The Fine Print

I could wallpaper my office every month with the shiny inserts that get slipped inside my credit card, utility, and insurance bills. You know, those index-card sized advertisements for Thomas Kinkade figurines, vacuum cleaners, commemorative plates and specially minted gold coins that the U.S. Treasury swears are .0000000001% gold. And they can only allow four coins per customer! Send in for yours today!!

In addition to the shiny inserts, my credit card companies, as a special favor to me (because they care about my privacy) also slip in the occasional “Privacy Policy” insert because, again, they care so deeply about me and my privacy—and some bloated governmental agency tells them they have to.

So, I have to wonder, since we’ve been getting these privacy policy notices—which, by the way, are always crammed on an index-sized tri-fold in 8 pt font that you can barely read, has anyone noticed any changes to their privacy? Better or worse than before?

US Open Quarterfinal :: Nadal vs González

Flushing Meadows, NY.  The last of the Men’s Quarterfinals.

González [11] vs Nadal [3].

A Chilean on one side of stadium court, a Spaniard on the other.

The crowds are pouring into the mostly empty stands.

It’s still early.  On serve.  Everything is live.

Sumo, the American Pitbull Terrier, walks the slate floors.  Panting.

Sake, the wandering cat, hunkers on my bright orange Human Genomics bag, which is my netbook carrier.

Inside this bag I have 240 GB.  This bag is my giga power.

Nadal doesn’t have his legs taped.  I know that he recently had a leg injury.

This detail tells me that he at least thinks he’s healthy.

González Serve Hits Nadal's Injured Abdomen

Context:  Nadal just won the first set in a close tiebreaker against González.  During the change over, Nadal called for the official tournament trainer.  After no less than two minutes, the trainer ran to Nadal, who pointed towards his abdomen.

After some intense kneading, and after the allotted time expired, rains started to fall on Flushing Meadows.  The players remained on the court in hopes of the patch of bad clouds passing over.

But when the rains showed no signs of abating, the players were allowed indoors for some shelter.

Thirty minutes later, with the courts blow dried and the lines towel wiped, the players started their warm up before the second set.

It was during this warm up that Fernando González hit a practice serve directly into Nadal’s injured abdominal muscle, on the side that the trainer had just worked.

Although the Chilean apologized, and Nadal was quick to accept, I believe they both knew it was intentional.  A direct insult.  A reminder of Nadal’s preexisting condition.

It’s called gamesmanship.

Watch the video to see for yourself.

[Clip pilfered from ESPN2]

How Many Bytes Do People Carry?

It took over an hour to put a video on YouTube today. That’s what I get with a slow internet connection and 350 megabytes to dish onto someone else’s server. But in a world of terabytes and beyond, 350 megabytes is a grain on the beach.

What is the source of all this memory? And is there an upper bound to it like there is with natural resources, or can we produce an unlimited amount of computer storage?

I wonder if there is an unbiased, random statistic on how many bytes the average person  in a technologically advanced country carries?  Not too long ago it was 0, but now, between MP3 players, phones, memory sticks, cameras, video recorders, laptops, netbooks, GPSs, handheld consoles, keychains, and tennis shoes, the average joe has bytes to spare.

Probably somewhere on the order of giga, or at least approaching giga.

So, how has our newfound giga power influenced people?

Does access to a seemingly inextinguishable, ever-growing supply of memory make us fitter, more likely to thrive and survive?

Or does this memory font make this a generation of tech geeks who leave their houses rarely, and when they do it’s only with a backlit screen pounding into their eyes, ready to record life in some format.

Outside, people are documentarians, inside they’re broadcasters of their material.

This is a trend that will increase as technology advances.

With the web of online servers at people’s disposal, anything we document can be made public.  Forget acceptance letters and long-term contracts.  Giga power and the fact that no one has to go through the usual selective channels to broadcast their material anymore has made this the generation of self-publishers.

TOE Video Clip :: Keep Beaches Clean

Took this video while sitting on the beach. Those are my toes.

Run time:  4:40.  Rated EE for everyone’s environment.

Julia Tuttle Causeway Sex Offender Colony :: Not In My Backyard!

For me, leaving the beautiful island of Miami Beach each day to drive to Florida’s mainland requires driving over the Julia Tuttle bridge and facing the sights of the Sex Offender Colony. Convicted sex offenders released from prison are required to live more than 2,500 feet from schools.  In Miami-Dade county this leaves few options.  These individuals are issued driver’s licenses with the Julia Tuttle Causeway as their address and advised to live in tents and makeshift shacks under the bridge, where they must abide by strict curfews. Unsurprisingly, this has led to widespread controversy.  Watch the video and let us know what you think!

[poll id="8"]

Scatalogical Humor on the Head

What’s on your head?

At the Met :: Max Ernst – Gala Éluard

I saw her eyes, and then I read the plaque next to this 1924 oil on canvas:

The Russian Gala Éluard (born Helena Dmitriovna Diakonova; 1894-1982) was closely affiliated with Surrealist movement for most of her adult life.  She served as a muse for two husbands, first the poet Paul Éluard (1895-1952), then the artist Salvador Dali (1904-1989).  When Max Ernst moved to Paris in 1922, he lived with the Éluard in a ménage à trois until 1924.  At the end of his affair with Gala, Ernst evoked the eyes of his former mistress in this painting, which is based on a photograph by Man Ray taken before 1924.

TOE goes places so you don’t have to.

Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems & [Perhaps] Your Body

Well, this doesn’t make me feel very safe. According to the EPA mercury calculator, one can of tuna a week is too much for me.

It’s the biomagnification that should worry you…   WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE!

Sunday Humor :: Secret to Long Life