Andre Molnar

Piss me off

I just lost all of my bookmarks. My bookmark file just killed itself.

File under irony: I was in the process of updating security on my system (with a new virus scanner and whatnot) and planned to do some backups once I was sure that my system was clean.

File under shitty: I have backed up my bookmarks - but I have been backing up the wrong profile - so the bookmarks I really want were not backed up. The most recent backup was from may 2003.

I have double checked everything and implemented every strategy known to man to possibly recover the bookmarks - but they are toast.

File under good news: I still have my browser history. So - I can start rebuilding some bookmarks from there, but that is going to be a long and stupid process. Not to mention the history only goes back so far.

Still, I figure that if I hadn't visited those bookmarks during the stored history, chances are they were not that important. Or at least that is what I am telling myself so I don't weep at the loss of some jems. "They weren't that important. They weren't that important. They weren't that important."

What's done is done. Still crappy, but now I have a chance to build a newer better bookmark file. "Look for the silver lining - resist the urge to smash your keyboard."

Plus, I have identified a problem in my backup strategy. "Live and learn."

Fuck.

That's all.

andre

Fancy Data

Ohhh I'm getting lazy - or maybe its that I'm too busy.

Either way Wordlab should start paying me for the traffic I send to them. (Or I should pay them for the links I steal from them).

Today they had a post about baby names with a facinating link. Ever wonder how popular your name is? Ever wonder how popular it was say 50 years ago. Ever wonder when it was that 'Zoe' came back in fashion as a child's name. Ever wonder when Henrietta lost its charm?

Well now you can find out from a super slick data visualization tool.

Type in a few letters of a name and watch the data change.

You'll need Java enabled for this one, but its worth it.

andre

Drupal Theming

Turns out that quite a few visitors to this site are looking for Drupal Themes.

If you are finding this page because of just such a search, you can find some postings about Blue Beach and other themes elsewhere on this site.

Some people have even contacted me to design themes for their Drupal powered sites. I am very flattered. (Just in case you were looking for someone to design your site's template, I do entertain all reasonable offers. I work primarily with the phpTemplate engine - but can work in anything you would like).

So why am I writing about all of this? Mainly, I was fascinated by the percentage of people visiting my site looking for this one thing. I also thought it was a good illustration of how being involved in an Open Source project can create opportunities for people.

I participate in the Drupal project as a coder and themer because I like the product, I enjoy doing the work, and I feel good about giving back to the community (even in modest ways). The fact that I have now started to earn real dollars and cents as a result of my efforts is nice, but its certainly not the primary motivation.

The opportunities created by participation in Open Source development are real. Its not theoretical. Reg over at his site, once wrote that he looks at Open Source development experience when hiring people. And if you read his site you know he will only hire the best. Just because you work in open source doesn't make you the best, but it does show potential employers that you are passionate about writing code (why else would you do it in your spare time for free).

And besides opportunities, there are all sorts of other benefits. Education, experience, satisfaction and don't forget the babes. Babes love geeks that write code (YMMV).

Long story short, I guess this post is an ad for all of you out there that haven't found the joy of Open Source to go out there and get involved in a project. You might just find out that you love it.

andre

Cyberspace: Origins of

Heck, if I'm adding to the noise - I might as well do it right.

Just caught this on William Gibson's site.

Christies Auction House has a lot dedicated to the origins of cyberspace. Sadly, I don't have the cash for any of it - let alone an excess of cash to outbid some other nerd with a hardon for Babbage manuscripts.

andre

So you want to make greeting cards eh?

I hate writing posts like this. I feel like I am lowering the signal to noise ratio on the weeb - but sometimes you see something that puts a smile on your face - or something that you find funny - intelligent - wonderful - warm - fuzzy - whatever - and you MUST share it with the world. (even if everyone else may have already shared it with the world ages ago.)

Once again - I found this via Wordlab. Ever wonder what goes into making a Hallmark-shoebox greeting card? Chris Harding has produced an excelent educational film on the topic.

andre
(if the white noise is deafening, no one will hear you scream)

Legal Synchronization / Harmonization with the US

A topic came up one discussion list that I am a part of that I thought I would talk about here.

The basic question asked was that in an ever more globalized world, where an international network of computers (Internet) fails to recognize geo political borders, should there a greater effort to harmonize individual nation state laws to match US laws? The context of the question was the Can Spam act in the US that outlines the the restrictions placed on spammers. What the law did, or rather didn't do, was stop the flow of spam. It simply changed where the spam came from as most spam sources moved off shore.

The question posed, as I understood it was: Should other countries respect or adopt the laws of the US in order to avoid this sort of thing from happening?
US productivity (and Canadian productivity for that matter) is hurt by these spammers - shouldn't something be done? And what about questions of intellectual property? Labour laws? Human rights?

Here are my thoughts:

Just because the US decides to pass ridiculous laws that won't allow a Sonny and Cher recording to enter the public domain for ANOTHER 30 years (because its bad for... ummm... Cher) doesn't mean that the world has to be in lock step with US congress.

I am all for geo-political/nation/state sovereignty. The government of a nation should decide what laws best represent the interests of itself and its citizens. The law of a nation is also a representation of the values of that nation. A nation's reputation is also largely dependent on its laws. It is in a nation's own best interest to pass good law. This doesn't mean that good law is always passed in any given nation, but each nation and its citizens suffer the consequences of bad law. For good or bad, better or worse, each nation's laws are their own.

But, No law passed by the elected officials (or worse, unelected officials) of another country should ever apply to me. (International law is another matter though - since a representatives of my government were at least involved in the process that brought about the law).

Laws are memes. The strong ones will eventually flourish globally - the weak ones will, at best, survive in isolated habitats that allow them to survive (even if they happen to be large isolated habitats like the US). Many many more will die out altogether.

Which laws have a better chance of surviving? Ones that supports human rights or ones that suppresses them? Ones that increases the body of human knowledge and adds to human understanding or ones that restrict its growth? Ones that protect the environment, or ones that makes it easier to pollute the environment? Ones that grant liberty or ones that restrict it?

Looking back at recent US law (even before the time of Bush jr.) I wouldn't want to take any cues from the US in legal matters. (Digital Millennium Copyright act, Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension act, The Energy Policy act of 2003, The Patriot act, Withdrawal from Anti-Ballistic Treaty, Not ratifying Kyoto, Act of congress allowing US invasion of Iraq etc. etc. etc.) In so many areas it is apparent that the US is out of step with the world - so why would I want to consider looking to them to lead the way for any law - let alone adopt their laws outright?

But what about spammers? Anti spam laws like the ones in the US are a good idea non? Well here is an example of law as meme that is more likely to flourish. I think more and more of the modern industrial world will adopt similar anti-spam laws. It is a good idea. But, just because the US passes such a law shouldn't make any other nation obligated to do the same.

No - harmonization with US law -as a rule- is a bad idea. But if a law is a good one, it will eventually be adopted globally on its own merits and not on its place of origin.

andre