David A. Meyer

Tough day in my hometown of Rochester, New York. Eastman Kodak, once one of the most influential and innovative companies in the world, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

If you grew up in Rochester, this stings. Kodak was a pillar of the community and Rochester thrived, in part, due to the generous philanthropy of Kodak founder George Eastman and his estate. (Kodak also polluted vast stretches of local neighborhoods and created cancer blooms in and around Kodak Park, but we won’t get into that.)

Despite this development, there is hope for the resilient city and its understated residents. Small businesses seem to be picking up where Kodak and Xerox left off, taking advantage of the highly educated and skilled workforce left standing in the rubble of the two former industrial titans. Total employment has grown substantially in recent years and home values continue to rise despite a housing crash that has crippled the rest of the country.

Clay Shirky does a great job explaining the SOPA/PIPA bills in layman’s terms during a recent TED presentation in New York City. Please take the time to watch the unfortunately formatted Flash video and familiarize yourself with the issues at hand.

According to ProPublica, five of Florida’s 27 members of Congress have come out in favor of SOPA. Nobody has voiced an opinion of dissent. Ironically, this polarizing legislation appears to be one of the few issues to garner bi-partisan support during this Congressional session. Not surprisingly, those receiving the largest contributions from the affected industries (movie, music, TV, computers and Internet) seem to be leaning toward a yea vote.

The Internet is abuzz with news of the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), twin bills currently up for discussion in the the U.S. Congress.

The general consensus among the tech community is that these bills are heavy-handed responses to the issue of software and media piracy, which could potentially limit the freedoms of Internet users while promoting broad powers of censorship for the government. These freedoms, of course, are not confined within the borders of the United States. It’s called the World Wide Web for a reason and consternation is high overseas.

I have mixed feelings about the issue. The bills, as written, reach much too far. But I also believe piracy is a prevalent, worldwide moral issue. Overzealous legislation is the wrong path to follow. Pirating software, music and movies is the wrong thing to do. There is a middle ground somewhere in there. Let us find it.

As an American citizen, let your voice be heard. The [Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)] has a handy page set up that will deliver a pre-fabricated message to your representatives in opposition to these bills.

Interestingly, some major web sites are shuttering operations today to illustrate what the Internet might be like should SOPA and PIPA be passed. Below are some screenshots of those sites’ front pages. I am not sure how effective this course of action is, but it certainly brings attention to the issue.

Google:

Wikipedia:

Boing Boing:

Iconfactory:

Sixgun Productions:

I awoke to some sad news in Central Florida yesterday. The Senator, an ancient cypress tree and one of the area’s most beloved landmarks was felled by fire early Monday morning.

The Senator was more than 3,500 years old and one of the largest Cypress trees in the United States at 127 feet tall and 47 feet in circumference. While it had seen better days — a hurricane lopped 40 feet off the top in 1925 — the tree remained an impressive visage and a primordial reminder of Central Florida’s history.

Once a beacon to Central Florida travelers, The Senator lost some of its appeal when Disney arrived in Central Florida with Sea World and Universal Studios in tow. Indeed, even though Micki and I settled just one mile from its location when we first moved to Central Florida a decade ago, I only made one visit to the secluded site in 2005.

It is humbling to think that something which survived more than three millennia could come to such an unfortunate end and I consider myself fortunate to have witnessed The Senator’s grandeur in person.

I took along a camera on that 2005 visit. Below is a small selection of images from that impromptu shoot:

Audible bell. Not a sensible default, in the sense that it grates on my senses. First thing I do is rush headlong into Terminal.app’s preferences and change it to Visual bell. Can be found via Settings > Advanced.

Really? Advanced?

This American Life, unsurprisingly, timed the release of “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory” perfectly in light of all the attention the tech media is lavishing upon the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

I love new technology as much as the next geek, but it is easy to lose sight of what goes into putting those new, shiny objects in our hands year after year.

As is wont for This American Life, they have produced a well-spun yarn that tackles a difficult issue from a variety of angles. Well worth the listen.

James does not yet grasp the traditions associated with New Year’s Eve. Such as staying awake.

Sat our boy James down in front of my iPad with some black and white patterns, which he loves. Didn’t take long for him to learn how swipe the screen and change the image. James is 20 days old.

Randall’s seemingly bottomless reservoir of wit continues to amaze me.

Be sure to check out the rest of his work.