A few years ago, I posted a story about my frustrations with Blue Cross Blue Shield. They were not coughing up the dough for a 4000 dollar bill and for the life of me, I could not get them to do it and I could not even get in touch with people in the organization to help me. After that post circulated, the Public Relations director wrote me and this helped me get the access I needed to eventually get all the money (it did take almost 3 years though and I should write about that but later).

Though the ethical stakes and scenario are totally different, I have had equal problems contacting someone, a live body, a person who might reply to an email, a person who might return a phone call, from the American Anthropological Association. Next week is their Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA and I am giving a presentation. I simply want to inquire whether there is A/V equipment in the room for if there is not, I need to do some serious shuffling of my talk because it is currently so dependent on the audio visual components.

Given that I coughed up $ 400 bucks (and some change) to be a member and to attend the zoo that is this conference, given that it costs money to fly there, given that it is a member supported organization, one would think that one could just get a simple answer to a simple question. I realize they are not staffed to field endless inquiries but it is a conference they are putting on and thus, I do expect an answer or basic information about the A/V equipment (which we also requested when we signed up) especially after 1.5 months of trying.

Anyhow, I am frustrated and I realize this is a really silly and small annoyance. But if no one ever calls them on it, there is no way for them to every change their archaic and pathetic ways.

NYC Info Law:

Know everything (nearby).

This is a compendium of news and New York City events of interest to IP, tech, privacy, communications, and legal-minded folk.

For tomorrow’s class we are going to be discussing piracy and we will do so with the help of Alan Toner one of the filmmakers behind Steal this Film. We will be reading some of his work (and this ethnographic look at the life of a p2p file sharer provides a refreshing look at what it actually looks like), as well as the work of Matt Mason among others. We will also be reading an oldie but goodie that I could not find easily online and given that it is a class on piracy, I thought I would honor the class (and the piece) engage in a little transgression.

If find the piracy exhilarating, daunting, questionable, or reproachable, come to NYU Free Culture’s screening of Steal this Film part 2, this Sunday Nov 16th at 7 PM. Alan will also be there to field questions and kick off the debate. I am looking forward to the post-movie discussion.

update: Here is a flyer with lots more information

I am not holding my breath but I think the B-man could in theory at least be convinced of running freedom on his laptop.

Screenshot-coleman-scientology-slides – OpenOffice.org Impress -1, originally uploaded by the biella.

“Old and New Net Wars over Free Speech, Freedom and Secrecy or How to Understand the Lulz battle against the C0$

Gabriella Coleman, Assistant Professor, New York University

Thursday November 13: noon – 2:00pm
Columbia University Communications Colloquium
270B IAB (International Affairs Building

update Open the public! You may need ID to get into the building but I am not sure. This is the case with NYU…

Sometimes when you feel like your world is turning upside down and you need a little perspective/humor to turn things around, this is just the place to go to gain some perspective.

update: I don’t think you can create a whole blog dedicated to this type of hot dog but it takes the cuteness cake, that is for sure.

I’ve always been up a bit skeptical of AI and here is one piece of AI software, Gender Analyzer that failed to predict my gender (than again I do write about the geek world).

Thanks to Joe for pointing this out to me!

My colleague Mark Crispin Miller has written an excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal Will this Election Be Stolen?. The issue he raises–voter fraud of various stripes–is the single most important issue the American electorate faces. He concludes with the following powerful thought:

It is not the failure or success of any candidate or party that most matters but the exercise of voting rights, and, through them, our self-government. If either team prevails despite the disenfranchisement of some Americans, that victory will mean all that much less; and if your favorite wins, and then the U.S. doesn’t do anything to fix its voting system (and otherwise restore this faltering democracy), that victory of his won’t matter much at all, since We the People will have lost control for good.

I am waiting in great anticipation for Phil Lapsley to publish his History of Phone Phreaking book. In the mean time, I get to enjoy tasty and funny morsels that emerge out of his research blog. Apparently, the FBI, even while invading privacy, also protect, I guess when some exceptional circumstances arise.

I am not quite here but give me another year and I will be close or even there/