a blog about soybean cake and other essential topics
So, I’m back posting regular blog entries. I’ll try and get caught up in the coming days.
I recently met my friend and former colleague, John Iwasaki, for a tasty Chinese lunch.
And what came in the fortune cookie?
A message that’s a keeper.
The type might be small in the photograph above but the fortune reads: “You will be rewarded for your creativity.”
Researchers at Tokyo University reportedly have made a robot that can conduct interviews, shoot pictures, search the Internet for background and crank out online stories. Image source: Charlie Catlett on Twitter
Perhaps, if journalists, content producers or information brokers – or whatever label you use – really want to get a jump on things in 2010, one logical step might be to enter the robot industry.
Why?
Well, robots might have the ability to do what human journalists do these days – at least, according to this blog entry from Singularity Hub which the Knight Foundation also noted.
I suppose three decades can blow by fast.
But I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge one of my favorite broadcast news shows of all time – Nightline on ABC News.
I’m partial to when Ted Koppel’s deep voice and clear pronunciation were the hallmarks of the must-see broadcast for those inside the Beltway and news junkies in the country.
Producers at the show have posted a great interactive timeline, charting key moments in the show’s 30 years.
The show’s three-decade anniversary is March 24, 1980 – following the late show that Koppel hosted, “The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage.”
I’ve been trying to get my mind around Monday’s announcement from Google that it would shift its servers from mainland China and to Hong Kong - a move which it viewed as legal but would let them run a non-censored Google.cn site.
That site, as we all know by now, would redirect users to Google.com.hk.
China unleashed a volley of criticism and the fallout and analysis quickly took place.
At the risk of tossing out a simplistic answer to a complicated issue touching free speech, sovereignty in a country that has seen uprisings, instability and occupation and increasingly complex U.S.-China relations, there is the thought that revolves around a simple phrase that people in Washington, D.C. are all too familiar:
To get along, you go along.
These pandas were part of a museum exhibit last year in the United States. The exhibit looked at change, specifically in the design field. Image source: Portland Art Museum
Consider Google’s decision to stop censoring its Google.cn site and shift its servers to Hong Kong, both of which were announced Monday, as just a point on a very long line.
This is fascinating. But it is, by no means, the end point.
The Associated Press, in its report, called it a way around censorship. The New York Times moved a version of this historic episode regarding the Internet.
If there’s anything to remember about the epic view of Chinese history in this wave-making incident, it’s that, well, senior leaders have a good memory.
Just as leaders in any country like to win, they also are happy when they get their way.
The idea of receiving something for free has been around for centuries. Certainly, I like the idea – and I’m not just talking about the free hug movement.
I mean: Who doesn’t like receiving something – say a new car or clothing -Â for free?
But the notion seems more fitting for an autonomous collective (especially one depicted by the British comedy group, Monty Python), where a group of people has agreed to provide labor and services for everyone’s well being with the exchange of money lower on the priority list.
I typically don’t focus on crime issues - I prefer edible items such as tofu skin (also called yuba). I also covered enough criminal justice issues at my previous job.
But ShotSpotter, a Silicon Valley-based company which uses sensor technology to alert police to gunshots, gave me reason to pause.
As in: Huh?
The reason the sensors apparently are needed – at least in Richmond, Calif. – is that residents reportedly hear gunfire on such a regular basis that they no longer feel it’s imperative to call for help.
As in (for rational thinkers):Â No need to dial. The computer will get it.
This Chinese lion dance team performs during the Lunar New Year celebration in Seattle's Chinatown in 1921. The group also helped raise money for famine relief in China. Photo source: PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection (courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry and spotted in an outdoor, public display by The Wing Luke Asian Museum)
As you’ve noticed, I’ve been on a run with Chinese dragons and lions lately – what with the Year of the Tiger that started Sunday.
I know it’s a day after the Lunar New Year began – and people still are celebrating. I thought I’d continue with one more post about lion heads used during Lunar New Year festivities.
Why?
Well, to quote singer (and pop philosopher) Kenny Rogers: “You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.”
I’m holding on to this idea for just a bit longer.
I’m also doing this because I recall a person telling me years ago that the past is prologue.
These past few days continue to be a bit busy for me – and there’s nothing wrong with that. I just haven’t had as much time to devote to new posts.
Thoughts still circulate in my head and I will set time aside for new items. This idea, though, caught my attention as I was glancing at Web sites:
The short-selling of stocks – especially of companies that inflate their status or profile – to fund investigative journalism?
While two branches of the federal government have embraced social media, it looks like the Supreme Court is doing what it does best: Hearing cases and issuing opinions. Photo source: Supreme Court of the United States
As I was scanning The New York Times article about President Obama’s State of the Union speech, I came across the part in which Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito apparently disagreed with something that the chief executive said.
The Times reported that Alito, as he was sitting on the House floor, appeared to have mouthed the words, “No, it’s not true.”
I don’t know much about Alito. So, I decided to visit the Web site of the Supreme Court of the United States.
My first reaction after seeing it: Wow.
Based on the judicial branch’s Web site – which has a blue background, simple navigational buttons and a photo of the Supreme Court – the justices seem to be a pretty sober-minded group of intellectuals.
Which is fine. Being a sober-minded group of people is part of the duty of representing the judicial branch of the federal government.
But isn’t the 21st century about digital transparency and being a hipster, tech geek in the United States?
Where are the Twitter, Facebook and flickr icons? Where’s the YouTube introduction of the justices, say, enjoying a barbecue on the Potomac?
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