Overly Friendly

The Gift of Song Writing

2011-07-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, Neil Young sat down with Charlie Rose, and it was an unforgettable experience.

I highly recommend checking out the video, but I felt the need to capture the words he used to describe the "gift" of songwriting. I do admire prolific artists...

NEIL YOUNG: I had a guitar, yes. I carry one with me most of the time. CHARLIE ROSE: Because you never know when you are going to be inspired. NEIL YOUNG: You never know, you know. CHARLIE ROSE: That’s the reason you carry it with you? NEIL YOUNG: That’s right. I have to be ready. CHARLIE ROSE: It is an extension of you too. NEIL YOUNG: I have got to be ready. You never know when it is going to happen. And whenever it happens, if I have an idea for a song or something that strikes me -- I would leave right now if I had an idea that I couldn’t get out of my head, because I figure I wouldn’t even be here in the first place if it wasn’t for these ideas, and I owe it to that. So I have a kind of a mentality that I am working for this. This is my boss or something, you know. CHARLIE ROSE: That speaks to you? You don’t know when it will speak to you? NEIL YOUNG: I don’t even know if it is speaking to me. I don’t know what it is. I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t think, you know, that I am special. I don’t think that anything is coming through me or that someone is speaking to me. But suddenly it happens, and I have learned that if I don’t get it, I don’t get it. It’s gone. You know, you have got to get it, and it is a gift. So if you don’t pick up the gift -- if you don’t pick it up, what kind of respect do you have? Where is your -- you know, I mean it is a gift. You know, so you need to accept it. CHARLIE ROSE: So how many times has it happened to you? If you’re out at a dinner, do you get up from the dinner table? You get up... NEIL YOUNG: Countless times. CHARLIE ROSE: Wherever you are, you speak to it, you grab it? NEIL YOUNG: Whatever it is, I will leave and go do that first and then come back and say, I’m sorry, I had to leave. I had something to do. And I may be gone for five minutes, I may gone for two hours, I don’t know. But that is the way it works with me. And sometimes -- most of the time there is nobody around and I am not doing anything. And it strikes me and I will, you know, be alone or something, because I get comfortable when I am kind of by myself, and that’s when I write. If there is other things going on, I don’t write. But sometimes it just comes to you and you can’t ignore it, s

Every summer, my family and I spend some quality time on Cape Cod. We go to the "real Cape Cod," the Outer Cape, a town called Truro. Not much happens here and daily decisions range from swimming in the ocean, bay or pond. However, I'm lucky enough to have made connections with folks that balance a bohemian-homesteader lifestyle with a common-sense livelihood like a shell-fisherman or musician. Its the second vocation that fascinates me.

I hear music all the time. Its really great stuff in my mind. Fully orchestrated and produced, just like a Danny Elfman soundtrack. However, there is no "record" button for the brain, yet. I guess I have been waiting for this technology to hit the market. Yeah, that's my excuse.

Of course, when I meet a composer/performer like Chandler Travis and tell him I write songs too, I realize the need to have more than nine in my quiver. I mean, this dude's got like 400 in the bank. "Well, there's still time for you..." I believe the semi-interested response was. Hey, I'm getting used to embarrassing myself in these situations, but maybe that's the fuel I need to commit to transforming these ideas into ditties. No, they don't need to study the musical theory up the road at Berklee, but they do need to be.

How can I fit my hobbies into a busy life primarily as a father and entrepreneur? It's the same reason why I have become so hostile to simply jamming the night away in a high-end man-cave? It's simply not enough. Recently, James Franco has taken a lot of heat for his sucky performance hosting the Oscars. He even sat down with Playboy (via Huffpo) to explain his disillusionment with the writing. But, take a look at how much this guy does every day to document his experience as an A-Lister. Isn't this the same worthy pursuit of any prolific artist i.e. Neil Young or a writer like Stephen King? All of these folks take their trade very seriously. And, they take the time to share their experience of the process. I appreciate the mentoring. And, hey, I've got an iphone and about twenty different ways to record the music of my mind. Now, I've got eleven.

LG watch phone at CES

2009-01-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

ok, this is clearly the future. why strap a rolex or philippe patek on your wrist? of course, at the end of the interview, LG wants to release it in Europe at the end of the year and they have no idea what they want to charge for it. big weak.

Agassi's Electric Car Grid

2008-12-12T08:22:00.001-08:00

Chris Anderson interviews $200M seed entrepreneur, Shai Agassi about the prospects for his battery recharge start up, Better Place.
The video production team should learn how to properly capture close mic audio because the room reverb is extremely annoying, but the interview is timely and interesting.

This Guy Predicted The Financial Crisis And Was Derided For It (VIDEO)

2008-11-14T16:00:00.001-08:00

When you are advancing a politcal agenda in lieu of sound financial analysis, you deserve to eat crow. Kudos for Peter Schiff for being alone in the wilderness.
About Housing Crisis
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Presidentz Dance Off

2008-10-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

This video is really well-executed. Funny.

http://view.break.com/592648 - Watch more free videos

San Francisco Halloween Decorations

2008-10-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Received this in an email from my pal Remi of Mastermind PR...
I showed this pic around the office today. Thanks for the LULZ.

Joe the Plumber Revealed

2008-10-17T17:56:00.001-07:00

Many of my @tweeps were looking for more of the lowdown on Joe the Plumber. Here's KO's fine summation....

I predict Joe will be involved with the fine folks at WWE some time soon. He'll bulk up, naturally I assume, and become the $250k hero.

This is too much fun. My wife thinks he looks like Michael Chiklis from "The Shield," but I see more of a Robert Patrick from "Terminator 2" fame.

Its not a big deal his name is Sam. Its still okay by me if you want to go by your middle name.

Look, he is a private citizen and if he chooses to not capitalize on the fame, then, I apologize to hype the story needlessly.

But, the New American Dream is to cause attention to yourself and stay interesting. When that dries up, you go on Wrestlemania or "The View."

Hey Sarah Palin (with lyrics/subtitles)

2008-10-14T01:00:00.001-07:00

This is so funny and creative... Don't let them escape to Canada. We need them here.

Must see viral vid

2008-09-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sarah may have dumped Jimmy, but she scores a KO with this completely funny yet sincere appeal for Jewish grandkids to schlep to Florida to canvas their Nanas.

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Palin Revelation: The same Third Wave documented in "Jesus Camp"

2008-09-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

First of all, for those interested, there is comprehensive detail on Governor Palin's Assembly of God church at the following link...Again, the bloggers over at TP Zoo put together a doozy.

Crazy ministers? How about one that administered a Witch Hunt in Kenya. Meet Bishop Muthee. How about that YouTube video where the Guv prays for God's pipeline dreams? She and here Lt. Guv were blessed by the "laying of the hands" which makes it totally cool that they flew back to Wasilla on the State's dime. Her rambling speech where she must mention "Alaska" more than 30 times was to graduates of the Master's Commission. Yes, training for Christ's Warriors, the Third Wave. Watch the compilation video from the Huffington Post's Bruce Wilson...

Palin's Churches, Thomas Muthee, Witchcraft and The Third Wave from Bruce Wilson on Vimeo.

We are a troubled nation. Truth has been obscured for quite some time now. I respect all people's quest for spiritual understanding. Training for Holy War is just not a future I want for my children. I have to ask rhetorically, "What would Jesus shoot?"

ZOMG Republican Delegate from Colorado telling it like it is.

2008-09-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

He's rather hawkish and seems unaware that Link.TV is actually a Liberal media outlet. It's kind of tragicomic. The host does a great job asking follow-up questions. Fascinating time capsule that deserves to be preserved for posterity.

Now, the Karmic funniness is that this tool was slipped a roofie and robbed by a prostitute for $120k. Who walks around with $120k, in Minneapolis? Randy Moss never blinged as hard. Read More...
Gabriel Nathan Schwartz, 29, a single attorney from Denver, told police he met the woman in a bar and took her to his room at the new Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis

Oasis gets bumrushed in Toronto

2008-09-11T00:27:00.001-07:00

Apparently still pissed at the Gallagher brothers for claiming to be better than the Beatles, footage of an assault on them on stage. Crowd cheers.

Off-shore drilling reality

2008-09-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

From Slate's Curse of the Black Gold.

Who has received the oil wealth in Nigeria? Not the people who live there. They struggle on $1 a day while having their fishing paradise completely destroyed. Speaking out gets you killed. Sadly, this story does not shock me as I know this is reality. I hope the world does not turn a blind eye forever. Spread...

John Stewart providing his public service

2008-09-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Again, why the MSM cannot perform this role, I do not know. It will bring in ratings. So, there must be some reason why they don't call out video contradictions from politicians and pundits. Allow this video to be the very definition of "viral."

Why the Dead Kennedys had the best logo in Rock.

2008-08-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

I’m a wannabe barfly. Fortunately, living in the burbs with toddler boys makes me cherish the rare opportunity to hang out and kvetch. I also demand that my work neighborhood provides the breeding ground for revolutionary, and yes, disruptive solutions to life’s problems. All of which can be accomplished with increasingly early-starting happy hours and beer for less than 3 bucks. Once again, mirroring the plummeting parking prices, the bargain-hunting, pre-funded, wannabe barfly can now hang out a stone’s throw from the Financial District and their better-heeled patrons. Even though my office is above Kate O’Brien’s, I can tell you they’re the worst bar in town with their phony Irish theme, so I never go there anymore. No, you can find me searching for liquid inspiration at either Zebulon or Varnish.

They ain’t perfect. Zebulon has a good kitchen and makes a decent sweet potato fries, but their bar is kind of a joke. The $2 Hefeweissen draft happy hour sure brought the office yups in, but what did this establishment do with this crowd? Served ‘em a drink a minute. Patrons seemed all to accommodating waiting in line for 15 minutes to get a drink. We hung on as long as we could before we decided we had to leave the nearly free as in beer giveaway. Next door at Varnish, you know it’s a tad imposing when passer-by-ers peer in and need to be waved in by the proprietor before they step inside. My friend Josh says they have the best bar bathroom in the city. I would concur, because there are pictures of the space before they got it, and they really did transform it in to a fine gallery with an excellent sound system. And, they have that killer minimalist big bowl sink that dares you to wash your face in its elegance.

As we sidled, I paused to admire the gargantuan collage being assembled on top of a DaVinci’s Last Supper by an older gentleman wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt with a blazer and fedora. This off-kilter vision inspired my tweet about why their logo is the best in rock. This is awarded not because I was a big fan of their music. It was mainly because it was the one logo I used to like to copy so much in the 8th grade. (I was a big-time rock doodler). I can’t draw, but I can sketch logos with a lot of practice on notebook covers since I never actually took notes in school. Plus, it effectively signaled to all that I am not your run-of-the-mill serious Asian American straight-A student. I’d rather fail and change my grade just like the kid in War Games, except that I couldn’t break into the school computer, so I just retook the class in summer school erasing that unacceptable grade. Any way, I figured out the next morning that the aforementioned artist is none other than Winston Smith, the designer of the subject of this post. He is an illustrious cover art designer and quite an Art Criminal. This anti-corporate manifesto is to be admired. Winston, like most designers, do not receive royalties for these logos. Its de facto open source now, as both Jello and Winston's core styles are derivative and Warholian on crack.

Being extended an equally generous offer of an early happy hour special of $3 drafts, coupled with the fact that they have my new fave on tap, Racer 5 IPA, I was blissful again about my work neighborhood and my 2 (sf-sized) block walk to Montgomery BART. Mindful, of course, that the entire block of buildings that house Varnish and Zebulon is slated for demolition next year in order to build a bigger, better bus terminal. Ah yes, progress via wrecking ball.

Let’s rage against this dying of the light and appreciate this moment in nirvana. I’ll admit that I appreciated from afar the few bits of skateboard culture that permeated my suburban Chicago upbringing. This DK logo looked like Anarchy. Its was the Burning Man on its side passed out. It create the illusion of dimension and it’s extrusions are so simple, juxtaposing white and black. The fact that this logo speaks so much about the band even though I was uninitiated into the music is impressive. I knew that coolness was happening over in California, that the rebellion was alive and well with authentic Punk Rock. Of course, 20 years later, Jello Biafra and the other members of the band could never escape the inevitable revenue-splitting issues that haunt every band not named Bon Jovi. Everyone needs to make a living, right? You formed a band and played music, and that was good enough when you’re twenty. In your 40s, its time to strategize your revenue potential and synergize your investment portfolio, right? Can revolutionary rock bands be created like a tech startup? Would it destroy the very essence of rebellion and art that make you great? I know that I can appreciate the slight economic downturn in this boom town. We need breeding grounds and moments like these inspire me to hatch the next user-centric revolution. I now love the music of the Dead Kennedys thanks to my Sonos and Rhapsody, can relive the culture they helped define. I have been passively exposed to the artwork of Winston Smith and can question how collage as an artform is still relavent today. All this in search of cheap beer, in the very neighborhood which I work.

Family Work = Chaos - Mega's Muse: Sonos Controller Takes a Bath

2008-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Sonos Controller Takes a Bath
If anyone asks me why they should have a Sonos system... I usually tell them that throughout the $12M of custom electronics I've installed in my career, one product provides the best User Experience. I knew it is toddler-proof, did not know it is water-proof.
Now, if we can only get Sonos to ditch hierarchy-based UI and go voice-search :)

In order to really disrupt music, try slicing the cones of your guitar amp

2008-08-19T19:30:00.003-07:00

Do you love music but hate the industry? What's it going to take in order for fans to access the pantheon of recorded music whenever, wherever, and in the highest quality? Its unsustainable for you to package the music with plastic and then dispose the many unsold copies, so that model is over. Alas, we get web sites, apps and services that offer us these morsels of memory for free or nearly free. Great, you say, well, the experiment that is Muxtape and the industry that Pandora has become threatened. I don't see how Muxtape survives, but Pandora should be able to charge for the valuable service to their large customer base, thus placating the investors' concerns.

In the aftermath, Chris Pirillo has convinced me to check out grooveshark. The founders boldly proclaim that they are cleaning up the mess that is the music industry. Godspeed, but there is much work to be done. First of all, fix the metadata. I know most of your users' mp3 collection is a lazy mishmash of Unknown Artist and Track 01, but there are methods to clean this up. And, it makes browsing a chore. Still streaming me 5 million tracks for free or for a text-based ad, I'm not complaining, much.

So, in order to spend an evening listening to every Kinks song I've never heard, I had to fire up ye olde Wikipedia page. The community did a bang up job for Ray and the boys. It was fascinating to learn how Dave Davies came up with the sound that not only launched their career but created the sound that would beget hard rock, heavy metal, punk, new wave, garage rock, grunge, and indie rock.

With a loud, distorted guitar riff — achieved by Dave's slicing of the speaker cones in his Elpico amplifier (referred to by the band as the "little green amp") — gave the song its signature, grittier guitar sound.

So, that's Disruption and Distortion with a capital "D." In order to distinguish their brand amongst the plethora of British pop groups, they used a blade. I like that. The Kinks never enjoyed the commercial success of the Beatles, Stones or Who. But, they started a revolution and history judges memeticians kindly.

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

2008-08-18T09:22:00.001-07:00

The first collaboration by David Byrne and Brian Eno in 30 years. They truly milk the most out of the most simplistic of chord progressions and song composition. But, there's a reason I-IV-V A-A-B-A works so well. Its comforting and speaks to the soul. The title itself is a helpful reminder to seize the day. It also speaks to the exponential speed of our connected world today. I wonder if David can hit these high notes live. They really are dramatic.

louisgray.com: Could UDO Be The Next Killer App?

2008-08-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

Interesting story by Mark Dykeman, would like to find out more about where UDO is in development. I believe he's referring to the Internet of Things.
louisgray.com: Could UDO Be The Next Killer App?

D-I-Y Touchscreen for EeePC

2008-07-03T01:40:00.000-07:00

This youtuber has a point why this laptop touchscreen mod is superior to a tablet pc. I think this will do as my coffee table UI... Stick one of these in any room where you want control of audio/video/lights what have you. All fer less than $5oo bucks a pop?

Bring back the ballet to modern music

2008-06-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

I think that I'm not alone in appreciating the beauty and grace of ballet. But, when you combine it with pop and lock robotics and Italo Disco, I think you've captured the essence of Divine Inspiration. Please enjoy this nugget of refined human movement paired with the wondrous sounds of computers masquereding as synthesizers.

Bill Gates sportin' Apple T-shirt

2008-06-28T09:47:00.001-07:00

tenersi occupati dopo la pensione...
Originally uploaded by _Andrish_

Cats and dogs are sleeping together... Saw this on D. Hadzhiev's Friend Feed this morning. Its a decent photoshop job, but even better, a sign that Microsoft needs to reinvent itself. Its time for them to move into more hardware than the Zune and Xbox. Deliver the whole experience before its too late, Bill.

2008-06-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

Made veggie taco filling with TVP this morning. Too easy. This stuff is Soylent Green.

2008-06-26T01:44:00.001-07:00

Check out our jam on Wednesday Night http://ping.fm/iOWan

New Media Douchebags Explained

2008-06-08T20:35:00.001-07:00

Don't hate on everything, or you too, may be labeled as such... Interesting that the first character is a former Multimedia Developer. Is there a backlash from the profession of media creation versus all the horrible production value that many of the Twitteratti still employ? There should be a happy medium no?

1996: Faludi Daze

2008-06-01T09:02:00.001-07:00

It was a storefront on Townsend, I had a 13" monitor but a brand spankin new PM7200 in beige. Jonathan Mergy kept the Local H on da stereo way too much, but that's okay because their hit song, "Bound for the floor" continues to be the only one awesome enough to contain the word copasetic (i like to spell it kopasetic) in the chorus. That word is one of englishes bestest sounding words to me.

I'm in one of those Tofleresque Futureshocks. Social media has connected me with high school, college and other old connections, right? So, its only natural to reminisce. The parallel that Local H represents to me is unavoidable. Here's this Chicago-based rocker who has this prolific song-making, pop sense and he can't find a bass player that can keep up. Instead of prolonging the search, he adds bass pickups to his guitar adds a drummer and takes it on the road. This is bootstrapping a business right? One hit single can propel you to headline tours around the continent.

Twitter is being outed by Scoble and Arrington as consisting of a couple of servers manually administered by employees. Us cracked-up twits are like, "wha?" Is that how you spend your $5M-$15M in venture funding, letting your infrastructure whither away? With all the geek talent hangin around SOMA, how does this jibe? I'm tired of hearing about accidental businesses. Sling Media and now Twitter come to define this for me. As an entrepreneur planning out every last freakin' detail of the business strategy, I find this rock star approach to business planning to be offensive. You're right, I am just bitter, and that the DNA of a good plan will produce no red-headed step children, right? But, I'm a rocker like Scott of Local H. Just plug me in to good vintage gear, give me a drummer who can keep up, and let me roll.

Back to 1996, my co-worker and Mac guru was Jonathan Mergy. He decided that the Internet was too damn nice and needed to get angry. So, the whole Comcast/Arrington story is hardly original. Jonathan details that it was an exercise in DNS hosting and ran the thing on a spare Mac IIci with 8MB of RAM and the commercial webserver, WebStar. Well, it got slashdotted by Netscape's home page and we had to live with an overtaxed ISDN line for a while. But, that server kept going, and companies were pissed that searches yielded results to angry rants from their customers. So, what is old is new again. That's why I'm excited about the rest of this year. I'm gonna change the world freeing the consumer from corporate controlled media in that last bastion of the Content Wars... America's living room. Won't you join me in this adventure when we summon all the great thinkers of 1996 and combine them with the thought leaders of tomorrow.

To be or not to be... Machiavellian

2008-05-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

After succumbing to a friend's exhortations to read the very thick Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, I came away not only of an understanding of the birth of the digital age but also with the supposition that wars are merely chess games paid for with human lives. After the declassification of Bletchley Park's cracking of the Nazi Enigma codes and revelations that the Allied forces had already cracked the Nipponese encryption even before the Pearl Harbor attack, I wonder how long World War II was allowed to continue and even wondering if it has really ever ceased to exist throughout our Cold War era and into our current War on Terror. I guess my basic question is how long humanity will allow this Machiavellian existence.

Another friend of mine argues that Machiavellian human nature is as fundamental and unchangeable as Newtonian laws of motion. It might have been interesting to discuss that his laws don't apply to quantum mechanics, but the more interesting take-away is that we can never be so sure about the tenets we hold, whether physical or spiritual, and its absolutism.

What was behind the anti-Communist fury that has been propagandized in the USA for at the last fifty years? It was revealed by the AP today, that conservatively 100,000 Korean men, women and children were executed in 1950 in South Korea by their own government simply for being considered leftists. Right-Wing president Syngmun Rhee under the supervision of the US General Douglas MacArthur carried out this atrocity against his political enemies. This story has been suppressed for over 50 years. Did the US really go in to Korea to liberate it from Communists? Or, is it possible that we actually incited the Communist invasion in order to advance other interests that have nothing to do with improving the plight of Korean people. There is a valid debate on the ends justifying the means considering that I, myself, have enjoyed an excellent life here as an American citizen thanks to the quixotic trip of my parents and many others like them. But, clearly my parent's generation knew first-hand the plight of untold victims caught as pawns in this global chess game and chose their path. Where are you on the board? Can you make a move without knowing where your opponent's pieces are?

I've been looking at my own position on the global chess game for a while. Planning a technology start-up and unleashing a technology that moves us closer to an Orwellian future. Recently, I have been noticing that many futurists are very accepting of a world where you can google your shoes. Personally, I'd love to reclaim the countless hours lost looking for matching kicks for my boys just to get out the door. However, the ramifications of such a networked world is chilling when viewed through the lens of the 20th Century. How will Total Information Awareness be managed by the powerful? Having counter-culture thoughts and a cynical belief system has kept me underground. But, a new light shines where there was once, only darkness. Human history has given us many tools to understand ourselves even if we discover there is much more that is unknowable. What do I care if blogging or social network graphs etch my identity on the bathroom wall of human knowledge going forward? What I know now is that we all have the power or as the Romans called it, the potesta to change the world. I'm not afraid to make my move even if I can't yet see the whole board. Maybe it's worth investigating that "faith" thing people have been talking about for quite some time. I'm becoming a believer.

The Semantic Web is an Internet of Things

2008-04-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

This is a repost of an article from my copywriter and collaborator, Richard Bloch. He asked that any comments (if any) be posted here on overlyfriendly.blogspot.com

Noted sci-fi author Bruce Sterling wrote a non-fiction book a few years ago called Shaping Things, presenting his vision on how humans will interact with the world of the future—not just with fellow humans, but with all the objects, both important and trivial, that impact our lives. One of the main points Sterling raises is that our world is rapidly being reshaped, whether we like it or not, into an Internet that represents not just information, but things.

One review of his book from the Amazon page sums it up quite well:

Type a few words into Google and you can find a sushi restaurant, a movie theater, concert tickets or a new car. But if you misplace your car keys in your house, you still have to search the old-fashioned way: room by room, cushion by cushion, coat pocket by coat pocket. If Bruce Sterling is correct, though, one day you’ll Google your keys. And your shoes. And your dog. This is the nascent “Internet of things” made possible by technology, including such items as radio frequency ID tags and traceable product life cycle management.

An “Internet of things?” That may seem rather odd. But given that the Internet is growing more portable, I can take it anywhere I’d like. By that I mean I can be “on the net” using my PC, my TV, my PDA, my phone, or any other device I feel comfortable with.

In a recent lecture at an interaction design conference in Germany, Bruce brought up what seems to be a rather trivial example—getting up in the morning to brush his teeth.

He presents a scenario of simply pointing his cell phone at his electronic toothbrush to determine how long it’s been since he replaced the brush head, find out what a new one costs, and even place an order.

Bruce Sterling from Innovationsforum on Vimeo.

That’s certainly convenient, but he could extend his interaction with this simple object by tying into an entire social network of tooth brushing experts to discuss dental care—maybe even using new optical fiber bristles to generate and share content that documents his entire dental infrastructure.

Or, he might just brush his damned teeth and get on with his day. It’s his choice.

You see, this New York Times article presents a vision of, for example, being alerted via text message when your dog leaves the yard. Sure, that’s convenient. But Bruce expands on that notion. He might suggest that a dog’s collar could be engineered to “know” Fido has left the yard and issue a command for him to go home. That’s even more convenient.

This implies that in the future, objects will be designed and engineered in a way to understand meaning and intent. If you view “meaning” in a linguistic context, well that’s really the study of “semantics.” And guess what? If you haven’t yet gotten used to Web 2.0 yet, don’t fret, Web 3.0 is on the way—and according the W3C Consortium, it’s called “the semantic web.”

While Web 1.0 gave us static content and Web 2.0 gave us dynamic user-generated content, Web 3.0 applies semantic meaning to all of that content. Right now, for example, your browser has no idea whether a piece of text such as “506” represents a price, a part of an address, or a freeway exit.

According to the W3C Consortium:

The Semantic Web is about two things. It is about common formats for integration and combination of data drawn from diverse sources, where on the original Web mainly concentrated on the interchange of documents. It is also about language for recording how the data relates to real world objects. That allows a person, or a machine, to start off in one database, and then move through an unending set of databases which are connected not by wires but by being about the same thing.

That part about “real world objects” gave me pause. How will I interact with this “Internet of things?” Given my frustration with a growing need to learn how to use all these new things, I hope designers don’t keep relying on the “same old same old.”

If I get my way, it won’t be through some crappy remote control device. Have you ever used Comcast On Demand? It’s frustrating, painful, and totally unnecessary. Finding content means transitioning through a series of clunky, deeply nested menus that you wouldn’t want to use to take money out of an ATM, let alone find something to watch.

That’s all silly and stupid considering that my Palm Treo is usually right at hand. The Palm OS may not be all that great, but it’s comfortable for me. At least it has drop-down menus and a functioning keyboard. Why can’t there be a “Comcast On Demand” icon on my Treo?

Another example: I recently got a new furnace in my house. My goal was a simple one—save money on heat. But what I didn’t consider, is that not only do I own a new furnace, I’ve got a brand new user interface, the thermostat. Yay!

No, it sucks. The old UI was simple, a lever. A four-year old could use that. Now I’m the proud owner of a wonderful digital interface that gives me the freedom to program my heating in myriad ways. The only problem is I don’t know how to use it, nor really care to learn. I can’t even remember where I put the instruction manual.

What kind of world will evolve as people have to spend more valuable time learning how to program furnaces? And why should all the user interfaces be different? Why can’t I just use the one I’m most comfortable with? In short, why can’t there just be a “Thermostat” icon on my Treo? I could monitor and control my furnace whether I’m sitting on my couch at home or in a hotel in London.

As summer approaches, I’m less concerned about heating these days. And while the climate here is rather mild, I still have a room air conditioner in my bedroom for the few days it gets really hot. Believe it or not, this room air conditioner came with a remote control. I never use it, nor will I ever. All I need to do is turn the air conditioner on or off. Would I want an “Air Conditioner” icon on my Treo? Probably not, but others might.

And what I really would like someone to invent is a way to reset the dozen or so clocks in my house – from the DVD player to the microwave oven (which for some strange reason always asks me for the date, as if it really cares whether I’m nuking something on a Sunday or a Wednesday).

Probably the most complex device in my life, at least in terms of moving parts, is my car. Would I want a “Car” icon on my Treo? You bet! I’d know before I left the house whether I need to stop for gas or whether there’s enough in the tank for my next trip.

Maybe I could even throw away my tire pressure gauge, knowing that my tires will let me know if the pressure drops to an unacceptable level. And perhaps someday, I’ll point my Treo at the air compressor machine so it knows exactly how much air to pump into my specific tires.

Let me be clear: I’m not advocating that people use Palm Treos to link into this “Internet of things,” but that’s what I happen to have – at least right now. Someone else may choose to use Windows Mobile, a Blackberry, a tablet PC, or even an iPhone if Apple allows it. My stuff. My choice.

The real potential, at least in the short run, is putting a halt to the growing number of devices and interfaces I need to do something as simple as watching TV.

For example, rumors suggest that Blockbuster is “developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month.”

Oh great. That’s just what I need. Another “set-top” box. Another remote. Another user interface. Another learning curve, etc., etc., etc. Where will it end?

At least Boing Boing’s spin on that article seems to get it right. Just read the headline—“The Web is the Only Set-Top Box That Matters.”

Or, more accurately, “the Internet of things” and how I choose to use them is the only thing that matters.

Written by: Richard Bloch

RickRolling the Baby

2008-03-26T23:36:00.001-07:00

To think some of my friends didn't understand my mock-love of Rick Astley in the 80s. Vindication is mine! Rick is now the centerpiece of the Anti-Scientology movement. Why are the protesters in masks, btw? Are they really fearful of retribution for RickRolling? Weird stuff, but this particular video is quite persuasive of the power of RickRolling.

Obama speaks on Race in America

2008-03-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Obama speech on Race in America, will it go down as an important moment in American politics? Was he ready with this speech to embrace the racism and fear his opponents have been mongering? There is not a lot of background noise, but the message is clear.

Marley enjoys sipping at the Colonel's

2008-02-25T22:50:00.001-08:00

Marley enjoys sipping at the Colonel's
Originally uploaded by kangham

Ok, it was a special occasion, an afternoon with Daddy. Of course we had to stop at the Colonel's to keep tabs on the triumverate (the secret oligarchy mike myers alluded to in So... I Married an Axe Murderer). Anyway, he's the oldest and growing up too fast.

Zander is happy and he knows it

2008-02-25T22:44:00.001-08:00

Zander is happy and he knows it
Originally uploaded by kangham

Here's my youngest at the park on a cool, blustery day. Unfortunately, we lost that orange jacket.

Hardware as a Service

2008-02-19T21:15:00.001-08:00

This is a concept I've been noodling on while reading Bruce Sterling's Shaping Things.
He describes the current transition of our produced world from one of gizmos to one of spimes. His assertion that gizmos represent the period between 1989 and 2004, where we purchased products that had a relatively short lifespan of utility. How many cellphones have you bought in your lifetime? Why did you replace them? It is not hard to argue that humanity needs to work at sustainable technology. The epoch of spimes starts at 2004 with the transition to RFID. Now, at first, I was concerned about the privacy losses and exploitation that this technology enables. But, Mr. Sterling has seemed to embrace its inevibility and suggest that we utilize its tracking capabilities to create devices that not only determine space but also time (thus the word invention). I am fully committed to helping make this dream into our reality. Design products to be reclaimed as their usefulness wanes, hence, hardware as a service.

2008-02-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

Expanding my Twitterverse
So, now that Twitter is having problems keeping up with the massive updates, I'm beginning to understand that the critical mass they are building is inevitable. Sadly, after handing over my gmail goodies, I had less than 20 hits. Clearly, my last two years of communique does not contain the Twitterverse. But, how do you go about adding more followers? I thought the Public Timeline seemed as good as place as any to follow interesting tweets. Also, the ratio seems to be more friendly and conducive to social network relationship-building.

2008-01-21T20:34:00.000-08:00

MLK speech, Beyond Vietnam, exactly one year before his death.

2008-01-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

American Express to the rescue. Can Vonage and American Express's customer strategy be any different? Vonage has a tough road to hoe. Patent infringement lawsuits, open source and free competitors, and sketchy American broadband are too much to overcome. They did finally make it easy to port your number. But, at a cost. They'll make you purchase a new number first, and then charge you to cancel it. Luckily, I filed a complaint with Amex, and I was surprised to find out Vonage relented 80% of the overcharges. I can now consider case closed with them and feel loyalty to Amex and their customer service.

2007-10-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Vonage is shockingly obtuse to deal with. I'm liveblogging right now on a now 23 minute call trying to disconnect service. Actually, "Veronica" has put me on hold for the last 10 minutes just to see if I'll hang up and thus not completing the cancellation. Really scummy, if you ask me. They are without a doubt, the most dishonest company I've ever used. More details on my 2 year oddesey to follow.

2007-06-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

What the Luck?

Today, I am concerned with luck. Well, because it is the ultimate over-simplification of a complex phenomenon. I lack the brain power to abstractly visualize the nodal points of my social network and calculate the probability matrices to intelligently plan out how I spend my day. Today, I found out about this guy... Scott Ginsburg who wears a name tag all the time...

There's always a lot of talk about luck on my favorite sports blog, Athletics Nation. I've even chimed in about the Chinese Proverb, I've always remembered, that "Luck is where opportunity and preparation converge"

2006-10-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Album Cover Wars

Memory Lane is being repaved.

2006-10-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

Hello World