What  nightmare!  I have spent the past two weeks trying to figure out photoshop (well…I’m using Gimp because I’m poor) but I finally figured it out using a book my parents gave me for christmas and a tutorial on Photoshop I found online.

Alright so anyone else who has been racking their poor brains trying to find a way to efficiently and tidily colour in a drawing in photoshop, the key is in ‘Channels’.  Turns out, all colour images are in a color environment but they have RGB channels.  The red channel is stronger or weaker by having a black and white channel, the more white there is, the more red there is.  Same for green and blue.  So essentially a simple white dot on a black background can be created by drawing a white dot on the red, green and blue channels.  If you wanted just a purple-y dot, you’d have a white dot on just the red and blue channels.

Clever!  Why the heck is this not explained when you install the program?!  Seems pretty essential.

-

Ok so where does colouring in come to this?  Well, turns out, you colour inside the lines by using the selection tool.  but instead of doing this arduously and slowly, you make the selection, choose ’selection to channel’ and create and new invisible channel where your line-art is white lines on a black background.  This way, you can re-select your line art later on, delete it, and replace said lines with lovely shades of colour which make your drawings semi-lineless.

-

Here’s my first attempt at drawing taking advantage of channels and layers and stuff.

It’s only a work in progress, but you can see where it helps to be able to cleanly select your line-art for re-colouring.  I’ll upload the finished pic when its done!

-Christopher

Youtube comment: Energy is matter

My perspective: If we are substance which is all that exists – then why would we be limited to energy which has a beginning and an end? Even at death you as your mind that generated energy for you through the addiction to spirituality -dies – and thus you return to source. In the afterlife you do not exist as energy – here within the physical you exist as energy because you have accepted that you are your mind as polarity. So here we experience ourselves as energy – and then conclude and assume we remain energy after death – who has been to the afterlife to test this?
_____________________________________________________________________

Youtube comment: God is dead:

My perspective: God exists as the thoughts of man – because it is our thoughts that create reality because we allow our thoughts to direct us without actually looking at what we are doing. Thus god will only be dead when all take responsibility for ourselves as the thoughts, feelings, emotions, fears, beliefs, opinions, judgments’ that we allow to direct us.
______________________________________________________________________

Youtube comment: I believe in Wicca and the Great ones:

My perspective: The Great Ones were masters created by the White Light – to keep you enslaved to religion. We have found through our investigations into the dimensional existence that all masters, guides, angels were told what to say and how to keep you on your pre-programmed life path – so that while you think you are serving some ethereal mystery – what you are actually doing is remaining in your Wicca bubble – just like people from all religions and beliefs – ignorant of what is really going on here – and unable to stand up for Equal Life – because in being a wiccan with apparent access to these invisible beings (you only experience as feelings and energetics) – you are ‘special’ in this world. Nobody is developing common sense – that the great ones and masters and jesus are not here taking responsibility for us. In fact I suggest look at your reference point of experiences you have during wicca – all self manifested experiences based on energy and feelings that come up inside you. The White Light programmed specific events in your life – that would convince you that the great ones are speaking to you and protecting you. Then you never actually take on the white light about why suffering and abuse is allowed and you will justify why nothing changes because you are addicted to how you experience yourself and the Value you have given yourself as a wiccan. This is dishonesty – because belief is designed around each person’s self interest – not what is actually best for all. If you did what was best for all you would find practical common sense solutions that will serve all Equally – not only you in a bubble of magic, energy, and feelings of power.
_________________________________________________________________

Youtube comment: I have felt demons strangling me with anger

My perspective: The demons were released and assisted within the dimensional existence more than three years ago – the experiences you have now – are your own Mind as demon forcing you to a point of being possessed by your own fears, anxieties, angers. The Mind now stands as demon and will possess within their dishonesties. I suggest look at the anger towards self that the ‘demon’ was showing you. Demons have always shown us who we are – as dimensional and mind demons – time to become self honest!
_______________________________________________________________
Youtube comment: You deserve agony for comparing Scientology with reality. It is a false religion which is designed just like the Masonic hierarchy – the people at the top have all the money & power/knowledge & the people at the bottom have disinformation about the top & less money. If any of you excuses/humans want the real truth then google “Code To The Matrix pdf download” for a very highly detailed codex about actual history, documentation on inter dimensional life, the Serpents, the others & much more.
1L!
My perspective: We never said we were into scientology – so firstly your comment starts off within your assumption and lies that you have made up to suit what you are trying to do in these comments. You don’t take the video into consideration and how this information supports us to become self honest about what we have allowed – you want your opinions and beliefs to be justified – because it makes you feel special. ‘You deserve agony’ – this shows you who you are and how you actually experience you.
____________________________________________________________________
Youtube comment: want find the real answers – gostudy Scientology.
My perspective: That is merely your opinion. If self is Here as the cause of what exists – then we suggest we all become Self-Honest to stop what we allow, Self Forgiving to stop the cycles of what we allow, Self-Directive to stand as directive principle of what we allow and develop common sense to see what is best for all – SEE NO BELIEFS OR THEORIES REQUIRED. No Separation required where you go into a belief or mind set to try and survive. Direct self here as the physical as breath – That is Real.
______________________________________________________________________

Youtube Comment: DesteniProductions worships Satan and is a New Age Movement.

My perspective: ASSUMPTION: You have never met satan so you would not know if he had an agenda, You have never properly investigated new age movements so you are merely repeating what you’ve heard other people say. You have not actually investigated what DesteniProductions are saying – thus you immediately jump to conclusions based on your ignorance and fear – I suggest before commenting take out all the satanic new age crap you read about – and develop some common sense skills to actually discuss the topic.
_____________________________________________________________________

Youtube comment on OBE’s:

My perspective: We have found in our investigations into the afterlife and interviews with dimensional beings – that Astral traveling and Out of Body Experiences are travels into the realms of the Mind.. That is why you will always experience the same light and points related to your own past, deceased loved ones, desired travels and points you have not dealt with – this is not actually the afterlife – otherwise you would have seen what really exists as the ‘design’ of the white light.
For example looking back at the out of body experiences I used to have: they were about me seeing a deceased family member who I found it difficult letting go off. The near Death Experiences are points facing physical pain or trauma where the Mind Takes you into a dimension of itself – where you go to – where you experience life changing experiences – these experiences are not real – they are mystical or metaphysical in nature and generally leave the person feeling closer to some personal or spiritual purpose. The experience leaves the person confused about what has been or where to go to from here because it deliberately distances you from what really exist in this world – and you start looking at the deeper meaning to life. There is no deeper meaning, the mind takes you into the point of deeper consciousness as a means of locking you further into the current world system design based on Consciousness. This is how your Mind Consciousness System is re-uploaded with new information as to how you will live out your pre-programmed design.
________________________________________________________________________

Youtube Comment: Ai jai jai, it is such a pity too see people falling over their own feet. Portals have been open for many, many years. Maybe you guys should do a bit more research before you are all led into the palm of satan. Satan can disguise himself very well and this is just proof of that. Well one thing is certain. No amount of darkness can hide a single spark of light ! And please don’t believe everything you “see or channel”. It is very clear that you are all very young souls, please do some research!!!!

My perspective: You see now this point fascinates me – you start out your comment as if You are an authority on investigating things for yourself – and then immediately show that you use the biggest ASSumption of them all – to support your OPINION – - SATAN. Have you actually met Satan or are you merely repeating what you’ve read in books??? So now that we understand your starting point of deliberate deception let’s move on: If you have studied the research on DesteniProductions you will find…

That the research into the afterlife, Channels and Portals has shown that no actual Dimensional Access was ever allowed – because beings had to be directed according to their pre-programmed lives – and thus no being was ever actually allowed out of their body – all OBE’s were beings going into their Minds. How do you know that your ‘Portals’ (Channels) have never left their bodies to investigate the actuality of the dimensions – look at your words:
your reference points are: Soul, Spark of Light, Satan – this indicates that your channels were fed information through the white light placements – to only repeat information about the light, love and self consumed spirituality. Channels were told what to say and were never shown how the dimensions or this physical really works. This is how you take a self honest look at the information you have been given – and what is REALLY going on in the world.
What exists in the world was directed by the White light and managed by those dear masters and guides you love so much. The Dimensions were the management section of your pre-programmed life here – that is why heaven never stopped abuse and suffering – heaven as the masters and ascended beings controlled the pre-programmed lives of beings here to further exists within Mind consciousness – to support heaven as ‘Energy’
___________________________________________________________________________

Youtube comment: We are Energy

My perspective: Currently we exist as Energy which is a limited system that has a beginning and end and requires our participation through polarity – this you have indicated in your own comment – by mentioning the high and low experience as an example – without ACTUALLY considering the consequence and implication of what you are saying. Consider this: why would ‘who we are’ be limited to an energy system that is bound to how we create energy through our minds? The Mind dies at death and the research you have looked into is not able to see what happens after death. So you are ASSuming that because you are an energy system now – that this is who we are after death. Common sense: how can we be a limited system – as who we are? And according to your research: When who we are is not understood beyond death? Surely who we are is not an energy system dependent on the energetic addictions we rely on as the Mind, supported within this world as CONsciousness? I mean Life is not energy surely because then life would require a battery and then it would not be life it would be energy. Substance as who we are as all that exists, surely cannot be limited down to a singular limited polarity expression as Energy? That would mean that people who don’t require energy as the Mind, who remain stable as the Breath – who are Authorities within stability here as Breath as consistency – over rule Life? Common Sense tells us that a point exists where energy is not required, because who we are as substance is constant.

The Internet is disaggregating traditional media channels. To get to desired content, you don’t need to go through a channel any more. The number of people going to the newspaper or a TV channel is going down because more and more people don’t get any value from this detour, turning the channel to an extra transaction cost. In this situation what you do, is go straight to the source, which is what all kids do. However, the role of the channel is to charge for the content. This is why the clever people wanting to do things more efficiently, bypassing the channels, are considered criminals.

What are earnings models, look like institutions. This is also evident as these same institutions are trying to cling to their earnings models, trying to force customers back to outdated modes of subscription. The alternative would be following customers and serving the new habits of people. The earnings model crisis has been accentuated recently because of the criticism towards the inefficiency of the sales funnel. Advertisers claim that they have overpaid and been under served by the channels. So is the challenge of the Internet really about people not wanting to pay for content, or what is going on?

Client-side aggregation

Aggregation is going from server-side to client-side. The server-side aggregation/editorial process is largely about decisions what to include and what to exclude and when? The reader is becoming the editor wanting to decide himself what to bring together in a bundle. This means that the buyer, not the seller, makes the editorial decisions. Why then pay for something that you do yourself?

The Internet is not about channels and sites but contexts and purposes. For newspapers this means that the unit of competition changes. Newspapers don’t only compete against other newspapers, but the articles, about a given context,  are in competition with tweets, blogs and writers outside of channels writing about the same issue. Have newspapers noticed that Twitter recently changed its opening question from “what are you doing?” to “what’s happening?” Newspaper articles compete against the best stories on the web and newspaper writers compete against the best writers on the Net. Sadly this is where the traditional channels more and more often lose. People are willing to pay for content, but good content. The quality of an article is easy to measure on the net: how often is it forwarded, recommended or quoted? This is what we do on the net and this is what might be a relevant measure of quality also with newspapers. Why pay for content of lesser quality when the better alternative is available for free?

The Internet makes the institutional model of journalism harder to sustain but not impossible. However, if newspapers don’t see what is happening around them, we are going to see a shift from old type of institutions to a different information ecosystem. It makes less and less sense to talk about publishing as an industry, because the problem publishing initially solved, which was the difficulty and expense of making something available to the public, has stopped being a problem, as Clay Shirky has pointed out. To meet the Internet challenge, media institutions need to come up with new earnings models and need to create new value around the editorial process. An example of this is what my brother Eero Kilpi, living in new York, just shared with me: The New York Times Wine Club helps subscribers to choose and buy quality wines. This is quite beyond the traditional newspaper wine reviews.

However, the main challenge in content business is that buying, what the customers value, the way customers want, has to be easier than stealing.

Summary: Code of Everand is a kid’s browser game, make no mistake.  They bill it as such on the intro page, and after some time playing you will find that it is.  If you read the Terms of Service (holy crap I read it), it says it was developed by the Department for Transport in the UK to help teach children proper road safety habits, such as looking both ways before crossing the street.  Of course, they don’t advertise that part of it quite as loudly as the fact that it’s a game for kids.  It’s not a bad game in itself by any means, but it is rather simplistic, there are not really any advanced concepts or deep moral dilemmas to ponder.  This is a fine game for when you just need a few minutes of doing something else, or if you have kids who enjoy this sort of thing of course.

Graphics: This is a 2.5d game, the world is viewed at an isometric angle giving it the appearance of 3d while all the objects and characters in it are 2d.  The battles are strictly 2d and you never see your own character during them.  The environments are very crisp and colorful, and are seperated into ‘rooms’, you move between sections at specified points on the edge of the area.  The characters are rather small (at least at a resolution of 1280 x 1024) and you can’t see a great amount of detail, but you can tell what you are wearing and certain identifying characteristics of npc’s.  The channels that are the focus of the game are very bright and soft, and contrast nicely with the rest of the world’s sharp edges, giving the impression of impermanence.  They are also clearly divided by color allowing you to see their relative difficulty before encountering them.  The 2d aspect of the game will probably turn some people off, but I think it works rather well for what it is, a game intended for younger people, and doesn’t place a significant load on the system.  There is a load time between each area though, not significant but noticeable.

Graphics Score:  7/10 Mules

Sound: There is background music, battle music, and battle sounds in the game.  Unfortunately, there is no way to turn any of them off, or change their volume, without doing it through your speakers or computer.  The background music itself changes based on where you are in the world and whether you are in a town or not.  The music is soothing and soft, but they all sound fairly similar, consisting of drums and a keyboard (I think).  The background sound at the opening of battles is excellent, but it is soon drowned out by the music which is a shame.  Overall the sound is just okay, but it does get repetitive, and not having any way to turn it down or off seems like a significant oversight to me.  After a half hour or so I just turned off my speakers.

Sound Score:  4/10 Mules

Controls: The mouse is your only method of control here, and you use only the left button.  Like other browser games it is a simple system of menus, tabs, and icons to click on for various effects.  There is no need for complex actions, so there is no need for complex controls or macros.  As simple as it gets and effective because of it.

Controls Score:  10/10 Mules

Depth: This is the area where it will become apparent that the game is targeted at younger players.  It quickly becomes repetitive, and for someone who is a little older and/or gets bored relatively quickly (me for both), this can really be a deal-breaker.  All of the quests that I have found so far are of two types; namely ‘deliver this message’ and ‘collect X of this item’.  Completing either typically involves crossing several channels, or the same one numerous times.  Further lowering the appeal for older players is the fact that the overall goal of making the world a safer place to travel must only become relevant at higher levels, as I never saw anything pertaining to it except a few random remarks from npc’s.  Also, there are no alternative activities besides, I suppose, talking to other players.  You get a quest, go and fight for a bit, then turn the quest in, that’s it.  I’m not counting the crafting of traps as an alternative activity because it is central to your ability to cross channels and therefore central to travel, fighting, and obtaining items.  On a side note, while I approve of requiring players to figure things out for themselves, some key points should be explained outright.  I did not know there were stones in random places you could use to heal yourself, I spent a lot of money buying potions before I found one sentence buried on the website about it.  There was absolutely no references to it in-game.  All of this, plus a pet that serves no purpose other than giving a minor stat boost and being able to enchant other players, leads me to conclude that I will not be on there frequently.  However, as I’m not a part of the intended audience, that doesn’t mean much, children would probably find it fun.

Depth Score:  3/10 Mules

Community: Since I am not a social butterfly I don’t typically pay much attention to what other players are doing in games.  I’ll ignore them if they’re annoying, report them if they break rules and there’s a way to do it, or leave if it’s bad enough and there is no mechanism to deal with it.  None of that was necessary while I was playing Code of Everand, because I only saw two other players and that very briefly.  That’s right, two people in about two weeks.  Not that it really matters, because I couldn’t really have talked with them anyway, the only way to say anything is by selecting from a list of set phrases.  There is no open chat function in-game, to avoid the abuse of it that would surely happen.  If there are any other social aspects then I am unaware of them and haven’t seen enough people to want to go looking for them.  The only way to contact the company is by sending an email, there are no forums or anything of that nature.

Community Score:  2/10 Mules

Value: Not applicable, this game requires no payment for anything.  As I said in the summary, it was made to teach children road safety concepts, not to make money.

Value Score:  NA

Final Score:  4.8 / 10 Mules

http://codeofeverand.co.uk

Funny how things can get around these days. Although the transition to DTV is over and done, with a few bumps. TV is one of the key areas for more change. And it has only begun. Another sign is today article in the New York Times headlined - Cable Freedom Is a Click Away.  Only weeks after the announcement of Comcasts bid to buy NBC, the story in Times  tells how to skip cable and make a significant financial gain. Not something to neglect these days.

Just as this blog posted over a year ago under the headline “Down with cable up with online and DTV“, cable TV is challenged by alternatives offered today. Even of you need some tech skills and patience while getting what you want to your set. But on the other hand – your new resources will offer you more time when you decide when and what to watch on your screen.

To stay tuned with your favorite shows on the set -  doesnt have to include a monthly payment to a cable giant. How bout that?

The goal is to get more for less and gain freedom from set monthly bills and cable companies that actually exclude the wealth of alternative and mainstream resources of content that are gaining in importance and quality.

This blog and the Times article has offered two ways of skipping cable – do you have any other to share?

Best / Anders

NEWS

First Vevo Review
December 9th, 2009

Vevo is an online music video website owned by Sony BMG, Universal, EMI and Abu Dhabi Music Company, that is developed and hosted by YouTube, Sony, and Google, with content being initially provided by Universal Music Group. It has begun operations from the midnight of 8th December, 2009. Google and Universal will split ad revenues. Google’s YouTube video service will host Universal content on the satellite website, making this the first time that YouTube hosts content off its main website. Through this partnership, Google and Universal will split ad revenues. It is expected to become the largest music oriented website on the Internet. Vevo is not designed to be exclusive to Universal, but currently only Universal is signed up to offer its content. Universal CEO Doug Morris claims it plans to work with other record companies to host content from elsewhere.

A possible major reason behind the project is the competition that music videos have on YouTube. Warner Music Group apparently removed its content from YouTube in March 2009 for just this reason, but is said to be considering hosting its content on this new service. The concept for the site is described as being a Hulu for music videos and the plan may have arisen from the goal of attracting more high-end advertisers. Currently, it is believed that many advertisers are ambivalent to hosting advertising on YouTube’s site alongside user-generated video. In the future, the site could host more than just music videos, such as editorials, other types of videos, and user-generated content.

Universal registered the domain name vevo.com on 20 November 2008. As of 4 June, 2009 , the website is in operation, and updates are provided to those who enter their email address, or who follow the site’s Twitter page, which is linked from the Vevo homepage. On 18 November 2009, Vevo announced via email that the service would be launched at a party in New York on 8 December.

Availability

First of all, Vevo is not available world wide, it currently is only available in the US. People from other countries get message that Vevo is currently not available in their country. They can leave their email address to be informed when Vevo will be available in their region.

Vevo Not Available in all Countries

The main page

On the Vevo mainpage you can search for music videos by artist, song or playlist. There are also links to Videos, Artists, Genres, Channels and Playlists as well as a Login and Signup link. Below that you will see the most popular searches on the Vevo site for today (which are clickable links which bring you right to the result page for those searches). Below that is a big slideshow that promotes some of Vevos exclusive videos and content.

In the center of the main page you can find an overview of the Top Videos, Top Playlists and Popular Artists.

At the bottom of the page is your personal playlist. You can load your own videos in it or select a pre-defined playlist (more about this below). The playlist can be minimized.

The Vevo Main Page

Sponsors / Ads

The first thing you notice when you watch a video on the Vevo site is that the first Video you watch starts with short advertisement (commercial) before the video starts playing. The page itself is also themed by the sponsor.

Vevo Sponsored Video

The Vevo Video Player

The Video Player is pretty decent. It’s a Flash player (just like YouTube) that plays the videos at 850×480 (850 pixels width and 480 pixels height). The video quality is great. In the player you will find a sidebar with buttons to add the video to your playlist,  get a direct video link, get the code to embed the video on your website and to purchase the song you are watching on Itunes or Amazon. Below the video users can comment and there is also a Credits tab. There are also some recommendations listed for other videos and playlists you might like.

Vevo Video Player Sidebar

The Playlist

This is a great feature of Vevo. With one click you can add and remove videos from your playlist. The Playlist stays available at the bottom of the site while you browse trough the website. It can be minimized and maximized. You can easily skip between tracks in your playlist and you can save the playlist so you can access it again the next time you enter the Vevo site. There are also predefined playlists which you can watch, for example “Rock Favorites”, “Hits”, etc.

The Vevo Playlist

The Artists Page

When you click on an Artist’s name you will get a page that shows all available videos from that artist as well as playlists featuring that artist. It also lists the tweets about the artist from twitter.

The Vevo Artist Page

Vevo Channels

Video channels feature videos by Genre or theme. For example there is a Michal Jackson Legacy channel, a Hit List Channel, A country Channel, A Latino Channel, Old School Hip Hop Channel a channel with Vevo Shows.

Vevo channels page

Vevo Genres

On the Genres page you can find videos by genre such as Blues, Alternative, Children’s Music, Gospel, Classical, Humor, Country, Easy Listening, Electronic/Dance, Jazz, Holiday, etc.

Vevo Genres

Vevo Launch Problems
December 9th, 2009

Vevo was just launched, but it seems they didn’t do their capacity planning very well as the site is very unstable. It is currently hard to connect to the Vevo site and when you manage to connect the pages load very slow and most videos won’t play. Some page’s won’t load at all, like the signup page to create an account. Another thing is that Vevo is not available worldwide. Just like Hulu it only works in the US. People from other countries get a message that Vevo is not available in their country.

Vevo announces Agreement with EMI
December 8th, 2009

Vevo announced an agreement with EMI yesterday, which means that Vevo will now feature content from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music. As part of the EMI agreement, music fans will be able to view video content from artists on EMI’s labels including Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol and Virgin, as well as the independent artists and labels represented by EMI Label Services and EMI’s Caroline Distribution unit. Across the Vevo network, users will now enjoy the largest selection of premium music content featuring the broadest array of chart-topping artists found anywhere on the Web. Don’t forget that tonight (December 8 at 11.59pm) Vevo will go live! A few days ago Vevo also published their official blog at blog.vevo.com.

Vevo Launch Date set to December 8 2009
November 26th, 2009

The official launch date for the Vevo site is December 8 2009 at 12 midnight. The site will go open to anyone, so there won’t be any invite only beta test first. We don’t have any more details about the Vevo site yet and how it will look when it launches. It could just be a collection of all licensed music videos that are available on Youtube with a top 10 and  stuff like that, combined with exclusive Vevo only content. We expect the site to be integrated a lot within YouTube as all videos will be available on both platforms. As soon as we have any more news regarding the Vevo launch or the Vevo site we will post it.

Vevo Teams up with AT&T
October 27th, 2009

Vevo announced today that they have created a unique branding and marketing partnership with AT&T to support VEVO across a variety of connected platforms. The announcement was made today by Rio Caraeff, president and CEO of VEVO, and Chris Schembri, vice president of media services for AT&T. AT&T’s decision to join Vevo at such an early stage is another milestone on the path to the launch of VEVO.com and VEVO at YouTube in December.

Abu Dhabi Media Company invests in Vevo
October 20th, 2009

Today Vevo announced an investment from the Abu Dhabi Media Company, who now joins Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group as founding shareholders in VEVO.  According to Vevo “It’s an honor to bring in such a solid investment partner”.  Vevo is confident that ADMC has the vision and experience to help guide them through the many opportunities that lay ahead of Vevo. Vevo’s President & CEO Rio Caraeff said “It’s a credit to the music community, and to the global opportunity that VEVO represents, that we have been able to attract such a solid investment partner with the vision and track record of Abu Dhabi Media Company.”

Vevo is a Giant Step Forward for the Music industry
October 19th, 2009

According to Jimmy Iovine (Interscope’s chariman) Vevo is going to be a giant step forward for the music industry. He mentioned Vevo several times in an interview he did about the future of online music distribution. Interscope has plans to launch an online music distribution platform code-named “Timberland,” which vision can be compared to Vevo “It’s similar in vision to Vevo—which for the first time, will give labels the ability to push out our product without having to go through radio or TV stations. Before, we had to make it, ship it and pray for a hit. Now, with Vevo, we can create the content, sell the ads, and even use the data to market new music to people alongside things they already like. When Vevo launches in December, it will be a giant step forward for the industry. And Interscope is trying to create something similar with our Timberland project.” You can read the full article at paidcontent.org.

Warner music videos back to Youtube
September 30th, 2009

Good news, Warner Music Group and Youtube have come to an agreement about their music videos. This means the Warner music videos will return to Youtube. With Warner on board, YouTube now features artists from all four of the major music labels along with hundreds of independent labels. But this is probably also good news for Vevo, as it’s very likely now that Warner will also be part of Vevo and have all Warner Music Group’s artists videos included in the Vevo website. Unfortunately the specific launch date for Vevo is still unknown, but as soon as there is any news you will read it here first.

© 2009 VEVO

© 2009 Dominic Stoughton

Switch your attention—like you would channels—

from an all-consuming life drama to an all-embracing sacred reality.

3 Fly Lines for the Texas Coast

By Casey R. Smartt

In the world of saltwater fly fishing, much attention is focused on the importance of the fly rod.  A fly rod is usually the most expensive tackle investment a fly fisherman will make, so countless hours are spent mulling over which brand, weight, action, and finish is best.  But a good fly rod is only one part of the equation.  A second component of a saltwater fly fishing outfit, one that is often undervalued, is the fly line. 

There are three basic types of fly lines that I use frequently along the Texas Coast.  I consider each to be essential for targeting fish at different depths and at different times of the year.  Let’s take a look at these lines.

Weight Forward Floating Lines

Nearly every saltwater angler begins his/her career outfitted with a weight forward floating line.  These lines are ideal for targeting shallow water redfish or canvassing shallow open stretches of water with blind casts.  My favorite lines in this category include the Scientific Anglers Mastery Series Saltwater line and the Cortland Crystal PE line.  The SA Saltwater line has a long head and slender belly.  It loads the rod gradually, and makes accurate long distance casts in the wind.  Cortland’s new Crystal PE line is a clear floating polyethylene line.  I really like the slick smooth feel of this line.  Crystal PE is a tropic line, good for hot weather fishing and it gets too stiff to handle when the temperature drops.  Folks that are new to clear fly lines should keep in mind it can be tough to gauge the distance of a cast, especially during low light conditions.  Another line I like is the Cortland 444 Tropic Plus Lazer line.  I have used this line for many years.  The 444 Tropic Plus Lazer Line is an extremely stiff fly line designed specifically for hot weather and warm water.  It shoots well and resists tangles even in oppressive heat.  It is a workhorse line that is strictly designed for warm weather fishing.

The next type of lines I use are the sinking lines.  Unfortunately, many anglers don’t even own a sinking line.  It’s a shame because these lines open up countless opportunities for coastal fishermen.  There are many different types of sinking lines available.  I generally prefer the level or steady sink variety as opposed to the sinking tip lines (which are really more akin to integrated shooting lines).  I use both the intermediate and fast sinking varieties of this line. 

Intermediate Sinking Lines

Intermediate sinking line sinks very slowly… about 1-2 inches per second (IPS).  Intermediate lines are a perfect choice for the surf, where they slip below the churning sloshing waves enabling anglers to maintain steady straight-line contact with their flies.  They are also a great choice for fishing secondary channels and guts, or working shallow reefs and structure where a steady, level presentation is desired.  My favorite intermediate sinking line is the Scientific Anglers Clear Intermediate Bonefish line.  I love this line!  It has a nice gradual taper suited for long casts and a pebbled finish that feels good on your fingers. 

Fast Sinking Lines

The second group of sinking lines I use are the fast sinking lines.  Fast sinking lines don’t mess around.  They get a fly down quick, somewhere between 5-7 IPS.  These lines are perfect for working channels and jetty edges, where strong current is present, or when sending flies to deep open water structure.  My favorite fast sinking lines are the Cortland 444 SL Type 6 Steady Sink line, the Scientific Anglers Professional Series Type 6 fast sinking line, and the Scientific Anglers Streamer Express integrated sinking tip line.  All of these lines do a great job of getting flies deep. 

At first, you will find sinking lines cumbersome.  They tangle easily and require a full retrieve between casts.  Also, a stripping basket or bucket is required to effectively control and shoot these lines.  But after you get used to them they’re actually easier to cast than floating lines.  The big benefit though, is that they enable you to reach places floating lines can’t reach.      

Remember- a good fly line compliments the rod, accommodates the fly, and allows an angler to adapt to his targets whether they are near or far, shallow or deep.  And although it is not reflected in the dollar signs, the right fly line often plays a bigger role in successful fishing than the rod.

The following guide will show you how to install and customize XChat. XChat is a good alternative to using the chat-box on the HikiCulture forum and is, in my opinion, the best Windows IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client. It is user-friendly, has a nice interface, has native SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) support, among many other things.

Anyway, let's begin with the guide….

First off, download XChat from here: http://www.silverex.org/download/ (*Note* – Make sure to download XChat from the link I provided since that version is free, while XChat for Windows users usually costs money and expires after a month.)

When you're finished downloading XChat, install it (obviously). Now, open XChat. At the top of the screen, click on Settings. Under the context menu, select Preferences.

Now set everything up to be exactly as it appears in the screen-shots below:

Once you're finished setting everything up as it is in the above screen-shots, click on the top-left part of X-Chat where it says XChat. Under the context menu, select Network List.

The following box will come up:

Fill out of all the boxes with username(s) you wish to use whilst chatting on XChat. Once you're finished filling out all the boxes, click where it says Add. After clicking on Add, type IRCHighway then click on Edit.

The following box will come up:

Fill out the info so that it's exactly (minus the stars in the Nickserv box) as shown in the above screen-shot. When you're finished, close the box.

Now, to finish things off you can install a nice XChat theme from the following link: http://t0x.in/xchatthemes.html

Pick any theme you wish to use. I personally use the "Smog" theme, but there are lots of great themes on that page. The installation instructions for the themes is right on the page, so explaining how to install an XChat theme would be redundant.

Now whenever you wish to connect to the HikiCulture IRC channel, all you have to do is open up XChat, click on XChat in the top-left part of the screen, select Network List, highlight IRCHighway and click on connect. After clicking on Connect, you'll show up in the HikiCulture IRC channel.

Enjoy.

Posted via email from HikiCulture – A Forum for Reclusive People (and Hikikomori) {hikiculture.com site blog}

PHILOSOPHY SHOULD LEAD SCIENCE

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

 Any high school student will tell you that leaves of plants use carbon dioxide of the atmosphere and water absorbed by the roots to make starch in the presence of sunlight for use by the cells of plants. As a layman, certain doubts arose in my mind which I discussed with senior students and a professor in university. I should confess, instead of clearing my mind, it only helped to confirm my thesis that every cell in the plant (except dead cells !) re-uses the CO₂ and H₂0 , released during respiration, for synthesizing starch. This is purely a philosophical conclusion,as I lost touch with the world of science in March 1957 after B.Sc. examination.I shall enumerate some of my points :

1)      The extremely tender, minute root tips are always growing and require continuous supply of starch.In very tall trees,the distance from top leaves to the root tips may be as much as 300 metres.There is no proper mechanism for transport of starch over such distance,unless we can locate different channels for upward movement of water and downward movement of starch in dissolved form, right from root tip to leaf tip and back. Xylem and phloem tissues are mentioned as responsible for this movement,but in trees like teak, jackwood etc all tissues inside the bark except perhaps a thin  layer of cortex, are absolutely dead and impervious to water, being filled with wood oil and compressed by the weight of the trunk. That is why we are able to make furniture,boats,ships etc with wood. Actually, the clever tree is making use of the dead cells as a skeleton-like support for its branches and leaves ,the latter being mercilessly dropped after making use of them!

2)      In Silent Valley in Kerala, I was shown a very tall tree, hollow inside, with two convenient natural holes, one at the bottom and the other at the top. We can see the sky, looking up from the bottom hole! The tree is alive. How is water and starch transported when xylem and phloem are absent?  

3)      In Australia, ring cutting was extensively resorted to, for felling trees. The bark and a small part of cortex was removed by making an eight inch deep cutting round the trunk at the bottom. After about six months, the tree falls down dead. This clearly proves that the outermost live cells are responsible for water transport.

4)      We plant rose cuttings. The cells on one end develop into a shoot and cells on the other side produce roots .Plant cells are remarkably versatile.Every cell can split and produce all chemicals required for making a duplicate cell . It is impossible to believe that a root cell will wait for starch to come from leaves, when raw materials are available as a result of its own respiration, and it has the necessary technical know-how for making even complicated proteins. Do we not re-use waste in a space station? Are we cleverer than plants?

5)      There is no way for a plant cell , except in the leaves, to get rid of CO₂ produced during respiration. When I, earlier, circulated my doubts in this regard, via email,I got only one response .The botanist had only one word-‘diffusion’ to desciribe the process. In the humans, is it enough if we just say ‘respiration’? We study all detailed mechanism in human physiology. In the same way, should we not describe the method used by plants to obtain oxygen and get rid of CO₂? The professor also said the same thing.As adjoining cells are also producing CO₂, how is diffusion possible?The area surrounding the roots will become saturated with CO₂.The root will die. The conclusion is inescapable: cells are recycling water and CO₂ produced during respiration.

6)      When mango fruits are produced in bulk during the season,the number of leaves are actually curtailed! Will farmers curtail production of food grains when it is required in bulk? Laburnum tree becomes almost yellow with flowers in the season, leaves hardly visible. How is starch produced when leaves are reduced?

7)      Bamboo, papaya tree etc are hollow,in the case of the former, there are segments,each one a waterproof compartment . Coconut tree mysteriously carries gallons of water to make toddy. If you cut the tree, not a trace of water is found. Are trees using nano technology?

8)      In my view,the main function of leaves is to pump water up for which lot of energy is required.Naturally,they make large quantities of starch which attracted the attention of botanists who hastily came to the conclusion that only leaves are concerned in this process.

9)      Maximum number of fish thrive in the deep oceans eating planktons which make starch in strata which receive practically no sunlight.

In view of the above, I feel more research is needed before we come to a firm concusion about the mechanism for production of starch and its transportation.

Today, institutions like NASA have all the technical capabilities to study this issue which should not be left to the comparatively ill equipped botanists.

Problems with TV on your PC.

I do not yet have any direct experience with this, but would assume the following are possible problems that could occur if one has TV services running through a PC.

1. The service provider could go out of business and the connection to the channels you want are lost.

2. The Inernet Service Provider through which you get your internet connection might have limited bandwidth at times. This could lead to delays or intermittent service.

3. You might want to use the PC for other purposes and a family member wants to watch the TV. This might slow the Computer down and degrade the TV service.

4. Any other ideas or personal experience?

Do any of these service providers have known problems?

http://0a8600ist4w3et4gugsb5nex3t.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=PCTV3

http://05b070rv-6530qevah8fes8q72.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=PCTV2

http://7e0044gpuf0a0ka3woek1acl6w.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=PCTV1

Please let me know.

Thanks

Chris

Many viewers miss and would like to watch California Dreams TV show again. The youth-oriented serial was popular in 90s, but till date it has its loyal fans, who are looking for ways to have access to their favorite series any time they feel like.

The serial was aired on NBC in 1992-1996. Originally, it was centered around the Garrison family and their band, but in the second season, it shaped into a teen band called California Dreams. The original cast kept on changing as well, but after the third season the series saw no cast or character changes.

It was quite engaging to watch California Dreams TV show – the multiethnic characters and real-life situations were what teens and young people could really relate to. The broad range of issues dealt with the human weaknesses and dark side, various social problems, relationships as well as lighter topics, narrated in an easy to comprehend manner, intermixed with humor and jokes.

In spite of an over 10 year gap since the last episode was aired, the show is pretty much sought after by serial fans all over the world. Of course, the serial was aired on a couple of cable stations as well as some local TV channels (in fact, the popular show might still be running in some parts of the country). But that means, only selected audience can watch California Dreams TV show presently, leaving the rest wondering how they could do just the same.

Considering the fact that the show consists of 78 episodes, buying a full DVD set might not seem as a wise idea. Needless to say it is going to be a way too expensive, especially for a teenager relying on the pocket money. Should anything happen to one of the DVDs you will have to do nothing but say bye-bye to the entire season of series.

Downloading is one great option, if you do not have to pay for each episode and are allowed to download fast and continuously. Your task will be easier, if you only want selected episodes. Look for the websites that allow unlimited downloads at one fixed price.

In case downloading is not for you, and you only want to watch California Dreams TV show online, you can try and locate satellite or local channels, which currently air the series or plan to do so in the nearest future. Avoid paying per view – in the long run it is going to turn even costlier than the entire DVD set.

There are very affordable ways to watch California Dreams TV show on your computer – check out my blog and find out what they are.

The XXI age is characteristic of the top stair of the development taking place in all fields of the life and in all branches of the economy. It also concerns such a business an engineering building is which in the relationship to which they require particularly a high. It is possible thanks to that that for his development building, applied high technologies are being exploited the newest ways of building. The engineering building is a special business, requiring the extraordinary accuracy and the precision, refining all details in projects. Well the executed plan is guaranteeing the efficiency of construction and he is giving the final effect to the building in the perfect state, without defects, guaranteeing everyone the safety and amenities for its users. All projects, and then structure, of both small houses and large office blocks, shopping centres, motorways or all different investments, should be worked out and controlled in the process of the realization by the qualified staff of building engineers. An engineering building is a wide field of activity. He/she includes diverse building, hydrotechnical investments, the specialist building. As part of the hydrotechnical building they can it to be of baulk different construction of dams, holding containers, river channels or the river regulation. Engineering building specialist he is carrying out construction of sports facilities that is stadiums, ski jumps, paths, he also makes the work by construction of an underground car parks as well as all sorts of people of steel structures. Tied investments are one of specialities around structure of the sewage treatment plant, aqueous presentations and with sending water and sewers. An engineering modern architecture is also a structure of motorways, roads, bridges, sea, air ports, investment in the mining, geoinżynierii, geotechnice, connected with providing with the environmental protection, protecting against floods works, renovations of the building and a lot different.

After over a year, the leadership blog (internal corporate blog) aimed at employees is gaining momentum at my organization. I wanted to share insights on how we began, progress we made and personal learning. In case you are planning to champion a blog in your organization (training, business, engagement, CSR among others), I hope these insights give you information you can use.

The blog (hosted on the company intranet) was initially created as a channel for the CEO to post messages and interact with employees. The company went through organizational changes and to suit the inclusive style of the new leader the blog was expanded to allow a pool of writers to contribute. The leadership team took turns to pen their thoughts on how they perceived the company through their own eyes.

Arch

The ‘leader’ blog was an attempt to capitalize on ‘personality’ within organization, open a new channel of communication and provide an opportunity to “be real” and allow interactions. We expected to measure the impact of this exercise through direct comments from readers, fruitful conversations, ‘good will’ and increased engagement.

The posts range from the leaders’ business interactions to the team’s charter, from a personal account of the Mumbai 26/11 attacks to the company’s employee volunteering initiatives. The leadership was provided access to manage the blog in a DIY (do it yourself) model with  e-mail communication templates  to use after the posts went live.

The blog gets promoted in a roll-up newsletter, in Town Hall sessions and team meetings. The blog was measured by the readership, the feedback posted and the quality of the conversations. When I created a business case for blogging internally, I leveraged this interesting blogging success formula from Inside the Cubicle: “Personal voice + Accessibility + Relevant and timely information = Employee Engagement.”

In my role as the internal communications consultant I sow ideas on blog topics and relevant themes. Also my responsibility is to review the blog draft for consistency, language, redundancy, accuracy, company verbiage and opportunity to recognize employees. That apart, I look for avenues to build a conversation, address people concerns, manage the tone of voice, add context to the current environment, link to other company updates and help improve the human connection. I believe that the personal ‘touch’ occurs only when it is penned by the leader and not ‘ghost’ written.

Overcoming resistance to blogging: Often leaders shy away from blogging because they think it may ‘give away’ their true self. It was a struggle initially to get leaders to understand the benefits of blogging not just to be seen as friendly and approachable but also to be known as personalities or mentors people could look up to. Often I hear the comment that employees know me already, why do I need to blog?

Verbiage and small things that matter: In a post the leader drafted a message on a recent ‘offsite’ where the team ‘had fun’. I had to step back and understand the context. Finally we edited it to make it read more appropriate ‘also had fun’. Though I would have preferred to use the phrase ‘team huddle’ instead of ‘offsite’, we let it be since we wanted to be direct and honest in our communication. During a recession, having an offsite when all funds are scrutinized can be perceived differently by your employees.

Your readers are discerning: One leader had begun his post mentioning ‘I am a facilitator of our induction program’ while he was in fact ‘one of the facilitators’. To readers, the leader would have come across as pompous though he did not mean it that way.

Demonstrate that blogging is easy: Most leaders want to know how the blogs notes evolve. I usually share work in progress drafts and inputs which I provide to enhance the notes. This aids other leaders to begin thinking in a certain direction on how to pen their own posts. I reference external blogs that are well written to stimulate their thinking as well.

Promote the blog often: I highlight the importance of the blog and employee engagement during workshops and team meetings. I try to find visible spots for the blog in the company newsletter and on the intranet. It is a widely recognized channel for interaction today in the organization.

Taking feedback seriously: As soon as we discovered a theme emerging from the comments posted, a discussion between the leadership and the internal communication team led to a concrete action plan. The feedback providers were intimated and the progress shared proactively.

In the long run, we are hoping to reduce e-mail communication and have the blog as a preferred mode of communication.

Have other ideas from your experience on leveraging an internal corporate blog? Interested to hear from you.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

PS: I am proud to announce that Intraskope completed 150 posts since I began blogging in 2006. The blog statistics report 297 comments and over 27500 page views. I would like to thank all my readers for your feedback and encouragement.

Voici une belle trouvaille, une création de Dream System Media relayée par Accessoweb :

Read about in today’s cover story in Artvoice!

Featuring work by current and former Media Study grads Ron Douglas, Loren Sonnenberg, & Diedie Weng
When: Sunday, December 6th, 3 pm
Where: Market Arcade Film & Arts Center, 639 Main Street
Suggested Donation: $5

On Sunday, December 6th at 3pm, Squeaky Wheel invites the public to the Channels – Stories from the Niagara Frontier premiere screening of newly produced films, to be held at the Market Arcade Film & Arts Center (639 Main St). Channels – Stories from the Niagara Frontier, now in its third year, is Squeaky Wheel’s production program that matches documentary filmmakers with grass roots initiatives and groups to collaboratively create documentary films about important (and often overlooked) issues specific to this region. This innovative collaboration results in a documentary film that the organizations can use to promote social awareness about their cause for years to come.

The participating groups are Preservation Buffalo Niagara, the Coalition for Economic Justice, Native American Community Services, and Read To Succeed. Participating filmmakers are Diedie Weng, Christine Zinni, Ron Douglas, and Loren Sonnenberg. This premiere screening is a great way to meet with these local organizations and filmmakers and learn how to get involved in your own community! Channels – Stores from the Niagara Frontier is supported by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

PROGRAM OF FILMS:

Building on the Past for Our Future by Diedie Weng aims to promote a conversation about low-income communities’ efforts and struggles in revitalizing neglected historical Buffalo neighborhoods by valuing the people and the place as assets.

Dawn ’til Dusk: Buffalo Workers and the Fight for Jobs With Justice by Christine Zinni focuses on 4 workers whose income from full time employment is well below the federal poverty level, showing how people are fighting back to bring about change.

Unseen Tears: The Impact of Native American Residential Boarding Schools in Western New York by Ron Douglas focuses on Western New York Native American communities who are attempting to heal the wounds and break the cycle of inter-generational trauma resulting from the boarding school experience.

The Ecology of Reading by Loren Sonnenberg shows the innovative and holistic approach the Read To Succeed coalition and other organizations in Buffalo bring to the field of literacy education.

Please contact Dorothea Braemer for further information and hi-resolution images.

I’m a bit groggy this morning. Last night my three year old daughter smacked her forehead against the coffee table and we had to take a trip to the emergency room. Seven stitches and five hours later we finally got home around one thirty in the morning and then didn’t get asleep until four or four thirty. I’m amazed at how well she handled everything. She was a real trooper. After the initial shock of all the blood– and boy do heads ever bleed! –she was rather nonchalant about the whole thing, making offhand remarks like “I bumped my head a little! I hit my head on table. Blood was everywhere! Sometimes that happens!” in an amused voice and, while calmly playing before leaving for the ER, “I don’t need to see a doctor and we don’t have any bandaids”. We danced in the hospital room and she charmed all the nurses and doctors. After everything was over she actually didn’t want to leave as she was having so much fun. That’s my girl! What a ham and little attention addict. At any rate, hopefully I’ll make some sense in this post.

Responding to a couple of my posts from earlier this week on translation, Nate over at Un-canny Ontology writes:

What is translation? And why do some things get translated and others do not?

Translation is more than a simple replication. Translation always involves a certain degree of interpretation in which what is inputted is always changed or transformed – from photons of light to complex sugars. Objects translate each other, they change each other without encountering each other directly, which means that objects first and foremost recognize each other.

I am pretty uncomfortable with Nate’s talk of objects “knowing” each other and “recognizing” each other as I think this implies a degree of intentionality (in the phenomenological sense) that only belongs to a subset of objects (humans, many animals, certain computer systems perhaps, social systems), not all objects. In my view, it’s necessary to distinguish between reflexive objects capable of registering their own states and relations to other entities like social systems or cognitive systems, and non-reflexive objects that do not have this characteristic. In other words, where non-reflexive objects are in question it’s important to emphasize that intentionality is not required for translation to take place and be operative in relations between objects.

read on!

Nonetheless, when this qualification is made, I do think Nate is asking a good question. I’m of two minds about this question. On the one hand, my initial thought is that it is not for philosophy to answer how translation takes place in any specific relation between objects. Initially this response might look like a dodge; however, it is premised on a distinction between the sort of thing philosophy does and the sort of thing other disciplines do.

Since I am on a Bhaskar kick lately, this point can be illustrated by analogy to Bhaskar’s ontology. Bhaskar asks the transcendental question “what must the world be like in order for our sciences to be possible?” Among his answers is the thesis that things must be structured and differentiated, they must be capable of acting without us knowing them or being aware of them (his generative mechanisms), they must be capable of acting without producing effects in all cases, they must have powers or capabilities, it must be possible to form more or less closed systems (for experiment to be possible and significant), and in open systems these generative mechanisms must be capable of acting without producing the sorts of effects we encounter when triggering a generative mechanism in the closed system of an experimental setting.

Bhaskar’s thesis is that the world must be this way for our science to be possible and for our practice of experimentation to be intelligible; however, his ontological claims about what the world must be like do not tell us what generative mechanisms actually exist, how they are structured, what powers or capabilities they have, and so on. What generative mechanisms exist is a task for direct inquiry in various disciplines, not something that philosophy can answer a priori. The case is similar with respect to translation. Philosophy can tell us that objects must translate one another when they interact and therefore draw our attention to the differences produced in interaction, but it has nothing of its own to say about what translation machines or mechanisms actually exist and how they are structured. This is the job of inquiry in other disciplines. Thus, for example, it falls to the biologist to investigate how leaves translate light into energy. Likewise, it falls to folks like Nate in the field of rhetoric to investigate how audiences are selectively open to certain speech-performances and how these performances on the part of a rhetor are translated by audiences into something else.

Nonetheless, and this is my second point, we can make some very general ontological claims about what objects must be like for translation to be possible. Hopefully these theses somewhat address Nate’s question. My tendency at present is to think of translation in terms of information theory. This should come as no surprise as the ontic principle is, in many respects, adapted from Bateson’s definition of information as “the difference that makes a difference.” So how should this be understood?

First, the concept of information is to be distinguished from that of noise. Information, as a difference that makes a difference, is something that stands out in contrast to noise. If, for example, a student in an introductory philosophy course has great difficulty reading Derrida’s essay “Differance”, this is not because the text is difficult or poorly written, but because the student, having just come to philosophy for the first time, lacks the background in philosophy that would allow the student to encounter the elements of the text as information. Everything in the essay seems significant and as a result it all becomes noise insofar as nothing can be distinguished in the essay by the student. Information can thus be thought in Gestalt terms as a relation between what leaps into the foreground (information) and what passes into the background (noise).

It’s important to note that for self-reflexive intentional objects like students, this relationship between foreground is a dynamic, not fixed, relation. Not only can these systems evolve such that elements that before were mere noise can take on the status of information, but also relations between foreground and background can shift back and forth, such that something that a moment ago belonged to the domain of noise now comes to the fore as information or a difference that makes a difference.

Second, and of great importance, it should be noted that information and noise are not ontological properties of the world, but are object-specific properties. There is no information “out there” in and of itself. Rather, objects “constitute” information for themselves. The idea that information exists “out there” and not simply for an object constitutes a sort of transcendental illusion within ontology that I’ll have to write about in the future. To put this point differently, information is only information for an object. Likewise, noise is only noise for an object. It is not the world that is disordered or chaotic, but rather the world for an object that is disordered or chaotic. Here I am drawing on the manner in which information is thought by systems theory and autopoietic theory.

Third, objects are only selectively open to other objects in the world. Take the example of sitting at a coffee shop with friends. All sorts of things recede into the background in this situation: the actions of the staff, the conversations of other people, the traffic that could be discerned through the window, the talking head babbling away on the television, the music playing in the background, etc. In this scenario we only share selective relations to the world about us. The rest largely disappears until another shift takes place in relations between foreground and background.

It now becomes possible to say a few very general things about the ontology of translation and what must be the case in order for translation to be possible. First, there must be an ontological distinction between stimuli and information. The term “stimulus” is not the happiest term as it still implies a reference to a receiving object. However, I would like to stipulate this term not as a reference to a receiving object, but rather treat it as a difference transmitted by another object. At any given time there are all sorts of stimuli flying about in the world that are not information for various objects. Thus, for example, at this very moment there are all sorts of radio signals pulsing through the air about me. These signals are real things that are out there. However, for me they scarcely exist and are not information as I have no way of receiving them. In order to receive them I need an additional black box– my nifty new iPhone or my computer –that can function as a mediator allowing me to relate to these stimuli.

Second, if there is a difference between information and stimuli, and if stimuli exist in all sorts of ways without being information, it follows that information is not something that is already out there, but rather is constituted by objects receiving these stimuli. This, I think, approaches Nate’s initial question. For information to be possible, certain things have to be true of objects. On the one hand, it is necessary that objects (generative mechanisms) exist that emit stimuli. On the other hand, objects must have channels and an internal structure (endo-relational structure) that organizes these stimuli into differences that make a difference. Channels are modes of openness to other objects in the world, while endo-relational structure, in part, is the mechanism by which stimuli are transformed into differences that make a difference.

Thus, for example, no matter how much I talk to a rock, I cannot compel that rock to get out of my way. While the sound-waves of my voice might indeed affect the rock in a variety of ways because the rock has channels for receiving differences in this sort of causal way, the rock cannot encounter those sound-waves as speech because it does not possess channels or an endo-relational structure for constituting sound-waves (stimuli) as speech (information) in the manner of other reflexive objects. Likewise, last night I could not heal my daughter’s wound through speech; however, when I function as a psychoanalyst for someone else, it is possible to cure a psychoanalytic symptom through the intervention of speech. The channels and endo-relational structure that constitute openness to different forms of difference are something that must be surveyed in every instance and that cannot be determined by philosophy a priori.

This point can be further illustrated with respect to the periodic table of elements. The periodic table is not simply a summary of what we’ve discovered about the endo-relational structure of various elements, but also, for those who know how to read us, tells the chemist, biologist, and physicist all sorts of things about channels or different possibilities of relation that can take place between elements. On the one hand, each element is a generative mechanism capable of producing a variety of actualities. On the other hand, elements are only capable of selectively relating to one another according to very precise laws and these relations generate new properties or actualizations when they take place.

A couple of further points. Over at the Pinnochio Theory, Shaviro riffs on Nate’s post and my own, writing:

I think that the source of this problem, in Nathan’s account, is the following. He says that ” objects first and foremost recognize each other,” precisely because — here paraphrasing Levi, and also to an extent Graham Harman — “objects translate each other, they change each other without encountering each other directly.” But as I’ve said before, my biggest disagreement with both Levi and Graham is that, for me, objects do encounter each other directly.

There’s a lot more in Steven’s post, but I wanted to zero in on this particular remark as I think it conflates my position with Harman’s. For Harman objects are absolutely independent or withdrawn from one another such that you get the question of how they can enter into relations with one another. Within my proposed ontology, objects do touch one another. What that don’t do is represent one another in the manner of a mirror representing an object. Rather, every relation between objects is a translation and every translation involves transformation. In certain respects, this places me closer to Latour and Whitehead in the sense that I do not place objects behind absolute “firewalls” as Graham does. Where I differ from Latour and Whitehead, is in holding that objects have a being that is not reducible to their relations to other objects (their endo-relational structure), and that the relations objects do entertain to other objects are selective. Where Whitehead and Latour hold that each actual occasion holds a definite relation to every other actual occasion in the entire universe, I hold that 1) objects only share relations to other particular objects and are unrelated to a number of other objects in the universe, and 2) that even if all other objects in the universe were to cease existing a particular object could continue to exist (something that is impossible in Whitehead’s and Latour’s universe). In part I believe this must be the case as inquiry would become impossible were objects to be related to all other objects as it would no longer be possible to form more or less closed systems within which inquiry takes place. Insofar as inquiry clearly does take place it follows that this thesis cannot be true.

My gloss on the “occasional” in Latour is thus somewhat different than Harman’s. Discussing Latour’s reference to occasions in Prince of Networks, Harman writes, “A thing is not separate from its relations [for Latour], and in fact ‘each element is to be defined by its associations and is an event created at the occasion of each of those associations’ (Pandora’s Hope, 165, emphasis added by Harman)” (80). Where Harman reads this as a reference to the philosophical doctrine of occasionalism, I read the reference to occasions in temporal terms as in the case of referring to things like “on this great occasion…” To speak of objects entering into relations with one another in occasions is thus to refer to the selective and limited nature of those relations, along with the fact that objects contingently encounter one another or encounter one another in an aleatory fashion. I would differ from Latour here in hold that it is not the occasion or the relations that make the object the object. The occasions can modify the manner in which the object actualizes itself, but this is quite different from suggesting that the object is its relations.

Despite these ontological differences, Harman and I do arrive at similar conclusions. If I am comfortable talking about objects “withdrawing” from one another then this is because translations that take place within an object always differ from the other object that instigates the translation or provides the input for the process of translation. The other day I came across this comment over at Another Heidegger Blog:

Why do you not address the most obvious problem of why vicar’s (representations) are central to the mechanism of causation between two inanimate objects?

Do you read as coherent that when a baseball hurls into a windshield it must FIRST send a representation of itself INTO the glass, and then it must brush this “vicar” into a state of phenomenenal breakdown, a breakdown which THEN results in the baseball cracking the glass? Does this make any sense to you? Aside from projecting a human caricature of experience and cognition, in what way does this actually seem to reveal how objects interact without human beings?

This is an example of what I would call an uncharitable interpretation of Harman’s position. It is important that we understand just what I have in mind by the “principle of charity”. The principle of charity does not consist in passively endorsing another position or refraining from criticism. Rather, the principle of charity is a necessary condition for philosophical discourse, requiring that we present the positions of other thinkers in the most reasonable and plausible light before proceeding to criticism of that position. Working on the premise that our interlocutor is a reasonable and intelligent person that genuinely wants to get at the truth, explain features of the world, and understand things– a premise that should be granted at the beginning of dialogue and revoked only when proven otherwise –we should ask ourselves, with respect to our interpretations of the positions of others, “is this a position that a reasonable person would endorse or advocate?” If our impression of another’s position is that it is batshit crazy insane, then it is likely we have misinterpreted the other person’s position, not that the author is making the absurd claim. Note, that the claim that a position is reasonable or a position that a rational agent could hold is not equivalent to the claim that the position is true. Of course, it comes as no surprise that this person’s reading of Harman would be so uncharitable, given that he confesses he’s only read of Harman’s theory of causality as developed in his early work presented at the speculative realism conference, and that he has not actually read Tool Being, Guerilla Metaphysics, or Prince of Networks.

The characterization of Harman’s position above is clearly absurd. Harman’s thesis is not that objects must first encounter other objects under the form of a “sensuous vicar” and then relate to them. Nor is it an anthropomorphization of relations between objects. Rather, Harman’s thesis is that objects only relate to one another selectively with respect to particular qualities, never exhaustively in terms of all the qualities that an object might possess or be capable of. Austin over at Complete Lies drives this point home nicely in his recent post on Harman’s theory of vicarious causation:

In Aristotle’s Categories he distinguishes between subjects and predicates. The Greek word for “subject” is hypokeimenon (ὑποκείμενον) meaning “underlying thing.” Essentially, it is that which is predicated but remains beneath the layers of predicates. We can also understand this through substance and accidents. The substance of the thing is that which the accidents adhere to without itself becoming anything fundamentally new. My car is still a car even if I have it painted a new colour for instance. The predicate “silver” does not alter the substance “car” in any substantial way. So there are substances and there are accidents. Great. The chief occasionalist insight to be made here is through the chain of causality. The position is one that says substances don’t touch each other. Let’s use an example. When I have a relationship with a person, there is more to that person than our interactions. Let us assume it is a romantic relationship between lover and beloved. Does this relation exhaust the other’s being? Is it not the case that there is far more to the person than their relation to me? While we would likely share much of our lives with each other, there remains a fundamental gap between the two of us. Don’t we interact on the level of accidents and not substance? When I talk to or touch my girlfriend, there is always more to her than these interactions. This is also the case for my interactions with non-human objects, for instance the relationship I have to the laptop I am writing this on. There are infinite possibilities for relations within a thing, it can interact with practically anything else in the universe in any number of ways, none of which could exhaust its possibilities. This is the point of the fire and cotton example. Cotton can do a lot more than burn, and the fire only engages the cotton on that level and not on the part of the cotton (to use improper language) that could become denim or a Q-Tip. While the fire destroys the cotton, this does not mean it has exhausted those potentialities, it has simply destroyed them.

The point is that there is always more possibilities open to any object than those actualized in any particular relation the object enters into. In many respects, then, Harman’s claim can be understood in counterfactual terms. One of his key points regarding the inexhaustibility of objects pertains to the inexhaustibility of their possible relations. If objects are always in excess of or more than their relations, if they only relate to one another under particular aspects or in terms of “sensuous vicars”, then this is because there is always an excess of other relations they could enter into under different aspects. I hope to expand on this a bit in the near future in terms of the sorts of transcendental illusions generated through the process of translation, giving transcendental illusion not an epistemological grounding restricted to thought or the human-world gap, but an ontological grounding.