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Mayor Bloomberg Plans Eviction for Occupy Wall Street

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 3:18pm — decibel.places

I just found out that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are being evicted from Zuccotti Park at 7am tomorrow morning.

Mayor Bloomberg is sending in the police to clear the park so it can be "cleaned" and is imposing new rules that won't allow protesters to continue to occupy the park.

I have been to Zuccotti Park and talked to people. It's a public space, they are being responsible and moreover NONVIOLENT. They have been marginalized in our society, and the budget cuts and strictures being proposed will effectively punish them for the benefit of the "1%" or the "better off" or whatever you want to call the elites. They are not asking for handouts or bailouts, they are only asking for society to give them a chance and a future. Their radical protest signs include "Make the rich pay their share of taxes" and "NYPD PROTECTS AND SERVES THE RICH" and "Jobs not Cuts"

When I was in college, we "occupied" the administration building in a nonviolent protest to ask the university to divest their apartheid-propping South African krugerands, which they did. It doesn't matter if the young African-American woman sitting next to me at last year's commencement responded "Huh?" when I told her the story - we did something right, and produced change.

These protesters have been standing up for all of us against corporate greed on Wall Street and the corporate takeover of our democracy. It's time we stand with them.

Please join me in urgently signing a MoveOn petition to Mayor Bloomberg to keep him from evicting the protesters. Just use the link below.

http://civic.moveon.org/defend_ows/

I'm a Pundit: Web 2.0, Web 3.0, Emotiv and Hype

Sat, 07/10/2010 - 6:03pm — decibel.places

I answered a question on LinkedIn asking about the difference between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

I cited the common understanding that the terms are hype and not based on any substantive metrics - and my usual quip predicting that Web 3.0 will come with the maturation of neural brain wave controllers such as Emotiv Epoc headsets.

Tae Hyun Moon liked my answer so much he asked permission to excerpt it on his blog, along with nine other answers.

1980 in Providence RI

Thu, 07/01/2010 - 11:45pm — decibel.places

Glenn took these photos of me in 1980 in Providence RI

Randall & Stephen in "the art room"

Randall "shopping"

Please no dying

Randall and Lezlie

Brown University video text misspells "miscreants" during Morgan Freeman's address

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 3:44pm — decibel.places

Brown may be a prestigious Ivy League university, but at its 242nd commencement on May 30, 2010 the text on the video feed misspelled "miscreants" as "miskreants"

Mr. Freeman said, "You are a raucous bunch of miscreants today, aren't you?"

The word is a reference to Morgan Freeman's role in the 1989 movie Lean On Me as Joe Clark, the controversial high-school principal from Paterson, N.J., who expels 300 miscreants on the grounds that they probably won't graduate anyway.

I just had to say something, because I suffer from PFORP

See more photos from the commencement

Brown University Commencement 2010 Honors Morgan Freeman and Barrett Hazeltine

Tue, 06/01/2010 - 10:14am — decibel.places

The Brown University community convened for the 242nd Commencement on Sunday May 30, 2010. I was very impressed by the demeanor of President Ruth J. Simmons, who managed great dignity without appearing pompous.

The Green was packed in the blistering heat, and many people found some shade under their programs. My forearms suffered sunburn but it was worth it to witness the marvelous event.

Brown University 30th Reunion - Still Alive and Kicking

Mon, 05/31/2010 - 10:56am — decibel.places

The Brown University class of 1980 returned to campus on Memorial Day weekend 2010 for 3 days of parties, events, parties and more parties. I took an interminable Greyhound bus from NYC - scheduled for 4 hours, but took 6. Then I hopped the (new since 1980) trolley bus to College Hill.

Festivities kicked off at the Alumni Cocktail Party on Friday evening, where I reunited with Mike Guzy, Nate Flynn, Barbara Weiss, Rick Brissendon, Betsy Berg, Jonathan Schwartz.

Campus Dance Jeff Engel, Kris Solberg, Mike Guzy, Jon Galef

Then the Campus Dance where I found Kris Solberg, whom I had not seen since a Halloween party at MillHouse. I stopped by the table for the class of '50 and congratulated them. They asked, "For what?" and I told them, "For being here - I'm only halfway there!"

Brown University 30th Reunion - Still Crazy After All These Years

Thu, 05/27/2010 - 7:56am — decibel.places

I'm going back to Providence for the first time since the mid 80s when I was a guest lecturer in sound engineering at the MacColl Studio for Electronic Music (I nearly completed a music degree along with Anthropology/Archeology with Honors, and Classics).

Just this week a few people asked me how old I am (including a client, who seemed to be weighing whether he could get away with paying me less than I billed, or risk being boycotted by AARP). I am saying, well, I have a 30th Reunion this weekend but I graduated when I was 6 years old...

I scanned the attendance list for old pals and gals - and Jonathan P. Schwartz will be there, who has a great video studio in Boston, Interlock Media. A special shout out to Michael Guzy and Kristen Solberg too! But my dear old friends Gabriel and Lezlie are in Panama raising 3 beautiful boys.

I remember the 1980 Campus Dance, I helped Michael Levy back to his room after he had a bit too much to drink... the next day he did not remember how he got there - alas, he's not on the list this year. It should be fun, nostalgic, and yes, I'm buying a tshirt.

Here Comes Web 3.0!

Sun, 11/02/2008 - 8:22pm — decibel.places

I have quipped that Web 3.0 will likely involve a direct link from the brain to the internet.. but we may not be that far away!

Research at Brown University (my Alma Mater) is enabling paraplegics (and monkeys) to control computers with brain waves!

Researchers at Brown University have used a tiny array of electrodes to record, interpret and reconstruct the brain activity that controls hand movement – and they have demonstrated that thoughts alone can move a cursor across a computer screen to hit a target.

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