The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century

Byron Sonne, dubbed by some folks in the media as the “G20 Geek” was found not guilty on all counts today.  Byron is a computer consultant and a freedom-and-technology activist who wanted to expose the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit’s “security theatre” — measures taken by security that serve little actual purpose except to present a false image of security and to justify the security team’s budget — and wound up being arrested and accused of planning to detonate bombs at the event.

Byron faced some pretty tough opponents: a police force who’d pretty much used the summit as an excuse to make mass arrests and crack some skulls, detective Tam Bui playing the bad cop’s bad cop, and Liz Nadeau as the prosecutor determined to justify the security theatre. His house was raided, he and his wife were arrested, he was put in prison for nearly a year, his stuff was confiscated and his ability to use a computer — the tool of his livelihood — was seriously curtailed. In the process, he lost not just his freedom, but also his wife.

While I don’t agree with the way in which Byron went to point out the security theatre of the G20 Summit, I believe that as the citizenry that is supposed to be served by the security mechanism put in place (and we were very badly served), we have the right to call it out. Byron’s arrest and the prosecution’s actions during the trial were just extensions of that security theatre, and his exoneration is one small step to justice being served. He would be justified in taking legal action against the police — they’re the real criminals in this case.

Congrats, Byron! I’m buying you a freedom beer when we next see each other.

Recommended Reading

• FreeByron.org: A site providing information about Byron Sonne’s case put together by his supporters.
• How Byron Sonne’s obsession with the G20 security apparatus cost him everything: A Toronto Life article covering his case as it was last year.
• Everything You Need to Know About the Byron Sonne Trial: His case explained, in timeline form.

I took this photo yesterday on the south side of Adelaide, just east of Jarvis. There wasn’t anybody using the door to load stuff on or off a supply truck, nor was anybody using or watching it:

Here’s a close-up of the sign:

Be warned, it’s pretty sweary, but the show itself has gratuitous cursing, violence and sex. That’s why we love it, and that’s why Anitra and I like to call the show “Boobs and Beheadings”.

Here are the stars of the 1986 film Top Gun (which you can probably see playing somewhere on TV right now), as they appeared in 1986 and as they appear today:

Somewhere in Tom Cruise’s cellar, there’s a portrait of him aging and bearing the mark of every act he performed in the service of the Church of Scientology.

Ah, Top Gun…

I’m a little tied up doing some Mother’s Day stuff, so this is going to be a quick post. To all of you who are moms, whether it’s biologically or because you played that role in someone’s life, Happy Mother’s Day! The world’s a better place because of you.

I hate it when my fellow techies say “so simple your mom could use it”. My mom is the chief of cardiology at a major metropolitan hospital and can tell the difference between a healthy heart and one with a blockage just by listening. To me, it all sounds like fluid rushing through pipes. She could kill you and make it look like natural causes. And she was the one who suggested that I do my science fair project on computers, a path from which I’ve never strayed since. So I never use “mom” to refer to a naive, technophobic user, and really , neither should you. Moms have more going on than you might think, and Alexandra Samuel explains this in Thank Your Mom — She Taught You How to Tech.

In closing, here’s a graphic courtesy of George “That’s Captain Sulu to you!” Takei for all you fans of Mother’s Day and Alien:

Here’s an interesting idea for a film: newspaper reporters try to find out what’s going on with a guy who places a classified ad that reads:

WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.

Funny thing: the movie’s plot traces its origins to an actual classified ad placed in Backwoods Home Magazine back in 1997:

I think I’ll have to catch this movie when it comes out.