Pigeons to Blog Pollution 162
Strolls writes "In an release which conjures images of avian borg, a press release tells of plans to release pigeons equipped with cellphones and GPS so that they can "blog" air pollution data. The plan is the brainchild of Beatriz da Costa of the University of California Digital Arts Research Network and is scheduled as part of the inter-Society for Electronic Arts' annual symposium in San Jose in August. Da Costa has previously been involved with RFID roaches."
Hmmmmm (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hmmmmm (Score:1)
Why not light posts (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hmmmmm (Score:4, Funny)
I hope they weigh less than a coconut.
Re:Hmmmmm (Score:3, Interesting)
My big question (not addressed in the article) is the power supply. What's the fun if each birdphone only lasts a couple days? I guess solar would be the first choice, but how about a little wind turbine or an induction coil spanning the bird's wings?
Blogging Quality (Score:5, Funny)
Either way, their comments section will be FILLED with anti-science trolls.
Re:Blogging Quality (Score:5, Funny)
They'd be good at it (Score:2)
On the other hand, if pigeons could blog it would be rather funny:
"Managed to hit dead center on the hood of a new silver BMW, missed the Mercedes but nailed a bald dude right on the forehead. Score!"
Re:Blogging Quality (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Blogging Quality (Score:1)
Re:Blogging Quality (Score:2)
Re:Blogging Quality (Score:3, Funny)
Either way, their comments section will be FILLED with anti-science trolls.
And hunters that can't afford to pass up a free gps unit and cellphone with no bill.
Pigeon's blog (Score:2)
Talked to Uncle Ed for four hours on the cell phone today. I sure as hell hope that guy from the university was telling the truth when he said we wouldn't get charged for long distance calls; Uncle Ed is all the way down in Capistrano. I took a crap on a chick in a convertible again today. I love doing that. I wish that grey-cheeked green pigeon would call me; it's been almost a week since we rubbed beaks. Maybe he thinks I'm fat....
wow (Score:3, Funny)
Re:wow (Score:1)
Re:wow (Score:2)
Re:wow (Score:2)
Transmit the data over CPIP!
I'm outmoded again (Score:4, Funny)
Dammit, now even pigeons have better toys than I do. I really gotta try harder to keep up.
Oh, this is good (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Oh, this is good (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Oh, this is good (Score:2)
Re:Oh, this is good (Score:2)
Yes. At least that is what I told the judge. But I think its more of a case of my car's bumper flying into their bodies at the cross walk.
Suspicious indeed (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.commodore69.com/ [commodore69.com]
I'm not surprised... (Score:5, Funny)
They've had the protocol in place for years! [wikipedia.org]
Re:I'm not surprised... (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1149.txt [ietf.org]
Re:I'm not surprised... (Score:2)
Blog? (Score:4, Insightful)
It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:5, Interesting)
In terms of information, it's roughly equivalent. I'm going to go out on a limb here and, even without reading the article, assert that the pigeons themselves are not "posting short blurbs of information" anywhere.
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:3, Insightful)
Nothing about the particular definition I supplied suggests that it has to be a human (or even a pigeon) posting the information.
You might suggest that a blog entry would have to have meaning. But that's not necessarily true. A blog in Chinese, for instance, would look far more like gibberish to somebody who only speaks English than a PHP-generated string of numerals.
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:2)
I think that would be overestimating blogs
I WOULD, however, suggest that some level of awareness or conciousness would have to be involved. I'll go as far as saying that if a person considers that they're posting information to a blog - or at least is aware that they're selecting some information to be shared with others - then it's a blog. That's about as general a definition as you can get.
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:3, Insightful)
Again, it depends on what you consider "blogging" to be.
Exactly. I consider blogging to be when children eat ice cream too fast and get an ice-cream headache.
Seriously, can't we all agree on some basic definition of blogging rather than play these dumb word games? You've taken the word and completely redfined it so it no longer resembles the original word. Pigeons making blog entries through data gathered from devices attatched to them? I think you've broken some basic laws of logic about who does what,
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:3, Insightful)
And that, my friend, is why you should RTFA.
KFG
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:2)
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:1)
Re:It could very well be considered blogging. (Score:2)
That's bullshit and you know it. If I make apache logs accessible from the web, does that make it a blog? It's definitely a log, and it's on the web. Of course, noone would call it a blog, except maybe ignorant journalists, or money-starved scientists trying to mooch off a current buzzword.
It's blogging alright (Score:2)
Blogging: Because using informative verbs are just so passé.
Blogging is the new "smurfing". No doubt.
Re:Blog? (Score:2)
Re:Blog? (Score:1, Insightful)
Air time (Score:2)
Re:Air time (Score:2)
Re:Air time (Score:1, Offtopic)
Burgle their phones. (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Burgle their phones. (Score:2)
Re:Burgle their phones. (Score:1)
I was just thinking using the GPS data to shot any pigoens in my area during sunday morning sleep in.
If i sell the phones as well i can pay my firearms charges as well.
Re:Burgle their phones. (Score:2, Insightful)
Soon enough people will shoot the birds, steal their phones, and then sell those phones.
I haven't RTFA, but I highly doubt they are strapping regular commercial cell-phones, complete with push-buttons and display screens, to the birds.
more likely, it's just a single device, that can read pollution data, get a GPS reading, and transmit this information over the cell-phone network to a pre-programmed number. I highly doubt such a device would be much use to anyone who stole it, or have much value on the b
Re:Burgle their phones. (Score:2)
Re:Burgle their phones. (Score:2)
Quality of life for the pigeons? (Score:1)
How will the equipment affect the lives of the birds they're attached to?
Blog? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Blog? (Score:3, Informative)
Sure, the word is likely misapplied, but that's irrelevant. The main point is to get attention, which can at times lead directly to the receipt of financial support.
Re:Blog? (Score:3, Funny)
Why would anyone use a word like "friggen" when it is not needed? For the fun of it.
Re:Blog? (Score:1)
Re:Blog? (Score:1)
Re:Blog? (Score:2)
Attach tiny computers to the pigeons and write a TCP stack for it, as well as some code to implement HTTP to submit the data to livejournal. Then implement IP over avian carriers (with QoS) to transport the data. And voila, blogging pigeons!
Re:Blog? (Score:2)
Re:Blog? (Score:2)
Re:Blog? (Score:2)
Why would anyone use a word like "blog" when it is not needed. Especially in this case where it makes no friggen sense.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thougt that was the whole point?
Misused terms (Score:1, Funny)
Blogging is for the birds! (Score:5, Funny)
Man, I knew blogging is for the birds! Now this proves it.
I suppose if any pigeons reply to this, they will be posting nested comments. <gr&d>
Re:Blogging is for the birds! (Score:1)
Upcoming Headline: (Score:1)
Finally! (Score:5, Funny)
How convenient! (Score:4, Funny)
call charges (Score:1)
In my days.. (Score:1)
and just what is the cargo capacity of a pigeon? (Score:1)
Re:and just what is the cargo capacity of a pigeon (Score:1)
They already hefting all that seed around in their guts.
My new idea. (Score:1)
I will dub their activity 'podcasting'.
P.S. Be proud; I restrained myself from reffering to the fowl nature of this... DAMMIT!
Re:My new idea. (Score:1)
Re:My new idea. (Score:1)
How will I be able to trust search results??? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:How will I be able to trust search results??? (Score:1)
And new Commercial Potential (Score:1)
In Soviet Russia Virtual Pigeon sell Tshirt to you (Score:1, Offtopic)
As a fellow karma pwner, you will surely relate to this pigeon pwning soviet russia shirt. And being a karma whore in a previous life time, You can probably understand if I troll slashdot with slashdot jokes! 0_o
Crappy Cell Phone service (Score:1)
Google's revenge (Score:1)
Avian Borg (Score:1)
We are the borg
You will be assimilated
Resistance is futile
Followed by the collective of birds swarming down upon the vehicle.
Why just Cells? (Score:1)
STOP USING BLOG FOR EVERYTHING (Score:2, Insightful)
Going to troll their blog (Score:4, Funny)
test (Score:1)
What's next? Pigeons with frickin' laser beams?
Four Words for You (Score:1)
Obligatory (Score:1)
Where's the Sharks with Friggin lasers on their heads ! ! !
Dammit! and where's my flying car while you're at it.
Monitoring pollution with Pigeon? (Score:1)
Re:Monitoring pollution with Pigeon? (Score:2)
I just hope this network of sky denizens doesn't become self-aware..
Is blog really the right word? (Score:2)
HJ
Re:Is blog really the right word? (Score:2)
Re:Is blog really the right word? (Score:2)
I am SO SEVERELY disappointed (Score:1)
I was looking forward to a lifetime of never reading another xanga crammed full of MySpace quizzes. DAMN YOU MISLEADING SYNTACTICAL NATURE OF ENGLISH! =(
Birds on the prowl! (Score:1)
Keep on blogging (Score:2, Funny)
There has to be a way... (Score:2)
Raven's Livejournal (Score:5, Funny)
The world is a pitch black place. I leave my cage. I see the people down the street. I hope one of them dies.
Tuesday
Children in the park. The air is so stagnant. A dirge to anyone whose traffic is within the city. Consumer whores have no sole.
Wednesday
High School Assemblies are evil. The humans collect themselves for a meaningless celebration. The sun it burns. I long for my solitude. I wish a cat would get that peppy song bird!
Thursday
I saw Jay. Told him to caw me later. My spelling checker is not working.
Friday
Saw The Crow for the umteenth time. Ruffled my feathers at some creepy goth kids who were following me. Humans are scary.
Satuday - Poop Day!
My favorite day of the week. Nailed the a car with football players. Grossed out their cheerleader girlfriends. Got caught by the scientists again.
Sunday
Escaped the lab. Found computer. My last entry and nothing more. If some human replys the word "nevermore" I will peck their eye out!
Oh great... (Score:2)
Use the right word. (Score:2)
They "map" air pollution maybe, "detect" it, "upload" air pollution data if you want.
And if you need to be Buzzword 2.0 compliant, I guess you could say they would be "streaming in realtime updated data in order to integrate them in a web 2.0 database". Yep, let's stick to "map" shall we ?
Blog this article troll. (Score:2)
Seriously. Don't the slashdot editors know by now that quite a large chunk of the slashdot community is fed up with the use of the word "blog" everywhere and anywhere?
The only reason for this article seems to be to generate "it is not blogging" kind of repsonses (and it did succeed). Aka a standard troll. Or should it be called "a blog"?
<sarcasm>Blog this, motherblogger.</sarcasm>
Blog Schmog! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Did anyone read it as... (Score:1)
or perhaps >blog is the appropriate sound effect for generating a big lump of pigeon pollution?