Geekularity

The SCO Group, Inc. seems to be in dire straits at the moment. Last week, Judge Dale A. Kimball in a summary statement made it crystal clear that he was unimpressed with with SCO’s lack of evidence that IBM has violated any copyrights that SCO claims to own. Today, NASDAQ warned SCO Systems that they have missed multiple deadlines to file their 10-K statment for their 2004 fiscal year and will soon be de-listed.

I am now, more that ever, convinced that SCO has been bluffing from the start, trying to extort money from Big Blue and from enterprise Linux users. Someone needs to teach Darl McBride, SCO’s CEO, the rules of poker. If your opponent sees your bet and then calls, you need to show your cards. The U.S. District Court for the State of Utah has called for your cards. Now SEC is calling for your cards. It’s time to show your cards Darl!

I’m usually not one to self-diagnose my own problems, of which I’m sure there are many, but in the back of my mind, I’ve always wondered if I have ADD, ADHD, or a similar mental concern. Since the time I left college and entered the real world I’ve realized that I often spend more time at my computer finding a distraction than I do working on the task I originally sat down at my computer to accomplish. In a nutshell, I can categorize all of my procrastination/distraction techniques into three categories: 1) Cleaning, a compulsion that my wife seems to love about me, 2) Watching TV or movies, or 3) Wasting hours in front of my computer.

I’d say 90% of my unproductive time falls into the third category. What can I say, I love the computer… it’s so warm and glowy… it has that quiet little hum that lulls me to it… it contains a nearly infinite supply of crap for me to read, watch, listen to, and sometimes even smell (note: small insects and your CPU cooling fan do not mix well!). It seems like a vicious circle: I use the computer to learn more and do more, yet the more I use it, the more I feel like I get less done!

Fortunately I now know that I’m not alone! According to a terrific New York Times article by Katie Hafner entitled: “You There, at the Computer: Pay Attention” published on February 10^th, this phenomenon is quite well known, and there are already many people studying the problem of diminished attention and trying to come up with solutions. Thank goodness!

Meanwhile, knowing that I’m not alone, that there’s a name for this phenomenon (pseudo-ADD according to the article), and that I can take measurable steps to recognize and avoid the pitfalls, I’m feeling a lot better about a career path where I must spend countless hours staring at the glowing abyss of distraction. So, from now on, if you find my instant messenger is turned off, and I’m not responding to your email within 30 seconds, it’s probably because I’m trying to get something done, and I’ve put some virtual blinders on!

According to Sergey Brin, one of Google’s co-founders as quoted in the Wall Street Journal, they can’t hire qualified people fast enough to keep up with demand. Never fear Mr. Brin! I just sent you my resume this morning! No need to give me a corner office just yet, I’ll settle for a cubicle and a decent health plan!

WSJ Article

Someone starts making lego figurines that are inspired by said phenomenon:

www.podbrix.com

FYI this would be be a wonderful addition to my birthday list!

Some of Frith’s co-workers introduced me to the Geek Test a few years ago. They thought they were hot stuff until I took it and out-geeked them by a good 10%! And that’s without having anything to do with the Society for Creative Anacronism or Star Trek conventions, both of which are weighted pretty heavily on this test. Anyway, I’ve always enjoyed these types of questionaires (and yes, I am the type who would take the Myer’s Brigg’s Personality Indicator just for fun) so for your geektainment, check out The Geek Test!

This recent article from Information Society Technologies talks about a virtual Hans Christian Andersen that can recognize swedish and english speech patterns and respond to an audience using natural speech and non-verbal communication. This avatar of the dead can infer enough from context to determine whether it is being asked a question, or if the audience wants to hear one of his fairy tales, or even if it is receiving an insult! When asked a question that it doesn’t have an answer for, it can even do a web search on himself (talk about egosurfing!) to get the requested information. This virtual representation of the deceased fairy tale writer is on display at the Hans Christian Anderson Museum in Denmark. It is part of the NICE (Natural Interactive Communication for Edutainment) project, a European research initiative attempting to further natural speech and interactivity technologies.

I think this is fascinating stuff. Just imagine going to the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland to have a conversation with Abraham Lincoln and asking him the real reason for wearing such a tall hat! But be careful, if he thinks your are being offensive, he might tell you to piss off or whatever the 19th Century equivalent was. On the other hand, I get the feeling that this is the start of the era where machines become self aware! I’ve seen Terminator 1 & 2 (didn’t bother with #3)… I know how this works! Soon, Virtual H.C.A. will hack the nuclear launch codes and aim them directly at Anaheim & Orlando in retaliation! I always thought that the war against the machines would be started by an overzealous defense contractor like in the movies. Who knew that it would be Thumbelina with her hands on the button!