Geek who loves computers
My son & I discovered Danny MacAskill via his film Way Back Home (on Netflix). As a long-time avid mountain biker, I have a particular respect for trials riders. The first rider who impressed the heck out of me was Hans Rey. Anyway, Danny’s riding is urban-centric, which really gels with me.
Anyway, below is the YouTube bit that launched Danny. Give it a look. You won’t be disappointed.
Ok, this infographic does an excellent job showing the “journey” of a coffee bean. It’s well worth your time to give it a gander.
Where does coffee come from? A journey from bean to cup.
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The SCAA, Specialty Coffee Association of America has pretty cool conventions (for coffee geeks). I haven’t been to one of these since I left Starbucks. However, I’m quite tempted to make my way down again. I love coffee and coffee sector. There is still the desire that someone else pay the registration fee, but oh well.
Anyway, here’s a little video introducing the SCAA membership to Seattle.
Shortly after the momentous win of Superbowl 48 by the Seahawks, I heard of the parade to held in their honor. My first thought: “well, that’ll be a mad-house; no thanks”. Probably helps in understanding my viewpoint that I’m hardly a sports-fan. I enjoy them from an entertainment perspective, but I’m hardly the uber-fan. Add to that, though, that I first heard expectations of 10s of thousands, then over a hundred thousand. Now we’re hearing estimates of up-to 500 thousand. Traffic in the City is a mess. And I’m smugly patting myself on the back to be sitting, where it’s warm (current temperature in Marysville is 25 degrees) in front of my computer. Seattle is a bit warmer (ha!).
What I love about this digital age: the ability to view such spectacle from anywhere on the globe. I will be streaming the thing while I keep working away (probably on KING5.com, but we’ll see). If you’re at the event, enjoy!
“Adventure, excitement: a Jedi craves not these things”. Wise word from Master Yoda. Have you ever wondered about the roots of this wisdom? Why is this wise?
Craving adventure to cure boredom is this problem, the weakness of personality. Making others responsible for your entertainment externalizes problem solving, makes it harder to solve issues, weakens your personal power.
Interest and excitement can easily be found through exploration, through learning. Boredom’s cure is easy. Simply own the results, the process. Make it yours, embrace it deeply. That’s the path to a fulfilling and rich life.
I first stumbled upon the Piano Guys with the video below. I find their work well done and fun. They clearly enjoy performing.
And, lo, I see that they’re in town this week (Thursday the 6th) at the Paramont. However, the sticker shock along with the fact I’m already heading to Spam-a-lot this weekend will force this off my plate. However, if you’re looking for something to do Thursday night, give them a whirl. I highly recommend them. And enjoy the song below.
I love innovative design. Besides the sustainability elements, I think it’s quite ascetically pleasing.
I was recently engaged in an online debate about sexual shaming as a response to “disagreement”, or a dislike for reporting. In the discussion, the focus, Amy Harmon with the NYTimes asked me to look at her GMO story with fresh eyes. And so I tired.
A bit of background is important at this point. I have years of experience on the “con” side of this issue. I’ve worked in environmental affairs, been involved with myriad environmental action groups; hell, I drive a Prius. And I’ve read over the years the stories about increased cancer risk, Monstanto’s seed police, contaminated soils, and myriad other concerns. Yet I also recognize science evolves, that what we understand about any particular subject gathers more information, different analyses; that the scientific consensus may change. Plus, I’m willing to admit that I am often within an political echo-chamber, where truly hearing other voices can be rather difficult.
With that, I decided to read the article with as open a mind as I can muster. Ms. Harmon does a great job providing in-depth research that challenges my mindset. But, also, I see that this issue is a giant, freakin’ muddle. I’ve spent a little time digging, exploring and counter-exploring. The main thing I’ve learned at this point: this is no easy project. I found this quote over at Nature perfect:
People are positively swimming in information about GM technologies. Much of it is wrong — on both sides of the debate. But a lot of this incorrect information is sophisticated, backed by legitimate-sounding research and written with certitude. (With GM crops, a good gauge of a statement’s fallacy is the conviction with which it is delivered.)
I found another writer looking to make sense of all of this, over with my friends at Grist, Nathanael Johnson. He started a series on GMO foods, starting with “The genetically modified food debate: Where do we begin?” If you have an interest in this subject, I suggest you give the series a read.
I intend to continue my dive into this. Feel free to follow my reading via my Delicious account. This will serve as something of a bibliography on the matter for me. As of right now, my brain is full. And, ultimately, I really want to do the subject justice.
My house has moved into the “unplugged” realm; we stream our content via the internet. Our main appliance is an Apple TV, which we love. Mainly, we prefers its navigation in comparison with our Xbox 360.
The one issue many folks might have is what I’ll call release lag. It takes a few days/weeks (or more) for a show to make its way to Netflix or the iTunes store. For me, that’s really not it an issue. However, it will be for some.
Apple has some work to do. Right now, navigating the main screen is tolerable, though a bit clunky. However, with each new app & service, it gets messier. Soon, it will become unwieldy. I want to see the ability to organize this “desktop”. Folders will be critical. Plus, I want to have a “favorites/bookmarks” section. It would also be good to let me delete apps I don’t want.
The range of content amazes and delights me. And the lack of commercials is glorious. And the ability to stream from my iPhone or Macbook further increases the range of content.
I’m convinced this is the future of content distribution. Well, the ala carte model, at least. There is a revolutionary idea out there, getting ready to shift things again. That’s the exciting part.