tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69332272011-08-16T23:09:53.580-04:00<p> Having fun tracking emerging trends in media, technology, culture and digital lifestyles <br> — so I can listen more than I talk. <p> © 2004-2009 Jim Parsons (email: jparsons at pobox.com) <p> <img src="http://images.google.ca/images?q=tbn:l6E_21NQ0zgJ:www.billrini.com/i/button.xml_atom.png"> <a href="http://jimparsons.blogspot.com/atom.xml">DigitalBridge Site Feed</a></p></p></p>Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comBlogger5431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-23526593646936782432008-10-09T18:35:00.065-04:002008-10-10T23:18:58.220-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted here but given all the economic meltdown panic and confusion floating around I felt obligated to toss in my two cents (which apparently just became worth one cent while writing this sentence) in the hope of shedding some badly needed light on exactly what got us into this mess.A few caveats;- I'm not a finance geek (but I could probably play one on TV)- I'm not

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-62579679540627680802007-08-28T14:46:00.000-04:002007-08-28T15:20:08.634-04:00

Here's a new video I worked up that graphically describes how Swarm Communities Work and Grow (5:00 min)You can view the large format, high resolution version HERE.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-27601889765398804792007-08-27T02:07:00.000-04:002007-08-27T02:24:41.078-04:00

with lots more info on both Work and Play, along with an enhanced photo and large format video gallery. C'mon over... Link

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1162350840835899792006-10-31T21:33:00.000-05:002007-05-14T12:19:29.772-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I started a new gig today as company cofounder and;Chief Marketing Officer / VP Business DevelopmentSwarmteams“Swarmteams™ is a unified global messaging platform that integrates internet and mobile phone communications to enhance the performance of teams, groups and social networks through intelligent sharing of information among member devices —

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1161283551014610682006-10-19T14:40:00.000-04:002006-10-19T14:45:51.040-04:00

Here's a great article from PCWorld that covers the history of the personal computer from the perspective of TV ads that ran throughout the years. Featured are Atari, Commodore, Coleco, Tandy, Apple, IBM, Packard Bell, Microsoft and others. The Ad above is a favorite of mine -- even thought it never mentions computers :-) Link via BoingBoing.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1160844145783034252006-10-14T12:35:00.000-04:002006-10-19T13:06:08.300-04:00

With the dust settling on Google's acquisition of YouTube (in an all stock transaction last week) the boundaries of both business models and copyright law seem likely to get "reset" as massive media conglomerates (and the mandarins who run them) try to make sense out the emerging internet media landscape. This ought to be fun to watch...Link to VentureBeat.UPDATE: here's a Prof. Michael Geist

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1160427002822710802006-10-09T16:46:00.000-04:002006-10-09T16:51:37.796-04:00

Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock.Link to Yahoo! Finance (via Paul Kedrosky)

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1159891675817169072006-10-03T12:00:00.000-04:002006-10-09T14:52:37.146-04:00

This is an amazing, harrowing and ultimately tragic story about surviving a midair collision -- which ultimately claimed 155 lives of the not so lucky. Link to report of the crash in Brasil.Link to NY Times with an excellent video piece.UPDATE: an interesting post from Philip Greenspun at Harvard.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1159472267611024532006-09-28T15:35:00.000-04:002006-09-28T15:37:47.633-04:00

Richard Branson's SpaceShipTwo interior designs...Link to BoingBoing

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1159305349474266632006-09-26T17:10:00.000-04:002006-10-09T14:53:34.323-04:00

Well, if any of you out there know a better way to exchange long protein strings, I'd sure like to see it ;-)Link to animation video.Link to BoingBoing post.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1159193277583368012006-09-25T10:07:00.000-04:002006-10-09T14:58:00.620-04:00

Via the "Lost Remote" blog:"President Bill Clinton’s interview on Fox News Sunday is spreading like wildfire around the internet. (If you haven’t seen it yet, Clinton became upset when asked about bin Laden. “So you did Fox’s bidding on this show,” he told host Chris Wallace. “You did your nice little conservative hit job on me.”) Clearly, this is a viral video if there ever was one, yet the

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1159166969637631592006-09-25T02:47:00.000-04:002006-10-09T14:59:11.220-04:00

Gotta love this Adobe dialogue box :-)Link via BoingBoing.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1159166724006097172006-09-25T02:43:00.000-04:002006-10-09T14:59:42.693-04:00

Via Wired "Cult of Mac" and "All ABout Steve"

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1158680383179576022006-09-19T11:36:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:00:24.893-04:00

Yeah, but what do those Princeton guys know about computers? ;-)Way to Go Professor Ed!(via Kevin Burton's FeedBlog)UPDATE: Prof. Felton responds to Diebold's response here.UPDATE: Rolling Stone has a related article here (via Engadget).

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1158609515932001662006-09-18T15:54:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:00:58.486-04:00

Here's a little Wierd Al diddy that attempts to answer the musical question:"Kirk or Picard" ;-)(via Merlin @ 43Folders)Excerpt:First in my class here at MITGot skills, I’m a champion at D&DMC Escher - that’s my favorite MCKeep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey teaMy rims never spin, to the contraryYou’ll find that they’re quite stationaryAll of my action figures are cherrySteven Hawking’s in

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1157515276499977572006-09-05T23:54:00.000-04:002006-10-09T16:41:20.256-04:00

If you don't know Bob Lefsetz of "The Leftsetz Letter: First in Music Analysis" you should. It's a great blog and here's one of his Podcasts featuring the music of Gordon Lightfoot (with some interesting back stories) but hey, even before hearing it knew that the rights to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" are almost impossible to secure because Lightfoot donated all royalties to the surviving

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1157509317829852942006-09-05T22:20:00.000-04:002006-09-05T22:21:57.860-04:00

Download YouTube videos to your iPod. Way cool.Link

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1157370792002451002006-09-04T07:45:00.000-04:002006-10-09T14:56:51.913-04:00

I watched "Sideways" again last night. What a brilliant film and screenplay, especially with lines like this, where Miles uses metaphor to subconciously describe himself to Mia:"Pinot is thin skinned, temperamental, ripens early, not a survivor, you know... like a cabernet, which can grow anywhere and thrive even when it's neglected. No, pinot needs constant care and attention. In fact it can

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1155829340001570362006-08-17T11:37:00.000-04:002006-08-17T11:42:20.160-04:00

A long and interesting hypothesis by Keith Olberman of MSNBC news via Kevin Burton's FeedBlog. Link to video.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1155580614550228212006-08-14T14:32:00.000-04:002006-08-14T14:39:15.816-04:00

An interesting New Yorker article (and worthwhile read) by Seymour Hersh. Link

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1155296728458133382006-08-11T07:37:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:42:14.116-04:00

Here are a couple of interesting pieces on the foiled London bomb plot. Both touch on the issue of "emotionally potent oversimplifications" and the effect they have on us all. Personally, I subscribe to the concept of not being afraid.Link to an interesting video piece by Ze Frank (adult language). ">Link to a NY Times OpEd piece.(via Dave Winer)

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1155230090163763842006-08-10T13:09:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:43:58.526-04:00

I just caught this browsing YouTube: A girl takes a picture of herself every day for three years. With the internet increasing in power and scope as a distribution platform, will user generated content like this lead to a kind of renaissance in art and communications? You be the judge.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1155227152267243872006-08-10T12:19:00.000-04:002007-08-28T15:00:57.554-04:00

Here's some pretty cool vintage content (photos and videos) from the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Industry and Tourism's web page. I'm pretty sure I sang this song more than once on the way to the cottage when I was a kid ;-) Link to video. Link to main page (via Cory at BoingBoing).

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1155226380961600852006-08-10T12:11:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:44:28.743-04:00

Escher's "Relativity" in Lego.Link via MeFi.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154783595777686372006-08-05T09:07:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:45:03.413-04:00

Here's a great web site that absolutely delivers on what it promises. Link (via MeFi).A great example of user generated content.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154537003180147042006-08-02T12:38:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:45:20.483-04:00

Vanity Fair has an amazing story on The North American Air Defence (NORAD) response to the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The web article also has interspersed audio links that let you hear actual conversations between ground controllers and F-16 pilots. Link via BuzzMachine.and here's a related post from a while back that may help you visualize air traffic density on any given day in the

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154441591564061152006-08-01T10:07:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:47:27.103-04:00

Call me a whacked out conspiracy theorist, but could this be the real reason Gates is stepping down from his role at Microsoft? I'd sure like to think so... (via Prof. Ed Felton's "Freedom to Tinker").

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154228466241406712006-07-29T22:57:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:46:19.043-04:00

Apparently. Holy cow!

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154208085981004032006-07-29T17:19:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:46:44.253-04:00

by Dave Grey (via Merlin at 43Folders)

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154180935412016572006-07-29T09:40:00.000-04:002006-08-01T21:29:19.196-04:00

Check out this screen grab from a Daily Show piece aired in late June. The premise: the NSA domestic surveillance would have been much easier to spot if people had only inspected their phone bills a little closer, check out the other line items:

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154143636125589262006-07-28T23:22:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:48:09.720-04:00

Wal*Mart bails on Germany.Link via Buzzmachine and an update from MetaFilter.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154112983318277122006-07-28T14:53:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:48:37.463-04:00

Which is perfect — if you're a replicant :-)Link to Gizmodo.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154043772864746922006-07-27T19:33:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:49:00.656-04:00

During my first days in University environment (specifically, 97 King Street West in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada -- don't look for it, it's not there anymore ;-) with a great group of guys I'm still friends with today, Tom Petty was a house favorite... and still is. Here's a great interview between Tom and Terry Gross of NPR's talk show "Fresh Air". Link to NPR Fresh Air page.Link to interview MP3

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1154039392887601042006-07-27T18:24:00.000-04:002006-08-11T08:50:01.320-04:00

...has come to this?I suppose the old adage about political elections ("it's not the voting that matters, it's the counting") sort of applies to sports ("it not the winning, it's the not getting caught"). "Landis Tests Positive for Doping" Washington Post and New York Times story link via Paul Kedrosky.UPDATE: Freakonomic's has this to say re: cocktailing the night before a race.UPDATE: and in

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153984411600868652006-07-27T03:02:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:03:16.186-04:00

Mexens Technologies CEO, Cyril Houri, is interviewed by the MSMobiles tech blog. A fairly gruelling but truly outstanding technical conversation (read: "full on geek out" :-) about how the Navizon Wireless Positioning System works with PDA's, cell phones and smartphones as an augmentation / replacement for GPS positioning.Link to MSMobiles.Direct Link to the MP3 audio file (90 minute interview).

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153711715381764682006-07-23T23:25:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:03:57.286-04:00

...and hopefully, this one won't hurt anybody:Human League's "The Lebanon" -- linked via MetaFilter.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153287863044989842006-07-19T01:40:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:04:43.686-04:00

The cast of classic Star Trek perform "Camelot" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. An awesome mashup!Link to YouTube via MetaFilter.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153265958950369142006-07-18T19:35:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:05:27.886-04:00

In a recent CBC.ca story Cory Doctorow writes:" Wikipedia gets it wrong all the time. So do bloggers. But then, so do newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. The interesting thing about systems isn't how they perform when they're working to specification, it's what happens when they fail. Blogs, Wikipedia, and other online media fail gracefully indeed. When a newspaper gets a story wrong, it

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153264785800821692006-07-18T18:32:00.000-04:002006-07-19T18:37:27.376-04:00

Is the net erasing national borders? Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith (Assistant US Attorney General under John Ashcroft) talks about his latest book (co-written with Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu) called "Who Controls the Internet?"Aside from a very concise summary of the book, what's cool about this 20 minute speech is that he mentions a company called Infosplit and it's role in

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153186283269374372006-07-17T21:05:00.000-04:002006-09-26T11:14:43.650-04:00

A 60 second / 24 hour time lapse of Toronto as seen from the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue. I used a tripod mounted SONY DCR-PC100 DV Cam, Gawker 0.8 and a dual core MacMini to capture one frame every 60 seconds.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153108948667537172006-07-16T23:58:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:06:31.776-04:00

Recently declassified gun camera film from P-47's in action over Europe in WWII, proving once again that -- War is hell. (via MetaFilter)

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1153091399501847222006-07-16T18:51:00.000-04:002006-07-23T09:31:44.240-04:00

OK, I just finished a long walk through some forest trails in downtown Toronto and while I was chugging along this KQED radio Podcast episode of "Forum" (hosted by Michael Krazny, NPR San Francisco) popped up on my iPod. Michael was interviewing / chatting with Steven Kotler, author of the book "West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origins of Belief". What an amazing conversation, ranging from

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1152981604065285572006-07-15T12:27:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:07:41.673-04:00

Oh, what a happy day!The National Film Board of Canada has just posted 50 classic animated short films online, spanning 60 years of brilliant work by artists. Some of this stuff is absolutely fantastic and includes a couple of my favorite shorts of all time -- Richard Condie's wonderful "The Big Snit" and Cordell Barker's classic "The Cat Came Back". Fun for the whole family -- literally.Check it

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1152796964076971662006-07-13T09:14:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:09:09.696-04:00

Last week Alaska Senator Ted Stevens described the interent as a "series of tubes" (via cory at BoingBoing) and today this brilliant MP3 mashup tune showed up in my aggregator -- it's hysterical.UPDATE: Well, this didn't take long :-)UPDATE: and finally, the New York Times chimes in with a story here.Intersting how the article headline calls Steven's comments a "slip of the tounge" vs. the fact

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1152746289464786262006-07-12T19:09:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:16:15.003-04:00

Novak finally spills the beans on 2 of his 3 sources (Karl Rove, Scooter Libby) that Valerie Plame (wife of amabasador Joe Wilson, who spoke out against the Bush administrations "facts" that Iraq was amassing yellow cake uranium from Niger for a WMD program) was a CIA agent... and he's protecting the 3rd sources identity, even though he doesn't have to. Interesting stuff.Link to NPR audio stream.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1152672432108803152006-07-11T22:42:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:16:44.003-04:00

Whether you're a geek or not... this is awesome!(and it happened right here in Toronto!)Link to the Toronto Star (via my orthogonal pal, Shai Berger! :-)

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1152135772283957142006-07-05T17:35:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:09:47.326-04:00

First the company has a massive failure... and then so does his heart.Ken Lay dead of a heart attack at 64. Link to CBC News.If you haven't seen the film ">Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room check it out. An excellent corporate morality tale in the American style.UPDATE: The Washingon Post's Howard Kurtz has a good media/story roundup here.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1152072434032170222006-07-05T00:05:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:10:19.550-04:00

A view from my balcony tonight... Good to be back at Yonge & St. Clair!Link to full resolution.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1151353171372833982006-06-26T16:16:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:17:29.543-04:00

AT&T rewrites it's data privacy rules... as reported in the S.F. Chronicle.Link via EFF.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150986067764788702006-06-22T10:15:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:10:46.526-04:00

Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig provides a pretty good overview of the "Net Neutrality" issue now before the U.S. Congress... with a link to a video presentation by the inventor of the world wide web (and my favorite uber-geek) Tim Berners-Lee.Link to LessigBlog post.">Link to Real video stream of Tim Berners-Lee 4:00 minute presentation.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150905420752300832006-06-21T11:54:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:11:15.430-04:00

Test pilot Tex Johnston shows off the capabilities of Boeing's new 367-80 "Dash 80" prototype -- which would later become the Boeing 707 -- at a 1955 air show. The barrel roll (or aileron roll to others), done twice, was a no-hazard 1G maneuver for the Dash 80, but thoroughly impressed the crowd. Following the roll, it's said that William Allen turned to an elderly attender to ask for heart

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150554710768974442006-06-17T10:29:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:11:43.280-04:00

Dan Rather may be heading to Mark Cuban's HDNet. This would be very cool.Link to HDBeatUPDATE: Yup, looks like this rumor was true.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150460527754531642006-06-16T08:19:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:12:11.486-04:00

The worlds oldest living creature... and she's pretty good looking :-)Link via MeFi.UPDATE: Harriet made a one way trip to Turtle heaven last month.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150397470880892992006-06-15T14:42:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:12:32.130-04:00

Well... looks like we've made the "big time" with a brief story on the ABC Evening News about our technology (nice going Cyril!). The piece only covers a fraction of the power and capabilities of the Navizon Wireless Positioning system for mobile devices, but I always knew that world domination wouldn't happen overnight ;-) Disclosure: I work for Mexens Technologies, home of www.Navizon.comLink

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150153054840768902006-06-12T18:46:00.000-04:002006-06-12T19:00:44.233-04:00

Early this morning and after 43 years of service (1962-2005) the "Four Sisters" stacks of the Lakeview Generating Station in near Port Credit, Ontario (Toronto West Suburbs) were brought down by explosives in a controlled demolition.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1150038123514796442006-06-11T10:58:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:14:34.776-04:00

An fascinating critique / opinion / analysis / deconstruction of what's really going on inside Google. Link to Motely Fools via Publishing 2.0.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149873875399339092006-06-09T13:22:00.000-04:002006-10-09T15:14:59.550-04:00

Here's a great example / illustration of what a future without net neutrality potentially holds: Cox Communications ISP service blocks Craigslist.Link to SearchBlog.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149691297416133112006-06-07T10:34:00.000-04:002006-06-07T10:41:37.466-04:00

By Jemima Kiss, PaidContent.orgMatt Locke, head of innovation for BBC New Media, focused on the complexities of folksonomies. He picked out six motivations behind tagging: future retrieval; contribution and sharing; attracting attention; play and competition; self presentation; and opinion and expression, which he expects to become a bigger part of tagging. That’s a move away from pure

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149664093843378032006-06-07T03:06:00.000-04:002006-06-07T03:10:15.043-04:00

This full-page ad ran in the last issue of The Hollywood Reporter.Brilliant.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149634984954661282006-06-06T19:00:00.000-04:002006-06-06T19:03:04.973-04:00

Yeah, but can you take them through a Wendy's "Drive Thru"?Link to DailyMail UK.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149632748747353182006-06-06T18:20:00.000-04:002006-06-06T18:25:48.766-04:00

"You can't chop down a symmetry"-- Jane Siberry...but more to the point, here's a great post on the subject of Symmetry Theory on the MarginalRevolution blog.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149549567112867642006-06-05T19:15:00.000-04:002006-06-06T17:14:11.930-04:00

Delivered at Knox College, June 3, 2006:"And when you enter the workforce, you will find competition from those crossing our all-too-poorest borders. Now I know you’re all going to say, “Stephen, Stephen, immigrants built America.” Yes, but here’s the thing—it’s built now. I think it was finished in the mid-70s sometime. At this point it’s a touch-up and repair job. But thankfully Congress is

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149516767077031602006-06-05T10:10:00.000-04:002006-06-05T10:12:47.080-04:00

This is truly amazing.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149516461509095302006-06-05T10:03:00.000-04:002006-06-05T10:07:41.536-04:00

It's about time.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149257554347153942006-06-02T10:02:00.000-04:002006-06-02T10:23:29.546-04:00

by Staci Kramer (www.paidContent.org)"Maybe it’s just the longtime Bruce fan in me but this actually broke through a growing fatigue with announcements of broadband “firsts” … AOL Music is posting a new exclusive video the morning after each concert in Bruce Springsteen’s just-started five-week North American tour with the Seeger Sessions Band. Video from the first four concerts is up now; the

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149255235903085412006-06-02T09:29:00.000-04:002006-07-15T10:39:22.356-04:00

What those dope smoking, VW van driving, bearded, beatnik hippies at Rolling Stone Magazine (in this case Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) are just figuring out now is... it's not the voting that matters... it's the counting.Link to Rolling Stone article via MeFi.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149022410584778022006-05-30T16:45:00.000-04:002006-05-30T17:03:23.850-04:00

This post got me to thinking that as Big Media conglomerates scramble to lock down "their" content with new formats and distribution methodologies / technologies, and they make it harder or more difficult for us to consume it, there's a huge opportunity for "not so hot", crappy or even God-awful consumer generated content to be "seen", "consumed" and enjoyed by "we the people"... this does not

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149021806299040852006-05-30T16:41:00.000-04:002006-05-30T16:43:26.316-04:00

OK, this thing ranks right up there with Pizza in the morning, Maxxum Magazine and Sports... you know, stuff women love...Link to Gizmodo.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1149002536836645122006-05-30T11:19:00.000-04:002006-07-27T04:05:50.100-04:00

Summertime is here and so are the Ross sisters. You gotta watch this right to the end... amazing!Solid Potato Salad - The Ross Sisters - video powered by Metacafe

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1148358038558169292006-05-23T00:16:00.000-04:002006-05-23T00:20:38.580-04:00

Here's a pretty cool site with an innovative way of compressing hard-to-read information of the morning papers stock section into a simple snapshot.Link via Edward Tufte's blog.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147888466912765942006-05-17T13:50:00.000-04:002006-05-17T13:54:26.956-04:00

I'm not sure which is a bigger time waster... reading People magazine cover to cover or spending a bit of time at this site.I expect my results would fall somewhere between George Clooney and Gollum.Link via Gizmodo.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147718013209538462006-05-15T14:30:00.000-04:002006-05-15T14:33:54.730-04:00

Skype has announced free Skypeout calls within North America to Canadian and U.S. landlines and cell phones. Amazing.Link to Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147573035972180852006-05-13T22:11:00.000-04:002006-05-13T22:17:15.993-04:00

Things are finally heating up for Karl.For those of you that have the time (and the bandwidth) there's a great PBS Frontline episode on the man here.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147364357295421892006-05-11T12:16:00.000-04:002006-05-11T12:19:17.313-04:00

One of these rigs would be nice to have for sneaking up on your friends... but with the kind of friends I have I'd definitely want it outfitted with both long and short range Polaris nuclear missles. Link to Gizmodo.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147268545248825472006-05-10T09:34:00.000-04:002006-05-10T09:44:13.046-04:00

Here's an amazing animation of a day in the life of Air Traffic density over the United States of America (with a caveat on scale... the skies really aren't this "crowded" but visualization of the density patterns and temporal flow is way cool). Link to animation file via Edward Tufte's blog (note: it may take a minute or two for the file to load in your browser).

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147127918946560462006-05-08T18:32:00.000-04:002006-05-08T18:38:38.983-04:00

1500 weeks on the Billboard Charts that is... which makes "Dark Side of the Moon" the longest selling album of all time.I'm eternally grateful to a young Becky Beggs for giving me a copy of the 12" vinyl when I as in Grade 10 :-)Link to Billboard via digg.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1147095520449217382006-05-08T09:34:00.000-04:002006-05-08T09:44:09.980-04:00

Cupertino emerges victorious over McCartney, Starr, Ono and the estate of Harrison as a British judge rules in favor of Apple Computer.Link to Reuter's via Engadget

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1146841550132551922006-05-05T10:58:00.000-04:002006-05-05T11:05:50.150-04:00

Here's a great NASA video of the of the Cassini-Huygens Titan probe landing. It's a synthesis of video and telemetry data and way cool too! (via BoingBoing).

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1146350908913902982006-04-29T18:41:00.000-04:002006-05-04T11:11:57.856-04:00

Way to go Neil...Link to Yahoo! News piece.Link to Neil's Garage (www.neilyoung.com)UPDATE: Link to a review of the new album by rock critic Ken Tucker.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1146148273354095842006-04-27T10:28:00.000-04:002006-04-27T10:31:13.356-04:00

Cool TV ad for what looks like an Apple dealer.Link

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1146147763844980852006-04-27T10:16:00.000-04:002006-04-27T10:22:43.860-04:00

"Domo arigato" to Xeni at BoingBoing for the pointer to this great blog featuring whacky crap on TV in Japan. Very cool!Link.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1145098660916979802006-04-15T06:54:00.000-04:002006-04-15T06:57:40.933-04:00

Worldmapper is a set of maps that distort the size of countries to make them proportional to those countries' child populations, predicted population in 2500, immigrants, net incoming tourism, passenger cars, dairy exports, and more.Very cool.Link via Nat at O'Reilly Radar.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1145027129335253622006-04-14T10:58:00.000-04:002006-04-14T11:05:29.346-04:00

Everything I know about the Caribou I learned from "Hinterland Who's Who".Links via MeFi.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1144979098935057132006-04-13T21:42:00.000-04:002006-04-13T21:44:58.950-04:00

The Vespa goes Hybrid! Wonder if it'll sound the same?Link to Gizmodo.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1144380731515753022006-04-06T23:24:00.000-04:002006-04-06T23:32:11.516-04:00

I've been giving this lots of thought to this since Apple launched this free software that let's you boot WindowsXP on their Intel based MacBookPro. At $2,500+ the MacBookPro is at the high end of the notebook market but tha fact you can run both OS'es (and probably Linux and Windows Vista too) makes this rig a "double-plus-good" no-brainer, totally awesome rig. Some more thoughts on Boot Camp

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1144380076258397362006-04-06T23:17:00.000-04:002006-04-06T23:21:16.260-04:00

A pretty cool GoogleMaps / local photo mashup. Link via MetaFilter

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1144379826580869162006-04-06T23:15:00.000-04:002006-04-06T23:17:06.596-04:00

"CabSpotting traces San Francisco's taxi cabs as they travel throughout the Bay Area. The patterns traced by each cab create a living and always-changing map of city life. This map hints at economic, social, and cultural trends that are otherwise invisible."Link via MetaFilter.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1144152470087959942006-04-04T08:07:00.000-04:002006-04-04T08:15:33.796-04:00

I'm not exactly sure where the feminists were in 1967 to protest the theme of the this world Expo in Montreal but I attended with my parents and my dear Aunt Norni (Elanor) and had a total blast. Here are some links to some wonderful scanned images of Expo '67 courtesy of the folks at MetaFilter.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1143995162606524902006-04-02T12:23:00.000-04:002006-04-02T12:30:14.403-04:00

This video clip from a Japanese competition is strangely fascinating... at least for geeks like me. Link via digg.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1143776907028767152006-03-30T22:44:00.000-05:002006-03-30T22:48:27.040-05:00

Interesting coverage of the Liberal Party of Canada leadership race -- on the MetaFilter blog. Link.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1143379103655930672006-03-26T08:09:00.000-05:002006-03-26T08:18:23.796-05:00

BellSouth is set to shut down New Orlean's city wide WiFi because they claim it's illegal competition for the services they offer. Link.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1143349303739685272006-03-25T23:56:00.000-05:002006-03-26T00:01:43.750-05:00

First you get the power, then you get the money, then you get the lawsuit... Streamcast Networks sues Kaaza/Skype under RICO statutes :-)Link via Om Malik.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1143066196111168372006-03-22T16:43:00.000-05:002006-03-22T17:23:16.183-05:00

OK, so someone in Australia says it's "all but confirmed" but any way you slice it - this thing better be an insanely great device. Dual Core iBooks and a wide screen video iPod on April 1st would be nice too :-)Link to Gizmodo.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1143001549032602142006-03-21T23:21:00.000-05:002006-03-21T23:50:06.976-05:00

I imagine Disney lawyers will be issuing iFilm with a take down notice faster than people ran to catch the last chopper out of Saigon... until then check out this 9 minute mashup from 1987! Link to iFilm via BoingBoing.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1142903387831705152006-03-20T20:04:00.000-05:002006-03-20T20:09:47.846-05:00

It's good to know that when I bolt out of bed in the morning to engage in work I truly love I'm barking up the right tree -- at least according to #4 on Paul Kerodsky's "Ten Emerging Technolgies That Will Make a Difference" list.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1142787707332802022006-03-19T11:58:00.000-05:002006-03-19T12:01:47.346-05:00

One of my design heros, Edward Tufte, on aesthetic controls for photographers.Link to ask E.T.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1142786774480532292006-03-19T11:38:00.000-05:002006-03-19T11:46:14.513-05:00

Here are some great archived keynote and confernece discussions (Podcasts, MP3, Video) from last weeks "South By Southwest" Interactive conference held annually in Austin Texas. Good stuff for geeks, entrepreneurs, creatives and anyone who's curious about emerging trends.Links to audio.Links to video.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1142783163261874822006-03-19T10:38:00.000-05:002006-03-19T16:21:07.166-05:00

So Comedy Central buckles-in on a 2nd airing of a South Park episode about scientology. Tom Cruise presses for a ban on the episode and gets it. Now it's likely waaaaay more people will search, download, view and talk about it due to the controversy. Matt & Trey are smart guys and probably knew that demand for a banned episode would shoot into the stratosphere. Here's a great post by Bob Lefsetz

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1142352834296195372006-03-14T11:09:00.000-05:002006-03-14T11:13:54.310-05:00

A great story on indicted Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff's 2002 BMW 745i... apparently it had everything but fur dice hanging from the rear view mirror.Link to the NYTimes vis SmartMobs.

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6933227.post-1142317923827544552006-03-14T01:27:00.001-05:002006-03-14T01:48:28.496-05:00

Here's a really cool time lapse video of the 12 month assembly process for the new Airbus A380 - compressed into 7 minutes.Link to video (via digg).

Jim Parsonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09675412196437305014noreply@blogger.com