Clipmarks | mbrandewinder's clips

The era of the American Internet is ending.

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:40:44 GMT

The era of the American Internet is ending.

Invented by American computer scientists during the 1970s, the Internet has been embraced around the globe. During the network’s first three decades, most Internet traffic flowed through the United States. In many cases, data sent between two locations within a given country also passed through the United States.

it would have been impossible for the United States to maintain its hegemony over the long run because of the very nature of the Internet; it has no central point of control.

the balance of power is shifting. Data is increasingly flowing around the United States, which may have intelligence — and conceivably military — consequences.

“Since passage of the Patriot Act, many companies based outside of the United States have been reluctant to store client information in the U.S.,”

“There is an ongoing concern that U.S. intelligence agencies will gather this information without legal process.

Tags: internet, intelligence, privacy

The anticommons

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:47:49 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.newyorker.com

The situation that grounded the U.S. aircraft industry is an example of what the Columbia law professor Michael Heller, in his new book, “The Gridlock Economy,” calls the “anticommons.” We hear a lot about the “tragedy of the commons”: if a valuable asset (a grazing field, say) is held in common, each individual will try to exploit as much of it as possible. Villagers will send all their cows out to graze at the same time, and soon the field will be useless. When there’s no ownership, the pursuit of individual self-interest can make everyone worse off. But Heller shows that having too much ownership creates its own problems. If too many people own individual parts of a valuable asset, it’s easy to end up with gridlock, since any one person can simply veto the use of the asset.

Tags: commons, patent, economics

The audacity of Fear

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:00:12 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder
clipper's remarks: Yes we can...

Clip Source: blog.toddstadler.com

Tags: mccain, poster

To destroy Al Qaeda, we must end the war on terror.

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:47:39 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.boingboing.net

A new Rand Corporation report comprehensively surveys the ways that terrorist groups have been disbanded in the past: "Military force was rarely the primary reason a terrorist group ended." Instead, historic wars on terror have been won with policing and settlements. Rand's conclusion? To defeat Al Qaeda, we need to end the war on terror.

A recent RAND research effort sheds light on this issue by investigating how terrorist groups have ended in the past. By analyzing a comprehensive roster of terrorist groups that existed worldwide between 1968 and 2006, the authors found that most groups ended because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they negotiated a settlement with their governments. Military force was rarely the primary reason a terrorist group ended, and few groups within this time frame achieved victory.

Tags: terrorism, policy, war on terror

Is the web narrowing scientist's expertise?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:55:46 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.economist.com

ONLINE databases of scientific journals have made life easier for scientists as well as publishers. No more ambling down to the library, searching through the musty stacks and queuing up for the photocopier. Instead, a few clicks of a mouse can bring forth the desired papers and maybe others that the reader did not know of—the “long tail” of information that the web makes available.

Well, that is how it is supposed to work, but does it? James Evans

has found that as more journals become available online, fewer articles are being cited in the reference lists of the research papers published within them. Moreover, those articles that do get a mention tend to have been recently published themselves. Far from growing longer, the long tail is being docked.

Electronic searching means that no relevant paper is likely to go unread, but narrowing the definition of “relevance” risks reducing the cross-fertilisation of ideas

Tags: web, long tail, science, ideas

Lionhead rabbits: cutest rabbits ever

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:09:20 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder
clipper's remarks: It's like one of these mystical beasts, but cute... How on earth do you manage to get such an unlikely combination, looking both like a lion and... a bunny?

Clip Source: www.buffalocreekfarms.net

Lionhead Rabbits History

Lionhead rabbits are the newest breed of bunnies out there, and it has been a long time since we have seen a new breed. Lionhead rabbits first appeared in Belgium in the 1990's. They were a mix of the Swiss Fox and Belgian Dwarf. The breeding created a genetic mutaion that is the mane gene. After that, they mixed in some Jersey Woolly. No wonder they are so cute. The mane gene, which gives Lionheads their distinctive Lionhead look and thus their name, is a dominant gene, so it only requires one parent to have it to get bunnies with it.

Clip Source: www.buffalocreekfarms.net

Tags: lion, rabbit, cute, picture, animals

10 good things about $4 gas

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:20:17 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.time.com

3. Four-Day Workweeks

Companies, colleges and governments are moving to four-day weeks. Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Fla., went to four days for the 2007 summer session and saved $268,000 in energy costs. There were unforeseen benefits too. Over the year, sick leave fell 50%, and turnover among the 1,500-person staff dropped 44%. "We thought the energy savings would be a plus. But the reaction was about what it meant to people's family lives and their ability to take care of themselves," says college president Jim Drake. Brevard is doing four-day weeks again this summer and may make the change year-round.

Tags: gas, vacation, policy

Ten Great American Flag Bikini Moments (PHOTOS)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:13:08 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

In honor of the great American holiday, Huffington Post has pulled together a slideshow of some of entertainment's finest showing off their patriotism in stars and stripes throughout the years. From vintage shots from a classic television show to modern day magazine covers, the American flag motif has graced bodies in cloth, sequins and even a little body paint.

Tags: bikini, babes, america, flag

Microsoft original team picture, in '78 and today

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:56:48 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

That photo of 11 weirdos in '70s clothes you may have seen on the Internet really is the original Microsoft team, snapped Dec. 7, 1978, on the eve of the company's move from Albuquerque, N.M., to Seattle. Almost 30 years later, a few weeks before Bill Gates's departure from Microsoft, the group (looking better) reconvened.

Tags: microsoft, geek, picture, bill gates

Fighting a war against distraction

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:38:39 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The subject of focus comes up a lot in my discussions with people about work. We talk about the constant interruptions of working in the digital age, of the mistakes we make while multitasking and the efforts to find quiet places to think.

DISTRACTED? And how. Beeped and pinged, interrupted and inundated, overloaded and hurried — that’s how we live today. We prize knowledge work — work that relies on our intellectual abilities — and yet increasingly feel that we have no time to think. For all our connectivity, we often catch little more than snippets and glimpses of one another.

The greatest casualty of our mobile, high-tech age is attention. By fragmenting and diffusing our powers of attention, we are undermining our capacity to thrive in a complex, ever-shifting world. Consider the mounting costs of this widespread distraction:

Ethics for the real world: a code of conduct

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:38:21 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: ethicsfortherealworld.com

Profit never outweighs wrong.

The solution to a tricky ethical dilemma is often to just say “no.”

The best way to deal with a bad idea is to come up with a better one.

If your gut tells you something is wrong, it probably is. Listen to your instincts.

There are some work environments that you can’t fix, so dust off your resume.

You can’t blame anyone else if you get caught up in ethically questionable behavior. There are no victims when “no” is available.

Tolerating poor ethical behavior is just as bad as doing it yourself.

The ethical character of an organization is dictated from the top down. Establish an environment where employees know that cutting corners will not be tolerated, and they won’t.

Your own ethical character is tied in with the companies you do business with. Not all clients are good clients.

You are a citizen of humanity. Selfish goals cannot outweigh the greater good.

Writing down a code of conduct is a good thing. Establishing it by example is even better.

Tags: ethics, decision, business

Broken glasses, punched faces

Mon, 26 May 2008 08:09:31 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder
clipper's remarks: Beautiful slow-motion video of the impact of a punch in the face, and of a glass exploding!

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: video, slow motion, glass, boxing, punch

How to become a genius

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:03:50 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.wired.com

a checklist Wozniak wrote a few years ago describing how to become a genius. His advice was straightforward yet strangely terrible: You must clarify your goals, gain knowledge through spaced repetition, preserve health, work steadily, minimize stress, refuse interruption, and never resist sleep when tired. This should lead to radically improved intelligence and creativity. The only cost: turning your back on every convention of social life.

Tags: genius, learning

Dodge the deluge with a floating home

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:01:14 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Tags: architecture, house, global warming

Scientists on brain-steroids

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:45:19 GMT

clipped by: mbrandewinder

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Nature released the results of an online survey in which 20 percent of respondents, largely drawn from the scientific community, admitted to using brain-enhancing drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Provigil (modafinil).

Sixty-two percent of the scientists who had taken drugs used Ritalin while 44 percent reported using Provigil and only 14 percent had tried beta blockers like propranolol.

The 1,427-person survey was launched after a duo of articles this winter touched off a storm of questions about widespread neuroenhancer use by the scientific community. Jonathan Eisen of UC-Davis, an evolutionary biologist, even successfully spread an April Fools' rumor that the National Institutes of Health were planning to regulate the use of brain "steroids" as a condition of funding scientists.

Tags: science, drugs, performance