I don't understand Netflix's recommendation engine sometimes

Me @Macworld: Friends syncs social networks with iPhone contacts

The market for iPhone apps that combine a user’s social networks grew more crowded Wednesday with the debut of Friends, an offering from San Fransisco’s Taptivate.

via macworld.com

Mike Vick wants a DOG?

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, interviewed by NBC News and the website TheGrio.com, said he and his family miss having a dog. He said he wants to show people that he can be a responsible pet owner and that he would not take the opportunity for granted.

"I would love to get another dog in the future. I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process," Vick said, according to NBC News and TheGrio.com. The full interview was scheduled to be shown on TheGrio.com on Wednesday.

via sports.espn.go.com

Whatever else you think of Mike Vick, this at least proves that he's really, really not media savvy. He's had such a good year for the Eagles that people were focusing on the positive side of the story -- his comeback from a layoff to return to elite NFL status. Now he'll have people reeling and asking themselves about his judgment all over again. The wise thing to do? Accept your doglessness as a consequence, and above all *don't lament that punishment in public.* Most people regard him as lucky to have his career back. Michael Vick as a dog-owner would be a bridge too far for most of us.

Hat-tip: @lexfri

Me @Macworld: Humble Indie Bundle 2 lets gamers choose their price

Just in time for the holidays, the people behind last spring’s Humble Indie Bundle have returned with an all-new grab bag of pay-what-you-want games, with proceeds going to independent developers and charity.

via macworld.com

Bradley Manning: Locked up, key thrown away

Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime.  Despite that, he has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia for five months -- and for two months before that in a military jail in Kuwait -- under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture.  Interviews with several people directly familiar with the conditions of Manning's detention, ultimately including a Quantico brig official (Lt. Brian Villiard) who confirmed much of what they conveyed, establishes that the accused leaker is subjected to detention conditions likely to create long-term psychological injuries.

Since his arrest in May, Manning has been a model detainee, without any episodes of violence or disciplinary problems.  He nonetheless was declared from the start to be a "Maximum Custody Detainee," the highest and most repressive level of military detention, which then became the basis for the series of inhumane measures imposed on him.

From the beginning of his detention, Manning has been held in intensive solitary confinement.  For 23 out of 24 hours every day -- for seven straight months and counting -- he sits completely alone in his cell.  Even inside his cell, his activities are heavily restricted; he's barred even from exercising and is under constant surveillance to enforce those restrictions.  For reasons that appear completely punitive, he's being denied many of the most basic attributes of civilized imprisonment, including even a pillow or sheets for his bed (he is not and never has been on suicide watch).  For the one hour per day when he is freed from this isolation, he is barred from accessing any news or current events programs.

via salon.com

I understand military life is different from civilian life, but I do wonder what legal basis the Army has for holding Manning in extreme isolation. I don't contest the Army's right to hold Manning: He has been charged with a crime, and a serious one. But why the solitary confinement? That seems like it should be reserved for people who are a physical threat to their guards and other inmates.

The Air Force deprives its officers of important intelligence

WASHINGTON — The Air Force is barring its personnel from using work computers to view the Web sites of The New York Times and more than 25 other news organizations and blogs that have posted secret cables obtained by WikiLeaks, Air Force officials said Tuesday

via nytimes.com

There's an outfit at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas that few people know about that does something called "open-source intelligence." Reputedly this unit predicted the demise of the Soviet Union -- while the CIA and other "secret" intelligence agencies were reporting the regime's strength -- using a very simple technique: Its offers read Russian papers and books. And that's pretty much all they did. They could see the end coming because of the publicly available information.

And, of course, most of the American government learned about nuclear testing in Pakistan and India from ... CNN.

I'm reminded of these stories for some reason in reading about the Air Force's decision to block its officers from reading the New York Times online. It's not just a show of weakness disguised as a show of strength; it is literally a way of keeping intelligence -- and not just the Wikileaks kind -- out of the hands of its officers. That doesn't seem to be the kind of thing a smart military would do.

Philadelphia smarter, poorer

Philadelphia has become more diverse and better educated - but poorer - than it was in 2000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released yesterday.

The findings aren't based on data from the 2010 Census count, which attempted to tabulate everyone in the country. Instead, they're from five-year American Community Survey estimates, which the Census Bureau released for the first time yesterday.

"In some ways we're doing better, and in some ways we're challenged," said David Bartelt, professor of geography and urban studies at Temple University, adding that the statistics show "the persistent story of Philadelphia."

via philly.com

Unsurprising.