Disparate 2

Eloping Elites

2008-11-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

No more tote bags!

Suisse/Schweiz/Svizzera/Suiza/Suiça/Switzerland

2008-10-31T09:56:00.002-04:00

Link:

Online Literacy and Critical Thinking

2008-09-15T13:08:00.003-04:00

On September 30, I'll be doing doing a WiZiQ session on online literacy and critical thinking. This post is a way for me to beta test WiZiQ's session embedding feature. The reason this isn't on my main blog is that Wordpress.com doesn't allow for arbitrary code embedding (i.e., they control what can be embedded, allegedly for security reasons).

Anyhoo... Feel free to come by my WiZiQ session. It should be fairly informal.

Constructivism and Playfulness

2008-09-07T14:46:00.006-04:00

Sure, it's mostly Papert's constructionism. But it led me to think about some of my favourite themes, including playfulness and constructivist approaches to learning.

Drori's presentation is quite effective in that it pushes members of the audience in the direction of their own thinking about those issues. A bit of the "don't think about pink elephants" thing. Plus a few taunts. Sounds more manipulative than planting landminds but the results may be similar.

I also like the fact that it's a far cry from the OLPC/MIT/Papert approach of "defending a worldview at all costs." Drori isn't defensive. He's not giving the impression that he holds The Key to open brains. He's not claiming that any of this is his own making, that he made a grand discovery. He just brings us on a very quick tour of some ideas about learning.

On the other hand, his approach is focused on science classics, not on broader philosophical themes. One might even guess that Drori's take is inscribed in good ol' positivism, that he has no qualms about reductionism, and that he may hold a journalist's deterministic view of technology.

I just like the fact that his TEDtalk is short and sweet.

Le petit guide du contact social en-ligne (brouillon)

2008-08-11T16:16:00.002-04:00

Version d'un billet publié sur mon blogue principal. Republié ici parce que les gens me contactent parfois à travers ce blogue.

Je viens de publier un «avis à ceux qui cherchent à me contacter». Et je pense à mon expertise au sujet de la socialisation en-ligne. Ça m'a donné l'idée d'écrire une sorte de guide, pour aider des gens qui n'ont pas tellement d'expérience dans le domaine. J'ai de la difficulté à me vendre.

Oui, je suis un papillon social. Je me lie facilement d'amitié avec les gens et j'ai généralement d'excellents contacts. En fait, je suis très peu sélectif: à la base, j'aime tout le monde.

Ce qui ne veut absolument pas dire que mon degré d'intimité est constant, peu importe l'individu. En fait, ma façon de gérer le degré d'intimité est relativement complexe et dépend d'un grand nombre de facteurs. C'est bien conscient mais difficile à verbaliser, surtout en public.

Et ça m'amène à penser au fait que, comme plusieurs, je suis «très sollicité». Chaque jour, je reçois plusieurs requêtes de la part de gens qui veulent être en contact avec moi, d'une façon ou d'une autre. C'est tellement fréquent, que j'y pense peu. Mais ça fait partie de mon quotidien, comme c'est le cas pour beaucoup de gens qui passent du temps en-ligne (blogueurs, membres de réseaux sociaux, etc.).

Évidemment, un bon nombre de ces requêtes font partie de la catégorie «indésirable». On pourrait faire l'inventaire des Dix Grandes Plaies d'Internet, du pourriel jusqu'à la sollicitation intempestive. Mais mon but ici est plus large. Discuter de certaines façons d'établir le contact social. Qu'il s'agisse de se lier d'amitié ou simplement d'entrer en relation sociale diffuse (de devenir la «connaissance» de quelqu'un d'autre).

La question de base: comment effectuer une requête appropriée pour se mettre en contact avec quelqu'un? Il y a des questions plus spécifiques. Par exemple, comment démontrer à quelqu'un que nos intentions sont légitimes? C'est pas très compliqué et c'est très rapide. Mais ça fait appel à une logique particulière que je crois bien connaître.

Une bonne partie de tout ça, c'est ce qu'on appelle ici «le gros bon sens». «Ce qui devrait être évident.» Mais, comme nous le disons souvent en ethnographie, ce qui semble évident pour certains peut paraître très bizarre pour d'autres. Dans le fond, le contact social en-ligne a ses propres contextes culturels et il faut apprendre à s'installer en-ligne comme on apprend à emménager dans une nouvelle région. Si la plupart des choses que je dis ici semblent très évidentes, ça n'implique pas qu'elles sont bien connues du «public en général».

Donc, quelle est la logique du contact social en-ligne?

Il faut d'abord bien comprendre que les gens qui passent beaucoup de temps en-ligne reçoivent des tonnes de requêtes à chaque jour. Même un papillon social comme moi finit par être sélectif. On veut bien être inclusifs mais on veut pas être inondés, alors on trie les requêtes qui nous parviennent. On veut bien faire confiance, mais on veut pas être dupes, alors on se tient sur nos gardes.

Donc, pour contacter quelqu'un comme moi, «y a la manière».

Une dimension très importante, c'est la transparence. Je pense même à la «transparence radicale». En se présentant aux autres, vaut mieux être transparent. Pas qu'il faut tout dévoiler, bien au contraire. Il faut «contrôler son masque». Il faut «manipuler le voile». Une excellente façon, c'est d'être transparent.

L'idée de base, derrière ce concept, c'est que l'anonymat absolu est illusoire. Tout ce qu'on fait en-ligne laisse une trace. Si les gens veulent nous retracer, ils ont souvent la possibilité de le faire. En donnant accès à un profil public, on évite certaines intrusions.

C'est un peu la même idée derrière la «géolocation». Dans «notre monde post-industriel», nous sommes souvent faciles à localiser dans l'espace (grâce, entre autres, à la radio-identification). D'un autre côté, les gens veulent parfois faire connaître aux autres leur situation géographique et ce pour de multiples raisons. En donnant aux gens quelques informations sur notre présence géographique, on tente de contrôler une partie de l'information à notre sujet. La «géolocation» peut aller de la très grande précision temporelle et géographique («je suis au bout du comptoir de Caffè in Gamba jusqu'à 13h30») jusqu'au plus vague («je serai de retour en Europe pour une période indéterminée, au cours des six prochains mois»). Il est par ailleurs possible de guider les gens sur une fausse piste, de leur faire croire qu'on est ailleurs que là où on est réellement. Il est également possible de donner juste assez de précisions pour que les gens n'aient pas d'intérêt particulier à nous «traquer». C'est un peu une contre-attaque face aux intrusions dans notre vie privée.

Puisque plusieurs «Internautes» ont adopté de telles stratégies contre les intrusions, il est important de respecter ces stratégies et il peut être utile d'adopter des stratégies similaires. Ce qui implique qu'il faudrait accepter l'image que veut projeter l'individu et donner à cet individu la possibilité de se faire une image de nous.

Dans la plupart des contextes sociaux, les gens se dévoilent beaucoup plus facilement à ceux qui se dévoilent eux-mêmes. Dans certains coins du monde (une bonne partie de la blogosphère mais aussi une grande partie de l'Afrique), les gens ont une façon très sophistiquée de se montrer très transparents tout en conservant une grande partie de leur vie très secrète. Se cacher en public. C'est une forme radicale de la «présentation de soi». Aucune hypocrisie dans tout ça. Rien de sournois. Mais une transparence bien contrôlée. Radicale par son utilité (et non par son manque de pudeur).

«En-ligne, tout le monde agit comme une célébrité.» En fait, tout le monde vit une vie assez publique, sur le 'Net. Ce qui implique plusieurs choses. Tout d'abord qu'il est presqu'aussi difficile de protéger sa vie privée en-ligne que dans une ville africaine typique (où la gestion de la frontière entre vie publique et vie privée fait l'objet d'une très grande sophistication). Ça implique aussi que chaque personne est moins fragile aux assauts de la célébrité puisqu'il y a beaucoup plus d'information sur beaucoup plus de personnes. C'est un peu la théorie du bruit dans la lutte contre les paparazzi et autres prédateurs. C'est là où la transparence de plusieurs aide à conserver l'anonymat relatif de chacun.

D'après moi, la méthode la plus efficace de se montrer transparent, c'est de se construire un profil public sur un blogue et/ou sur un réseau social. Il y a des tas de façons de construire son profil selon nos propres besoins et intérêts, l'effet reste le même. C'est une façon de se «présenter», au sens fort du terme.

Le rôle du profil est beaucoup plus complexe que ne semblent le croire ces journalistes qui commentent la vie des «Internautes». Oui, ça peut être une «carte de visite», surtout utile dans le réseautage professionnel. Pour certains, c'est un peu comme une fiche d'agence de rencontre (avec poids et taille). Plusieurs personnes rendent publiques des choses qui semblent compromettantes. Mais c'est surtout une façon de contrôler l'image,

Dans une certaine mesure, «plus on dévoile, plus on cache». En offrant aux gens la possibilité d'en savoir plus sur nous, on se permet une marge de manœuvre. D'ailleurs, on peut se créer un personnage de toutes pièces, ce que beaucoup ont fait à une certaine époque. C'est une technique de dissimulation, d'assombrissement. Ou, en pensant à l'informatique, c'est une méthode de cryptage et d'«obfuscation».

Mais on peut aussi «être soi-même» et s'accepter tel quel. D'un point de vue «philosophie de vie», c'est pas mauvais, à mon sens.

En bâtissant son profil, on pense à ce qu'on veut dévoiler. Le degré de précision varie énormément en fonction de nos façons de procéder et en fonction des contextes. Rien de linéaire dans tout ça. Il y a des choses qu'on dévoilerait volontiers à une étrangère et qu'on n'avouerait pas à des proches. On peut maintenir une certaine personnalité publique qui est parfois plus réelle que notre comportement en privé. Et on utilise peut-être plus de tact avec des amis qu'avec des gens qui nous rencontrent par hasard.

Il y a toute la question de la vie privée, bien sûr. Mais c'est pas tout. D'ailleurs, faut la complexifier, cette idée de «vie privée». Beaucoup de ce qu'on peut dire sur soi-même peut avoir l'effet d'impliquer d'autres personnes. C'est parfois évident, parfois très subtil. La stratégie de «transparence radicale» dans le contact social en-ligne est parfois difficile à concilier avec notre vie sociale hors-ligne. Mais on ne peut pas se permettre de ne rien dire. Le tout est une question de dosage.

Il y a de multiples façons de se bâtir un profil public et elles sont généralement faciles à utiliser. La meilleure méthode dépend généralement du contexte et, outre le temps nécessaire pour les mettre à jour (individuellement ou de façon centralisée), il y a peu d'inconvénients d'avoir de nombreux profils publics sur différents services.

Personnellement, je trouve qu'un blogue est un excellent moyen de conserver un profil public. Ceux qui laissent des commentaires sur des blogues ont un intérêt tout particulier à se créer un profil de blogueur, même s'ils ne publient pas de billets eux-mêmes. Il y a un sens de la réciprocité, dans le monde du blogue. En fait, il y a toute une négociation au sujet des différences entre commentaire et billet. Il est parfois préférable d'écrire son propre billet en réponse à celui d'un autre (les liens entre billets sont répertoriés par les "pings" et "trackbacks"). Mais, en laissant un commentaire sur le blogue de quelqu'un d'autre, on fait une promotion indirecte: «modérée et tempérée» (dans tous les sens de ces termes).

Ma préférence va à WordPress.com et Disparate est mon blogue principal. Sans être un véritable réseau social, WordPress.com a quelques éléments qui facilitent les contacts entre blogueurs. Par exemple, tout commentaire publié sur un blogue WordPress.com par un utilisateur de WordPress.com sera automatiquement lié à ce compte, ce qui facilite l'écriture du commentaire (nul besoin de taper les informations) et lie le commentateur à son identité. Blogger (ou Blogspot.com) a aussi certains de ces avantages mais puisque plusieurs blogues sur Blogger acceptent les identifiants OpenID et que WordPress.com procure de tels identifiants, j'ai tendance à m'identifier à travers WordPress.com plutôt qu'à travers Google/Blogger.

Hors du monde des blogues, il y a celui des services de réseaux sociaux, depuis SixDegrees.com (à l'époque) à OpenSocial (à l'avenir). Tous ces services offrent à l'utilisateur la possibilité de créer un profil (général ou spécialisé) et de spécifier des liens que nous avons avec d'autres personnes.

Ces temps-ci, un peu tout ce qui est en-ligne a une dimension «sociale» en ce sens qu'il est généralement possible d'utiliser un peu n'importe quoi pour se lier à quelqu'un d'autre. Dans chaque cas, il y a un «travail de l'image» plus ou moins sophistiqué. Sans qu'on soit obligés d'entreprendre ce «travail de l'image» de façon très directe, ceux qui sont actifs en-ligne (y compris de nombreux adolescents) sont passés maîtres dans l'art de jouer avec leurs identités.

Il peut aussi être utile de créer un profil public sur des plates-formes de microblogue, comme Identi.ca et Twitter. Ces plates-formes ont un effet assez intéressant, au niveau du contact social. Le profil de chaque utilisateur est plutôt squelettique, mais les liens entre utilisateurs ont un certain degré de sophistication parce qu'il y a une distinction entre lien unidirectionnel et lien bidirectionnel. En fait, c'est relativement difficile à décrire hors-contexte alors je crois que je vais laisser tomber cette section pour l'instant. Un bon préalable pour comprendre la base du microbloguage, c'est ce court vidéo, aussi disponible avec sous-titres français.

Tout ça pour parler de profil public!

En commençant ce billet, je croyais élaborer plusieurs autres aspects. Mais je crois quand même que la base est là et je vais probablement écrire d'autres billets sur la même question, dans le futur.

Quand même quelques bribes, histoire de conserver ce billet «en chantier».

Un point important, d'après moi, c'est qu'il est généralement préférable de laisser aux autres le soin de se lier à nous, sauf quand il y a un lien qui peut être établi. C'est un peu l'idée derrière mon billet précédent. Oh, bien sûr, on peut aller au-devant des gens dans un contexte spécifique. Si nous sommes au même événement, on peut aller se présenter «sans autre». Dès qu'il y a communauté de pratique (ou communauté d'expérience), on peut en profiter pour faire connaissance. S'agit simplement de ne pas s'accaparer l'attention de qui que ce soit et d'accepter la façon qu'a l'autre de manifester ses opinions.

Donc, en contexte (même en-ligne), on peut aller au-devant des gens.

Mais, hors-contexte, c'est une idée assez saugrenue que d'aller se présenter chez les gens sans y avoir été conviés.

Pour moi, c'est un peu une question de courtoisie. Mais il y a aussi une question de la compréhension du contexte. Même si nous réagissons tous un peu de la même façon aux appels non-solicités, plusieurs ont de la difficulté à comprendre le protocole.

Et le protocole est pas si différent de la vie hors-ligne. D'ailleurs, une technique très utile dans les contextes hors-ligne et qui a son importance en-ligne, c'est l'utilisation d'intermédiaires. Peut-être parce que je pense au Mali, j'ai tendance à penser au rôle du griot et au jeu très complexe de l'indirection, dans le contact social. Le réseau professionnel LinkedIn fait appel à une version très fruste de ce principe d'indirection, sans étoffer le rôle de l'intermédiaire. Pourtant, c'est souvent en construisant la médiation sociale qu'on comprend vraiment comment fonctionnent les rapports sociaux.

Toujours est-il qu'il y a une marche à suivre, quand on veut contacter les gens en-ligne. Ce protocole est beaucoup plus fluide que ne peuvent l'être les codes sociaux les mieux connus dans les sociétés industriels. C'est peut-être ce qui trompe les gens peu expérimentés, qui croient que «sur Internet, on peut tout faire».

D'où l'idée d'aider les gens à comprendre le contact social en-ligne.

Ce billet a été en partie motivé par une requête qui m'a été envoyée par courriel. Cette personne tentait de se lier d'amitié avec moi mais sa requête était décontextualisée et très vague. Je lui ai donc écrit une réponse qui contenait certains éléments de ce que j'ai voulu écrire ici.

Voici un extrait de ma réponse:

Si t'as toi-même un blogue, c'est une excellente façon de se présenter. Ou un compte sur un des multiples réseaux sociaux. Après, tu peux laisser le lien sur ton profil quand tu contactes quelqu'un et laisser aux autres le soin de se lier à toi, si tu les intéresses. C'est très facile et très efficace. Les messages non-sollicités, directement à l'adresse courriel de quelqu'un, ça éveille des suspicions. Surtout quand le titre est très générique ou que le contenu du message est pas suffisamment spécifique. Pas de ta faute, mais c'est le contexte.

En fait, la meilleure méthode, c'est de passer par des contacts préétablis. Si on a des amis communs, le tour est joué. Sinon, la deuxième meilleure méthode, c'est de laisser un commentaire vraiment très pertinent sur le blogue de quelqu'un que tu veux connaître. C'est alors cette personne qui te contactera. Mais si le commentaire n'est pas assez pertinent, cette même personne peut croire que c'est un truc indésirable et effacer ton commentaire, voire t'inclure dans une liste noire.

J'utilise pas Yahoo! Messenger, non. Et je suis pas assez souvent sur d'autres plateformes de messagerie pour accepter de converser avec des gens, comme ça. Je sais que c'est une technique utilisée par certaines personnes sérieuses, mais c'est surtout un moyen utilisé par des gens malveillants.

Si vous avez besoin d'aide, vous savez comment me contacter! ;-)

Technorati Tags: Personnel, acquaintances, advice, amis, bloguage, blogues, connaissances (acquaintances), expertise, français, friendliness, friendship, linkfest, musings, naïveté, profiles, public, réseaux sociaux, social, social networks, sophistication, trusting people, adolescents, Afrique, anonymat, appels non-sollicités, Blogspot.com, Brel, codes sociaux, CommonCraft, communauté d'expérience, communauté de pratique, contact social, contextes culturels, contrôler son image, Dix Grandes Plaies d'Internet, entregent, etiquette, Facebook, géolocation, Goffman, griots, Identi.ca, indirection, individualisme, intermédiaires, intimité, intrusions, lien bidirectionnel, lien unidirectionnel, Lila Abu-Lughod, LinkedIn, Mali, Manifeste des évidences, microbloguage, microblogue, Ning, OpenID, OpenSocial, papillon social, persona, Ping.fm, profil public, protocole, radical transparency, radio-identification, science sociale, socialisation, sollicitation, Sory Camara, transparence, transparence radicale, Twitter, vie en-ligne, vie privée, vie publique, vie sociale, WordPress.complainers

2008-08-11T12:02:00.001-04:00

is tender.

2008-08-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

Un jour, j'écrirai un billet au sujet du service à la clientèle «à la tête du client». Un gros problème pour les personnes âgées.

2008-08-11T11:09:00.001-04:00

«En-ligne, tout le monde agit comme une célébrité.»

2008-08-11T08:07:00.001-04:00

Adobe Reader bringing Firefox 3 down. Fail!

2008-08-10T13:41:00.001-04:00

Isn't anyone developing a reference manager for OSX iPhone? Weird. RefWorks and Zotero would be perfect for this.

2008-08-10T11:35:00.001-04:00

I could eat pupusas. Love this pickled cabbage.

2008-08-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

gets tired of Olympics-induced racism.

2008-08-09T23:55:00.001-04:00

Risotto leftover and some mead from Eastern Qc. Nice little snack.

2008-08-09T23:37:00.001-04:00

reconnects with different realities.

Culture and Taste

2008-08-09T00:04:00.000-04:00

Haven't read it yet, but it sounds very interesting.

The Interactive Effect of Cultural Symbols and Human Values on Taste Evaluation

The Interactive Effect of Cultural Symbols and Human Values on Taste Evaluation - Upload a Document to Scribd

2008-08-08T19:57:00.000-04:00

First attempt at a risotto. Results are satisfying.

2008-08-08T18:39:00.003-04:00

New Ping.fm code is pingitlikeitshot

2008-08-08T18:39:00.001-04:00

I'd say, no ATX geekfest is complete w/o @conniereece @DustyReagan @whurley @RoundSparrow @drapetomaniac to connect people.

2008-08-08T18:29:00.001-04:00

Interesting to note that several of the most important bloggers in ATX (according to Mashable) do stuff at Café Caffeine.

2008-08-08T18:26:00.001-04:00

A list of 13 blogs for 512. http://ping.fm/UC4kw

2008-08-08T18:22:00.001-04:00

Des fois, je trouve la sphère du média social un peu trop sphérique...

2008-08-08T13:49:00.001-04:00

How to stop being human in ten easy steps: http://ping.fm/sx2Hc

2008-08-08T12:19:00.001-04:00

Reality Distortion Fields are context-dependent.

2008-08-07T11:16:00.001-04:00

Ça fête, dans les rues d'Abidjan?

2008-08-05T20:56:00.001-04:00

has been touched by a friend's gift. An academic gift.

2008-08-05T18:37:00.001-04:00

may have found the right balance between music discovery and his music preferences as adult. Levitin would have something to say about this.

2008-08-05T14:56:00.001-04:00

When is the next Free Hugs Day?

2008-08-05T14:30:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I should just give up being kind to people.

2008-08-05T14:25:00.001-04:00

I exercise all that care and caution yet I end up hurting someone while opening up about my own self-doubt. Oops!

2008-08-05T13:34:00.001-04:00

When a kid posts a spoof of Apple ads, it's fun. When Microsoft does it... http://ping.fm/RNwcc

2008-08-05T00:45:00.001-04:00

Sometimes, I just wish celebrities could put their worries as eloquently as Georges. http://ping.fm/V4DLE

2008-08-05T00:26:00.001-04:00

«Je suis anarchiste au point de toujours traverser dans les clous afin de n'avoir pas à discuter avec la maréchaussée.» Georges Brassens

2008-08-04T22:02:00.001-04:00

misses his Big Band days.

2008-08-04T20:32:00.001-04:00

est très sensible.

2008-08-04T14:15:00.001-04:00

Congratulations and thanks, Julie Wainwright. It takes courage and strength to go on record. http://ping.fm/qC2zt

2008-08-04T14:13:00.001-04:00

@leolaporte You do know that some members of Anonymous claimed, months ago, that they were "doing it for the lulz," right?

2008-08-04T00:10:00.001-04:00

My satisfaction with Diigo increases with use, even though I still think that some obvious features are missing.

2008-08-03T22:41:00.001-04:00

Ah, New York Times! Will you ever cease to disappoint me?

2008-08-03T18:22:00.001-04:00

Journalism was the clergy of the nationalist industrial era. Who will take over the role in these post-nationalist post-industrial times?

2008-08-03T17:48:00.001-04:00

Enjoying the standalone version of my favourite Web app sudoku. http://ping.fm/q79Ia

2008-08-03T13:12:00.001-04:00

isn't an expert but played one in the blogosphere.

2008-08-02T13:40:00.001-04:00

How's "Gripe with Grice" as a bandname? Language geeks need apply.

2008-08-02T12:10:00.001-04:00

revendique son statut d'ermite social (et d'hédoniste éthique).

2008-08-02T11:56:00.001-04:00

really wishing the ultimate social bookmarking solution will come around. So many obvious ideas which haven't been picked up...

2008-08-02T01:26:00.001-04:00

Isn't the title misleading? http://ping.fm/C1ysU

Insulting with Style

2008-08-01T20:35:00.001-04:00

Yes, it's a simple attempt at TileStack embedding. After all, this blog I mostly use for things I can't do on my main blog. But who passes up an occasion to insult their readers?

Click the quill to update.

TileStack - ShakeASpear

Showing vs. Describing

2008-08-01T20:22:00.001-04:00

delicious the movie
Mise en ligne par delicious blog

This is actually an interesting video in terms of showing what the new version of the delicious social bookmarking system is all about instead of trying to describe it.
No idea if the video was produced by the design team but it works almost as well as an ad.
It also works as a good example of the links between Yahoo! services as it was posted on flickr.

2008-08-01T19:15:00.001-04:00

in Ping's company (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

2008-08-01T19:14:00.001-04:00

didn't really celebrate Swiss national day, today. But this Cynar reminds me of Europe which reminds me of Switzerland. Close enough.

2008-08-01T15:40:00.001-04:00

Summer podfades still take me by surprise.

2008-08-01T14:35:00.001-04:00

Just got my beta invite for TileStack. Yup, I do miss HyperCard.

2008-08-01T14:13:00.001-04:00

Possibly my favourite kind of poetry: http://ping.fm/aEDJD

2008-08-01T14:11:00.001-04:00

Is Google "getting its act together?" I know Notebook does Bookmarks but shouldn't they integrate everything? http://ping.fm/2A8sJ

2008-08-01T12:52:00.001-04:00

glad that Ping.fm supports identi.ca

2008-07-31T16:31:00.001-04:00

Is Pogue fishing for comments from software designers? http://ping.fm/gmD5b

2008-07-31T16:30:00.001-04:00

Is Pogue fishing for comments from software designers? http://ping.fm/gmD5b

2008-07-31T01:53:00.001-04:00

Grâce à Stanza, je vois que Marcel Proust et Maurice Leblanc sont parmi les plus populaires. J'étais donc pas si bizarre, à l'époque.

2008-07-31T01:32:00.001-04:00

trying to streamline online social services.

Difficult Brews

2008-06-07T05:12:00.000-04:00

As is often the case in homebrewing, some of the most difficult batches are the most satisfying.
Case in point:
Texpatriate: I Brewed (You're Doing It Wrong)
Hence the motto: Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew (and if you're out of homebrew, some commercial craft beers can do).

JP's Java and its Clover Coffee Machines

2008-04-11T15:03:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite coffee shops in Austin, being covered by CBS.

I like it when local coffee geeks get coverage.

Gadget Guy: The Clover 1-S & making coffee

Gone Meta

2008-03-23T16:56:00.001-04:00

Jeff MacPherson and crew went meta. Care to go meta too?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Data Visualization: Health, Wealth, Weight

2008-03-20T13:57:00.002-04:00

Having fun with IBM's Many Eyes.

Playing with data is meaningful fun.

Data Visualization and Energy

2008-03-19T23:20:00.001-04:00

Gapminder - GapCast #10 - Energy

Wow. Just... Just Wow.
I don't tend to be quantitative-oriented but this is just too convincing, too telling not to flabbergast me.
Apparently, there's a Google Spreadsheet tool which can help in making something similar. I'll definitely have to look into it. Would be the ultimate teaching tool, for those situations where statistics make some sense.
Wow.

Self-Aware Journalists

2008-03-12T05:58:00.000-04:00

Why is it that journalists have such a hard time looking at journalism with a fresh perspective?
Relatively recent case in point:
Open Source - Blog Archive - London: The News about the News
I guess I know some answers to that question. I just shouldn't be surprised. But with journalists becoming increasingly self-aware (and, in a very literal sense, "self-centered"), I wish there could be more cluefulness in journalism now than there has been in the early 1990s when online communications (Usenet, email, Web) should have woken journalists up.
For the record: I don't have anything against journalists. I just wish journalism itself would change. "For good."

Learning Interviews

2008-03-10T15:46:00.001-04:00

As an ethnographer, I care a fair bit about interviewing techniques and styles. Not that interviews are the only method we use. We do participant-observation, preliminary research, quantitative analysis, genealogy... But skills at conducting open-ended interviews come in handy in ethnographic disciplines.

It then follows that I enjoy finding examples of effective and ineffective interviewing. Typically, interviews in mainstream media (MSM) contain useful material on what not to do in an interview.

This is exactly what I consider yesterday's Lacy-Zuckerberg "keynote" to be: an example of what should be avoided at all costs while doing an insightful interview. Not so bad if all you want to do is dig dirt. But abysmal in terms of insight.

Apparently, jscholars and media experts agree about the value of the Lacy-Zuck fiasco for learning moments:

Even though I'm local to SXSW, I wasn't at the keynote (I don't have a SXSWi badge). I mostly looked at live reactions after they had been posted and briefly discussed the session with someone who did attend. I'm still trying to make sense of what happened which is a bit difficult in the fickleness of media ("geek" or mainstream).

Some of the most impactful live reactions were posted on Twitter, with Robert Scoble as a central figure. Some of those reactions were rather harsh, even insulting. Given my cynicism toward MSM, I assumed that part of those reactions were exacerbated by the situation. And while I now think that the interview was even more inappropriate than I thought it had been, I still think part of the groaning was self-generated. After all, it's not like MSM weren't already filled with I-Show self-congratulatory interviews.

To be honest (and I can certainly be wrong): my guess is that what started as relatively mild disappointment at the way the interview was going transformed into audible/visible reactions as well as "tweets" (text updates on Twitter), which then caused a sort of feedback loop. Those who weren't twittering at the point might still have reacted audibly and/or visibly. Since, as human beings, we're quite clueful in terms of people's paralanguage ("body language"), this scenario doesn't sound as absurd as some attendees might assume.

In fact, people keep mentioning Sarah Lacy's paralanguage (including proxemics and kinesics), which makes me suspect that the communication break may have spilled over from non-linguistic clues.

I sure hope the Language Log gang will pick this story up as it can make for a very interesting discussion among language scientists. Should probably send something to the Linguistic Anthropology blog.

The paralinguistic dimension reminds me of the history of televised debates, especially the Nixon-Kennedy case. Haven't seen the Zuckerberg-Lacy transcript yet but it does sound like the verbal component of the interview was less problematic than the aural and visual dimensions. Maybe I'm too much of a fan of orality, but I'm looking forward to reading the complete transcript. And watching the complete video.

Interestingly, Lacy herself seems to focus on the "written" content, in response to the controversy. Quite clear in this video, even more so in her twittered reply. Both the video and the tweet are already (in)famous. Hopefully they can help people take a step back and look at the situation as a whole. The authority/legitimacy/jschool-cred angles are easy to follow. And the "in my book" comment is too funny in context to pass up (Lacy kept promoting her hardcopy book). The "high profile" comment is very intriguing. Maybe Lacy expected something more out of "South-by" than a chance to "moderate a keynote" in front of highly-involved participants.

Ah, well...

My motto remains: "Don't get angry. Get a Clue!"

Hadn't realized until just now that Sarah Lacy was the same journalist who wrote about her sour grapes over the TED conference. That one was another story I found interesting, especially in terms of the geek niche. Lacy, and others, seem to worry about "geek fame." Reactions to her "Zuck" interview seem to imply she's easily star-struck.

Which brings us to gender. Many people, including or even especially women, are referring to Lacy as a ditz. Many talk about her Valley Girl speech (part paralanguage, of course). Not to mention that her BusinessWeek column is called Valley Girl. Plus, the apparently-flirtatious behavior is clearly gendered. Not that her gender was the root cause of the fiasco. But the fiasco has an obvious gender dimension. A man acting the same way would probably not have fared much better but the reactions would have been quite different. Not kinder, just different.

The "mob mentality" and "flashmob" aspects can also lead to insight into geek culture. In simple terms, this is what anybody would call a "tough crowd." "Lions in the arena" sounds like a fitting analogy. Was Lacy an amazone? Clearly, there are parallels to make with Michelle Madigan at DefCon. In that situation, a self-assured MSM journalist was shunned from a hacker conference for failing to play by the rules set by the audience. Sarah Lacy is being burnt partly because she failed to play to her audience.

The larger lesson is: context is key.

Technorati Tags: ethnography, ethnographers, ethnographic disciplines, anthropology, SXSW, SXSWi, Sarah Lacy, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, journalism, mainstream media, geek culture, paralanguage, body language, textuality, orality, case studies, flashmob, mob mentality, high profile, TEDtalks, interactivity, Twitter, Robert Scoble, Jeff Jarvis, Rex Hammock, interactive media, conferences, fiasco, jschool, profiles, gender, technology conferences, open-ended interviews, participant-observation, linkfest, shameless plugs

Sarah Lacy's Attempt at Recovering, and Reactions

2008-03-10T13:26:00.002-04:00

Lacy Responds to Zuckerberg Keynote Disaster

Sarah Lacy Speaks.

(and dances?)

Lots to learn from this whole event.

A SXSWi Fiasco in 6 Comic Panels

2008-03-10T12:43:00.000-04:00

Voice's Human

2008-02-26T10:54:00.003-05:00

Probably because of my penchant for voice, I love a cappella music.
And probably out of nostalgia, I really like the Swingle Singers.

My favorite works of theirs are probably their versions of Bach pieces. Those are part of my life's soundtrack, especially when I feel good.

Sure, it sounds "dated" because these vocal harmonies were prominent in French movies and advertising from the early 1960s. But there's a special charm to this kind of "trip down memory lane" on which we can go, just by listening to something. While it's fun to "live in the now," being able to go back and forth in time can elicit strong emotions. At least, it does in me.

Yet, a cappella music isn't just about the 1960s. It's actually a very broad category in music which spans many genres, from barbershop quartets and boy bands to doo-wop and religious choirs.

During my Ph.D. coursework, part of my favorite work was something I did about Bloomington's a cappella scene. In part because it was a typical college town, Bloomington had a number of a cappella groups while I was living there. At the time, I was able to talk with members of Monkey Puzzle, Vida, Straight No Chaser, and Ladies First. Some of these groups have disbanded since then but many of those voices are still resounding. For instance, Moira Smiley has gone on to form new vocal bands.

The human voice is such a wonderful thing. Diverse and universal. Versatile and finite. Historical and atemporal.

Chaperonnette à pois

2008-02-26T09:26:00.006-05:00

Pour toutes celles et tous ceux qui aiment danser comme chaperonnette à pois, la plus célèbre des Tessinoises. («Lupo lupone e cappuccetto a pois», pour les italophones...)

La couronne du lion

Monsieur Muscle

J'avais déjà blogué là-dessus sur mon blogue principal, il y a deux ans, mais l'extrait original n'est plus disponible.
Les vidéos ici semblent complets. Veoh permet même de télécharger les vidéos. Pour installer l'application, il faut faire une petite manipulation (effacer le fichier «Veoh Player.pkg/Contents/Resources/InstallationCheck»). Mais ça semble fonctionner correctement.

Frozen Montreal

2008-02-24T15:58:00.004-05:00

No, not because of the weather. It was a flashmob-type "stay still for five minutes" event, inspired by a similar event in NYC.

Much of this event was organized through Facebook. Several Yulbloggers participated, including the ever-thoughtful Fagstein.

The NYC version does look more impressive, obviously. I still wish I could have participated. Maybe we should do one in Austin during SXSW.

Here's a video of the NYC version:

Frozen Grand Central Station Over a hundred people stopping dead in their tracks at the same time in a large public space. And then the reaction.

L'efficacité de Maurane

2008-02-23T18:13:00.002-05:00

J'ai qu'à l'écouter et je me sens bien.

Surtout quand elle est si bien entourée. D'après moi, ce genre de chanson convient vraiment à sa voix si flexible. Le passage gospel est bien emmené. Il y a des côtés qui ont vieilli un peu, mais ça fait quand même du bien.

Game, Drama, Fashion Show, Media Event?

2008-02-22T09:20:00.001-05:00

Austin, my current hometown, was host last night to the kind of event which gets national coverage. This time, 43,436 people tried to attend the event but only a hundred of them got selected. There were also 400 tickets for around 18,000 UT students who had entered the lottery.

Contrary to what one might guess, the event was not about Longhorn Football. Although, one of the protagonists in last night's event, a basketball player, did visit UT's famous team.

The "post-game analysis" makes it sound like a match between two sports teams.

Interestingly enough, it's a mixed sport, making it easy for journalists to use pronouns to distinguish players in the two teams. One source described the night's event as possible end game for the team led by a woman:

After losing a string of contests to [him] over the last several weeks, she is running neck-and-neck with him in Texas, according to some polls, a state in which she previously had a commanding lead.

One might think it was a fashion show:

the gold piping on her raised black collar and pockets gave her a martial, commander-in-chief look (the very model of a modern major general)

But I also get the impression that it was a theater premiere, with one source describing one actor's "classic 'I-feel-your-pain' finale" meant to go to watchers' "heads and hearts."

In the end, the event was mostly "media event." By the media, for the media, of the media.

Most likely, it won't change the dynamic of this race, though the true effect of it will be determined by the media coverage around it: Should it get replayed over and over on television, it just may have an impact on this race and could stand out as the debate's most striking moment.

So, I'm a bit puzzled by the whole thing.

Giono, Back, Noiret

2008-02-21T00:23:00.001-05:00

Avec ou sans sous-titres.

Subtitled or not.

Network Ninja to the Rescue

2008-02-05T16:43:00.001-05:00

Drew Perry worked his network ninja's jutsu to retrieve his stollen jacket and iPod touch:

To make a long story short I used the campus wireless network to track down the exact location of my jacket and iPod. I had [the campus wireless network] send SMS messages to my cell phone, updating me on its current position. Police officers made an arrest last night and first thing this AM I got my cheese back. Don’t mess with a network ninja.

Wow. Guess positioning systems really are essential for the ultimate handheld device!

Shades of Cuckoo's Egg?

Maybe I'm just not geek enough but this, to me, is close to the ultimate act of cooltastic geekdom. Not that the technique was sophisticated. But the whole story is more compelling than most movies.

Heard about it through Buzz Out Loud.

read more | digg story

My Main Blog Is on WordPress.com

2008-01-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

Been leaving comments on local blogs. Just wanted to make sure anyone following the link from my Blogger profile would know that I rarely blog here and that I mostly blog on WordPress.com.

DSL Speed: AT&T Yahoo's DSL Pro Plan

2008-01-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

Actually, it's quite sufficient for me. Especially since my desktop is rather slow anyway and our laptop is usually on WiFi.

CSR: Crime Scene Representative

2007-12-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

Was watching an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, wearing a LifeChat LX-3000 headset. Got me thinking about a CSI spoof using Customer Service Representatives as characters.
Sure. Like a skit in a humor show. But it could even be part of a campaign to make customer service jobs trendy, like they do in Quebec with CAs/CPAs (complete with flashy site in French). Not that I ever was a CSR myself but I did do surveys about CSRs. Given the number of people with CSR jobs, I'm pretty sure it'd be quite popular for watercooler chat. Perfect material for YouTube.
Of course, other people have been thinking about CSI spoofs with CSRs. For instance, here's a funny scenario for a skit having fun with David Caruso's rather overacted Horatio Caine one-liners (which Jim Carrey spoofed on David Letterman's show).
Grazing Rites: CSR: Miami
To play with people's stereotypes (which humor shows are wont to do), it could easily involve South Asian CSRs. An obvious choice would then be Canadian comedian Shaun Majumder, well-known for his ethnic spoofs on This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Cedric the Entertainer Presents.

Google Maps

2007-11-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

Been thinking about our upcoming move to Austin, TX. We'll be there by mid-December.

Looks like our neighborhood, Bouldin Creek, will be an interesting one. It's close to the (apparently trendy) SoCo area as well as downtown.

Been putting dots on a map for places of potential interest.

Google Maps

Resize map

Of course, much of my interest focuses on coffee and beer, at this point. But I often find out that this type of focus is a great way to learn a new place.

Feeling Good

2007-11-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, my love for humanity is reaffirmed. One person who's helpful for this is ze frank.
He recently posted a simple video on a simple song he made:
ze's page :: zefrank.com: songs you already know : scared

And it was made into a fun video, which really captures a lot of what many of us need.

Exploring Online Tools for Teaching

2007-11-12T07:46:00.001-05:00

Presentation (Slideshare)

Presentation file for Alexandre Enkerli's workshop on exploring online tools for teaching. Concordia University's Centre for Teaching and Learning Services (CTLS), November 12, 2007.

| View | Upload your own

Other notes

Moodle Tools
- "Content" (syllabus, slides, references, media)
- Assignments
- Grades
- Journals
- Forums
- Podcast
Moodle Attempts

RSS Feeds
Wikis
Glossaries
Blogs

Blogging

Blogging Use
- Self-publishing
- Blogging as low-stakes writing
- Blogging as sharing
- Bridge with life, examples
Blogging Issues
- Author-based
- Less than thoughtful comments
- Keeping up?
- Writing style?
YouTube
Broadcast Yourself
YouTube Use
- In-class examples
- UC Berkeley lectures
- Advantages
  - Publicly accessible
  - Sharing, comments
  - Self-learning
  - Peer-teaching
YouTube Issues

Image quality
Streaming problems
Pulled-off content
Hater

Blog Types
Blogging as Publishing
- Public intellectuals
- Geeky version of Collège de France, Université populaire
Broad issues
- Getting help for transcription
- Online textbooks
- Reusing material
- Leapfrog
- Mashup
- Don Hinkelman on cellphones
  - We use cellphones for students to input a variety of things into their Moodle course...
    - reflections on the class
    - attendence in large lecture classes
    - quizzes after hours or homework
    - periodic email messages with vocabulary practice
"Outside" Tools
- Meant for non-teaching uses
- Students may already be learning
- Thinking about use, not tools
- Focus on personal favourites
Sharing Content
- Quick and easy
- Public display
- Viral (share again, comment, blog)
- Social ("persona" management)
- Bookmarklets and RSS
Sharing Tools in Teaching
- Peer-teaching
- Learning environment
- Self-publishing
- Transmit information
Sharing Tools ("Social Software")
- Flickr "almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world"
- Del.icio.us "Social bookmarking"
- Twitter "What are your friends doing?"
We live in fascinating times

Videos with stats
Resources in Educational Technology

Technorati Tags: teaching, learning, online tools, Moodle, Facebook, RefWorks, SlideShare, Flickr, Blogspot, Del.icio.us, presentation, Concordia University, Centre for Teaching and Learning Services, educational technology

Veronic Belmont's Mahalo Prequel

2007-11-04T09:35:00.000-05:00

Mahalo Daily: Hello world!

Nice pastiche (in both senses of the term). A hodge-podge imitation/parody of some of the most prominent video podcasts of the last few years.

But:

Don't we get to vote?

Where's Tiki Bar TV???

Rude Goldberg Fans: Can Anyone Do More?

2007-10-29T19:52:00.000-04:00

Whoa!

Does-Nothing-o-Matic - CollegeHumor video

Timeline Maps: Empires and Religions

2007-10-27T16:24:00.000-04:00

Noticed the first chronological map (on empires) in a presentation by Juan Enriquez. Either of these animations could be useful to show in many a course. They have not necessarily been created from a neutral point of view but they both bring together interesting data, making it easy to take a broad perspective on such issues as global interactions, cultural contacts, and human diversity.

Imperial History

History of Religion

Le Café d'Oldelaf et Monsieur D

2007-10-26T15:06:00.000-04:00

Pas très réaliste, mais conçu à la Sylvain Chomet (Triplettes de Belleville). Ça me donne soif pour un bon petit espresso bien complexe et pas très caféiné.

Le Café

Le Café via Koreus

VUB and ULB Pillow Fight

2007-10-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

Perhaps the most efficient form of student activism, a pillow fight between French-speaking and Flemish-speaking universities.

BELGIUM

At the end of the fight, the fighter of the both speaking communities reconcile around campfire having a beer and a barbecue. Let's hope the negotiation about Belgian government could end in the same way. (Reuters)

New Ways to Access Comedy Central Content?

2007-10-19T00:21:00.000-04:00

What's going on, here? We can't access ComedyCentral.com from Canada? Apparently, that same content is available on TheComedyNetwork.ca, thanks to a special agreement between CTV and Viacom. However, the two comedy television networks' sites work quite differently from one another. In fact, Comedy Network's media player seems to be having problems and I personally haven't been able to watch more than a few seconds of anything on that Canadian site. Worse yet, that site makes my computer (H3070 with 1GB of RAM, running XPSP2) while using IE7 and consistently crashes Flock 0.9.1. Pity.
Meanwhile, Viacom is offering all clips of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart since 1999. That content is now hosted, in a beta version, on TheDailyShow.com (that site is available in Canada). Unfortunately, some features of ComedyCentral's well-known "Motherload" player are absent from the new site's player. For instance, clips can only be viewed in a single format and there's no playlist feature. On the other hand, the new site does make it easy to rate, share, and comment clips, bringing the show closer to the YouTube crowd Viacom might want to woo.

Funny that TheDailyShow.com should use Google for search... ;-)

Nomination for Best Title for a Podcast Episode

2007-10-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

Mothers against Windows Vista (Buzz Out Loud 580)
Literally LOLed!

Redesign of Concordia University's Website

2007-10-11T18:22:00.000-04:00

Tour of new Concordia University Website - Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Though I know there are people out there who are certainly complaining loudly about this new design, I think I like it. Granted, I'm no design expert. In fact, I usually don't react very strongly to page designs. But this one has a nice effect on me. I think it strikes an appropriate balance between simplicity and content. It's also a step in the direction of consistency in design, which seems to be a much more effective approach than what was previously available.
I also like some of the new features, including microformats and, more relevant for my use of the site, the new map. I used the new map just today to make sure the GM building was the one I thought it was (it is) and found the mapping system quite efficient. I do like Google Maps.

Vieux média et blogues à Montréal

2007-10-11T10:36:00.000-04:00

J'ai plus tellement l'habitude de visionner du contenu formatté aussi clairement télévision que ça, mais c'est amusant à voir, surtout pour ceux qui étaient présents à cette rencontre.
montreal.tv - Blog Montreal, les blogueurs de Montr�al se rencontrent mensuellement au bar La Quincaillerie sur la rue Rachel sur le Plateau
(Piston, piston, piston...)

Zotero as Webware?

2007-10-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

More as a reminder to myself that it'd be fun to experiment with some use of Zotero as a Google-type Webware reference manager including the actual texts (indexed PDFs, etc.). Kind of an integration of features from RefWorks, Spurl.net, Plum.net, Google Browser Sync, Del.icio.us, Firefox Scrapbook, Facebook, Moodle, GTD, and Windows Live Writer. Sounds like a weird mix but I see a pattern, there. Kind of like the "optimal bookmark manager" I've been thinking about. It'd take a bit too long to flesh it out just right now. Ah, well...

Dieu du ciel Bottles

2007-09-27T00:43:00.001-04:00

Just passed (around 4:30p) by Délires du terroir. They have three Ddc beers: Fumisterie, Route des épices, Corne du diable. Knew Dieu du ciel was going to release bottled beer soon. Apparently, these beers have been there for about two weeks. My Net connection is down so I'm typing this in OneNote to blog it. Still, I mean to send it to the MontreAlers mailing-list.

As you can guess, I'm not thinking of styles and some of my taste associations may seem off. Perception, by definition, is subjective.

Fumisterie

Surprisingly big bubbles in bottle.

Clear, pumpkin ale orange, in the 11-13 SRM range (comparing to Beer Tools Pro), good head.

Overall profile: regular Qc micro, rather clean.

Normal carbonation in glass, decent to good head retention.

Aromas not overpowering, blended hops/malt/hemp.

Medium-level but somewhat harsh bitterness, probably from hemp combination, lingering

Quite earthy, a bit piney in hops.

Malt backbone, graininess, some chewiness. Not that dissimilar from l'Amère à boire's typical malt profiles. Can even understand the comparison with German ales, though that's pushing it.

Even Scotch ale-ish kind of thing, somewhat caramelly

Some oxidation? If so, less than many other beers. Probably just impression from hops.

Goes well with food. Tried with bagel but would clearly go well with many other things. Good reason to have it in bottles (or growlers). Ddc isn't the best place for food and beer pairings.

Warming improves maltiness, getting closer to Scotch ale.

Route des épices

Copper with red highlights (15-16 SRM?), decent to good head.

Low aroma, vague graininess, subdued spiciness, more hop-like than peppercorn, something of a vague metallic aroma

Explosion of flavours, floral part of pepper, almost vegetable-like, light plum-like fruit, then pepper all of a sudden.

Prickly carbonation intensified by pepper.

Lingering pepperiness.

Malt settles in. Crystal malt, not much rye. Some residual sweetness.

Almost hot pepper with some smoke and roastiness. Chipotle!

Some fruitiness coming back. Not exactly apricot-like but… What's that fruit? Nectarine? Passion fruit??

Every sip, the pepper comes late in the taste but lingers.

As it warms up, more of a syrupy malt aroma. Similar to the Fumisterie profile earlier. Caramelly as in long wort boil (more than decoction or specialty malts). It probably does come from specialty malts but it tastes more like what wort smells like when you caramelise it.

Corne du diable

A bit lighter in colour than Fumisterie, maybe closer to 10-11 SRM. Thick pillowy head, some big bubbles, average head retention.

Prominent hop aroma, earthy, minty, something reminiscent of old or high alpha hops?

Balanced flavours, some maltiness, not that much bitterness, some residual sweetness.

Hop profile more prominent in aroma than flavour, still present. A bit less earthy, a bit more piney.

Vague notion of candied pineapple.

Surprisingly low body, something almost watery/aqueous.

Sharply dropping flavours, not really lingering. Maybe some candied lemon zest.

As it warms up, some flavours are separating, blending less. Maltiness similar to others but hop earthiness more prominent. Maybe a bit of alcohol taste. Rounder aroma. Bit more malt in the aroma, hop profile closer to floral. Increasing caramel. Something sweet but balanced by the earthy hops. Malts fused in a way similar to several Benelux British ales.

Lost mint aroma and older hops, gaining slight spicy.

The earthiness is about as strong as Aaron's Plywood the Adler overhopped beer but the bitterness level is surprisingly low.

Got a fruit in there again that is difficult to pinpoint. Something sweet but subtle. Dried out grapefruit?

That's not grapefruit: it's grapefruit skin! Pithy!

There might be some Cascade-like grapefruit hops but the hop profile is really focused on the earthiness. Almost mossy.

Medium mineral content. Think slick granite (not really dissolving in the beer, just an impression of mineralness).

Eventually something vaguely soapy.

I've tried them all at the pub in the past but I can't really compare the bottled versions with what I remember from the pub. They all feel similar to yet quite different from the pub originals. As enjoyable if not more. Of course, the pepper in Route and the Corne's hops are unmistakable and directly reminiscent of the tap versions. But there are things in these beers that I don't remember from the pub's batches. Maybe I was never careful enough to think about differences as the beers warm up but the effect is quite striking, in all three cases. They seem to merge on a kind of flavour which reminds me of a scotch ale, a smoked porter, or an oak-aged barleywine. Something in the malty-caramelly range.

All of these would compare favourably to a lot of bottled beers available in Qc. In fact, they would fit in U.S. flavour ranges, especially in the Northeast. Of course, these three are pretty much in the British palette (especially in Corne's earthiness but also in the other two's overall profiles). Not really estery or heavy in diacetyl, but kind of like clean yet tasty versions of British Ales. AFAICT, the next bottled beers will tap Ddc's Belgian expertise.

Though elaborate and wordy, my descriptions are probably way off if compared with standards. But that's the beauty of a complex creation: it can have different effects on different people!

In this case, I'm guessing I'm hungry for a thick grilled steak because I keep thinking steak would go well with any of these. Very obvious with Route.

I'd encourage anyone to try these beers. I'd say my favourite is Route with Corne a close second and Fumiste a not too distant third.

Beer Ecology: Getting It Right

2007-09-04T14:25:00.000-04:00

A nice thing about today's world is that comments to newspaper articles are often more insightful than those articles themselves.

globeandmail.com: Will going for a cold one give the planet a hangover? - Comments

Genetics and (National) Culture

2007-08-30T22:35:00.001-04:00

A look at the interaction between genetics and social environment in the gregariousness associated with Williams Syndrome. It could be useful to define the concept of culture more carefully.

read more | digg story

The Future Is In The Past

2007-08-30T09:26:00.001-04:00

Saw this one on Sivacracy. I like the fact that most of the computers we saw are Macs.

Embedded Video

Blogged with Flock

Nostalgie

2007-08-28T01:22:00.000-04:00

Je suis déjà nostalgique. Pas tant du grand Boris que d'une certaine femme qui me hante et qui quitte pour une aventure catalane...

The Slashdot Model (Spoof)

2007-08-20T22:25:00.000-04:00

College Humor is achieving Onion-like insight with some of their videos. (A bit vulgar, though.)
This one is about business meetings using the Slashdot/Digg model for interactions.

It Was a Different Time, You Understand

2007-08-17T09:04:00.001-04:00

Classic!

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Schools and Social Networking

2007-08-08T23:31:00.001-04:00

The news item itself is somewhat confusing, seems rather one-sided, and over-uses statistical frequencies. But the issue at stake is quite interesting. It seems that, in the United States, many school administrations are greatly restricting the use of social networking and other online tools out of unfounded fears about the dangers of online communication. At the same time, educators and technology enthusiasts alike are finding ways to integrate social networking and other online tools in learning or teaching strategies.

read more | digg story

Moodle Explained

2007-07-31T23:23:00.001-04:00

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Anthropological Convenience

2007-07-27T00:04:00.000-04:00

Hugh Laurie - Biography

On Cambridge: 'I went there to row. I'll be blunt with it. It's been ten years, and I think the admissions tutor can take it now...but that's really what I went for, and anthropology was the most convenient subject to read while spending eight hours a day on the river.'