Aimless Wandering

In case you missed it, this past week several men were arrested in connection with a plot to blow up fuel tanks at New York’s Kennedy Airport.  If the plot went as they expected by blowing up the fuel tanks they would have triggered some sort of chain reaction that would have caused explosions to spread throughout the airport’s fuel pipelines blowing up aircraft at the gates and destroying much of the airport. Additional explosions would have also damaged nearby neighborhoods as well… Sounds pretty scary… Too bad it never could have happened the way these folks could have envisioned it.

Now don’t get me wrong, the arrest of this group of folks is without a doubt a score for the good guys. Even if they had managed to try and put this plan into action they would have done some serious damage… just not the apocalyptic scenario that they dreamed of.

While the newsreaders on your favorite media outlet are breathlessly reciting the details of what these guys wanted to happen, most of them are forgetting what would have actually happened if they had pulled this off. Thanks to the safeguards that are pretty much standard in fuel tank farms like the one these guys were targeting, they would have caused a big boom. If they had managed to blow up one or more of these tanks there would have been a large fire in the tank farm, the airport might even have closed for a bit while the fire raged. However, thanks to the fire suppression and leak prevention systems in place that fire would be contained to the tank farm. It wouldn’t go traveling along the pipeline causing horrific damage, it wouldn’t have been the flaming wall of destruction that these guys thought they would create.

Heck back in the ’80s there was an event similar to what they were trying to cause. A train derailed outside a Southern California neighborhood, as the train derailed it ruptured a pressurized gasoline pipeline that ran along the tracks. The gasoline spewing from the pipe ignited - initially causing a huge fireball. The rupture though was detected by pressure sensors in the pipeline which automatically closed valves shutting off the flow of gas. The residual gas in the pipe quickly burned off, and starved of fuel the fire went out.

If there was an explosion in one of these tanks, pressure sensors in the pipelines would close cutting off the fire (and fuel) and preventing the fire from spreading along the pipes to the airport.

This is the second group in the last few months that was arrested for plotting these grandiose plots that in reality don’t have a chance working as envisioned. How about the guys who thought that they could cause mass death and destruction on Fort Dix in NJ. I have no doubt they they could figure out a way to slip past security and get a few shot off, maybe get into a building… From the time that they fired their first shot I’d give them a life expectancy of 5 minutes tops. By then if the MP’s didn’t get them, one of the thousands of soldiers on that base with access to a wide assortment of weapons probably would. It would be an attack that would get tons of media attention for it’s boldness - and tons of ridicule for it’s outright stupidity.

However, morons like these folks are probably great for law enforcement folks. If they are plotting stupid attacks like these then they probably aren’t very bright to begin with and as a result probably make stupid mistakes that make it easy for them to be caught…

In this era of aggressive copy protection, restrictive digital rights management, it’s always nice to see a content provider that is encouraging that users share their content.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not a fan of copyright infringement or piracy, but I think that when folks share quality content with their friends that it’s a good thing.  Personally, I think that TV clips up on YouTube is a good thing.  While yes, the content creators aren’t getting paid for the content, they are getting hype.  Folks are noticing their work, and that in turn makes them more popular.  However, there have been plenty of stories recently of media companies serving YouTube and other similar services with copyright infringement notices and getting clips removed.  I just don’t think these “old media” companies understand or recognize the potential of “new media.”

So imagine my surprise to encounter an old media company that seems to get it, or at least a show that seems to get it.  I got an e-mail last week from NPR’s On The Media, which besides having the notes from the week’s show  had a little blurb buried at the bottom of the message.  “Got a blog or a website?  Did you know you can embed OTM audio segments just like YouTube?”

If you’re not familiar with OTM, as the name suggests it reports on the media and for years they have been talking about the clash between old media and new media.  They’ve been very conscious of the impact (and potential impact) of podcasts, blogs, video sharing and all of the other ways the people can get news and information besides from the television or radio.  If they’re anybody out there that has heard both sides of the story about sharing content on the internet, it’s definately the folks at OTM.

I have to commend them for taking the plunge and allowing folks on the iternet to share pieces of their show.  While I admit, OTM isn’t for everyone - if you see a site that has linked up to NPR’s Flash Player click on it.  Show the folks at OTM and NPR that there is a demand and value to this service.  Maybe then other shows (and networks) will get the message…

And to help it along, here’s a clip from this week’s edition of On The Media.  In it host Brooke Gladstone talks with Jonathan Gold the first food critic to win a Pulitzer Prize.

So now that some of the initial hubub for the Apple iPhone has died done I’ve been pondering the iPhone. It’s definately a drool worthy device, and I’m very interested in it. But there are a few things that right now would prevent me from running out to get it:

As much as this phone still has quite a bit of time before it comes out of development, with all that this phone can do I’m also a little concerned about the first generation of the iPhone. I’m not sure I want the first generation iPhone because of this. Plus, I’d be surprised if gen 2 of the iPhone didn’t include 3G data…

So, in one fell swoop Steve Jobs today announced a device that essentially embodied EVERY single iPod related rumor from the past year…

Lesse, widescreen… check. Touchscreen interface… check. phone… check. WiFI… check. Today at the Macworld keynote, the Apple iPhone was announced. The device actually breaks Apple’s normal pattern of a device becomming available within days of it’s announcement. Because it still needs to get FCC approval, the iPhone won’t hit the market until June. Since the FCC publishes the details on the devices that are submitted to them for approval there was no way that Apple could have kept the iPhone secret once it went to the FCC.

The iPhone looks to be an extremely impressive device. The only thing that doesn’t impress me is it’s data connectivity. For cellular data, the iPhone uses Cingular’s EDGE network which isn’t all that fast. One the other hand the Cingular Blackjack uses the 3G/HSDPA which is very fast, the same with the Motorola Q which uses Verizon’s WirelessBroadband service. I’m extremely hopefully that the iPhone will see an upgrade soon.

I’ve also got to wonder if we’ll be seeing a new iPod with many of the new features that were introduced (or will be introduced) in the iPhone. Personally, if I was in the market for an iPod, I’d wait two or three months. It just wouldn’t surprise me if there was word of one of Steve Job’s “One More Thing” press events scheduled for a few months from now…

So I’m poking around on Digg because the podcast is now listed over there (hey, every little bit helps right?) and stumble across an article that looks interesting. Now, I don’t go to Digg that often, well pretty much ever, so I don’t know of all of the little shenanigans that go on over there. The article that caught my eye was listed on the front page of the site which meant that it was popular and had been “dugg” by visitors.

It was an article that was posted on a blogger blog, and out of curiosity I thought I would take a look around the blog to see if there was anything else worth reading. There wasn’t. It’s not that the other articles on the blog sucked… there were NO other articles on the entire blog. One post about the possible Apple phone on some blogger blog managed to get the attention of the Digg populace and is now drawing traffic…

It just bothers me that some random post on a site with 0 credibility, because well how can you be credible when you only have one post, can catch the attention of the web community enough to get prominent placement on a heavily trafficked site like Digg.

Apparently there’s a new trend in dining that’s making it’s way around the world, “blacked out” restaurants. The dining area is pitch black, you literally can’t see what you’re eating and to facilitate the servers delivering your food the wait staff wear night vision goggles. Light producing devices (phones, watches, flashlights etc…) are prohibited in the dining area, however the foyer is well lit and while waiting in the foyer you’ll review the menu and place your order.

The theory behind dining in the dark is that if you can’t see, then your other senses will become a bit more sensitive. This will allow you to not only enjoy the taste and smell of your food , but should also increase your focus on the conversation and your meal.

I have a problem with this concept though, presentation is an important part of the dining experience. This is even more true in finer eating establishments, but this takes away that element. Not only that, but if you can’t see then how do you know where your knife is? Or how much is left on your plate? Better yet, how do you know if you’re keeping your food ON your plate?

Oh, and if for some reason nature calls while in the blacked out dining area…. Raise your hand and somebody will come and lead you to the bathroom, which by the way is lit

Just in case you live under a rock or in a cave somewhere and therefore haven’t heard yet, Time Magazine’s Person of The Year is…. You. (I’d link to it but their site is misbehaving)

Well not just you, but everyone who creates content on the web from bloggers, to podcasters, to the drunken fratboys who post youtube videos of their buddies wrapped in bubble plastic drunkenly jumping from the third story window. Internet users who generate content for the internet are Time’s People of The Year.

Now that’s a pretty serious honor, so do you think I can use it on my resume? “2006 Time Magazine Person of The Year.”

So the building that I work in is considered a “green” building. Designed and built around 20 years ago, it features all kinds of innovative and unique features intended to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. Of course many of those innovative and unique features only had a lifespan of about 3 years, but what’s a few years when the environment is involved right?

Take for example the heating and cooling system… When the building was built way back when, it was built without air conditioning. Instead an innovative system of temperature sensors and automatic skylight and window controls would be used to cool the building and provide airflow… never mind that the system was notorious for opening windows and skylights in the pouring rain and at other opportune moments. After 15 years it was realized that the natural system just wasn’t up to the task of cooling the building with the large number of computers that are now housed in it and air conditioning was put in. But since the building wasn’t designed to have A/C in the first place, it’s not uncommon for some rooms to freeze and others to roast in the summer.

There’s a similar effect in the winter, and as the building manager tells us on a regular basis space heaters just magnify the problem. Not that anybody listens mind you, we have a ton of “illicit” space heaters in use throughout the building…

With the latest bout of rain we’ve had, leaks have no become a big probem too… As a result the building manager sent the following e-mail out to everybody in the building:

I can change the temperature however I cannot stop the precipitation. The LH74 building is a green building, meaning that it designed to be environmentally friendly. This building is so eco-friendly that it brings the rain right into your classrooms. There is nothing more relaxing then the cleansing feeling of rainstorm.

So I’m not exactly my boss’s boss’s biggest fan.  She’s a micromanaging controlling person, and when it comes to making difficult decisions she’ll avoid them like the plague unless she either knows that the fall out won’t affect her, or she has no other choice but to get up and act.

My boss while not the micromanager, does have to know EVERYTHING that’s going on.  If something happens without him knowing about it, he gets very upset.  Getting him upset is easy, and when he’s spun up he’s worse than a bull in a china shop.

My boss and his boss mix like oil and water…  Oh and they’ve been working together for nearly 10 years…

My boss’s boss is known for coming down to our office and providing tasking to the staff members without discussing it with my boss.  That’s something that irritates him.  Partly becuase he has to know all that’s going on, and partly because she ends up taking us away from other tasks and we end up missing deadlines.  Since we just have to have the never ending death spiral, our bosses boss reviews our projects and our deadlines, she will always call my boss on the carpet when we miss a deadline…  Even if she was the cause of missing the deadline. 

The situation came to a head last week, with some heated e-mails flying between the two of them and some loud “discussions” over the situation.  My boss now tells me that he wants to file a grevance against his boss…  Sadly, I don’t think it will go well, and things will just get worse for us as these two continue to clash…

So several of the traffic lights have sensors in them so that they turn green when somebody’s waiting.  Instead of the magnetic loops in the road, the sensors are up on top of the traffic lights themselves.  Honestly I’m not sure what activates them, as they don’t always seem to work and the Vespa almost never seems to trigger them.

There are some people who seem to think that flashing lights will have some effect on them.  Case in point, the doofus who was waiting in front of me at the light.  He sat at the intersection for a good 30 to 40 seconds flashing his lights in an attempt to trigger the light…  I’m pretty sure it didn’t work…  Never mind that instead of spending 30 to 40 seconds manually flashing his lights in a futile attempt to get a green light he could have flipped a switch in his truck that would have made his lights flash on their own!  I mean, I’m pretty sure that his truck came with turn signals!