Friday, December 31, 2010

Whither Goest Ubiquity in SM?

I'm about halfway through Kevin Kelly's "What Technology Wants", a fascinating book in which he discusses his concept of what he calls the "Technium". Click here for a page on his website with links to numerous reviews of the book.



The point I'm at in the book he's discussing the concepts of risk management and how best to approach new technologies, as well as the potential for both good and bad inherent in them. The thing that struck me the hardest, though, is the recognition that some of the effects of a technology aren't apparent until they approach ubiquity, that is until a certain critical mass of people or entities are using them.



So . . . in that regard I find myself wondering what social media is going to look like when everyone is using smartphones and some of the, say, location-based services are both easier to use and more powerful in terms of bringing people together. Anyone have any ideas on what the future may hold? What will it mean to restaurants and others who depend on a fickle public when everyone joins the conversation?

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Rocketdyne Continues to Advance on J-2X Engine

If the ill-conceived decision to depend on Russian launch capability for at least two years, which was part of George W. Bush's plan for our Space Program, results in the loss of talent still working at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, it will be at the very least a setback that may take a decade to recover from.



I'm in favor of the commercialization of space and American (actually human) launch capabilities, but it isn't imminent, even if we use aggressive estimates of existing companies vying for leadership. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne needs to become more competitive, but that doesn't require throwing them to the wolves. It would be a sad loss for not just our country, but everyone who believes we have a role to play outside the confines of this planet.

Amplify’d from pr-usa.net

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Completes Assembly of Fuel Turbopump on NASA's J-2X Rocket Engine

The J-2X fuel turbopump assembly follows the successful assembly of the oxidizer turbopump, which delivers high-pressure liquid oxygen to the main injector.  The engine, whose first hot-fire tests are planned for  early 2011 at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, has the characteristics to power the upper-stage of a heavy-lift launch vehicle.

"Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne continues to demonstrate readiness and the capability to support NASA as the nation embarks upon the next era of human spaceflight," said Jim Maser, president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.


John Vilja, vice president and program manager for the J-2X engine, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, said the J-2X is a significant and long overdue development in upper-stage propulsion.  "The J-2X will prove vital in continuing U.S. space exploration, advancing engineering skills, creating opportunities for missions beyond low-Earth orbit, and even providing opportunities for adaptation to alternate fuels in space," Vilja said.

Read more at pr-usa.net
 

Monday, December 27, 2010

The Beauty of Diagrams: Vitruvian Man & Others I Can't View

Facebook and other frustrations. How many times do you see comments friends of yours have made on threads that were initiated by someone who isn't a friend of yours . . . and you wanted to comment as well, but couldn't? It happens to me quite frequently, but I usually just let it go and content myself with gratitude for not being as interested in instant gratification as, say, my seven year old.



However, this morning I became aware of what looks like a fascinating six-part series that was apparently broadcast on BBC4 just recently, the synopses of which are available on the BBC's website, but which also are listed as unavailable in my area.



The series includes episodes on Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, Copernicus and the heliocentric universe, Newton's prism, Florence Nightingale's depiction of the real cause of battle deaths, The discovery and depiction of DNA, and the story behind the plaque carried on the space vehicle Pioneer.



As a long-time fan of Edward Tufte's and the general notion of "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" I was hoping to watch the series. Alas, not only can't I comment directly on my friend's comments; I can't even watch any of the series.



So . . . Jack Vinson - thanks for your inadvertently making aware of the series; curses on you Facebook for not allowing me to make a side comment because the originator isn't a friend of mine; Damn you BBC for allowing me to read your promos about the series, download the damn iPlayer, but not allowing me to view the episodes.



If anybody out there in cyberland knows how I can remedy this situation without waiting a year before the BBC deigns to replay the series, I would be most appreciative. Thanks.


Friday, December 24, 2010

Happy Holidays from a Quantum Gestalt Humanist

Well, it being that time of year again, I just want to take a moment to wish everyone I know (or whoever happens upon this post) the best. Over the years it's morphed considerably. What was once Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year has become Happy Holidays. There's also Mele Kalikimaka, which is one of my all-time favorites and, as of the last few years, I've taken to wishing friends and family a Happy Chriskwanzukkah.





Recently, however, I came across a new one in the Urban Dictionary, and thought I'd like to share it. So . . . from this former Jew, currently atheist (but who likes the term in the title as well, especially for friends who refuse to believe I'm an atheist), kinda Buddhist, who was raised in a Christian country and is intimately familiar with the holiday now only loosely associated with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth (including that Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men nonsense):



Happy Chrismahannukwanzadan




Friday, December 17, 2010

Usage of the word "collaboration" through the eyes of Google Labs' Ngram Viewer (thx @Renee_Hopkins)

Interesting. Based on a tweet from @Renee_Hopkins regarding the frequency of use of "disruptive innovation", I visited the site and put in the word "collaboration". It looks like from about 1870 on there's a fairly even slope, save for the period around WWII (which, I both assumed and pretty much confirmed by checking some titles, had to do with the scrutiny of European collaboration with the Nazis - though there were some other studies as well). Also, it looks like it peaks in 2000 and is currently waning somewhat precipitously.


Sunday, December 12, 2010

Henry Porter on wikileaks

Ah . . . I find the last sentence in this quote simultaneously damning and illustrative of a too-large percentage of our so-called leaders. I'm amazed we put up with their shit! Why are so many so gullible and easily led astray; choosing courses of action that are demonstrably against their own best interests?

Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk
I have lost count of the politicians and opinion formers of an authoritarian bent warning of the dreadful damage done by the WikiLeaks dump of diplomatic cables, and in the very next breath dismissing the content as frivolous tittle-tattle. To seek simultaneous advantage from opposing arguments is not a new gambit, but to be wrong in both is quite an achievement.
Read more at www.guardian.co.uk
 

A Few Choice (mine) Quotes From Bucky

Just thought Sunday morning would be a good time to pass along a few of the numerous quotes attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller I found particularly thought-provoking or enlightening.

Amplify’d from en.wikiquote.org

Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster Fuller (12 July 18951 July 1983) was an American philosopher, architect, and inventor, known to many of his friends and fans as "Bucky" Fuller.


  • God, to me, it seems

    is a verb,

    not a noun,

    proper or improper.


    • No More Secondhand God (1963)




  • The opposite of nature is impossible



  • We must do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian-Darwinian theory, he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.

    • Barlow, Elizabeth (March 30, 1970). "The New York Magazine Environmental Teach-In". New York Magazine, p. 30.[1]




  • Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.

    • Interview (30 April 1978)



Read more at en.wikiquote.org
 

Saturday, December 11, 2010

I Have To What?

My 7 year old: Daddy. I have a boyfriend.



Me: What's his name.



7YO: Tyler.



Me: Have you kissed him?



7YO: No! I'm going to marry him.



Me: If you marry him you're going to have to kiss him.



Wife: But not until you're 18.



7YO: Yay!

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

I Am Julian Assange

Excellent read by James Moore on why what Wikileaks has done is important to our freedom and progress as a people.


Monday, November 29, 2010

When You Die In ‘Real’ Life, Who Will Keep You Alive On Twitter?

I started thinking about this kind of stuff when a young women I knew through the International Adoption community died of cancer in her early twenties. She had become a friend on Facebook and her presence remained; curated by her former fiancee and, perhaps, some of her closest friends.



It was eerie, yet I didn't want to let go of her either. Since then my uncle has died, as has a friend and business acquaintance. I 'unfriended' the latter, as I didn't know him that well and never met his family, but it made me feel a little creepy - like I was abandoning him. I know it's absolutely crazy, but I can't help the feeling.



At any rate, this blog shares an interesting take on what happens to us in the social media (i.e. cyberspace) world when we shuffle off our mortal coil and return to that great supernova in the sky. At my age, I'm beginning to think far more seriously about this stuff than I have before. How about you?


When You Die In ‘Real’ Life, Who Will Keep You Alive On Twitter?

I started thinking about this kind of stuff when a young women I knew through the International Adoption community died of cancer in her early twenties. She had become a friend on Facebook and her presence remained; curated by her former fiancee and, perhaps, some of her closest friends.



It was eerie, yet I didn't want to let go of her either. Since then my uncle has died, as has a friend and business acquaintance. I 'unfriended' the latter, as I didn't know him that well and never met his family, but it made me feel a little creepy - like I was abandoning him. I know it's absolutely crazy, but I can't help the feeling.



At any rate, this blog shares an interesting take on what happens to us in the social media (i.e. cyberspace) world when we shuffle off our mortal coil and return to that great supernova in the sky. At my age, I'm beginning to think far more seriously about this stuff than I have before. How about you?


A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

This is a very cool compilation of just about every type of graphic and chart that can be used to get a point across. No matter what type of data you're conveying, there's almost certainly a method here that will help you convey it clearly. Perhaps some are a bit pedestrian, but they are tried and true; many having stood the test of time.


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Today is, regardless of its deeper meaning wrt colonialism, racism, and Imperialism, a special day; perhaps the most meaningful of all our American holidays in terms of family. It's a secular holiday, which I consider special - absent any religious significance that isn't common to everyone. I just want to commemorate it with a quick recognition of everyone I have, and have had, the opportunity to connect with. Thank you. http://amplify.com/u/ggpt

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

When I grow up I want to be a superhero with a German car. #photo

You go, Grandma!!

Amplify’d from www.mymodernmet.com

Grandma's Superhero Therapy (18 photos)

A few years ago, French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91-year-old Hungarian grandmother Frederika feeling lonely and depressed. To cheer her up, he suggested that they shoot a series of outrageous photographs in unusual costumes, poses, and locations. Grandma reluctantly agreed, but once they got rolling, she couldn't stop smiling.



Frederika was born in Budapest 20 years before World War II. During the war, at the peril of her own life, she courageously saved the lives of ten people. When asked how, Goldberger told us "she hid the Jewish people she knew, moving them around to different places every day." As a survivor of Nazism and Communism, she then immigrated away from Hungary to France, forced by the Communist regime to leave her homeland illegally or face death.



Aside from great strength, Frederika has an incredible sense of humor, one that defies time and misfortune. She is funny and cynical, always mocking the people that she loves.

Read more at www.mymodernmet.com
 

Nice Guide to Using, as well as the Pros & Cons of, Dropbox

Some useful stuff in here on how to get the most out of a Dropbox account, whether the free one, or one of the paid ones that provide more storage. There are also some tips and tricks and links to further reading.

Amplify’d from www.makeuseof.com

The First Unofficial Guide to Dropbox [Save PDF or Read Online]

by Justin Pot on Nov. 22nd, 2010

You’re at the coffee shop. You need to access a file that has information about your work, but as you attempt to find the file you realize that you’ve made a mistake. You saved the work on your desktop computer, but you only have your laptop with you. You have no way to access the file.

Enter Dropbox. This program acts as a “magic pocket” which is always with you and contains whatever you place in it. Put a file into your Dropbox and it’s on all of your computers and mobile devices, really handy if you own multiple devices. But there’s more to Dropbox: you can use it for file sharing, backing up your data and even remotely control your computer.

If you’re not using Dropbox yet, you should be. Lucky for you our new MakeUseOf manual “Using The Magic Pocket: A Dropbox Manual” is now available for download.

It’s informative, easy to read and, like all of our manuals, completely free.

Download: Using The Magic Pocket: A Dropbox Manual

Read now online on Scribd

See more at www.makeuseof.com
 

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Systems Savvy. Heaven Is Where You Find It?

My latest blog post. What is your definition of work. I don't go into it too deeply here, but mine may be radically different from that of many.


Thursday, November 11, 2010

Why Connecting Matters - andrewpwilson's posterous

This seems like a human analog of the Network Effect. It also seems somewhat analogous to gravity. The more massive a body, the more likely it is to accrete matter from its surrounding space. Connections work that way as well.



Whether it's physics or economics that best explain what the author is talking about, there's no doubt having lots of "useful" connections increases the number and quality of transactions you can or are likely to be involved in.


Monday, November 08, 2010

Content is, indeed, King!

Great article on the triumph of content over form. Thanks to George Dearing for pointing it out.

Amplify’d from www.theatlantic.com




Dylan Tweney




Dylan Tweney
- An award-winning writer specializing in technology, science and business, Dylan Tweney is a senior editor at Wired.com and publisher of tinywords, the world's smallest magazine.







The Undesigned Web

nts and political parties communicated to the first mass audiences.


Message and presentation were inextricably intertwined, with the latter lending power, impact and even meaning to

Design reigned supreme in the 20th century, when it was an integral part of the way artists, publishers, governments and political parties communicated to the first mass audiences.

Message and presentation were inextricably intertwined, with the latter lending power, impact and even meaning to the former. Not for nothing was Marshall McLuhan able to say, with gnomic brevity but not a little insight, "the medium is the message."

But in the 21st century, Internet standards have successfully separated design and content. The two live more interdependent lives, sometimes tightly tied and sometimes completely separated from one another.

The message is now free from the medium.

It's that separability of design and text that has led to the third wave of the web, in which readers (or what some would call end-users) are in control of how the content they are reading looks. And, as it turns out, many of those readers like their designs to be as minimal as possible.

As Jaron Lanier perceptively observed in the introduction to his recent book, You Are Not a Gadget many -- if not most -- of the readers of any text in the 21st century are not people. They are machines: Google's web crawlers and indexing engines, for instance.

Even humans have different motivations and needs. Sometimes readers will want to engage with a particular story in the calm, uncluttered space an iPad affords, with no distractions and with the content front and center. Other times, they may want to read things -- as we increasingly do -- in the midst of a busy hub of data. That should be the reader's choice, not the publisher's. To facilitate those decisions, as well as the widespread distribution of content via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flipboard and a hundred other tools used by readers today, publishers need good information design as well as clean visual designs.

The Undesigned Web will facilitate critical thinking, sharing of information, and the wider dissemination of knowledge than has ever been previously possible. That's because it will be easier than ever to separate content from the, ahem, bullshit with which it is frequently cloaked: Distracting photo spreads, advertisements, backgrounds, faux-official layouts and logos, and the like. It will be easier to tweet, retweet, blog and reblog content, adding layers upon layers of discussion and criticism while embedding it into new social contexts.

In this new world, the end of design -- by which I mean its purpose, its goal, the end toward which it aims -- is to make content easier to parse, both for humans and for machines.

Read more at www.theatlantic.com
 

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Resistance is, indeed, futile

If you're a Star Trek (or, as my father used to call it, Star Drek) fan (especially TNG), you should appreciate this article. I lead with mostly the pics, but the article is also fairly insightful, IMO.

Amplify’d from searchengineland.com

Back in 1996, the now defunct Boardwatch Magazine had a classic cover depicting Microsoft and CEO Bill Gates as the Borg. For 2010, we’d like to submit some more modern candidates: Google, Facebook and Apple.

The article below assumes some knowledge of the Borg from Star Trek. Never heard of them? Nasty creatures that “assimilated” everything into their “collective” society.

The Google Borg

The Facebook Borg

The Apple Borg

And Microsoft…?

Maybe Resistance Is Futile!

Read more at searchengineland.com
 

Friday, November 05, 2010

Alternative News Media Websites

Tired of all the old news sources? You know, the ones that don't really tell you much of what's going on and dwell on the sensational to the detriment of real reporting and analysis. Well, here's a nifty list of alternative media you just may find useful. You're welcome.