I ran into this video this morning. In it, the MSNBC commentator discusses a report made by the Red Cross wherein they unequivocally describe the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo as constituting war crimes.
Let's all take a moment of silence to remember what war crimes mean. Here is a nice bit of historical background on war crimes just in case anyone intends to make light of them.
Will any formal investigation ever be made? Most of the kiwis I meet cynically say they don't think so--just look at Henry Kissenger. If we all remember and we all demand it, it could happen.
The Red Cross says that the US has committed war crimes.
The Red Cross says that the US has committed war crimes.
The Red Cross says that the US has committed war crimes.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Today is a sad day
There's not much more to say:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Terrorist-Surveillance.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Terrorist-Surveillance.html
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
No iPhones for the wicked
Apple's iPhone is one sexy bit of tech paraphernalia. Despite trying to ween myself off of a tech-obsessed lifestyle, I can't resist the iPhone. The thing is like a Newton but cooler!
Thanks to Vodafone New Zealand, I don't have to be strong. Err, that is they've given me sufficient economic incentive to resist the iPhone's charms.
Apple announced a global price point of $199USD. Vodafone liked that price point so much that they made the 8 GB iPhone $199NZD! The only catch is that you'll pay $250 per month. . . for 24 months for a paltry one gigabyte of data transfer.
No thanks, Vodafone! You found my price point and sailed right on by.
Thanks to Vodafone New Zealand, I don't have to be strong. Err, that is they've given me sufficient economic incentive to resist the iPhone's charms.
Apple announced a global price point of $199USD. Vodafone liked that price point so much that they made the 8 GB iPhone $199NZD! The only catch is that you'll pay $250 per month. . . for 24 months for a paltry one gigabyte of data transfer.
No thanks, Vodafone! You found my price point and sailed right on by.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Tool blindness
Sometimes when solving a problem, you start to develop an appreciation for your tools. You say to yourself, "My that's a lovely saw. If it weren't for that saw, I doubt I could be the carpenter I am today."
Other's aren't content to admire the saw, but instead give up carpentry entirely to pursue saw manufacturing.
But if you're Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation, and if computers were saws, you'd write some holy commandments on how to build saws, use demagoguery against those who don't follow your commandments, and then issue slurs against charitable organizations started by unconverted saw makers.
Yes, the saw maker that Stallman is ripping on is Bill Gates. Now, I don't have a great appreciation of Microsoft. Microsoft's historic business practices were unethical. I don't even particularly feel that Bill Gates should be entitled to his vast fortunes given that they were, in part, ill-gotten.
I'll stop short of criticizing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, however. They are doing good work that surely even Stallman can respect. Unless, of course, he honestly believes that his tool is more important than the people that might someday live to use it because of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Other's aren't content to admire the saw, but instead give up carpentry entirely to pursue saw manufacturing.
But if you're Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation, and if computers were saws, you'd write some holy commandments on how to build saws, use demagoguery against those who don't follow your commandments, and then issue slurs against charitable organizations started by unconverted saw makers.
Yes, the saw maker that Stallman is ripping on is Bill Gates. Now, I don't have a great appreciation of Microsoft. Microsoft's historic business practices were unethical. I don't even particularly feel that Bill Gates should be entitled to his vast fortunes given that they were, in part, ill-gotten.
I'll stop short of criticizing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, however. They are doing good work that surely even Stallman can respect. Unless, of course, he honestly believes that his tool is more important than the people that might someday live to use it because of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Roundabouts
My friend and inspiration in planning, Bob Giordano, sent me an email the other day about the relative safety of roundabouts. At a dinner party the other day some friends were talking about how roundabouts compare to lighted intersections for safety.
These stats come from a traffic engineer in Melbourne. That's practically a hop skip and a jump from Auckland. Okay, so they don't exactly compare the same time periods, but the difference in numbers is striking...
Pedestrian accidents at ~2,500 signaled intersections in Melbourne between 2002 and 2006:
- Fatal: 27
- Serious injury requiring hospitalization: 614
- Other medical: 701
Pedestrian accidents at > 4,000 roundabouts in Melbourne from 1996 to 2000:
- Fatal: 0
- Serious injury requiring hospitalization: 18
- Other medical: 39
The lesson here? Roundabouts are cool.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Fun and games
One of my favorite games from childhood, SimCity, has been released to the world and is being adapted specially to the OLPC under the name "Micropolis."
I couldn't be more excited. The build instructions looked a little gnarly to me, so I'll probably need to wait until my very own OLPC arrives from California to play with it. If it's still fun, I might have a go at building it up on the Mac so that others can play with it if they are so inclined.
The Micropolis people say that they're planning on eventually porting the whole shebang over to Python from TCL/TK (pronounced 'tickle-tea-kay' by those in the know). I'm a little disappointed that they didn't choose to refactor the app in Squeak. Oh well, Python will be good too. It'll be interesting to see how complex / simple the rulesets are that govern the function of cities.
I couldn't be more excited. The build instructions looked a little gnarly to me, so I'll probably need to wait until my very own OLPC arrives from California to play with it. If it's still fun, I might have a go at building it up on the Mac so that others can play with it if they are so inclined.
The Micropolis people say that they're planning on eventually porting the whole shebang over to Python from TCL/TK (pronounced 'tickle-tea-kay' by those in the know). I'm a little disappointed that they didn't choose to refactor the app in Squeak. Oh well, Python will be good too. It'll be interesting to see how complex / simple the rulesets are that govern the function of cities.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Slogging
It has been a while since I posted anything substantive here on the planning front. I stopped by the planning department at the university yesterday to see if I could take a graduate-level class or two this semester. It sounds like they may not be offering the class that I'd want to take until next term, but the head of the department kindly agreed to chat with me later this week about planning and the kinds of courses that I might take in the meantime at UoA.
I've been stuck for a while reading a topographical history of Boston. The early parts of the book are somewhat interesting in that the history of Boston goes right back to the beginning of US history. Unfortunately, I don't have much of the context for Boston. I've never been to Boston. And though Google's various tools--Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Street View--are really great, I think I probably don't have quite the appreciation for Boston that I might otherwise have. The MIT course's intent is to give MIT students something tangible to cling to after a dose of theory. Unfortunately, Boston is less tangible to me than the theory, and therefore is just a slog.
I think I'm going to return this book and move on to another book for the time being. Maybe if I can find a good topographical history of Auckland, I might have something more concrete to cling to.
I think I'm going to deviate from the MIT reading list a bit. I'm craving something a bit more contemporary. My recent malaise in finishing these books hasn't daunted my consumption of news aggregated by Planetizen. Still, the longer format of the book is nice. I'm thinking that the combination of 'contemporary' and 'book' will help me along.
Toward that, it's no secret that I'm not a big fan of suburbia. At its most fundamental level, it's simply not sustainable. Plus, I don't like it on an aesthetic level. I think it leaves people isolated, doesn't force people to have those daily interactions that, while they may be uncomfortable, are necessary for humans to remain humane. I think that suburbia breeds xenophobia right down to being afraid of the neighbors. Plus, I remember attending a planning conference in Missoula where they talked about how even a 10 minute daily commute by car can have profoundly negative psychological and health effects.
This is a silly and sad 'Dear Abby' that talks about being trapped in suburbia. My guess is that more and more people will be caught in this bind, and that the bind will become increasingly painful for people in the suburbs. I just had a geologist explain to me the other day why it is that we will never have more oil than we do now. With global food supplies in jeopardy, I think it's doubtful that biofuels will continue to enable suburban living (actually, it's much more likely that they would be an ecological disaster).
In line with my fascination and revulsion with suburbia, and my craving of something contemporary, I think my next book will be Mark Hinshaw's True Urbanism: Living in and near the center. The book talks about the growing trend of people moving back to the cities from the suburbs, and advocates for still more desuburbanization (do you like my new word?).
I've been stuck for a while reading a topographical history of Boston. The early parts of the book are somewhat interesting in that the history of Boston goes right back to the beginning of US history. Unfortunately, I don't have much of the context for Boston. I've never been to Boston. And though Google's various tools--Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Street View--are really great, I think I probably don't have quite the appreciation for Boston that I might otherwise have. The MIT course's intent is to give MIT students something tangible to cling to after a dose of theory. Unfortunately, Boston is less tangible to me than the theory, and therefore is just a slog.
I think I'm going to return this book and move on to another book for the time being. Maybe if I can find a good topographical history of Auckland, I might have something more concrete to cling to.
I think I'm going to deviate from the MIT reading list a bit. I'm craving something a bit more contemporary. My recent malaise in finishing these books hasn't daunted my consumption of news aggregated by Planetizen. Still, the longer format of the book is nice. I'm thinking that the combination of 'contemporary' and 'book' will help me along.
Toward that, it's no secret that I'm not a big fan of suburbia. At its most fundamental level, it's simply not sustainable. Plus, I don't like it on an aesthetic level. I think it leaves people isolated, doesn't force people to have those daily interactions that, while they may be uncomfortable, are necessary for humans to remain humane. I think that suburbia breeds xenophobia right down to being afraid of the neighbors. Plus, I remember attending a planning conference in Missoula where they talked about how even a 10 minute daily commute by car can have profoundly negative psychological and health effects.
This is a silly and sad 'Dear Abby' that talks about being trapped in suburbia. My guess is that more and more people will be caught in this bind, and that the bind will become increasingly painful for people in the suburbs. I just had a geologist explain to me the other day why it is that we will never have more oil than we do now. With global food supplies in jeopardy, I think it's doubtful that biofuels will continue to enable suburban living (actually, it's much more likely that they would be an ecological disaster).
In line with my fascination and revulsion with suburbia, and my craving of something contemporary, I think my next book will be Mark Hinshaw's True Urbanism: Living in and near the center. The book talks about the growing trend of people moving back to the cities from the suburbs, and advocates for still more desuburbanization (do you like my new word?).
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