Acts of Volition

I’ve never understood MySpace. Apparently the kids love it, but it has always seemed like noise to me.  •  Then it dawned on me.  •  MySpace is rock-and-roll and I’m a middle-aged parent in the 50s.

When did it become acceptable to sell printers without the cable to connect them to your computer? I’m not only talking about those crazy-cheap practically-disposable ink-jets either. I’m talking about $400 color-laser printers with no cable. Isn’t that like selling a toaster without a power-cable …

Our friend Robert Patterson is working on a theory about how successful modern workplaces organize themselves as tribes. He interviewed Dan, Nathan, and I about how this theory holds up in the world of silverorange (short answer: pretty well).  •  Read the full interview at Robert’s weblog: The …

In addition to being an internet baron, I am also a brilliant inventor. I have deemed two of my recent inventions worthy of sharing with you, humble reader.  •  Invention the First  •  Low-fat toothpaste. The first reaction I usually get, after the brilliance of the idea washes over my confidant …

The media is a buzz today with the news of the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq. I have no doubt that he was a bad dude. However, it’s worth taking a look at how this is being presented and covered.  •  See this screenshot of the CNN.com US home page. Note that they went to the trouble of …

I’ve got what is clearly a brilliant idea.  •  A sit-com/drama (a dramady?) about a doctor who, when push comes to shove, is the decider. It’s ER meets Scrubs meets The West Wing meets Commander in Chief meets Grays Anatomy meets Scarborough Country.  •  I call it, George “W”, M.D.  •  I wonder if …

Having voted earlier this evening for the Green Party in the Canadian federal election, I left the poling station with a strange sensation.  •  Given all the talk (some of it my own voice) of how little a vote counts, and how ineffectual a partisan political system can be, it is easy to be cynical …

Stuart Brand’s peculiar Long Now Foundation has been hosting a series of seminars on long term thinking in the San Francisco area over the last couple of years. The list of speakers is impressive and most of the talks are available for download in Ogg Vorbis or MP3 format.  •  Particularly good …

As I announced here just under a year ago, I’m engaged to be married this coming Friday (July 22nd). In the months leading up to the proposal, I did a lot of thinking about what it means to be married. In the last year, my fiance and I have also spoken about the meaning of our upcoming commitment …