YickertyYackety http://www.hannay.net/timo/ en-us 2003-12-21T11:16:19+00:00 The world's biggest book http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000231.html It measures 5x7 feet and weighs 120 pounds. It'll also set you back $10,000. Read more here. And if you have some loose change handy then buy it here. (Via AWAD)... Culture timo 2003-12-21T11:16:19+00:00 America takes the moral lowground http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000227.html A sober British judge opines on Gunatanamo Bay: As a lawyer brought up to admire the ideals of American democracy and justice, I would have to say that I regard this as a monstrous failure of justice. The question is... Culture timo 2003-11-29T20:39:54+00:00 Two steps forward, one step back for free trade http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000225.html Here's a nice piece by Declan McCullagh (via O'Reilly News) describing the crass protectionism to which the American administration is willing to descend in exchange for small amounts of cash, even when such policies clearly run against the interests of... Economics timo 2003-11-29T20:25:13+00:00 Shock report: GM is neither good nor bad http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000224.html Another drop of good sense in the ocean of ignorance and hype that is the GM debate in Britain: To generalize and declare 'all GM is bad' or 'all GM is good' for the environment as a result of these... Science timo 2003-11-29T20:17:35+00:00 GM: The real organic option http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000217.html Conrad Lichtenstein (who, as it happens, used to lecture me when I was a biochemistry undergraduate) has provided a welcome dose of sense and wisdom in the otherwise hysterical and ignorant world that is GM in the UK today. Writing... Science timo 2003-11-15T21:10:07+00:00 Why (this) innovation (book) fails http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000212.html I've just finished reading Why Innovation Fails by Carl Franklin. Top-line summary: A bit of a waste of time and money. You're much better off reading Clay Christensen. The good: It deals with an important, and perhaps unrepresented, subject. It... Culture timo 2003-11-02T20:22:39+00:00 Capitalism and communism converge online http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000210.html The ability to quickly compare prices online is leading to price convergence, right? Wrong. To explain why, Andrew Odlyzko has written a very interesting report (also covered in The Economist) about online privacy and price discrimination. His main conclusions: The... Web timo 2003-10-28T08:51:24+00:00 Why exporting jobs is good http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000209.html I've posted a couple of rants recently (1|2) about some of the stupider things people have said on the subjects of trade and 'offshoring' (among which, this is my current all-time favourite). So I figured, why not go for a... Economics timo 2003-10-26T18:20:09+00:00 Why not? http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000208.html Why don't fuel stations sell car insurance by the mile? Why don't mortgages automatically give customers the benefits of refinancing when interest rates fall? Why don't public libraries have coffee shops? Why can't you rent the cleaned-up airline versions of... Culture timo 2003-10-26T10:14:12+00:00 WIPO criticises open source but uses Linux http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000206.html Larry Lessig has written a great piece about the recent spat in which the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) criticised open-source software as running counter to its mission and open source advocates rose up in anger. The article is less... Computing timo 2003-10-17T22:48:01+00:00 Telemarketers, candlemakers and jobless recoveries http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000204.html Economics timo 2003-10-12T22:51:30+00:00 Desperately seeking FOAF http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000203.html Bob Cringely is looking for... ...a registry of friends... I am Bob, and these are my 10 friends. They don't even have to be friends -- just people who know you. You don't have to tell them they are on... Web timo 2003-10-11T22:31:28+00:00 3d17 http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000202.html A lot of people (example) seem to be talking about 3d17 by Ian Clarke (creator of Freenet). It's an intriguing experiment in online collaboration, but I'm not optimistic about the likely quality of the output. There seems to be an... Web timo 2003-10-05T20:21:38+00:00 The greatest technology ever invented http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000200.html Let me introduce you to the greatest technology ever invented. This device can accept bicycles in one end and spit out scissors at the other. If you don't have bicycles to offer, it will take cars or chairs or flowers... Economics timo 2003-10-02T22:39:15+00:00 Dysflation http://www.hannay.net/timo/archives/000199.html The Economist suggests a new term for the combination of institutional dysfunction and economic deflation that has robbed the Japanese population of around $650 billion over the last decade: dysflation.... Economics timo 2003-09-28T08:35:31+00:00