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Hammurabi was the first programmer

Mar 9, ’11 1:34 PM

Or someone working for him was. I was having dinner last night with my cousin (an SAP consultant) and we covered a range of topics, including lobbying and programming languages. And it struck us that laws are essentially programs.

Prologue of Hammurabi's Code, in the Louvre

Either you’ve already heard this analogy or you might be going “what??!?!” But it’s true. Laws and programs are both essentially linguistic expressions of applied logic: rules and processes, codified.

A program is a law, the data is a case, and the computer is a very, very strict judge. The computer really doesn’t care about intent, it’s going to do exactly what the program says.

So, we can think of Hammurabi’s Code (even the word’s the same!) as saying stuff like this:

if convict.crimes.theft == True:
convict.hand.delete()

Of course there are differences and laws are at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to version control and testing, but as a way for non-programmers to think of programming, you could do a lot worse than thinking of it as very strict laws.

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OAuth is really all about asking a friend if someone you want to date has cooties

Feb 14, ’11 8:55 PM

In honor of Valentine’s Day…

Even if you’re not a techie or a developer, you’ve probably “Logged in via Twitter” or “Connected with Facebook.” If so, the following (in very general terms) is what’s going on when you click one of those buttons.

For the purposes of this exercise:

Girl = User in the OAuth nomenclature

Guy = Consumer in OAuth nomenclature

Friend = Provider in OAuth nomenclature. Pretend the Friend is a friend of both the Girl and Guy…

Girl to Guy: Yo, what’s up, you’re cute.

Guy, to Girl: Hey, wanna go out?

Girl, to Guy: Yeah, but I need to check you out with a friend first.

Guy, to Friend: Yo, this hot girl I know is interested in me, I TOTALLY wanna sleep with her, can you vouch for me? Like tell her that I’m good in bed and don’t have cooties and stuff? Speaking of, can you make sure she doesn’t have cooties.

Friend, to Guy: I need to make sure everything is cool for everyone involved, tell her to come talk to me. I don’t even know yet that she’s the person I think you’re talking about.

Guy, to Girl: Cool, I understand, go talk to our Friend and let’s make sure neither of us is sketchy.

Girl, to Friend: Hey, what’s up, can you tell this cute guy who I am and can you tell me a little bit about him?

Friend, to Girl: Oh, hey! What’s up? So yeah, this Guy says you’re interested in him and he’s definitely interested in you. He said he wanted to sleep with you. I can vouch that he doesn’t have any cooties or anything.

Girl, to Friend: What? I’ll make out with him, but even if you say he doesn’t have any STDs, I’m not sleeping with him yet.

Friend, to Girl: Okay, that’s fine, I’ll tell him you’re cool with making out but not ready for sex yet. He can tell you to come back and tell me when you are ready for sex and I’ll pass that along when the time comes.

Girl, to Friend: Great, thank you! I’m heading back over!

Guy, to Friend: She’s back, did you vouch for me?

Friend, to Guy: Dude, okay first off yeah, I know her and she does not have cooties. Also, she’s into you, but don’t push it. She’s okay with making out but she’s not gonna sleep with you right now.

Guy, to Friend: Okay, can you tell me if she likes tongue or not?

Friend, to Guy: She said she’d make out with you, of COURSE she likes tongue.

Guy and girl make out.

And that’s OAuth for you. It’s really all about checking for cooties and making sure no one is doing anything they don’t want to do before you hook up. Maybe next year I’ll write about how HTTPS is like condoms…

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I made the mistake of being curious about Glenn Beck’s take on events in Egypt

Feb 2, ’11 2:00 PM

I must be feeling masochistic. Suffice it to say that Beck has Muslim Brotherhood  and Iran Tourettes. Whatever. What’s noteworthy is that I made a second mistake on Beck’s site. I scrolled down to the comments. And just… wow. It was like some sort of Jesus Apocaplyse Insane Asylum. I can’t do it justice, just read:

Gleen;

It is exciting to see the Scriptures coming to life! Isaiah says, 2500 years AGO.

The Brotherhood, will set up the alliance you speak about. Israel will be surrounded but not forsaken. The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob will be faithful to a people that missed her visitation which allowed salvation to be brought to the Gentile nations through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, the Christ. The time of the Gentiles is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is now going to be restored to the remnant of Israel.

He died, was buried and rose the dead so those who believe will have eternal life. Mohammed, Budda, Confucuis are in their graves but Jesus is alive. The only way to God in love, not hate.

Yes, Israel will be attacked and made lean. Damascus will be no more. Egypt will be in confusion but will eventually bow down to the God of Israel.

A one world govt. will arise and a global leader who will come in peace.

Israel will rebuild the 3rd temple.

The Gog and Magog war will be next. Rush, Russia and Marxism will join with Persia and the Islamic Brotherhood nations will come against Israel but the God of Israel will snag them back like a fishhook in their mouths as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

This global leader then enter the temple and declare he is god. He will incite the world to destroy Israel and 200 million army from China to meet with the nations of the world in Megedo Israel to annilate Israel. Then the day of the Lord will come to gather His people and pour out his wrath on all those who oppose the God of Israel.

Are you prepared?

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/blog/wilson/the-coming-insurrection-egypt-day-2/#comment-138541170

First off, bonus points for “Gleen.” Beyond that, there’s more crazy in here than I can process. I suppose I should be thankful that only 5 people “liked” the comment.

I’m going to go wash my eyes and frontal lobe with Purell now.

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Signs you are actually the dictator of a “democratic” country

Jan 29, ’11 3:54 PM

If any of these signs apply to you, you might be a faux-President dictator…

  1. You live in a “presidential palace”
  2. Your government has a Ministry of Information
  3. Your police forces are structured nationally rather than locally
  4. You have won an election by more than 80 percent of the vote
  5. Your Ministry of the Interior has its own paramilitary forces
  6. You came to power via an “emergency”
  7. Your BFFs are generals and spies
  8. You’re constantly worried those same BFFs are going to assassinate you
  9. You have ever worn a green or brown uniform to a press event
  10. Whenever there are protests in your country, it’s because of “foreign infiltrators”
  11. You lack a vice president for multiple decades
  12. You or members of your government were trained by any of the CIA, KGB/NKVD, Mossad, ISI, or SAS (bonus points for graduates of the School of the Americas)
  13. You’ve survived multiple assassination attempts
  14. Barack Obama is embarrassed to be your friend, but George Bush calls you every weekend and mispronounces your name
  15. Buildings, bridges, dams, or ships are named after you before you die
  16. Halliburton is significant foreign corporation in your country
  17. You HATE HATE HATE the internet
  18. “Disappearance” ranks as a cause of death in your country
  19. The United States uses your prisons to torture terrorist “suspects”
  20. Your father was the last president (or your son is supposed to be the next president)
  21. China has ever used its UN Security Council veto in your favor

Got more? Leave them in the comments or @ejesse on Twitter

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The debate about social media and popular movements in the Middle East is stupid

Jan 28, ’11 9:50 PM

I’ll try to make this quick, since I feel like it’s painfully obvious. Arguing either that social media “caused” these events or had “nothing to do with them” are both stupid arguments.

Clearly people are marching in the streets because they are rejecting decades of oppression, human rights violations, corruption and poverty. It’s just as clear that tools like Twitter and Facebook help people connect, communicate and organize… and… ergo, help enable popular organization. It’s just like the communications equipment assisting Solidarity in Poland. These tools are disruptive accelerators and empowerers not causers (yes, I know I just made up at least one word there).

Does anyone really think that the governments wouldn’t be trying to suppress these communication tools if they weren’t tools that worked for the people???

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Weird, I actually agree with this comment from the American Enterprise Institute

Jan 28, ’11 9:11 PM

Regarding the US State Department’s private vs. public efforts to support the Egyptian protestors, I just found myself in the startling position of agreeing with a statement out of AEI, via Foreign Policy:

“The real problem is that when your macro policy and your micro policy don’t match up, it takes all the credibility away,” said Danielle Pletka, vice president at the American Enterprise Institute. ” It’s one thing to stand up and say don’t shut off access to cell phones, but when top administration officials refuse to side with the protestors overall, it sends the message that there will be no consequences” for the Egyptian government if it chooses to ignore the administration’s calls for information openness

Weird.

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Why Obama has to denounce Mubarak

Jan 28, ’11 12:18 AM

Obama needs to denounce Mubarak, and soon. As of this post Egypt has cutoff all communications except land phone lines (edit: looks like the ISP Noor is still up), deployed anti-terror units, and police are setting fires to cars and public spaces. This has all the hallmarks of being setup for a massacre.

Obviously, the US can’t intervene militarily. But the US can certainly denounce Mubarak, pull US aid money and offer humanitarian aid to the Egyptian population.

This is a pivotal moment. If the US denounces Mubarak it’s a huge blow to his government and sends a message to the entire Arab world that the US supports Arab people over corrupt Arab governments. If we fail to support the protestors, then one of two things happens:

  1. The protestors are crushed. Lives are lost, the winds of reform in North Africa and the Middle East are snuffed out for decades, and the US loses any credibility with the Arab world for an entire generation. But the US keeps its “stable” “ally” in the region.
  2. The protestors, with the aid of Islamic Brotherhood somehow succeed. The US, having stood by doing nothing, essentially invites Islamicism into credibility.

If the US truly supports democracy in the Arab world the time is now to show it. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives are in the balance, as is the US’ role in the region, the world and history.

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Come on American Media, Cover Events in Egypt!

Jan 25, ’11 7:27 PM

Per my earlier tweet:

Law of Unintended Consequences: western news becomes shitty and sold out, inspires wikileaks and social media, which free the middle east

Not only is there not a single mention of the word “Egypt” above the fold on the current cnn.com homepage, but even the SOTU headline is embarrassing.

And really, are you kidding me, there’s actually four dead white girls in the secondary story? It’s like CNN has become a bad parody of itself.

Compare this to the BBC homepage from the same time stamp. I left my clock in the screenshots so it was clear they were from the same time.

American news media has become such a disgraceful joke.

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Michael Caigoy reads Atlas Shrugged so you don’t have to

Jan 21, ’11 12:24 PM

I’ve never actually had the patience to write up a proper an Ayn Rand rant. Her drivel is just too damned boring and stupid and the people who need to see it discredited won’t read it anyway. But this is worth at least skimming for gems like this:

Rand takes the derisive straw-man leveled against materialists by dualists and other spiritual rabble, and adopts it as a moral imperative. It’s like the difference between an atheist and a Satanist. One disregards religion, while the other accepts its premises, then deliberately sides with the comic relief. Rand’s materialism is pure slapstick.

via Caigoy Shrugs, Part IV | The Beast.

Note: that’s part 4. If you want to go in order Part 1, 2 and 3

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My answer to What are some of the technology innovations we might see in online advertising in 2011?

Jan 20, ’11 4:01 PM

I think the two huge things that technology is changing in online advertising are 1) targeting. And 2) what I am starting to think of as “applitisements”, which is to say: display and mobile ads are going to become more and more like mini web applications. Neither of these things is a singular, momentary “innovation” in its own right, nor do I think as trends that they started or will end in 2011, but I think 2011 is when they start really coming together beyond the clumsy first steps.

Targeting is a bit more obvious and already on more people’s radar. As users share and connect more of their data, advertisers are going to be able to hyper-target and personalize their ad buys (think “males 30-40 who follow @mybrand on twitter and live in australia”). I think most people in the advertising world are aware of this at a conceptual level, but 2011 is when you’re going to really start seeing more effective targeted ads.

Applitisements, in the strictest technical sense, have been with us since the first Flash banner, but as online identities become more cross-site pervasive and HTML5 and integration APIs grow (see iAd), online ads are going to become much, much more robust and – hopefully :) – better.

Just to take a really simple example off the top of my head: Imagine you’re watching a movie trailer online. At the end of the trailer, not only are you provided with the “theaters closest to you”, but the applitisement already knows which theaters you buy tickets to the most often and displays those first, it lets you invite other people to go with you and buy the tickets without having to login or enter your CC info (ideally, there’s an in-ad password entry or other auth “reverify”). No jumping between websites, pages or windows or copying and pasting. All within the ad. And it doesn’t matter if you’re viewing the ad on a phone or a desktop, it just works.

Now, I’m not saying you’ll see the above example “this” year, but 2011 is the first year where I can actually say to myself “Okay, if I were going to write that ad, I need X, Y, and Z to happen and I have to do A, B, and C” and none of those things feel like some nebulous far-off “someday.” The pieces are all starting to come together.

What are some of the technology innovations we might see in online advertising in 2011?

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