When is a mobile phone not a phone?

When is a mobile phone not a phone? When it is a smart phone apparently.

I got a T-Mobile MyTouch. My SIM needs to be provisioned for data services before I can use the internet stuff on it. Ok fine. I found out today that it might take 48 hours...Hmmmm, not great but ok, fine.

But here is the kicker, unless I am missing something I cannot make a phone call in the interim! My "phone" insists on being a computer first and a phone second it seems.

G2 Phone

Well, my Sidekick was lost/stolen in Washington D.C. and the T-Mobile G2 Phone is launching this week therefore the Gods clearly want me to have one. Right?

Humanity Test

The Turing Test will soon be passed by a machine - or so some believe. I think we need to up the ante. How about something that simultaneously captures humanity and aesthetics in a way impervious to mere brute calculation attacks?

I want to see a machine be genuinely moved watching this particular rendering of Cold Play's Fix You.

Lisa Hannigan <-> Beth Gibbons

So, I've been playing Lisa Hannigan's debut album a lot lately. I have been nagged by the feeling that she reminded me of someone and I couldn't put my finger on it. I've previously blogged the bits that remind me of Leonard Cohen and Norah Jones but the one I missed has finally
come to me: Beth Gibbons of Portishead. It feels like a mystery solved.

Faster Jython?

Yes, and faster jruby etc. etc. All thanks to invokedynamic in JDK7. Its been a long time since 2004 but kudos to Tim for getting that ball rolling.

Library of Congress

Well, without a doubt, the highlight of this trip to D.C. for me was the behind-the-scenes tour of the Library of Congress. The scale of the operation is just astounding. I got to stand next to some books that Gutenburg himself probably touched. I got to breath that unmistakable aroma that comes from really, really old books.

The Library of Congress does *volume* like no other entity I know and it was truly impressive. I stood in the stacks - the size of two football fields. 2.5 million books. I gazed at a 5 foot high card catalog which, essentially, disappeared over the horizon in both directions. Amazing. A Disneyland for a book nerd like me.

Books, cats...life is good

I'm at the AALL conference in Washington DC and amongst all the predictable exhibits from publishers and technology types there is a lady selling T-shirts and nightshirts of a "bookish" nature.

The one that really caught my eye said "Books, cats...life is good".

I can think of, oh, 30 people straight away who would either love one or have a significant other who would love one.