Watch a few minutes of this and tell me you don’t want one of these. This is clearly where things are headed. I can’t wait.
Author Archives: Steve Mays
Secrets of the Vatican
This Frontline documentary was… damning. I’m sure “defenders of the faith” have ready responses to every charge although I’m not sure what one would say to 8-year-old Monica Barret who was raped by her priest (“If You Tell Anybody, Your Parents Will Burn in Hell”). A middle aged woman now, Ms. Barret’s dry-eyed account of that event was chilling and heart breaking.
I suppose you argue that the producers and Frontline and the media (and all non-Catholics?) are out to ‘get’ the Catholic Church. Fuck if I know. Has anyone said, “I don’t want to be part of this. I’ll find another place worship. Call me if you get your shit together.”
Sounds like the new Pope might be trying to make some changes but the corruption runs deep and high and any real house cleaning is gonna be ugly.
Location-aware Wi-Fi lets fans be part of show
Company I used to work for is big in collegiate sports marketing so this story probably more interesting to me than many of you. But this tech will almost certainly show up in lots of places. A few excerpts from full post:
The system, developed by UK start-up Mobbra, will let organisers *send football replays, backstage interviews with pop stars, or area-specific food deals direct to fans’ phones*. It will also encourage the audience to become part of the show.
With Mobbra’s system, dubbed Massivity, organisers can *take control of fans’ phones to create spectacular effects*. For instance, the camera flashlight on each phone could be activated remotely, turning the crowd into a glittering star field. Or a team’s colours could sweep around the phone and tablet screens in the venue like a Mexican wave.
These kinds of applications are possible because Mobbra has found a way to deliver Wi-Fi to every user in a large crowd. A typical wireless access point can supply just 50 connections – so unless a venue can afford to run an access point for every 50 or so people, Wi-Fi is not guaranteed. Even then, simple radio interference can destroy any chance of stadium-wide access.
The phone side of the equation is choreographed by an app called Fangage, which tweaks the phone’s Wi-Fi settings. It will launch on the Apple and Android app stores later this month. *During a game, all phones could vibrate to tell the crowd of a betting opportunity, or a special food and drink offer*, says Walton. “You can have four streams of video, which could be replays or goals from other matches that are on at the same time. At gigs you’ll get behind-the-scenes news and backstage interviews with the stars.”
Automatic
I’ve been using the Automatic widget/app for a couple of weeks and have found it very useful. The screenshot below is from the companion website and shows some of the data the device captures. On a recent trip from St. Louis to Jefferson City I saved seven bucks by keeping my speed (mostly) at 70 mph or below. The app beeps once when you exceed 70. I also avoided “rough breaking” and “hard acceleration.” For those with jobs that involve tracking mileage, this would be a hand/automatic way to do it.
Bisbee, Arizona. Mayberry on Acid
I left Tucson bright and early Sunday morning and headed south for Bisbee, AZ, home of Bisbo Nian (not his real name) and his charming partner Taylor. I “met” Bisbo on Google+. Like me, he’s a J-Walk Ranger (see previous post) and lives in Bisbee, AZ, a couple of hours south of Tucson. Southern Arizona is spectacularly beautiful county. Wide, sweeping vistas punctuated with mountains that change color throughout the day.
Bisbee is a old mining town, retrofitted with aging hippies, artists and assorted free spirits. (The Wikipedia entry will give you a better feel for the place than I can.)
When I called Bisbo to let him know I’d arrived,he was at the local airport trying to get his vintage biplane — and himself– air-worthy. He’s a pilot for Southwest Airlines but hadn’t flown his biplane for a while and wanted to refresh his memory on the thing before taking me up for tour of Bisbee. Fortunately the winds were just gusty enough to keep that from happening.
Some local wag once described Bisbee as “Mayberry On Acid” which perfectly captures the charm of the place. I felt like I was with Sheriff Taylor on our walking tour. Bisbo seemed to know everyone and everyone knew him. It was all I could do not to whistle that song.
Bisbo’s Reason for Living, Taylor, joined us and we had lunch at a great vegan restaurant. After lunch Bisbo showed me one big-ass hole in the ground…
…and then we piled back into his VW microbus and headed for the border where I got to see The Fence. I won’t get all political here but I agree with Bisbo and Taylor that the wall is a stupid idea on lots of levels.
Then it was back to Bisbee for a tour of B & T’s charming home where I met their two cats, saw some of Taylor’s paintings and art, and Bisbo’s handiwork with power tools (They’re remodeling their home). Very impressive.
We finished the day back at the Copper Queen Hotel (where I was staying) for a musical jam session (Bisbo plays the banjo).
The trip back to Phoenix the next morning included a breathtaking sunrise over the mountains (a photo wouldn’t have done it justice).
I don’t usually take trips that include renting a car ’cause I’m not fond of long road trips. But the trip to Bisbee was worth it. And all the more so thanks to the hospitality of Bisbo and Taylor. Here’s a short video montage of my visit.