Author Archives: Mark Szpakowski

Goomp

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Mark Szpakowski

goomp? a green arc, splashing decrescendo: rings radiant – St. Jude, over uucp, 1980

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We are public parks

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Mark Szpakowski

The recent Cablegate Wikileaks release of hundreds of thousands of cables from U.S. diplomats is more than just a massive “leak”. It is an elbow point, a no-turning-back further realization that our global internet web is forever changing the public/private/secret … Continue reading →

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Second Life, Real Life, Dreaming Life, Waking Life

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Mark Szpakowski

I’ve been exploring Second Life recently, and continue to be amazed at how compelling and real the emotional experience is. I know that these avatars, including myself, are slightly cartoony 3D-ish figures, but the quality of interaction seems just as … Continue reading →

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Charnel Gaza Ghetto Contemplations

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Mark Szpakowski

    DIME weapons are very effective at shredding people in confined spaces.      Geopolitics antipattern: If you kill enough of your enemies it will lead to victory. Short of extermination, that’s false.     War is not chess: … Continue reading →

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Our Lady of the Ayatanas

Posted on September 21, 2008 by Mark Szpakowski

Our Lady of the Ayatanas is Jill Barber. Listen to her perform Saskatoon for CBC Radio. This song was written in 15 minutes while waiting to come on stage somewhere in Central Canada, land of the prairies. It is very … Continue reading →

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Gearing up the distributed, cached web

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Mark Szpakowski

Google Gears, SyncML, or something like it, is a huge winner. Why? It enables a web where information is cached wherever it is used. As you’re using a web page / visiting a node, you can choose to have the … Continue reading →

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iPhone Remote and iUbiquity

Posted on July 29, 2008 by Mark Szpakowski

Apple’s Remote iPhone app is a true jewel: it does one thing really really well. In my case, I have an iMac upstairs in my home office, wirelessly connected over AirTunes to my downstairs speakers. Now I can be in … Continue reading →

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OpenID slays password antipatterns!

Posted on July 6, 2008 by Mark Szpakowski

Evan Prodromou‘s open source Twitter-like site identi.ca supports OpenID for logging in. This basically means that if you have set up an OpenID with an OpenID Identity Provider, and you want to sign in to a site that supports OpenID … Continue reading →

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Financial markets live on price-inflating bubbles?

Posted on July 1, 2008 by Mark Szpakowski

Avner Mandelman has an interesting, and possibly critical, argument in a recent Globe and Mail article, In a world where money moves at a mouse click, Fed’s in a tough battle. Excerpts: Money supply is the monetary base times the … Continue reading →

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We Will Not Give Up on the Earth

Posted on June 21, 2008 by Mark Szpakowski

Here’s a symbol, along with what I think is an amazing commentary, by the 22-year old head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, known as the Karmapa, who just visited North America: Ever since the human race first appeared … Continue reading →

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