Archive for February, 2009

It's being twittered right now at the Sunlight Foundation Transparency Camp right now, check out the Twitter feed for #tcamp09.

More good government on the way, ReadTheBill.org is about: ReadTheBill.org is a commonsense solution – we want Congress to post all bills online for 72 hours before they are debated. That gives members of Congress – and you – three days to read legislation and consider how it could potentially Read More…

Hey, the folks at KCRW invited me to select some songs and play 'em, and not surprisingly, it's heavy on Leonard Cohen: Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes Lou Reed – Magic & Loss Leonard Cohen – Anthem Leonard Cohen – Democracy Sophie B. Hawkins – We Are One Body You Read More…

Hey, people commit to our entire country when they join the military, so I feel we should commit to real support for military veterans. I take that personally. Here's Paul Rieckhoff from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America: Paul Rieckhoff said, "Whether it is 16 months or 18 months, Read More…

From Leah Garchik's column. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, has ordered hats from Interstellar Propeller in Berkeley for President Obama's economic advisers, to whom the president refers as "propellerheads." The hats say Propellerhead (which usually means software engineers); one says Chief Propellerhead. And the Read More…

… just correcting a parsing error…

Hey, today's NY Times talks more about Leonard: On the Road, for Reasons Practical and Spiritual. His songs are the closest thing I have to a liturgy: About the meaning of those songs, Mr. Cohen is diffident and elusive. Many are, he acknowledges, “muffled prayers,” but beyond that he is Read More…

Hey, at TechPresident.com, Colin Delany just started a multi-part series Learning from Obama: Lessons for Online Communicators in 2009 and Beyond which is really good. for example, the following, which applies to many online enterprises: Social media lessons from the Obama campaign Start early Build to scale Innovate where necessary; Read More…

(With the encourgagement of the Israeli, Palestinian, and US governments… see My Marshall Plan for the West Bank). Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:03:14 -0800 (PST) From: Kiva To: craig@craigslist.org Subject: Your Kiva Credit is now available for use Hi Craig Newmark, We'd like to give you a repayment update Read More…

(for all of you squirrel fans; a view directly over my screen in my home office.)

Hey, maybe a lot of good government software will be delivered by spontaneous, ad hoc actions, and sometimes by government folks using new approaches to tech: Peter Corbett makes a great point at technosailor. We must, in the words of our President, “pick our selves up, and dust ourselves off, Read More…

Hey, maybe elected officials should read what they're voting on before they vote; maybe we all should. It's time that Congress gives itself a little time reading big pieces of legislation before passing it. Some items are urgent, but that's the exception. All non-emergency legislation should be online, maybe in Read More…

Stripey's dad removes the StripeyBowl from a despondent craig, who had been fish-sitting.

How do governing entities judge the will of the governed? How do they gain their consent? A culture of participation involves a community which is to some large extent, self-governing. In principle, everyone participates in the decision-making process, perhaps just by voicing their opinion. In principle, decisions have buy-in from Read More…

update tomorrow

Hey, I missed the the Oscars, but I'm hearing reports of craigslist dancers? Here's the video until maybe the copyright cops remove it. The (fleeting) reference is in around 3:15.

Heavy rains break over the ridge of Cole Valley Heights; A distant robin sings, calling a mate; I really want some coffee.

… but not dress, as articulated by the world's most insightful organizational behaviorist.

Pop Music’s Perpetual Old Man, Now 74, Is Back on the Road Hey, this guy is my rabbi. Leonard Cohen kept returning to the stance of a supplicant at the Beacon Theater on Thursday night, dropping to one knee, or both, to intone his wry and ruminative songs. At the Read More…

Mostly, this is what I heard from Jeff Jarvis from a talk about this new book What Would Google Do?. (I'm sure I don't have 'em exactly right;these are paraphrased; please take as rhetorical, not literally.) David Weinberger: There's an inverse relationship between control and trust. Jeff: You've won when Read More…

Of course, Stripey could be replaced with another generic goldfish. Wasn't that the plot of a Simpsons episode (where I'm Homer) or maybe Seinfeld (I'm George) or every other sitcom ever made? Maybe I'm just Rex Barber.

Hey, the robins have started singing at dawn.

Maybe the headlines say it all: Stimulus Plan Ensures Boom Sector: Oversight Obama Bans Gimmicks, and Deficit Will Rise The deal is that people will actually look at how we spend the money, which is the opposite approach from the previous administration. Also, we're seeing a more honest figure regarding Read More…

Hey, the folks at Sunlight Foundation play a large role in promoting new forms of accountability and transparency. They're just started the Our Open Government List. It's about the Obama Open Government Directive to promote transparency, participation, and collaboration. Sunlight Foundation has created this OOGL in order to add a Read More…

I let Stripey know who's boss, and who might become nigiri. (He doesn't know I'm bluffing.)

People from the Israeli, Palestinian, and US governments tell me that the best was to prepare for peace there is to help build up businesses and the economy. I've been working with the microfinance wing of CHF International who run Ryada (`pioneer' in Arabic), a micro-lending program that gives out Read More…

Looks like the White House is off to a good start showing where our money is going with recovery.gov. This is very different that the bailout plan from the previous administration, where billions of dollars haven't been tracked, nor have they from the Iraq war. recovery.gov is just a start, Read More…

Hey, The Booksmith is a great local independent bookstore in the Upper Haight neighborhood in San Francisco. Jeff's book is really good, and he'll be appearing there on the 19th, Thursday night. More details in the link above, but anyway: In a book that's one part prophecy, one part thought Read More…

That's how StripeysMom explains the increasing cloudiness of his water. (Just a little, she's not concerned.)

Deep Inside the Grim ‘24,’ Two Comics’ Inside Joke is a fine bit of TV reporting at The Times, but they miss the big story. The characters played by Janeane Garofalo and Mary Lynn Rajskub are computer nerds, very smart, and that works for me. Great potential role models for Read More…

Hey, it's nice to hear: I've had some pretty good luck with craigslist over the years. Through it I found my last 3 jobs, my last 3 apartments, I bought a bike, sold another bike, acquired and got rid of some other miscellanea including, I'm dead serious, two bales of Read More…

(thanks to Twitter help, it's a raven

Hey, before you view it, be aware of the moment which involves the unfortunate use of a towel, and our tips regarding safety. Me, my reaction is like "my eyes, my eyes…".

Hey, Jeff Jarvis brings to light a job ad: • Develop a strategy and implementation plan for extending digital engagement across Government • Work with communication, policy and delivery officials in Government departments to embed digital engagement in the day to day working of Government • Work with Directors of Read More…

Looks like the stimulus bill has a feature that'll create action that might help get us healthier and reduce health care costs. The folks at Consumers Union/Consumer Reports have found that a lot of medical care doesn't do much good while costing a lot of money. The new stimulus bill Read More…

Looks like people using simple Net tech can get government info online really well, like at USASpending.gov. It was sponsored by Senators Obama and Coburn, but effected mostly by OMB Watch in conjunction with Sunlight Foundation. (More details here.) A really good effort has been led by Carl Malamud, An Read More…

Okay, just finished a very half-assed bird count, as my little part of the Great Backyard Bird Count: Locality: 94117, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA Observation Date: FEB 15, 2009 Number of Species: 8 Checklist: Rock Pigeon – 1 Downy Woodpecker – 1 Steller's Jay – 2 Western Scrub-Jay Read More…

Cherry blossoms petals fall I walk down the hill Disturbing the pink snow.

Okay, just finished a very half-assed bird count, as my little part of the Great Backyard Bird Count: Locality: 94117, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA Observation Date: FEB 14, 2009 Start Time: 2:00 PM Total Birding Time: 2 hours 30 minutes Number of Species: 9 Checklist: Rock Pigeon – Read More…

Eve and Claire brought over Stripey for the gf and I to tend to for maybe a week. They were accompanied by their mom, Eve-and-Claire's-mom. We're hoping that Stripey survives the week.

A new service of a "craigslist for service" here. Frustrated in his attempts to find someone willing to be Commerce Secretary, President Barack Obama today turned to Craigslist, the popular online classifieds site. "The position of Commerce Secretary is too important to remain unfilled another day," Mr. Obama said. "That's Read More…

Part of the whole accountability and transparency thing requires politicians to disclose campaign finance information. That needs to be done electronically, so that records can be placed online, searched, and scrutinized. For whatever reasons, a pair of Senators have been implicated in the successful delay of the requirement to do Read More…

The folks at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have sent a bunch of delegations to Congress this week, the effort is Storm the Hill. The idea is get programs together to genuinely support the troops. They were successful in getting the new GI Bill passed, despite opposition from Read More…

Bev Godwin has taken a position regarding the use of the web at the White House. Candi Harrison has the scoop: Bev just announced that she’s gone over to the White House, on a detail, as the Director of Online Resources and Interagency Development on the New Media Team. Bev's Read More…