Saturday, August 10, 2002

Yes Old Bob is quite strong and sickly, like a thick syrup of a beer... I guess you drunk that at The Reliance... £2 to get in? Stupid... The Foundry is much better and is always a bit weird...

I wish I could have gone... Alas I was in Bath at Peter Gabriel's studio... Very nice... I got a new phone today, the Ericsson T68i... GPRS, Bluetooth, WAP... And a colour screen onto which I can uplaod my own pictures, and you can get a digital camera for it... Is P2PQ working in the WAP world yet? If so give me the URL.... please... I have 600 minutes of free WAP a month (at weekends / off peak) so I might as well use it...

Alas still no ADSL... and GPRS isn't available yet... :(
posted by alex_tea , 11:17 PM Þ 

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/09/nyregion/09SMOK.html
posted by Irdial , 9:48 PM Þ 

someone clever said in response to the proposed law in the USA to target file sharers

Welcome to the world of intergenerational warfare. I'll bet no science fiction novel you ever read prepared you for this.

Under Nixon an older, reactionary generation declared a War on Drugs, which was essentially a euphemism for a war on the lifestyle of the youth of that era and the values it represented (chemical experimentation, casual sex, a healthy skepticism of authority, and so on). Indeed, the prohibition of drugs and the actions that have been taken to try and stamp out its use has caused far greater harm, in both a humanitarian and economic sense, than the abuse of the substances themselves ever did or could have.

A War on Ourselves indeed, or at least a war on the younger generation, one that began under Nixon, was escalated out of control under Reagan and Bush Senior, to the point where we now have over fifty beaurocracies fighting for the collected spoils seized from non-violent drug offendors.

Now, with the new War on Copyright Infringement, we are about to target today's youth, who trade their music, their movies, their videotapes online, instead of via cassette tape the way us older folk did when we were in high school and college.

Another front on an intergenerational war, between the dinasaurs of the Jack Valenti Generation of Greed and the emerging, technically savvy information generation they seek to repress and quite possibly destroy.

This escalation will likely claim even more victims, fill our prisons even more with people even less inclined to violence than the many drug offendors who account for half our inmate population today.

Worse, we'll have to listen to even more self-righteous tripe along the lines "but these fans are stealing bread and milk from the mouths of Lars and Britney," and "we'll win the war on copyright infringement! These pirates will never see the light of day again! God Bless America!"

What's next, a broken egg on a frying pan with the words "This represents your Life on MP3?"

Make no mistake, this is intergenerational warfare, waged by the parents and grandparents upon the children who have chosen to live differently than their elders, indeed, differently than their elders can comprehend. As we draw closer to the technological singuarity I think we can expect ever more extreme examples of the same.

How close is one to the Singualarity I wonder, when real world events overtake science fiction faster than it can be written?
posted by Irdial , 10:41 AM Þ 

Going out on the town, Akin? You crazy guy you!
Gads, I hardly EVER get out. I'm a real shut-in, I am.
Is drukn similar to drukqs?
posted by Barrie , 12:25 AM Þ 
Friday, August 09, 2002
posted by Irdial , 7:29 PM Þ 

M/Y played a fine set at Smallfish, and we all got drunk. A man called H is reading a book on Hypnotism (which begins with "H").

There were quite a few luminaries there, including but not limited to Monsterist Pete Fowler, sporting a pair of regulation Metropolitan Police issue spectacles.

There is a beer called "Old Bob", that, if you were to drink it, it would make you drunk.

There was a member of the group "Octopus", who regailed us with a story of how Mark E. Smith met his dad, a member of another group whose name I cannot recall, that is having typical record/band confilcts and some..... "Shorties".

A very civilized do, in a civilized place, with civilized people (even when drukn (yes, drukn) ).

Shorditch is in flux as usual, many, many bars, beers, bad boys, broken down buildings, and a true london vibe, of the type that is being pushed north and east by the escalating property prices.
posted by Irdial , 7:04 PM Þ 



One for the English.
Good evening mary13... and goodbye for the weekend. Hope it's a fine one. I have in-laws visiting and we are off to an outdoor concert of flamenco music. Perfect for the current London monsoon season. One bright bit, Paco Peña is the flamenco musician.
posted by Alun , 5:46 PM Þ 

Economic Left/Right: -4.00
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.18

good morning. quite a test, and i think more people should take it, globally. how often do we ask ourselves these questions and really think about them? although, transfering those clear statements into the usual gibberish that politicians speak is more the chore. and thoughts into action? durrrrr. i have broken my "no computers on fridays" rule and did some surfing about sovereign individuals. my thoughts are still forming, but how would this be implemented? i guess that would be individual, haha. a site i'd like to pick at the authors list for a while...

graphiti: "sometimes the most profound words are not those spoken, but heard"



posted by mary13 , 5:25 PM Þ 

Sound of the day is The Beatles, 'If I Needed Someone' from Rubber Soul.

Having a new stereo, especially after a long break and even more so with an upgrade, makes everything sound like it's the first time I ever really listened...
Also Vilayat Khans ragas. Pixies 'come on pilgrim'. Bought a FatCat 7" (programme) yesterday, but John, Paul, George and Ringo beat them to the turntable.

Want to beat your wife with a 3-inch wide leather strap? Not in California, unless she gives you permission. Or you use a 2-inch strap.

Generations to come, people will hardly believe that such a one in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.
Albert Einstein on Ghandi.
posted by Alun , 3:35 PM Þ 

It's a long tradition with the American religious right to meddle with what people do in their bedrooms. Dildos are still forbidden in a couple states, as is homosexuality (!) and making/viewing pornography.

I'd say part of your outlook is as Gandhi, though I don't think you're as much of a nonviolent protester as he is (referring to the articles on rioting in Rivendell ;)
posted by Mikkel , 2:13 PM Þ 

And whats wrong with Gandhi?

Nowt. My dot came in near his; which of you thinks that I speak / think / act like Gandhi?!
posted by Irdial , 10:20 AM Þ 

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -3.62
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -6.92

interesting test, but some of the questions seemed SO WIERD to me, like:
What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state. Huh?
posted by Alison , 9:04 AM Þ 

lao tzu
jesus
buddah
allah
krishna
ghandi
-nuff said.

xseries 360's quad 1.5's 4gb ram and there are
10 of them. raid 5 with mirrored system partitions.
that was my day. all using director and various
rolls(sql) and set ups. tomorrow? hardening dmz boxes
in a freezing cold room.
posted by john , 2:49 AM Þ 
Thursday, August 08, 2002

Ghandi was teh man. They need to have the numbers on the graph. Zoiks.

My Political Compass
Economic Left/Right: -1.50
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -7.49

I think my economic/political ratio is really weird. I'm very liberal (pheer my libertairian-ness), but not so much economy-wise. Never though about that. I think one question that threw it off was the misleading advertising... I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You can't force companies to tell the truth, they're trying to sell. Consumers must think for themselves and look past the advertising... I've never seen advertising as a means for people to convey true information anyway. I don't trust 'em.

Interesting: I agree with land being capital, but I don't think water should be capital. Hmmmm. I'll have to think about that too.
posted by Barrie , 11:41 PM Þ 

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -5.75
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -6.62
posted by chriszanf , 7:37 PM Þ 

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -4.88
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -6.67

... but too dumb to get the picture up...

And whats wrong with Gandhi?
posted by Alun , 6:57 PM Þ 

Oh, I didn't mean that nobody changes their mind. I regularly change mine. I'm meaning the more basic notions that people have. You'd have a hard time convincing me to become religious, for example. Or convincing a conservative to become a liberal. That sort of thing. Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, I find arguments and discussions extremely valuable, if not only for the fact that one rethinks his position. During this little stint, I've been evaluating how I see the CPR system, and I still do not perceive it as a threat nor dehumanizing. But as mentioned, people are different and have different limits as to what they accept and do not.

That's what it says, Gandhi. I answered all questions honestly... (I took this test several months ago before and got roughly the same position then, as I recall)
posted by Mikkel , 6:09 PM Þ 

In there with Ghandi? No fucking way!!!
posted by Irdial , 5:55 PM Þ 

read someplace today that arguing never changed anyones mind, its only purpose is to define your own point of view and strengthen it. There is an element of truth in that.

For sure, I dont believe this. I have change my mind countless times thanks to a good arguement. For me, its an essential way to "do a reality check" and "get with the programme".

If one cant change one's mind after having been trounced by superior logic or just the facts, one is in pretty bad shape ego wise....for example, I was dead set on not doing any more windows upgrades, but in the last three days, I have put XPpro on my crippled windoze installation, thanks to a chat with one of my windoze broz.

On the same subject, what hapens when you put windows 98 on top of windows 95 on top of windows 3.1 on top of windows?

You eventually have to "clean house" with windows XP. Or something.
posted by Irdial , 4:44 PM Þ 

Messing up a digit in the CPR system will break because of the built-in checksum... So I don't think your situation would be the same in Denmark. Regardless, it is pretty damn stupid not to use your middle name, then insisting they are right. Jesus.

I read someplace today that arguing never changed anyones mind, its only purpose is to define your own point of view and strengthen it. There is an element of truth in that.

It call comes down to having various outlooks and priorities, being the different human beings that we are. Some things are more important than others for various people.

Speaking of which, it'd be fun to try the political compass (did we do this before?): http://www.politicalcompass.org/ - I'm a left wing liberal (Economic Left/Right: -4.62, Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.64) - close to the spot where Ghandhi is in the example graph.

(oh and I spent a bloody amount of time in front of computers since I work with them)
posted by Mikkel , 4:11 PM Þ 

That long underpass/tunnel thing near the Barbican is totally THX1138
posted by captain davros , 1:22 PM Þ 

It was a very Brazil moment let me tell you. Only the computers weren't as good.
posted by captain davros , 1:21 PM Þ 

My Time is Yours
posted by captain davros , 1:21 PM Þ 

Have you ever seen THX1138?
"it happened so slowly, no one noticed that anything was changing..."
posted by Irdial , 12:30 PM Þ 

"imagine what could go wrong if some dunce messes up just one digit?"
Have you ever seen Terry Gilliams film 'Brazil'?
posted by chriszanf , 11:49 AM Þ 


note: RESONANCE F.M. time are B.S.T., not G.M.T.

time zone converter: http://www.worldtimeserver.com/?h=8&mn=30&ap=pm&mo=8&d=9&y=2002&f=GB
posted by THESE , 11:29 AM Þ 

I got sent my NI number when I was 16 or so. We all got one, on a credit card type thing. It was like a rite of passage or something, well maybe not.

Theoretically I have no problem with a number assigned to me by anyone. For all I know I've probably got one anyway, maybe we all have and we're just not being told. If another government comes in that's more evil than this one they'll have better and faster control over me by taking over the army or military police and sticking a gun in my face than buggering about with numbers.

What is truly worrying, and I blog this because of the NHS comments earlier, is that all of our existing data processing is being overseen and often dealt with by people, and people make mistakes. Over three years ago now I rang the doctors one morning to get an appointment after falling off my bike (I fell off because I was suddenly paralysingly dizzy; I got the visual equivalent of someone dragging a stylus across a vinyl record and it took me over an hour to stagger home clutching my bike like a zimmer frame). I got one for about an hour later. The surgery however rang back about 15 minutes after I'd last spoken to them and said 'according to their records' I'd left the surgery and couldn't see a doctor there.

WTF?! I explained that this was nonsense, and that moreover I was feeling more than unwell and needed to see the doctor NOW. They stuck to their guns, saying that I'd left and my medical records *were no longer there* and even getting stroppy and implying it was nothing to do with them. Serious panic. I asked them to check what they had on me. Turned out someone with the same initials, christian name and surname, living in the same town, at an address that was aurally similar to mine (I lived on Green Street; he lived on Green Road) had left the surgery and they'd mixed him up with me. I could get an appointment after all but they'd have to apply to get my records back from the health authority.

It turned out I had labyrithitis by the way, which was a mess up in my ears from a cold. It faded away after a bit and all was well. However, I routinely had the same problem with the doctor's surgery for three years afterwards, being refused appointments when I applied for them, and even being told to come out of the waiting room on one occasion - very embarrassing. I had no way to prove I was me, because they had sent my records back, and when they were returned someone else KEPT sending them back, and then losing track of them, and being doctor's receptionists were on the whole difficult old battleaxes who'd do anything to avoid the blame. Meanwhile the doctors kept seeing me anyway and prescribing me things without my medical records, trusting my memory but not knowing the facts about when I'd been treated or what I'd been treated with! You really don't want this to happen to you, believe me.

All this could have been solved if they'd used something I'd been given since birth, that I had no choice over, and that was unique to me - my middle name. During a moment of boredom when a chum was researching her family at the public records office, I looked myself up. There's only one me, with my name, born on the day I was born in the town I was born in. The guy who was very similar to me didn't have the same middle name, and I'd hazard a guess that the chances of anyone of you having the exact same name as someone else born on the same day in the same town are really slim.

So whilst theoretically I have no problem, in practice I'm against numbers, because if all of that can get messed up over one whole name, imagine what could go wrong if some dunce messes up just one digit?
posted by captain davros , 10:38 AM Þ 

Cartoon in Private Eye, picturing one of Them questioning one of Us..."According to your I.D. card you were against the introduction of I.D. cards."

1-6 hours a day at the computer, depending. Today is a lot of data input, so nearer 6 than 1.

For sale, for those in need.

Here is Smallfish.
posted by Alun , 9:57 AM Þ 

Not only does Mimi Magick make amazing MIDI, but she knows her stuff, too! Wow.

In response to Ms. Khan: I spend out 3 or 4 hours a day, on average, on my computer. That is FAR too much. I expect it to go down to about 30 minutes per day once school starts.
posted by Barrie , 12:32 AM Þ 
Wednesday, August 07, 2002

Those of you in London should head out to Smallfish to see Madonna Over Yorkshire play his first live set outside of Brighton.

Tomorrow night, Resonance FM will be playing our supervised score for Stanley Kubricks "Artificial Intelligence" from 00:00GMT.
posted by Irdial , 8:17 PM Þ 

Japanese national ID system hits first glitch

Security boffins were right after all...

Just days after the launch of Japan's computerised national identification system, data has already been muddled up and disseminated to the wrong citizens.

Proving the security pundits right in their fears that the resident registry network would go wrong, data was incorrectly sent to around 2,500 people or 741 households in Moriguchi, near Osaka.

Letters containing information for verification by individuals were posted out to households. The letters also contained details of other citizen's identification numbers, gender and birth dates.

Japanese authorities were not concerned about the hiccup, stating that because the names of people were not included in the wrongly-mailed information it would not cause a problem.

Individuals are being given a personal 11-digit identification number to use in online governmental transaction to reduce the Japanese paper-intensive filing system.


Silicon.Com
posted by Irdial , 7:57 PM Þ 

Re UK numbers:

The National Health number: If you do not use the National Health for three years, your record is deleted. If you need to sign up with a doctor again, you have to have a new number issued to you. All doctors surgerys are very relaxed about wether you have your number or not.

National Insurance: You can request this number when you turn 14, so that you can get a Saturday job, and pay your national insurance contribution.

Neither one of these numbers is assigned at birth. Thanks to Mimi Magick for this information!
posted by Irdial , 7:30 PM Þ 

Do you know this? sounds like the end of the world...
posted by Irdial , 6:33 PM Þ 

(Godwin's Law, it can only go down from here ;)

Hmm, according to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1956369.stm nearly 100% of "the eligible population" (parents with children under 16, on the behalf of the kids) accept 'child benefit'. When you accept it, you are automatically given a NI# (which is given to you at age 16 - if I understand the documents I read correctly). This sounds a lot like the CPR, especially when compared with Chris' account of his hospital visit. Yeah, there's a minor degree of voluntariness involved, but it's solely your parents decision as you're not of legal age yet...

I tried looking for info about the nation health numbers, but google ain't very helpful on that... Anyone got info on that?

I respect anyone's right for freedom, and this might even be a breach of my rights, but it's having no effect at all. The laws (yes, they are just that, but we actually prosecute those who break them) are strict enough to make it hard for the companies who strive to be legal. I know this from working at an insurance company (which notoriously keep masses of records) and at a hospital (same deal).

as a side note, do you have a #?

So to sum up, it sounds like you have a system that's very much the same as we do...
posted by Mikkel , 4:25 PM Þ 

Reading about Denis Blackham (Country Masters).....he mastered 'M' - 'pop muzik' and 'moonlight and musak'. 2 excellent tunes from my youth!
posted by chriszanf , 2:41 PM Þ 

I know mine by heart as well....only because its NS666xxxX. Every number I'm given has a series of 6's in it. I lost the card I got for it (NI) as soon as it was given to me. I don't anyone who still has theirs.
With the National health number, I thought of this through the night I spent in hospital. They asked me if I knew it and I did (odd, what you remember whilst in pain!).
From this, I take it, they can access all previous medical history and it's assigned to each individual.
posted by chriszanf , 2:34 PM Þ 

no it is not a problem when people lives infront of their computer, but what really crossed my mind during the weblog test, is that how is it possible to be that much infront of the computer physically? My eyes hurt after a day at the office, my behind feels kindda flat (like the computer screen), after sitting on it. you guys dont have that problems? Can you imagine the human beeings evolving, so that we can be even better with computeres: Small tiny bodies, with huge hands and a very big head?

Oh...Chris J - you are funny...
posted by Alison , 2:22 PM Þ 

National Insurance Numbers - I know mine off by heart oddly enough.

<kraftwerk>Business, numbers, money, people</kraftwerk>

I spend from 9.30am to 17.45 in front of my computer at work, with the odd break - it's just the nature of my job as a webmonkey. We get free eye tests anyway. Often when I get home I spend more time in front of my computer there. I'm very aware of this, but don't see it as a big problem at the moment.
posted by captain davros , 1:50 PM Þ 

Whats the situation with UK Nation Health numbers and national insurance numbers? I thought they were issued (health one at birth and insurance one at 14/15) on a permanent, unchangeable basis.


I don't spend all my time sat in front of my computer. Sometimes I hide under my desk, where it can't see me.
posted by chriszanf , 1:25 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 1:20 PM Þ 

6.25 %

My weblog owns 6.25 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?


How much do you guys (and girls - how many girls are here?) sit infront of your computer?
posted by Alison , 8:30 AM Þ 

I'd just like to note that MSG is evil. Pure, stomach-churning evil.
If only every snack manufacturer DIDN'T use it. DAMN YOU, PRINGLES! DAMN YOU TO HELL.
posted by Barrie , 6:11 AM Þ 

25 %

My weblog owns 25 % of me.


the other 75% belongs to someone very special.
posted by john , 2:30 AM Þ 



A number, given to a person, against that persons will.

Nuff said.
posted by Irdial , 1:10 AM Þ 

I have a social insurance number ("SIN" - how ironic) here in Canada. I never liked the idea of getting one, but I am forced to do so if I want a job/bank account/driver's license/school career. It is the only number that I have that I cannot change when I want to. Even the registration number on my birth certificate can change, as it did when I issued a new copy of it (the number is different now because the date of issue is different than the original's date of issue).
My SIN is the only number that I do NOT own - the government owns it. I own my driver's license number, which I can (and will) change, I own my credit card number, bank number, university number, every other one.
One thing that I've realized - I even own my own name, but I don't own my SIN. The only way to change it is to change my name. How wrong is that?
The SIN is such an important number that it is the one you do NOT want to lose. Someone can ruin your life if they have it. And it's only 9 digits long.
The only number I want that applies to me as a person, is a number that I would want to apply myself.
No matter how much more efficient it would make the government registry run, a birth-given number would mean nothing more to me than marking me as a UPC marks a can of delicious, deep baked beans.
Mmmm...

12.5 %

Blogdial owns 12.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?
posted by Barrie , 12:38 AM Þ 
Tuesday, August 06, 2002

From the SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Application for a Social Security Card Form SS-5

THE PAPERWORK/PRIVACY ACT AND YOUR APPLICATION

The Privacy Act of 1974 requires us to give each person the following notice when applying for aSocial Security number.

Sections 205(c) and 702 of the Social Security Act allow us to collect the facts we ask for on thisform.

We use the facts you provide on this form to assign you a Social Security number and to issue you aSocial Security card. You do not have to give us these facts, however, without them we cannot issueyou a Social Security number or a card. Without a number, you may not be able to get a job andcould lose Social Security benefits in the future.

The Social Security number is also used by the Internal Revenue Service for tax administrationpurposes as an identifier in processing tax returns of persons who have income which is reported tothe Internal Revenue Service and by persons who are claimed as dependents on someone'sFederal income tax return.

We may disclose information as necessary to administer Social Security programs, including toappropriate law enforcement agencies to investigate alleged violations of Social Security law; toother government agencies for administering entitlement, health, and welfare programs such asMedicaid, Medicare, veterans benefits, military pension, and civil service annuities, black lung,housing, student loans, railroad retirement benefits, and food stamps; to the Internal RevenueService for Federal tax administration; and to employers and former employers to properly preparewage reports. We may also disclose information as required by Federal law, for example, to theDepartment of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, to identify and locate aliens in theU.S.; to the Selective Service System for draft registration; and to the Department of Health and Human Services for child support enforcement purposes.

We may verify Social Security numbers forState motor vehicle agencies that use the number in issuing drivers licenses, as authorized by theSocial Security Act. Finally, we may disclose information to your Congressional representative if they request information to answer questions you ask him or her.We may use the information you give us when we match records by computer. Matching programs compare our records with those of other Federal, State, or local government agencies to determine whether a person qualifies for benefits paid by the Federal government. The law allows us to do this even if you do not agree to it.

Explanations about these and other reasons why information you provide us may be used or givenout are available in Social Security offices. If you want to learn more about this, contact any SocialSecurity office.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995requires us to notify you that this information collection is inaccordance with the clearance requirements of section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of1995. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection ofinformation unless it displays a valid OMB control number.

Pretty nasty huh?
posted by Irdial , 7:52 PM Þ 

So your problem with the system in discussion is basically two-fold:
It is compulsory.
It is traceable and can be compared across databases.

No, it is not simply that. I am not owned by anyone. No one has the right to number me like property. This is crucial, inviolable and central to freedom.

Just because its illegal to misuse the database doesnt mean that it is misused. This is not "delusional paranoia" just COMMON SENSE. You may trust this particualar government, but if another comes in that is evil, they will have a perfect control infrastructure in place to impliment total control over everything that you do.

Once again, this is a cultural difference between people who are decendents of a revolutionary movement concerned about too much government, and Europeans (the flotsam that was left behind) who dont seem to care about rights in any way shape or form.

Free people, in principle and practice, cannot be for the compulsory numbering of inidividuals by the state. Saying that its ok because there are laws against abuses is like pouring gasoline one inch deep on the floor of a school gymnasium, and saying "its OK, as long as someone doesnt light a match; after all, arson is illegal".

Come on!
posted by Irdial , 7:19 PM Þ 

Government numbering is compulsory, numbers your body PERMANENTLY and through this, every detail of your life can be tracked from cradel to grave, in a centralized database.


So your problem with the system in discussion is basically two-fold:

  1. It is compulsory.

  2. It is traceable and can be compared across databases.



Case two is not a real problem in Denmark. It is illegal to do this kind of tracking, whether it is governmental or private bodies doing it. [That's not to say the government doesn't already, but if we get into that whole paranoid delusion, we might as well accept that all governments are tracking their citizens - do not think that just because you do not have a number that you are invisible. Datamining is becoming increasingly easy.]

The Danish CPR system was put in place in the seventies, and the issue of ID-cards has been up countless times in the time since. Every time, it has been debated out and dropped, the winning argument mostly being "what would we need them for, we have passports". Actually, there hasn't been any mention of them after WTC, but that's hardly a year ago anyway. What I mean is, there haven't been any serious attempts at making the laws any stricter than they are now.

And that's not what the CPR is for, anyway. It's for census, statistics, and letting people know you don't want ads in your mail. My bank knows more about me than the government does.

Tangent: It's the most fun to discuss when you totally disagree :)
posted by Mikkel , 7:00 PM Þ 

You are not a number, you are several. Your insurance number, your bank account, your phone number, your license plate.

I am not "a number"; we need to be precise with language, just as if we were writing a Perl script.

I have phone numbers, that I pay for. If I dont want any of them anymore, I can get other ones. These numbers are assigned by by my provider to my house or handset, and are not assigned to me. I can even get a pay as you go SIM card that is bought over the counter with no name on it at all.

I have a car licence plate; I can change that number if I want. That number is assigned to my CAR and not to me. The car is numbered, and I OWN the car.

I have a bank account. That account is numbered by the bank I chose. I can close that account at any time, and open another one. That number is assigned to that ACCOUNT and not to me.

I have a passport. If I loose it, a new passport is issued to me, with a new number. That number is issued to my passport, and is not issued to me. The passport is issued to me and the passport is issued a number.

My insurancce policy has an assigned number. If I cancel it, that number dies with the poilcy, and I can open another one which will be given a new number. That number is not issued to me, but to the policy

No government agency has given me a number. This is profoundly important. All of my documents and transactions cannot be correlated by a single locator. That means my privacy is better / stronger than other peoples.

Private organizations are not the same as government. They cannot compel me to carry, for example, my bank card when I leave my house. They dare not try and compel me to use my cashcard exclusively to interact with them, or I will move my account.

It is important to be clear about "service convenience" and compulsion, and what numbering really means. The individual numbering of your services by companies you choose to do business with is OK, because they do not number you personally.

Government numbering is compulsory, numbers your body PERMANENTLY and through this, every detail of your life can be tracked from cradel to grave, in a centralized database.

That's not right. Period.

As for the British system, there is none, because the British know better than to defeat Hitler and then stupidly impliment his evil beaurocratic systems after the fact, but thanks to our meddling Euro fuckwit scum buddies, and those pig ignorant cunts that blew up the WTC every wannabe facist is baying to bring in compulsory ID cards connected to a national database, which will cost BILLIONS, not prevent a single crime, and which will bring us closer to becoming totally rightless people.
posted by Irdial , 5:38 PM Þ 

18.75 %

My weblog owns 18.75 % of me.

[CPR]: I see your point of view, but I don't see the CPR as being nearly as oppressive as you make it out to be. It is by far the least controlling (of the people) system compared to the Japanese or Belgian ones. In fact, the aforementioned law is a thing I wouldn't want to live without. Makes it really easy to prosecute all those stupid massmailers and such.

Seriously, though, as I said, you already are a number. What's the British law on registries?
posted by Mikkel , 4:28 PM Þ 

12.5 %

My weblog owns 12.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?
posted by Claus Eggers , 3:58 PM Þ 

6.25 %

My weblog owns 6.25 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?
posted by THESE , 3:04 PM Þ 

Today on WFMU the incredibly talented improv-noise guitarist Nels Cline will be playing a live set. Somewhere around eleven AM, eastern standard time. Do tune in if you are at yr computer. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much can still be explored on the electric guitar. And Bethany Ryker's show (on which Nels is playing) is worth catching in its entirety. if you miss it, the archive will be posted on the web in a couple of days.
posted by Josh Carr , 2:43 PM Þ 

18.75 %

BLOGDIAL owns 18.75 % of me.
posted by chriszanf , 2:37 PM Þ 

31.25 %

Blogdial owns 31.25 % of me.
Does BLOGDIAL own you?
posted by Irdial , 2:04 PM Þ 
posted by captain davros , 11:37 AM Þ 

it's like going bowling at work!
posted by john , 1:18 AM Þ 
Monday, August 05, 2002
posted by captain davros , 11:02 PM Þ 

Having the Central Person Registry (CPR) in Denmark has not taken away any civil rights, and it has not made us any less free men.

I have had this discussion with many of my European friends since the inception of Irdial.

This is a deep cultural difference between Europeans and the adherents of Anglo Saxon ideas of law and justice. It is the same difference that separates strict followers of Sharia from "Westerners". The twain never shall meet. Period.

I dont have a problem with the Belgians and thier ID card which must be carried by law whenever you leave your house.

I dont have a problem with the Danes, who have a state issued number, assigned at birth.

What I DO have a big problem with, is when anyone tries to make other people live like they do because they think that the way that they live is cool. That is plain wrong, and it is my main objection to the EEC and European integration.

By all means, live in a place where babies are given a number by the state when they are born; I dont live in such a place, so its none of my business. If you like, live in a place where you are not allowed to leave your house unless you are carrying a state issued ID card. It makes no difference to me, since I dont live there.

But woe betide the person who comes to my house and tries to put a number on me, because he is a fucking dead man.
posted by Irdial , 9:46 PM Þ 

about genres/peoples/sounds

I think genres are not very useful. When I make Mp3s, I always leave the genre field blank, even if it's something as "basic" as a Rolling Stones album.
I dislike it when I go to my record store, and I have to look for something. This goes for both the big-box record store, and the flyposter indie record store. The genre classifications are annoying! For example, in the big box store, there is many sections, two of which are "Experimental" and "Pop/Rock." Mogwai does not belong in the pop/rock section, but it's there. Way over in the experimental section, there's some Arab Strap and Molasses. What the hell? Why can't everything just be in one BIG catalog? I think I'll want to look for something in the Experimental section, but it will be over in pop/rock. It's just damned annoying.
I'm not even going to get into the "post-rock" section at the indie record store. For lack of a better place to put them, Boards of Canada are for some reason stored there. Yet there's a "techno/electronica" section there, which houses Brain Eno. But not all Brian Eno is electronic! ARRRGH!
One big section. For everthing. "Music on CD" and "Music on Vinyl." I can't think of a better system.

Radiohead is not whatever rock music is. It's not in the same camp as the stones, who are also called rock. The only similarity is that the music is made with guitars, drums, bass, piano and voice.
Godspeed you Black Emperor, then, is also rock music, since it contains guitars, drums, bass and piano. But there's violins in there too, so it becomes "Chamber Music." What the FUCK does that mean? The last "chamber music" I heard did not have fucked up, screeching tape loops. See how USELESS it is to group these things together and to call them the same kind of music? They're music, yes, but not the same "kind." They should only be together when they are in a section called "music." I hope I've articulated that well, because I would be unhappy for people to misunderstand.

As for that "Experimental" section - is Arab Strab any more experimental than Aphex Twin, who is not in experimental, but is in "Techno," right beside the Chemical Brothers. And are the Chemical Brothers any less experimental, with their successful attempt at making massively commercial electronic-based music? And for some unknown reason, the punchy, acoustic jams of Bullfrog are also in the techno section. And what about turntablism? That's not techno, it's not even electronic. Why is it in the "techno" section? What the fuck is "techno" then?
It's just absolutley futile to categorize things like sound.

As for relating to other people... music has emotion. I've written this part three times and can't articulate myself properly. I don't think the sounds one listens to, at least in my experience, has anything to do with how much they can relate to others. I find it easier to talk to someone about the emotions expressed in a Matthew Good song when that person can relate to the song as I do. But for general conversation that is not about music, what people listen to has no place anywhere.
So... I don't know where I'm going with this. I'll just stop now, before I start to make no sense whatsoever. Maybe someone can salvage my argument.
posted by Barrie , 9:33 PM Þ 

You are not a number, you are several. Your insurance number, your bank account, your phone number, your license plate.

Having the Central Person Registry (CPR) in Denmark has not taken away any civil rights, and it has not made us any less free men. In fact, I'd wager to say that our rights are better than in America, for instance, as the 'registry-law' is extremely strict: It is illegal to compare databases between companies unless all persons compared specifically opt-in. Likewise, there is no direct public access to the CPR, and the only information contained there in is name, birth date, current address and whether or not you wish to receive unsolicited advertising in your mail (and no hacking, as far as I know, the data is not networked anywhere, so you have to gain physical access to fiddle).

I find this system preferable to any other I've heard of... What are your reservations against a central database, and why? The fact that you are in a database doesn't automatically make this a bad thing, in my opinion. It's how this database is used and by whom...
posted by Mikkel , 8:44 PM Þ 

did any of you read the completely hysterical posting on slashdot about the japanese number-ID system?

"I am not a number, I am a free man"
posted by Irdial , 7:53 PM Þ 

Ahh, the aforementioned Hot Tuna download is finished! 43 hours constant downloading, or as wget says: "Downloaded: 7,647,936,231 bytes in 1762 files." I have no idea what to do with all this. Hehe.

On people, taste, and personality. I think the most basic relation between music and personality would be the tendency of open minded people to listen to music before writing it off. To listen to the music before saying they like it. I get along fine with all the heathens around here, even though they cannot listen to a decent song to save their life (it's tragic how much total ccrap is played. I usually burn odd CDs and bring them to parties only to have people change it.) I use genres for finding music that's similar to what I like, though I prefer when people say "this is what it would sound like if david bowie was making music in the 30s" or "this is sort of like a completely drugless autechre playing acoustic guitar" or whatever. Gives me a much nicer impression of what the hell it is before I got out and actually acquire it.

As a random sidenode, did any of you read the completely hysterical posting on slashdot about the japanese number-ID system? Talk about over-reacting, but at least 99% of the comments are sober and make sense (which is goddamn rare on that site).
posted by Mikkel , 3:50 PM Þ 

Rambling thoughts post a hysterically stressful morning where I went 5 grand over budget!

I rarely think about this, but it's both true and interesting that my best friends are definately those who I can go glassy-eyed with when experiencing music. But they and I all like huge varieties of music and one of the things I like to do best is play and listen to all these types of music with them, swapping thoughts and ideas and, frankly, turning each other on. I genuinely don't think I know anyone who excludes one type of music from their sonic diet, though like I say I don't think about it that much.

I have met people who just don't like music though, i.e. they have no music collection, don't listen to the radio and don't go to gigs. They are odd ones.

Genres may be personally useful and I don't think they'll go away, but I'm wary of them universally. They kind of work in record stores but only because there's so much bad music released that most of it might as well be lumped in together as mainstream and dull (in some ways they work in reverse; if you have to look in the "wrong" place for your music, possibly even outside the shop, it's probably very groovy).

But even then they make me annoyed and uncomfortable, because in the end the worst result is the kind of elitism that puts you off going in certain types of record stores because you feel uncomfortable with the trappings of that genre, be it the flyposter world of independent stores or the air conditioned nightmare of the serious music shop. As an aside I've always found classical sections of HMV and Virgin really hard to navigate because of the composer/performer/genre stock problem, but they can end up having the most helpful assistants who will actively recommend other recordings or variants.

Mostly though I do think genres create boundaries and problems. Growing up in the UK in the 70's and 80's I remember the threat and reality of being beaten up physically because of the type of music I identified with; in the last 10-12 years that threat has almost disappeared. I don't know why but it's a great relief. Of course genres/trends/styles/subcultures still exist, but the hatred has gone.

One of the more ludicrous end results of genres gone mad? Something that someone once said in my hometown as a teenager (not to me); 'Don't run, it's not Goth!'
posted by captain davros , 2:48 PM Þ 

Music is not information; this is why it should not be classified into genres. It is enough to sort music by title and the name of its creator, or by the organization that published it. This is sufficient to find any music, reccomend it to friends and make it retrievable. We know this for certain now, because of the filesharing phenom. Far more useful than genres is the ability to ask (or to look) at the other things a person is listening to, which is a defacto recomendation.

Music is information, since information can be everything - well that is the librarian way of looking all outputs of human, and one must say that music is a kind of information. How do you define information? Please let me know. But one would miss a lot of music/information, if one only looks at friends music - dont you think so? I have had this discussion before with a man, we were talking about how to know about music. How to know? Witch preferences do you have?

Use genres as a generalization, not as a label. Genres can be a major help in understanding and explaining music. I mean, if I am out of home and meeting other people and we talk music, it sure is nice to use genres - as a general description. Since I can not always pick up a disckman and say 'Listen honey, this is why I love this tune' I would be nice if I could, but I cant...So I use genres instead


Genres make music ghettoes. Look at the "Music" magazines, and the way they compartmentalize the reviews that they do. Many of these rags are simply racist in the way that they treat music.

Yes, you are right abouth that. But anyway you need words to describe music, since it is not always you have the opporturnity to listen, and music magazines do give one inputs in some ways. It is only a compromise for the music it self. And sometimes you have to compromise

In a perfect magazine, the reviews and reviewers simply react to a piece of music, without the review having to sit in a particular, artificailly created, ghetto section. The information in the review does not change, but what DOES change is the notion that a piece of music somehow "belongs" with other releases; this mistaken idea is the same one that ends up putting people of the same religion in only one part of a city. Its is wrong.

Sure

There is no doubt that there are different types of people, but they are all people. It is the same for music and sound. There are many different types of music, but it is all music, and it should not be put into artificially created genres and "boxes", which separates people from finding and experiencing different musics, and poisons the minds of readers and listeners everywhere.

I must say on some points I disagree on that. When you do use a classification system, it makes it so much easier for one to search (music). It may not be 100% fulfilling (that I agree on), but it is better than a search in the dark.

And for your language answers - true...But there is more than language, what about having TASTE in commen? Doesnt taste mean anything for you?

Thank's for the answers, I was sure I would get some
posted by Alison , 2:12 PM Þ 
posted by captain davros , 2:05 PM Þ 

Genres of music and conneting with other people. I am a librarian and have worked with classification of all kinds of information, as a musiclover I cant help but think about music as genres and the feelings it puts in ones mind.

Music is not information; this is why it should not be classified into genres. It is enough to sort music by title and the name of its creator, or by the organization that published it. This is sufficient to find any music, reccomend it to friends and make it retrievable. We know this for certain now, because of the filesharing phenom. Far more useful than genres is the ability to ask (or to look) at the other things a person is listening to, which is a defacto recomendation.

Genres make music ghettoes. Look at the "Music" magazines, and the way they compartmentalize the reviews that they do. Many of these rags are simply racist in the way that they treat music.

In a perfect magazine, the reviews and reviewers simply react to a piece of music, without the review having to sit in a particular, artificailly created, ghetto section. The information in the review does not change, but what DOES change is the notion that a piece of music somehow "belongs" with other releases; this mistaken idea is the same one that ends up putting people of the same religion in only one part of a city. Its is wrong.

I have never met a single person who only likes one "type" of music; the people that I have met all like music and looking through their record / CD boxes reveals many different releases of music, made by different means. Now, in saying that, someone could argue that I am saying that these people like different types of music and so therefore there actually are different types of music, and so these different types can (and should) be classified.

You would be wrong.

There is no doubt that there are different types of people, but they are all people. It is the same for music and sound. There are many different types of music, but it is all music, and it should not be put into artificially created genres and "boxes", which separates people from finding and experiencing different musics, and poisons the minds of readers and listeners everywhere.

Look at the radio site at the BBC. It's an apalling example of ghettoized music.

When people talk about the heyday of the warehouse parties, a theme consistently comes up; "the DJs played anything and everything that they wanted". I can testify that this is true, and that it worked, was brilliant, and the best fun ever. Why this has dissapeared I will leave it to someone else to conjecture, but the fact that it has is sad, and the fact that radio is so ghetto entrenched is also sad and disheartening.

On this subject BTW, I heard a cover of Outkasts "Mrs. Jackson" done by some young "rock" band....it had potential!

And how come I feel a connection when interagating with others if we have simular taste in music/movies/litterature/art?

Language.

I my self have noticed that I for some reason, do not connect (as really good friends) with people that do not listen to ANY kind of electronic music...How come it is so?

Language.
posted by Irdial , 11:54 AM Þ 

Do you think that your efforts to create Peekabooty will cause censoring countries to change their filtering policy from 'default-allow' to 'default-deny', that is, instead of blocking 'bad' sites it will instead only allow 'good' ones?

This is very similar thinking as to what happened prior to WWII. The good guys let Germany invade its neighbors because they didn’t want something REALLY bad to happen. If an evil madman tells you that you have to choose which of two people he is going to kill, it is still the madman's fault that someone is dead no matter which one you choose. If a government switches over to an allow-only system, this helps the cause even further. What we want is an end to censorship. The only way that is going to happen is that the government stops censoring its own people. The people have to make that happen. Not only is censorship possible, but total 1984-style control and monitoring is possible, and China in particular is heading in that direction as fast as it can. One of the benefits of Peekabooty is that it is bringing awareness to thousands of people around the world about the issues. In any event, a country has to overcome some major obstacles to switch to an allow-only system: 1) It's a lot of work with a lot of administration headaches (there are way more good web sites than bad ones), 2) the 'allow' list is bigger than a 'deny' list, which puts more strain on hardware that already cannot handle the load, 3) economic reasons (the cash doesn’t flow if the commercial web sites are blocked), and 4) it will cause unrest.

http://www.peekabooty.org/
posted by Irdial , 11:24 AM Þ 

Leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
posted by Alun , 10:37 AM Þ 

Genres of music and conneting with other people. I am a librarian and have worked with classification of all kinds of information, as a musiclover I cant help but think about music as genres and the feelings it puts in ones mind. Do you out there have any comments on peoples music taste and their personality? And how come I feel a connection when interagating with others if we have simular taste in music/movies/litterature/art? I my self have noticed that I for some reason, do not connect (as really good friends) with people that do not listen to ANY kind of electronic music...How come it is so? does musictaste and personality go hand in hand? Or is it more a question about the depth of dedication in the music interest, than the music genre?
posted by Alison , 9:47 AM Þ 

cap: that is so cool that you got to play with Townshend! He is a tremendously cool guy, and a very forward thinking. How neat. I'm glad he hasn't sunken into he "golden oldies" rut that so many "classic rock" guys have fallen into.
And I think the motto "meet the new boss - same as the old boss" is very correct these days in regards to America. The new boss just has more excuses to act as he has always wanted.
posted by Barrie , 4:24 AM Þ 

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/04/opinion/04FRIE.html
"This ties in with a larger concern that human rights activists share toward America today — a concern that post-9/11 America is not interested anymore in law and order, just order, and it's not interested in peace and quiet, but just quiet."
-hmm.
posted by john , 2:18 AM Þ 
Sunday, August 04, 2002

Not sure Towser would be in the mood for such a "letter" either if this interview is anything to go by http://www.rollingstone.com/features/featuregen.asp?pid=941.

For the record though, I had the great fortune to play a gig with Pete Townsend back in 1999, and he was a superbly nice chap. Excellent sound system as well and amazing Gustav Metzger visuals - an entire wall over 50 feet wide of LCD projections. Moreover, even though he was playing old songs, he imbued them with a great relevance and modernity. He has also improved massively as a guitarist - rare, I personally feel, that you witness rock musicians getting better at their thing as time passes, since they usually do what they're just expected to do after they reach the profit plateau. But PT was going off into the stratosphere that night with stuff I never thought he (or anyone) could do.
posted by captain davros , 11:58 PM Þ 

The death of rock music? What a fucking whiner!
Lou Reed shot rock music to death with something akin to Jim Cauty's sonic cannon in 1975. It's been dead for almost THIRTY YEARS, PEOPLE! And bands like King Crimson and Captain Beefheart had already been messing around with things (pretension maybe, but that's not the issue here). So that whiny Bobby Bare Jr. can shove his head further up his ass for all I care.
That's not to say that any rock music since then has been bad - quite the contrary - but I feel it has since stopped evolving as a singular art, and has so intermeshed itself with other "genres" (or other unclassifiable sounds) that it only exists as a memory of influence. I think only a few "actual" rock bands still exist. Pearl Jam is a very good example, as are bands like The Strokes who merely rehash sounds originally made over 30 years ago (not that there's anything wrong with that, and who care if there is?).
Of course... I could be totally full of shit... but whatever.
posted by Barrie , 10:10 PM Þ 

MR
posted by Claus Eggers , 9:30 PM Þ 

posted by Irdial , 1:59 PM Þ 

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Singer-songwriter Bobby Bare Jr. fears rock music may sputter to its grave. In a provocative new song, he explains why.

"This letter is addressed to Mr. Pete Townshend/ Hey brother I write you to say thanks for nothin'/ Your generation used up all the feelings/ And if we rock it looks like we're ripping you off," he sings on "Dig Down," a song that's both a cry of frustration and motivational chant.

While making two fine rock records since 1998, the son of country star Bobby Bare ("Detroit City") has struggled for uniqueness, coming to the conclusion in "Dig Down" that "The Beatles used up all there was to be found."

"Anybody trying to do something in rock 'n' roll that's sincerely original knows what I'm talking about," he said. "I really don't think anybody's done anything original since The Pixies.

"It's always the same old same old, but somebody had to say it."
[...]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/03/bobby.barejr.ap/index.html
posted by Irdial , 1:43 PM Þ 

g
posted by john , 9:40 AM Þ 
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