Monthly Archives: September 2005

Thanks for the Memories, Kodak!

Back in 2001, I created my first online photo album on a little start-up dot.com site called Ofoto.com. Ofoto was one of the first sites to offer easy online image hosting in the hope that they could make money selling hard-copy prints of digital snapshots.

Since then, I’ve used my Ofoto account intermittently to share pictures with friends and family, although I’ve never paid anything for the service or ordered any prints (I think I got some free prints when I opened the account).

However, it seems that Ofoto was swallowed up by Kodak at some point in the past, and my 8 albums with 331 pictures silently became part of Kodak’s EasyShare Gallery. I don’t remember this happening, but recently I’ve been receiving e-mail from Kodak threatening me that my albums will soon be deleted unless I don’t buy something from them:

We’ve missed you at the Kodak EasyShare Gallery. We’re happy to store all your memories, but we do ask that you make at least one purchase every 12 months to keep the images stored in your account.

Can you believe it’s been a year since you’ve made a purchase at the Gallery?

[..]

We may soon begin deleting stored images. Don’t risk losing your photos! All it takes is one purchase to renew your storage for another year.

Can you belive this disingenuous bullshit? “We’re happy to store all your memories — but we’ll happily delete them without a moment’s hesitation unless you buy something from us”!

This is particularly ironic seeing as I’ve just got back from the EVA conference at Harvard University in Boston, where a representative of Eastman Kodak Research Labs was extolling the virtues of hard-copy prints for long-term preservation, and telling us how “preserving memories” was part of Kodak’s corporate ethos.

So, go ahead and delete all my images, Kodak — I have them all on my computer anyway, and I’ll just use another image sharing service (e.g. Flickr) instead.

Katrina: Criminal Negligence

By now, everyone is aware that the Hurricane Katrina evacuation, rescue and recovery operations have been mismanaged at every level to the point of criminal negligence. Here are a few of the links I found most profoundly disturbing or poignant:

Hurricane Katrina: Our Experiences
An account by two San Francisco-based paramedics who were in New Orleans for a conference. Their story tells a grim tale of police preventing people from leaving the city and forcibly disbanding groups trying to help each another. Thanks to Scyld for forwarding this one.

Tell Bush & Congress: Accept Cuba’s offer to send doctors to the hurricane victims
Apparently, Fidel Castro offered to send 1,100 doctors, completely self-sufficient with field medical packs, to the region devastated by Katrina, for free — and the U.S. government wouldn’t give them permission to enter the country.

This is Criminal
A report from a guy called Malik Rahim, a Green Party candidate for New Orleans City Council, that captures the sense of rage and frustration at the abysmal mismanagement of this entirely forseeable disaster.

Stop! Don’t criticize Bush for doing what he was hired to do
A sarcastic and cynical but agreeably vitriolic piece from the San Francisco Chronicle. Thanks to Debbie K. for sending one.

Hurricane Katrina, Another Impeachable Crime

A message from Ramsey Clark of the ImpeachBush.org campaign.

Finally, I’ll end with a topical joke (thanks to my colleague Laura for this one):

Q: What does George W. Bush think about Roe vs. Wade?
A: He doesn’t really care how people get out of New Orleans!

Green Card Interview

Today is the day of my Adjustment of Status (or Green Card) interview with the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (the bureaucracy formerly known as the INS), which is hopefully one of the final steps in a process that has been a part of my life for over 5 years now.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Tony’s Theme

My friend Carrie just told me about a Pixies’ song called “Tony’s Theme” from their album Surfer Rosa, and it’s great — I can’t believe no-one’s told me about it before!

Anyway, here are the lyrics, which I found on another website:

This is a song about a superhero named Tony
It’s called Tony’s Theme

He’s got the oil on his chain, for a ride in the rain
No baloney
Ride around on my bicycle like a pony
I’m waving hi, hi, hi, hi, hi
Gu-gu-gu-Gimme a scream
Give me, give me the theme
Of Tony

To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny

I am Tony, super bicycle Tony, I’m racing
Spitfire turn and pop a wheelie, burn and evil chasing
I’m waving bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
I got a card in my spokes
I’m practicing my joke, I’m learning

To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny

This is a song about a superhero named Tony
It’s called Tony’s Theme

I can look at the sun if you give me some bad sun glasses
I’m back on the road, I cut my grass like I’m told
AFTER CLASSES!

To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny
To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny, To-ny
To-ny