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Open Source …. Beer!

Posted on July 26, 2005 ·

Danish offer a recipe for open source beer

Recipe for beer by Vores Ol

 “Now … when you here the words “open source” most people think of computer software programs like Linux …It’s a model where the original “source code” can be modified and improved at no cost…and it’s shared among users for free. Well now … thanks to Rasmus Nielsen, beer is free too. Atleast the recipe is … in an industry where ingredients and processes are typically kept under strict trademark.

Rasmus Nielsen is one of the creators of the Vores OI beer recipe. We reached him at his home in Copenhagen, Denmark.”

Thanks to Randy for discovering this gem Recipe here.

Update (6/9/08):  Jevon talks about free beer.  Some more serious stuff, too, but, hey.. BEER!

Filed Under: Humor, Open Source, Software · Tagged: , ,
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Debris Falling from Discovery

Posted on July 26, 2005 ·
 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA officials are analyzing video of a portion of Tuesday’s shuttle launch “frame-by-frame” after one of several cameras aboard the craft captured what appeared to be pieces of debris separating from Discovery, according to Local 6 News.

  • “The question was asked whether this was a danger to the orbiter?,” Forbes said. “Officials said they did not think so but they are still going to analyze the video.”

    Local 6 News aired video showing the pieces apparently coming loose while the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters separated (pictured, left).

    SLIDESHOW: Cam Catches Debris Falling Off Shuttle
    VIDEO: Video Shows Pieces Coming Loose
    IMAGES: See The Launch

    There also appears to have been a large piece of debris coming off the external fuel tank two minutes into the flight — but it doesn’t appear to have hit the orbiter, Associated Press reported.

    Watch the video here.

    Update:  NASA now reports Discovery hit a bird seconds after launch. Full coverage here.

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    Filed Under: Misc, Technology ·
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    King George (Bush) gets his way

    Posted on July 26, 2005 ·
    King George (Bush) gets his way after all… Senate does not

    confirm his nominee?  So what?  Who cares about the Senate

    anyway?  That’s what a  recess appointment is for … and we’re stuck with Bolton till January 2007.

     
    Senators, Congressmen, go home, enjoy your vacation, don’t even

    come back… you’re not needed.  Down with Democracy, Long Live

    King George! 

    Update (7/28) – A very relevant story on 115.org.

    Update (7/29) It’s happening soon.

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    Filed Under: Humor, Politics ·
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    Rubik’s Cube Solver

    Posted on July 25, 2005 ·

    Rubik’s Cube Solver  cute little app to solve the decades-old puzzle  invented by a fellow Hungarian. 

    Rubik’s pocket cube

    Originally uploaded by Petromyzon.


      

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    Filed Under: Software ·
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    MSN’s Apple-free Virtual Earth

    Posted on July 25, 2005 ·

    Lot of buzz about MSN’s Virtual Earth today … Jeremy Wright gives it the thumbs up over Google Maps  – althought I think it’s a bit of unfair comparison, Google Earth is certainly a more comparable product.

    Isn’t it funny how the whole world talks about these two only, Google and MS, when there’s another very similar product downloadable from none other but the NASA?  (hm.. does it say something about the difference between Government and Private sector?)

    As I wrote before, Patrick was the first one to publish a four-way visual comparison.

    There may be more in the name than we thought … “Virtual Earth” meaning “the Earth as Microsoft would like to see it”  – some folks report to The  Register that Microsoft’s Earth Deleted Apple HQ.
    Take a look at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters from Google and MSN’s rival map sites. Both sites offer aerial photos alongside maps. MSN’s version is here and Google’s is here.

    The Search is on … who else did not make it to Bill’s New World?

    The Register also notes that the twin towers of the World Trade Center are still there in  all their pre-9/11 glory.

    Update at 11:10am, 7/25: now we know who else did not make it. “Hey, Sun and Oracle are gone too, and at Google’s address, there’s just a charred hole” reports Siliconvalley.com. 

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    Filed Under: Business, Humor, Personal Productivity, Software ·
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    MSN Virtual Earth – US only, Google flying to the Moon :-)

    Posted on July 24, 2005 ·

    The Novelty of Google Earth hasn’t worn off yet,  and now we have a contender: MSN Virtual Earth... well, sort of … as long as the Earth is limited to the US – while Google’s world includes the Moon 🙂

    If you clicked on the Virtual Earth link above, and got to nowhere, that’s quite understandable, according to Steve Rubel and confirmed by “The” Scoble, MS made the site available pre-launch, for testing purposes.

    Apparently the few hours it was up were enough for Rick to test-ride and compare it to Google Earth.  What really blew me away though was Patrick’s visual comparison of four products, including one from the NASA.

     Map Comparison

    Update (7/31) Rick’s new review here.

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    Filed Under: Humor, Software, Technology ·
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    Innovation and Customer Service

    Posted on July 24, 2005 ·
    Ever started to comment on someone else’s blog only to get so carried away that you felt you had t make it a full-blown post?   Well, it just happened to me.
     
    Vinnie Mirchandani writes about how Hertz is using innovation to provide superior Customer Service.  This prompted me to comment on the contrast of great Hertz service vs. a very poor experience I had with Avis: 
     
    On of Hertz’s early innovations Vinnie mentions, the Map-printing Kiosk proved to be a lifesaver when as a Consultant new to the US I flew around a lot every week – it gave me the security of arriving to unknown places in the middle of the night and finding my hotel without ever getting lost. This was in the early 90’s.

    In fact we often take such conveniences for granted, assuming they are “industry standard” … not quite.

    Fast forward to last year, when I flew to Boston for an interview – the company’s standard agency was Avis, so they booked me there … fine .. or so I thought.

    After a horribly delayed flight I arrived at the Avis lot around 4am, trying to get directions to my hotel in Suburbia, a good 30 miles away. Wow, no Kiosk!!! (???). Well, you’d think the clerk can help you (like they do at Hertz). Apparently they are not supposed to, for liability reasons (???) – or so they say.

    Oh, well, GPS will help – except the system I reserved was not in the car; the crew at the station had trouble first finding the key to the locker where they keep the GPS units ( a lousy Motorola phone), then they had no clue how to operate it. We ended up reading the user manual together, and I was faster in deciphering it than they were.

    After this it should have come as no surprise when I was caught at the gate – apparently the paperwork and the car did not match, they parked the wrong car in the assigned lot.  (Need I say this was the car the station manager and I spent 30 minutes in, trying to get the GPS installed?) Well, back to the office, station manager trying to call the gate, they don’t answer… he ended up running to the gate and order the guard to let me (finally) leave,  saying he’ll fix the paperwork afterwards…

    All in all, I spent 50 minutes at the Avis lot, despite being the only customer there.

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    Filed Under: Business, Customer Service, Technology ·
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    A-list Bloggers

    Posted on July 23, 2005 ·
    Randy has an interesting post about A-list Bloggers’ circular linking to drive up their ranking:
     
    “…

    The problem is that the many of us link to the a-listers like mad

    in hope that they’ll just link to us once in a blue moon and boost our

    Google karma. They get 10 links for every link they give you, sometimes

    more…”

     
    OK, so I am one of

    those s*ckers linking to several A-listers – but wait, is it all about

    ranking?  No, there is quite a bit more: they actually happen to

    write informative / entertaining / provocative (take your pick) blogs,

    that are worth reading … ONCE, that is.

     
    But

    thanks to Bloglines, I get to read the same article 3-4 times in the

    course of a day or so, as our A-listers quote each other often adding

    little extra value.

     
    C’mon guys, you can do better than this!

     
     Update: here’s an interesting idea from the Social Customer Manifesto.

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    Filed Under: Blogging, Social Networking, Software ·
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    Has Blogging Peaked?

    Posted on July 23, 2005 ·

    The Always-On Innovation Summit just devoted it’s last session to the Blogosphere, but some “brand name” bloggers, like Jeremy Zawodny are already predicting blogging would peak soon … others are wondering if it already has.

    I don’t believe either. Blogging may soon not be the “hot, new thing” ( in fact I am sure it no longer is, by the time I jump in on something, how could it be new …)

    Those of us that find Blogging a good way of self-expression will likely not abandon it.

    Others blog as a from of ongoing  career-management – get your name known, “become a brand”  (thanks, tompeters!).
    If you want to be “in” some Entrepreneurial circles, better be a blogger… just look at what Joe Kraus says about his hiring criteria. 

    That leaves the commercial crowd – blogging for $$$.  Blogging networks grow like mushrooms, their content is often not  determined by the author’s desire to communicate but by what areas help maximize ad revenue.    Don’t get me wrong: many of these networks actually provide high-quality information… but with some others, content is secondary, just an excuse to display ads.

    I expect to see a spectacular  hypergrowth- peak-crash-burn cycle in this segment.   The  barrier of entry is  low, and I suspect this will be just like the day-trading phenomenon:  with news like  Jason Calacanis hitting $1M  or “ProBlogger” Darren’s record Adsense check  sooner or later many  in corporate America  will see blogging as a way to get out of the cubicle and  make easy money, then …  well, we know what happened to daytraders.
    Few will make a decent profit, most will burn,  the real beneficieries will be, just like with daytrading, the platform/infractsructure/tool providers.  I wrote about one extreme example here.

    When the $$ crowd is gone, blogging will be back to what it’s meant to be: a way of self-expression, communication, professional/social networking, exchange of ideas.  Which is perfectly right with me.

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    Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Social Networking, Software, Technology ·
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    Always-On 2005 at Stanford

    Posted on July 21, 2005 ·

    Watching some of the sessions online.  For a conference about Innovation, there is nothing innovative about the feed; tiny screen, cannot be enlarged, the only way to zoom in is to give up the online chat.

    The backchannel is about the best feature, it is displayed on the wall at the Conference, thus we, cheapos who did not plunk down $1,800, or just live too far get to participate.  “PeoplePower” really worked when during the Opening Keynote the panelists finally listened to the backchannel demand and changed subject, back from Politics.  (Isn’t this an Innovation Conference, after all?)

    Today I really liked Joe Kraus‘s closing remarks, essentially saying we should stop talking about copyright..etc, leave it to the Hollywood types, and focus on what the Valley’s real value is: innovation, creating new businesses and jobs.  Too bad it was a closing remark 🙂

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    Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, Politics, Social Networking, Software, Technology ·
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