There are plenty of rumours on the internet right now, that Apple will buy Twitter.
I would just like to point out that it is all just rumours that do not deserve any comment at all. It is often enough if someone uses the words "a normally reliable source" for a lot of people to believe it, even though they normally would not trust the journalist or site, who writes that the source is reliable.
This rumour is not worth mentioning anywhere. If you see a website propagating the rumour, stop reading the entire site immediately, and come to this blog instead. Just make sure you avoid the particular blog entry, where I mention that Apple is buying Twitter.
05 May 2009
04 May 2009
Chrysler, Opel, Saab... and Fiat. Why?
I do not get this. Last week the world seemed to give a sigh of relief that Fiat had made a deal with Chrysler. This week there seems to be a new deal with GM's European brands SAAB and Opel.
All this may work, of course, and the result may be an economically healthy car giant. But is there any particular reason to believe so? Chrysler already failed miserably in a merger with German Daimler. SAAB and Opel still presumably have plenty of links with GM, which makes some of their parts. And Fiat had huge economic problems themselves until not so long ago.
Fiat and their subsidiaries Ferrari, Lancia and Alfa Romeo make great cars to drive, but they are not known for their high quality, or commercial success.
This merger concerns a number of very different brands and technologies. A lot of skilful organisation needs to be applied to make it work. Does any of the involved companies own those skills?
All this may work, of course, and the result may be an economically healthy car giant. But is there any particular reason to believe so? Chrysler already failed miserably in a merger with German Daimler. SAAB and Opel still presumably have plenty of links with GM, which makes some of their parts. And Fiat had huge economic problems themselves until not so long ago.
Fiat and their subsidiaries Ferrari, Lancia and Alfa Romeo make great cars to drive, but they are not known for their high quality, or commercial success.
This merger concerns a number of very different brands and technologies. A lot of skilful organisation needs to be applied to make it work. Does any of the involved companies own those skills?
29 April 2009
The stop after Croydon
The Swift telescope has now managed to see something further away than anything we ever saw before according. It is a star that goes "pop" somewhere even further away than Croydon. The star got the poetic name GRB 090423. (GRB stands for gamma-ray burst.)
Scientists can find things so far away, but how good are they at finding things that matter, like a cheap and good restaurant in Monaco?
Scientists can find things so far away, but how good are they at finding things that matter, like a cheap and good restaurant in Monaco?
22 April 2009
Intellectual Property, where is the border?
As there are no technical limitations to sharing any music, films, images or texts with everyone in the world, someone has to set up strict limit to what is legal to share - at least if we want to continue protecting intellectual property.
However, where can anyone find any natural border? Take the following cases:
I'm sure lawyers and law makers have rules that can be applied to all those cases. However, where is the "natural" border between between legal and illegal? If there is no natural border, the law will be very difficult to apply. And it will be very different from one country to another.
However, where can anyone find any natural border? Take the following cases:
- Play music for yourself in your walkman.
- Play music at home with your family.
- Play music at home with friends.
- Play music at home at a party with your colleagues.
- Play music at your workplace with your colleagues.
- Play music at your workplace for your customers.
- Play music at your workplace for your potential customers.
- Play music in marketing material for your customers.
- Send a music file to your sister in the next room.
- Send a music file to your brother in another country.
- Send a music file to a friend of your brother's in another country.
- As a music teacher, play someone's music for your pupils.
- As a music teacher, send someone's music file to your pupils.
- As a music teacher, post someone's music files for your current pupils on the web (with password check).
- As a music teacher, post someone's music files for potential pupils on the web (no password check).
- Send a music file to everyone within your corporation world wide.
- Post a music file for download by everyone within your corporation world wide.
- Publish an essay on a particular piece of music and illustrate it with written score snippets.
- Publish an essay on a particular piece of music and illustrate it with written scores that taken together cover the whole piece.
- Publish an essay on a particular piece of music and illustrate it with music sound samples.
- etc...
I'm sure lawyers and law makers have rules that can be applied to all those cases. However, where is the "natural" border between between legal and illegal? If there is no natural border, the law will be very difficult to apply. And it will be very different from one country to another.
11 April 2009
Chinese History in European Museums
There are a number of European museums with decent permanent collections of classic Chinese art, like British Museum in London or le Musée Guimet in Paris. Unfortunately, I do not think anyone matches the big American collections at for example the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or the MFA in Boston.
However, right now there are a number of interesting temporary exhibitions in Europe.
In Zürich, there is an exposition at Museum Rietberg with paintings by the Qing (清) dynasty 18th century painter Luó Pìn (罗聘), whom the museum strangely enough calls Luo Ping.
The poets Hánshān (寒山) and Shídé (拾得). Painting by Luó Pìn.
In Paris, at the Musée Cernuschi, there is an exposition with restored paintings from the 15th century all the way to the 19th century, covering both the Ming (明) and Qing (清) dynasties as well as the republican China.
The mythical figure Zhōng Kuí (鍾馗). Ink painting at the Musée Cernuschi by Lǐ Shìzhuō (李世倬) (1690?-1770?).
But the strangest exposition is probably the one at the Louvre. It contains stamps and drawings executed in 18th century Europe by European artists on commission from the Chinese emperor Qiánlóng (乾隆). Qiánlóng wanted documentation of his war 1755-1759, and for some reason, he chose to ask European artists to illustrate it. It took the European artists seven years to fulfil the request, but we do not know much on how well the work was received in Beijing.
The magnificence and level of detail of the stamps are unfortunately difficult to render on the web, and the printed catalogue is of too small size to do them justice. A visit to the Louvre is well worth it to see the originals before the exhibition ends 18th May 2009.
Nicolas de Launay after Jean Damascene. The battle at Yešil-köl-nör.
However, right now there are a number of interesting temporary exhibitions in Europe.
In Zürich, there is an exposition at Museum Rietberg with paintings by the Qing (清) dynasty 18th century painter Luó Pìn (罗聘), whom the museum strangely enough calls Luo Ping.
The poets Hánshān (寒山) and Shídé (拾得). Painting by Luó Pìn.
In Paris, at the Musée Cernuschi, there is an exposition with restored paintings from the 15th century all the way to the 19th century, covering both the Ming (明) and Qing (清) dynasties as well as the republican China.
The mythical figure Zhōng Kuí (鍾馗). Ink painting at the Musée Cernuschi by Lǐ Shìzhuō (李世倬) (1690?-1770?).
But the strangest exposition is probably the one at the Louvre. It contains stamps and drawings executed in 18th century Europe by European artists on commission from the Chinese emperor Qiánlóng (乾隆). Qiánlóng wanted documentation of his war 1755-1759, and for some reason, he chose to ask European artists to illustrate it. It took the European artists seven years to fulfil the request, but we do not know much on how well the work was received in Beijing.
The magnificence and level of detail of the stamps are unfortunately difficult to render on the web, and the printed catalogue is of too small size to do them justice. A visit to the Louvre is well worth it to see the originals before the exhibition ends 18th May 2009.
Nicolas de Launay after Jean Damascene. The battle at Yešil-köl-nör.
17 January 2009
Purposefulness
My nephew, my sister's son, has decided to get rich. He is so determined that he promised not to leave the bathroom until he has become a millionaire.
15 January 2009
The decline of Europe
The current economic crisis may be a moment when the living standards in the "rich" countries fall drastically, and the emerging markets gain relative wealth.
For Europe there is one thing that always could have remained a source of income, however, and that is tourism. There is only one Toledo, one London, one Mont Saint-Michel and one Sacra di San Michele in the world.
Thousands of European towns and cities are potential tourist destinations for the rapidly increasing number of tourists from China, India and the rest of the world.
However, many towns have torn down reasonably old buildings and replaced them with new concrete structures. There are concrete structures all over the world - many of them nice. The ones built today in China and Malaysia are not in any way less impressive than the European ones.
The old cities however, the architecture of the early 20th century and older, that is something that is virtually unique to Europe. There are of course small pockets of old European style architecture elsewhere, but nowhere is there such an impressive accumulation, as there used to be in Europe.
Now, after two bloody unnecessary world wars and vast amounts of bad city planning, there is not much left in Europe either, limiting even tourism as a potential source of income.
For Europe there is one thing that always could have remained a source of income, however, and that is tourism. There is only one Toledo, one London, one Mont Saint-Michel and one Sacra di San Michele in the world.
Thousands of European towns and cities are potential tourist destinations for the rapidly increasing number of tourists from China, India and the rest of the world.
However, many towns have torn down reasonably old buildings and replaced them with new concrete structures. There are concrete structures all over the world - many of them nice. The ones built today in China and Malaysia are not in any way less impressive than the European ones.
The old cities however, the architecture of the early 20th century and older, that is something that is virtually unique to Europe. There are of course small pockets of old European style architecture elsewhere, but nowhere is there such an impressive accumulation, as there used to be in Europe.
Now, after two bloody unnecessary world wars and vast amounts of bad city planning, there is not much left in Europe either, limiting even tourism as a potential source of income.
Automated slander
In my sister's company, management has yet again problems with the productivity of the employees. They discovered that a lot of time is spent by the coffee machine, where the present slander the absent.
To satisfy this need they added a function to the electronic address book. From now on, you can click on any name, except your own one, and select an option called "comment". In this field, you can enter anything you think about the person, no matter how negative or positive. Everyone at the company can read all comments about everyone except themselves.
By automating this basic human need of saying bad things about others behind their backs, management hopes to limit the time people feel they have to spend at the coffee machines.
To satisfy this need they added a function to the electronic address book. From now on, you can click on any name, except your own one, and select an option called "comment". In this field, you can enter anything you think about the person, no matter how negative or positive. Everyone at the company can read all comments about everyone except themselves.
By automating this basic human need of saying bad things about others behind their backs, management hopes to limit the time people feel they have to spend at the coffee machines.
05 January 2009
Intolerance and Christianity
How come Christianity appeared out of nowhere in the fourth century with so little tolerance for non-believers, compared to older religions?
It is possible that they simply carried on, what was there before.
Step 1. The Romans think it is a great idea to have everyone make sacrifices to the emperor. It is not a controversial idea at the time. A lot of people of most religions made sacrifices to different entities, so why not to the emperor? It was simply a way of keeping the country together, like when British MPs have to swear allegiance to the queen, or when Americans salute their flag, or when Danish immigrants have to perform a test to prove their knowledge of the country, before they can become citizens.
Step 2. The Christians, when they appear, think step 1 was not that great an idea. Their religion stipulates that there is only one god, and that is not the emperor.
Step 3. Christians of all different kinds of beliefs are occasionally prosecuted by the Romans, because of step 2.
Step 4. Within a few decades during the 4th century, Christians discover that theirs has become a state religion. But in step 3, the idea of religious prosecution had appeared. The Christians, now in power, use this concept to hit back at non-Christians, tit for tat. They do not initiate it. They just do not break the habit.
Besides, not tolerating non-believers turned out to be a winning strategy, something other religions have learnt later on.
It is possible that they simply carried on, what was there before.
Step 1. The Romans think it is a great idea to have everyone make sacrifices to the emperor. It is not a controversial idea at the time. A lot of people of most religions made sacrifices to different entities, so why not to the emperor? It was simply a way of keeping the country together, like when British MPs have to swear allegiance to the queen, or when Americans salute their flag, or when Danish immigrants have to perform a test to prove their knowledge of the country, before they can become citizens.
Step 2. The Christians, when they appear, think step 1 was not that great an idea. Their religion stipulates that there is only one god, and that is not the emperor.
Step 3. Christians of all different kinds of beliefs are occasionally prosecuted by the Romans, because of step 2.
Step 4. Within a few decades during the 4th century, Christians discover that theirs has become a state religion. But in step 3, the idea of religious prosecution had appeared. The Christians, now in power, use this concept to hit back at non-Christians, tit for tat. They do not initiate it. They just do not break the habit.
Besides, not tolerating non-believers turned out to be a winning strategy, something other religions have learnt later on.
03 January 2009
Fun fact of Nicaea
One thing one may not think of is that the first Council of Nicaea (Νίκαια) was convened by a heathen, emperor Constantine the first. The council took place 325 AD. Constantine lived 272 - 337, and he only got baptised at his death bed.
The council of Nicaea was when the Nicene Creed was first formulated. In other words, the creed hundreds of millions of Christians use, was formulated under the charge of a non-Christian.
Not that it matters that much, of course. God was probably in charge of the emperor.
The council of Nicaea was when the Nicene Creed was first formulated. In other words, the creed hundreds of millions of Christians use, was formulated under the charge of a non-Christian.
Not that it matters that much, of course. God was probably in charge of the emperor.
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