"We had to stop Pat Buchanan gushing over Obama's speech for the sake of time. That may tell you the most about tonight..." - Garrett Fitzgerald via Bookmarklet
This thread has photocopies of Poulenc's clarinet sonata, showing clearly that Poulenc had fixed some of the notes himself after publication. - Garrett Fitzgerald via Bookmarklet
This is a list of some really interesting-sounding independent games. Some of them are free, most (all?) have free demos. I just downloaded a bunch, and will be checking them out over the next few days/weeks. - Garrett Fitzgerald via Bookmarklet
Hilariously apt and perfectly edited Doctor Who fanvid. Spoilers for Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords - Garrett Fitzgerald via Bookmarklet
I'm not sure this thing is actually any good, but it looks pretty good, and a kids' hospital is a nice place to do a demo. - Garrett Fitzgerald via Bookmarklet
"Anyone who saw Barack Obama at Berlin's Siegessäule on Thursday could recognize that this man will become the 44th president of the United States. He is more than ambitious -- he wants to lay claim to become the president of the world." - newsjunk.com
most Americans want a president of America, not a president of the world - that's why Kerry, Gore and others have failed - they fail to understand that it's only a minority of people that give a lot of weight to America's profile in the rest of the world. Obama can't lose sight of this in the coming months - Jan Dawson
Of course Obama is popular out there - he is telling them exactly what they want to hear, no matter how much he has to contradict himself or "flip flop" to do so. Anyone who is willing to tell Europeans that the US is flawed, divided and broken can get huge crowds. However he is wrong, and his pandering to them will not win him many friends here. - Soulhuntre
Interesting point, Jan, and quite true (though, for the record, I count myself among that minority). Would the world unite to erect Barack Obama as benevolent dictator of earth? Absolutely not. But, as with many highly popular (populist...tee hee hee) politicians, he manages to strike a chord with a diverse cross-section of humanity. - Derrick Burns
According to the latest C.I.A. World Factbook, Cuba is one of 41 countries that have better infant mortality rates than the U.S. - Steve Follmer via twhirl
Though, after the FISA 'compromise', I almost wish Al Sharpton was on the ballot, - Derrick Burns
The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate, and total documented prison population in the world. - Steve Follmer via twhirl
In fact US is flawed, divided and broken. Obama is popular because he speaks the truth. - Steve Follmer via twhirl
He's popular, Steve, because he speaks truth, true enough; he is and will continue to be a successful politician because he speaks the right truths at the right times. - Derrick Burns
And by way of counteracting the cynicism of my previous comment, I will ask Soulhuntre: since when did admitting and taking responsibility for imperfection become synonymous with pandering? Would we be better served by a leader unable to acknowledge (or to perceive) that imperfection? - Derrick Burns
Soulhuntre: are you a big fan of John Bolton? - Sean McBride
I don't think Der Spiegel understands US politics very well. I read some of their coverage during the Lewinsky scandal (I was living in Germany then) and it was truly off the wall - Nathan Rein
@Sean McBride - I don't tend to be a "big fan" of people I don;t know personally :) Like anyone else int he public eye he says things I like, and things I don't like. - Soulhuntre
@Derrick Burns - of course we are less than perfect. Of course we have problems. Of course there are things we should and can improve. And obviously a leader who knows that, and acknowledges it is a good thing. The problem is not that he admits error - its that he will admit ANY error he thinks will win him over a crowd. He has no real core... just whatever way the wind is blowing. That is pandering. That isn't helping. - Soulhuntre
Soulhuntre -- with which policy positions of John Bolton do you agree? Pro-Iraq War? Pro-Iran War? Pro-torture? Anti-habeas corpus? Pro-Likud? Pro-neoconservatives? Pro-World War IV? Pro-Dick Cheney? - Sean McBride
@Sean McBride - since none of this is even remotely on the (already wandering topic) feel free to start another FF discussion about it and I will be happy to debate you if I find the time. Then again, looking at how many of your FF links talk about the vast Israel conspiracy you seem to believe in I probably won't be following you. - Soulhuntre
Soulhuntre: It never ceases to amaze me how the neoconservative contingent on and off Friendfeed is so shy and evasive about announcing its real agenda to the world. I've gathered the impression from your posts that you are pro-Iraq War, pro-Iran War, pro-torture, pro-warrantless wiretapping, pro-neoconservatives, pro-Dick Cheney, pro-Likud, anti-habeas corpus, etc. Feel free to correct me on any of those points. The ideology explains the hostility to Obama. - Sean McBride
@Sean McBride - let's do it this way... go to my political blog at http://www.herdwatching.com and comment there. That would be a good forum for this :) Heck, search for "Iraq" and comment on as many of the posts as you wish. - Soulhuntre
Soulhuntre: Since you don't deny any of the positions I attributed to you, I think I can safely assume that my assertions are truthful and accurate. We know where you are coming from -- essentially the John Bolton faction of neoconservatism, which is your perfect right. - Sean McBride
McBride... I never thought I was a Neo Conservative. I prefer the label Neo Liberal. my agenda is very progressive... but not in the old Obama Liberal mold. I still support Israel and America. Obama is in Germany because he already knows he lost the election and he is trying to get leverage for an international position - Noah David Simon
Noah: Neoconservatism and neoliberalism are two faces of the same coin: there are no significant differences between Richard Perle on the "right" and Joseph Lieberman on the "left." In any case, you've got the balls to enunciate your real views. Most neocons are evasive and intellectually dishonest shapeshifters who go running for cover when confronted with challenges to their views. - Sean McBride
Barack Obama in the tradition of Walt Whitman: "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down." Powerful stuff. Pure authentic Americanism. - Sean McBride
conservative and liberal are values we should all have. I ask people to support the people that support them. In my case I support American, and Israeli troops. ...also nice countries like Japan, Germany, Poland and Italy.... and other regular allies. Also a nice support for France is in order now that they have changed their tune. I would love to call Russia a friend again. I would love to say Turkey or China is supportive... Russia, Turkey and China were against American mid-east interests - Noah David Simon
the walls that kept the free world from being ambushed by tyranny will remain up. I will see to it Obama. the speech I heard didn't make sense at all. which side of that Berlin Wall do you think Obama would of been on? - Noah David Simon
so when do you think Obama will take the American election seriously again? I can't wait to see the people's response here to his backstabbing. - Noah David Simon
Later Thursday, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded to Obama's Berlin speech.
"While Barack Obama took a premature victory lap today in the heart of Berlin, proclaiming himself a 'citizen of the world,' John McCain continued to make his case to the American citizens who will decide this election," he wrote. "Barack Obama offered eloquent praise for this country, but the contrast is clear. John McCain has dedicated his life to serving, improving and protecting America. Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about it." - Noah David Simon
@Sean McBride - you are welcome to falsely attribute any position you want to me, I doubt anyone takes you seriously anyway. Those who actually want to know my position on such things are welcome to read the blogs where I discuss them at length. The common conspiracy theorist trick of trying to hold me hostage to your accusations by demanding I react to them doesn't work with me. Given the theories you espouse I doubt you need evidence to make assumptions as it is :) - Soulhuntre
Funny how Obama is being accused of victory-lapping when earlier this month we saw this: 'Going to Latin America in the midst of a presidential campaign, [McCain] said, speaks less to his role as a senator than to what he's hoping to achieve if elected this fall. "It's more my ability to govern as president," he said, "my ability to lead as president, to keep up with these major issues."' - Garrett Fitzgerald
Soulhuntre: which false assertion did I make about your positions? Can you be specific? I will quickly withdraw any mischaracterizations of your views. (A bit of background: I have a strong interest in the computer modeling of belief systems in general. That interests me much more than any political debates.) - Sean McBride
McCain went while he waited out Hilary and Obama. Right now the *American* people are the voters and need as much information about the *Values* of the candidates as possible. The American people need to see the differences in their decision. If Obama is tied up with Clinton then the focus of the media went to the Democrats. Now it is a two man race and Obama is running around the world? This is America's president not the UNs - Noah David Simon
On neoconservatism as a crazy cult: I have seen numerous interactions between neocons and their opponents in discussion and debate forums, and they *never* stand their ground in these affairs -- they usually retreat very quickly. The problem is, they hold irrational and emotional beliefs, closely akin to religious fundamentalist superstitions, that won't bear close rational inspection. The tough guy posturing conceals a weak interior. Most of the neocons are chickenhawks, that is, blowhards. - Sean McBride
I've given Soulhuntre several days now in which to figure out how I mischaracterized his positions. Apparently I described his views with error-free accuracy. I knew I had. He is in close agreement with neocon John Bolton on every issue of consequence. - Sean McBride
Welcome to DC, Robert. Where do they have you staying? - Aaron Brazell
At least TRY and be objective and non-biased please :) - Soulhuntre via twhirl
Robert: Good luck. Who are you speaking with? - Jon-Paul Bussoli
Aahhhhhh. Truly, a man of the future ;) - Leif Hansen
Sounds like fun...glad you have the power of the internet to capture all of it and share it with us. - ....
Capture the all important meta Robert! Looking forward to unique perspectives. - Brian Daniel Eisenberg
Aaron: we're staying at the Mayflower. Just a couple of doors down from the room that Elliott Spitzer used with his call girls. - Robert Scoble
Soulhuntre: well, listening to Huffington this morning sounds like she is giving the exact opposite advice that you are. But I'm not going here with much of an agenda (except to talk up that we should do more to keep R&D in America, instead of letting all those expensive jobs leave to Israel or China or somewhere else too). - Robert Scoble
Haha. Robert maybe you need to setup spitzerswallows.com in memorium. :) - Aaron Brazell
Revving up your engines!! woo hoo! I'll have to check FF at work tomorrow to get your latest info! Yeah, keep the smart Strategy / Innovation jobs here! - Susan Beebe
Scobez, did you see my questions I'd like you to ask a few days ago? - Tad - just Tad
Competition is healthy-let the jobs go where it makes sense to do them. US losing jobs hopefully will help US look at why and maybe get busy at being better. Scarcity is gone from the job market just like it is in the media space. US has always had good ability to be creative-unfortunately gov't hasn't been supporting in the sciences. - Mark Forman
sounds exciting, don't be too soft on the qs and I look forward to watching them - Duncan Riley
Oh - and whiel I am commenting - you TOTALLY rock for getting this access. It is great to see the rise of this sort of coverage / access. - Soulhuntre via twhirl
Good Luck. Looking forward to the see the interviews. - Vic Podcaster
In addition to jobs issues, didn't you say you'd be seeing the Obama folks later in the week? Anything lined up with the McCain people? - Ontario Emperor via fftogo
I've heard the VP position is still open. - Nir Ben Yona
We are working on McCain. Talking with several key Republicans. - Robert Scoble
BTW, Robert, just noticed that your blog headerdoesn't render properly in FF3 with NoScript blocking lijit.com -- the bottom half of the logo gets cut off. - Garrett Fitzgerald
Walking the halls of senate/congressional buildings is very cool. People are usually helpful so ask questions. Having the opportunity to meet with senators & congressmen is an interesting experience, most audiences are rather short, at least on the Senate side, as their aides do a lot of the heavy lifting and they can also be called away for a chamber vote.. The key is trying to get behind the veil and being able to get non scripted answers from them. Can't wait to hear the feedback. Good luck. - Fred Neil
I got to meet my congressman in D.C. after I won an essay contest back in high school. It was beyond awesome. - Harvey Simmons
So, Mr. Scoble... what'd you think of my Senator? :) Watching the video right now where he's talking about SBA and reducing overhead. I like how he just laid it right up front... The US Government is 50 years behind the curve. In some ways he's right. It's sure not as efficient as Twitter on its worst day! - Gerald Buckley
Robert, what are you going to talk about in your interview? - Susan Beebe
Yeah, basically, open up with "Why are you ignoring Kucinich's articles of impeachment" followed up by "What happened to listening to your consitituents, or are PACs now considered the true "constituents". - Daniel Spisak via twhirl
Wear a suit and tie. This is DC, not the Valley. Can't wait to see you again, bro. - Aaron Brazell
Susan: I'm still doing research, but the themes are going to be what I laid out in my post. I'm interested in learning about what they are going to do that will affect the technology industries. Daniel: I probably won't ask about that, sorry. Does that have anything to do with technology? - Robert Scoble
I would actually buy a new suit, but that's just me. - rambn
rambn: I just bought a new suit. I'll definitely have suit and tie on. - Robert Scoble
Thats not a bad idea at all, rambn :) - Aaron Brazell
RScoble: new suit? excellent. this is exciting. - rambn
Congrats Robert, looks fascinating. I look forward to what will undoubtedly be fascinating results, and I hope you get the opportunity to educate them on net neutrality - I'm still convinced that most of Washington hasn't got a clue. Safe travels. - Jody C
Marco: not sure. Andrew knows a lot of people in the Capitol and he has a whole agenda for us that's quite good. I'll try to get him to answer here. - Robert Scoble
Nancy Pelosi has the most secure job in the U.S. house of reps. SF would *never* elect a Republican -- ensuring whatever incumbent has that seat can obtain the Speaker of the House position simply with longevity if they start young enough. Arguably the second most powerful position in US politics and third in line to be President. Gavin Newsom will have the seat after she's done with it. - Thomas Hawk
I love all questions to do with open government and getting more public information online in a raw format. And the more specific the better. - Stefan Hayden
Marco: there's a few spots here and there, but unless it's Obama or President Bush or someone really interesting I think we'll keep it full at this time. Gotta have some decompression time in the schedule too or else we'll go nuts. - Robert Scoble
Can't wait for the movie: "Mr. Scoble goes to Washington." Who will play you? - shelisrael1
I think Mehlman would be quite interesting and informative for you guys - Marco
ask her about impeachment, and why she sucks up to bush so much on iraq .. the heck with tech, go for her jugular - gregory lent
gregory: if you can't figure that answer out on your own, you shouldn't ask the question. I'm there to hear about tech and business issues and will stay focused. She gets asked rude questions all the time and I'm sure if I tried to ask one like that she'd have a pat answer down and the interview wouldn't get done what I need it to get done, which is stay focused on the things they are doing that would affect tech workers and businesses and customers. - Robert Scoble
Dennis is right "what's the geek angle?" That's why I'm going. - Robert Scoble
Robert: tried to comment on your blog but for some reason it doens`t like me (again). Anyway subjects for discussion in my mind should include DMCA, Net Neutrality, Patent Reform - Brian Sullivan
Brian: my spam filter caught you. And people wonder why I love FriendFeed so much! No spam and no spam filters needed. - Robert Scoble
You have to ask her what her response is to the people who ask what is impeachable if Bush isn't. - Garrett Fitzgerald
Ask her what her Nanotechnology strategy is. How can the government possibly hope to keep up with ever accelerating technology? What's the plan to keep the US at the forefront of technological innovation and not pass the torch to China? How will congress help get more kids, especially girls, interested in science and engineering? Will an Obama/Pelosi government restore science as a priority for the US? - Tad - just Tad via fftogo
Tad: excellent questions. However, if she's just going to keep on rolling over for the Chief Executive, what's the point? Bitter? Me? Nah. - Garrett Fitzgerald
its not the Chief Exec she is rolling over for - not a supporter but she is being very smart - Marco
Interesting arguments they made back then. I can't say I fully disagree, but the implications beyond the direct cause of their passage were far-reaching. - Garrett Fitzgerald
I like what they are doing but rather than for experimental/testing purposes only, they should apply this modular structure throughout such that I can either choose to keep Gmail lean and quick or custom enable features that I want to see/use on a daily basis. And yeah, I know that I can turn on/off most of Gmail's features..just not all. - Ade
I use a few. They are not exactly what I wanted most. - Hakan Dahlstrom
The only new feature I use is the one that places my sig below my reply instead of wrapping it around the full email body which resulted in email threads with loads of sigs at the end. - John F Morton via twhirl
I use a few of them: for the most part, I don't notice they're there, which is just as it should be. :-) - Garrett Fitzgerald
The Jing Project lets you take screenshots/screencaps, upload them to ScreenCast.com, and share the URLs immediately. It's a free project of TechSmith, which also does Snagit and Camtasia. They're not sure if it's going to fly, so it's free for now, but might evolve into something more commercial. - Garrett Fitzgerald
rememer to check the todo list on the fridge )- - Peter Dawson
Yeah, remember the milk. Great gMail integration - J. Phil
I've tried RTM, Things, Evernote, Apple Mail/iCal, Inbox, and a handful of other apps: the only thing I ever check regularly is email and the chicken scratch notes on legal pad. From my own experience, you either are a todo list type person or you're not: there isn't a killer app that makes that leap, at least for me. - Mark Trapp
everything I use for reminders eventually ends up in the fail bin. wish i could get better at this, but i assume it's a mindset I'm missing. - Jeremy Toeman
RTM and Evernote are both good apps based on my evaluation, though I'm with Mark on this one. I use ginkgo biloba. :) - Jody C
I don't use anything special for reminders either. Just a list in Google Notebook. - Morton Fox
Mark and I are in the same boat. I just don't find myself checking a service much other then my Google services and my iPhone notepad and cal. Thought they seem to work fine for me. - Andrew Dobrow
i use paper and the GTD system. i haven't found a good online on yet that integrates well. i've tried RTM and tadalists and neither really do it for me - Morgan via twhirl
OmniFocus for my GTD system, and plain paper for ad-hock must do tasks - Mark Nassal
@Rob @Bwana @Phil Gmail integration sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! - Shey
Give jott.com a try... Pretty damn good voice recognition and transcription! - Cem Catikkas
Moleskine works best for me. Go anywhere, no reception needed, doesn't seem rude in a meeting to use unlike phone/pda. - Tac Anderson
I generally use Apple's Mail.app for creating tasks. Then iCal reminds me about them. .Mac sync's my tasks to my other Mac, and iTunes syncs the tasks to my Nano and iPod Touch. Also long as I remember to create the task, then I'll have a hard time forgetting it or missing it. - Paul Grav
RememberTheMilk + Gcal +the RTM FF addon for Gmail - Then I use goosync +RTM WAP to trace cal and tasks on my mobile. i tried others web based and Mac but I keep returning to this combination. If RTM will make a Mail.app +iCal integration it will be perfect. - Naor
Hum... I may seem so yesterday, but I use a single file named "bigfile.txt" that is almost the only thing on my desktop and I read it and edit it using vim :) - directeur
Vitalist is great. iphone interface, Netvibes widget. Simple, based on GTD...via feedalizr - David Jacobs
I use the the D*I*Y planner hipster PDA for the same reasons Tac Anderson uses the Moleskine. http://tinyurl.com/yxxucl. It has great boot times and I never loose data because the batteries go dead. - James Herbert
Agree w others that rabid usage (and lack of) must be genetic. I've used Ta-da list (but seldom checked it) and now rely on a combination of Jott, Google "to do list" gadget, and GCal. - Erik Dafforn
I drank the GTD koolaid and started keeping a notebook in my pocket. I scribble notes in it all day long, and at night, I type those notes into a set of text files on my PC. I backup these text files onto a flash drive. I've considered keeping the text files in Google documents, but haven't done it yet. - Harvey Simmons
Things for OS X and a simple list in a notebook - I cross 'em off as they're done. Simple and helps me focus. - Chris Poterala via Alert Thingy
Remember the Milk, 'coz it has Twitter support! - Jansen Lu
@Morgan OmniFocus is one of the best MAC GTD tools-- Things is also very good. I have a list of most of the good ones at my blog http://sfp101.com/?page_id=43 - Mark Nassal
Outlook for the to-do lists, easiset for me to tag and set reminders. Still looking for a really good "random note taking" service. Found one for a nano-second last week, stumbled past it, forgot the address. :) - Robin Cannon via Alert Thingy
I use my own wiki for this stuff: http://wiki.kirkkittell.com/in... -- kind of using it as a variation of the 'note on the refrigerator' in that it's only text, but I can access it via desktop or BlackBerry. I went the simpler text route after deciding that no amount of reminders was going to replace diligence (or: I hit 'snooze' a lot) - Kirk Kittell
RTM, i use the mobile version with my n95, and the widget in igoogle . perfect combo - b-noud
Both RTM and a Moleskine. Really would love to use goosync and the mobile stuff on my phone, but my crappy cell provider doesn't let 3rd party apps access the Internet. Anxiously awaiting the end of my contract in the fall so I can get a modern phone and provider. - CJ Kloote
Remember The Milk is the clear winner here. Will check them out first - Shey
@CJ Kloote - which phone you have ? goosync is using SyncML protocol which uses built in capabilities of Nokia and SE phones.. so no 3rd party.. all you need is a data account to do the sync - Naor
If just for me, pencil and paper - rewrite list every day to keep current - quicker for fast incoming todos - use iPhone notes app when not with paper list - David
RTM is handy but I just set reminders in google calendar -- works really well to stay on top of things because I always have Gmail open. - Nicholas Kreidberg
Another vote for RTM - really an amazing service. - David Worrell
RTM. I use mRTM (the mobile version) as Opera browser's panel. Quick to load and accessible all the time. - Ravindran Navaneethan
I use outlook, it sync over the air to my WM6 phone (thanks exchange!)... occasionally I use iWantSandy and Jott as a team. - Soulhuntre via twhirl
@naor - Samsung T610. Not on the goosync supported list last I checked. - CJ Kloote
@CJ i tried to look up this phone specs, but didn't find it anywhere, I never believe those "supported" lists - my SET650i wasn't listed either but it works perfectly :) so tend to check it myself. I've noticed that some Samsung models do support SyncML, so check out your user manual.. it just might work for you - Naor
@naor - hmm, ok, I'll have to check it out. - CJ Kloote
Currently a combo of Things, iCal and Mail. System-wide tasks on Leopard rules. - John Samuelson
Ta-Da Lists by 37 Signals. Free, has an iPhone-friendly web interface. - Glenn Batuyong
Ok, guess I'll have to take another look at RTM. I didn't realize so many people were using it and loved it... - Garrett Fitzgerald
pocket pad of paper with a 3x5 hipster on top. Slips of paper for quick entry and easy sorting. 3x5s for lists with some categorization. - Ashton
I'm with Mark on this one - tried lots of apps but keep returning to the chicken scratch in my trusty moleskin and bright orange cards for urgent items. - Sally Church
I'd like to use RTM in GMail, but for a few weeks now I'm using Prism to have GMail started as a separated app. Now I have no glue how to get the FF RTM addon being loaded in Prism. Any ideas? - Alexander Ebel
Up till today, I was using RTM in a prism window. The problem I have right now is, we are an Exchange shop at work, so a ton of stuff comes through my email...so having to read the email and then transfer that to RTM just seems a bit much...and since I am looking at using OneNote for my higher level tracking...would like something that can possibly sync RTM and Outlook without having to fork out any money at the moment. - the_IT_factor
You realize the Jott uses human voice recognition. They outsourced it to India. - Jim McCusker
I download them directly from the minds of really creative people, I suck the thoughts right out of their heads. You could call it a "pre-alpha" service. - Jack Carlson
