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The following are the top things to do submitted by Yuzoz users.

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This week Yuzoz contributor and friend Ben Bailey tells us all about the some recent findings regarding the human mind and the ESP of the Random Number Generator. Have you had a random day doing far out and interesting stuff? Drop us a line with your Ideas and articles, as a contributor you may win you some cool Yuzoz merchandice!

12/04/2007- posted by - Ben Bailey - UK

Random Number Generators that predict the future?

It’s a pretty far-fetched idea, but it’s certainly intriguing: a random number generator that predicts the future. This, at least, is one of the theories to emerge from the weird findings of the Global Consciousness Project.

It all began in Princeton University in the late 1970s when Professor Robert Jahn began an investigation into whether human thought could somehow affect the output of a random number generator. The experiment was simple enough: rig-up a gadget to generate an endless stream of random ones and zeros - then grab a stranger off the street and ask them to ‘concentrate’ their mind on the device. It all sounds rather risible – until you hear the results. Apparently, these arbitrarily-selected punters proved that their minds could influence the machine and produce significant fluctuations, 'forcing it' to produce unequal numbers of ones and zeros.

Fast forward twenty years and we find another Princeton Professor, Roger D. Nelson, not only continuing the research but making the startling discovery that our power to influence random numbers could be happening on a much larger scale. The test case was the funeral of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. Yes, it seems the grief of a nation could possibly have somehow altered the pattern of digits produced by a computer.

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In any case, the results were curious enough to justify setting up a global network of Random Event Generators (REG), small black boxes housed in the basements of various universities around the world. There are currently 65 of these devices, all churning out supposedly random data – which is then analysed back at Princeton. The basic hypothesis of this bizarre project is that deviations from statistical expectations will correlate with major events in the world.

In a paper published last year, Dr. Nelson concluded that certain patterns in the data “correlated with a class of momentous events defined by the attention given to them by very large numbers of people. These include mass celebrations like New Years and religious holy days, as well as disasters, terror attacks, and major earthquakes.”

Of course, it is easy to connect the dots after the event: ‘here’s an anomaly in the data, let’s find an event to explain it’. But incredulity turns to intrigue when you learn how the REGs behaved on the day of September 11, 2001. Not only do the peaks of the data-fluctuations coincide with the impact of the passenger planes, but a sizable swelling occurred before the planes even took off.

At face value this would suggest that not only are the REGs affected by the emotional reactions of humanity on a global scale, but that somehow we have a kind of fore-knowledge of events. This explanation could also account for the erratic patterns produced hours before an earthquake in Indian Ocean triggered the Tsunami in South-East Asia.

The findings, of course, are hardly conclusive but it’s an entertaining concept at the very least. If our species really does have a foreknowledge of events, then this experiment might one day be show that much of what we consider to be random is in fact precipitated.

But, then again, you probably already know that.

12/01/2007- posted by - Random-Lee - IONOSPHERE

Yuzoz users have been at it again. From asking the stars for spiritual guidance to using the Yuzoz space random number generator (currently receiving LIVE data from solar flares and solar wind) to choose who to blame! Can you "out random" these guys? if so drop me a line and Yuzoz It. Oh and...

LIVE RANDOM TO THE MAX!

Yuzoz, am I magical?
Should I drop physics?
Who is prettiest?
where to visit worldwide?
Does he love me?
Should I stay or go?
What to do now?
which lucky numbers to play
Should I ask a girl at school out?
Should I get my eyebrow re-peirced?
What is for dinner?
Does she smell?
Life of death?
Which character to play online?
Who is fittest?
Who should pay this time?
Who to blame for the farts?
which names for puppies?
what to do over the weekend?
Should I marry him?
Go to precalc?
What game to play next?
What time to go to bed tonight?
What to clean?
Which T-shirt to buy?
Which career to aim for?
What's for din dins?
Which team to back this winter?
What to write a book about?
Ask her over the weekend?
Who to blame for the farty smell?
Ice cream or not?
Which ice cream flavour next?
Is Santa Clause real?
How should I beat her up?
Which lottery to play?
Which colour should he dye his head?
Who is a better friend for me?
Which school after basic school?
How should I die?
Which website to go on next?
Does the sun know the answers?
Should I stay at my current job?
Will I be lucky again?
Be good or evil?

11/02/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Germany

On Way to Berlin

Have been invited by the good folks at the Web 2.0 Expo Berlin to make a fool of myself and speak at the special Ignite section. You apparently get 5 minutes to speak on something other than your product, so of course, being filled with imagination, that means I will speak on randomness, and how afraid some people are of the entire concept of random.

The title of the talk is “Random, the new Order!” which comes from our in-house philosopher, Martin Wilson, who turned to me a few weeks ago and announced that indeed, Random is the new Order. I thought it just the right mix of paradox and truthfulness so I’m gonna run with it at Berlin.

It will be the first time I have spoken at a web/internet event. Coming from the space industry, I am still a newcomer at events like this.

The good news is that there is apparently free beer during the event so at least I will, oh, I mean, the audience, will be in a sufficient mood to hear about randomness.

10/26/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Space-themed advertising is everywhere.

Phones, movies, watches, perfumes, all use the allure of space as a backdrop or theme. Its so pervasive we don’t much think about it. Yet, the numbers tell the story of our attraction to space. 5 of the top 11 grossing Hollywood films of all time are space-themed. The most popular gaming platforms include space-themed games. The most popular shows include space-themes. Some ad agencies have even taken the quest right into space. RadioShack did a wonderful commercial on the Mir space station, and so too Pizza Hut.

As more and more companies interface with zero gravity and space, there is no reason not to think that there should be more ways to bring consumers and space together……After all, even in the midst of our general cynicism we still stand in awe, especially the same community that is into social networking and skyping and all that stuff, of what is out there in the universe. Cool stuff for a dreary Friday afternoon.

10/07/2007- posted by - Random lee - Brighton, UK

This months randomest decisions list submitted by users

Does god exist?
Whos turn to buy the drinks?
What is my future husbands/wife's name?
Which is the one true religion?
Which career path to follow?
Who farted?
Which website to visit?
Who is sexiest in the list?
Is there anybody there?
Which drugs to take?
Which excuse to use to take the day off work?
Should i ask him/her out?
Random party cocktail ingredients?
Which field of physics to study?
Which toe nail colour for today?
Am i a gay?
What should I buy as a gift?
The light side or the darkside?
Which activity in bed?
Methods of death (in a game I hope?
Which players to pick for magik?
Pick a random name from space?
Call a new president and how to vote?
Go left or right in world of warcraft?
Which language to learn?
Type of eggs (scrambled/sunny side up)?
Play lucky Yuzoz numbers on lottery today?
Tea of coffee?
When should I tell her that I love her?
What shall we play (video games)?
How do i die?

Why not try out the one click Yuzozes and tell us which ones you would like to see as featured Popular decisions.

What's for dinner tonight?
Vacation spots europe?
Vacation spots north america?
Vacation spots worldwide?
What to do tonight?
What to do this weekend?
Which movie to watch?
What to wear tonight?
Where to go tonight?

10/03/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Celebrating Sputnik


There seems this year far more news celebrating the anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first satellite, than ever before. Stories in the newspapers, on television, all speak about the shock the Soviet’s launch caused to our politicians. If it shocked the politicians, the launch at the same time galvanized the public, and so many people speak of that first launch, or the launch of Yuri Gagarin a few years later, or the first American launches, as defining moments in their own personal lives.

I think we are in the same place once again, only this time we are yearning for a new Sputnik, or a new Apollo 11. We want the excitement, the romance and the thrill. Will it come from Richard Branson and his StarShip flights? Is opening space to all of us enough of an excitement. The Russians have announced a manned mission to the moon by 2025. Will that capture the excitement of the whole world, and not just the Russians? What about Google’s X prize for the first private sector craft to land on the moon, or New Mexico’s Spaceport America.

Or is there some surprise out there, something so big, so fantastic, that it will shock all of us yet again in a wonderful way. At Yuzoz we have created a means to attach oneself live to the randomness of outer space. In so doing, in the months to come, we will involve all sorts of people, from artists to gaming developers to attach themselves to outer space. But that is a bridge and we continue to hope that with each passing milestone people will accept that we are star travelers ourselves. Each and every one of us.

9/25/2007- posted by - Random-Lee - New Mexico, US

The Dome Comes Home

"Truth or Consequences" – it sounds more like an ultimatum than a place in New Mexico, right? The USA is peppered with strangely-monikered towns, but there aren't many whose name has such an equally strange story behind it.

Back in the day, it was known as Hot Springs – named after the, um, hot springs that bubbled up from the earth and enticed ripples of tourists and locals alike to bathe in their healthy waters. It wasn't the only Hot Springs with hot springs, surprisingly enough; there were lots of similar towns scattered all over the deserts and mountains of North America. One of couple of hundred Hot Springs: a pleasant place, but not, in general terms, a unique one.

Meanwhile, miles away in the busy world of showbiz, an NBC radio producer named Ralph Edwards was on the lookout for a way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his popular radio show. Not just any way – a big, shiny, attention-grabbing, never-done-before way; something that would emblazon the name of his show right across America.

Something like, perhaps, having a town that loved the show change its name to prove it.

The news of his idea soon pricked up the ears of the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, and murmurs began among the townsfolk. Could such an audacious name-change be the key to raising the profile of Hot Springs among its fellow townships and advertising the place all over the nation?

In a unique election, the citizens of Hot Springs voted by more than four to one to take on the name of the radio show – and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico was born. Dreaming of creating something unique, the town put its faith in an idea that was bright and bold and a little bit crazy and came up shining.

And now once again Truth or Consequences will be hitting headlines – because Yuzoz has chosen it to be our spiritual home, the site of our new Headquarters. Between the city and the springs, the blue skies and the rocks, the Yuzoz HQ will rise out of the earth on a stone plinth like an ancient temple and glint in the sun like a futuristic city of glass.

New Mexico is the perfect place for a connection to space when you're earthbound. Not only is it home to Roswell, the home of the 'Alien Autopsy', but Sierra County is also the location for Spaceport America, an ambitious project to bring a commercial spaceport and related endeavours to the area. When the land around you is beautiful but stark, you tend to look to the skies more – in some ways the people of New Mexico seem that small step closer to the magic of space than most of the rest of us.

So – after a trip across thousands of miles of land and ocean, packed secretively into crates, the Dome has come Home to Truth or Consequences to begin its new life amid the kind of folk who really understand what Yuzoz is about.

Folk who watch the sky and wonder what's up there. Folk who know what it's like to do something special and just a tiny bit crazy. Folk who want to feel that live connection to space and want others to feel it too.

At Yuzoz, they're the kind of folk we know will make for great neighbours.

9/24/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Washington DC, US

A whirlwind of a couple of weeks

having a great time at the Idea Festival and then heading off to New Mexico. Spending some time now getting some very interesting people from the space world, the entertainment world and all sorts of other worlds (!) to use the Yuzoz system for a live connection to space.

Now we have to sit down and figure how and when to open source the Yuzoz system, allowing you to connect and use the randomness of the solar system for your own needs. That's the next big project we will start on today. Suggestions, ideas, appreciated.

9/11/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - (Kentucky bound), US

On my way to the Idea Festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

Our devious master plan is to unleash the YUZOZ challenge to the Google folks!

That's right. Yuzoz vs. Google. Faith in the power of the stars vs computer algorithms.

It all started when I read an article in the Financial Times in May that quoted the CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, as saying that their goal was to make powerful equations that could best answer the questions, "What should I do tomorrow?" or, "What job should I take?"

Rubbish!

We want to challenge Google. Take 25 people and have Google determine what they should do tomorrow. And take 25 people and let the stars decide via Yuzoz what they should do tomorrow.

And in a week's time, lets see who is happier with the choice made. The Google users or the Yuzoz users.

Google: Take this challenge!!

More from the Idea Festival.

Remember, "Let the stars decide!"

9/10/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Washington, US

Taking custom jewelry to outer space!

Finally, I can write about our jewelry project. Yuzoz and Leviticus Jewelry have launched the most unique new trend in personal jewelry. Tara, from Leviticus Jewelry, has designed beautiful necklaces that have number patterns based on the solar winds. It is a beautiful way for people to express their emotional attachment to the magic of outer space. Check out her site at www.leviticusjewelry.com.

For Yuzoz, we see this as the first of many different creative platforms based on the Yuzoz concept. And I have to thank Tara for her patience as we have worked here to solve the technical issues in bringing space live to even the design of necklaces. Thanks Tara.

9/08/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Washington, US

Yuzoz names at the Idea Festival

We have been working on a really cool project to showcase during the Idea Festival. We figured that with thousands coming to explore new worlds, let's really introduce them to Yuzoz.

Martin came up with the idea of creating random names using the Yuzoz Generator and solar winds. You know, instead of the ususal name tags, have something that says "Hi, My Randomly Created Name is _____." Then John came up with a real interesting twist. Let the first names be completely randomly generated, but the family names would come from a small database of names, no more than twenty.

In this way people could meet their "relatives" during the three days of the Idea Festival.

So that is what we are working on now. Mark has created a new and unique Yuzoz name generator based on the live forces of the solar winds. Our hope is some of the fascinating people at the Festival will get into the fun of the project and soon be seen wearing their Yuzoz name tags.

9/07/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Washington, US

Maybe is the topic at the Idea Festival

I'm heading over to the Idea Festival in Louisville, Kentucky to hobnob with some really interesting people. Yuzoz has been invited to speak and Kris Kimmel, the founder of the Idea Festival, has pulled together an extraordinary event that will hear from the likes of Ray Bradbury, Nicholas Kristof, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the New York Times, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, some Google folks and a whole bunch of fascinating fashion designers, filmakers, writers and scientists.

Kris has asked me to speak on the following topic: Maybe: The Power and Influence of Randomness, Uncertainty and the Improbable. And I like that. Because I do think that Yuzoz is powerful in its embrace of uncertainty and randomness.

The event begins September 13th and runs until Sunday. I understand it is truly an Idea Festival--with thousands coming to mull over ideas. It sounds pretty good to me.

8/17/2007- posted by - CJ Ryder - Brighton, UK

The Trouble with Travel

I dunno if you personally rack up a lot of airmiles, but I'm sure you'd agree that travelling, especially in these security-conscious times, can be a whole lot of hassle. Checking in and waiting around; boarding cards and departure lounges; delays and changes - and that's before you even get stuck next to someone irritating on the journey itself.

For a person travel can be annoying - for our Yuzoz Dome it almost became worrying. Having travelled for days across the Atlantic, packed into the hold of a cargo ship we could barely keep track of because of communication difficulties, our dome finally arrived into the port of Richmond, Virginia a few days ago - and straight into a lot of red tape.

Customs officers, you see, spotted the cargo and demanded it be unpacked - for a "random" search. Those guys - they're such jokers, aren't they? Maybe being a Customs officer is a bit boring, and you need a sense of humour to break up the day. Or maybe they were just wondering what on earth anyone could be doing with so much glass, cut into such precisely fitted pieces and shipped so far across the sea.

Whatever it was, they poked around suspiciously, but finally satisfied themselves that we at Yuzoz are just a bunch of harmless nutjobs and let us go about our business.

And where, exactly, IS our business? Just where can we put the amazing structure that will be home and headquarters to the heart of the Yuzoz project?

We have the whole of the United States of America to choose from. Where would you go? Do we take the Yuzoz dome to the vibrant buzz of a city or the peace of a rural pasture? Should we go for remote mountains to dramatically offset the wonderful building, or set it out in the middle of a blank desert? Or, as more than one Yuzoz employee is secretly hoping, do we just look for somewhere near the beach so we can get in a little R&R in our lunchbreaks any time we're there?

The truth is, as I write this, there are ideas but nothing is certain. How exactly to find a place that will give us our own ground while still connecting us to outer space is a bit of a puzzle. But it won't be for long. It's nearly happened, people - we've nearly found a home for the Yuzoz dome!

8/01/2007- posted by - CJ Ryder - Brighton, UK

The Atlantic Crossing

Compared to space, of course, the Atlantic Ocean (like most things) seems miniscule, but it's still a really big place - the second largest ocean on earth, in fact. As you read this, somewhere out there, a lone cargo vessel is making its way slowly from the freezing northern reaches to the port of Richmond, Virginia - and we're all hoping it's doing okay, because it's carrying something very, very precious to Yuzoz.

You see, it all began with Richard Buckminster Fuller; a US inventor, author and architect. Born on the cusp of the twentieth century, "Bucky" was given to dreaming about the potential of human life on earth, and it was this purpose that led him to design, build and patent, among other things, the geodesic dome: a structure made of individual triangular frames that improbably becomes proportionally stronger as it increases in size.

You've probably seen one before without even realising it. A lot of flagship buildings have used them because they're strong without needing any pillars or structures inside to support them. The Montreal Biosphere; the Eden Project at Cornwall, England; Nagoya's Multi-purpose arena in Japan - not to mention military radar stations and a variety of civic buildings worldwide, have used the geodesic dome for its space, strength and striking appearance.

And now, nestled in the hold of a ship steering for US shores, there is one more - the Yuzoz Dome, 1600kgs of glass arranged in Buckminster Fuller style into a structure of awesome proportions.

This will be our Mission Control centre; a glazed HQ rising out of the earth like an enormous shimmering bubble. Adorned with satellites and antannae and a million other cool things, it will look like a science fiction city. Inside, beneath the lofty curve of the transparent ceiling, the data we gather from space will be coded into our computers and transported all over the world, to anywhere a member of our community clicks the 'Yuzoz It' button, instantly generating a certified random response.

Sounds amazing, doesn't it?

Well, we're not quite there yet. We're still searching for a home for Yuzoz, and it's not as easy as it sounds. Where exactly can one plant an entire building's-worth of futuristic dome into the terrain? When you spend all your time looking to space, what place on earth can reinforce that live link to the beyond? Don't tell anyone, but we think we've found the place, and if all goes to plan, we'll be revealing it soon. Fingers crossed.

In the Yuzoz office, we've got our toes crossed too, hoping the structure survives its lengthy journey. Glass is a pretty strong material, and we chose it because transparency will allow onlookers to see exactly what wondrous things go on in the Yuzoz dome - but it's not the ideal substance to sustain days of being tossed about at sea. We're trying not to think about it. Hopefully, come August 2nd, our dome will arrive safe into harbour, and then the adventure will begin.

Wish us luck - and the Yuzoz Dome!

7/30/2007- posted by - Random-Lee - Brighton, UK

So the big news now is that some NASA astronauts drink before flying. In a Random –lee blog way back in January we spoke about the fear many have that space exploration may well be made up of human beings. I think it is worth quoting from the Random-Lee blog (www.myspace.com/liverandomlee) of January 13th:

Many in the space program don't appreciate the role of art in exploration. Instead, they have bought into all this "right-stuff" crap, that astronauts can't ooh and ahh when they see the sunrise over the earth for the first time from space or scream like a hot-headed Texas cowboy as they hurtle down towards the earth at thousands of miles an hour. The current head of NASA is Michael Griffin. He is a good guy. Wants to do the right thing, but doesn't know about music, doesn't know about the pain that art can produce nor the fear that comes with exploration of the unknown. It's just not in him. So how can he speak for all of us on space exploration? And it is just one of the reasons that NASA has lost its voice since the Apollo moon program. After the scouts should come the dreamers.

The engineers building our next generation of space hotels and rockets have to be open about the emotions from space. Robert Bigelow's new space hotel should include a place for quiet worship. I hope it does.

The fear is always just below the surface but few speak of it. I remember a revealing moment when the shuttle resumed flying after the Challenger accident. The commander of that first mission—STS-26--was Commander Fred Hauck. He was asked after the mission at a industry gathering how he had slept the night before the shuttle first lift-off in almost three years. Fred, to his credit, got quiet and said "a bottle of whiskey does wonders." Yeah, it does.

Sometimes there is nothing wrong to say that "punching a hole" in the sky is a hell of a way to travel and that it sure can be scary to think about floating in space or seeing an alien landscape. Dreams and fear go together. And if space is our vast subconscious than it may even be healthy to speak of the fear through the mediums of art and design and games and poetry and songs.

Better maybe than a bottle of whiskey.

7/25/2007- posted by - Random-Lee - Brighton, UK

Hey hey!

Sorry I haven't written in a while - everything's been really random! Yuzoz is getting ready to move offices to a bigger and better place, while we've been touring a few US deserts lately and trying to find a site for our new communication station - but more on that later!

I'm just back from the brilliant Exit Festival in Serbia, and boy did I have a great time! I thought I was mega lucky to have been to legendary UK festival Glastonbury this year already, and it was amazing - the Exit festival was great too, but it was a whole new animal! We camped right in the middle of the city, near the River Danube and right next to the impressive Petrovaradin Fortress, which is the massive castle-like construction where the actual festival is held.

Weirdly, Serbia mostly doesn't appear on the Sat Nav we had (shame we couldn't have taken photos ourselves from our Yuzoz-friendly satellites to tell us where we were!) but once we had crossed the border from Croatia we managed to find a fairly direct route (no random number generator required for once!) and get settled in. There were loads of locals from Novi Sad and elsewhere in Serbia, but also lots of people from the UK and all over Europe which was great to see.

I had never been to Serbia before, but it was really great - apparently the Exit festival began in 2000 as part of a protest by students against the regime of the country, and three years ago when they finally achieved freedom, the Exit festival not only provided a huge welcome to the Westerners who attended, but also had a massive feeling of hope and optimism for the future. You can still feel that vibe from many of the indigenous population as you make your way around the festival.

I have to say that my favourite acts were quite varied - Robert Plant was amazingly good fun; Snoop Dogg was fantastic ( though we wished he had been wearing the full top-hat-and-tails stuff instead of just a bling tracksuit, however many jewels were stuck to the microphone stand!). I love CSS (aka Cansei de ser Sexy) with all my heart, and even though we'd seen them at Glastonbury, (where lead singer Lovefoxxx combatted the gloomy British rain by wearing a sparkly jumpsuit with the sun painted on it - wicked!) I had to watch them again and sing along to their ultimate anthem, 'Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above'.

The crowd got a bit scary during the Prodigy's set (lots of pushing and moshing!) so we watched from a little further back but still had the time of our lives, jumping around like loons. We also had a great time watching some local Serbian death metal bands, though I can't for the life of me remember their names! I was a little too nervous to stay in the Dance Pit for very long, but it was amazing sight - hundreds of people dancing together in the steep-sided crater you could only access via the scaffolded stairway they had built in at one end.

We had fantastic weather - 35 degrees most days - which had a couple of bad side effects. We all got very dirty because the dust got stuck on our suncreamed arms, and the nauseating effect of festival toilets (if you've ever been to ANY festival you'll know what I mean) was magnifyied by the heat. Nevertheless, it was gorgeous to spend hot days walking around such a beautiful site - there was even a beach at the scene where you could take a dip if you fancied it! Not often you go to a festival held in a medieval fortress in the middle of a city with a beach right next to it, eh?

So yes - that was our great time at the Exit festival - I can really recommend it if you want to go to something a bit different next year in festival season. The country is beautiful and every time you go there you contribute to the local economy and help the place get back on its feet - plus you get to have a random time doing it! Sounds like a bargain to me.

If you were at Exit festival or Glastonbury this year, drop me a comment and tell me how you liked it! Or if you've been to another festival or are going to one later this summer, let us know at Yuzoz.com - tell us about your experiences or ideas and you could win a Yuzoz goodie bag!

Festively yours,

Random Lee xx

LIVE RANDOM!

7/15/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Everyone who believes in space exploration applauds the steps taken by Las Vegas businessman Robert Bigelow, who last week successfully launched his second inflatable platform Check it out at www.bigelowaerospace.com

For pennies compared to NASA, his company and their world-class engineering team has shown that the private sector can develop and launch not only innovative rockets, but also destinations in earth orbit. Equally cool, Bigelow seems to understand that we must look beyond hardware. His launch of a space bingo game demonstrates what we at Yuzoz have long said, that the true future in exploration is developing an emotional link to space.

That happens through games from space, from IMAX films shot in space and finally ridding ourselves of the notion that space is the special domain of government employees. Congrats to everyone at Bigelow Aerospace!

6/15/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Well, I did something a little random today; walking into the office I suddenly veered off to my right so that I could take the longer path along the Brighton beach front. You need to do something completely random every day; better than vitamins. And getting to the office a pleasant surprise; the guys at www.yourminis.com have put our Fathers Day widget on their very front page. Cool stuff. We know the whole idea of using the randomness of outer space to make fun decisions is a bit unusual. And the idea of branding randomness is like saying you want to have a pet tiger (most people have a love/hate relationship with randomness, with space, with the unknown); but for us, its, well, the pet tiger.

The widgets out now are just the beginning. If anyone, flash designers, etc. has a neat idea to promote our live connection to space, just let us know.

6/08/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

The Dice Man. Ever since we started speaking to people about a website on randomness and making it part of your life, some would get this funny look in their eyes and ask, “have you read The Dice Man”? It’s a dark novel about a psychiatrist named Luke Rhinehart who uses dice to make key decisions in his life. Written by George Cockcroft, the book was perfectly timed in 1971, as we were emerging from the optimism of the 1960’s into a more sober view of our chances in the world. I mean, at least, that is my attempt at literature review for today.

Cockcroft has continued the “genre” with Search for the Dice Man, and The Book of the Die, among others.

Given the theme of Yuzoz is to “live random”, we went ahead and asked him directly to give us his thoughts on the whole biz of randomness. And he has done so. So next week we will publish his interview with us. It’s a great way to begin the beta site and I think some of his answers will become permenent additions to our vocabulary. Lets just say it great to see a guy who has barely mellowed over time. Sometimes the best wines are those that stay edgey. So too the Dice Man himself.

6/07/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Widgets are coming! Mark has been working overtime to finish the Yuzoz widgets and we are there. Slowly, we will start uploading our Yuzoz decision makers. These widgets will truly let you make decisions based on the stars.

Each will allow up to five choices. Can’t decide on a wine to drink or who to see tonight? Let the stars decide. Of course, these widgets can sit on your desktop or anywhere but no matter where they are, they are connected live to the solar system.

Will get back later on our announcement of working with Games Marketing. Check out the press release on that. We are very proud of our first partner in promoting the Yuzoz Space Random Number Generator. Chris and Neal are very smart guys who see a whole range of games that could be “powered by Yuzoz”. They are out there now getting some feedback; I’ll have some further thoughts for you tomorrow.

5/25/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Washington, US

Google or Yuzoz? Which Road Are You On?

I know it is a bit presumptuous a week after launch to have a blog entry entering Google and our humble Yuzoz into the same sentence. But. According to the Financial Times of this week, Google’s corporate ambition is that one day soon the Google search engine will be able to “tell people what jobs to take and how they can spend their days off.”

Eric Schmidt, the chief executive, explained that their mathematical algorithms are early stage but the goal within five years is to tell their users “what shall I do tomorrow, and “what job shall I take.”

In other words, Google data miners believe they will soon develop sets of equations that break into numbers the very essence of our spirit, our hopes, and using past predicators (search engine terms, web sites visited,) “predict” the optimal future path for a person.

We at Yuzoz (humble little Yuzoz) have spent two years working algorithms to do the exact opposite. We believe spontaneity is the essence of the Internet of tomorrow. We believe that our users should act randomly; “letting the stars decide.” Your job? “Let the stars decide.” Where to eat tomorrow? “Let the stars decide.” Our “engine’ hmm, maybe we should call it the Yuzoz anti-search engine..but anyway, our “engine” takes the live pulses of the universe and answers your question.

Better accurate than Google’s billions of dollars worth of capabilities? Whose to say. I can say that we created Yuzoz hoping that people will understand how cool, how wonderful, how important randomness is in all our lives. Let’s hope it stays that way.

And speaking of prediction, what happens if more and more people (as they will) start to use Yuzoz? Google will be unable to predict the Yuzoz user. Let’s hope it stays that way.

5/24/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Washington, US

The marketing continues. Spoke to some reporters today who think Yuzoz is simply a publicity stunt. Nice. Makes you feel good for the over two years spent on developing the live connection to space, and the software engineers who came up with the system and the independent analysts who have verified the system and the astronomers and space scientists excited about supplying us with cool, live data.

I know, I'm grumpy. The life of an entrepreneur.

But I asked the reporters if they ever played a game on line. Sure they had. Did they know where the numbers came from? Did they know when they play poker on line how the card numbers were generated? Of course not.

Then I asked if they would feel more comfortable if the cards were generated by Yuzoz, with our transparent, honest, and live connection to the randomness of space.

Oh. They got it.

In about a week might be heading to the largest gaming exhibition in the world, at GIGSE in Montreal, to speak with the developers of all sorts of games of chance. Let's see what they think of a branded Random Number Generator connected to space.

OK, enough grumpiness for now.

5/23/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - New Mexico, US

Now, in the States, meeting people who may want to be associated with Yuzoz. They keep asking me why random is important. I mean, that seems to me a very silly question. Random is part of our lives, not just on the internet. But from the moment you log on with your (randomly) chosen password and (randomly) pick out news stories and (randomly) go about your day dreaming, you are embarking on a path each day that hopefully cannot be predicted.

There was a newspaper article that said 30% of people surf the web randomly. And for them this was a bad thing! Why? Isn't that what life should be about?

Sitting here looking at some of the early numbers on Yuzoz and it continues to surprise us how many people from different countries are checking us out. The magic of space attracts everyone, from all countries and all demographics. I see people are using us from Costa Rica, Russia, Columbia, Iceland, Japan, lots in Italy.

Speaking of which, we have been approached about doing an Italian version of Yuzoz. I think that is pretty cool, and we have to investigate this more, but I think the Italians would really get into lucky numbers and colors inspired from live space events. Maybe that is a gross generalization, but, that's what I'm thinking.

OK, so a few more steps in our quest and I'm kinda tired. Too much travel...even in this internet age

5/21/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - New Mexico, US

Our second week gets underway. Meetings today with some folks on a potential location for the Misson Control center.

The hope of course is that we can announce something in the next few weeks. Had dinner last night with one of the economic development officers and I have to tell you, it is a thrill for me to see how excited people get both when they talk about connecting to space and when they understand what Yuzoz is all about. I know at first it sounds funny, "live connection to space," or "making randomness part of your life". But then you start to think about all the ways we will use Yuzoz.

A short list this morning includes

The list makes me tired knowing all the work it involves. But, we will do it, with your help. Let us know what you think of randomness. Off to meetings now.

5/18/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Not easy work developing an international network to take the sounds of space and randomize the data. Tomorrow I head out to a potential site for our Mission Control room. We have been working for almost a year to find a place that meets our requirements.

First off, we had to design the dome, and we selected a very cool Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome as the basic structure. Its now built and waiting for us to find the right location.

The point of the Mission Control Center is to put into one location all the data we are getting down from space. Whether it comes from satellites or antennas or whatever, we can have it feed into the Center, and from there into our Yuzoz Generator and then come out to you when you press the Yuzoz button.

So, I am off to examine our third site. We want a place that is naturally beautiful, that reflects the feelings we have for Yuzoz and also says something about space.

I’m not mentioning where I am going as I don’t like to be one of those people who drops that we are doing here and there. But, its some cool sites we are visiting and we hope to announce the site location in a months time.

So I will be off for the weekend and back at you guys on Monday. Continue to have fun with the random selections—maybe that’s how we will decide the site for the dome, we will Yuzoz It.

5/17/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Something strange against my face while sitting on the train to London. It’s something warm. Oh, I know, it’s the sun, something not seen here for almost two weeks. Forgot about that.

OK, not a bad start to the launch of the site. Some very cool writers and artists wrote in interested in being interviewed. Don’t want to say any names yet so as not to jinx it, but real pleased they liked the site.

And heading to London because a company is interested in licensing our live connection to space. Another good start. Where were they six months ago? I guess everyone wants to see that we really can connect live to astronomical events and put it on the web and don’t screw it up. No promises guys.

Meanwhile Martin and Mark are working full time on getting our widgets “ready for prime-time.” They are really, really sharp. Think of it, widgets that float through cyberspace connected directly to outer space.

And Alan Boyle wrote a story on us. Thanks Alan. OK, I see people connected to us from every part of the world, just as we hoped, total of about five countries. Yeah, we are on our way.

5/16/2007- posted by - Jeffrey Manber - Brighton, UK

Our small office is frantic as we lurch towards opening.

It seems a very long time ago that I decided to pull back from the “space” program industry. You know, things like rockets and space stations. I figured that hardware for now is best left to the really smart engineers. But what about making people feel that connection to space? What about games in zero-gravity. Widgets based on solar flares and random astronomical events. And making random part of our lives. I never thought it would take a couple of years to open Yuzoz. But there you are. And here we are. With a beta site providing a live link to things taking place all around the solar system.

This morning we are letting all the pre-registrants know about the site. Kinda nervous. I know it doesn’t look like any other site. That’s good no? The first design from the Deep Blue folks in Atlanta was plain and we together worked to make the graphics what you see today.

Still, we are late. It took months to figure out the best way to connect to the satellites and get random data. Months working with TST Labs to get certified as being really, really random. Months taking what Deep Blue gave us and making it our own. Four months for that. Why Brighton? Well, I could say because of Mark, Pete, Martin, Faye and everyone else here but I didn’t know them then…but I knew Brighton is a cool spot with lots of creative people so here I am, by the sea and we are here thanks to everyone around the world who has been giving us help.

Why are we doing this? Hmm…next question.

Of course, this is only really, the first day of Yuzoz. I’m sure you don’t care about the past. What’s to come? All sorts of good stuff to make even stronger the link between space, randomness and us. Stay tuned.