Live bloging the WV blogger meetup

Rick Lee plans to post pictures live from the WV blog meetup next week. It's still on for Wednesday at 8 a.m. in the Taylor Books cafe.

I plan on live posting from it as well.

Three days to raise $25,000

Creative Commons needs $25,000 in donations in the before the first of the year or they are at risk of losing their tax exempt status.

There is a donate button on the right side of this blog. Read the rest of Professor Lessig's post for more details.

Crossposted to Law Firm IT.

popcult: WHCP's Newscast

theGAZZ.com: popcult: WHCP's Newscast is the review I wanted to write but never found the time.

O'Reilly's Hacks Books for Free Using Google Books

Micro Persuasion: Read Most of O'Reilly's Hacks Books for Free Using Google

The internet makes stars

BuzzMachine: The internet makes stars - Jeff Jarvis on the Lazy Sunday video phenomenon and what it means for old media and new media.

What are the folks at Google doing with all that Silly Putty?

Official Google Blog might have the answer.

Bonus link: Silly putty

Update: Boing Boing is on the story.

WV Blogger Meetup Update

I found someone to cover for me, so I can attend the WV Blogger Meetup on January 4 at Taylor Books. So far it looks like Rick Lee, Stacey from 4haks, Bob Coffield from Health Care Law Blog, and MShane from Through The Lens plan to be there.

I need to add MShane to the blogroll.

Sugar Grove, WV - the NSA's "listening post" for the east coast

Boing Boing: Profile of NSA's "listening post" for communications spying

As reported in the NYT:

Deep in a remote, fog-layered hollow near Sugar Grove, W.Va., hidden by fortress-like mountains, sits the country's largest eavesdropping bug. Located in a "radio quiet" zone, the station's large parabolic dishes secretly and silently sweep in millions of private telephone calls and e-mail messages an hour.

Run by the ultrasecret National Security Agency, the listening post intercepts all international communications entering the eastern United States. Another N.S.A. listening post, in Yakima,Wash., eavesdrops on the western half of the country.

I grew up at the edge of the radio quiet zone. Our AM radio station quit broadcasting at sundown. There are also special FCC regs. you have to be aware of when operating an amateur radio station in the radio quiet zone as well.

The official reason is the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, WV, approximately 30 miles west-southwest of Sugar Grove, which has the world's largest fully steerable single aperture antenna, and like everything else in this state is named for Robert C. Byrd.

Most people who live in WV don't know where Sugar Grove is or that it is home to the Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA). Sugar Grove is, in fact, a Naval base. A Naval base with no boats.

Update Here's a Wired article on Radio Quiet Zone.

iPod yule log

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) : A yule log for you iPod video.

technorati tags: iPod Christmas

Testing Flock Again

I'm testing the newest version of Flock, and I'm posting the from it. So far so good. The Blog Tool seems to be working much better and it seems more stable over all, and I love the tagging feature in the Blog Tool.

technorati tags: Flock, Web 2.0

Christmas Eve Link Fest

Since I'm not busy working or busy getting ready for Christmas, I wanted to blog a little. Here are some links for your holiday reading pleasure:

*BlogPulse: 2005 Year in Review
*Incremental Blogger: Predictions of a Tableteer
*The iTunes Store and NBC are giving away the hilarious Saturday Night Live music video called "Lazy Sunday"
*Schneier on Security: Story About "Little Red Book" and Federal Agents a Hoax
*BBC NEWS: Glass shape 'affects drink size'
*Health Care Law Blog: Googling Health Care, Google Medicine: What does the future hold?
*Voice over Email: WaxMail
*PXN8.COM: Free online photo editor -- also integrates with Flickr
*LexBlog Blog : Google receives business inquiry from Santa
*Kevin Burton's Feed Blog: 2006 Technology Predictions
*TechCrunch: Outlook 12 to have RSS Integration - I also wrote about this over at my other blog: Law Firm IT: Outlook integration
*2006 Trend Predictions in Social Commerce: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
*A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure: "After the recent struggles in West Virginia with liability issues, it's sad to see that things still haven't settled down."

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

WV Blogger Meetup

Rick Lee has set a time for a WV blogger meetup at Taylor Books on Wednesday January 4, 2006. You can follow the discussion here.

End of life for IE for the Mac

According to this Microsoft page, Internet Explorer for Mac, Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31st, 2005, and will provide no further security or performance updates, and as of January 31st, 2006, Internet Explorer for the Mac will no longer be available for download.

Let's hope those sites that require IE, mainly banking sites, will support FireFox and Safari.

Craig Crawford at Taylor Books update

I didn't get to go to see Craig Crawford at Taylor Books, but Paul Nyden from the Charleston Gazette made it.

I did get to go to Taylor Books after Crawford was there and scored two other signed books, but I won't list them here because they are both Christmas gifts.

Google Launches Google Music

Slashdot coverage is here.

CSPAN to tape Craig Crawford booksigning at Taylor Books

The staff at Taylor Books confirms CSPAN's Book TV will be on hand for Craig Crawford booksigning today at Taylor Books. The event starts at 5:30 p.m.

There is a new iTunes in town

Are you ready for Google Music?

Wikipedia's Accuracy Compared to Britannica

Slashdot: Wikipedia's Accuracy Compared to Britannica

Say what you want about Wikipedia, but it is still the best, free as in speech and as in beer, reference resource on the internets.

Retro phone handsets for your mobiles

I also want one of these: ThinkGeek :: Retro Phone Handset

Also via Boing Boing

Wallet-sized flash drive

Walletex Microelectronics Ltd. has released the Walletex Wallet Flash drive. The credit-card-sized USB drive is waterproof and is currently shipping 128 MB drives, with 64 MB to 2 GB models to come.

Via Boing Boing

ThinkSecret.com: 13.3-inch iBook, Mac OS X 10.4.4, Plaxo for Mac

Digg reports:

Apple appears on track to deliver an Intel-based iBook early next year, sources report, and in doing so will replace its long-standing 14.1-inch model with a widescreen 13.3-inch display. Meanwhile, the company releases a new build of Mac OS X 10.4.4 to developers while Plaxo readies the first release of its Mac client.

read more | digg story

Good news. Bad news

In good news, Comendy Central has annouced never-before-seen footage from Chapelle's Show third season will air Sunday, Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. EST.














In bad news, Richard Pryor has died.

West Virginia's Braxton Beast?

Boing Boing: Photo of West Virginia's Braxton Beast?

Stacey releases a Tetris clone for the Mac

Stacey over at 4haks has released a very cool Tetris clone.

Craig Crawford booksigning at Taylor Books

Craig Crawford will be at Taylor Books on Friday the 16th to sign copies of his new book, Attack the Messenger. I forget the time, but I think it's 5:30 p.m.

The last time I looked, it wasn't on the Taylor Books website, but they do have an announcement of the event outside the store.

update The Attack the Messenger site confirms the event: "Q&A, signing, 5:30-6:30pm: Taylor Books, 226 Capitol ST, Charleston, WV (304) 342-1461."

There's a new news paper in town

There's a new news weekly in town for all you lawyer-types: West Virginia Record. I was going to post this on the other blog, but it has nothing to do with Law Frim IT, and I know I have more that a few local lawyer-type readers on this blog.

Best Buy holding 360 shipment for sale?

A leaked insider document from Best Buy shows they are stockpiling XBOX 360s to go on sale on December 18th.

read more | digg story

Help the GAZZ

The GAZZ editor has put out an open call from people to server on a GAZZ steering group for both the printed and the online versions. Entry requires an email of 500 words or less explaining why you'd be a good candidate.

I might do it, but I not sure I have the time at this point. It would be nice if they would publish the RSS for each of their blogs.

The future of Front Row

While I was getting a first-hand look at Front Row today, I was thinking about how Apple would push more content to it.

Now Mac Rumors reports Apple has a new "New Media Content Distribution System" waiting in the wings, and that Front Row, which only now runs on a iMac, will become Front Row 2.0, and will be a part of a new Intel-based mimi that will be announced in January.

$30 iPod

I'm shocked to learn today that my iPod 3G is only worth $30. I paid much more than that for it: Boing Boing: MAKE's Mostly Under $100 Gift Guide 2005

New Gazz blog or I should say new to me at least

Karin Fuller the blog party over at the Gazz blogs.

Radio Free Burrito

Wil Wheaton is podcasting.

Download radio_free_burrito_episode_zero.mp3

GAZZ blogs feeds

Since the GAZZ blogs doesn't pubish their feeds anywhere, I'm doing it here for those of you who use RSS readers:

Alewife's Journal - http://thegazz.com/blogs/alewifesjournal/atom.xml
CrankyArtist - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/crankyartist/atom.xml
The Gatecrasher - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/gatecrasher/atom.xml
gazznotes - http://thegazz.com/blogs/gazznotes/atom.xml
Grossly Underpaid - http://thegazz.com/blogs/grosslyunderpaid/atom.xml
Karin Fuller - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/karinfuller/atom.xml
LocalArt - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/localart/atom.xml
LocalBands - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/localbands/atom.xml
New & Old Music - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/newoldmusic/atom.xml
Nighttime - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/nighttime/atom.xml
PopCult - http://www.thegazz.com/blogs/popcult/atom.xml

A WV blog in need of RSS

In my quest to find more WV blogs I found Living in a Media World weblog. Too bad it doesn't have an RSS feed or I'd add it to the blogroll.

What a short, strange trip it's been

The Dead reverses their position on internet downloads of their shows from Internet Archive.

Here's a couple of cool Web 2.0 projects

MP3tunes Locker: an online music locker. (via Darren Barefoot)

meebo.com: Get AIM, ICQ, Jabber, GTalk, MSN, and Yahoo! Messenger via your browser.