a crank's progress

From The Globe and Mail

In the post-Sept. 11 world, Mel believes — like many gun enthusiasts — that Americans must reconnect with their roots as a citizen army.

Continue reading “the new militia”

From The Globe and Mail

To save embarrassment at parties, learn to tell the difference between the sound of the grenade pin and that of dropped car keys.
Continue reading “important etiquette tip”

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: MIT computer scientist takes stand in support of Microsoft

He said the software is […] “like […] a house of cards.”
Continue reading “Expert: Windows a “house of cards””

TV Turnoff Week 2001

looks like TV turnoff week has already come and gone for 2002.
Continue reading “the idiot box”

The Attention Economy: The Natural Economy of the Net

If the Web and the Net can be viewed as spaces in which we will increasingly live our lives, the economic laws we will live under have to be natural to this new space. These laws turn out to be quite different from what the old economics teaches, or what rubrics such as “the information age” suggest. What counts most is what is most scarce now, namely attention. The attention economy brings with it its own kind of wealth, its own class divisions – stars vs. fans – and its own forms of property, all of which make it incompatible with the industrial-money-market based economy it bids fair to replace. Success will come to those who best accommodate to this new reality.

Continue reading “You’re a commodity: sell yourself dearly”