Archives for 2000

Just in case

September 8, 2000 by Michael Boyle

you’ve missed it, Rebecca Blood has written an interesting essay about these little personal websites we call ‘weblogs’ – weblogs: a history and perspective.

A friend of mine

September 8, 2000 by Michael Boyle

and I were just conversing over ICQ about how great a Macaquarium the Cube will be in about 5 years! Beautiful!

happening in the crypto world. Not new algorithms or anything like that – but maybe, finally, the ball is rolling towards a much wider implementation of public key crypto. The latest is that an Irish company called Baltimore is offering its toolkit for free. This is exactly what’s needed – the first step in all of this is not technological (that one’s already been taken) but cultural. People have to get comfortable using secure communications – both conceptually and practically.

I wonder if Zero Knowledge is paying attention. I hope so.

People seem pretty

September 7, 2000 by Michael Boyle

outraged about this story from Wired News: Online Prices Not Created Equal. If only such outrage were brought to pricing issues in the offline world. For years poverty activists have decried grocery stores’ pricing practices – for instance charging higher prices in poor neighbourhoods than in wealthy ones for groceries. Different people have always received different prices, depending on the store. Amazon is just bringing an old practice to a new world. I can’t get that worked up about it.

I think it’s

September 7, 2000 by Michael Boyle

interesting that so many (now) San Franciscans who keep weblogs like Canadian music like Sloan and the Tragically Hip. Although both are fine bands with long histories, in general they are very poorly known and appreciated in the US. I wonder if I can read anything deeper into the coincidence? Probably not a good idea.

My brother, who lives in New York, told me a funny story about going to see 54:40. They were just at the tail end of a long tour – and in Canada they’ll easily fill a large hall with 2000 people or more. So they show up at a smaller place and start setting up – and their guitar techs and roadies and whatnot (not a ton of these guys, but enough) worked hard to get it all set. They’re an all-pro band. My brother was there early and overheard the bartender say, “who the fuck do these guys think they are with their entourage?” Which was pretty funny, and somewhat telling.

A huge band here (the Hip will sell out arenas and stadiums, no problem, and charge just less than Sarah McLachlan for a night) often books a 200 seat bar in many cities in the States.