The tabs on my Firefox browser have been up now for over a week. I haven’t shut down the app or the machine in a while, and after those random bug crashes (that happen often on the newer versions of Firefox), I bring the tabs back up. The past weekend led to some great online research/time wasting (you pick which term because I sometimes cannot tell the difference) thanks to folks like Larry, Pod, and my new hobby with researching the P2P torrent world. I’m ready to close some of these tabs; don’t worry, they’re bookmarked, so thought I should pass some of the leads along to whomever hits the HappyFeet universe:
- GraffitiGen: Fun site that lets you type in words and turn them into graffiti-style art. Change the colors, link to the type you made, and have a good time doing legal digi-graff.
- Visual Complexity: Pod turned me on to this great site a few days ago. This site shows you how things connect using advanced design techniques. Some major thought goes into these images, and the results can look otherworldly at times. Pod and I both wonder if this is the future of corporate data manipulation. Imagine Google using their information on all of us to make these complex charts that will further the bottom line.
- The Oil of the 21st Century: Speaking of information, this convention just happened in Berlin. From their site: “Under the banner of the ‘Information Society’, a cartel of corporate knowledge distributors struggle to maintain their exclusive right to the exploitation and commodification of the informational resources of the world.”
- tvRSS: I just learned what a tracker site is. And I’ve also just learned that sharing a torrent file does not mean that you are sharing info with “exclusive rights”. This site is worse than having cable TV because every show is one click away. Want to spend a day wasting time in front of the tube? Hit up tvRSS before Interpol gets them.
- Also found out that The Pirate Bay is legally hosting a torrent tracker in their home country of Sweden. Sort of. The exciting story coming from that country is that there’s a movement to start a Pirate Party that will seek seats in government. Will the WTO be the final ring for this battle?
- Had the honor of meeting Aaron and his Tactical Ice Cream Unit after the Peace March Saturday. I document educational vehicles and his Ice Cream truck fits the method. I hope to post photos and write more about the TICU soon, and will say briefly that he’s got a good deal going on with that project.
- February 29 might seem far off, but a group of organizers have decided to make Leap Day a day of creative chaos. A call has been sent out to get the ball rolling across the planet for a day of direct action that focuses “on living life in a positive, creative, loving, cooperative, sustainable fashion without domination of others or the earth.” The object is to be so off the wall that the actions will confuse cops and business owners. Sound like fun to me!
- Finally, I read an alt-history book about girls who had to give up their children for adoption in the 1950s and 1960s. The Girls Who Went Away gives first hand accounts of many tragic stories based upon societal, familial, and religious ignorance and misunderstandings. I had to read this book slowly because each story a mother gave filled me with sadness, anger, and compassion for their heartbreaking stories.