Link: http://okgo.forumsunlimited.com/index.php?showtopic=4169

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

I came across this open letter from the band OK Go about the changing nature of the music industry and the unexpected issues that arise from these changes.
Open Letter from OK Go

This is a very cool video of an Italian singer performing a song whose lyrics are complete and utter gibberish meant to sound like American English. The intent of the video is to illustrate which English phonemes and syllables carry into the foreign ear.
Even though I know the song is complete gibberish it sounds just like English to me, with a kind of James Brown feel to it. I keep wanting to relisten to it because I swear I can almost make out what he is saying. It is very weird. The Italian Singer is Adriano Celantano and this was written in 1972.

It is easy to forget all of the ripples that occur and how many people are affected when a loved one is gone. Not just gone, but gone to a place that is far from safe. And to know that they volunteered to go there when they joined our armed services so that we can continue to live in the comfort and safety that is a product of our amazing country. I am humbled by their sacrifice. Thank you for that.

Also, anyone who tries to tell you that animals can't feel need to watch this and these other videos. Go get yourself a rescue dog. You'll never regret it.

Cheers

From the recent TED Conference;

Link: http://shade-treeeconomist.blogspot.com

I would like to invite all of my readers to check out The Shade Tree Economist. This is a blog that my friend Mike has just started that is concerned with all things economic and businessy. For example, I don't know if any of you out there have heard this, but apparently, the country is in some kind of recession ... who knew? Well, Mike writes about that stuff. He has a great way of making a very complicated subject even more complicated and harder to understand but he is funny when he does it. For example, here is an excerpt from a post he wrote where he compares Socialism and Capitalism;

Allow me to expand on Hayek’s premise by invoking one of the foremost examples of Socialism America has ever produced: Gilligan’s Island. If you think Cuba is the only place that could successfully combine palm trees, pristine beaches, and the triumph of the proletariat I beg you to flip on Nick at Nite and behold a Marxist paradise.

In all seriousness (yeah right, but work with me here) the seven castaways serve as perfect examples of why Socialism cannot scale beyond a handful of people. Each castaway uses his/her talents to produce something that is shared among the group. The Skipper and Gilligan provide manual labor like in the episode where the Skipper shoves a bit in Gilligan’s mouth so his ‘little buddy’ can serve as a 98 pound oxen and plow a field. The Professor provides the intellectual firepower to develop technologies like coconut phones and an amazing array of transistor radio based applications that can do everything but send a radio signal. Mary Ann cooks and cleans in a perky half-shirt and short-shorts combo (yummy). The Howells did nothing, representing the 15 – 20% of every society who feel entitled to leach off the work of others. And Ginger did everybody.

See. Told ya. Makes perfect sense.

For those of you who are interested, Mike and I were actually roommates in college. He was the straight-laced business major and I was the care-free science major, think Odd Couple but with more booze and pharmaceuticals thrown in. I have always enjoyed talking with Mike and reading his stuff mostly because disagreeing with him is a lot of fun. I like to watch as he turns beet red and the little vein on his forehead pulses as I spout off my liberal musings. When we talk our goal is to see who can make the other go apoplectic first.

Whoa, Whoa! Calm down people! It's OK. I know it is hard to believe, but it is possible to have dissenting opinions with someone and remain friends. I know that, officially, the art of conversation died out in 1978 with the release of Three's Company on television, but I can assure you, Mike and I are proof that you can have an intelligent discourse about a subject without resorting to calling someone the mutated spawn of Joseph McCarthy and Adolf Hitler or referring to someone as a commie tree-hugging ankle-biter. We rarely do that, and then, only when tequila shots are imbibed sometime during the conversation. Anyway, check out what he has to say, I think you will find him both entertaining and enlightening.

The Shade Tree Economist

What kind of person feels guilty about spending too much time with other online social networking tools at the expense of their own personal blog?

This kind, apparently. Sorry, LastDitch. I'll do better, I promise.

I have not been paying too much attention to this blog lately because a couple of weeks ago I decided that I needed to update my presence on the web. I already had this blog and I was using Twitter fairly frequently but other than that I was pretty anonymous. So I went and updated my LinkedIn and Plaxo accounts (both primarily business networking sites) and, with much anxiety and trepidation, I jumped headlong into FaceBook.

My reasons for doing this were varied, some professional, some personal. However, one of the main ones was simple curiosity. One of the biggest problems with social networking tools is that they only work well if you keep them up to date. And if you choose to participate in a lot of these sites then the time requirements to keep them updated really start to add up. I just wanted to see if I could find a way to belong to all of these useful services without having to tell my kids that the next time I would see them was when they graduate high school.

FaceBook was the one that really concerned me. I had heard real horror stories about this time vampire. Twenty, thirty, and forty year olds sitting in dark rooms staring at a screen waiting for their wall to update them with a gift or a survey or a quiz on which Jonas Brother they are most like. Just waiting. Like some crystal meth addict staring at a case of Sudafed. Let's just say that it took some convincing for me to join. In the end my sister Kathy convinced me that it wasn't that bad and could be a good way to keep in touch and network (she was right).

So after I went ahead and joined, updated, friended, and what have you I needed a good way to mash everything together. It actually ended up being surprisingly easy(I think they all learned a lesson from MySpace's horrible exclusivity policies). All of these sites have great integration tools that are very easy to set up and once up it is very easy to keep everything updated.

For example, you people out there who have friended me on FaceBook may have noticed that I update my status fairly frequently. The truth is, I have NEVER updated my status on FaceBook. I have responded to posts on my wall and brought in a few pictures but all of my FaceBook status updates are actually Twitter posts. Even the majority of my photos on there were not uploaded but instead come from my linked Flickr account.

I have found Twitter to be an extremely powerful tool that I began using at work as a way to keep my team updated and then started branching out and using for fun and now have come full circle and started using it professionally in different ways. For those who don't know, Twitter is a micro blogging tool that lets you send out blog posts of up to 140 characters at a time. The people who choose to follow you will receive these posts. In turn, you can follow as many Twitterers as you like. I use it for both work and fun, sometimes both at the same time. I follow people like Neil Gaiman and John Hodgman, I also follow CNN, HealthCare Mobile, and the American Heart Association. I have had interesting conversations with it (not one to one, but sometimes, one to thousands) and as I said, I have recently started using it more professionally. My use of Twitter has actually resulted in phone meetings with CEO's of companies around the country that are in my field of telemedicine. Using tools like TweetDeck allows you to filter tweets (Twitter posts) by key words so that I can find people who are tweeting about telemedice or healthcare or the Red Sox or whatever. Since I have started using it I have found that it has many more uses besides just letting people know when I land at the airport.

So, if it seems like I am updating my status on FaceBook a lot, I apologize but I am really not. Those are either twitter posts or posts from this blog (yes, I have linked this blog to show up on my other sites as well). My Twitter and LastDitch posts show up not only on FaceBook but on LinkedIn and Plaxo as well. As some of you have already seen, my twitter posts also show up here on this blog. If it is too much for some of you then feel free to unfriend me or block me. Hell, I won't blame you, half the time the twitter posts won't make any sense to you anyway (if you see an @name in a post it means I am replying to someone else's tweet, which you obviously will not have seen so it will make no sense to you). If, however, you don't care, then feel free to follow along with some of the shenanigans, hi-jinks, and minutia that is my life and feel free to comment on it if you like. Either way, it's all good.

By the way, I am enjoying FaceBook. It has allowed me to reconnect with a lot of people I have not seen in forever. The other day I got a message from my all time favorite grade school teacher that I have not heard from in almost 30 years. Now that is cool.

Since I have gotten everything linked together what I am finding difficult is finding a balance to what I post and put out there. Do my friends on FaceBook really care that I am on the panel of an upcoming Telemedicine Webinar? Probably not, nor should they. However that one post also went to my LinkedIn and Plaxo accounts and the contacts I have there do care. Conversely, do the members of the CIO/CTO Leadership Council that I belong to on LinkedIn care that we have a new puppy in our house? I doubt it. But they are going to see that post along with my FaceBook friends who might.

So for the time being I think I will just mix things up a bit. I may actually post some topics related to my work here on LastDitch just so that I don't inundate my professional contacts with puppy pictures. We'll see.

I do plan on posting more here just cause I miss it. I know I only have like 3 readers out there who follow me regularly (shout out to Mike P!) but I actually find the writing therapeutic. By the way, if you do read this, feel free to let me know because, while I do enjoy writing here, sometimes it feels a lot like mental masturbation and, well, you know, its funner when more people join in. Remember, Feedback/Comments = Love. Anyway, enough babbling on, I need to go get my new shipment of plexiglass siding to help hasten my transformation into the boy in the bubble.

Cheers

P.S. feel free to follow any of these, or not ... whatever
http://twitter.com/jmoynihan
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jlmoynihan
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=635238364&ref=profile
http://www.flickr.com/people/jlmoyni/

As a counterpoint to my previous post I came across this hilarious yet accurate diatribe on the current generation from comedian Louis CK on Conan.
It is scary how many people you come across that because they already have pretty much everything, they think that they somehow deserve it as their right as opposed to considering it a privilege or thinking that they have to earn it.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

Chapter 1:
In which I embarrass myself and torture my kids so that I can sing a goofy song for my Dad. It's one of his favorites.

Yesterday, while at the gym doing my 35 minute of cardio (hey,it takes work to get in the shape I am) I was fortunate enough to have 3 seperate TV's in front of me, all turned to CNN. During that time I was exposed to 35 minutes of non-stop, hard-hitting, shoe-throwing reporting. The story of an irate Iraqi TV reporter throwing his shoes at President Bush was pretty much the only story. I did have my mp3 player but not to worry, the tv's all had closed captioning so that I wouldn't miss a single shoe-throwing minute of this story. I am not going to put the video up here but here is a link for the three of you who may have missed it; shoe throwing. I was exposed to another hour or so last night as this story was on every channel repeatedly.

I don't have any problem with this being a newsworthy story. Someone attacking a head of state should definitely be reported on. My problem is with the way the brain trust at CNN and the other networks keep harping on about how serious an insult it is to throw a shoe at someone's head in the Muslim world.

"Really? Throwing shoes is bad?"
"How about two shoes? Can I throw two shoes?"
"No? That's bad too?"
"Huh. All these years I've been chucking shoes ... I never realized."
"Thanks, CNN."

That's some good reporting there, Lou.

Now, it may indeed be the case that there is some special cultural significance to throwing shoes in the Muslim world that is different than for us in the West, just as I am sure that mooning someone probably has more meaning to an American than it does to your average Muslim. That doesn't mean that when Achmed drops trow in Abdul's direction that Abdul isn't going to be able to figure out the general meaning of the gesture.

My favorite quote was from some genius CNN reporter;

"You know Tom, had this occurred in a public street between two Muslim men events would have quickly escalated to violence."

Nice insight there, fella!

I don't know about you, but if I was walking down Beacon Street in Boston and someone started chucking shoes at my head I am pretty sure that events would soon escalate toward violence, and I have never even seen a Koran.

I think the bigger story here is where was the secret service? Aren't they supposed to be throwing their bodies in front of the president when projectiles come his way? Shouldn't one of them have put his body in between the president and the shoe? Or at least, the second shoe? I mean, come on, the guy threw a shoe, missed, and then had time to take the second shoe off of his foot before he threw it.

"Excuse me, agent Smith, how come you didn't put youself between the president and the shoes?"
"What? Are you kidding? We train to throw ourselves in front of bullets. Shoes? Forget it. We're completely helpless."

I will have to say this though, president Bush has got some moves for a 62 year old man. He was like a ninja up there. I guess that comes from being so well rested.

Cheers,

John

I would like to thank the talented film maker, Noelle, and the Lastditch Players for taking time out of their busy schedules to make this very important public service announcement (I heard Shea actually cancelled an appearance in Caanes to help out).

My niece Tara has written an article for the fNewsMagazine, which is the main student publication at her school, SAIC.

Check it out;
Tara's article.

I'm going to be listening this guy in the future. He was spot on despite being ridiculed for saying what he thought.

A most excellent video. This guy, Matt, quit his job to go dance around the world and he got a company to pay for it as well (Stride Gum). To make full screen click on the 4 arrows to the left of the word Vimeo on the bottom toolbar.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Here is a cool little widget for you. Create, to-do lists, post to twitter or a blog, send emails all using your phone. Jott uses voice recognition to create reminders, messages and notes that show up where you want them. It is pretty cool and usefull. It is easy to use and free.

Jott!

Found this little gem out there on the old interwebs and thought you might enjoy it.

I know so many of you have been struggling through your days just wondering when that short-lived yet poignant piece of web journalism known as Last Ditch would be back. Well, no need to wonder any longer because here it is. And this time it's here to stay (at least until the next time I forget to update it or forget to pay the bill or just plain forget I have it again).

Last Ditch has a whole new look with some different features so check it out (I haven't finished the grass growing simulator yet but stay tuned). Thre is a photoblog attached to the mainblog (click on the upper left where it says "photoblog") as well as a direct link to my Flickr account on the right (click on the nifty animation).

This blog is here for family and friends and anyone else who has too much time on their hands surfing the web. I let Last Ditch 1.0 die because of time constraints with work but thank goodness that isn't an issue anymore... just kidding, it's worse than ever! Anyway, You can read my ramblings or not. I am going to use this as a kind of stress relief, so most of my posts will probably be somewhat incoherent as they will most likely be made in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping. I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers