Data Curator

I have been doing the work of a data curator lately. I have generated a lot of absolutely original information over the years and it is not easy to prevent it all from being lost to dying media and expiring formats.

In the 90's I saved a lot of song files to DataDAT format using an Atari Falcon. I would back up each track and each mix of songs I was working on as data encoded sound streams that were saved like files to DAT tapes. I want to recover all my old DAT tapes and back them up on DVD-R, Hard Drives or whatever works best.

A Dat Tape and a AAA battery (from http://www.wikimedia.org/)


And an Atari Falcon computer:


Warning: Techno-babble...

I upload the tapes to a SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) Hard Disk attached to the Atari. The Falcon system has its own format for the drive which cannot be read by my Mac. So I had to find a format they can both read. Eventually the lowest common denominator was MS DOS FAT 16 format. So my 4 Gig drive is divided into 5 partitions and I actually formatted it from my Mac OS X Tiger unix command prompt. The FAT 16 switch is available there. It all works great, but I have to remember to put the Falcon in black and white video mode to free up just enough speed and memory for successful uploads.

Warning: Waxing philosophical...

Over the long run, all data will need to be carefully maintained so as not to slip away. I think people may eventually print files as small pixel patterns to acid free paper. Then they could scan them back to the hard disk with a flat-bed scanner and some Bit Recognition Software. Something like this is already done in smaller amounts of data on your driver's license.

The right kind of paper and ink could last longer than a Hard Drive platter might. The Hard Drive's platter, reading/writing circuitry or mechanism may corrode or fail far sooner. Paper could be scanned by new future higher tech machines and it is a little more stable than magnetic storage tends to be. Optical devices like CD-R, DVD-R erode far more quickly than well done paper and ink. Even Hard drives may last longer than optical media. I don't know yet whether Blueray improves on shelf life for the optical media. Paper is also "optical" in a sense.

It would take a lot more physical space to store the same file size in paper than on a Hard Disk, though it is a way to preserve the data for longer.

Maybe etching into a carbon slab is the way to go...essentially a sheet diamond storage system. This would be a way to store the most precious data society has for a long time. Maybe that's not possible yet or something better will come around.

We do need to think about how we will preseve information. Someone has to think of a way to put signs outside our radioactive nuclear waste pits that don't fade away over 10,000 years.

All I did was rescue some unique magnetic patterns from the 80's and 90's...and they already felt like they were slipping into the digital void.

=sw

Priesthoods

Society seems to enjoy making priesthoods of knowledge. This is a group or class that is entrusted to understand and explain with authority things no one else can understand or should bother themselves to understand because the one authoritative way of seeing things is already determined.

Once you have a priesthood you can then use your own compliance with their edicts to set yourself above and apart from others and in turn shame and degrade them! Exciting isn't it? (rhetorical am I not?)

As an ex-religious I have seen this kind of behavior...the leaning on an agreed upon authority and following it blindly while heaping disapproval or even venom upon any non -compliant people.

I also see this in the "Web Development" field.

Some have granted a "Priesthood" status to the W3C. "THEY" have deprecated the use of the word URL. Never mind the culture or history or people's speech patterns. You see, their authority extends over the earth as a mighty flood with the power to control your every utterance and ban you from stepping out of line in word and deed!

We should all now say URI. And I say we should all now say "Fellate my Phallus" instead of...nevermind.



I digress. I understand that scientifically it is a better word to describe what people have apparently misused "URL" to describe for years. I get the technical argument that URL's are a subset of what URI's are etc.

What I can't agree with is an organization, only given notice by the famous names that subscribe to it, can somehow now "correct us all" into changing the way we speak and attempt to retroactively remove our "bad habits" because it knows best. We all know what we mean when we say "web address" and for anything anyone cares about #thepulpit can be called a URL even though it is strictly a URI as it has no explicit network access method...but of course it has an implied network access method called a browser . (And the browser can connect to local files, hypertext, file transfer, page positions etc.)

I maintain that we should not let any "Priesthood" tell us it knows best. This is my world too and I will adopt standards I agree with and reject up-tightness I can't stand at will as a free human being and so can you.

=sw

Nevada vs. Nevahda

Since I lived in Utah and visited both northern and southern Nevada many times, I know that people in Nevada don't pronounce their home's name the way it is pronounced by millions of people on the East coast.

I have heard every argument, such as the argument that Nevada comes from spanish etc. The majority people living in Nevada are not native Spanish speakers.

Nevada is also a State in the United States (please refer to the treaty if Guadalupe Hidalgo if you are confused about that). While the U.S. is not officially an English speaking country, it is defacto a majority English language country. This means that the residents of Nevada are not wrong in how they pronounce their own State's name.



Some make the argument that by the same standard I should call Paris "Pahreee" and Mexico "Mehico" because the people who live in those places pronounce their homes like that respectively.

This is not the same standard because these are places in foreign countries. Nevada is right here at home. I don't hear people campaigning to call Arizona Addizonah. No one thinks that we should all pronounce California like Arnold Schwarzenegger does.

Is there any other widely mispronounced State name? Maybe I could start some trends like "NayBrahSkah" or "Oh Heeee Oh". I guess Illinois gets the rare mistake of Illinoise, though most people say it right like the locals prefer. Even though this one more closely matches the French name heritage I am sure is the reason for the silent s.

Poor Arkansas...it would be a lot easier if Kansas were "Kansaw".

Every one east of the Mississippi mispronounces Nevada. It is just annoying. Like if snooty people insisted on saying Minnesota with a hard T like MinnesoTAW. How many times could I say Mitchigan before being corrected.

When I tell people here in the central east coast that NevAHda is actually wrong, they say "My Mom says it that way" or "Tim Russert says it that way on NBC". I am pretty sure Tim Russert also lives east of the Mississippi.

I guess I will have to start saying Alabayma (wait this could be correct!) and Noff Cahrowleeena. Still, I am not going to glottal stop my Hawaii any time soon.

=sw

Oh Holy God

How do I feel about the Holidays, now I have peeled back many layers of religious indoctrination and desire to live life and interpret it through rational means?

In some ways I am as familiar and comfortable with "Christmas" and a kind of "American T.V. Hanukkah" as I ever was.

What do I believe? I believe that this is a time of human celebration that existed long before, or as long as, any other tradition later grafted into it. The dogma's and doctrines I find detract from the "human family" spirit of the season. Christmas was co-opted from an ancient Pagan "festival of the lights" which seems to have a Jewish cousin. I think the explanation for the holidays is simple.

In times long before artificial light when a fire may have been the only man-made night lighting, many earth-peoples noted the lengthening nightly darkness and the arrival of the dominance of the "lights" or stars over the daily cycle.

A lot of our ancient traditions come from cultures that are largely in the northern hemisphere. Something similar happens down south, just 6 months out of sync. So, everywhere you are, there is a time of year where the sun's day shortens and darkness seems to continually conquer the cycle of day and night. We know, of course, that this doesn't so much happen at the equator.

Also, the earth is always 50% light and 50% shadow at any given moment. It just so happens that during certain times of year and because of our 23.5 degree tilt, your house may only spin through a section of the light side and a lot more of the dark side. This may help if you don't already "get it":

Clickest Thou Unto This Place

Day and Night, and the seasonal difference in length of the "light vs. the dark" hours seem to be ready symbols for the struggle between light and dark or good and evil. I think humans have such a strong sense of these ideas because the planet spins.

December 25th also marks the first visible hint that the Sun's long day will return as the position of sun-rise begins to move back along the horizon. (Really, the angled Earth's motion around the sun is the actual event being observed).

Now THAT is cause for celebration involving light! The Sun, our life giving and sustaining star, will surely return to maintain life and eventually rule the longer days. The Sun starts winning the contest of day/night length around Easter, "coincidentally".

I like shiny, sparkly, red, green and fun things so I like Christmas. Nothing says "long nights of many stars" more than a Christmas tree. Nothing says how glorious it will be when the Sun returns (in spring) than a Star above a tree, or 7 to 9 burning candles. Since I think that Christians co-opted the holiday to promote their mythos, I do get a deep internal groan when I hear "The Real/True meaning of Christmas" speeches. To me, Christ means "anointed one" in Greek and that might as well be us to each other. Anointing one another with gifts to celebrate our human concern for one another, our glorious life in this wondrous Universe.

Rather than being mundane, I feel my view of the Holiday sees the wonder of life in its true stature as being what it is. Though I will not tell you mine is the "True Meaning" because I still think people have a right to be into and believe what works for them, so long as they don't try to impose their dream world on me with laws or force.

I guess I am kind of Japanese about Christmas now. Quaintness, electronic gadgets (haha), wonder, gifts, joy and pleasure of being alive are what I celebrate. Yet unknown wonders still exist and I allow myself to hope for great things at this time of year.

Have happy holidays, a Merry Christmas (or whatever adjective you prefer) or whatever you wish to celebrate! Like it or not, we all share the human condition and that is cause to rejoice, even if your nearest Angel is a Heavenly Hostess.

=sw

Visited Utah

Over the thanksgiving weekend I went to Salt Lake City.

I stayed with my friend Jeffrey on the living room floor with one of those real high-tech Swiss Gear mattresses. I figured...I am of Swiss heritage, so Swiss Guy, Swiss watch, Swiss gear. His parents graciously invited me to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. They have a nice formal European dining experience with traditional American holiday food, apart from the excellent German riesling! Mr. Gold is an American and the Mrs. is German so it works out to be a best of both worlds kind of social event. There are always engaging conversations and anecdotes about Utah culture from the former mormon perspective. I call the decor Berlin Art Decco and you take your shoes off at the door. Such a good time.

I met Christy, "the degenerate elite" herself (link at right under "Great Minds"). Unlucky me, she's in a relationship, though our friendly lunch and coffee was like meeting a long time friend. I really like her and I wish I lived nearer to her to be able to enjoy her company more often. She is cool and connected to a good group of people who probably share my perspectives.

While in Utah, I saw my good friend from high school, Shannon. She and her husband are allowing each other to have the occasional night off with friends, which is cool. I am deemed imminently trustworthy, which really makes me feel un-manly, though I stand by my standards. Hey I am not a saint, I only refuse to make the same mistakes over and over again...referring to a few dates I have had with women who were divorced and then turned out only to be "separated". So it goes, sometimes.

I deserve a clean-slate, free-of-all-ties woman. I am not saying she can't have a past or even children, though to me it is simpler not to try to become a step-dad. In a biological way, why should I raise another man's offspring? In a personal way...why can't she just sort things out with their father? Ok, I know it's not always easy or simple. At my tender age it seems a lot of my opportunities (where women find me interesting) are in the "complicated" category.

I love my friend Shannon very much and we always have an incredibly great time when we get a chance to spend some time talking or sharing a meal. It is my sincere hope that she sorts things out with her husband. I have always approved of the guy, he is cool, witty and a nice looking person. They should just get their shit together before a REAL home-wrecker comes along.

I saw my long time crush Melanie who brought a boy to our only romantic date opportunity in years. Oh well. I am a fool for dreaming. I am also a single guy who has about 8 or 9 love interests, so until one gets serious I am a bit girl crazy. I don't understand Melanie. She holds something back from me...maybe many things. She is so retarded for thinking I couldn't handle really knowing who she is. I have known her for 10 years, I am always going to care about her no matter what. I flirt with her because I find her very attractive but I never made "her loving me back" a contingency for caring about her. Silly women, can't they trust? Can't they be truthful, real? I always over-tip her at her night job as a cocktail waitress at a swanky little hip club with great music. I do that because it's the only thing I have enough of to share that she has a hard time rejecting...still she tries to stuff my paper back into my shirt pocket, but my rational arguments usually win: "I know I can't buy your love, and you are due a good tip from time to time".

I had dinner with my friend Jan. She is Bi. Which I think means she wants to marry a man and leave him alone every night while she goes out with chicks! Heheh. I also love her deeply and we always hold hands a lot while we are together. I cannot presume what she could want from me, though I have made a rational decision we are not a good match. I hate to be petty, I just want a heterosexual girlfriend. It is not unreasonable. Maybe I just don't understand anything. I do know I fully enjoy her companionship and it is always great to see her. She is also way way cool, way way smart and way way hot.

So what have I done? Above I mentioned a "date with girl who has a boyfriend", "date with married girl", "date with girl who brought her new boyfriend", "date with girl who likes girls more than me". It's like I am not really trying!

I know why. I am heartbroken from years of strong relationship bonds with about 4 different women (successively) where those ties and bonds eventually broke and left me some of the worst pain I have experienced in life. I am spent! I am just now recovering from my shadows of disillusionment and heartache enough to risk something.

So what did I risk? If I am really going to count a date as an emotional risk it has to be with a woman who is single and available! Why not ask someone out who is known for being a single icon in the dating scene and even makes a living from it!?

I met Sarah Nielson for a drink. I have been in love with women like her all my life. She is smart, cute, funny, witty friendly and seemingly forthright. I really liked her. I was a little nervous when she brought out her writer's pen to note something I had said, though she did not completely blast me in her column "The Dating Years". She insisted on bringing a friend, so I brought a friend along too. It made the situation go from a romantic encounter to a social encounter, though it was still enjoyable and no one was murdered by an evil stranger they just met, which would have been really inconvenient to say the least. Her friend, Maddie, was fun and funny and helped make it a good time.

Sarah was like a bloody mary drink. Warm and delicious yet with a sense that "hey this is made from good ingredients, maybe it's good for me!" At the same time she is just a little salty, though not bitter.

Who am I to think I could be the one man among many who would bring an end to the dating years and win her heart!? Though I did think about it and I still do.

=sw

The Sudan

If it's not a three way civil war or a government tolerated (if not sponsored) murderous horseman militia, then it has to be reactionary extremists longing to murder anyone even perceived as threatening their deep deep religious insecurities. I know some more traditional groups from the Sudan were quoted as saying "This was an innocent mistake" and other younger Sudanese groups stated "this is ridiculous and she should be released immediately".

Still, there is that "stuck in the dark ages of ignorance" class of society who want the very life of a British woman who allowed her 7 year old students to name a stuffed bear Mohammed. The name finally gets its "Teddy Roosevelt" moment and this is perceived as anything other than adoring familiarity!? There are many regular old good and bad men who share this name, because it is promoted with murderous rage throughout the society. A little research can help one determine for one's self whether "murderous rage" is an appropriate description of the activites of the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, Sudan.

One great mark of the success of this rhetoric should be that a group of children in this Islamic society want to associate something adorable with a prophet whose name they adore!

When some choose to make death threats against a school teacher over this, It is the depth and height of ignorance. What should be punishable by lashing and death is to threaten an innocent school teacher and honorable woman with death and lashing over such a non-incident.

Instead, sprained and broken reasoning is used by fanatical adherents whose devotion and hypersensitivity has rotted their common sense.

It is a wholly inappropriate and intolerant response to an innocent choice which actually exhibits deference to the very leader whose name and teachings are said, incredibly, to be insulted. It is truly difficult to decide who exhibited the most childish behavior in this situation.

[edited because I concluded that I was mocking others beliefs in this section, which really negated my criticisms]

=sw

So Much Weird

Tagged: I am to post 7 weird things about myself.

The rules are:

A). Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
B). Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
C). Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
D). Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


1) I usually have about 150,000 completely inappropriate and not apt things to say at exactly the wrong time.

2) I get lyrics wrong. With a fervor that is un-ending. I mis-heard what was really "Push it, make the beat go farther." My version was much more apt considering Ms. Manson's hotness, use your imagination.



Seriously, she's making my beat go farther right now.

3) I get names wrong all the time.

4) My dry risk-taking humor is hilarious. (right?) I am always willing to risk anything for a laugh, despite my amazing charm and rugged good looks.

5) I can't rollerblade or ice-skate backwards. Forwards I am great.

6) I never drank anything until I was 28.

7) Haven't you heard enough? I am not sure this is so weird, but sometimes, to concentrate, I have to keep my ears busy. I always listen to music at work while coding. It's like it distracts part of me that needs constant novelty, so I can get some stuffy logic done.

ok I am going to tag the following blogs:

1) http://www.logicallycritical.net because I enjoy the programs and maybe just typing something won't take too much time
2) Skepticality...because there are at least 2 of them so maybe they have 14 weird things...
3) Dooce...because someone should! And I used to live in Utah so, Semper Fi Lehi. That just rhymes, I am from Sandy.
4) Belaja! (or Open Vein) I like British stuff and there really needs to be more posting there.
5) Sister Mary Lisa: world traveller
6) Sarah Bellum... there can't be anything weird about her!?
7) Anyone else I missed, yes that means you, so get postin'.

=sw

NBC on Apple

I was pleased to find the NBC Nightly News back on the iTunes music store.

I really like NBC News. I primarily watch the Nightly News, though sometimes I watch the Today Show and occasionally Date Line and Meet the Press. I also enjoy the many NBC Universal television shows found on NBC and other networks as well.

I have renewed my Nightly News subscription on iTunes. I watch every minute of every broadcast, including all the promotional information. I understand NBC and Microsoft have had a long standing relationship.

I am an Apple Mac OS X (Leopard) user. It doesn't matter to me that I like NBC News and that there is a partnership with Microsoft. I use Microsoft software on my Apple computer, like Word, Excel and MSN Messenger. Sometimes I need PowerPoint, Entourage (the Microsoft Exchange and internet email client for Mac OS X), especially at work. I rely on Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection software on my Mac OS X workstation at the office.

Apple's Safari browser, Quicktime media software and iTunes music jukebox/ store client software run on both Windows and Mac OS X.

Most people know all this. I say it to point out that I do not see that being an exclusive Mac user puts me in a camp of necessarily hating Microsoft. There are actual useful harmonies and conveniences to using the Microsoft software, especially in a world where so many people use Windows.

I will never use Windows. It's not political, it's just rational. The Apple Mac OS X ownership exeprience is just so much better in its entirety. Having used everything ever, I know what works best and causes the least stress and annoyance.

This means that any media outlet that is Windows only will never get my money. Here I am!

As a Mac user who likes NBC media, I want to be able to buy Heroes, Chuck, Las Vegas, Late Night with Conan O'brien, Madden Sunday Night Football, Bionic Woman, Scrubs, The Office, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, JourneyMan, My Name is Earl and all the other great NBC content on the iTunes music store.

I want to be able to sync my favorite shows to my iPod or iPhone or Apple TV (HD Digital Video device).

To me, my Apple digital lifestyle and the highly desired NBC content are a perfect match. I know I have blogged about this before, but I just have to make the point on behalf of many others who may feel the same way.

If NBC keeps the Apple channel open it would just be a little extra. This channel is not the same as the DVD sales channel. People who watch live will still watch live. People who DVR the shows will still do it. I would bet the almost anyone who buys the DVD's will still do so. Many times the serious fans will buy iTunes seasons AND the DVD collections later. DVD releases will probably have higher quality media than the music store (especially as Blue Ray becomes more popular...or HD DVD..which sounds like a disease to me for some reason). People will also buy the DVD collections for the exclusive content they hold.

I am ready and waiting to buy at least the shows I have bought last season, and maybe more, if NBC will just concede that the pricing is in the right zone and the revenue stream, however small, is additional to their other channels of distribution.

Be creative, NBC! Offer something more and negotiate a higher price for it with Apple, like true 720p downloads could be a place to go when negotiating for a little higher price, even if it's for an introductory period.

I hope they can work it out.

=sw

Snopesies

Don't get me wrong. I like snopes.com. It seems its purpose in life is in harmony with my values, like debunking myth and rumor by shining the cold light of reason on ALMOST everything.

I have noticed a strange phenomenon. It is that some of the most credulous people around are the first to jump to snopes and wield that racket to deflect any notion anyone has of believing something without proper reasoning, research and evidence.

It is always the most pious, religious, believing person in the office or peer group, often a female, who snaps up the snopes and hands them about like a super rational truth machine.

To use a handy biblical reference...they are so quick to reach to pluck the mote (sliver) from another's eye without seeing the beam (timber!!!) in their own eye.

There should be things on snopes.com for these people like:

-There is no evidence Jesus existed
-The Earth is ACTUALLY far older than 6000 years!
-Humans do share more DNA with Chimps than rats do with mice!!!
-Christian symbolism may very well have been derived from ancient astrology and astronomically observable phenomena...I'm just saying.

What good is Snopes if it does not cause the most duped most credulous among us to be nudged? They, in fact, curiously love this site. Probably because it does not ask them to use the same standards of evidence and level of scrutiny with their own irrational beliefs as it does with others.

Yes, if you read me you know I read the works of scientist/ authors like Sagan and Einstein etc. Sagan talks about how believers cling to the gaps in scientific knowledge as a place to wedge in the role of God. It is true, Science is a way of thinking and arriving at understanding through a rigorous method that has a high standard of evidence and requires experimentation. Science is not a complete explanation of all that ever was...though I think it strives for this.

So there are gaps in the scientific knowledge. Religion has a tendency to place God in the Gaps. "The God of the Gaps" as Carl Sagan says. When science bridges these gaps and fills in this knowledge, the need for that god (now lower-case) disappears.

Every Christian agrees that Zeus and other gods were quaint ancient metaphors for celestial bodies, or astronomical events that were used to explain all that was not yet understood like tides and seasons and fate and events.

The trouble is, no one dares to see the myths of our own time. That Jesus is a character that came from myths that have symbolism for the Sun, solstice, seasons and ages. Jesus may only ever have been a character in fables of Sun worshipers and astrologers.

There IS evidence to prove that our fables our also fables, just like the ancient Greek and Egyptian mythologies. For some reason many just don't want to know it or consider it.

Maybe ignorance IS bliss.

=sw

Ye Olde Printing

What is DPI? Dots per inch...in printing. Which is akin to pixels per inch on a screen.



So why do we need paper for documents? Of all the reasons paper isn't better than up to date live information, there are two advantages paper still has.

1) It keeps information in a fairly stable way, long term, without continual or even the apparent subsequent need for energy.

2) The resolution of printed information is higher than our screens can display.

So let's discuss these things. Keeping paper dry and stable for a long time does require energy. Reading a printed page requires energy from lighting and printing the page required energy in the first place. This information is already in our computers which require energy to retrieve it and view it anyway.

Also, printed pages impact the environment by using up trees and the process of manufacturing paper. Which, again, is in addition to that required to manufacture the computer.

The printed page is not up to date. A friend of mine told me about an executive that rushed to his office to tell him a report was not up to date, slamming a stack of pages on his desk. My friend re-ran the report on his computer and sure enough it was up to date. "Your paper is 2 days old", he informed his boss.

So now we are printing many more than just one version of things. That multiplies the energy needed.

Now to the other issue. The sharpness or resolution on printers is better than our screens have been. Screens typically have had 72 or so dots per inch of screen space. While printed pages have 150 to 300 dots per inch or even much higher.

A 150 DPI page is good enough for a high school term paper. 300 DPI is good enough for black and white fonts in a professional environment. 600 DPI might be what you want for full color imagery or even photo prints.

Consider this:


The iPod Nano has an awesome 200 pixel per inch screen. What if they made a tablet that has this kind of resolution expanded to 8 1/2" x 11" ? That would be a device that could begin to replace paper. Vector based media would scale to use as many dots as are there and a full page could be displayed as legibly as a print out but on a screen. Adobe's Portable Document Format renders this way. That should reduce the need for paper. Soon even 300 DPI and 600 DPI screens will be available further removing the need for the many office uses where paper offers no advantage.

Someday screens will replace printouts. Like on Star Trek the next generation, we will all carry around tablets. Hopefully we can do it with some style, especially if Apple makes it.

=sw