Surrendering the rule of law

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“A nation consists of its laws. A nation does not consist of its situation at a given time. If an individual’s morals are situational, that individual is without morals. If a nation’s laws are situational, that nation has no laws, and soon isn’t a nation.”

“Are you really so scared of terrorists that you’ll dismantle the structures that made America what it is? If you are, you let the terrorists win. Because that is exactly, specifically, his goal: to frighten you into surrendering the rule of law. That’s why they call him ‘terrorist.’ He uses terrifying threats to induce you to degrade your own society.”

— Spook Country, William Gibson (pg. 136-137)

Nokia Tracfone

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Nokia100
I like paper plates (the good ones, not the cheap ones) and have the decency to feel guilty about using them. I’ve worn a plastic Casio wrist watch for years (less than $20). And tonight bought a year’s worth of minutes for my little Nokia Tracfone.

I paid $19.95 for the unit at Wal-Mart and have been buying additional minutes for the last 18 months. The Tracfone was made for people like me (and Avon Barksdale). No synching with Outlook. No texting. No camera. No nothing.

Yes, I do keep the Casio Exilim and the MacBook by my side, but the Tracfone and the camera fit nicely in the MacBook case. Weight is not an issue, given my limited travel.

I’ll bet I saw 50 iPhones at Gnomedex and everyone else had state-of-the-art hardware. When I pulled out the Tracfone at lunch, the guy across the table asked, "What’s that?"

"North Korean. I’m not supposed to have this out in public. Sorry." …as I jammed it back in my pocket.

So I’ve got all the minutes I need for the next year, for about $11 a month. What is that, 35 cents a day?

Mark Ramsey: radio is now “audio”

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Mr. Ramsey says the advertising industry is about to redefine radio’s “category.” According to a report by MediaVest, radio is now “audio”:

“In a new report being circulated to clients, MediaVest has adopted the position that terrestrial broadcast radio should no longer be looked at as a discrete medium in communications plans, but as part of a greater array of audio media–including satellite, online, mobile and a variety of personal media device technologies, such as iPods, other MP3 players, and even television, which increasingly is being used as an audio-only medium.”

“…radio should no longer be looked at as a discrete medium, but as part of a greater array of audio media.”

Ouch.

I agree with Mr. Ramsey that a) this has been coming for a bit and b) it is an important shift that too many “broadcasters” still don’t get. I encourage you to read the full post.