It seems like everywhere I look right now, people are playing hardball.  I.e., taking tough / extreme positions and sticking to them ferociously.

The showdown in congress over the budget and Obamacare is one case. The republicans have shown that they are willing to take it to the wall, and the Dems are calling their bluff.

The incredible story of the Silk Road’s demise is another.  This article detailing the story of Silk Road’s founder and his capture is a must read.  One way of looking at Ross Albricht’s (aka Dread Pirate Roberts) motivation was to give people a “taste of freedom” — i.e., it wasn’t about making money, but was simply about avoiding the power of the state.

Then, of course, there’s Snowden and the giant ripple of stories around him.  The latest to emerge is the story of (now shuttered) supposedly-secure email provider Lavabit’s resistance to the FBI’s request to decrypt all of their customers’ data.  They responded by supplying their 2,560 character SSL keys, printed out in 11 pages of 4pt type.  When the FBI complained and the judge ordered them to supply an electronic copy, Lavabit chose to shut down instead.

I suppose this is nothing new, but it also feels like maybe there’s something in common going on here.  A certain amount of pent up frustration, maybe.  Maybe we’re all watching too many reality shows and episodes of house of cards, because on one level this is all really exciting and fun (while being terrifying when you really think about it).  

But it seems like we’re seeing more and more absolute power, end runs, and dug-in fights.  The kid would say that this is just the beginning of the revolution. Not that I know what that feels like actually, but it does kind of feel that way.

As the federal government shuts down, there is no shortage of predictions about how it will shake out, when it will end, and who will take the blame.

Speaking of predictions (how’s that for a segue?), David Eaves (who writes a great blog for those who like the intersection of cities, governments and policy) just announced that the Open311 Prediction Data Competition is now live.  David and and the good folks at SeeClickFix are sponsoring this, as a follow on to a recent hackathon on the same topic.

For those not familiar: 311 is a semi-generic name for issue-reporting and question-asking/answering systems in cities (in Boston it’s called Citizens Connect).  In many cities, 311 is the city’s customer service desk, and was originally designed to simply make navigating the city bureaucracy easier. It was actually Bloomberg’s first major policy initiative in 2002.  

But, like a lot of data rich services, 311 has evolved to support secondary uses.  First, it’s essentially a citizen-sensor network, which, among other things, was credited with solving NYC’s Maple Syrup Smell mystery.

And second, it has potential as a predictive system.  There are all kinds of leading indicators hidden inside 311 data.  For example (and this one is logical and obvious, which still doesn’t mean it’s easy to see without data), Chicago used 311 data to predict when and where rodent problems would spike, based on 311 complaints about trash as the leading indicator.  This is just a tiny example of how big data sets like 311 can be used to make predictions that can help cities deploy their scarce resources more effectively.

So, if you’re into cities, data hacking and predictive analytics, check out the competition on Kaggle.

Related: Nate Silver is hiring stats- and prediction-savvy writers to focus on politics, sports and economics for FiveThirtyEight.com.   What a cool bunch of jobs those will be for the right people.

Here’s a plug for Anthony Townsend's new book, Smart Cities (which I haven’t read yet but have discussed with him throughout the making).  I can’t wait to get my hands on it, and suspect that it’ll be an enlightening read for anyone watching the “smart cities” / “civic hacking” space.

The angle I’m most interested in is this one, mentioned the Kirkus review:

Townsend especially focuses on the clash between industry’s cookie-cutter approach to smart-city building and the quirky local approach of civic hackers pushing decentralized and democratic alternatives. The author, who has been personally involved in creating free public Wi-Fi, sympathizes with young people, who have been weaned on the mobile Web and social media and are experimenting with human-centered designs based on grass-roots smart-city technologies—e.g., mobile apps, community wireless networks and open-source microcontrollers. Townsend covers topics from mass urban surveillance to how the poor can benefit from smart technologies, and he offers his own principles for creating human-centered smart cities.

Authoritative, information-packed must-read for urban policymakers.

Congrats Anthony on getting this up and out!