Cyrus Farivar

Turkey is awesome. Especially awesome to see it with a couple of Columbia buddies of mine who have set up shop as journos in Istanbul — one at the Turkish Daily News and one at the Associated Press. Quick recap before I hit the sack (I leave Paris in about 12 hours for DC and then onto Oakland). Turkey is a European country trapped in a Middle Eastern country’s body — or at least it wants to be. Most obvious…

I’m in neveshir in central turkey. We arrived in ankara by train and then a 3 hr bus further. We’re staying with the uncle of a co-worker of a friend of a co-worker of my aunt heidi’s. Go figure, huh? they don’t speak much english but we’re doing our best and there is a neighbor 20 year old guy who’s english is pretty good. We saw some amazing 2000 year old caves here, where early christians fled from roman attacks.…

So I made it. Rebekah and I found Engin, (my aunt’s colleague’s best friend), who is an Istanbul native. He graciously picked us up from the airport, took us to his house a few miles from the airport and brought us to his family’s apartment. They served us a wonderful meal of kofte, rice, salad, french fries, Turkish cola, and something resembling Persian doogh. At the end of the meal, following five rounds of tea, two tangerines and a pear…

I’m in dc. slept the whole way over. podcasts will have to be done when I get back but I did bring recording gear. will post in paris.

Most likely communism can’t be established. But impotency can be treated!

AP: This tiny Baltic republic is breaking new ground in digital democracy. This week, the country nicknamed “e-Stonia” because of its tech-savvy population became the first country in the world to hold an election allowing voters nationwide to cast ballots over the Internet. Less than 10,000 people, or 1 percent of registered voters, participated online in elections for mayors and city councils across the country, but officials hailed the experiment held Monday to Wednesday as a success. “Everything has gone…

What I wrote on Nov. 1, 2004: So I was watching the clips that Boing Boing has posted from The Daily Show and I was reminded of a recent idea I had for a new television paradigm: A la carte television. I don’t watch enough TV to justify owning one, let alone paying $40 a month for cable. There just aren’t enough shows that I want to watch on a regular basis. The three things that I do watch, baseball…

WashPost: [NASA atmospheric scientist] David Rind compared the warming trend to what happens when a major league baseball team owner spends lavishly on players’ salaries. Pumping heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, he said, produces the same kind of predictable results as boosting a team’s payroll. “When they get into the playoffs, should we be surprised?” he asked. “We’re putting a lot more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and we’re getting a lot higher temperatures.”

Macworld: When Steve Jobs takes to a stage to unveil new products, it’s a safe bet that a bevy of Macworld editors will be on hand. That was certainly the case Wednesday, as Apple took the wraps off a video-playing iPod, an overhauled iMac, and a brand new version of the iTunes music player. And in this special episode of the Macworld Podcast, we’ve got all the details. This 25-minute episode features highlights from Steve Jobs’ presentation to reporters, as…

Because I have to be at work by 8 am, to make the ride down to SJ by 9/9:30 am for Apple’s media event at 10 am. I’ve got my podcasting gear ready. Check Macworld.com for the latest. And as Paul asked, why was the invite called soleil.invite.pdf ? Let the countdown begin.