Some shout outs to Facebook

Betty White hosted SNL last night, thanks mostly to a Facebook based petition. She thanked them, but went on to rip them, too.

I really have to thank Facebook. I didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. I would never say the people on it are losers, but that’s only because I’m polite. People say ‘But Betty, Facebook is a great way to connect with old friends.’ Well at my age, if I wanna connect with old friends, I need a Ouija Board. Needless to say, we didn’t have Facebook when I was growing up. We had phonebook, but you wouldn’t waste an afternoon with it.

Much was made of her being the oldest host. The only other octogenarian host that I can think of is Ruth Gordon who hosted in 1977 at the age of 81. Last night, much was made of Betty White's age, but nobody mentioned that the announcer was oldest of all-- Don Pardo is 92. The show also had a lot of role reprisals from former cast members: Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon.

Meanwhile, people are starting to notice Facebook may not be all it is cracked up to be- just like myspace, second life, aol/yahoo communities, etc. etc. before it. This article appeared on Slashdot and notes the problems that crop up when people have different expectations of what a service will do for them and require of them.
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As for me, the social community I still like the best is simple Usenet. Boy! that is old school.

Update: The NY Times has a story about the coding group at NYU creating Diaspora. Wired mentions them here.

Second Update: 2010-05-21 xkcd

is promoting Diaspora.

Life will find a way...even if it is a weed.

Check out the NY Times article, Invasion of the Super Weeds.

Most especially, Michael Pollan's response.

The NY Times graphic shows the resistant weed, Palmer's Amaranth, aka, common redroot. Yeah, they're out in the yard. We had a close relative, an ornamental amaranthis, in the yard one year. I can't remember exactly what I did, but I think I moved them early in their early development. They fell over sick and nearly died. The funny thing is they came back later in the year with different morphology. The neighbors thought they were more like trees, than annuals. Of course, Janice's ornamental plume poppy is the champ in the annual vertical growth- maybe from zero to ten feet tall in a single season. The amaranthis was nowhere near that, but still provided some significant challenges to the chipper. The NY Times notes that the mature amaranthis can damage cultivating equipment. Just got to get 'em while they're small.

Who uses GNU/Linux?

I noticed this article which lists some high profile Linux users. In this age of layoffs, budget cuts, and "no funding," it's very surprising that the platform is not used/mandated by more governments and schools. The one laptop per child project has rolled out some interesting hardware/software, especially the second generation prototype with dual screens. It looks good, but is not planned for a mass rollout. That's too bad because I would probably buy one. It looks very appealing especially when placed
side-by-side next to an iPad.

Update: I am trying to get this idea started here. So far, it is the sound of one hand clapping.

Second Update: It seems that HP has noticed that Palm could help it extend back into the handheld space. HP will aquire Palm, as noted here.

Third Update: HP may switch Slate to use WebOS.
here.

Trouble(s) with Windows AV Scanner

There's no doubt that AV scanning is an important part of the Windows platform. Afterall, the raw count of Windows viruses is approaching 1 million separate virus. One has to wonder whether useful computing will be possible on Windows in the near future, or if all CPU cycles will be devoted to the antivirus scanner.

Meanwhile, this problem with McAfee AV caused havoc yesterday. Here is Slashdot's headline:
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Update: McAfee will pay for repairs. Maybe, not as expensive as Toyota's recalls, but consider that Toyota had already received tens of thousands for the car. I assume each McAfee customer has paid less than that. Most likely the repair cost equals the yearly subscription cost.
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Aiding Brain Function

This is an interesting report about the brain. A long term study shows that the brain's function is aided by both mental and physical exercise. It is surprising that the brain, like the heart, benefits from aerobic exercise.

The story is cached locally here.

The author offhandedly said that people should step outside their comfort level. "If you always watch MSNBC, maybe you should switch to Fox for a little bit, just to get your blood boiling a little bit." I guess that works for Jon's Stewart's writing staff- they can continue to dip into that endless pool of idiocy for prime time material. I have a better idea. Instead of "boiling your blood," how about giving yourself a real challenge? How about "engaging your brain" just a little bit more by trying GNU/Linux?

Maui via Google Earth

Here is a screen capture looking south across the northwest portion of the island. Robert and Ashley will be moving soon to the town shown on the right hand side of this picture.

Here is another with three islands visible.

George Frayne (aka Commander Cody) Interview

This was also an interesting recent interview. The story about Louis Armstrong being saved from a drug bust by Richard Nixon is a classic.