Phoenix Mars Lander
So long Earth. I’ll be here to greet the next explorers to arrive, be they robot or human.
Read through its first-person guest-blog at Engadget and tweets at Twitter.
I’ve been running this blog for more than 3 years, but “Science Addiction” had always been a stop-gap name. It was a domain name I had lying around and the blog- at the time- didn’t have much of a direction.
Over time, the blog got a direction- which probably had something to do with this article of mine– and the name no longer fit the bill. And so, after thinking about it for a long time, I’ve rebranded the blog as GeekActivism.com— a name that actually describes what you’ll find here.
NOTE: The old links and RSS feeds will still work.
Just discovered a site called Vixy.net which converts YouTube (or any FLV) videos to usable formats- AVI, MPG, MOV, 3GP, MP3- either directly from the web site or using a stand-alone application on your computer. The web site conversion didn’t quite work for me, but the Mac application worked (it’s open source and has a Windows version as well). A little buggy, but useful.
The new Change.gov web site keeps getting better. There is a section that allows you to submit ideas for the new administration. Also, while you’re there, take a look at the science and technology agenda section.
Like I said earlier, everybody’s got a wish list for the new President. Not everyone provides a timetable the way the ACLU has.
They divide up their “Actions for Restoring America” in to things to do on the first day, the first 100 days and the first year. The first day includes things like stopping torture, closing Guantanamo, and ending extraordinary renditions. The next 99 days are more interesting from a geek policy standpoint.
All valid points. What remains to be seen is how much of a priority these concerns remain in such harsh economic times. In some cases, making the right kind of appointments to FCC and other positions should take care of concerns.
Until inauguration day on the 20th of January, I will be covering some of the aspects of the transition to the Obama administration that affect technology and open government in a series called Change Watch.
Everybody has a wish list for the new President, including the Government Accountability Office. It’s strange how one arm of the legislative branch has a ready list of things they need from the next President. Do they know they have a President in office right now?
In any case, there are two points in their list that are of our interest:
Again- they already have an FCC, an NTIA and President Bush, and yet they are willing to wait until the end of January for “urgent” action.
Until inauguration day on the 20th of January, I will be covering some of the aspects of the transition to the Obama administration that affect technology and open government in a series called Change Watch.
Until inauguration day on the 20th of January, I will be covering some of the aspects of the transition to the Obama administration that affect technology and open government in a series called Change Watch. 
Today, Change.gov was launched. It is the official web site for the “Office of the President-Elect”. It is an extremely forward-looking web site which hopes to capture the enthusiasm and energy of Obamamania before is subsides. The site continues where BarackObama.com left off- except for the user participation part. One hopes that there is a direct way for citizens to participate. Maybe Joe Trippi’s MyWhiteHouse.gov idea?
UPDATE: Alan Rosenblatt at techPresident has a couple of great ideas about how the new President can keep the Obama social network alive- either as an independent community outside of government or as a “white house social network” to directly channel the energy of his supporters.
I’ve been a bit involved with Twitter Vote Report and it is a lot of fun to watch people reporting their voting experiences. I’m helping out with reviewing the reports and some of them are just heart wrenching. (refresh or go to the main site for the latest reports).
Science Addiction 