Take the L Train To Friday

Amazing weather this afternoon.  I was indoors all morning until 2:20; came outside and the world has become Springlike.  Trees have finally burst leaf buds; dogs lounge on lawns.  Back at the brain round-up the Brooklyn Funk Essentials are blowing that saxophone up while I try to remember the wisdom and the purpose.  When the sax blows it doesn't really matter though.

Happy weekend to yas.

Cleaning Up for Spring

I have been spending time off and on over the past few days cleaning out my digital cobwebs.  For me, a large part of that has been sifting all of the GooGle Reader items I've shared, saving shortcuts when appropriate (I do have one or two useful ideas in there with all the lolcats).
One that I had completely forgotten about was an item published originally by the Washington Post, about President Obama's wish to have the White House visitors' log made public online.

And hallelujah, the list is still being updated!  Good WH Staff!  Thanks Mr. President!  Such a really simple and gracious thing to do.  Pity it took so long - no other POTUS thought it important, I guess - but thanks for getting it done.  And also for making sure it wasn't a four week dog and pony show.

My wife and I took our girls for a flying circus tour of DC last Summer.  I'm in school so we don't have a lot of money but I really wanted them to see Washington around the age I did.  We came in on a Thursday night train from Boston; stayed at Phoenix Park Friday, and went home Saturday night.  Not for everyone - wife and girl #1 won't do it again - but the younger one!  She'll go for it, just to get back to the Air and Space museum again.

Responsibility isn't about enjoying it, it's about doing it.

A Buzzer I've been following for a while came in this morning with a question/problem.

So, any how I have a son who has been living with his mother in Kansas for the last few years. He's been fucking up big time. He's 14. He's got caught stealing from Wal-Mart. He's apparently been stealing everything that's not nailed down for quite some time and no one cared, enough to notice or do anything about it. He's also been smoking weed and getting into other forms of mischief. Long story short it's looking more and more like he may end up moving to California with my wife and I. Honestly I'm less then excited. Life is full of changes but honestly I was and am quite happy with having my child rearing years behind me. Don't get me wrong I love the boy and want him to have every opportunity, I also have no doubt that my guidance and discipline, and just caring enough to be aware of where he is and what he's doing , will more then likely change things for the better.

It reminded me of my own childhood, which had moments not so different from what he described.  My dad died when I was like eleven and I didn't appreciate what a huge hole that left until I was a lot older.  At the time, my mom re-married and I wasn't beaten or picked on.  People made sure I had clothes, made sure I had food, made sure there was a present or three at holidays and birthdays.  Material things weren't lacking.

But I did lack for things.  I missed seeing the man get up and go to work every day.  I missed seeing the man get cleaned up and dressed every day.  I missed seeing the man treating others with respect, no matter what.  I missed seeing the man take care of shit that really needed to be taken care of even when it wasn't his shit.

I missed seeing him express love.  I missed him experience anger, and how to express it properly.  I missed seeing him experience sorrow, or fear.  And because I missed seeing him go through those things, I had to learn how to deal with them through trial and error.  Or, more to the truth, through not dealing with them.

And I nearly missed the most important fact which is that I need to be present for my children, so they can witness me and learn from me.  Today, when 'learning moments', ones where I have to be 'that guy who does the right thing' come up, they're not always pleasant.  Usually, expensive.  Always, dramatic.  So far no one's been injured, suspended, arrested, or un-licensed to drive yet.

Important people are watching.  So I don't want to miss any of those times.

Because I am The Man.  And it's what I can do.  Shivers.

State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter

The State Department says, "Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidenti­al informatio­n, which is part of most positions with the federal government­."

In reference to discussing or referencin­g WikiLeaks material, which while controvers­ial in its potential to cause harm by identifyin­g individual­s working in clandestin­e jobs, is otherwise arguably on the same level as the Pentagon Papers' release, that being the public 'outing' of behavior and actions performed in the public name that many of the public might have very real problems with.

It makes me wonder: Should Department of Justice officials be looking at who references or shares links to this informatio­n, as a cue to identify individual­s who are positively disposed to whistleblo­wing?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

"We are pleased that this lawsuit has finally ended with plaintiffs' acknowledgment that they are entitled to only one dollar."

Now for some news that doesn't completely suck. Aaron and Christine Boring took exception to having their Pittsburgh area home and property photographed for GooGle Street View (that cool enhancement to GooG Maps which lets you see photographs of the location you're mapping.)

You might think 'Hey, the Germans have already made this point, what up?' but this couple from Franklin Park, PA were Thinking Different [deliberate mashing of grammar with no apology to Steve Jobs].

In the first place, the GooG Mobile Unit that captured the images of their home did so from 2/10 of a mile up a private road, passing several 'No Trespassing' signs before snapping the homestead pictures. The Borings told GooGle, taking the pictures from a road the Mobile should never have been on was a violation of their privacy. And here's where The Borings started racking up those Good Citizen points!

When contacted by the Borings, GooGle would not apologize for driving up the road to take pictures it shouldn't have. It ignored their trespass claim, saying only that access to the pictures could be removed, if the Borings requested it. According to the Borings, GooGle claimed the right to photograph pretty much whatever it wanted, wherever it wanted -except of course in parts of Greece, England, and Germany.

Not to be put off - even by a multinational "don't be evil" information service - the Borings hired an attorney and took GooGle to court in a suit claiming a trespass resulting in property devaluation, shame, humiliation, and mental suffering.

Suing someone for snapping a picture in the process of creating free reference information might seem a little weird. But GooGle, as the Borings saw it, suspended their rights to privacy, and would get away with it - unless a legal challenge was made. Given the cost of litigation, it's arguable that GooGle's action was socio-economic discrimination. The only remedy to GooGle's behavior, as the Borings saw it, was to put up discretionary cash and time and "lawyer up."

This was only the first economic hurdle for the Borings.  When they got to court; their lawsuit was dismissed after ten months, by an apparently unsympathetic judge.  My sympathies require I mention, the justice in question has gone to her reward.  I hope her findings in this case cause her no undue discomfort or delay on her journey on the next plane.

Their case was heard in a US Court of Appeal. cha-ching!!  No, Justice is seldom attained at less than full retail, and sometimes with premiums added on.  This time, the judge in the appeal agreed that while none of the damages claimed in the lawsuit could be proven, the complaint of trespassing would be heard. It was at this point that GooGle came to its economic senses, and settled the matter in judge's chambers. Following the settlement, in which both parties paid their own legal fees, GooGle issued the quote titling this article, admitting that it would pay a single dollar in damages for the trespass.

GooG Reader Welcomes GooG Apps Users

In its Official GooGle Reader Blog, The gang at GReader on Friday announced that

"Google Apps recently launched an improvement that made dozens of exciting Google services available to Google Apps users for the first time. As part of this launch, Google Reader is now available to our Google Apps users for free with their Apps accounts."

While it's gratifying to feel welcomed, my GooG Apps account has had reader and a number of other GooGly GooDies longer than that.  A few months, like.  We even got Wave in the deal! But wouldn't you know it, we were screwed in the Orkut, YouTube and BUZZ departments.

No one is saying when - or if - the good people of GooG Apps Island  will ever see those delicious gems of Goodness.

Which is a crying shame, because even with the nice notices GooG places at the top of Reader that remind me which account I'm using (bless you for that) I still am miserably confused when it comes to which OpenID I used to create oh, say, my Diigo account.  Or which GooG Blogger is carrying which Blog.

I know, it's a small thing, but if I was working and not just schooling full time, I'd never have the time to de-tangle my synapses from the different accounts, and the different application accesses each have.

But Hey, things are going to get better, right???



WORD.

Wired Breasts Cover Sparks Controversy

I found the cover of my copy was 'removed' by my wife. I have two daughters, 11 and 15 and she was uncomfortable with having it around.



While I appreciate her discomfort I can also appreciate the POV of the author. If there wasn't such a huge market of breast-enhancement seekers that such surgery could be considered 'cosmetic' then there wouldn't have been an opportunity for the technology to be developed and proven so quickly. And this is changing women's lives in a dramatically positive way.



Perhaps you could consider this another "It's a fair cop, but society is to blame" instances. Either way I'm glad the article was written and shared, and that the procedure was made possible.
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Read the Article at HuffingtonPost