Radio, as defined by Autumn

When Autumn learns certain words, Radio, Telephone, TV, her definition of these words will be entirely different from the way we think of these words.

Take Radio. Currently, Autumn can listen to the radio on a radio (yes, they exist), but more and more we can 'listen' to the radio online via podcasting. At home, we listen to This American Life, RadioLab, Car Talk, and The Curling Show all online. (You really will like all of these. No matter who you are.)

Now. how far away are we from a radio that can connect to the internet and pick up podcasts of your favorite shows? The technology exists. And since it does, I think we're in a golden age of radio. Where, instead of tuning into news-like shows that seem repetitive, you can pick other shows you like and listen to them when you want.

The next revolution is the elimination of the hour show. With the exception of The Curling Show, above, the shows we listen to are Made for Radio. They are hour shows and have acts to keep the shows moving through the hour. Not so with the curling show. It can be 10 minutes, or 20. It's dependent on the content, not a radio schedule. And soon, shows like This American Life might realize there's more of a market for snippet podcasts and create shows that work like that.

Just think: in your car, you hit wireless hotspots all the time. Why not have a wireless radio? Or whatever it is that Autumn calls it.

Connectivity

This blog is an unprecedented tool for connectivity. And it's merely one tool. I've tried to set my parent's up with Skype, a free internet service that lets you call each other, using your computer, to talk.

Then there's Flickr and Tabblo, more places to share photos of Autumn. There's YouTube and LiveVideo, where you can watch videos of Autumn.

On the surface, this seems like Autumn's life is an open book. But that's clearly not the case because a few blog posts and a few pictures don't constitute her life. But they constitute a level of connectivity that seems at once huge and minuscule at the same time.

What tools are you currently using to connect to people? To friends? Are you using anything?

Update:
This is how I stay connected. This seems like a good thing for England in the next World Cup.

Breaking out of the 'cell' phone

I'm seriously entertaining the idea of going cell-phoneless. And notwithstanding Rhona's flat-tire on the QEW on Saturday night, I think it could work. This article puts into words what I've been thinking. so it saves me writing it down. Here are the 10 reasons, click on the article for more explanation.

It makes your life more complicated
It's horribly expensive
It enslaves you to a one-sided contract
It makes you perpetually available
It is boring
It must constantly be recharged
It knows where you are
It encourages stupid people to become a public menace
Ubiquitous pleather accessory shops
It turns you into a public annoyance


And finally, isn't it creepy that it's a cell. Prisons have cells. Should we?

The night sky

While camping in North Bay, I was loving looking at the sky. I saw what appeared to be slow moving stars, but what was one of the many thousands of satellites orbiting the earth. I was gonna post about it, but then I thought, who would care? And how can I show what I saw?

Around these parts, the night sky is polluted by light. It's the thing about living in a city. However, it makes getting out of the city that much more interesting. Used to be, the only chance you had at seeing the night sky was by getting out of the city.

Until now. Google Earth just added the night sky feature. It's too friggin cool to even put into words. So here's a picture. Up in North Bay, we saw this, and more.

Space and memory

My free e-mail box from Yahoo is a mess. The thing is, Yahoo mail offers unlimited space to store e-mails. Unlimited. I'm old enough to remember when space on a computer meant something. (Old fogie alert). I once filled a computer with stuff. I forget how big the drive was (maybe 500 mb), but I remember when it was full. I had to delete some games I no longer played in order to make room. Now, we take 500 mb of pictures of Autumn a month. Indeed, our home computer has 200 gb of space. That's 400 times bigger than the computer I once filled.

And, the newer version of the Mac we have comes with 500 gb of space. My point, Autumn will never know a time when she doesn't have space for digital memories. We already backed up 2006 photos on a DVD. And that's 2006 photos, movies, photo booth photos and some other bits and pieces. Incidentally, the DVD is 728 mg. 1.5 times bigger than the computer I once filled up. Chances are good, a thing the size of a DVD will one day store 200 gb of stuff and we'll think it once quaint that a computer only had that amount of space. Ah, the memories.

Now though, I should get back to my yahoo mail address. And delete some spam.

Memories fade, but the blog still lingers

There's a theory that goes like this: each time you remember something, your mind is actually recreating it.

From scratch. Meaning, there is no place in your mind for memories. You, me, Autumn, none of us actually have a real memory of something. What happens is that our minds recreate the event for us.

It all started with experiments to block memories. Researchers taught a rat that a sound will be followed by a shock. The next time the rat hears the sound, it braces for the shock.

That's a memory. (It's also learning, but learning really can be defined as remembering certain criteria).

Anyway, researchers repeat the experiment, but this time give the rat a drug that stops the memory from happening. The next time the sound comes, no bracing for the shock.

It was thought though, that once the memory got in there, once in became ingrained in the little rat, the memory would be there. For good. Admittedly, no one really knew where 'there' was, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a 'there' there. Then along came an idea.

What if they gave the rat the drug right when they made the sound? Would that rid the rat of the memory? Turns out, it does. And not only in rats. It's been tested on humans. A woman who was raped was asked to remember, and while remembering, given the drug. It didn't erase the memory, but it weakened the emotion impact of the memory.

So, the theory goes like this: you experience something. The next time you 'remember' it, you mind rebuilds the experience. From scratch.

Your brain already plays goofy tricks on you. My favorite is blinking. Every time we blink, we should see black. But we don't. Our brain takes a snapshot of what we're looking at, and pretends it's there. No black. In essence, our brain tricks, well, our brain. The recreation of memories is another trick.

The thing is though, the more we pull up a memory, so the theory goes, the more it will likely change -- and thus not be an exact replica of the original event. Strangely, the most pure event we could remember is one we never remember.

However. This blog, and the digital images and file we have of Autumn will aid our apparently faulty memories. We'll be able to remember events. She'll be able to look back at events. With apologies to Tears for Fears, if the memory fades, the blog will still linger.

I learned all this on my new favorite radio show. Take a listen.

Non ads Google, and bookmarks

Search with Google, and only get results. Not ads. Try it, then if you like it, bookmark, or favorite it.

Speaking of bookmarks, on the left are my most current del.icio.us bookmarks. Delicious is a free way to manage your bookmarks from different computers. See something you like at work, bookmark is and access it at home.

Very cool.