coffee.geek.nz

Lawrence Lessig's TED talk from 6th March - what liberals can learn from conservatives:

more at http://lessig.blip.tv/

Here's a book i've been reading: "buy buy baby" by Susan Gregory Thomas. I'll write up a review when i finish it, but it starts by describing how the advertising industry went from advertising to parents (1970s and before) to advertising to children in the 1980s, and how the age at which advertising is targeted got younger and younger. Children as young as 6 months old can show Brand Awareness, and it's very common by age 2. They don't want a toy, they want an elmo. They recognise brand names over generic. Additionally, the children who had television as a babysitter recognise brands within shows, and those toys come with predefined attributes from the show, limiting play possibilities.

Those who grew up through this education that advertisers give us have become brand loyal. Adults raised on this stuff don't buy music players, they buy ipods, without even checking out other brands. They buy macbooks, not laptops, SonyEricssons, not phones. I know someone who won't buy a TV, he'll buy a Sony TV, everytime. This extends to all electronics goods. If there's a sony version he'll get that one. Sometimes he doesn't want the product at all until one day there's a sony version.

Instead of trying out the no-frills / cheap label peanut butter, we'll buy the sanitarium without a second thought. Parents don't buy nappies, they buy huggies.

EU Parliament tells USA's USTR it will not participate in secret treaty negotiations and calls for public release of ACTA documents.

The EU voted 663:13 in favour of the following:

1. Reminds that the Commission has since the 1 December 2009 the legal obligation to immediately and fully inform the European Parliament at all stages of international negotiations;

2. Expresses its concern over the lack of a transparent process in the conduct of the ACTA negotiations which contradicts the letter and the spirit of the TFEU; is deeply concerned that no legal base has been established before the start of the ACTA negotiations and that no parliamentary approval has been asked for the mandate;

3. Calls on the Commission and Council to grant public and parliamentary access to ACTA negotiation texts and summaries in accordance with the Treaty and the Regulation 1049/2001 on Public Access to Documents;

4. Calls on the Commission and Council to pro-actively engage with ACTA partners to rule out any further negotiations of an a piori confidential nature and to timely and entirely inform Parliament about its initiatives in this regard; expects the Commission to make proposals already prior to the next negotiation round in New Zealand in April 2010 and to demand that the issue of transparency is put on the agenda of that meeting, and to refer to Parliament the outcome of this round immediately after its conclusion;

Homeopathy (that's just water in a bottle, not to be confused with herbal medicine) gets a second chance in the UK -- more interviews with fans of homeopathy are coming, to be collated alongside science and medical conclusions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2010/mar/12/mps-and-evidence-for-...

Personally, I just want people to know that it's water, just water, and NOTHING ELSE in homeopathy. It's sold in pharmacies in New Zealand alongside the herbals, and people dont' realise that they're buying incredibly expensive water that has been shaken to magically give it some kinda memory.

People are welcome to make an informed choice to treat their ailments with magic water. The problem is the homeopathy industry not displaying prominently that their products are only water.

Giant box of olpcs arrived, originally uploaded by Br3nda.

The OLPC XO 2.somethings have arrived from America-land. These are for the Saturday morning "Friends in Testing" group.

Seriously cute hat Jan made., originally uploaded by Br3nda.

My ISP is Telstra, cable. It's pretty darn good for most everything. Except youtube. The performance of youtube streaming video is really really shit.

There are people complaining about youtube on telstra in Wellington here and here and here and here and here and here and ......

Earlier this year youtube added a neat section where you can see the data speeds from your ISP, compared to others in your city, your country and the world: http://www.youtube.com/my_speed

It shows my ISP, telstra, sitting at between 30% and 70% of the average wellington speed. in other words, telstra with their superior cable network technology is being beaten by people with DSL, and being beaten a LONG way..but only for youtube. Telstra have done something to make youtube perform like shit for their customers.

Chilling, originally uploaded by Br3nda.

Urewera is a special place, full of rainforest, hermits, and Patupaiarehe.

Lake Waikaremoana, originally uploaded by RobAucklandNZ

I spent more childhood summers than I can count in the Ureweras, staying at the Hostel in Tuai. You're always a long way from "civilisation" and even further from a petrol station. The road enters the bush suddenly and you've got 3 hours of road just wide enough for one car, while you hope you don't discover a car going the otherway on a blind corner (though you seldom do see anyone else on the road). Suddenly the lake becomes visible from a high cliff top. I think it's the second largest lake in New Zealand, formed when a massive landslide blocked off a small stream. There's not much water going in or out so it's a very calm place.

Child beside Tuai lake wall, near the Hostel. Photo by Chris Thompson

Michael Geist is coming to town..

allow me have a little fangirl moment

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Here's the press release:

Michael Geist to keynote PublicACTA - InternetNZ

Media Release - 10 March 2010 - InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) is excited to announce that renowned Canadian law professor Michael Geist, a world authority on technology law issues, will be the keynote speaker at the PublicACTA event, being held in Wellington on 10 April 2010.

"We are delighted that Professor Geist is able to make it to New Zealand to contribute to the debate around the ACTA negotiations," says InternetNZ Policy Director Jordan Carter.

PublicACTA is being held the weekend before the next round of ACTA negotiations in Wellington, 12-16 April 2010.

ACTA is a plurilateral trade agreement being negotiated by the USA, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, aimed at increasing the control that intellectual property owners have over their products and ideas, and at reducing incidents of counterfeiting and illegal trade in goods. The negotiation phase of the treaty is intended to be finished in 2010.

Professor Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, has written widely on the challenges of copyright and digital technology.

"His in-depth understanding of the ACTA process to date, and well publicised positions in favour of citizen access to the negotiation process, will add quality analysis and profile to the event," says Carter.

I'm willing to be challenged on this one, as I have only the basic details, but here's something that doesn't sound right going on in this tale.

Red Cross goes into Haiti following a massive earthquake - puts out the plea saying "send infant formula, we need it"

Across the Lactivist communities, (mostly) western white middle class women bloggers cry foul. Formula is evil, they need breastmilk, not formula. Don't send formula! boycott any charity sending formula!

and they're mostly right - the World Health Organisation STRONGLY advocates breastfeed exclusively because most of the world does not have access to a clean later supply. Haiti included

but - something feels wrong here. The Red Cross are there, on the ground, and they say that infant formula is what they need. It doesn't take much imagination to work out scenarios where formula is necessary. The mother being dead or missing comes to mind first.

Likewise, an island in Samoa recently asked for supplies, such as infant formula, to help them through the next cyclone.

I also ponder how much breastfeeding is a privilege. You need to be nearby a hungry child in order to successfully breastfeed, or have access to refrigeration, a breastpump, and sterilisation equipment. How many people in developing and impoverished nations have this access?