Yes, you can purchase your very own festivus pole.
1 week ago
12.23.2009
12.10.2009
12.09.2009
The year in review...
It's that time of year again...when the media devotes all their spare time to reviewing the year. In general, I guess 2009 will not go down in history as the best year for most people in the world. I personally fared well. I have a lot to be grateful for.
In technology, things have begun to get incredibly exciting. I could go on for hours about all the amazing changes happening but I only have about 2 minutes so here are a handful of the most fun and exciting advances:
* If you don't think a picture of the moon is that cool consider this: It has taken us 30 years to be able to take another look at the Apollo landing sites. No camera or telescope had the ability to see something that size at that distance.
Of course, no list would be complete without negative consideration. Without a doubt, the technology which is the least exciting (in my humble opinion) is getting the most attention:
In technology, things have begun to get incredibly exciting. I could go on for hours about all the amazing changes happening but I only have about 2 minutes so here are a handful of the most fun and exciting advances:
- HTML 5
- Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter views the Apollo 11 landing site*
- The Blob Bot
- Google Real Time Search
- Augmented Reality
* If you don't think a picture of the moon is that cool consider this: It has taken us 30 years to be able to take another look at the Apollo landing sites. No camera or telescope had the ability to see something that size at that distance.
Of course, no list would be complete without negative consideration. Without a doubt, the technology which is the least exciting (in my humble opinion) is getting the most attention:
12.04.2009
Social Networkage
Friday is here. I am working on shaping Viewpoint Creative's social networking footprint this week. It has been fun because I get to explore communities I would otherwise not necessarily explore in depth.
Click here to read an article on Mashable! about visualizing global social web involvement.
I found an article earlier today on a toy for babies connected to Twitter. I find this idea pretty disturbing...can we allow babies to enjoy baby life without the involvement of the WWW? I mean, I am all for posting pictures so we can all keep up with your little miracle but if you connect the child to twitter we can't be friends anymore.
And yes, I can see the irony in this position but I have been thinking a lot lately and I do believe it may be high time people start to recognize the decidedly antisocial behavior that comes with over use of social networks.
Click here to read an article on Mashable! about visualizing global social web involvement.
I found an article earlier today on a toy for babies connected to Twitter. I find this idea pretty disturbing...can we allow babies to enjoy baby life without the involvement of the WWW? I mean, I am all for posting pictures so we can all keep up with your little miracle but if you connect the child to twitter we can't be friends anymore.
And yes, I can see the irony in this position but I have been thinking a lot lately and I do believe it may be high time people start to recognize the decidedly antisocial behavior that comes with over use of social networks.
12.01.2009
Juxtapose...
Today began with a lesson in a primitive method for hunting large game animals in the wooded areas of the Northeast United States and ended with a lesson in use of the rgbA color attribute in CSS3. The former lesson was courtesy of my buddy Josh Benton, who you should get to know...if you don't. The second lesson was courtesy of 24ways.org
As far as the hunting technique, it was ostensibly simple: One guy waits in a spot quietly with his SOS while the other guy ranges out on foot and 'pushes' the animals back towards the shooter. Since I am the less experienced hunter I get to do the pushing...which is fine. I am a big believer in paying your dues.
The difficulty lies in the landscape. In order to be effective the pusher needs to dislodge the deer from their hiding places in a combination of dense scrub pine, tangled under brush and briers. If you are the kind of guy who is easily freaked out by getting dirty or doesn't enjoy walking around in the cold before the sun comes up...You are not going to enjoy hunting. It is a lot less glamorous then it is made out to be on TV but it is also a lot more fun and interactive.
There were no deer this morning. That's OK though, with tagging limits we don't want the fun to end too early in the season anyways.
As far as the hunting technique, it was ostensibly simple: One guy waits in a spot quietly with his SOS while the other guy ranges out on foot and 'pushes' the animals back towards the shooter. Since I am the less experienced hunter I get to do the pushing...which is fine. I am a big believer in paying your dues.
The difficulty lies in the landscape. In order to be effective the pusher needs to dislodge the deer from their hiding places in a combination of dense scrub pine, tangled under brush and briers. If you are the kind of guy who is easily freaked out by getting dirty or doesn't enjoy walking around in the cold before the sun comes up...You are not going to enjoy hunting. It is a lot less glamorous then it is made out to be on TV but it is also a lot more fun and interactive.
There were no deer this morning. That's OK though, with tagging limits we don't want the fun to end too early in the season anyways.
11.25.2009
Giving thanks...
It's all about the gratitude these days. Life is a heck of a lot easier when I stay focused on the things I am grateful for. And there is a lot this year...too much to mention really. I have been so incredibly fortunate in my career and personal life this year that getting into specific details feels embarrassing. Point is, I am grateful.
One important detail though, I need to stop talking about feeling grateful and start acting it.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Chow down!
One important detail though, I need to stop talking about feeling grateful and start acting it.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Chow down!
11.16.2009
Rube Goldberg
Isn't it funny where the imagination can take you? In some strangely complex series of machinations my brain led me from hearing the name Rube Goldberg Machine last week to finding this video this morning: http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/commercials/581/
The thing is, I hadn't thought about Rube Goldberg once all weekend. Then suddenly this morning as I poured my coffee *poof* it was back in my conscious thoughts.
By the way, it was used on some talk show last week in reference to the American health care system. Seems pretty fitting...as in, the United States health care industry is a Rube Goldberg machine...in other words a ridiculously complex, convoluted way to accomplish a simple task.
This statement would be true if the health care industry was simply all about keeping people healthy. Sadly, it is not. The health care industry is about lining the pockets of share holders...and it is very successful.
The thing is, I hadn't thought about Rube Goldberg once all weekend. Then suddenly this morning as I poured my coffee *poof* it was back in my conscious thoughts.
By the way, it was used on some talk show last week in reference to the American health care system. Seems pretty fitting...as in, the United States health care industry is a Rube Goldberg machine...in other words a ridiculously complex, convoluted way to accomplish a simple task.
This statement would be true if the health care industry was simply all about keeping people healthy. Sadly, it is not. The health care industry is about lining the pockets of share holders...and it is very successful.
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