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September 29, 2007
Cocoa Sample Code: SimplePicture
In the ongoing quest to remember that not everyone is a Cocoa expert, I put together a small image viewing app which shows you a number of basic Cocoa techiques. Everyone, meet SimplePicture. SimplePicture — everyone...
A Teacher's Legacy
Examiner column for October 1.
George W. has been thinking about his legacy, and his departure is 16 months away. I have also been thinking of my more modest legacy as a public school teacher. Many of us baby boomers are within a few years of retiring from our current postions; what will be our legacies?
Bush will, like his father and Bill Clinton, stay in the “game” by taking on favorite causes. In two years I will continue to teach writing on the college level. But I’ll no longer be getting up in the dark. It may not be “retirement,” but it will be a longer night’s sleep.
How much do teachers affect students? Many of my students don’t even remember my name the following year. Younger siblings sometimes turn up in my class and I ask: “ Didn’t I teach your brother George?” They return later with, “George thinks he might have had you for English, but he isn’t sure. He wasn’t that good at English.”
There are, of course, the students who remember you forever because you caught them at a time when whatever you were teaching meshed with whatever their brains were ready to absorb. Much of a teacher’s effect has to do with the student’s readiness and not the teacher’s skill.
Yet I find myself noting, “This is the second to last Back-to-School-Night,” or “I will only teach “1984” one more time. There is the wistful moment when I think of the many years I have spoken to nervous parents in the fall and tried to reassure them, and the decades I have bonded with students over our mutual hatred of surveillance and government oversight. “One more time,” I think to myself, as I close my classroom door.
Concurrent with this nostalgia is my realistic awareness that high school is four years long and that students’ memories are short. A colleague died 18 months ago and no one at Oakton ever mentions him anymore, even though he taught English there for more than 20 years.
Retirees from our department are welcomed warmly when they come back as substitute teachers, but they, too, are aware that students don’t see them as veteran experts returning to do them a favor. They’re just “subs” in those classes.
And so I think my legacy has to remain largely in my own consciousness since I can’t really depend on the school or students to remember me. I helped design a very popular interdisciplinary Advanced Placement course, “Senior Seminar,” that may or may not survive my departure. If it dies, I can’t assume it was a failure, since hundreds of students benefited from it over the years.
Similarly, my effect on students’ love of theatre or reading may very well go unacknowledged by the student and by me. Perhaps they now buy tickets to the Shakespeare Theatre because they went for the first time in my class. I will never know.
For many of us, our legacies may be virtually invisible, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. There must be a special place where teachers’ accomplishments live on. I know my own teachers live on in me.
Erica Jacobs soldiers on at Oakton High School and George Mason University. Email her at ejacob1@gmu.edu.
Revver pays $1 million to video creators and promoters
Earlier this month Revver announced that it had paid $1 million to video creators and promoters over the past year. Revver has been a pioneer in combining CC licensing (videos on Revver are licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives) and compensation to creators via an ad-based model. Creative Commons used Revver as part of its fall fundraising campaign last year (watch Wanna Work Together).
Congratulations to the video creators and promoters on Revver, and to Revver!
Blip.tv and Lulu.tv are two other video sites combining CC licensing (Blip.tv supports any CC license; Lulu.tv, like Revver, only uses BY-NC-ND) and user payouts.
Hillary Proposes $5,000 "Baby Bonds" For Newborns
Hillary Clinton yesterday proposed a "Baby Bonds" program, in which the government would give newborns $5,000 in an interest-bearing account that would become available to them at age 18, for the purposes of paying for college, going towards home ownership or other causes. The cost would be roughly $20 billion per year.
ABC News notes that Hillary proposed something similar in 2006, only then it was $500.
Postseason Odds Updates All Weekend As Games Finish
At 4:00 eastern time Saturday the Mets‘ finished off a 13-0 thrashing of the Marlins.
INDAY UPDATE: The Mets’ thrashing of the Marlins raises their playoff chances from 21.0% to 31.1%: division champ chance up from 17.6 to 25.6, wild card up from 3.5 to 5.5. It cuts the Phillies‘ chances from 82.4/1.5/84.0 to 74.4/2.4/76.9. The chance of an NL East tie, which would require a playoff game, is up to 34.0%.
The Mets’ victory drops the Padres‘ wild card chances from 82.5 to 79.9 and the Rockies‘ chances from
4.4 to 4.0. The chance of a wild card playoff game is up from 16.3 to 19.8%; the chance of a three-way tie is
up from 4.8 to 7.7 and a four-way tie is up from 1.8 to 3.0%.
Reporting from the Manaphy event
What an amazing day! I took my daughter and one of her friends with me when we made the trip down. After a 45 minute drive we arrived!
When we entered the store we saw a small collection of Pokemon toys. A few steps later and we were in the video game section where a small crowd of Pokemon players had already gathered.
There were a lot of kids there for the event and a few adults. Like me, those adults “claimed” to be there to get the Pokemon because their kids could not make it. After a few minutes of talking it quickly became apparent which adults were there for their kids and which were their for themselves!
After downloading Manaphy into my two game cartridges I talked to some of the others who were there doing trades. I managed to trade about 30 Pokemon all told. I cleaned out all of my leftover Totodiles and Gibles today! i also traded away a few other Pokemon that were in demand that I knew I could easily replace (Elekid, Lugia, Piplup).
While trading the two kids I brought with me were spreading the word about PokeFarm among all the other kids there. So, if this is your first visit to the farm then I bid you welcome!
Because I acquired a second Manaphy I will be giving the extra one away in a contest.
Because there are so many Pokemon fans in my area I’m going to be going forward with a plan to host some local Pokemon events at a wired cafe near me.
All in all we had a great time and made some great trades. If you are new here don’t forget to check out our forum!
September 28, 2007
remission
Even though they haven't released anything worth listening to since Dwayne Goettel died in 1995, Skinny Puppy has been a favorite band of mine since I first heard them 15 years ago.
Most of the ice-cold music I've posted here in the past has been, to my ears, directly descended from Skinny Puppy's 1984 EP, Remission. It's a perfect example of self-confidence absent the inflated expectations of a demanding fanbase, a trait also found in early Orbital records and Skinny Puppy's later albums Bites and Mind: T.P.I.
Meeting Gary Fisher by chance
“Ah, nothing’s to chance,” Gary Fisher said and we talked briefly about the Simple City, the bike revolution, politics, his travels, and more. We met at the Vegas Airport. He just finished his meal and we were getting ours.
I hope we can talk more with Gary. We had a lot in common and I think more than just chance.
ToppsWorld
Yeah, I know. I haven't posted lately. But I have good reason: I've been busy. First, I moved out of my apartment. Second, I've been fleshing out the idea of 'ToppsWorld.' I've got it separated into five zones (like Disney World's 'lands' concept): HQ New York (or simply 'New York'); WizKidZone; Parallel Universe; Training Camp; and Duryealand. There would also be an open-air bus that would connect all four parts, the Bazooka Tram. Finally, the park would be rounded out by the on-premises hotel, Chez O Pee Chee.
Park Checklist for 'ToppsWorld'
HQ New York
The Haunted Vault
Brooklyn: Topps Museum & Hall of Fame
Garbage Pail Alley
Don't Get Dumped! (water ride, each car is shaped like a case of High-Series 1952 Topps)
Mr. Mantle's Wild Ride
A-Rod's Bullshit Home Run Sidewalk (500 squares of cement with a different number on each one)
Hero Parade (every day at 11am)
Heritage Cafe (restaurant)
The Warehouse (store)
Connects to other areas and Chez O Pee Chee via Bazooka Tram
WizKidZone
Push Pops Candy A-Go-Go
Dr. Shorin's Mixed-Up Wacky Package Fun House
HeroClix Something Or Other Ball Pit
Bowman Town (rides for small kids; Canadian-themed)
All Star Rookies (restaurant)
Topps of the Class (store)
Connects to other areas and Chez O Pee Chee via Bazooka Tram
Parallel Universe
Refractor Mountain
Sequentially-Numbered Experience
Escape From eTopps!
Chrome (restaurant)
Rip Party (store)
Connects to other areas and Chez O Pee Chee via Bazooka Tram
Training Camp
The Dotted Line (make your own card, sign a fake contract)
Topps Hero Village (batting cages, basketball hoop games, football pass exercises, other stuff)
Hey Mister! (get autographs from visiting sports stars and legends, live and in-person!)
Signatures (restaurant)
The Parking Lot (store)
Connects to other areas and Chez O Pee Chee via Bazooka Tram
Duryealand
Dream Street: 1) regular house filled to burst with cards, 2) Swap Meet: trade for special World of Topps cards, 3) Shorin's Candy Shop: olde timey candy shop sells reprint cards in 5 cent packs (also Duryealand restaurant), 4) Topps Factory
The Topps Factory Tour, hosted by animatronic Bazooka Joe (actually partially reprogrammed cast-off Chuck E. Cheese with blond wig, inexplicable eye patch and backwards hat)
Factory Store (largest store on premises)
Connects to other areas and Chez O Pee Chee via Bazooka Tram
Chez O Pee Chee Hotel & Convention Center
XFractor (nightclub on premises)
Mergers'N'Buyouts (store)
Greg Oden's Knee (restaurant/movie theater with lots of legroom)
You may laugh it the idea of 'ToppsWorld' (and it's okay – it's funny), but the more I thought about it this week, the more plausible it became. Especially with Eisner at the helm. Because for all the boom that the baseball card hobby has enjoyed this year, cards have yet to make the jump from 'hobby' to 'mainstream kitsch' (which is really where it should be).
On a related note, Topps has started selling t-shirts on its website. And while that's a fine start, are those same shirts available at stores like Urban Outfitters? Or even Wal-Mart? Cards may be what Topps think it sells, but of course any psychology student can tell you that what Topps sells is much larger than 2.5" x 3.5".
Just you wait and see: after a few years of smart marketing, a pipe dream like 'ToppsWorld' won't seem so far fetched.
matt webb, sooooper genius
Ah, the genmon Twitter stream. Worth every iota of attention, esp. when it produces gems like this: "Oh, gtd is finite state machines. What other computing paradigms can become life org methodologies".
Photo of the Day: Rice Field
Photograph from Tamaki on Flickr
This is what rice looks like before it finds its way to your plate. This rice field happens to be in Miyagi Perfecture, Japan. Flickr member Tamaki lives nearby and has posted a beautiful set of photos of the rice field at various times of year.
Stingy Kids: I was thrilled to learn this week that the poet, translator, and publisher Peter Cole was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (otherwise known as "the genius grant")
Translating With
Some of my translations appear this month at Kritya, an online journal of poetry and translation, which is published in India (NB: Because of the way the page is formatted, some of the line breaks in the translations are incorrect.). About a month ago, Eran Tzelgov, one of the founding editors of Daka (literally, "minute"), a relatively new Israeli literary journal, approached me with the opportunity to translate some poems from the first two issues. The result is some of the poems on the Kritya site. Other poems will make their appearance at the 2008 Austin International Poetry Festival and, hopefully, in other journals. Translation is always a collaboration to a degree. There are people I approach, for feedback and comments, at the beginning of a project and others at the end, depending on the requirements of the particular project. But ultimately, it's my name that appears after "translated by." This was the first time, however, that I shared credit. The line between "what is mine" and "what is yours" is often blurred in co-translation (or collaborative translation) but it becomes very clear at which point you've crossed from "feedback and suggestions" to actively building the translation together. I've long admired the work of co-translators Chana Kronfeld and Chana Bloch, who have collaborated on Yehuda Amichai's last book Patuach sagur patuach (Open Closed Open) and a collection of poems by Dahlia Ravikovitch (forthcoming), but always wondered how exactly co-translation happens. I have some sense of it now but I'm interested in reading more on the topic and pursuing collaborative projects in the future.
"War Profiteers Read My Weblog"
Disturbing Search Request of the decade: 213.42.21.150, searching Google for “who would handle a commercial shipment of arms and ammunitions from Sharjah to Baghdad”. That’ll be someone downstream of AS5384, or Etisalat (Emirates Telecom), the UAE’s fun-loving national telco monopoly, best known for blocking more websites than China.What’s crazy is that this weblog is a useful search result in this case. You to firms like Tenir Airlines. A quick check of the Sharjah International Airport departures page would show you a Tenir flight just left Sharjah for Bagram, only 18 minutes behind schedule.
Rosie the free range chicken
I waited by the chicken door to see if any of the birds would exercise the
option and stroll down the little ramp to their grassy yard, which had been mowed recently. And waited. I finally had to conclude that Rosie the organic free-range chicken doesn't really grok the whole free-range conceit.Reading an Awesome book title "The Omnivore's dilemma"
This is a witty and informative book. As a vegetarian I pay a whole lot of attention to what I eat. The information in this book tells you that it isn'tjust about brand names and ingredient lists. Rather, you have to think about the sources food, and the food's sources, and origin of those sources all the way back to the water, lnad and even the sun.
Highly recommended and really for everyone because we all eat.
MacArthur Awards Poet Translator
I was thrilled to learn this week that the poet, translator, and publisher Peter Cole was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (otherwise known as "the genius grant"). Cole and his wife Adina Hoffman are the founders and, with Gabriel Levin, editors of Ibis Editions, a small press based in Israel that is committed to promoting cross-cultural understanding in the Levant (They deliberately avoid the term "Middle East."). On their "about" page they describe their objectives as follows:
The press publishes translations from Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, French, and the other languages of the region. New writing is published, though special attention is paid to overlooked works from the recent and distant past. Ibis aims to make a modest contribution to the literature of this part of the world by drawing together a group of writers and translators whom both politics and market-forces would otherwise keep far apart, or out of print altogether. Ibis is motivated by the belief that literary work, especially when translated into a common language, can serve as an important vehicle for the promotion of understanding between individuals and peoples, and for the discovery of common ground.Small literary presses are more often than not labors of love and Ibis Editions is no exception. But the MacArthur Fellowship also recognizes Cole's astounding translations of contemporary Israeli and Palestinian literature (Taha Muhammad Ali, Yoel Hoffman, Aharon Shabtai, Harold Schimmel and others) and Medieval Hebrew poetry. This year, Princeton University Press published the anthology The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492, 576 pages of poems translated by Cole. He is also the author of the poetry collections Rift (1989), Hymns & Qualms (1998), and What Is Doubled: Poems 1981-1998 (2005).
To learn more about Ibis and Cole's thoughts on translation and poetry, I highly recommend reading the transcript of Leonard Schwartz's radio interview with Cole. To go directly to a PDF sampler of poems from his most recent collection, click these words. I also encourage you to browse the Ibis catalogue and support its editors, writers and translators with a purchase.
A night the letters fell from the wall
like startled minnows, shimmering...
--from "Torches" by Peter Cole (in Rift)
Where Fancy Takes Me
Between classes, dissertation and an exhilirating translation project (which I can't disclose yet), I haven't had much time for exploring literary life on the internet. But clearly I get distracted because by Friday morning, my desktop is (again) clouded with links "saved for later."
The April 2007 issue of Poetry was devoted to translation and included a poem by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, translated by Paul Muldoon. The poem, "The Mermaid in the Hospital," was my favorite piece in that issue. A complete translation of Ní Dhomhnaill's "mermaid poems" is forthcoming. I've been meaning to read more of and about her work. She writes in Irish and also actively encourages bold translations of her poems. To quote from the PIW introduction to her work (linked to above): "Ní Dhomhnaill questions translation approaches that call for extreme fidelity to the original Irish text, and prefers instead to grant her English translators with full creative license to render her original Irish poems into aesthetic texts for English-speaking audiences."
I like to imagine an anthology of poems featuring mermaids and sea-horses:
Then all the dry-pied things that be
In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently,
All looking up for the love of me.
And if I should carol aloud, from aloft
All things that are forked, and horned, and soft
Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,
All looking down for the love of me."The Mermaid" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
Christopher Reid published a volume of poems titled Mermaids Explained. But I must have saved a link to this interview with Reid because it addresses the theme of translation that runs through his work, which I've never read. His third book, Katerina Brac, is a translation of works by a ficitional poet. It's going on my list of books to buy immediately.
I subscribe to the Writer's Almanac but when the week gets hectic many of their messages end up unopened and later discarded. The one email from WA that I opened this week featured the poem "The Fabric of Life" by Kay Ryan (scroll down to September 27). Her lines are taut, tremendously compressed. I've been thinking about line and breath lately so I'll be taking a closer look at her work. In 2006 Ryan appeared on the NewsHour with Jim Leher. "Silence means a great deal to me, and I've learned to distinguish a great number of forms of silence. My poems talk about a palpable silence, that creamy, latexy kind of silence that we know, even when we're experiencing it as a giant luxury, like a dream luxury. There is an angry silence, which is a very different and unpleasant form of silence." Take a moment to read "Blandeur."
Kevin Shay interviewed Robert Pinsky when he was sixteen years old. I enjoyed every bit of this interview. Here's a highlight:
CG: What words of advice would you give to aspiring young poets?
RP: Find something you’ve read that you love. Memorize it, type it up on a piece of paper with your own hands, and put it on the wall above your toaster, and say it to yourself in the shower. Find things that you really love, not because the teacher said they were good but because you love them, and try to acquire as many things like that as possible—things that you know so well you feel as if you had written them.
Absolutely. Susan Stewart's "Yellow Stars and Ice" has been on the wall adjacent to my desk for almost two years.
Desktop Status: Clear, momentarily. A threat of afternoon showers looms.
The Five-Way Tie is Dead. Long Live the Four-Way Tie!
My post from yesterday on playoff tie scenarios was incorrect. In that post I wrote:
In fact, the fact that the Diamondbacks and the Rockies cannot finish with the same record is also rather detrimental to the prospect of a “true” four-team tie. For example, let’s say that the following happens:
Padres go 1-2, finish at 89-73
Phillies go 2-1, finish at 89-73
Mets go 2-1, finish at 89-73
Rockies (playing Diamondbacks) go 2-1, finish at 89-73
Diamondbacks (playing Rockies) go 1-2, finish at 90-72That creates four teams tied at 89-73 … but in Major League Baseball’s eyes, this represents two two-way ties rather than one four-way tie. The Phillies play the Mets for the NL East title. The loser of that game is at 89-74, and therefore is no longer tied for the Wild Card. So you simply have the Padres and Rockies, both 89-73, in a one-game playoff for the Wild Card slot.
I apologize for the error. This used to be correct, but it simply isn’t any longer. From Clay Davenport (and a couple dozen loyal readers):
Sorry, Nate, but I think you are wrong about your four-way tie scenario.
MLB changed it a couple years ago, so that, quote,Any playoff games played to determine a Division champion shall not count in determining which Clubs are deemed tied for a Wild Card designation. Clubs that were originally tied with a Club or Clubs for a Wild Card designation shall still be considered tied.
That is from scenario 5 in this press release.
For scheduling purposes, MLB would probably make the Rockies and Padres play-off while the Phils and Mets decided their division title. The loser of Phillies/Mets would then play the winner of COL/SD, i.e, be team C.
Thus, there remain two distinct scenarios by which a four-way tie can still be achieved. My apologies again, and I hope you can forgive the confusion.
Errol Morris writes several hundred words about two iconic photos...
Errol Morris writes several hundred words about two iconic photos taken by Roger Fenton during the Crimean War, during which he explores the interplay between "clear" evidence and the interpretation of that evidence by people with different agendas and ideas.
As I've said elsewhere: Nothing is so obvious that it's obvious. When someone says that something is obvious, it seems almost certain that it is anything but obvious - even to them. The use of the word "obvious" indicates the absence of a logical argument - an attempt to convince the reader by asserting the truth of something by saying it a little louder.
This might be the best blog post I've ever read. I can't wait to see Standard Operating Procedure, Morris' upcoming documentary on Abu Ghraib and, from what it sounds like, the culmination of his exploration of truth in photography.
(link)
● Star Wars viewing order
Look, I know it's Friday you're just looking for some fun stuff to end the work week with, but we've got a pressing matter to discuss. Let's say you're a new father and a movie fan. When your child is of an appropriate age to start watching movies, in which order will you show him/her the six Star Wars movies? By original release date (Star Wars, Empire, Jedi, Phantom Menace, Clones, Sith) or according to the intra-movie chronology (Phantom Menace, Clones, Sith, Star Wars, Empire, Jedi)?
We're currently leaning toward by original release date, but I can see the advantages of the other way around too. At dinner the other night, a friend asserted that not only was original release date the way to go, but that viewing the original versions on VHS was essential as well. I believe the relevant tapes and a cheapo VCR have been stashed away for this purpose already.
What do you think? How would you approach this? (thx to rehan for the suggested topic)
(Comment on this)
The Extended Family in New Jersey
In our modern culture, everybody tries to get their own. Kids want their own room, and when they grow up, they want their own place to live. Living in an extended family -- many of us third-generation immigrants would need...
Creating the Doomsday Yawn
One professor's quest to create a Doomsday Yawn. Also: can humans transmit yawns to other animals? (via tir)
September 27, 2007
The Five-Way Tie Strikes Out
Joe Sheehan made a comment tonight about how he hoped that the Dodgers would beat the Rockies, because this would preserve the possibility of a five-way tie. I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about at first, but here’s the deal … the Diamondbacks enter the last weekend of the season with 89 wins, and the Rockies 87. So, the Rockies would need to gain exactly two games on the Diamondbacks to facilitate the five-way tie. The problem is that the two teams play one another this weekend, and there is no way to wind up with a +2 swing for the Rockies. If the Rockies sweep the series, that’s a +3, and they’ll finish a game up on the Diamondbacks. And if they win two out of three, that’s a +1, and they’ll finish one game behind. So the possibility of the five-way tie is dead.
In fact, the fact that the Diamondbacks and the Rockies cannot finish with the same record is also rather detrimental to the prospect of a “true” four-team tie. For example, let’s say that the following happens:
Padres go 1-2, finish at 89-73 Phillies go 2-1, finish at 89-73 Mets go 2-1, finish at 89-73 Rockies (playing Diamondbacks) go 2-1, finish at 89-73 Diamondbacks (playing Rockies) go 1-2, finish at 90-72That creates four teams tied at 89-73 … but in Major League Baseball’s eyes, this represents two two-way ties rather than one four-way tie. The Phillies play the Mets for the NL East title. The loser of that game is at 89-74, and therefore is no longer tied for the Wild Card. So you simply have the Padres and Rockies, both 89-73, in a one-game playoff for the Wild Card slot.
The only remaining scenario for a “true” four-team tie is if exactly the following happens:
Padres go 2-1, finish at 90-72 Phillies go 3-0, finish at 90-72 Mets go 3-0, finish at 90-72 Rockies (playing Diamondbacks) go 3-0, finish at 90-72 Diamondbacks (playing Rockies) go 0-3, finish at 89-73If that happens, you have playoff games in the East and West on Monday, and then the losers have a consolation game to determine the Wild Card on Tuesday. By the way, this scenario would eliminate the possibility of a tie in the NL Central, because the Padres are playing the Brewers and the Brewers need to win at least 2 out of 3 games to have a shot at tying the Cubs. So the highest conceivable number of playoff games is three.
There remain, rest assured, several quite plausible possibilities involving a three-way tie for the Wild Card.
airport terminal infographics
a site-specific digital art exhibition of 5 different projects exploring themes of contemporary air travel & the architecture of airports at Toronto Pearson International Airport."Arrivals & Departures" is a "terribly impractical" dynamic display of airline arrival & departure times that reacts to the dynamic movements of passers-by.
"Touch & go" is an interactive animation that explores the secret life of the airport icon. users can send the "hero" on random encounters with the hazards & pitfalls of his flatland existence.
"Passage Oublie" is an interactive artwork allowing the public to send text messages that are then animated along flight trajectories on a map featuring airports involved in rendition flights.
this media installation was part of Year Zero One's Terminal Zero One installation at the Toronto International Airport.
[links: shiffman.net (arrivals & departures) touchandgoproject.ca (touch & go) & passageoublie.org (passage oublie)|thnkx Christopher]
Michelle Obama Didn't Say Iowa Win Essential, After All
Below we noted that the Quad City Times had quoted Michelle Obama saying that if her husband doesn't win Iowa, it's all over. But it looks like she didn't say this, after all. The campaign has sent out the following transcript of her actual remarks:
“Iowa will make the difference. If Barack doesn't win Iowa, it's just a dream, but if we win Iowa, then we can move the world as it should be. And we need your help in making that happen so join me."Not the same at all, obviously.
Freedom From Choice
A.J. Jacobs, master of the year-long book stunt, spent a year trying to live by all the rules dictated in the Bible. As stunts go, it's not that interesting to me ("Hey, I grew a beard!"), but one of the lessons he mentioned learning in this Newsweek interview indicates he really did go in with an open mind:
We all talk about freedom of choice, but there’s something very attractive about freedom from choice. Religion provides structure, mooring, anchoring. Should you covet? No. Should you give 10 percent to the needy? Yes. It really structures your life. After my year I felt unmoored, overwhelmed by choice. I have adjusted, but I’m still overwhelmed by choice, as we all are in America.
There's an analogy here about why those who preach simplicity in the realm of technology sound so much like they're preaching religion, and why those who agree with them often take on a near-religious fervor, but I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Hoefler & Frere-Jones on InterCapping:
Suddenly, intercaps have a genuine purpose: invisible to machines, they aid human comprehension, which is ultimately the goal of all typography.
A few years ago, urban legends began to circulate about the accidentally funny URLs of Powergen Italia, Pen Island, and Therapist Finder (you do the math.) To this day, those hoping to connect with their favorite Hollywood starlets can do so at the alarming website whorepresents.com. All of these mixups could have been avoided — or amplified — by a little creative intercapping.
So along with mayonnaise, diesel engines, and high-waisted pants, we think it's time to bring back the intercap.
Bad News for Us Diet Soda Addicts
My wife has been asking me to give up diet soda for years, but I've managed to keep her at bay by telling her that, at the very least, drinking diet soda reduces my sugar intake.
Well, the Gourmet magazine email newsletter I just received says the opposite may be true. It mentions a recent study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York City, in which researchers concluded that "drinking diet soda actually causes your body to absorb more sugar. Turns out that artificial sweeteners trigger the same taste receptors in the small intestine that glucose does, releasing hormones that absorb sugar into the bloodstream."
I'm afraid I'm going to have to come up with another rationale to justify my Fresca and Diet Coke regimen.
Sagrada Familia from Park Güell
From on top of Park Güell, it feels like you can reach out and touch the city. I took this shot with a 135mm, but it kind of feels like I used a much longer zoom to pick out the Sagrada Familia.
FastScripts 2.3.4
Those of you who are using FastScripts with the forthcoming Leopard 10.5 operating system from Apple will want to upgrade to FastScripts 2.3.4, which works better in that environment.
I don’t talk a lot about FastScripts these days, because I’ve been so busy focusing on other applications. But it’s still a really big part of my workflow here, and I don’t know what I would do without it!
Often I get feedback from people who have finally figured out how FastScripts can help them. The recurring theme to this feedback is “I had no idea it could do that!” So let me try to summarize some of FastScripts’s selling points more effectively than the current product page does:
- It lets you open or run (almost) anything, instantly by keystroke. Yes, it supports shell scripts, AppleScripts, applications, Automator actions, and can even open documents for you. Just put them in the Scripts folder.
- Its keyboard shortcuts can replace almost any menu item shortcut in any application, redefining the behavior with a script.
- Its context-specific behavior for Applications lets you define shortcuts for just one app, without affecting other apps.
- It installs in your menu bar, but is not a hack. It’s “just an app.”
- Built-in “On Screen Display” functionality lets you show nifty Growl-style feedback, even if you don’t run Growl.
- Oh yeah, it’s particularly good at running scripts quickly, without taking focus away from your target application, and without frustrating you.
I recently showed off some of my FastScripts tricks to the local CocoaHeads group here in Boston, yielding some oohs and aahs (and one immediate sale!). A lot of people are familiar with the awesome “everything launchers” such as LaunchBar and Quicksilver, but are increasingly less familiar with the benefits of an old-fashioned “macro” setup. I think this “one stroke and you’re done” approach still has a place, and can make you a lot more productive.
The biggest difference between FastScripts and these apps is FastScripts doesn’t strive to be a general-purpose launcher. It’s a paring knife where those apps are a cleaver. Its primary purpose is to alter the landscape of your Mac so that the results you want, in Mail, the Finder, Safari, whatever, are available at the pressing of a single keystroke.
Opening oysters by sound
There's a great piece of information almost buried in the article about Spanish chef Ángel León in the October Gourmet (which is awesome, btw). Chef León isn't just a chef, but also a scientist/inventor (what chef isn't in Spain these days?) and while watching a documentary on Pompeii, he came up with a great invention:
He remembers hearing...that when the volcano blew in A.D. 79, millions of shellfish in the coastal waters around Pompeii were forced open by shock waves from the explosion. This idea sent León back to the laboratory, where he came up with a device for opening oysters by means of low-frequency sound waves. The oysters are placed in a bain-marie six at a time, and at the touch of a button their shells loosen their iron grip. No more digging about with knives is required; no nasty bits of shell are left in your oyster.
I tried to poke around a bit on Google for some information about this but didn't find anything. I'm curious about the effect of the sound waves on the shellfish. Are they killed by the waves, and in death they're opening their shells? Or are they still alive but opening their shells? Even if you use this method for shellfish shucking, you still need to detach the oyster from the shell for easy slurping. But I find this whole thing fascinating. I wonder if we'll see this method spread at all. It might be too expensive and slow. After all, the world's fastest shucker can open 33 oysters in a minute.
comments are open
YouTube and Checkout for the non-profit world
Posted by Maryrose Dunton, Product Manager, YouTube, and Prem Ramaswami, Product Manager, Google Checkout
Ever since YouTube first launched, people and organizations have been using it to broadcast their causes and engage supporters around the issues they care about. In that spirit, today YouTube unveiled its Non-Profit Program at the Clinton Global Initiative to help non-profit organizations more easily connect with the world's largest online video community. In the past few years, online video has emerged as a key tool for grassroots organizing on the Internet -- a short, simple video can demonstrate the impact and the needs of an organization in a uniquely compelling fashion. This program will enable non-profits to create dedicated YouTube channels for themselves, making it even easier for people to find, watch, and engage with the organization's video content. The initial participants are 13 organizations including the American Cancer Society, Friends of the Earth, and YouthNoise.
One other thing the YouTube Non-Profit Program offers: the ability to collect donations directly from these channels using the new Google Checkout for Non-Profits. Checkout for Non-Profits -- which can also be integrated directly into a non-profit's site -- helps drive more donations for U.S.-based 501(c)(3) groups by making it possible for supporters to contribute quickly and securely. It also offers supporters the satisfaction of knowing that 100 percent of their contributions will be sent to the non-profit, as Google has committed to processing donations through Checkout for free through at least the end of 2008. This functionality is particularly exciting, as today's fund-raising is increasingly moving online -- and Checkout for Non-Profits makes the entire process even easier. You can learn more here.
How to close every McDonalds in Manhatten
Artist Steve Lambert closes every McDonalds in Manhatten and then blames Ronald McDonald, nice
Michelle Obama: If Barack Doesn't Win Iowa, It's All Over
Michelle Obama, speaking out with surprising candor in the Quad City Times:
“Iowa will make the difference,” Obama said. “If Barack doesn’t win Iowa it is over.”As Ben Smith notes, this is blunter than candidates usually are about the importance of Iowa -- even, I'd add, when they're in full Iowa-suck-up mode.
Videogaming is the new MTV
... says Gameplayer, an Australian gaming site.
The music scene is struggling. The onset of digital media and peer-2-peer networking has led to a much publicised decline in global music sales which in turn has seen the mighty MTV veer away from video clips as the heart of its programming. Think about it: when was the last time you turned on MTV and saw an actual music clip?
Where albums like Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Madonna’s Erotica owed much of their success to the videos beamed into lounge-rooms across the world by the likes of MTV, the music industry is now forced to seek other ways of exposing its products to that market. And where is that market now? Well, they’re playing games…
MTV's acquisition of Harmonix was a fab move, amongst many. The article is a bit light on fact, just summarising the past few years' movements, but ... great title.
Not sure why Mas warranted so many negative comments on...
Not sure why Mas warranted so many negative comments on this Chowhound thread about the worst nice restaurants in NYC. We were there last night for my birthday and everything was great: service, wine, and food. It was our 5th or 6th visit over the past 3 years and nothing's ever been amiss.
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They Call Them '20th Century Castles'
“Thanks for your interests in our unique underground properties. Built at a cost of millions, these heavily reinforced historic structures were designed to withstand nuclear attack. They bring new meaning to the word “shelter”. Centuries from now they will remain.”
These heavily reinforced underground historic structures are decommissioned US missile sites, available now from missilebases.com.
Too bad Ry’s sick of the east coast, this would be a perfect PH:
“Most highly developed Atlas F site, part of exclusive airport subdivision on (FAA approved) 2050’ runway, with manicured grounds in forest setting with mountain view, in Adirondack State Park, 2000 sq. ft. open floor plan home on surface with large garage and wrap around porch hides the underground structure entryway through surface home. LCC converted to 2300 sq. ft. 2-story (3 bedroom, 2 bath) luxury home with fiber optic lighting and contemporary finished interior. Silo tube has all floors, spiral stairs and steel superstructure. Includes generator & new well. Low taxes. Privacy, security, and, unlimited possibilities. NO other like it anywhere.”
The One Ill Building
When I first saw the banner unfurled on Sixth Avenue, I figured The One Ill Building was the Beastie Boys' first foray into urban planning. (Long overdue, if you ask me: if Jade Jagger can be an architect's muse, why not the King Ad-Rock?) If not a real estate development, then surely theoneillbuilding.com was promoting a new documentary about sick building syndrome, perhaps narrated by Al Gore.
Turns out it's neither. So what is The One Ill Building?
Continues...
Hotel Chevalier, the short film by Wes Anderson that takes place...
Hotel Chevalier, the short film by Wes Anderson that takes place before the action in The Darjeeling Limited, is available at the iTunes Music Store for free.
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Saffron Revolution
Saffron Revolution. Stencil images for worldwide campaign in support of Burma's marching monks. Download a PDF of the stencil.
New podcast series on scholarly publishing and copyright
From the Science Commons blog …
“MIT Libraries recently launched a new podcast series dedicated to issues involving scholarly publishing and copyright.
The latest addition to the series is a piece by Anna Gold, head librarian of the Engineering and Science Libraries at the university. In the podcast, entitled “Making a Difference: Pushing Back on DRM at MIT”, Gold speaks of the university’s recent subscription cancellation of a scholarly journal after learning it was employing digital rights management (DRM) technology its digital collection of research reports. The journal was that of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). […] “
More can be found after the jump. And all of the podcasts in this series are licensed under a CC-BY-SA license.
Go, NBC! You're SMURT!
I own the entire first season of Heroes -- bought it on iTunes. Same with Battlestar Galactica seasons 1 and 2, and The Office.
Of course, I don't own Heroes season 2, because Mac users aren't allowed to download NBC's shows this season, and I don't have cable. I'm allergic to ads anyways. I've reached a point in my life where my time is just more valuable than that.
I'm a honest man, so I certainly didn't download Xtorrent and do a search for "Heroes S02E01", and 20 hours later, watch the HD version of the show, for free, with no commercials, on my Mac. I could have, sure. And the show would have rocked, and I would have saved $2, and NBC would have lost that money for no good reason.
You've got to grudgingly admire NBC's giant steel balls for thinking they can do the whole online thing alone, even though everyone else but iTunes has failed miserably up to now, and NBC's model is essentially just crappy broadcast TV, except over the net, which is, like, kind of pointless. Uh, guys, it turns out we consumers don't actually have a preference which WIRE our shows come from. Seriously, why wouldn't we just TiVo the show if that's what we wanted?
I mean, you've got to think, "Wow, those NBC execs really are independent thinkers! Stupid, sure, but independent! They aren't Steve Jobs' toadies! No sir! Look at the way they saw away at their noses! Their faces sure won't ever mess with them again!"
It's amazing how 100% of the companies that make their living distributing other people's content are run by absolute morons. Like, they fulfill no meaningful purpose in society -- these are the guys from the Hitchhiker's Guide that got sent in the first ship. I mean, you literally could put an African Grey parrot in charge of NBC and it'd make better decisions. (For one, there'd be a lot more shows about pirates, which would be awesome.) I defy anyone to think of a good decision that a record or TV or movie company has made recently. Let's sue teenagers! Let's make it impossible to enjoy our content over the web! Let's fund the seventeenth sequel to a crappy movie that barely made money! Let's have a fall season full of the same shit we've made a hundred times! Let's fire our writers and go entirely with reality shows that aren't real! Let's give outrageous amounts of money to washed-up artists and ignore the new talent that's actually selling records now! Let's cancel shows that are at all interesting and have a smart audience, because only stupid people watch TV now! Let's sue sue sue instead of create create create!
Maybe Amazon will start selling Heroes for $1 an episode, and non-copy-protected? Apparently Universal WUBS Amazon, so who knows?
Beirut
September 24, 2007 -- Beirut (the band) performs at the New York Society for Ethical Culture in New York, NY as part of the Wordless Music series.
September 26, 2007
an adventure in retail
I'm spending the week in Tokyo (hosted by the charming and brilliant team at Six Apart Japan), and will have an opportunity to visit Kiddy Land this afternoon. Really looking forward to it. "KIDDY LAND helps keep your mind, body and soul youthful, now & forever."
Hot Dog from a Vending Machine
James Hart:Food again, but at the other end of the spectrum. We all heard about the wacky vending machines before coming to Japan, but this still surprised me. Hot dogs, noodles, french fries, etc microwaved from frozen, 400Yen each.
It even has our favourite UsoGaijin 嘘外人 advertising it.
Has anyone out there tried one of these?
that excel bug
I'm sure you've read this already, but Joel Spolksy's piece explaining the Excel bug is worth linking to just to accrete an infintessimal amount of incremental PageRank to joelonsoftware.com.
Q: Shouldn't they be testing for these kinds of things?
A: I'll bet that most of the numeric testing done on the Excel team is done automatically with VBA code. Cells containing this value display as 100,000, but from VBA, they're going to look like 65,535 (since the number would be passed into the Basic runtime in binary, before the display formatting.) I'm sure there's plenty of code to test display formatting, but with a bug like this that only happens on 12 out of 18446744073709551616 possible floating point binary numbers, it's unlikely that any set of black-box tests would cover this case.
And if you make it all the way through to the end, his parting shot is good for the laugh, but perhaps a bit over the top.
I need a screencasting app
Dear Lazyweb,
I want a simple app that will open up a quicktime movie and add audio tracks to it, and allow me to move them around independent of the video. iMove doesn't cut it for me, because it only works with certain resolutions. And I don't want to spend over 100 bucks on it. My needs are very small.
Any ideas?
Update: Jay Parlar mentioned GarageBand and it's movie tracks. GB can do video? whoa. I've been playing around with it a bit tonight, and it's 95% of what I want. The video preview is awful small, that's my only complaint. It'll certainly do for now.
Bill O'Reilly as Soul Food Restaurant Critic
We hope Frank Bruni won't feel threatened by Bill O'Reilly's stunning review of well-known Harlem restaurant Sylvia's. Take a listen, Frank. O'Reilly's willfully ignorant observations about African-American culture in general show just how uninformed he is about anything outside his own narrow set of experiences. O'Reilly was amazed that eating at Sylvia's was just like eating at an Italian restaurant. That is astonishing, Bill.
In the News: Slow Food, Freedom Foie, Bad Beef
- Slow Food, Slow Funds: Plans for Slow Food Nation, an event spearheaded by Alice Waters and Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini and scheduled for next May in San Francisco, may be scaled back due to challenges raising funds. [San Francisco Chronicle]
- Should Drinks Like Gatorade Sport the 'Junk Food' Label?: In an attempt to limit the sale of high-calorie sodas, candy bars, and other snacks in schools, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has introduced a bill that would have the government set new nutritional standards for the foods and drinks that schools sell to students outside cafeterias. [Washington Post]
- Coup de gras: A group of Philadelphia restaurateurs angered at a pending bill to ban foie gras in the city and weary of protesters is fighting back with "Freedom Foie for Five"—lunch and dinner portions of foie gras priced at $5. The seven-day promotion starts Monday. Some of the participating restaurants include Vetri, London Grill, Rylei and Le Bec-Fin. [Philadelphia Inquirer, via Menupages]
- Food recall of the day: Frozen burgers. Because of, what else, E. coli. Affected: 10-pound boxes of Butcher's Best 100% All Beef Patties; 10-pound boxes of Kohler Foods burgers; 10-pound boxes of Sand Castle Fine Meat; 2-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers; and 3-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers. Here's a complete list of recalled boxes.
Cheesemakers Attempt to Police Themselves
Some interesting raw-milk cheese news from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Hoping to head off regulation that might make their products illegal, several prominent American dairies, including Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol, have formed the Raw Milk Cheesemakers Association.
The association aims to ensure the safety of domestic cheeses made from unpasteurized milk by helping members implement safe manufacturing practices.
For consumers with a taste for these cheesesamong them Redwood Hill's goat feta and Jasper Hill Farm's Constant Blissthe new group may help keep their favorites available. And for raw-milk cheesemakers eager to make the safest product possible, the RCMA could provide expertise.
Is this necessary?
The answer is probably yes, because the federales are so mired in red tape and bureaucracy that they never bothered to learrn that no one ever died from eating Parmigiano Reggiano, a raw milk cheese.
"It's about us making sure we have our act together," says Cary Bryant of Oregon's Rogue Creamery, which makes the acclaimed Rogue River Blue, along with several other blue cheeses from raw milk. "If anything (bad) happens, the whole industry goes down."
Many of the world's great cheeses are made with unpasteurized raw milk. I wish it wasn't necessary for raw milk cheesemakers to defend themselves against baseless charges. Somebody should follow their lead and do something similar for salumi-makers, who are needless tortured by inspectors as well.
Craig: I'm Not Going Anywhere -- I'm Staying In Senate
Remember a few weeks back when Larry Craig's office said he would resign his Senate seat by September 30 if his guilty plea weren't overturned by then?
Well, forget all that -- Craig is staying.
In the wake of the news today that the judge on the case won't be ruling on whether his guilty plea can be withdrawn until late next week at the latest -- that is to say, well after September 30 -- Craig has just confirmed that he's staying put:
"Today was a major step in the legal effort to clear my name," Craig said in a statement. "The court has not issued a ruling on my motion to withdraw my guilty plea. For now, I will continue my work in the U.S. Senate for Idaho."
MoveOn/NY Times Ad Story Descends Into Absurdity
A newspaper is apologizing for an ad-rate error in the MoveOn "Betray Us" controversy — and it isn't The New York Times.
The Minnespolis Star Tribune has now admitted that they charged Republican Senator Norm Coleman too little when he took out a full-page ad bashing the MoveOn piece and attacking Al Franken for not distancing himself from it. The paper charged Coleman only $23,000, when the rate should have been $37,000.
"A new sales rep made a mistake and gave the Coleman campaign a rate from the local retail rate card, rather than the national rate card," said Benjamin Taylor, the paper's senior vice president for communications and marketing. "We only discovered the mistake when the Franken campaign complained."
In order to correct the situation, the paper is refunding Franken's campaign $12,165 from a full-page ad they took out two months ago — less than the rate error in Coleman's case, but adjusted for the different days when their respective spots were printed.
Is lazy reporting hurting the visual arts? Jonathan Jones argues...
Is lazy reporting hurting the visual arts? Jonathan Jones argues that almost all reporting about art takes one of six forms: expensive art, graffiti, plagiarism, earth-shattering discoveries, and restoration. Looking back through kottke.org's art tag page, I am guilty of linking to stories of all those types. Eep.
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Typo Tour
Typo Tour. A grand tour of typography in Italy with respect to writing, printing, and signage.
Some Alinea updates on Grant and his forthcoming cookbook
A couple links I'm behind on, so you may have already heard the great news that chemo has reduced the tumor in Grant Achatz's tongue by 75% and he is set to begin radiation soon. You're still in our thoughts chef.
And in other Alinea news, Grant and his crew will be releasing a cookbook in the fall of 2008. It will contain 600 recipes and a companion website. I can't wait for it. It's great to see a chef of Grant's caliber sharing his knowledge rather than hoarding it. (See my thoughts on keeping recipes free.)
Google brings their 'Web' service to the Web.
I thought this was funny - a 'Web' tab. It leads to iGoogle.
It was funny, because we have an Internet group (that deals with Internet enablers on our devices) and we all thought it odd to extend their offering to the Web. I mean, who would offer an 'Internet' tab on a service that is offered via a Web browser?
I guess Google does. So it must be good. Nobody got fired for buying Google.
Anyway. I just thought it funny to see that tab there.
Acorn scripting using Python
Enigmeta: Acorn scripting using Python.
"I became interested in the scripting possibilities by reading the official plugin documentation. Acorn's scripting support was meant to make new filters and such, but since it includes the PyObjC classes, you can basically do everything you can in Cocoa through Python. It's a really fast and easy way to make native Mac OS X applications, or, as in our case, extend existing ones!"
Frederik De Bleser, of NodeBox fame, is doing some awesome stuff with Acorn and Python. Make sure to watch the movie, where he adds a drawer to an Acorn window and adds new shapes and layers via some simple scripting.
● Bringing back the housecall
Dr. Jay Parkinson M.D. emailed in to tell me about his new medical practice in Williamsburg. He's got no office (housecalls only), takes appointment requests via SMS, email, or IM, handles some follow-ups over video chat, and specializes in the 18-40 age group without traditional health insurance. The goal, states Parkinson, is to "mix the service of an old-time, small town doctor with the latest technology to keep you and your bank account healthy".
To give you an idea of how the practice operates, here's a recap of his first day on the job:
Yesterday went quite well and I was very happy with the amount of money I kept out of the hands of companies that attempt to take advantage of how difficult it is to find prices for medications and healthcare services. For example, the first patient I saw needed a medication that Walgreens offered for $60. I called my tried and true Williamsburg mom-and-pop pharmacy only a few blocks from Walgreens and talked to Arthur the Pharmacist who said he sells it for $15. "Thanks Arthur." "No thank you Jay." The way it should be done.
My second patient was getting a certain medication for years every month by mail from Walgreens that costs $63 per month. I knew where she could get the same medication for $42 a month. I just saved her $252 per year. After she made her $200 down payment on my services via PayPal, her monthly fee for my services is now only $17 a month. But I just saved her $21 a month on her monthly mail order medication. She's essentially getting the rest of the year of my services for free. Not bad.
Sounds fantastic. If only every doctor was this much of an advocate for his patients.
P.S. Parkinson also happens to be a heck of a photographer (@ Flickr). Some photos NSFW. I linked to this interview about his photography between him and Joerg Colberg last May.
Update: The WSJ Health blog has a short interview with Parkinson, followed by a lengthy comment thread.
it’s not what you know, it’s how many of you know it
One day of Slashdotting and hey presto, we have a privacy policy. It takes me months to get that sort of result. [sulks.]
A neat comparison of butcher's diagram of cuts of beef...
A neat comparison of butcher's diagram of cuts of beef and a map of Manhattan. It looks like I live in Chuck Shortribs or maybe Brisket. See also the front cover of Rats by Robert Sullivan.
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Oops — White House Releases Bush's Pronunciation Guides
The White House made a mistake that will just feed more of the perceptions about President Bush's problems with the English language — accidentally releasing to the press his prepared remarks before the United Nations, including phonetic pronunciation guides for the president to follow.
A guide was given not only for an admittedly tough one like Kyrgyzstan ("KEYR-geez-stan"), but also for Nicolas Sarkozy ("sar-KO-zee"), which seems pretty simple to pronounce as it is.
It's not at all unusual for a leader to use pronunciation guides, but having them in circulation must be pretty embarrassing. As the Times of London noted, the prepared speech did not include a phonetic guide for the name of Aung San Suu Kyi — and Bush predictably stumbled over that one.
Report: Hillary Could Out-Raise Obama This Quarter
The expectations game for third-quarter fundraising is now making its way into the press, during this final week of the quarter. Bloomberg reports that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both expected to take in around $20 million for the period, with the possibility that Obama could lose the fundraising edge he held over Hillary for the first two quarters.
"The Clinton juggernaut is moving if she out-raises him this quarter," said Democratic strategist Peter Fenn, who is not affiliated with any of the presidential campaigns. "It makes the argument for her winnability an easier one."
Compact Oxford English Dictionary
The classic, Compact OED is a smaller, handy version of what is the best English dictionary, bar none, the famous OED. Because it's photo-reduced, it contains the entire OED, all 20 large volumes in one convenient reference (it comes with a reading glass). Aside from saving space on your shelf, it's also significantly cheaper. It's quite large, but you could definitely fit it in a regular backpack, if you're a student or need to transport it (although it is about 10 pounds!). I've been using it for 3 years now, at least twice a week for general queries, as I enjoy discovering and using obscure words and I also often look up words and dive into etymology as part of my Wikipedia editing. For example, recently I used my OED to look up an archaic usage of the word "quaint". Apparently Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" makes use of the old meaning where "quaint" also refers to female anatomy. Who knew?!
-- Gwern Branwen
Compact Oxford English Dictionary
E. S. C. Weiner, J. A. Simpson (Editors)
1991, 2424 pages
$240
Available from AmazonSample page:
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:OneLook Reverse Dictionary
The Synonym Finder
The demise of the $100 Laptop
Still Waiting for That $100 Laptop? makes some good points about the drawbacks of Nicholas Negroponte's ambitious scheme.
Olivers Sacks on music, drugs and emotion
Wired magazine has an interview with Oliver Sacks where he talks about cases from his forthcoming book on the neurology of music, and his own drug-induced experiences of seeing non-existent colours while listening to Monteverdi.
Hume wondered whether one can imagine a color that one has never encountered. One day in 1964, I constructed a sort of pharmacological mountain, and at its peak, I said, "I want to see indigo, now!" As if thrown by a paintbrush, a huge, trembling drop of purest indigo appeared on the wall — the color of heaven. For months after that, I kept looking for that color. It was like the lost chord.
Then I went to a concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the first half, they played the Monteverdi Vespers, and I was transported. I felt a river of music 400 years long running from Monteverdi's mind into mine. Wandering around during the interval, I saw some lapis lazuli snuffboxes that were that same wonderful indigo, and I thought, "Good, the color exists in the external world." But in the second half I got restless, and when I saw the snuffboxes again, they were no longer indigo — they were blue, mauve, pink. I've never seen that color since.
The interview is a glimpse of what his next book will contain, and also relates a case of a man with Alzheimer's and severe memory impairment who can nonetheless take part in an acapella singing group. Seemingly his musical abilities survived his amnesia, not unlike Clive Wearing, who we discussed recently on Mind Hacks.
Link to Wired interview with Oliver Sacks.
September 25, 2007
world freedom atlas
a geovisualization tool for world statistics. it was designed for social scientists, journalists, NGO/IGO workers & others who wish to have a better understanding of issues of freedom, democracy, human rights & good governance between 1990 & 2006.the represented datasets include general topics such as political rights, civil liberties, corruption perception index, type of regime, & more detailed statistics, such as averaging schooling years, ethnic fractionalization, or "candidate intimidation affection".
[link: indiemaps.com|thnkx Zachary]
Tornado Potato, I Want
OMFG does anyone know if i can get this in New York, Philadelphia, Washington or anywhere up and down the Eastern seaboard? Even though i have yet to taste it, i already know it's the best street food, ever.
Via Adam <- DJ <- Serious Eats <- superlocal.
At least you won't die of dysentery in this one.
Thule Trail is a cute modern remake of The Oregon Trail.
Alerting Infrastructure! in Brussels!
My project, “Alerting Infrastructure!” - a website hit counter that destroys the physical structure the website is associated with - is on display on October 4th at the opening of the new building for the Interactive Media Arts Laboratory in Brussels. Some really cool artists in the show, so definitely check it out if you are in the area!
Photo of the Day: Straight From the Farm
Photograph by Jennie of Straight From the Farm
Straight From the Farm is a blog about cooking straight from the farm, in this case the Weaver's Way Co-op Farm outside of Philadelphia, and a new addition to my regular food blog reads. I found this photo accompanying a post on how to dry corn. A couple other recent posts I've enjoyed: how to dry tomatoes and carrot "fries".
Great set of infographics that illustrate the differences between grass,...
Great set of infographics that illustrate the differences between grass, clay, and hardcourt surfaces in tennis, particularly with regard to how the ball bounces on each.
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Food Karma Alert is a great new blog about food issues
There's a great new blog I just found out about called Food Karma Alert. The author, Cory, is a PhD food scientist/chemist and provides great links surrounding each issue he's posting about. His goal: "I'm going to attempt to briefly summarize the specific [food] issue at hand and provide references in order that we may be proactive and respond in whatever way is afforded us." I look forward to following this site and really like how easy he makes it for his readers to take action. [via Rebecca]
comments are open
Has Today's Food Writing Gone to Pot?
Paul Levy, a 30-year veteran of UK food writing, says he's grown tired of the macho posturing of today's crop of food writers:
The food writing that's in vogue today consists chiefly of a bellow of bravado. It's a guy thing, sure, but (with a few honorably hungry exceptions) these scribblers mostly ignore what's on the plate. They view themselves as boy hunters and despise sissy gatherers, thrive on the undertow of violence they detect in the professional kitchen, and like to linger on the unappetizing aspects of food preparation. The gross-out factor trumps tasting good as well as good taste.
The perps? Anthony Bourdain and Bill Buford I could see. But the New Yorker's Adam Gopnik? Please.
Levy posits that the new testosterone-laden writing is a way that dudes can show an interest in cooking without looking like wusses. Have you noticed this supposed trend among laddie food scribes?
The 1200
Quietly, Yahoo Sports is becoming a real destination, in large part because of the work of two guys — Jeff Passan and Josh Peter. No slight to Tim Brown or Michael Silver here for their solid work, but Passan and Peter have been difference makers, putting the online-only publication on the same footing with ESPN and SI.
Peter’s work on both the BALCO and Raw Deal stories has been as solid as any without the questions of the Game of Shadows sourcing. In fact, Peter’s big break was outing that very sourcing. In the latest scandal, Raw Deal, a DEA-led bust of over fifty underground steroid labs and sources, Peter details the extensive list of recipients that was collected.
Immediately, the story turned to sports. How many of the 1200 baseball players would be on the list (though since the investigation does slide to the past somewhat, that number should actually be higher.) If, as reported, there are over 100,000 names on the list of recipients, how many should be baseball players?
Current data shows that there are over 350 million people in the United States. That puts the list of possible outed steroid users at about three in every 10,000. Even given that professional athletes use steroids at a rate double that of the general population, a very specious assumption not backed by any facts, we should expect one, maybe two.
There’s already some indication that even that might be high. There are more than 1200 Olympic class athletes tracked and involved in the US Anti-Doping Agency’s testing program. According to another Josh Peter article, no USADA tracked athletes show up in the Raw Deal list. In fact, Peter’s article breaks down why it’s unlikely that professional athletes would use these types of sources. Simply, they have better, easier options.
We’re left with a list of 100,000 names. Most are gym rats - bodybuilders looking to get bigger, guys trying to get bigger guns for their weekend at the beach, and one other category, the most serious and scary - high school and college athletes. Without the resources of a professional, teenagers may be turning to the internet. An acquaintance of mine stunned me recently by asking about Anavar, not realizing that it was an anabolic steroid.
Worse, when I asked him where he’d heard about this, he answered, “Ebay.”
Electavire code revealed
If you purchased Pokemon Battle Revolution than you have probably heard about the Mystery Gifts you can unlock in that game. for one thing you can get a “Surfing” Pikachu once you beat the game.
Rumors have been going wild around the Internet about other Mystery Gift Pokemon that can be unlocked in the game, this is one of them.
Today Pokemon-games.com put up a page where you have to go through several tests to unlock this code. After completing these tests I have posted the code here for your enjoyment!
Use this code in PBR to unlock a mystery Pokemon BA16-X4SH-E2AT.
1. From the reception desk, select the Profile menu.
2. Once you are in the Profile menu, select “Profile” again. Then, choose “Self-introduction.”
3. On the message input screen, enter the code EXACTLY as it appears, including the hyphens between the numbers. Once you’ve entered the code, select “Confirm.”
4. You will be taken back to the Profile menu. Select “OK” at the bottom of the screen
5. If you entered the code correctly, the receptionist will appear and tell you that you have received a special Mystery Gift. Once you get this message, go to the Shop menu, choose “Mystery Gift,” look for the Shocking Secret Gift, select it, then follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York is an...
Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York is an exhibition at The Municipal Art Society of New York.
Coming at a time of unprecedented growth and redevelopment in the city, this exhibit aims to encourage New Yorkers to observe the city closely and to empower them, with a combination of tools and resources, to take an active role in advocating for a more livable city.
The exhibit runs from Sept 25 through Jan 5, 2008.
(link)
Virgin Digital Music Store to Shut Down
Exhibit #44731 in the case against DRM:
The site now advises its customers who have purchased tracks to back them up, as they will not be able to download them again once Virgin Digital has closed. It’s unclear whether the purchasers of individual tracks will be able to access their songs without burning them to CD and reimporting them as MP3s, but it’s better to be safe than sorry if you’re one of those customers. And naturally, subscribing members will lose access altogether once their subscriptions lapse.
New York magazine takes Wes Anderson's spiritual temperature on the...
New York magazine takes Wes Anderson's spiritual temperature on the eve of the release of The Darjeeling Limited, his fifth film.
(link)That we happen to be traveling by train to discuss a movie that takes place on a train was not part of the original plan, though I'm starting to think of it as yet another example of Anderson's knack for retouching reality with an idiosyncratic gloss. (It may be connected to his fear of flying as well; until recently, Anderson traveled to Europe by boat, and he far prefers trains and automobiles to anything airborne.) Also somewhat peculiar is the fact that buried in one of Anderson's monogrammed suitcases is 10,000 euros in cash -- about $14,000 -- an amount that may or may not be legal to carry, and that was given to the director by Bill Murray, who asked that the money be "delivered to Luigi."
Contest Alert: Beirut in Central Park
Joe's Pub is going uptown and outdoors for some shows this month, and we've got your tickets to a few of the performances. First up, on September 26th, Beirut will take the Delacorte Theater stage as part of The NY Gypsy Festival. Joining Zach Condon & Co are Balkan Beat Box and The NY Gypsy All Stars. Listen: Mount Wroclai (Idle Days).mp3 - Beirut Digital Monkey.mp3 - Balkan Beat Box Kalajdziska.mp3 - The NY Gypsy All Stars Did you miss Beirut's secret Greenpoint show last night? Then catch them in Manhattan -- we have two pairs of tickets up for grabs, simply leave a comment telling us why you must go! The best answers will grant you the golden tickets. Only registered commenters will be eligible for the contest. You can register here, it's free and only takes a few seconds. We will contact the winners via email. The show is on September 26th at 7pm, and if you don't win your tix here you can buy them for $25 here.
tufte-latex is a Tufte-inspired LaTeX layout to produce
tufte-latex is a Tufte-inspired LaTeX layout to produce handouts and scientific notes. Too bad conferences and journals don't allow submissions in such a format. I note that it doesn't use a vertical rhythm; I'll have to check the books when I get back into the office. And for your slides don't forget LaTeX Beamer. (Not too many Google Code projects with the "feynman" label.)
September 24, 2007
soulja boy cartoon overdubs.
Your browser is gonna hate me for this:
Gen. Petraeus information charts
a collection of selected Powerpoint slides with detailed information graphics as presented by General David Petraeus during his September 10 testimony before 2 House committees.any suggestions of improvement (in the context of information presentation)?
[links: worldpoliticsreview.com & townhall.com & washingtonmonthly.com]
if you love critiquing information graphics, check out the excellent junk charts & point by point.
Influential Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni listens to the sounds of...
Influential Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni listens to the sounds of Manhattan waking up in the morning. "The sheets of metal. A short clatter, like gunfire. A train passes, perhaps the elevated. A peal, prolonged, and then the siren, abrupt. Gone. The sounds change in a moment, they arise and die again immediately. The hum reasserts itself, advancing like a camouflaged army, approaches, closes in, on the alert, ready to take over completely." The hum reasserts. I hear that one all the time as traffic ebbs and flows outside our apartment.
(link)
Manaphy at Toys’R'Us!
Unless you have been living under a rock you have heard about the amazingly hard to get Pokemon Manaphy. This Pokemon is so rare that you either have to suffer through ten hours of Pokemon Ranger or know someone who has suffered to get it.
I suffered through the Pokemon Ranger game long before the Manaphy Egg code was even whispered about but you do not have too!
Well, you might if you live in a far away land. By far away I am referring to any place other than the USA.
If you live in the USA than you can go to (almost) any Toys’R'Us store in the USA on Saturday September 29th from 12 noon to 3:00 PM. Not only can you get a Manaphy but they are also going to give you $5 off of any DS game you purchase.
You are probably wondering one other thing. Back when they gave a Mew away last year the DS games were not yet out. Because of this it took forever waiting on the guys in the video gaming area to load up their games with Mew and then trade over the link cable. Yes, it was horribly slow and the lines were very long.
Not so this time! Due to the magic of Wi-Fi and the beauty of the DS Mystery Gift system you will not have to wait in line to get your Manaphy! what this also means is that you can not get more than one Manaphy per game cartridge.
If you are in the Danbury CT area you might meet me. I will be going to the Danbury CT Toys’R'Us store to get my Manaphy (and a few extra because I own multiple copies of the games). I will attempt to take some pictures and interview some of the Pokemon fans I meet there.
The Ethicist: Todd Helton
From time to time, I like to read The Ethicist in the Sunday New York Times, not so much for the answers but for the snooty banality of the questions:
Dear Ethicist,
Last weekend, our dear friends left half a bottle of an expensive port at our vacation home in the Hamptons. However, they have since departed on a long holiday to Bilbao, and we fear that the port will not maintain its character by the time they return. Are we ethically obliged to send it to them, or may we enjoy the remains for ourselves?
Bernice Summers, New Canaan, Connecticut
It wouldn’t surprise me if in next week’s edition we saw a letter like this.
Dear Ethicist,
Last week, I overheard a confrontation between a player and an umpire at a professional sporting match. I was the lone witness to this verbal exchange, in which several things were said that might be incriminating to either party. I am involved in professional sports myself, and I fear that I might face retribution from the fraternity of players or the brotherhood of umpires if I come forward, depending on my version of events. Am I nevertheless ethically required to do so?
Todd H., Denver, Colorado
I tend to think that the answer to this question is “yes”, particuarly if Helton feels that justice will not me meted out fairly in the Milton Bradley incident unless he comes forward. Certainly, if Helton heard something that could be construed as racist on the part of umpire Mike Winters, he has a quite strong moral obligation to tell his side of the story. To some extent, however, if the accusations that Winters used racist language become any more pronounced — for the time being, first base coach Bobby Meachem only softly made that implication after being prompted by a reporter — Helton would be just as obligated to come forward, because being accused of using racist language is a serious thing these days.
Several years ago I got into a verbal sparring match with a superior while working after hours on a project at my old consulting job. There were no vulgarities exchanged, but it became heated enough that we both complained to senior management by the time that the office re-opened on Monday. Management, naturally, assigned an equal share of blame to each of us, putting us both on a probationary period for a couple of weeks.
It’s natural to compare the Bradley situation to something like this, a normal workplace disagreement in which it just isn’t worth the effort to do anything other than split the difference and give both sides a slap on the wrist. In fact, however, the situation meets a higher threshold because the umpire is not just Bradley’s superior but also literally an arbiter of his fate. Mike Winters is welcome to say whatever he wants under his breath, but if he loses is cool to the point where he actually baits Bradley (racially or otherwise) into a confrontation on the field, one wonders whether he’s really going to be able to refrain from letting his personal opinions get in the way of calling a fair game. We really aren’t all that far removed from a Tim Donaghy territory, in which the integrity of the games is called into question.
None of this makes life any easier on Helton — if he suggests that Winters and umpires can be retributive, he might well face some of that retribution himself. Nevertheless, real ethical dilemmas are never easy, and Helton is obligated to tell his piece.
But Is It *Safe*?
I try not to ramble on too much about my work, except for a little “I love the people I work with!” post every few months, but I did want to point out one satisfying bit that I was enjoying today. You see, when you work with a team that makes great applications, you get to actually do some of the things that you wish all of your software would do.
Case in point? Well, we’ve had a ton of people who are really excited about Movable Type 4 since its release, and as is usual with a huge .0 release of any application, we had to make some little performance and bug fixes, and those just came out as MT 4.01. Pretty standard stuff, and after the release went out last week, I wrote a little blog post about it.
But what I got to do, which was absolutely delightful to me, was answer all the questions that drive me nuts every time I upgrade my other applications. It seems like each of my computers, every time I turn it on, either wants me to upgrade Office or iTunes or OS X or Windows. And the questions I have with each of those updates are always basically in the same few categories:
- Do I really need to do this?
- Is this going to break shit?
- Are you going to take away features?
- How much is this going to cost me?
- Am I going to have to redo all my work?
- Will this slow everything down?
- And when I finally do get all this crap installed, are you just going to put out another update tomorrow?
Basically, what I want to know when I get a software update is is this safe?
In our case, I was lucky: All our answers are exactly what you’d hope for. So, thanks to the fact that the MT team kicks ass and makes good products and does a good job of really thinking through the customer side of stuff, I was able to pretty much answer all of those questions when writing about this little minor version upgrade. And I even got to put little green checkmarks next to all the good news.
Now I want this for all my other applications. I’m looking at you, Firefox.
Photo of the Day: Tornado Potato
Photograph from Superlocal on Flickr
This fine specimen of street food, the "tornado potato" or, if you prefer, the "tortato," was spotted on the streets of Seoul, South Korea. They can also be found in Japan.
A working micro farm in NYC for summer 2009
I am stitching together a working micro farm, (total size yet to be determined) for one growing season, from parcels of donated land or growing spaces, located in assorted environments in each of the five boroughs around the city. Leah Gauthier looks to grow organic heirloom vegetables and herbs in New York City during the summer of 2009. Sounds like a neat project. Thanks Jason.
comments are open
Lunch at Wired Magazine: Local, Organic, $4
Google cafeterias are legendary for offering an orgy of delicious, local, organic, free for employees eats. But did you know that another Bay Area-based technology oriented company, Wired magazine, has been serving local, organically grown food since 1997? For the past 10 years Wired chef Phil Ferrato has been cooking up breakfast and lunch for the magazine employees which costs them $2 for breakfast (on Fridays it includes Fatted Calf bacon!) and $4 for lunch. Read all the delicious details on The Ethicurean.
Radioshift 1.0 is released into the wild
Rogue Amoeba has a new app out, Radioshift.
Blatent copy and paste: "With Radioshift, you control Internet and AM/FM radio from around the world. Listen and record - Radioshift is radio on your schedule! Radioshift's Radio Guide has listings for over 50,000 radio programs and stations, with more information being added all the time. Using the guide, you can find hours and hours worth of great content to listen to and enjoy. "
It's a neat application, and it's purty too. Record your radio shows and put it on yer iPhone.
WP, phone home
The day before 2.3 is due to be released, hell breaks loose on wp-hackers as they fail to see why update notifications require Automattic to grab blog urls. Matt explains that they already know your blog url because they’ve been forcing you to ping Ping-O-Matic for years, and anyway t could be useful in [...]
PL/R - R Procedural Language for PostgreSQL
the left and right hands, working together
bookmark this on del.icio.us - posted by fruminator to R postgres - more about this bookmark...
After a complaint that the photos on Flickr are "just all...
After a complaint that the photos on Flickr are "just all conventional, it's all cliches, it's just one visual convention after another", Alec Soth asks where all the good photos are and gets a bunch of responses.
(link)
Pokemon Farming: Totodile
Today we are happy to bring you the water starter, Totodile!
What, we’ve done Totodile before? While you are correct in stating that fact you must also understand that Totodile is one of our most asked for Pokemon. This is due in large part to the dificulty in acquireing one in the course of normal game play.
Even though Totodile has been farmed more than once her at the farm I’m going to do it again. As always I would like to remind everyone to read this entire post and the instructions at the bottom before you post a comment.
While training the parent Pokemon for this brood I had a real good set of attacks and a mom and dad with good IVs. I started breeding, and I started hatching, and I started crying! I made the mistake every breeder makes now and then. I forgot that Pokemon in the day care will learn new moves if they level up while in the day care. My carefuly crafted plans were thwarted when one of the parents gained a level and learned a new move, replacing one of the old moves.
Understanding that this may happen again because these two Pokemon were still in the prime “learning zone” I was off to the Elite Four to level these two up as fast as I could. I also had to make a short detour into the Underground to dig up some Heart Scales.
A few hours later I was back in business! You are probably wondering what awesome moves these Pokemon have aren’t you? Well, I’m not going to tell! Nope, at least not yet.
I will update this article once more today with the move set information of these Totodile.
Rules
1. I don’t care what you trade me though I would prefer a non-Sinnoh Pokemon.
2. The Pokemon you trade to me should be holding something.
3. I prefer berries over all other items.
4. The only exception to berries are the two items that Magby/Elekid hold when caught in the wild.
5. For berries I need: numbers 60+.
6. When you leave your information in the comments below your trainer name must be correct. When I do the trading I refer to the comments on the site to see who gets what.
7. When you enter the Wi-Fi zone select the trade option and wait for me to select you.
8. If you can, be early. I am sometimes on early.
9. Don’t be afraid to trade amongst yourselves.My information:
Trainer: Ezekial
Friend Code: 0559 3242 3898Instructions
- Have something to trade to me
- Be in the Wi-Fi zone by 7:00PM EDT (New York Time) on Monday September 24, 2007
- Be ready
Jean-Georges has a blog
Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has a blog. And while a chef having a blog to promote his new book isn't something I'd necessarily blog about, there's something really cool about seeing it on Blog*Spot. Even after all these years, it makes me proud.
comments are open
It's all about today
Posted by Niv Efron and Eyal Molad, Google Trends Engineers, Tel-Aviv
A lot of us love video games, and everyone here has their favorite from the latest generation of consoles. We have a game room in our building that happens to have all three of the latest systems: Artem loves Microsoft's Xbox 360, Niv can't part with Sony's Playstation 3, and Corey is hopelessly addicted to the Nintendo Wii. After some serious work organizing the world's information, we like to kick back with a round of Wii Tennis or a trip to Rapture. The problem is that there's only one TV in the game room, and of course only one system can be played at a time. In true Googley fashion, we look to data to decide which console gets first dibs. For that, we used Google Trends, which lets us see what the world is searching for.
Take, for example, a comparison across the systems:
Looks like a pretty tight race. Let's take a closer look at 2007.
Wow, they're definitely neck and neck (and neck) -- the top console could change anytime. Fortunately, Google Trends is now updated every day with the latest information. (Until now, Trends was only updated once a month.) Now we can follow the console race (or any other topic) every 24 hours, whether it's The Office vs Heroes or the candidates for the next presidential election.
In addition to daily updates, we've also created an iGoogle gadget and a feed for Hot Trends. If you have ever wanted to know what the Internet was thinking right now, Hot Trends can tell you just that. Hot Trends shows you what the fastest rising search queries are on Google. Now you can keep track of Hot Trends three ways: by visiting the site, adding the gadget to your homepage, or subscribing to the feed by adding the feed URL to Google Reader or your favorite feed reader.
We'd love to hear about any interesting trends you've discovered. Please send them to us at cooltrends@google.com. We'll feature the best ones in a future post.
31 Days of Monsters by Mail
Len of Monster By Mail (previously) in preparation for Halloween is, throughout October, auctioning off 31 separate chances to get an original commissioned piece of monster art — delivered in an 18′ tall coffin created by artist Liz Rosino of Lucky Kat. You’ll also get a Monster By Mail colouring book, and a whack of Halloween goodies: 31 Days of Halloween.
Thinking the Unthinkable about iTunes
Tons of press and posts, including some from my colleagues here at Adaptive Path, have touted the iPod/iPhone and iTunes ecosystem as a great model for how product systems should be. But it is my contention that at least one of those products–iTunes–is not really a very great application, especially now that Apple is making it the core of a suite of devices.
I’ve always thought iTunes was hard to use, and it has only grown worse over the years, as we now don’t have hundreds of songs, we now have thousands–in some cases tens of thousands–of songs, podcasts, movies, TV shows, radio, ringtones all in one long, long list. Working with iTunes has become as pleasurable as working with a spreadsheet. It needs a complete overhaul.
I will grant that iTunes is the Little App That Could, taking on way more than it was ever supposed to. It was never designed to be a digital hub. Or if it was, it was never designed well. How it handles different media is klugy. Playlists are, at their heart, just folders. The new iPhone addition to iTunes had to add tabs into the center pane. TV shows are clustered one way, movies another. It’s become a dog’s breakfast, and frankly, iTunes was never that pretty or engaging application to begin with. Winamp is aesthetically far more pleasing.
While Apple’s devices keep getting iteration after iteration, core apps–iTunes, Mail, iCal–languish or are given band-aid solutions to core issues. It looks like Mail, iChat, and iCal are getting some attention in Leopard, but meanwhile iTunes works and feels like an application from seven years ago, and the digital world–thanks in no small measure to Apple itself–has changed. iTunes, the ugly hub in the center of Apple’s media wheel, needs some serious interaction and visual attention. I hope Apple gives it some.
Branching Out with Blip
Today is a benchmark day for us at Rocketboom as we release the merits of a great new effort with blip.tv. Together we've integrated our systems to demonstrate a flexible model for distribution, sponsorship and advertising.
At Rocketboom, earlier this year, we designed a sponsorship model so far culminating in a week-long sponsorship by Real Player and a rev-share deal with YouTube.
I personally love our sponsorship model and can't find anyone who feels it's invasive (you can expect to see more of these from us throughout 2008). It's also a great system because we burn the sponsorship message into our master file and thus distribute it across all platforms. Not just one flash file, but all of our files, everywhere (e.g. the sponsorship message travels through our own site, iTunes, Facebook, YouTube, TiVo, etc.).
Now blip has taken us way further with the additional ability to serve interactive, post-roll ads and collapsable overlays in flash AND Quicktime files. After talking with Apple, we believe this is the first time anyone has used Quicktime to serve overlay ads. Our daily publishing method now incorporates this dynamic serving in perfect sync with our hard burning.
Blip brokered the sponsorship (many more to come) and has integrated their run-of-site framework into our site for extra coverage between sponsor runs. This gives us the ultimate flexibility to manage multiple sales of various types at the same time.
The blip folks are some of the brightest and smartest people in this space so its been a real pleasure to finally come together. Thanks especially to Mike and Dina for maintaining such strong passion and good will.
Check out Mike's post here.
To see in action, visit Rocketboom.
Want to get involved? Contact us!
The Simpsons go to the movies
Click through for more.
September 23, 2007
Wes Anderson is promoting The Darjeeling Limited by releasing a...
Wes Anderson is promoting The Darjeeling Limited by releasing a 13-minute teaser film called Hotel Chevalier on the web before Darjeeling opens in theaters. Three words: Natalie Portman nude. Portman, Anderson, and Jason Schwartzman will be at the Apple Store in NYC to premiere the short. If you go, expect a freakin' mob scene of twee hipster horndogs.
(link)
Teaser trailer for Alinea's cookbook, which is due out in...
Teaser trailer for Alinea's cookbook, which is due out in Autumn 2008 and will contain 600 recipes. Pre-orders through the site will get signed copies and early access to a companion web site which will contain more recipes, demo videos, and behind the scenes videos. I'm really appreciating the effort these top chefs and restaurants make to open source their recipes and process...it sounds like between the book and web site, one could open a restaurant serving Alinea's menu. (Whether that restaurant would be successful or not would depend mostly on the 90% of the stuff involved with running a restaurant that doesn't rely on the ability to read a cookbook.)
(link)
Quite a large model
Spotted this giant of building in Richmond, VA this weekend. It may be the best sign spotting of the trip.
After Musharraf
Next month’s Atlantic discusses what the future holds for America and Pakistan.
Last November, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., brought together more than two dozen former high-level United States government officials to take part in a half-day exercise on the future of Pakistan. In the room were former assistant secretaries of state and career ambassadors, as well as former senior officials from the Pentagon, the CIA, the Treasury, and USAID; it was a veritable who’s who of Washington’s Pakistan experts. The sponsors presented an escalating series of fictional crises—growing violence along the Pakistani-Afghan border, mass protests against the government by radical Islamists, the arrest of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto shortly after her return from exile—and asked participants how they would respond to rising chaos in the nuclear-armed state.
The exercise culminated with this scenario: In the aftermath of Pakistan’s national elections in late 2007, Taliban forces attempt to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai, then retreat to a hideout in western Pakistan. U.S. forces pursue them, and an American soldier is taken captive in South Waziristan, a tribal region in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province. As the kidnappers post video images of the hostage on the Internet, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf orders his army to attack the Taliban compound. The assault frees the American soldier, but leaves hundreds of militants, Pakistani troops, and civilians dead or wounded. Antigovernment riots spread across the country, peaking in a confrontation between civilians and Pakistani forces in Lahore that leaves a dozen people dead. That evening, in what looks like a coup attempt, troops surround the houses of both Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz, the prime minister. Hours later, the U.S. ambassador receives a call from a previously unknown Pakistani two-star general, “raising serious concerns,” according to the scenario playbook, “over whether the chain of command in Pakistan has remained intact.”
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