Obama's Mis-Step

Obama Moves to Dampen Uproar Over Comment on Race - ABC News

I too thought that Obama's words were ill-chosen as he commented on the Gates incident, and God knows I am an Obama fan. Really, he should not have commented at all, as it was only an incident and not worth making it a political issue at that level.

I also fail to see why race was an issue in the case. I have seen many videos of police behaving in a dis-proportioned way towards people of all races...

Really, it is not the place of a President to take side in such matters and give it national and international attention, as well as fomenting debates and conflict on such a sensible subject.

Obama did make a mistake. This is good in the way it reminds us that, he too, is just human. Maybe a real apology would have been better.

More Pandas

At this stage I am quite enthusiastic about this revolutionary product because it really is very light on PC resources and seems to constitute an excellent compromise. I think it is going to wipe out the competition, including Panda's own product. You can hardly make it more simple, powerful, and available.

I am not sure where Panda is going to make its money with this. They claim on their blog that the Suite still has its own advantage because "security suites contain many more functionalities not found in free AVs like Panda Cloud Antivirus, such as firewall, anti-spam, parental control, technical support, etc." - well, I also use a server rather than client based software for spam that works great, I use a separate and free firewall that does a good job as well, I don't need parental control, and it seems that the cloud hardly needs any support...

Anyway, as Google has shown, just deliver a high-quality product and you'll cash on it sooner or later. I am surprised that Google itself didn't come up with this, and I am still convinced they'll try hard to buy the whole Panda box altogether just for that one good.

Clam vs. Panda

Panda Cloud Antivirus

I recently changed my f-secure anti-virus for the free AVG program. I ended up throwing it out of the Windows as it dramatically slowed down my system (F-secure too, by the way).

My laptop is so much faster without anti-virus programs that I wonder if it is really worth the hassle having them at all.

I then had the idea to look for a non-resident program, something with which I can just scan whatever I decided to scan myself rather than what a resident resource-eating mother-in-law decides for me.

I found the perfect program for doing that in the person of ClamWin.

This gave me the idea to blog about it here. You see, clam... and clam win... oh my...

Anyway this becomes even more relevant after pandas come in the equation too.

Indeed, reading about clam win on the net, I soon bumped into the latest fad in terms of anti-virus fashion - Panda Cloud.

Now this is an anti-virus program that rather than relying on a never ending database updating, and consequent resources slowing down, system, is relying on "The Cloud", or "Collective Intelligence".

No more structural database. The knowledge about viruses is shared through a network of distributed resources and any new virus-like behavior emerging in California or Beijing, or anywhere in the connected world, is immediately shared by "The Cloud", and becomes common knowledge, with direct application on your PC, in an average of six minutes - and the more people use the program, the greater the protection of each PC gets!

Another advantage is that it is supposed to significantly reduce the demand on your system resources (and that's where I lend a very interested ear), since it does not need to intercept each file at different layers (entry vector, file system and execution) and scan them using various techniques (antivirus, heuristics, intrusion prevention, behavioral analysis, etc.) - with a very consequent workload reduction. Most of the processing is done up in the cloud.

Now this sounds really revolutionary, and why does it make me think of Anonymous? And Google? What is more, it's free... (but watch out, soon to be bought by the afore-mentionned Google, IMO)

I downloaded the beta version and so far it seems to do quite some marvel (reserving my judgment for later, though).

The one thing I don't like about is that it did not want to install itself while ClamWin was installed on my computer. I tried to offload ClamWin from memory, just to keep the scan on demand bit, but it also didn't agree to this.

Is that a transcategorial subliminal metaphysical sign of big changes to come? The "Collective Intelligence" win over the sclerosed traditional structures?

Another question is this: if panda's servers get hit with a virus, does that mean every person who uses panda software will be vulnerable? would this not be a way to spread a potential virus?

Food for thought...

At the end, especially if The Cloud starts to make my system run at Panda's speed, the Clam may win after all...

An Angel Stop-Over in Glasgow

I have been waiting for this for quite some time now: Boyle's performance in her home capital: Glasgow. This one is the first video to appear on YT about it. I am sure that loads more will be forthcoming. The best performance so far, because she is giving her very best, and this voice... really just straight from heaven! It was incredibly magnificent. She seemed to reach a new level, if that was possible at all. I think tonight Susan made her mark down history more than ever. It has just become surreal!

Of course never wilder crowd have I seen, except maybe during the Beatles era, and I hope that some professional team is getting the full sound of her, because sometimes it is just impossible to hear through the crowd's cheers.

As the comment below says, there's just something else than just singing happening here. We really are blessed to live through all this as it unfolds!

YouTube - Susan boyle:

"Amazingly, when I listen to Susan sing and watch her, I feel as if I am in the presence of an angel. When she stops singing, she becomes human again."

Toddler Fascination with Susan Boyle

You Tube - My daughter watching Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

This is an amazing video. Here is a 18 months old toddler watching the famous Susan Boyle video. She claps exactly at the right times, and without being probed into that by the public as it is just at the beginning. There's quite a bit of food for thought in there, both for understanding (?) the mind of toddlers, or maybe some toddlers, and the universal appeal of that Boyle event. Quite fascinating, and the look of that child watching the performance... Well, a video that may go a long way on YT.

I got another demonstration of Boyle's appeal today, as I introduced a friend to the original boyle video, and as so many others around the world, she just started crying genuine tears that lasted long after it was over, then she started to re-watched the video endlessly.

Now I also got on YT and searched for other version of "I dreamed a dream", and, frankly, nothing comes even near Susan's rendition. They are all terrible pale in comparison, even though it's interesting to get other views from that piece, and some of them make me better understand the drama of this song and its power. Nevertheless, there's not a single voice that matches the purity and richness of that 48 years old unemployed cat lady from a tiny Scottish village!

The worry now is whether Susan will sustain what goes with absolute stardom. She gave three mind-blowing performances in the Britain's Got Talent tour but had lapses of memory in Sheffield and had to cancel Manchester.

Well, let's cross fingers... and put that thumb in our mouth too!

PS - I just learn that tomorrow the BGT show is in Glasgow... Now that makes a bit more sense. She wouldn't want to mess that one, so better take a rest than risk a miss in her own capital where the expectation and pressure must be formidable! If the public reaction we saw in Birmingham and Sheffield are incredible, what is it going to be in Glasgow! Really I am not sure I would want to be in Susan's shoe for that one!

Alexander Rybak

I hate the Eurovision, that show that I remember back from my childhood when it had much fewer countries than at present. I really do hate it. But then, when you see a nuclear explosion of talent such as Alexander Rybak, you tend to revise your idee-fixes about it...

Another revelation. Susan Boyle then Alexander Rybak... Where will it end?

YouTube - Norway - Points: 387 - Place: 1st - "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak

PS - also here in a splendid, hitherto anonymous, rendition of Foolin'

Susan Boyle Lost Due to YouTube Scam'?

I don't have a TV and after checking with my happy TV-owning friends, they did not have the British channel ITV, so I was left with the Internet to follow the Britain's Got Talent final. Luckily I did find a stream and could follow the whole amazing thing.

Of course it did not surprise me that Diversity came first. But what surprised me was why the third place came to that saxophonist or what. There clearly were much better contenders.

Now I may start to understand the reason if the article below is right. Indeed, after the stream, I followed the news on Youtube and I remember people who through comments urged people to vote for Susan at a certain number,and that number was probably fake. It supposedly directed to Diversity and that saxophonist. That's what I think the complain of the Pro-Susan is, not that it was wrongly posted on an edited photo of the TV screen.

Well, here's for the conspiracy aficionados - thought it may not be that far fetched this time:

Susan Boyle 'lost Britain's Got Talent votes due to YouTube scam' - Telegraph

From an Earthly Vessel Comes Music from Heaven

Magnificent article that translates best of all those I read why Susan Boyle has become such a phenomenon. For once, one of my off-topic blog entry is remotely related to what articles on this blog should be about, i.e. Scientology - and "that's transcendence. That's the assurance of things not seen":

"Sermons are hit or miss. Theology, though intriguing, can get messy, confusing and contradictory. People fight over it. But music can bring us together and raise us up in some mystical manner that defies explanation."

From an earthly vessel comes music from heaven - Kalamazoo, Michigan Living News - The Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com

Some excerpt:

I'm sitting at my home computer in tears -- I've just watched Susan Boyle's first performance on "Britain's Got Talent."

I know the whole world's been talking about her for weeks, but I just hadn't made time to listen to her sing.

[...] I google her name, and there she is, in all her dowdiness. I know, from news reports and conversations, that something magnificent is about to break forth. Still, when she opens her mouth to sing "I Dreamed a Dream," and that rich, resonant voice comes pouring out, I'm overwhelmed.

From this antithesis of a superstar comes music straight from heaven.

I begin to cry. Not a lone tear sneaking down my cheek. But a torrent. A deep-hearted weeping that rises up and spills over like a river in springtime.

What's causing this? Is it the lyrics, the melody, the voice, or the fact that this simple 47-year-old woman from a village in Scotland has been given this amazing gift that she's finally sharing with the world? Or is it the fact that she's overcoming all of the world's petty prejudices about her? Is it her triumph over our ignorant idea that only the beautiful and the model-thin have the right to share their talents onstage? Or is it all of these things?

I suspect it's all of them. But it's the music, I think, that pushes my emotions over into tears.

What is it about music that is so intense? That can throw us to the depths or take us to the gates of God?

[...] Music has always been the most direct route to God for me. Maybe it was for my father too.

Sermons are hit or miss. Theology, though intriguing, can get messy, confusing and contradictory. People fight over it. But music can bring us together and raise us up in some mystical manner that defies explanation.

Just look at the faces of the judges as Boyle begins to sing. Or the audience members as they rise to their feet when she's done.

Moments ago they'd been jeering and mocking her when she came onstage. Trivial human concerns about clothes, hairstyle, body shape, sophistication were all that mattered.

Then music broke through. Shattered Earth's illusions. And struck all of us with awe.

For me, that's transcendence. That's the assurance of things not seen.

PS - on the more humorous side, two great videos from the Corrigan Brothers:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcAkmxlEe0U
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpEk5VirxH0
  

Diversity Saves the Day

YouTube - Diversity - Britains Got Talent 2009 The Final

The dance group Diversity put up a stunning performance tonight and well deserved the Britain's Got Talent crown! Fantastic!

Now Susan Boyle... the moment she started singing the very same song that got her famous during the audition I knew that she blew it. It didn't evoke in me anything else but disappointment. Everybody was waiting for a new performance, on a new song, and certainly not on the same very song she so brilliantly performed initially. Even though the final rendition was "better" in a way, it was almost perfect with a lot of nice add ins to it, it will never come up to the quality of the audition version, because it completely lacks the package... Anyway, I also find the audition version better, because though she final version stressed the high notes, the low notes in the audition version were incomparably better.

So, sorry, Susan, but whoever gave you the advise to make a "polished" version of "I Got a Dream" again, should be shot. Or hanged. That was a terrible mistake, and I am almost sure it cost you the title. With the voice you have, you could have given a go at Celine Dion's "Surrender". That would have blown the audience apart - with no chance whatsoever of any competitor to come everywhere near...

Ah, well... In a way, it's better like that. Susan is already famous and on the way, for sure, of a multi-million record to come out soon. I'll certainly be looking forward to that, as that voice really has no equals, especially in the low notes, IMHO. It will also help to lessen a bit the pressure on her shoulder. And then, last but not least, it gives something to a runner up, as Susan had it all already...

Well done Britain's Got Talent - one of the best show, including the final, I have ever witnessed - with a great winner, and a fantastic runner up!

That's Why I Like Him - That's Why I Don't Like Him

That's why I like him:
YouTube - Raw Video: Obama Stops for Cheeseburgers


That's why I don't like him:
Schwarzenegger proposes closing 80 percent of California state parks - San Jose Mercury News

Miss Call it for Niah Niah Niah

Another Look at Scientology: Trump Took the Right Decision: "However, I would be outraged at the thought that she would lose [her crown] because she dared express her opinion, even if I completely disagree with it."

That's what I wrote - which does not change the fact that she really is a stupid fascist bitch. I started to watch her press conference today and could not stomach past 2 minutes in it.

Anyway...

Give Me Back the Original Alyssa

I have no idea what's going on in the mind of this girl, Alyssa Bernal.

Last February, I featured a superb video of her. She now made that video private and instead replaced it with an acoustic version that is not even half as good as the original one. Luckily some people have copies of the initial video and repost it on YT. Why she makes her best video privates when it had millions of view I can't imagine!

She's kind of becoming a celebrity already and has been featured in the Grammys for her (good but not that good) "I Kissed a Girl" and it seems she has now a parody video of it.

Yawn!

Give me back the original Alyssa! For some people success is not good as it make them lose that divine spark of spontaneity that is unique by itself.

May 12 update : I just learned that the reason she pulled the video off was because of copyright, as the original of that song was playing in the background. That's silly because you could hardly hear the original and the focus was wholly on her singing. That would be a perfect example of fair use.

US Denies Polar Bears Protection

I am currently reading Obama's book and I appreciate his sense of compromise. However, in this case, I think that it would be better to pass even an imperfect law, on the basis of urgency, but on a temporary basis, than wait for a "comprehensive strategy".

US denies polar bears protection from climate change | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "He said it would be far more effective to work towards a comprehensive strategy on climate change – which he said the Obama administration and Congress were pursuing as their 'signature' issue. 'We need a comprehensive energy and climate change strategy that curbs climate change and its impact, including the loss of sea ice,' he said.

However, the rationale that it was better to drop the protections under the endangered species act rather than use an imperfect body of law will carry very little weight among environmentalists who have led a dogged campaign to press Obama to overturn the Bush rule."

Microsoft Incompatible with Microsoft

(off-topic but funny)

Slashdot | Microsoft.com Makes IE8 Incompatibility List!:

"'Microsoft is tracking incompatible Web sites for its upcoming Internet Explorer 8 browser and has posted a list that now contains about 2,400 names — including Microsoft.com."

Maxwell Smart's Shoephone

(Off-topic)

Play Agent 86 with a D.I.Y. guide to making a shoephone - Engadget:

"Find yourself in situations where you can't bring a handset but are in desperate need of one? [...] The win? You'll find yourself in the company of secret agent Maxwell Smart as you surreptitiously dial and take calls from your shoe."

Honest Abe Tops New Presidential Survey

(off-topic)

I have read some time ago articles about striking historical and even mathematical similarities between Lincoln and Kennedy. I guess these can be found nowadays on the net too. Like most people I have a deep admiration for Kennedy's unique charisma. A similar article trying to draw parallels between Lincoln and Obama didn't quite convince me, though.

W. Bush ended near the bottom of the ranking, of course, where he belongs. The criminal idiot was recorded saying ""There is no such thing as short-term history. I don't think you can possibly get the full breadth of an administration until time has passed.""

He is right - over time I believe he'll be ranked very last.

Lincoln wins: Honest Abe tops new presidential survey - CNN.com

Michelle Obama Makes Vogue Cover - BBC NEWS

(off-topic)

It is only the second time an American First Lady has taken the place of a model on a Vogue cover - the other was Hillary Clinton in 1998.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Michelle Obama makes Vogue cover: "'We want entertaining in the White House to feel like America, that we are reminded of all the many facets of our culture. The Latino community, the Asian-American community, the African-American community... hip-hop, spoken word - we want to bring the youth in, for them to hear their voices in this,' she said."

Senator Seeks Bush-era Truth Commission

Senator seeks Bush-era truth commission | Politics | Reuters:

"A U.S. 'truth commission' should probe Bush administration policies including the promotion of war in Iraq, detainee treatment and wiretapping without a warrant, an influential senator proposed on Monday.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called for the commission as way to heal what he called sharp political divides and to prevent future abuses.

He compared it to other truth commissions, such as one in South Africa that investigated the apartheid era."

Excellent idea. I hope it will push through.

Aptera or Not?

(Off topic)

It certainly does look cool (one always wonders when it will take off in the air) but am not convinced.

Back n the 1970's they already had 3-wheeled electric cars in the UK (they may still have them, knowing how conservative that country is) and these things were dangerous as hell because you would not hear them coming. Add to that continental visitors used to look at the wrong side of the road while crossing... (It's the blue car you see Mr. Bean always bumping into.)

Besides, $25-30,000 for a few pieces of plastic? And only a two seater?

Actually, in spite of its look, I don't think it will take off :-)

Aptera unveils full specs for its flagship 2e - Engadget

Am Yours

(off topic)

How can you not get immediately in love with such videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNmU9Lh69Wk

And here the original like I have never seen before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYhrYHmUPn0

Pure genius.

This being said I've been put in the mood after seeing a stunning half classical half jazz concert tonight. Nothing like good music to send you to high heaven!