Thought Ninja

Several weeks ago, I came across a new service for recommending music: http://www.owlmm.com/  It seems like a great idea.  You visit the website, select a track of mp3 music from your local machine, select a segment of the track and it will recommend tracks that are similar to your selected segment.

I tried the service with one sample track and think that the technology has potential but wasn’t terribly impressed with its accuracy overall.  This seems like a systematic way of matching characteristics in a way more like Pandora that needs additional attributes to tighten up the results.  I love that it has a huge database of alternative music sources (cc and Magnatune).  That’s a plus. 

When I have time, I'm going to give it a more thorough test run because I want to love the service.

 

I wonder if the very politically correct business types realize that when they "ping" an associate they're really groping them.  PING - Packets Internet Groper.  I guess groping is alright if done in packets.

retronym \REH-troh-nim\ noun

: a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun.  (e.g. The names of such out-of-date technology as "console television set," are examples of retronyms. The oldest print usage that we know of for the word "retronym" itself is from William Safire's column "On Language" in a 1980 issue of The New York Times. There, he discusses how then-president of National Public Radio, Frank Mankiewicz, collects what he calls "retronyms."

source: Merriam-Webster

It's interesting to think about neologisms fading into retronym status.

Check out the European Space Agency's website that has an incredible ability to show images that are only 2 hours old!  Be amazed: http://miravi.eo.esa.int/en/

From Mirriam Webster: a person whose job is to find, collect, and manage information that is available on the World Wide Web.

Is Google the ultimate cybrarian?

I don't know if you know the name Christopher Soghoian, but he's the Ph.D. student at Indiana University who created a website that allowed visitors to create a fake Northwest Airline Boarding Pass as a way of pointing out the flaws in the security system for preventing non-passengers from getting through the security screening.

My wife and I discussed how easily creating a fake boarding pass is as soon as the requirement was implemented.  It is just another step in creating the perception of security in the minds of the public.  (As a possible justification, since most people won't try using fake passes, it does decrease the number of people that are under surveillance in the boarding areas.  I still think it's mostly perception management because a hijacker wouldn't balk at using a fake pass.) 

When I first heard about this site, I was shocked at the boldness of Christopher.  I applauded his commitment to exposing the truth of this "security measure" while fearing the worst for his personal wellness.  Apparently, he had good legal counsel from the outset because he won't be prosecuted by the federal government.  Hooray!  Check his blog for more information: http://slightparanoia.blogspot.com/2006/11/good-news-and-bad-news.html

First number portability and now this!  Today, the Wall Street Journal had a fantastic article on services that let you sell your contract instead of breaking it saving up to $250 in early termination fees.  (Check CellSwapper.com for a breakdown in costs: http://cellswapper.com/swapout.aspx) Here's a great quote: "Roughly 47% of cell customers would switch or consider switching cellphone companies if early-termination fees were abolished, according to a July 2005 survey by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. However, because of the fee, only 3% of customers go ahead with terminating the contract, the survey found."

The services mentioned in the article include:

• CelltradeUSA.com - $19.99 to transfer a contract and no fee to take over one
• Wirecracker.com - No trading.  Instead $50 flat cancellation fee if you sign up for a new service through their site
• Resellular.com - $14.99 to transfer and no fee to take over
• CellSwapper.com - Transferring for free.
  

These services are a wonderful example of true competitive free market workings.  Hopefully these disruptive services will encourage the big mobile companies to drop or lower this unnecessary charge.  (I know they say it's to cover the costs of "customer acquisition" but I'm skeptical that they're not making a profit with the charge.)

The one thing I find curious is that people would actually want to take over an existing contract.  The promotions offered by the carriers are so good that the people getting out of the contracts must be offering significant discounts.  It makes sense if my choice is between eating $200 and eating $100 that I might be offering a better deal than the carriers.

As a little bit of holiday entertainment, enjoy this video from glumbert.com.  It's a very creative use of a whiteboard.

(Click the link below instead of the picture because it doesn't appear that I can insert an image in vox and control the URL destination upon clicking the image.)

http://www.glumbert.com/media/whiteboard

I'm tempted to buy the $140 SeV by Scottevest.  http://www.scottevest.com/v3_product_info/overview.shtml  It looks like a reasonably stylish solution to the problem of too much gear and not enough pockets.  I think the price is a bit more than it should be.  I'm sure they figure if you have enough gadgets to need the vest, you probably can afford a bit more and really want the pockets. For the price, it should shield me from radiation, too.

You may have heard about freecycle, if not you should.  http://freecycle.org/  It's a great network of people who are dedicated to giving things away instead of having them go to the landfill.  You can post to give away anything that would otherwise end up in the dump and you can post for things you're looking for.  Check it out.  I'm a member of the local San Franciso chapter:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFFN/