Rude Awakening

INFO VISUALIZATION: Now you can make a statement with your morning coffee with the new Federal Deficit Mug.







Not to mention the Saint Clinton T-Shirt. Awesome.

Gallup Way Off?

DATA: The Emerging Democratic Majority Blog has a few questions for that oft quoted Gallup poll that shockingly -- and unbelievably -- placed Bush ahead by 13%.

Say everybody, I've got a great new game to play! It's the "How Can Gallup....." game.



How do you play? It's easy! Just take the latest Gallup outlier and compare it to other publicly available data that seem to contradict it. And let the fun begin!

(Via Andrew Sullivan)

If Porn Could Walk

INFO VISUALIZATION: Looks like porn is on the move in Manhattan.







Check out the story at Curbed.

Like Graduation -- Without the Graduating

ASSEMBLEME: Lots of school news of late. Bill Gates will be speaking at the UW's "Come Together Washington" (yeah, I know, barf) special celebration. This is a big deal this year because the UW has a new president.

This special tribute to the University and the ways it contributes to our region will be held Friday, October 15, 2004 in Hec Edmundson Pavilion and will feature a keynote address from Bill Gates III. Everyone is invited, and I hope you will mark your calendars and make an effort to attend. I think you will find it worthwhile.

Eh, might be interesting, but probably not.

Assessment and Evaluation Techniques

INFO SCIENCE: Well, today was the first meeting for my Assessment and Evaluation Techniques class at the UW iSchool. In short, the class will be all about creating a research proposal with enough detail that we could submit it for funding. Could be interesting. I'll keep ya posted as it progresses. So far the most exciting thing looks to be learning SPSS in more detail then I have previously. If that's not exciting, I don't know what is!

Nintendo DS

INFO TECHNOLOGY: Nintendo DS Gameboy specs have been released:

Top Screen: A backlit, 3-inch, semitransparent reflective TFT color LCD with 256 x 192 pixel resolution and .24 mm dot pitch, capable of displaying 260,000 colors



Touch Screen: Same specs as top screen, but with a transparent analog touch screen



Wireless Communication: IEEE 802.11 and Nintendo's proprietary format; wireless range is 30 to 100 feet, depending on circumstances; multiple users can play multiplayer games using just one DS Game Card



Controls: Touch screen, embedded microphone for voice recognition, A/B/X/Y face buttons, plus control pad, L/R shoulder buttons, Start and Select buttons



Input/Output: Ports for both Nintendo DS Game Cards and Game Boy Advance Game Paks, terminals for stereo headphones and microphone



Other features: Embedded PictoChat software that allows up to 16 users to chat at once; embedded real-time clock; date, time and alarm; touch-screen calibration

The most interesting thing for me is the 802.11 wifi. I wonder what features are planned for it?

Starting Year 26 Tomorrow

ASSEMBLEME: Happy birthday to me! :-)







This is a photo of Dan, me, and my mom while she was visiting Seattle last weekend.

PHP/SWF Charts

INFO VISUALIZATION: What an awesome resource:

PHP/SWF Charts is a simple, yet powerful PHP tool to create attractive web charts from dynamic data.







Use PHP scripts to generate or gather the data from databases, then pass it to this tool to generate Flash (swf) charts.



PHP/SWF Charts makes the best of both the PHP and SWF worlds. PHP scripts provide integration, and Flash provides the best display quality.

Yeah, I'm not always a Flash fan, but in this case, I think it's a'ight.

Stop the INDUCE Act

INFO TECHNOLOGY: Got an email alert from Downhill Battle this morning. I'm going to call at lunch time, you should too!

Hi everyone,



This is an emergency alert for everyone who took part in the Save Betamax call-in day: Today, Orrin Hatch will be trying to line up enough votes to get the INDUCE Act (S. 2560) through to the Senate floor. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee need to hear from you right now.



At the bottom of this message is a list of Senators to call. Please take the time to call two of them, before 5 PM EST today. The bill is scheduled for mark-up on Thursday, so it's very important that you make these calls today.



We need to stop this bill, and we can. Because the INDUCE Act is such a radical departure from two decades of tech policy (set in place by the Betamax decision), a truly unprecedented coalition has formed to stop it. Heavyweights of the technology and electronics sectors are joining public interest groups in fighting hard against the extremely well-connected entertainment industry lobbies (the RIAA and MPAA). Right now there's something of a stalemate-- insiders all say that INDUCE has a 50/50 shot at becoming law.



That's why it's extremely important that Senators hear what you have to say. This email is going out to the over 5,000 people who participated in the Save Betamax call-in day. Tomorrow (Wednesday) the EFF will be running a call-in day for their members, using the software we made for Save Betamax. In just two days Senators could be hearing from tens of thousands of constituents. But we need you to make these phone calls, and spread the word (i.e. on your blog, or in an email to friends) that right now is the time to act.



SENATORS TO CALL



Please call two of these Senators, and if you have time feel free to make more calls. Make sure to look down the list to see if any Senators represent your state. Every phone call counts, but calls from constituents will carry more weight, so make sure to let them know if you're a constituent. Also, the RIAA likes to pretend that all musicians support their breed of copyright extremism. We know that's not true, so if you're a musician make sure to mention that as well.



Orrin Hatch

UTAH

202-224-5251



Patrick Leahy

VERMONT

202-224-4242



Charles E. Grassley

IOWA

202.224.3744



Edward M. Kennedy

MASSACHUSETTS

202-224-4543



Arlen Specter

PENNSYLVANIA

202-224-4254



Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

DELAWARE

202-224-5042



Jon Kyl

202) 224-4521

ARIZONA



Herbert Kohl

WISCONSIN

(202) 224-5653



Mike DeWine

OHIO

(202) 224-2315



Dianne Feinstein

CALIFORNIA

202-224-3841



Jeff Sessions

ALABAMA

202) 224-4124



Russell D. Feingold

WISCONSIN

202/224-5323



Lindsey Graham

SOUTH CAROLINA

(202) 224-5972



Charles E. Schumer

NEW YORK

202-224-6542



Larry Craig

IDAHO

202/224-2752



Richard J. Durbin

ILLINOIS

202) 224-2152



Saxby Chambliss

GEORGIA

(202) 224-3521



John Edwards

NORTH CAROLINA

(202) 224-3154



John Cornyn

TEXAS

202-224-2934



NOTES FOR YOUR CALL



On the new INDUCE Act drafts:

The INDUCE Act has already been through several revisions, as Hatch et al. attempt to appease some of their most powerful opponents. But none of these revisions cut it; all of them make industries liable for infringement they don't commit or even profit from, and all of them would give the entertainment industry veto power over new technology (say, the wireless iPod). For more information on the latest draft, see the following article in Wired:

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65084,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2



On Republicans and Democrats:

Like many tech law issues, this one cuts across party lines (most powerful members of both parties are on the wrong side). If you're calling Republican Senators, emphasize that this legislation would create a huge new legal liability (which means bogus litigation) against American high tech companies. Tell them that the Heritage Foundation and the American Conservative Union both oppose the bill. And check out an ACU flyer here:

http://www.boingboing.net/images/acu-inducead-final.pdf



If you're calling Democrats, emphasize that the Betamax decision was sound policy and that the entertainment companies' extreme stance on copyright is directly opposed to the public good.



For more information about the INDUCE Act, go to:

http://savebetamax.org



Thanks for your time and your energy.



Sincerely,



Holmes Wilson

Tiffiniy Cheng

Nicholas Reville

Rebecca Laurie

Downhill Battle Team

Florida, Florida, Florida... Who else is sick of Florida?

INFO VISUALIZATION: Nice job, Bob Morris, whoever you are.