June 2011
May 2011
It’s always been all about the thoroughgoing infrastructure. It’s not just bits cobbled together to look cool.
Apple has published an update on the software it will be unveiling at its Keynote Address at its WWDC event in San Francisco on June 6, highlighting updates to its Mac OS X and iOS operating systems for desktops and mobile platforms.
The company also references for the first time its new iCloud service, a cloud-based storage platform that will likely incorporate its current MobileMe service and take its music service onto the web, so that users no longer need to physically sync their iOS devices with iTunes on their desktop computer.
The keynote will be delivered by Steve Jobs, despite being on sick leave from his position as Apple’s CEO.
We have long speculated that Apple’s next iOS update will include a drastic overhaul of the notifications system, possibly introducing voice control and incorporate social elements into the core of the operating system, without the need to download third-party applications.
Our sky chart shows the moon, Venus, and Mars in the eastern sky for about 45 minutes before sunrise tomorrow (Tuesday, May 31, 2011) at North American mid-northern latitudes. The sky scene…
Not rocket science:
The nation’s auto industry would have gone belly-up in 2008 if it weren’t for the intervention of the federal government. GM, Chrysler, and Ford were essentially bankrupt. And though they — and most observers — continue to primarily blame the economic collapse, it should be pretty clear what brought about their decline: Business plans that banked solely on gargantuan, gas-guzzling SUVs and paid no mind to ascendant gas prices. So it should come as no surprise that Detroit is finally rebounding — and it’s doing so thanks to its production of small cars.
By refocusing on small cars and de-emphasizing the gas-guzzlers that had long sustained the industry, General Motors and Ford in particular are preserving jobs and positioning themselves to prosper. Their efforts are already paying off in the marketplace. Ford’s tiny Fiesta is the best-selling subcompact in the United States this year, and G.M.’s Chevrolet Cruze outsold every other compact car in America last month except the segment-leading Honda Civic.
Nearly one in four vehicles sold in the United States in April was a compact or subcompact car, compared with one in eight a decade ago. Of the small cars sold in April, about 27 percent were American models, compared with 20 percent a year earlier.
AUDIO: “A Return to Democracy in Honduras?” Amy Goodman Reports on Zelaya’s Return to Honduras by Democracy Now on Mixcloud
Just favorited “AUDIO: “A Return to Democracy in Honduras?” Amy Goodman Reports on Zelaya’s Return to Honduras” by Democracy Now on Mixcloud.comvia Mixcloud
Some souls flow like clear water.
They pour into our veins
and feel like wine.I give in to that. I fall flat.
We can sail this boat lying down!
I’ve implemented ThingLink on this Tumblog. It was as simple as signing up and pasting some code in the header. As my Wordpress blog is not self-hosted, I can’t install the plugin there. Follow the dots.
ThingLink allows you to tag and link things in images. For example: tagging a chair inside an image, giving some information about its design, and linking the chair to the store that sold it. ThingLink calls this an “interactive hotspot.” While the concept of tagging things in photos isn’t new - Facebook, Flickr and others have been doing this for some time now - ThingLink’s tagging is richer and offers a lot more information and linking possibilities.
Why is ThingLink richer than tagging photos in Facebook? Because in addition to tagging an object within an image and linking it to a social network or web site, ThingLink can integrate information, videos and sound inside that image. So for example you can view a video from YouTube or listen to music from SoundCloud by hovering your mouse over a thing in an image and clicking a ‘play’ button.
Monday’s Poem: “‘I have no Life but this’” by Emily Dickenson. Monday’s Literary Notes: Today is Memorial Day. It became a holiday after the Civil War, to honor the Union and Confederate soldiers who…
We got this question: “What phase of the moon would be best for stargazing, and why?”
And the answer is … it depends on what you want to do. Some people enjoy watching the moon itself, as it…
Sunday’s Poem: “Smoke Break Behind the Treatment Center” by Debra Nystrom, from Bad River Road. Sunday’s Literary Notes: Today is the birthday of English author G.K. Chesterton, born Gilbert Keith…
Let the GOP go after Medicare, but don’t be satisfied with the status quo.
Forty Senate Republicans have now joined their colleagues in the House to support Paul Ryan’s plan that would turn Medicare into vouchers that funnel money to private health insurers. They thumbed their nose at the special election in upstate New York earlier this week that delivered a victory to…
Saturday’s Poem: “Air” by Ruth Stone, from In the Next Galaxy. Saturday’s Literary Notes: On this day in 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law. It was the first…
If you’re up before daybreak on May 28, look for the dazzling planet Jupiter beneath the waning crescent moon. Although we also show the planets Venus and Mars on our sky chart, viewers…
Rock ‘n’ Roll, people!
By SCOTT BAUER and TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press –1 hr 1 min ago
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin’s law taking away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most public workers was struck down Thursday by a circuit court judge but the ruling will not be the final say in the union fight that brought tens of thousands of protesters to the Capitol earlier this year. The state Supreme Court has scheduled arguments for June 6 to decide whether it will take the case. Republicans who control the Legislature also could pass the law a second time to avoid the open meeting violations that led to the judge’s voiding the law Thursday.
Thursday’s Poem: “The Execution” by Alden Nowlan, from Selected Poems. Thursday’s Literary Notes: Today is the birthday of the father of modern Russian literature: Aleksandr Pushkin, born in Moscow…
The star Deneb – visible now by mid-evening – is one of the most distant of the bright stars. When you gaze at this star, you are gazing across a distance of 1,500 light-years, according to…
Look back at yesterday’s chart if you want to see the constellation Hercules above the star Vega. Today’s closer view can help you identify the most famous deep-sky object within this…
Tuesday’s Poem: “Flannery’s Angel” by Charles Wright, from Bye-and-Bye: Selected Late Poems. Tuesday’s Literary Notes: On this day in 1626, Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from the Lenape…
Monday’s Poem: At the IGA: Franklin, New Hampshire” by Jane Kenyon, from Collected Poems. Monday’s Literary Notes: Today is the birthday of the author of the classic children’s book Goodnight Moon:…
Sunday’s Poem: “Brush Strokes” by Joyce Kennedy, from Ghost Lamp. Sunday’s Literary Notes: It is the birthday of the first openly gay man elected to public office. Harvey Milk was born in Woodmere,…
There’s a constellation on this chart that’s easy to see on the sky’s dome, if your sky is dark enough. Corona Borealis doesn’t look like much on this chart, but in a dark sky it’s exciting to…
Saturday’s Poem: “Going” by David Kherdian, from Nearer the Heart. Saturday’s Literary Notes: On this day in 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. When Clara was only 10, her brother…
This morning, as I was on my somewhat soggy constitutional, as has been my habit during this spring cleanse, I spied a very tall cherry tree (desperately in need of some pruning). Into my head…
Friday’s Poem: “Goosefeathers” by Donald Hall, from The Back Chamber. Friday’s Literary Notes: On this day in 1946, English-born poet W.H. Auden became a U.S. citizen. Auden began writing poetry in…
One of my favorite constellations, little squarish Corvus the Crow, can be found in the south after sunset at this time of year. It’s not far from the bright star Spica. You’ll recognize…
These are some interesting things to think about this graduation season. I’m particularly attuned to this because for the past seven years I have been teaching at few colleges and a university in the area. But I recall most vividly upon graduation that people older than I used to say “Welcome to the real world.” As I had been working at several different jobs in order to sustain myself and my college journey, I use to retort “You mean the other part of the ‘real world’.”
Lately I have been trying to list all of the spaces, places, moments in time, story telling techniques, life courses, and jobs that are not popularly considered “the real world.” Here is…
Why should I? Portland seems to have moved here to Greater Boston. It’s another rainy spring, producing all variants of liquid precipitation from fog, to the weird mist that confounds first-time visitors, to driving rain. The blossom-slick streets rival the autumn here. Given the algae that’s growing on the siding, I think I will have to power-wash the house again this year.
Thursday’s Poem: “Summer Trips” by Jonathan Greene, from Distillations and Siphonings. Thursday’s Literary Notes: On this day in 1897, Oscar Wilde was released from Reading Gaol, where he’d been…
At middle latitudes in North America, the waning gibbous moon rises into the southeast sky about two hours after sunset. The full moon only happened a few days ago, so the moon…
Wednesday’s Poem: “Not Forgotten” by Sheila Packa, from Cloud Birds. Wednesday’s Literary Notes: On this day in 1804, the French Senate proclaimed Napoleon Bonaparte emperor of France. History…
Ooh, one of my favorite cyberpunk authors is featured on the Cyborgology blog.
In his Beyond the Beyond blog (hosted by WIRED magazine), cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling recently made some comments on my post, “Cyborgs and the Augmented Reality they Inhabit.”
Here is the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky. You’ll find this beautiful bluish star by looking northeastward in mid-evening. It’s so bright that you can notice it, even when no…
Dear Twimbow user,
We are happy to announce a new beta release of your social media dashboard Twimbow.
What are you waiting for? Please go to http://www.twimbow.com and check Twimbow 1.1 out. If you haven’t moved to Twimbow 1 yet, please migrate your account, it just takes 20 seconds!
Here are the main new features.
New Settings
Completely re-designed settings window. Settings are now splitted between two views and one view is dedicated to the “look & feel” only. Moreover, the new settings window works better with low-res netbooks.
White Skin
The much requested light skin is finally here! Don’t you like the default dark skin? Now you can choose between a dark (default) skin and a new white skin.
Small Toolbar and audio notifications
If you think the default toolbar is too big or it doesn’t play well together with the new white skin, you can now choose a small one with minimalistic icons. In the following versions, more skins and toolbars will be available. Moreover, we added optional audio notifications for DM and mentions for all your accounts.
Last but not least, we added other bugs :-) Please help us remove them by adding them tohttp://twimbow.uservoice.com
Please don’t esitate to contact me for further information. We are set to make Twimbow the best social media browser available, by providing innovative and unique features no other clients are offering. We don’t copy, we invent.
You can find more information about Twimbow on our bloghttp://blog.twimbow.com.
Please follow us on Twitter for the latest news on Twimbow or just to say “Hi”:Twimbow, filos (myself)
Cheers,
Luca
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Go on…
The great challenge is to get politics to be about other emotions. While anger has its place, it is not the only, or even the best emotion to employ when thinking about public life. I think the central conceit of representative democracy whereby the “best and the brightest” filter out the passion and anger of the masses through deliberation and compromise has its value, but a core downfall is that it doesn’t place much obligation on citizens to be reasonable or civil.
In that case, how do you introduce these other emotions into civic life. For example, how do you talk about a “politics of love” without sounding like some sort of irrelevant crunchy peacenik. It is here where public life is at its most partriarchal. The only allowable feelings to express in public discourse are traditionally masculine ones. But we know from life that anger has to be controlled or kept in check. We don’t seem to hold those same standards in public discourse. Instead suggesting and anger towards government is good and a sign of “caring” about civic life. If anger and stress have negative health effects on the body, it’s possible that they also have negative health effects on the body politic.
While a rational comprehensive approach to policy is now seen as naiive in explaining how policy is decided upon, only now are we really delving into the role of emotions in policy making…..good…
Tuesday’s Poem: “The River” by David Kherdian, from Nearer the Heart. Tuesday’s Literary Notes: Beethoven’s famous Kreutzer Sonata was first performed on this day in 1803 at Augarten-Halle in Vienna,…
