imagine images everyday

I currently have some 200 images on my phone. That I have yet to sync, duplicate and sort on the laptop. That is just from a short period of time, and I've deleted a bunch along the way as well - keeping only those that are good enough.

Back when using film it was 24 at a time. Maybe for some trips you would do two or three rolls. Now that is a trip to the playground, or a long walk when the weather has changed. 

Just knowing they are there, that I can have a look is (so far) more rewarding than looking at a lot of them. They are a gift to my future self. For remembering days, weeks and months now gone. For inspiration, and joy. And for limited curation, in terms of prints, books and magnets.

The reading that inspired this little tangent on volume and remembrance by camera;

"All of this is closer to the now than to the future. We've already seen tagged photos streaming forth from a billion networked smartphones, broadcasting the Arab Spring to Twitter and police brutality at Occupy to YouTube."

[clayton cubitt  blog post - on the constant moment]

How will you deal with everything seen being stored? 

What could you do with it? Make art? Explore your life?


- ...and the sun was here every day in July - bringing monthly rainfall below 10% of normal... but as we entered August the backlog came back, and so did the scheduled buffer for a bit - 

tsundoku, not just sudoku

Wow, the Japanese have a word for "the act of buying books and not reading them, leaving them to pile up": tsundoku 

Wondering if it applies to dvd and games as well?

Or if they have separate terms for the assorted forms of lacking consumption despite the desire.

The backlog is pretty stuck, at least not buying any new stuff. Mostly. Physically.

Got close to half a shelf full of fun stuff from Amazon, mainly photo and drawing or animation related. The stuff that isn't just about reading, but needs some doing as well. Aspirational, more than pratical plans.

Regular books are only Terry Pratchett. And with his health I've been holding off a bit on reading the latest books. Just in case. And despite some splurge shopping the Kindle reading list is in pretty good shape.

Then there are the iBooks shelves - running up a technical backlog, mainly things that are somewhat tangential to "business as usual", since 50% deals at O'reilly are to frequent and to much fun. Daily deals and then some.

Then there was that batch of games during the GOG drm free weekend sale. ONly 15-20 titles depending on how you count expansions. Does that count? Actually considered buying some games on dvd rather than there, since summer sales are in effect other places as well.

...and then there is that 2 month free trial of Comoyo video I've been meaning to get started with. Free. No strings attached.

...and also really should get on Netflix soon, rewatch House of Cards, and some series - but they don't have Sopranos or Wire, so getting a binge on for those will need another solution, like testing out HBO.

How many #backlogs do you have taking up space or mental effort?

Is it a problem, or a pure luxury?



wondering a bit about Google - midway through writing I was "logged out somewhere else", and asked if I wanted to log in again... no, no, just in the middle of typing a sentence, no need to do anything else. 

Twisted tales of Buffy meets Donnie

This is not a review, but some musings that I wrote down after watching Southland tales - definetly on my top ten mental movies list. But still a must see. In a way. 

IMDB says people who liked it also liked Brazil and Bladerunner. Which makes a twisted kind of sense. My summary is simple;

Not what I expected - but summer reading

But it is what it is. And this image from [Indexed] - posted on xmas - makes for a good reminder.

The tagline for the post was "may you live in interesting times" - so a natural summer reading recommendation would be:

Interesting Times - discworld novel #17, a bit of travel, some intrigue and politics, but most of all a great read.

I just finished novel #38 -Unseen Academicals, a great riff on sports, crowds and dreams, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details for I.T - having read it back in '97 or '98 - but seem to recall it being a bit free standning, in that Rincewind takes a trip to the Counterweight Continent, making it both a jumping on point for new readers (where have you been hiding? 70 million books sold or so? Get with the program!) and a change of pace from the more connected story lines involving the Watch and the Witches.

For a full overview of the Discworld books and their internal principal connections, the LSpace has a "map".

And for some colorful background on the quote or curse, Wikipedia has the goods.

wanting, needing, craving ...information is a goal

A piece on Nieman, a year ago more or less, but still as relevant. Three video lectures / talks, the first of which prompted the saving of the URL for a later day:

James Gleick ... bestseller, translated into 20 languages, is The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

Clocking in at 73 minutes, I have to admit that some of it has "flooded past" in the year gone by, but I still recommend it.

I group Gleick in with moderately large group of thinkers exploring the impacts of digital tech and content. Books like The Shallows, Hamlets Blackberry, Not a gadget and so on. And there is no doubt that digitization changes "everything". Would I have even heard about those books ten years ago before starting to blog? Maybe, but clearly not twenty years ago before seeing web and newsgroup content for the first time.

It is part magic, part wonderland 

- imagine that just about any speech or lecture can be preserved and shared globally. For no incremental cost on either end.

Rather than traveling to California I could sit on my couch, holding 10 inches of glass and watch the I/O keynote (first hour anyway...) along with A MILLION (!!!) other people. Working with thees kinds of things, it is useful to stop and reflect on just how far we've come every now and then. With hangouts on air and recording, you just need a webcam (built into any laptop and most mobiles) to invite the world in. Google handles the rest. Distribution, encoding, storage.

Just like that. 

Want to do a debate series, inviting two people from different countries each week? Just do it.
Want to do a class for school kids in your favorite subject? Press record.

Sure, there is something like a 100 hours of new content by the time you've finished reading this post. But that just means that the content that does resonate has the chance to spread that much faster, further and longer than before.


- ...and the sun is taking a short time out, so I can just about make out the text on the screen in my reflection .. brightness to the max, blogging from the balcony

Online, now, last month or next year

"Banksy - kongen av gatekunst" aka Exit Through the Giftshop was shown on Norwegian public broadcast last fall. And that also meant that their (excellent) NRK TV site had it - but it was only online until November 3rd 2012.

It is all about the licensing.

...via image search - is a screenshot fair use when it is also art?

Sure, it might just be out there in some form or other - but for  using the subtitles and doing it right, NRK had to take it back down, or pay a lot more (speculation / assumption - they licenced it for one or two runs at off peak times on a small niche channel, and got x days of online as well)

Does that mean it will sell a lot of dvd copies here now, since the streaming is gone? Or will it remain more or less ignored in favor of Idol and Eurovison?

Since NRK doesn't do commercials, it makes sense to have it limited - and then hopefully get some cents on the dollar from YouTube ads or Netflix streaming. (They even had an ad for free trial - adwords for the win?)

But this isn't about a docu/mocu-mentary like Banksy, but about the global vs local distribution and licensing issues. Because when Facebook launches or test a new feature it is instantly worldwide, same for (most) apps in the assorted Appstores. Youtube same thing, no waiting for a localized Gangam Style, watch it right now now now. And once more. House of Cards blasted onto the scene as a worldwide event, for the tribes it targeted at least.

But still movies and regular shows have a lead and lag type cycle, selling and repackaging based on the initial viewership (mainly US).

Will this be what really kills TV? 

A lack of flow or structures for moving the smaller things globally, in the same manner that the Olympics manage? Imagine having to wait a day or three to see the 100m sprint from London 2012 - and yes, I know that some US channels actually time-shifted a few events and tried to do spoiler free news...

If you see it, can you DO it?

Small hassle with going backwards through the stacks - this post was a draft initially put between two other ideas, that have sort of evolved into something else. But there is still a link of some sort to the topics of how we can learn so much more with digital access - and at the same time how machine learning is actually starting to pan out. Not as the AI of old sci-fi, but as topic masters.

Wired 19.01 was the issue that originally covered "the other" C:A and his musings on "computer assisted innovation" (CAI) - as seen on the TED stage when the LXD kicked it. [wikip] Dance is just one of many fields where the ability to instantly and repeatedly view others across the globe has turned up the speed of innovation, change and adaptability.

My initial response on reading the piece on CAI, and watching the video, was "VIEW SOURCE".

For myself and a lot of others picking up web development in the early to mid nineties consisted of a few books, some newsgroups and mailing lists - and a lot of 'learning by looking'.  "View Source" - it was how the web was built; share the insight into the code, then deconstruct it, comment it and do something more.

Video means that ANY skill or niche can "play" along - and thereby get "innovation at net speed" - no printing time, no time to wait for the traveling freak show or circus to amaze you, no waiting around for the start of season 2 (or for season one to get to Norway in the first place...)

Instant access, instant gratification. Instant inspiration.




And the other noteworthy subject was a part of the AI package - on stock bots, going too fast and too large to be understood? Far way from the early 90-ies comp sci I read at university. Memory and disk space was still at a premium. Java was starting to turn up and promise a bit more hassle free environment (hello Applet!), but for hard core coding there was C++

...and for the most dedicated even Assembly was taught, used and discussed.

Thankfully (?) the iOS success has raised awareness of a stricter coding paradigm and the need for more than just a casual understanding to do dev.

Sure, you can whip up a simple hello world without more than skimming the tutorials. And you can wrap your web app into a native powerhouse using Phonegap and the likes. But as soon as you start into the more complex functionality performance and structure is taking a solid hit from messy code.

Neuro-pattern-light

I hate the new blogger. It killed the original version of this post as I hit save. Then I tested a new blank post and it failed again. Could somebody please tell Google that there is this thing called iPad, and if their solutions continue to work as poorly a lot of users are up for grabs. I have already stopped most my newsletters to gmail because the use is a hassle (yeah, could add it as account, but with work email that was a hassle in the first iteration at least)


And now tumblr looks really good, why even wordpress is starting to come around to ios as a platform of choice with the app growing stronger every incremental release..




On to the recreation, thankfully only two paras in before hit the save, but still two too many...

Neuro-pattern-light...or why I love william gibsons writing.

I think it has a lot to do with growing up alongside his three trilogies.

Read neuromancer et al in early teens at school, when computers consisted of commodore 64 (or a 128 as I had), used mainly for games and the occasional demo. A friends father had a Mac that we got to use for a few school projects - typing up the report and putting in some pictures.

Then picked up the bridge books more or less at university, where dot com was becoming a phrase, but a bit before the boom/bust really started. Back when Fast Company was still mostly about business trends.

And pattern rec is one of the last printed books I bought (fiction and regular non fiction at least) - spook country and zero history were delivered directly to a kindle or the kindle app on iPad. Read digitally and instantly on release. No time lag for cross Atlantic distribution or priorities.

My teens, my twenties, my thirties. As the world has gone digital and then some, so has my life. as the future has become today, so his books have merged into "reality", blurring the lines more with each passing chapter.


For books and background, check the Amazon author page

INTERVIEWER: For someone who so often writes about the future of technology, you seem to have a real romance for artifacts of earlier eras.
GIBSON: It’s harder to imagine the past that went away than it is to imagine the future. What we were prior to our latest batch of technology is, in a way, unknowable.... very, very difficult to conceive of a world in which there is no possibility of audio recording at all. Some people were extremely upset by the first Edison recordings. ... It sounded like the devil, they said

 - Paris Review

The magic of not having. So good quote - had to brutally trim it down a bit, because you really should go over there and read the whole thing. Now. Come back afterwards. More to come here as well...






Because it is easy to add in the blanks, merge things (like a mobile phone and a mp3 player... Or a pc and a phone), but close to impossible to even remember back five or ten years, how much of a leap a simple innovation like the Palm Pilot was. An actual digital assistant in your hand. And it could do other things. Small games. Like magic.

Emergent technologies were irreversibly altering their landscape. Bleak House is a quintessential Victorian text, but it is also probably the best steam­punk landscape that will ever be. Dickens really nailed it, especially in those proto-Ballardian passages in which everything in nature has been damaged by heavy industry.

More of Dickens is definitely on my too read list, inspired this time by a piece on new bio on him. The British televised versions are great, and the podcast librivox version of two cities is killer. Like Stackpole, I firmly believe that the model he used to serialize his fiction is finding a new life in terms of shorter ebooks, faster turnaround for stories and generally more adaptability to reader expectations. 

... I remember walking past a video arcade,... seeing kids playing those old-fashioned console-style plywood video games... were so physically involved, it seemed to me that what they wanted was to be inside the games

...one day, I walked by a bus stop and there was an Apple poster. ... holding a life-size representation of a real-life computer that was not much bigger than a laptop is today. Everyone is going to have one of these, I thought, and everyone is going to want to live inside them. 

Woot! Loop in time. Arcade games as the driver, then apple as the trigger for seeing it "everywhere". Merging insights and intuition, that's what makes the book so much more than just a cool story. 


Today Apple is slowly moving us away from the PC age, into mobile and tactile  with the iOS touch interface. And once more games are actively taking a huge part in both pushing the hardware (thereby feeding the need for upgrades and rapid development) and the user interface - Angry Birds as touch training. Speed, precision and flexibility. 


The best way to get someone comfortable with a mouse back in the win 3 age was Solitare or Minesweeper. Sit them down, show them some serious stuff, then give them a ten minute "break" - after opening the program. We learn when we want to learn, when there is a clear reward rather than just an obligation. 

I’ve always been taken aback by the assumption that my vision is fundamentally dystopian. I suspect that the people who say I’m dystopian must be living completely sheltered and fortunate lives. The world is filled with much nastier places than my inventions, places that the denizens of the Sprawl would find it punishment to be relocated to, and a lot of those places seem to be steadily getting worse.

Putting things in perspective? How to compare to Dickens? Is he dystopian or simply telling of the underbelly of the dressed up pig? 


I for one didn't really think of Neuromancer as dark at the time, compared to something like Alien it was a happy place all around, with cool tech and the chance of making it big. 


That is one thing that is changed with the latest novels - or perhaps as much with my reading and views - sure there is a potential big score, but you get the feeling that just getting out or onwards is as much of a goal for the characters. 


The settings are more "glamour" compared to the first books, but in many ways it still feels more empty and forsaken. The art hidden from view, giving only a select few the enjoyment or the experience. The secret clips and the chase for just a little bit more.






First read about the interview care of one of the @greatdismal musing, but at that time the only online version was via a sub to P.R, so that was $5 lost revenue for them, as I'd have gladly paid for just the issue or the article (more or less the cost of a single copy newspaper here, so comparable value)

But then I saw it rt and checked the link - lo and behold, the full version is up. So it seemed a great test for iOs 5 reader mode, and also for the new +style blogger. First is OK, but lacks page jump/pagination (skip full screen height down). 


The other is another crappy google conversion. As a blog writer, the original blogger was as good as or better than any seen since. New might be ok on pc, but today that is close to irrelevant. Same reason can't really care about plus itself. Plain sucks compared to any twitter app.

The challenges of (geek) parenting

This is just pure genius. "We have to have the talk"
Need to get a "Han shot first" tee for junior soon.

Words. Art. Make.

How many words do you need to make art?

In his post Tools vs Insights, Seth G. strips down the opening lines of Fight Club, along with the verse Green Eggs and Ham. A total of two and four lines, respectively.

And taken alone out of context it is hard to see the power of those simple words. Yet put them together as the authors have, and something powerful and moving emerges. Something memorable. And yet so vastly different.

So maybe a million monkeys on typewriters could end up with Shakespeare. Or even something more moving. Why not be one of the mmmmmiiiiiiiiiillions [ht, the rock] - go create. Make a post or a poem over the weekend

Try THIS One

If You Liked That Video, Try THIS One: "Amazon and Netflix work well because their sites attract large audiences" [AdAge]

No, not the sites as such - but the recommendation engines, the algorithms matching preferences, interest and behavior over time to increase the "findability" in huge libraries of offerings.

And that is the challenge for a lot of the numerous web tv players - not big enough scale to give meaningful recommendations. Even Amazon can tend to get stuck in a track, making it hard to change the direction of the offerings "mistream" with out either manually ignoring a large chunk or just using the "similar" reccomendations from one nugget.

Maybe you should have different profiles and tracking for differnet moods, or uses? One for light comedy relaxing after work, another for meaningful insights before bed - and a third for mutually acceptable weekend fare.

Scale, test and improve

The EU is building a digital library - "direct access to some 2 million digital objects, including film material, photos, paintings, sounds, maps, manuscripts, books, newspapers and archival papers"

The prototype was launched November 20th, but quickly take down - due to excessive traffic reported as "more than 10m hits per hour". Comparing that to the official stats here in Norway with VG.no clocking in some 350m PI last week - should equate to 2m per hour over the whole week, and a bit more during peaks.

So the conclusion? Great idea - to bad about the miscalculation on the interest. looking forward to the re-launch!

Might have been a better idea to get things going with just some of the content types - those not needing a lot of server prowess for pushing out. Seems like the partner list is a bit thin in terms of high tech and hosting - no Akamai or Cisco here.

Can't imagine YouTube and Google seeing anything less with their expanded HD offering over the last few days...

So says who?

While waiting for the next BSG season to hit the local dvd window, I'm spending some thoughtful time with the essay collection "So say we all"- with the highlight so far being a piece by Charlie W. Starr ('personal' site seems to be either down or moved) on Galacticas Gods and their "real world" potential reflections. Adds another layer or two to the show, so I guess it's time to start over once more. So many angels and connection to reconsider or discover. Long-form storytelling at its best.

T or dvd?

The latest issue of Wired [16.12] has another good read by Clive Thomspson - on the t-shirt economy, how niche sites and creators can support themselves by selling basic merchandise like t-shirts to their fans.
One of the main cases is RvB - and I have a minor gripe considering that they also have a subscription/sponsor model, and do a brisk trade in dvds of the show - thereby actually also getting income on the "product" as such. So while it might be correct that the t-shirt put them in business, as a case it is more suited for their versatility both in terms of productions, distribution and income.

So how does this compare to the discussion of "free" [C.Anderson] - or 1000 true fans [K.Kelly with follow-up]?
There is a way for people to make (enough) money doing what they love. The web makes it possible to gather enough dedicated fans or followers to cover costs and then some. BUT - it is a way out for a few, just like there are quite a few "would-be Britneys" out there.

Just because it is feasible and might be gaining traction doesn't make it a sure thing. PBS has been doing it for years. And here in Norway it is 'down by law' - as everyone who owns a television gets to contribute a bit to the NRK (public broadcaster). At just over 2 million homes we are a niche unto ourselves. (and it might be more akin to the ransom model :D)


For two more pieces from Clive T - head over to OTM - from february (on conncetors and Gladwell) and november (reccomendations and Netflix)


Wipeout when the fat lady sings?
Also in the [16.12] was a spread on the new Opera house in Oslo. It is a stunning piece of architecture, and a bit of a gamble considering the threat of increased sea-levels. But the urban angle tying it into skating and cross-use is good branding.

...and the sun is sneaking away, but I'm caught up with Wired - just a bit of backlog to clear out...

Ads work

And so does free stuff. Along with some other stuff for xmas I put in an order for season 1 of Dexter today- two things that helped push it into my basket were the ad in Wired (800px wallpaper), styled up just like a Wired cover and a co-worker using another image as a wallpaper at work. Combined with the weekly ads for the previous season running on local television it was just enough to consider it. With a full season on dvd at less than $30 it makes for a good supplemental 'gift' for the season ahead.

The other item from 16.10 worth a note was a quote by Zucker from Hulu; "the best way to combat piracy is to make your content available". Not too far off from the NRKbeta doctrine and good words to take to mind in turbulent times

Keep going, keep improving

Evening Reconnaissance Mission by merlinmann

A wonderful and inspering post on how you need to keep on going in order to improve your skills as a photographer.

Doesn't matter if it is "just" a hobby - the way to improve and get better is to do it, over and over. Get the basics inside and on automatic. Digital means endless supply of "film" - so there is no need to skimp. [Found by tweet from f.day]

And if you need some more inspiration or guidance, there are several good podcasts on photography out there (Tips from top floor, photowalkthrough, martin bailey,...)

Not to forget a recent post on eirikso - gives some visual aides for different ISO, aperture and shutter. Now get out there and make your own test and flip thorugh them in picasa.

...and the sun fades fast this time of year...
sidenotes;
-finished Rep.Commando - True Colors today (good yarn, fun stuff, need to get Order66)
and picked up the Clone Wars dvd along with Kung Fu Panda
for some nice animated fun over the days ahead

Silver lining?

"in most cases, Flash video streaming is still more expensive for content owners to deliver, especially for those with a lot of traffic" (full post and comments)

Could Silverlight seriously push aside Flash as the main format for more advanced web applications and experiments? With javascript apps eating away at the other end of the market, losing the video/animation focus could seriously dampen the way forward.

Several media companies are already promoting Silverlight as a Mac/Unix option for their exsisting WMV streaming, thereby helping spread the installed base and user awareness. And solutions like the JW makes it even easier to play around.

Short term? No worries... long term? Netscape, Real Networks and Wordperfect anyone?

Want to watch with me?

So, what does YouTube lack? How can online video take it to the next level?
According to some - it is all about UsTube, connecting viewers they way the family and neighbours used to gather around the tv set.

"Laughter is social, and that’s important to consider as watching online video ... can be a pretty isolating experience" - from a story on CBS and their new social solution

"pre-populated and active fan communities ... each have nearly a million members spread over five different social network platforms: Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, and hi5" - ABC branching onwards

So - both building new solutions and hooking up across existing avenues seem like valid paths. And that is probably one of the key messages going forward - with Hulu driving the point home every day - it is not about locking up the farm, but about making it easy to spend more time and get even more engaded. In a world of too much to count, abundant choices and offerings across channels, plattforms and media - it makes a lot more sense to take a handfull viewers here and a score minutes there...

(always assuming it makes economic sense to play on the field at all)

...and the sun hides a bit too well behind the rainy clouds...

"Just" a camera

EF Lenses used in the making of REVERIE:

1. FD 7.5mm f/5.6 (converted to EF mount)
2. EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
3. EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
4. EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
5. EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
6. EF 135mm f/2L USM
7. EF 200mm f/1.8L USM
8. EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
9. EF 500mm f/4L IS USM
10. TS-E 24mm f/3.5L
11. TS-E 45mm f/2.8

- yes, the movie is absolutely stunning to look at, it is hard to fathom that it was in effect made with a camera rather than video-camera. And a $5000 budget for flying around is nice. But I have a feeling that for the TCO of those lenses you would get some pretty decent video equipment as well. (RED)

All in all? A great time to look for great content in new places. Enjoy.

...and the sun made a comeback this afternoon...

What me video?

Market Overview For Video Transcoding Services; "content owners continue to need more services than just pushing bits across a network" - not a full overview, but some directions and a good slide by RipCode (linked image) - and as on most post by Dan R. some good comments

Video for niches

"the heaviest viewers (top 20 percent of viewers) averaged 841 minutes of online viewing per month, while moderate viewers (next 30 percent) averaged 77 minutes" - according to ComScore, as covered by NewTeeVee.

That is quite a dramatic difference, and does but a lot of other metrics in a new light - be it total number of streams or share of users playing video. It will be interesting to see if they keep publishing this kind of detailed breakdown or simply revert to the average and total numbers again.

Also, the pressrelase list some (for me at least) new sites that are apparently a big draw in the 'heavy' crowd - might be worth a look (not linking since I haven't seen the sites or their brand of content/ads yet):

• Ouou.com


• MegaVideo.com


• Youku.com


• zSHARE


• Tudou.com