Mashup Camp: loved it

My friend Nancy Tubbs (founder of Full Calendar) let me know about the November 2008 Mashup Camp in at the Computer History Museum. It was a highly intellectually satisfying 3-day event. The chief cat herder, Information Week's David Berlind, did a great job -- kudos to him.

I'm a semantic web enthusiast so was delighted to learn that the huge company, Thomson Reuters, has a tool, OpenCalais, that conducts semantic searches of unstructured text to extract names, addresses (many other terms) and provides more information about them... using Thomson-Reuters' proprietary database, then marks up the text using RDF. The results are exportable as XML. Great way to find patterns and enhance market research, for relationship mapping and other ways to mine unstructured content.

Here's OpenCalais's page for what it can do for bloggers using WordPress or Drupal (not Google's blog tool, Blogger with a capital B)

I am so proud to have voted for the top winning mashup named "Empowerment." It was written by Dean Mao over a 12-hour period. His mashup is a Firefox extention that does three things:

1. searches for key words on any web page, email message, blog...
   
2. runs them through OpenCalais for resources which can be text, images... and displays those resources in a 'pop-up' when you hover over a highlighted term
   
3. you can add your notes to the resources, and others can see your comments.
   

You can download Dean's Firefox extension, Empowerment, at
http://www.mashupcamp.com/wiki/index.php/SpeedGeeking8#Session_2_-_Table_9:_Dean_Mao_--_Context_Sensitive_Firefox_Addon_.28Winning_Entry.29 and also access Dean's contact information.

The second highlight of the Mashup Camp is the talk by Tim O'Reilly. I believe he's the guy who coined the term "Web 2.o." Below are a the 'take-aways' that I noted:

• Read the O'Reilly book, "Web 2.0, A Strategy Guide"
• "Data is the value unit" and Tim cited several very creative forms of data such as the sequence of gene bases (amino acids) are unique name spaces as are Twitter hash tags. The value-add is to derive meaning from data sets.

Several mashups scared me. One did the following: instead of updating one's resume from one's memory or experience, why not do continuous updates using one's web citations? Another mashup will search the web and create a tag cloud for a given term. So you can search the web for yourself, and present your tag cloud as your resume.

All those callow people who've trustingly laid out in numerous social networking or other web presences (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Plaxo, SecondLife, blogposts, comments to blogs...) all their half-baked political rants, not carefully thought-through venting, intimate and casual activities... all that information can be aggregated to form their online social graph (a Facebook term). Even the pattern of one's cell phone and credit card usage can reveal one's movements and choices.

The other wonderful thing about Mashup Camp is its web site. There were real-time tweets, blogs, pictures and lots and lots more information. If you missed the camp, you can still get so much information from the web site. Make sure to check out the "Mashup Backchannel."

This blogpost is getting too long. I'll write a second post about people I met, other mashups that I loved...

--Maria

How a depressed person can self-help; how friends can help

Clinical depression has a physiological component but also a behavioral one. The way someone thinks and acts can affect mood and alleviate symptoms of depression. A very destructive symptom is inertia, the inability to 'get going,' to keep swimming through the cold oatmeal. Friends and family can help by overcoming the inertia, for example, by suggesting "Let's go for a walk" or "let's chat to put things in better perspective."

Two "erroneous thinking" processes to recognize and change:

• Exaggeration: a bad external situation such as a serious illness or loss is exaggerated into "I am a bad person, everyone is bad, the world is doomed and nothing will ever get better."
• Magical thinking: "My life is terrible because I was born during a thunderstorm," or "If I got that job, my life will be perfect."

Buy or borrow the paperback "Feeling Good" by David Burns. Its companion workbook will help the depressed person analyze his/her thinking and behavior and build a plan to change it.

Some behavioral changes that the depressed person, friends and family can help to make:

• Get medical, dental and vision checkups to discover and treat any problems. Physical illness can trigger or worsen depression.
  
• Deliberately structure a varied daily schedule, a different schedule every day. Plan at least one activity for the day. Be realistic. Can be something pleasant like 'send a note to a friend' or a pragmatic task like 'change the bedding.' Cross activities off the list when done.
  
• Exercise three times a week for 30 minutes in each session. It doesn't matter what exercise you do or how vigorously, do something continuously for 30 minutes.
  
• Prepare regular, diverse meals with some each of protein, carbohydrates, fat. Many depressed people feel it's not 'worth it' to cook for themselves. I say "who is more worth the effort than yourself? Who would appreciate your effort, properly?"
  
• Maintain personal grooming: shower, shampoo, brush teeth, comb hair, trim nails.
• Improve the immediate environment: adjust temperature to slightly cool (68-70 degrees), pick up clutter, clean house and do laundry, add more light (use timers to make sure lights come on and stay on), add good stimuli such as music, pleasant scents, visual cues such as flowers, photos of loved ones and good memories, a pet
• Meet people, even if passively: sit in a coffee shop and people watch, stroll through a shopping mall, attend church, go to the library or a park. Joining a volunteer group will give a regular occasion to meet people. The goal is to distract depressive thoughts.
  
• Sleep. Make it a habit: go to bed at the same time, get up at the same time. Timers that automatically turn off lights will give the cue "go to bed." When going to bed, go to sleep, don't read, watch TV... Keep the room dark and quiet (wear eye mask and ear plugs if you have to). Get up at the same time even if you haven't slept enough.
  

Most important: get a treat every day. Write a list of treats and choose one everyday, even if it was not a good day:

• Build ego by giving a compliment or citing an achievement: "I helped somebody," "I cooked a good meal," "I cleaned the kitchen," "I improved my mood."
  
• Increase interests by doing a favorite activity: toss a few hoops, hit a few balls, talk to a friend, read a novel, watch a movie, do a hobby. Browse a new shop (fancy or ethnic supermarkets can be interesting).
  
• Increase relaxation: get a massage (you can give yourself one), take a long hot shower, use a back brush or defoliating glove to stimulate your skin, play music and dance, sing in the shower, do stretching (borrow from the library books or DVDs on Yoga or pilates)
  
• Bost mood: Eat a favorite food, an exotic fruit, new flavor of sorbet. Find a happy story; ask friends, read blogs or from TV -- find a nice story.
  
• Pamper yourself: try on your own nice clothes, jewelry, perfume... or ones in a shop. Take yourself out for breakfast. Try a temporary hair color. Play music and/or read during a bath. Get a nice soap, body wash, hand lotion. Use the hot tub (someone you know might have one, or get a one-time pass at a health club)...
  

--Maria

King Abdullah of Jordan: "Dedicate reform as a concept"

OK, yeah, the Kuwaitis might be biased in favor of the US because we saved them from annexation by Iraq, then were polite enought to actually leave; but that was 14 years ago so they could've back-slid by now, everyone would understand that and accept it as normal. Besides, the Kuwaitis are Muslim which accounts for more than gratitude for a 4-day war. That's my reasoning for using the Kuwaiti news announcement of King Abdullah of Jordan's letter directing his new prime minister to fight Islama-terrorism. At least the Kuwaiti news agency is not a sure-thing for being pro-American, and being located right there in the region, have a better chance of getting the story right.

And yeah, OK, King Abdullah is half British (on his mother's side) which may account for some preference for the Anglo-American point of view. So I am aware of several sources of likely bias.

But why is Jordan, a small Muslim country surrounded by enemies whose population is totally infiltrated by Palestinians, leading the charge against Militant Islamism? Surely it's not only sympathy for the wedding party who was bombed by Zawaqawi, nor watching American soldiers fight Militant Islamists next door that motivated Abdullah to take such a risk. Could it be that he's drunken of the American Koolaid? Maybe he sincerely believes that democracy really is an effective form of government, that it will let the most people live their lives the way they want to?

Some liberals may say, "what arrogance to try to impose our world view on other populations! If the populance acquiesces to dictatorship whether from active choice (as in the cases of North Korea and Vietnam) or from passivity (as in Iraq), we should let them 'enjoy' their choice." I suppose it's a credible argument that the American strategy of military invasion and occupation is no different from the Militant Islamists' 'jihad' to save the world from Western heretic decadence. They're trying to save our souls, or at least our morals from ourselves.

So who is more righteous? Is it more morally justifiable to use force to create an enviroment where people can choose to be observant or not, or to enforce an environment where people have no choice?

Mis-Behavin' PC: Repair or Replace?

Over the years, people have replaced their PCs only because they became too buggy. I'm sure a lot of people do this because, not having an intrinsic interest in PCs and software, as I do, it's easier. But it's an expensive way both in terms of money and effort to rebuild your content. Here are my suggested alternative to total replacement:

1. Buy a flash stick with enough capacity, like 128 MB or more. Put your content files on it so if the whole PC crashes and burns, you at least still have your files. Usually, this just means copying the huge file "My Documents" onto your flash stick. Even if you do decide to move to a new PC, you can load all your files onto the new one easily. This should cost about $40-50. You COULD use a CD to do this, but flash sticks are useful and easy on a continuing basis for file transfer.
   
2. Copy to a blank CD those applets that you've added to your PC after its initial installation, for which you don't have CDs or are not on your installation CDs. This would include your browser customization, cookies, etc. Such things are a PAIN to reproduce and some favorite applets have been retired and are gone for good except on your hard drive. Unfortunately you'd also be copying some of the software problems. If you copy your entire Programs file onto the CD, you should have 'picked up' all these little applications. Blank CDs are cheap, like fifty cents or less. There are web-based storage that you can back-up to, then download again, but I'm paranoid about privacy.
   
3. Now, take your PC to Fry's or another competent PC repair place and ask them to diagnose your hard drive (about $60-70 dollars). Sometimes, they can 'clean up' your hard drive, get rid of 'offending' software including possible bugs, viruses or erroneously executing programs, increase your RAM (this chip can cost up to $70) ... and make your old PC work better.
   
4. If they cannot diagnose/fix the causes of your problems, they can reformat your drive, then reload your original software. Then you PC should be like the first day you got it. You reload your content from your flash stick (which may restore your bugs also.)
   
5. If the source of your problems is a damaged hard drive, then a drastic step is to replace your hard drive. New drives, depending on the capacity, a new PC drive can cost $50-$100 and having a pro reload your software is probably another $100.

For between $100-$300, you can over-haul your PC. The end result won't be as good as a brand new PC, one with new software, better features... but it also doesn't cost $500 which is the price for the least expensive, minimal configuration DESKTOP. [Saw an ad for $300 desktop, with rebates.]

The decision is alot like for cars: repair or replace? I have seen bare-bones new laptops for less than $1,000. And I know people who've been very happy with their 'pre-loved' laptops, or eBay bargains.

Your old PC is probably fully depreciated by now, and your time, effort and emotional state are worth a lot too. A brand new PC for Christmas can feel just great!

US Occupations: Success or Failure

• 1945 Germany
  Ordered by Roosevelt
  Status = Still there. Successful democracy, good economy, trusted ally
  Years total = 60
  
• 1945 Japan
  Ordered by Roosevelt
  Status = Still there. Successful democracy, good economy, trusted ally
  Years total = 60
  
• 1954 South Korea
  Ordered by Truman
  Status = Still there. Successful democracy, good economy, trusted ally
  Years total = 51
  
• 1962 Vietnam
  Ordered by Kennedy
  Status = Lost. Socialist state, failing economy until US trade pact, 1996
  Years total = 12
  
• 1983 Granada
  Ordered by Reagan
  Status = Won. Removed Marxist regime and Cuban troops.
  Years total = <1
  
• 1989 Panama
  Ordered by Bush I
  Status = Won. Removed Noriega and his Communist supporters, and drug trafficking.
  Years total = <1
  
• 1991 Iraq (Desert Storm)
  Ordered by Bush I
  Status = Won. Dictatorship, Oil for Food kleptocracy, WMD killed thousands, ethnic cleansing of Kurds
  Years total = less than 1
  
• 1993 Somalia
  Ordered by Clinton
  Status = Lost. 19 US soldiers killed. UN took over again after failing to disarm combatants and deny civil rights.
  Years total = less than 1
  
• 1995 Bosnia
  Ordered by Cinton
  Status = Still there. Pacified region, stopped ethnic cleansing, arrested and put on trial A FEW of the major offenders.
  Years total = 10 so far
  
• 2001 Afghanistan
  Ordered by = Bush II
  Status = Still there, democratic election, freedom for women, ejected Al Qaeda, revival of heroin economy.
  Years total = 4, so far
  
• 2003 Iraq (Iraqi Freedom)
  Ordered by = Bush II
  Status = Still There, interim democratically elected government, rebuild infrastructure.
  Years total = 3, so far

What's the correlation between how long US forces stayed and the result? Does 'correlation' mean the same as 'causative?'

It seems the long occupations that the US armed forces have done involve 4 phases:

1. Set up logistics and supply lines in preparation for war. Back in WWII, this took years to get ready, but we were starting from no standing army. Even Desert Storm took 6 months to set-up, for both sides, for us and for the Republican Guards. Tommy Franks' autobiography, "American Soldier," talks about how he (and the rest of the armed services, White House, State Department, etc.) managed to shorten the set-up time to MONTHS, invading Afghanistan barely 3 months after the attack on the US of September 11, 2001.
2. What Tommy Franks calls "kinetics" -- bombs, bullets, killing, maiming
3. Pacification -- root out, capture and imprison enemy combatants who won't give up
4. Reconstruction -- the purpose is to give the locals a relatively secure period in which to set up a government that we like.

The US forces' mission for the last phase, Reconstruction, is a police function. Legal scholars have good arguments for both sides of whether it was the original intent to use our armed forces as policmen. Posse Comitatas says we cannot use the armed services for police functions inside the US, but I don't know the legal issues for foreign lands. And is the National Guard governed differently?

Most countries that we've occupied don't have an effective police force, or the existing police is not 'right thinking' after "kinetics" so US forces stayed to police the conquered. Our continued engagement in Bosnia is a police function. Bush Pere tried to defer that function to Saddam in 1991! That's what we're doing in Afghanistan now, and when we get through Phase 3, we will have to police Iraq for years.

So, my opinion is except in the cases of unworthy adversaries such as Noriega (Panama) and Grenada where we executed all phases within weeks, the length of the Reconstruction phase depends on the local people.

Everyone would agree that by 1960, Germany and Japan were stable and self-sufficient. They didn't need US forces to keep the peace while they build the government and economy. So why did we stay? US forces stayed because Germany wanted continued US spending on bases and to defray their cost to hold the line against Soviet tanks. The Japanese spent 2% of the GDP on defense because the US is paying for it. Why should they want us to leave when our occupation is worth so much money? Ditto South Korea, although there are bad sentiments against US occupation. Now that Kim Jong-il has nuclear weapons, I wonder whether the S. Koreans have revised their opinion of US forces' continued tenure there?

Our occupation of Afghanistan and of Iraq might follow the same pattern. Conspiracy theorists and even some serious policy analysts believe that the our presence in Iraq is the spearhead for US military bases, to set-up (Phase I) in the heart of that Moslem dominated region. I believe that the occupation of Iraq is indeed the Phase 1 for eventual 'kinetics' against Iran, and to send a wake-up call to the militant Islamists of Indonesia.