Dave Winer's TV news of the future

What could TV news of the future look like?  Dave Winer has some ideas...

Dave Winer's original note: http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/04/23/tvNewsOfTheFuture.html

his mock up: http://www.scripting.com/futureNews.html

his "how to" where he calls it Checkbox News:

http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/04/24/checkboxNews.html

More of his ideas:

http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/04/25/checkboxNewsDay3.html

To all of which I add my fantasy....

We're sitting around with our iPhones in the living room,  watching our Apple TV;  all of us can set individual news preferences (we can create the Jeff Channel or the Judy Channel or the Dave Channel),  answer our phones or make calls, choose music or movies or play games using only the iPhones.  We can share our Channels on the internet,  add our own commentaries. Etc etc.

I can't imagine that Apple isn't on this already.

  

      Jeff

Pat Tillman, humanist?

from this ESPN article: http://tinyurl.com/e9slt  (thanks to http://atrios.blogspot.com for the link)

In a transcript of his interview with Brig. Gen. Gary Jones during a November 2004 investigation, Kauzlarich said he'd learned Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother and fellow Army Ranger who was a part of the battle the night Pat Tillman died, objected to the presence of a chaplain and the saying of prayers during a repatriation ceremony in Germany before his brother's body was returned to the United States.

Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."

Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans' religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, "I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know."

Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, "You know what? I don't think anything will make them happy, quite honestly. I don't know. Maybe they want to see somebody's head on a platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can't bring their son back."

Kauzlarich, now 40, was the Ranger regiment executive officer in Afghanistan, who played a role in writing the recommendation for Tillman's posthumous Silver Star. And finally, with his fingerprints already all over many of the hot-button issues, including the question of who ordered the platoon to be split as it dragged a disabled Humvee through the mountains, Kauzlarich conducted the first official Army investigation into Tillman's death.

That investigation is among the inquiries that didn't satisfy the Tillman family.

"Well, this guy makes disparaging remarks about the fact that we're not Christians, and the reason that we can't put Pat to rest is because we're not Christians," Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, said in an interview with ESPN.com. Mary Tillman casts the family as spiritual, though she said it does not believe in many of the fundamental aspects of organized religion.

"Oh, it has nothing to do with the fact that this whole thing is shady," she said sarcastically, "But it is because we are not Christians."

After a pause, her voice full with emotion, she added, "Pat may not have been what you call a Christian. He was about the best person I ever knew. I mean, he was just a good guy. He didn't lie. He was very honest. He was very generous. He was very humble. I mean, he had an ego, but it was a healthy ego. It is like, everything those [people] are, he wasn't." 

My Mother In Law Loves Richard Simmons

Got a vcr & some used tapes in her room. So now, at age 86, she is
sweatin' to the oldies.

Richard is quite a character. Women love him. He puts on a great
exercise show.

Yelling at people does not help..

I'm thinking of what I would call loudmouth coaches or personal trainers.

I saw a guy yesterday... on the outside track... yelling at his "ward"
(I guess client would be a better term).

This is a nice track. Seems like if he needed to "coach" her (standing
there yelling "you can do it" "lengthen your stride" "just 10 more
minutes". So anyone out there can hear. Hear what a jerk he was
anyhow. Standing there with his arms folded while she was working her
way around the track.

It occurred to me that he could just as easily use a walkie talkie with
a headset. And thus not prove to the world how insensitive he was, and
not raise his blood pressure at the same time. Or mine.

----

Why is it that people have this feeling that yelling at someone does a
better job of communicating?

Preachers that yell at their congregations.

Coaches that yell at their athletes.

---

When I hear someone say "Listen Up", I automatically start looking for
the exit.

Interest Designs and Oddities

http://www.notcot.org/

a blog about many design, art, architecture, and just plain odd but
interesting items.

CCCO: That's Them!

The Central Committee for Conscientous Objectors http://

www.girights.com also

http://www.objector.org/ccco/whoweare.html

to whom I donated for many years. I was so glad there was someone
who took the risk to fight the madness of war.

So, I just sent them another donation.

Jeff

The GI Rights Hotline (800) 394-9544

These people helped a young relative of mine:

http://girights.objector.org/

Please consider donating.

Edging Toward The Treadmill

Well this is the day. Cancelled trip to aerobics class because
Mother In Law is awaiting a phone call from her dying husband. So
I'm dedicating today to walk on treadmill.

It's all an issue about staying well. I read yesterday that over 60%
of people age 65 and older are completely inactive. Meaning they
just sit there.

I'm dedicating myself to NOT be one of them.

So I'm cleaning house, putting things away, checking laundry, ...
all those things we do to AVOID.

And of course, I set this up to post to multiple blogs at one
time... another AVOID activity.

So..... Bye Bye Computer, Hello Treadmill.

Bye for now... Jeff.

Godless For God's Sake (QuakerBooks)

http://www.quakerbooks.org/godless_for_gods_sake.php

I will be reading this book soon.

I've been to some Quaker meetings, met some great people there.

Quaker House: Working for Peace & GI Rights in the Fayetteville-Fort Bragg community since 1969

Fitness of another kind...

http://www.quakerhouse.org/index.php

I wonder when humans will quit beating each other.

Seems like all the churches and praying that have been going on for the
last few thousand years has not helped.

More Romance - Josh Ritter with Erin McKeown - "Tonight You Belong to Me"

http://tinyurl.com/2vfvk9

If this isn't Love,  What is?

Why People Hate "Exercise"

Particularly me.

Quote from http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/health/activity_synth.pdf

Imagery and tone are very important in motivating people to be physically active.   People 50+ are motivated by images they can relate to, not by elite senior athletes that  make them feel discouraged or overwhelmed.  For a variety of reasons, a “no pain, no  gain” message often used to motivate younger audiences to exercise is not motivating  to this age cohort.  Similarly, a confrontational or critical “get off the couch” approach is  not effective.   

So true.  On top of which it's the constant "boxing" theme that gets to me.  Somewhere in my life I came to believe that hitting someone is not the way to deal with problems

Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff: Books: Jim Johnson

http://tinyurl.com/29qkyq

I have a rotator cuff problem.  I had thought it was impossible to fix,  but that is not true.

I read "The 7 Minute Rotator Cuff Solution"... an interesting book;  but it is not rated as highly as this one [which I admit I have NOT read this yet].

My shoulder has improved greatly & I have been only doing the "7 Minute" exercises half heartedly.  I have a hard time motivating myself.

The "7 Minute" book seems to stir up a lot of controversy,  so I look forward to reading Jim Johnson's book.

Amazon.com: "The BEST Fitness DVD's for Seniors"

http://tinyurl.com/37v7fl

Yes,  it's an Amazon list.  NOT by me.

But it looks to have lots of good stuff in it.

I'm documenting "things" at http://nocomputers.blogspot.com and other places.

DVD's are likely to be more recent video.  BUT what I do if I see something I like is ALWAYS look at the used listings which Amazon puts a link to on almost every page.

Also... You can find a lot of VHS tapes cheap if used.

jeff

Great Workouts & other goodies For All Levels and Every Body

http://tinyurl.com/2y2xzt

yes,  it's an Amazon list.  I'm looking at fitness for seniors

Kurt Vonnegut, Writer of Classics of the American Counterculture, Dies at 84 - New York Times

A Hero of mine leaves us...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/books/11cnd-vonnegut.html?

_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The Not-Aflac Mascot is a GOAT!

Just saw this new Aflac ad...

Guy asks "Do we have Aflac" Boss says "no" guy Says "does our insurance
pay when we're off work"(or something like that).

They switch to picture of GOAT eating printouts from copier! GOAT says
"na-a-a"

The ad continues in that vein going drastically downhill.

And FUNNY. Brought tears to my eyes.

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

http://tinyurl.com/226qgw

The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The book explores:
* How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for 200 years
* The power of a simple circle
* The importance of catalysts who have an uncanny ability to bring people together
* How the Internet has become a breeding ground for leaderless organizations
* How Alcoholics Anonymous has reached untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leader

I could re-title this "Committees Without Chairs"

language learning through music

> earworms mbt©-accelerated language learning to groovy music.
>
> By just listening to these music CDs you pick up a language. It's
> an amazingly simple idea and it really works! You just listen to
> these songs as if you were listening to the radio. But instead of
> just relaxing, you are relaxing and learning. After just a few
> listenings, foreign words keep popping up in your head. It's almost
> like magic!
>
> Take a look: www.earwormslearning.com

good idea.... couldn't find the price

Language Learning Podcasts & other resources

http://www.word2word.com/podad.html

has link to "free online language courses"

Has podcast links for French, Spanish, and other languages.

YMMV