of young voters.
[From NDTV.com: Now, Advani plans to go Obama way]
For the uninitiated, Advani has almost been Prime Minister a few times over the past 20 years, but has proven a tad too right-wing for the right-wing Bharatiya Janta Party in India to nominate as their PM. And he’s embracing the Obama model. Oh, and he’s older than McCain.
July 29, 2008
Ten Years of Sequels, Prequels and “Based-on”s
As The Dark Knight is poised to become the highest grossing movie of the year, it is interesting to note that 1998 was the last year that the highest grossing movie in the U.S. was an original script.
Not a sequel, prequel, based on a comic, based on a book or anything else. An original screenplay. Since then, we’ve had two Star Wars, a Grinch, a Potter, two Spider-Men, a returning King, a green ogre, the chest of a dead pirate, and now a dark knight.
Of note, also, is that prior to Star Wars in ’99 we had four straight years of original screenplays- Toy Story, Independence Day, Titanic and Saving Private Ryan.
I’m not saying I don’t like the movies we’ve gotten in the last ten years- I can’t, I am a confessed Star Wars addict and have shed tears for a few fallen wizards- but this does tell you why big studios pump millions in to a steady diet of sequels, super heroes and wizards. We’ve voted with our dollars.
July 23, 2008
Campaigning to Lose Votes
A few months ago, I was at a popular local ice cream place, digging in to a much-too-large-to-be-kiddie-sized cup of ice cream when I noticed a prominent local politician approach other ice cream eaters around me.
“Ooh, cool,” this political junkie thought to himself. “One day when this person is nationally important, I’ll be able to say to blog that I shook them by the hand.”
Except, I didn’t.
This local politician of some renown walked up to the people on the bench in front of me and talked with them for a while. Then to the bench next to me. Then behind me. And then to every other bench in the area except mine. And then they- politician+entourage- left.
I may not fit any ‘demographic’ that the campaign was trying to target. And I may not even look like a citizen to the narrow-minded suburban. But even if the potential upside of shaking my hand was negligible, the potential downside is significant. I was turned from a voter indifferent to a voter scorned. More importantly, a blogger scorned.
And dictatorships hath no fury like a blogger scorned.
July 22, 2008
iDoodling
I would just like to say that I love doodling on my iPhone.
Oh, and the WordPress blogging app rocks.
July 22, 2008
Why This Blog is CC Licensed
You may not have noticed it (how dare you!), but this blog is licensed CC-Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This means:
You are free to:
- Share– copy, distribute, transmit (send it to your enemies!)
- Remix– adapt the articles (I’m waiting for the musical)
Under the following conditions:
- Attribution– You must attribute it to me.
- Noncommercial– You may not use it for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike– If you alter, transform or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same license.
So why did I choose this license?
- To paraphrase Cory Doctorow, the only thing worse than an author who’s work is pirated is an author who’s work is not read. So share!
- The Internet isn’t one-way. It is interactive. There is an archaic notion that my job is to write this blog and your job is to read. You and me are standing on the shoulders of giants. On the Internet, you stand on my shoulders, I’ll stand on yours and we’ll make one weird circus freak. So adapt and remix!
- I have an ego, and I don’t like people taking credit for my work. So attribute (to me)!
- Stand on my shoulders if you want, but don’t sell tickets to it (without my permission). So non-commercial! This is basically so that no one is making money off me without my knowledge. When asked, I’ve been known to give permission.
- And clearly, I can’t let you share and remix my work, but then allow you to prevent further sharing and remixing. So share alike!
You’re free to use this license (or one of the many others Creative Commons has written) for any of your creative works. There’s even a comic (CC-licensed of course) to explain all the licenses.
Science Addiction 