mobrec

My Personal Infocloud

So
I had to pass along this absolutely brilliant posting that should shine a bright light exposing the hypocrisy and idiocy of the (Fox sponsored) tea tantrum 'movement'.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

Technorati Tags: ideas, politics, teatantrum

So
Though I have been a Mac convert for over a decade, I have to admit, this is one cool looking PC from YoYoTech in the UK — a bit on the pricey side, but definitely all of the sci-fi, high tech, near-future vibe you could want.

Technorati Tags: design, gadgets, ideas, pc

So
So how do you pronounce Eyjafjallajökull? Here is a little help from a native Icelander (and some not 'interesting' attempts from newscasters).

Technorati Tags: language, travel, world

So
This is a somewhat detailed (and well illustrated) discussion on what it takes to design applications for the iPad — with an emphasis on design (not just slopping code onto the device). Definitely worth a read, especially if you are concerned about how your content looks and feels on the iPad.

Over the last two months we have been working on several iPad projects: Two news applications, a social network and a word processor. We worked on iPad projects without ever having touched an iPad. One client asked us to “start working on that tablet thing” even before we knew whether the iPad was real. The question Are we designing desktop programs, web sites or something entirely new? has been torturing us until that express package from New York finally crossed our door sill. A quick write up of design insights before and after the appearance of the iPad at our office.

Technorati Tags: apple, design, ipad, webdev

So
This OP-1 Synth looks like it would rock hard and be a load of fun to play/create with. Unfortunately, price and release date TBD, but it looks well worth the wait.

If you are unconvinced by reading the specs, check out the videos (via YouTube)

Technorati Tags: design, gadgets, music, synthesizers, technology

So
Ever wonder what it would be like to be inside of a football stadium while it is being imploded (like some Die Hard-esque movie)? Here is a taste – they placed a 360 degree camera inside Texas Stadium as they took it down.

Fun to watch, but I am certainly glad I wasn't actually there (on the inside, anyway).

Technorati Tags: fun, video

So
Teabonics A rather revealing photographic look at the well educated, well informed folks in the tea tantrum movement (sponsored by Faux News).

Technorati Tags: dubious, flickr, photography, politics

So
Looking to find that witty tweet that you made a few months ago that the Twitter site has aged off? Fear, not topsy to the rescue! You can search by tag, user or plain text — not sure why the twitter site doesn't do this itself.

Technorati Tags: search, twitter, webtools

So
In discussing location-based sites like foursquare, britekite and the like I coined the term 'incentivores' — people who live to chase after virtual incentives (badges, titles) by participating in social web sites. I suppose this could just as easily apply to coupon chasers and the like.

Technorati Tags: ideas, socialsoftware, webtools

So
In Norway, they have founds that by cutting down on antibiotics, they can reduce serious infections and even deaths by infections. Counterintuitive, but effective:

Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner. Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia last year, soaring virtually unchecked. The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs. Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.

This is, of course, not to say that antibiotics themselves are evil. It does, however, point to using anything in moderation and with a clear assessment of the consequences of over use.

Technorati Tags: ideas, medicine