25 February, 2005

Dear Professor, I can't possibly go...

A letter arrived. It was the result of the course. Finally I got the result. Yes, the result is pass. Congratulations, myself.　The score of my dissertation is good, very good. Beyond my expectation, to be honest. Boasting? Anyway.

By the way, am I going back to Cardiff to attend in the graduation ceremony? The letter says "the person named below will be awarded a Masters Degree in International Journalism in July 2005 from Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies". In fact, I ticked the box that I will attend in July's ceremony, expecting I'll still be somewhere in Europe and have easy access to Cardiff. But I'm not. I'm in Japan. Sorry Terry.

24 February, 2005

Doves' new album

Doves, my favourite Manchester-born band, announced their single, Black and White Town, while I was away from the media. I didn't know that, of course.

In addition, to my surprise, a new album is out now. Wow! I know nothing. The new album is called Some Cities.

It's been quite a while since they released their latest album, Last Broadcast. Since then, I've rarely heard of their news. But they've finally come back.

Doves / Some Cities
1. Some Cities
2. Black And White Town
3. Almost Forgot Myself
4. Snowden
5. The Storm
6. Walk In Fire
7. One Of These Days
8. Someday Soon
9. Shadows Of Salford
10. Sky Starts Falling
11. Ambition

By the way, is this their official website? Is this just under construction?

If this is completed, I want to undertake redesigning it.

» Doves

24 February, 2005

He's not in an olympic state of mind - NY's bid for 2012

Like I did in London, I saw many campaign advertisements of the bid for the 2012 Olympics in New York. One of the ads says "we're in an olympic state of mind". Among some of New Yorkers, however, there is a sentiment against the Olympics, which brings unfavorable problems to their daily life. Robert Lipsyte, a former columnist for the New York Times, writes in 21 February's USA Today;

My city, New York, is vying for the 2012 Games, and the IOC is here to sniff around. My message to them: Bestow the 'honor' of gridlock, additional noise and a hefty price tag on Paris or London instead.

Questions are - who wants the Olympics in New York?

It would be helpful to know exactly who is going to profit and who is going to lose if the 2012 Games are awarded to New York, should the IOC disregard my protest. New York's proposed budget for the Games, not including the privately financed Olympic Village and a $1.6 billion stadium that will also house the NFL's Jets, is $3.7 billion.

Does that make sense when Mayor Bloomberg announced a $3 billion budget gap for 2005? To help close that gap, he ordered cuts that will affect police and fire protection and the public schools.
Meanwhile, there will be fat contracts to create the Olympic venues and service them. Will it be worth Halliburton's while to pull out of Baghdad and come to New York?

He also mentions the recent event in the Central Park and the redevelopment of the World Trade Centre.

Even for plans less masterful than war. This is why my neighborhood in Manhattan is often cluttered with TV crews. It is why Central Park, one of the city's treasures, has been draped with 23 miles of orange-colored fabric panels by an artist named Christo. It is why the few public spaces left with light and air are in continual danger of being crowded by some massive chunk of stone or metal dubbed Art. It is why the battle over Ground Zero has been about architectural visions vs. development interests rather than anything resembling the people's choice.

Which brings us to the ultimate grotesque extension of this kind of master-planner arrogance: the war in Iraq. The planners didn't ask the Iraqis if they wanted to be invaded, and they didn't ask the Americans who paid for it in money and blood. Talk about gridlock, noisy construction, strained facilities and diverted resources.

» USA Today | Olympic unwelcome mat
21 February 2005
By Robert Lipsyte

» NYC 2012

24 February, 2005

A spoilt kid gone to New York

I've gone to NY without saying anything here. More than two weeks there was no update and message here. Now, however, blog.ausp.net has come back.

This was a family trip. I was very surprised at the situation, that is, another flight just after coming back from Cardiff, and so I was, kind of, embarrassed to say. However, now, I'm telling what the trip was like.

Before I left Japan, I was planning two things; One is to visit some web design offices based in New York, but I was "busy" at working for Steafán's website and etc, and therefore I couldn't possibly make arrangements - even sending e-mails. But, the true reason was I couldn't be realistic about it. This is partly because I decided to settle in Japan for some years. Experiences in Berlin gave me a sense of confidence and a quite optimistic view of knocking on the door of design offices.

The other is to meet my friend in Austin, Texas. Not only for a happy reunion with him and sightseeing in Texas, but also for discuss his project which I might undertake, I wanted to visit him. But I couldn't find any cheap ticket from New York to Austin, and most of tickets cost more than ones we paid for flying from Tokyo to New York (you can imagine how cheap the tickets were).

Anyway, this trip became a pure family trip in the end.

New York is a great city. Exciting, cool, awesome, etc. But it's too far. 13-hour-flight is too much. I don't get tired so much from 11-hour-flight to London, but extra two hours gives me a last punch. In addition, for the first few days, I suffered from jet lag. Usually I don't get it, but this time it was quite severe. What I remember from the first half was a litany of mail-order TV programmes at 4am, daytime bad temper and endless yawning.

But the sightseeing, of course, went on, and I fell in love with New York. We also went to Boston in the second week, when we might have flown to Texas if possible. Boston is also a lovely city. Compact, cozy, etc. Also some elements of Britishness relaxed me.

Throughout the trip I was thinking many things. They will be my blog topics here. I'm going to write them soon.

6 February, 2005

iPod attracts Microsoft's staff

Like others, Microsoft's workers want an iPod, too.

Microsoft's leafy corporate campus in Redmond, Washington, is beginning to look like the streets of New York, London and just about everywhere else: Wherever you go, white headphones dangle from peoples' ears.

» Wired News | Hide Your IPod, Here Comes Bill

6 February, 2005

Computerlove back!!!

It's been long since Computerlove.net disappeared from cyberspace. I've been wondering where it's gone. But Computerlove.net has been finally back to us after overcoming problems with its previous server and a large scale hack. The satff of Computerlove.net are currently working on a new website and hoping it will re-open in the next weeks.

Computerlove also announced "Poster Design Contest 2005". To my surprise, the first prize is Mediatemple (mt) Hosting FOR LIFE! Wow! But the second prize is a Nintendo DS. What is this difference? Anyway.

» Computerlove.net Reloaded
» Poster Design Contest 2005 - Geography and Information

6 February, 2005

More about G7

The world's seven richest nations, have agreed to write off up to 100% of the debts of the world's poorest countries.

Gordon Brown described the London meeting as "the 100% debt relief" G7. So, well done Mr Brown "for the moment".

» BBC News | G7 backs Africa debt relief plan

5 February, 2005

With or without you - G7 meeting in London

UK continues its debt relief plan, but the US opposes it

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown is trying to persuade the G7 group to support his plan to alleviate debt in the third world. But the US is the nation that oppose this proposal and wants to change money from loans to grants instead.

» BBC News | Debt aid and dollar on G7 agenda

» The Guardian | US opposes UK's debt relief plan

We might have got used to this usual situation, that is, the US is the only country to disagrees and insists on something different from what the rest have agreed.

Poverty has been a major issue for ages. To combat poverty, the rich nations should have made efforts, but many of them were superficial, bringing little to the poor countries. Economists have kept saying the rich should open their markets to the poor so that they can get a chance for better economy, and ministers of the rich countries say "we consider the poor". But has anything happened to bring a drastic change to the third world? If we take a look at the WTO issues, for example, the WTO's decision in August last year on the EU sugar regime may possibly be a "big" change. But it hasn't been solved yet.

Yes, this discussion is nothing new. However, there is the fact that the situation in Africa hasn't become better yet. This is also nothing new, unfortunately.

This may be a stupid simple question, but "why can't we achieve?"

BBC offers "Have Your Say" on this matter as usual. Take a look at it. You will know why the world cannot achieve.

» BBC News | What can the G7 meeting achieve?

I do not expect the G7 to achieve much because the poor nations mostly in Africa they want to help are the enemies of themselves. If corruption is not curbed there will be no progress.

Benedict Ageloisa, Benin City, Nigeria

It strikes me as odd that it has not occurred to anybody that in order for the rich to stay rich the poor must stay poor. Do any of the wealthy countries really want to give up some of their comforts so that another country can reach middle class status? Summits give the appearance of effort and concern not real solutions. Get with the politics of life people! Just as beauty queens protest in pageants that they want world peace, I do too, but I am not giving up my daily Starbucks and my three family cars for world peace. Sorry!

ED, Houston, TX

To Ed, Houston: You are jolly lucky you can afford Starbucks and three cars, when so many of the world's population is starving. It's all about the collective conscience and how those who have a comfortable life can help others rise from poverty. To use the reasoning that the poor have to stay that way in order for the rich to be so is utterly ludicrous and completely shallow. The G7 is always the same - a huge photo-op for the suits, feeding their egos and accomplishing exactly nothing.

D Stewart, North Carolina, USA

As you see, ED's comment seems to have heated up the discussion there.

At last, Nelson Mandela addressed a speech. Here is its excerpt from BBC.

As you know, I recently formally announced my retirement from public life and should really not be here.

However, as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.

Through your will and passion, you assisted in consigning that evil system forever to history. But in this new century, millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved, and in chains.

They are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free.

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.

While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.

» BBC News | In full: Mandela's poverty speech

2 February, 2005

Upside down

In these days, I stay up late. Last night I was working on Steafán Hanvey's website. There were still unfinished parts to be done and I went to bed this morning. I woke up afternoon and was dizzy all the day. And still dizzy. Lately my day starts when people return home. This reminds me of the days when I was doing a dissertation in Cardiff.

I'm going to New York next week and stay there for two weeks. Not enough time, really. But, thanks to having this kind of my sick daily rhythm, I can see the end of the website hopefully. However, I have my own website waiting for being updated. That's gonna be a lot of work. Two main sections are still under construction - Portfolio and Photographs, which are I want to show the most as a web designer. I guess, this daily rhythm will continue till the day before the New York trip.

1 February, 2005

MSN Search

Microsoft has entered the search engine battle. Is it going to be Google's rival? auspicious supports MSN Search, rather than Google, because MSN Search can list my website up if you type "ausp" and "shota", while Google doesn't show anything.

» MNS Serach

» BBC News | Technology | Microsoft launches its own search

1 February, 2005

Sony's Locationfree TV

Sony has introduced a small portable TV "Locationfree TV", suggesting a very innovative idea. People can watch TV programmes everywhere by setting up Base Station (left in the photo) at home and connecting this to the internet. Sony suggests it can enable tourists to watch Japanese TV programmes abroad, but who wants? The estimated price will be around ¥125,000.

» Sony News and Information | Locationfree TV LF-X5