Home Studio Diagram
August 25, 2007
For those asking, here is a diagram showing how my home studio is set up (Download the PDF to zoom - homestudio.pdf) Overview: iMac 24" - Runs all web apps for audio input (Skype, iTunes, GarageBand, etc.) and encodes ShoutCast stream via NiceCast Stanton Mixer receives the following inputs: Heil PR40 Mic, Sirius Radio, XM Radio, Pioneer CD deck, iMac Audio Stanton Mixer outputs to: Marantz audio recorder, Stanton headphones, Apple HiFi (serving as studio monitor), and Rolls PreAmp Rolls PreAmp - Amplifies signal into iMac line in M-Audio Keyboard - MIDI controls for GarageBand Drobo - USB storage
Once You Go Mac
August 25, 2007
I've finally eliminate the last remaining Windows machines in my office. As of this week, my audio PCs (three of them) have been replaced with a single iMac that is handling the encoding of my ShoutCast stream will all audio looped through my Stanton mixer. Now maybe I can do those podcasts that Tanji and Bazerghi keep asking about.
Grand Central Screws Up
August 17, 2007
Doesn't this defeat the purpose of a unified number? When you sign up it is to have one number for life that you can put on business cards, etc. Now they are killing mine... We are sorry to inform you that your GrandCentral number (703) 552-xxxx will need to be changed as of August 25, 2007. As part of our beta testing, we are continually evaluating different solutions and partners to create the best quality service possible. Unfortunately, a very small number of users have been assigned numbers that are not performing to our quality standards and are being replaced with higher quality services. To ease the transition to a new number, we have already added (703) 942-xxxx as a replacement number to your account. Both of these numbers…
I am my Avatar…
August 14, 2007
Interesting article in the NYT about an academic that proposes that we are living in a computer simulation. Interestingly, I wrote a paper looking at that same concept in 1993 (email me if you want a copy). I took it one step further and argued that such a reality, or lack thereof, was perfectly supported by several Eastern philosophies. But now it seems quite possible. In fact, if you accept a pretty reasonable assumption of Dr. Bostrom’s, it is almost a mathematical certainty that we are living in someone else’s computer simulation. Link--->
Why the iPhone Fails as an International Business Phone
August 8, 2007
I am currently on travel in Amman, Jordan. Prior to my departure, I contacted AT&T to see if they had an international data roaming plan for the iPhone similar to the one I have had for Blackberry devices for several years. With my Blackberry devices, I paid a flat fee for unlimited international data on my device (no tethering, etc). However, AT&T offers no unlimited international data plan for the iPhone. Instead, I was offered a data plan that caps out at 20meg per month and then charges for incremental data after that. After three days of use only checking my mail (no web browsing, no stock or weather checking) I had reached the 20meg mark which resulted in me turning of the email checking on the phone and eliminating one of the…
Researcher’s Analysis of al Qaeda Images Reveals Surprises
August 2, 2007
The first time I've missed BlackHat in years and they cover something terrorism related.... Neal Krawetz, a researcher and computer security consultant, gave an interesting presentation today at the BlackHat security conference in Las Vegas about analyzing digital photographs and video images for alterations and enhancements. Using a program he wrote (and provided on the conference CD-ROM) Krawetz could print out the quantization tables in a JPEG file (that indicate how the image was compressed) and determine the last tool that created the image -- that is, the make and model of the camera if the image is original or the version of Photoshop that was used to alter and re-save the image. Link--->
Second Life Terrorism….again.
August 1, 2007
This terror campaign, which has been waged during the past six months, has left a trail of dead and injured, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' damage. The terrorists belong to a militant group bent on overthrowing the government. But they will never be arrested or charged for their crimes because they have committed them away from the reach of the world's law enforcement agencies, in the virtual world known as Second Life. Link --->
A Must Read Essay by Kevin Kelly
July 20, 2007
Kevin Kelly's book Out of Control was very influential in my early research. His new essay takes things to an entirely new and somewhat uncomfortable intellectual level. Selected excerpts below... THE TECHNIUM AND THE 7TH KINGDOM OF LIFE A Talk with Kevin Kelly What is the meaning of technology in our lives? What place does technology have in the universe? What place does it have in the human condition? And what place should it play in my own personal life? Technology as a whole system, or what I call the technium, seems to be a dominant force in the culture. Indeed at times it seems to be the only force — the only lasting force — in culture. If that's…
On the Front Line in the War on Terror
July 20, 2007
Interesting article by Judith Miller contrasting the different counterterrorism approaches in Los Angeles and New York City. Both cities have been on the cutting edge in their own unique way... Despite their differences, both the NYPD and the LAPD agree that a key way to crush incipient terrorist cells and thwart terrorism is to use local laws and follow locally generated leads, which, after all, is what good police departments do best. Link--->
Another Toaster Picture…
July 20, 2007
I will never tire of this. This variant is actually a toaster running Linux. Personally, I welcome our toaster overlords. Link--->
Dilemma of the Patriotic Hackers
July 20, 2007
Haft of the Spear alerted me to this manifesto, which couldn't help but remind me of its 1994 counterpart.
Death of the OODA Loop?
July 20, 2007
Interesting article at Wired discussing some new initiatives at DARPA to support decision-making on the battlefield. Most notably, they seek to compress the OODA loop into one prescient technology. Specifically, the "venerable Observe Orient Decide Act (OODA) loop is no longer viable for an information-age military." To fight a fast-moving foe, these four tasks have to now happen all at once. That's the goal of Deep Green. Link---> The SKYNET references remind me of a slide I put together in 2005. Of course, at what point does Deep Green present us with this dilemna?
Robert Scoble is Media
July 14, 2007
Fascinating blog post here, which was discovered via this link. Compelling look at the value of all these new social network sites we keep joining, but haven't quite figured out what they are there for.
Homeland Security – A Guide to Deciphering Guts
July 11, 2007
It seems the folks at Wired Magazine have developed the homeland security gut guide based on the reporting that Secretary Chertoff has a "gut feeling" about a period of increased risk to the homeland. All joking aside, from an analyst's perspective, we shouldn't diminish the role that the "gut" or "intuition" plays in the predictive analysis process. Intuitively, our gut feelings are drawn from experiential patterns that our brains use to try and predict the next sequence of events. If I type "Mary had a little ______", you are inclined to predict "lamb" as the next word in the sequence even though "problem" or "nose" are also valid options. Secretary Chertoff is exposed to one of the most massive data sets relating to domestic…