Low Light Mixes
A great little goldmine of quality material (some bootlegged?). Anyway get it while it’s hot! I can recommend ‘flicker and fade’ and ‘driftage’. You don’t get a chance to here too many ambient sets, so get into it!
plain language, please
Here in Australia we’ve all got a say. For as long as I’ve been politically aware I’ve been hearing people say that what’s being said isn’t being heard – the finer details, at least. The first challenge in learning about democratic theory, for me, was the basic distinction between representative and direct democracy. Referenda made sense early on… but who were these people that I’d get to vote for eventually? I wasn’t actually all that opposed to the idea of deferring to someone who, at any rate, had a great deal more familiarity with all things politics than I. A lot of it was and still is boring. Voting for a representative was delegating the hard work, then. Too bad when they turned to be no good there wasn’t a huge deal of recourse. Four years is a long time and let’s face it – we’ll all be dead soon. If you don’t have the time for politics and end up disliking the guy you voted for really the only thing you can do is not vote for them next time. A vote is a sacred thing because in a some cases that’s all we’ve got. And you’re certainly told it matters (In Australia it is compulsory to vote). So when you place your vote the time, energy and emotion invested into making that decision forms a representation of who you are. And, obviously, it’s a commitment to that particular representative as a person. But there’s no particular framework that satisfies could be described as the desire for an ‘ongoing independent association with expected continuation’ with the notions committed to when the ballot is cast. Currently it’s not like that, despite #gov20. As much town-hall-meeting, stump-speech, baby-kissing while-Tweeting energy could be spent as you want without changing the essential asymmetrical dynamic of the current political structure. That’s not to say a torrent of Tweets won’t change the direction of a day in Washington, only that 130 characters doesn’t necessarily equate to more than shouting something about immigration at your least favourite candidate when you walk by them talking to locals in the only shopping centre in town. Unless the media later uses the soundbite on the 5 o’clock news – then I guess you’re reaching people. The point is you can’t sit down with the guy in power and have a real discussion.
Does Deliberative Democracy solve that? It certainly gives it a good shot. After having experienced my first “deliberative experience” (as an organiser, not a participant) I’ll say that there’s a lot of potential for this kind of system. It’s clear though that the process works better for some topics/issues. Climate change, for example, is a big topic. Our process worked well but the discourse was fairly abstract. Developing a policy position this way would work better when dealing with a problem where most factors are already known about. Land zoning, maybe.
For now it remains a fairly academic exercise. The social alchemists come down from the Ivory Tower from time to time, however!
Wizard Power
www.wizardpower.com.au is now online. One of the easier jobs I’ve done, for a technology that shows a huge amount of promise. If you’ve ever driven down Parkes Way and seen that big shiny dish through the trees and wondered what the heck it was, find out about it at the new website for Wizard Power.
May 22, 2010 South Dakota Tornado
The quality of home cameras has improved significantly in the mid-west recently!
Mac Steam news
So you may have already heard that Valve’s online content distribution platform, STEAM, is being brought to Mac. For all my Steam on OS X news I use http://macsteam.net. Long time visitors here might recognise the format of that particular site…
top 4 iphone apps – News
ABC for iPhone – This is a great one. It’s got “The News in 90 Seconds”, streaming live radio of all ABC’s flagship channels and programs plus more. Free and important! http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/australian-broadcasting-corporation/id306583229?mt=8
Fox News – Amusing! Free also, a concentrated dose of conservative America right to your iPhone. Bearable only in small amounts.
TIME Mobile – A decent amount of free material from the folks at TIME.
Bloomberg – If you care about the markets, this free app is pretty good. I’m sure there are other, better, finance apps out there for a price.
Aunt Sara’s Hot Cross Buns
The hot cross buns I made recently have garnered some attention. I’ve been asked a few times for the recipe now and after talking to Sara, who passed it on to me, I pass it on to you. With her name in the title. I have no idea if she has nephews and nieces. But I do know the recipe works well!
Aunt Sara’s Hot Cross Buns.
culture
2 tablespoons dried yeast
¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar
1½ cups (375ml) warm milk
buns
4¼ cups (635g) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
50g butter, melted
1 egg
¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar, extra
1½ cups (240g) sultanas
⅓ cup (55g) candied mixed peel, optional
crosses
½ cup (75g) plain (all-purpose) flour
⅓ cup (80ml) water
glaze
1 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatine
30ml water
Combine the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface.
Combine the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, butter, egg, extra sugar, sultanas, mixed peel and yeast mixture in a large bowl. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5–10 minutes or until it feels smooth and elastic when pressed. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and stand in a warm place for 30–40 minutes or until doubled in size.
Lightly knead the dough again, divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place in a 23cm-square cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 25–30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 200ºC (390ºF). To make the crosses, combine the flour and water to make a smooth paste. Place in a piping bag and pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until well browned and springy to touch.
To make the glaze, combine the sugar, gelatine and water in a saucepan over medium heat and stir for 2 minutes or until dissolved. Brush warm buns with the glaze and serve with butter. Makes 12.
Top 4 iPhone Apps – Camera / Photography
Four sweet iPhone apps that are all about the camera / photography angle:
Best Camera
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/best-camera/id329800600
Photoshop Mobile
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/photoshop-com-mobile/id331975235
Lo Mob
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/lo-mob/id334581568
TiltShiftGenerator
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/tiltshift-generator-fake-dslr/id327716311