Archive: March 18, 2024

 

Archive: March 18, 2023

at the zoo

Saturday,  03/18/23  09:55 PM

giraffe!I spent this afternoon with my granddaughter (7) at the delightful Santa Barbara zoo.

It's not a big zoo, which makes it perfect for an afternoon with a little kid.  You can walk the whole thing and see just about every animal in a couple of hours.  They don't have every kind of everything, but they do have some kind of everything: the amazing staples like giraffes, leopards, gorillas, etc., plenty of beautiful and amazing birds, snakes (!), even jumping spiders (!!).  And it's pretty; you don't get that "big animal in a small cage" feeling of sympathy for the residents.


gorilla!And also, lot of good signage, including detailed descriptions of each animal, where they are from, how they live, what they eat, etc.  My granddaughter is a great reader and delighted in informing me of all the details of each animal, while I tried to find them.  We made a great team.

Zoos are one of those things which bring up conflicting emotions; should we capture and display wild animals?  Does this help us learn more about them?  And does this help us educate each other about the wider world in which we live?

Those are tough questions; but an easier one is "do they make for a great afternoon"?

 

 
 

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Archive: March 18, 2015

Iditarod day ten: Seaveys hit Nome runs

Wednesday,  03/18/15  03:59 PM

Here's a video of Dallas Seavey cruising to his third #Iditarod victory this morning just after 4AM in Nome.  Four hours later his father Mitch finished second, quite a family dynasty they've got there.  Aaron Burmeister finished third, all by himself, a great result for him and his best ever.  Still on the trail but almost Nome is Jessie Royer, who will finish fourth, and the top five will be rounded out by Aliy Zirkle.  She can take some comfort from the fact that at least she didn't finish second again (which she's done the last three years!)

[All 2015 Iditarod posts]

 

Iditarod day ten, cont: Jeff King in the Blowhole

Wednesday,  03/18/15  06:08 PM

Here's an awesome GoPro video of #Iditarod musher Jeff King flying through the "Blowhole" between White Mountain and Safety.  Thirty mile an hour winds are no picnic for a dog team, especially after 1,000 miles on the trail.  Wow.

[All 2015 Iditarod posts]

 
 

Archive: March 18, 2014

Different Scales (NY 11/14/11)

Tuesday,  03/18/14  08:49 PM

 

"different scales"

(from my backlog of unposted awesome New Yorker covers)

 

Google Android Wear

Tuesday,  03/18/14  09:03 PM

Today's big news is BIG: Google Android Wear

"Google has revealed that their Android operating system is coming to wearable technology as part of their newly announced Android Wear project."

Not only does this make Android available as a platform for all sorts of devices – Google Glass, and now Google Watches, and who knows what else – but these will have Google’s voice activated technology built in.

"Okay Watch, take picture"

It’s interesting to me that while Google aren't first to this market, they've beat Apple to it. We all know Apple is working on wearable computing devices but where are they? Maybe, like with phones, they'll wait until everyone else gets it wrong for a while, learn, and then get it right. But Android seems headed for a nice head start.

Also I have to say, these are not ugly.  Of course Google are making a platform, and anyone can use their SDK to build on their platform, so Hublot or Cartier or whomever can make a Google Wear watch.  Android jewelry, coming soon!

 
 

Archive: March 18, 2013

 

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Archive: March 18, 2009

the first bird

Wednesday,  03/18/09  01:05 AM

I am somewhat intermittently rereading The New New Thing, Michael Lewis' book about Jim Clark, dating from 1999; the height of the Internet boom.  I was struck by a passage about "the first bird".  Jim Clark and Michael Lewis are at sea, sailing from Europe to the Caribbean on Clark's computer-controlled mega-yacht, and before their landfall they see a solitary figure: the first bird.  The first bird is a cheery site for the crew of a boat because it means land is nearing, but it isn't great for the bird; likely, it has strayed too far from land and cannot make it back.  An interesting metaphor for Clark himself.  There is a chance the bird cannot make it back to the land it has left, but is nearing new land ahead.  I sometimes feel exactly like such a bird.  I cannot turn back, it would be too far, so I must press on hoping to find new land.  Onward!

 
 

Archive: March 18, 2008

remembering Daniel Jacoby

Tuesday,  03/18/08  11:23 PM

Today, in Aperio's monthly all-staff meeting, I made mention that last week was the fourth anniversary of my good friend and ex-partner Daniel Jacoby's death, at the hands of a brain tumor.  In thinking about this brief mention - what I was going to say, and what I ended up saying - I realize that he was a profound influence on me.  A few days may go by without me thinking of him, just a few, but more significantly not a day goes by without me thinking like him.  In a real sense he is still alive, in my mind.

We humans learn by copying.  It is easiest to copy other humans, but when we think of something ourselves, we are also copying - we're copying in the real world what we've already done in the fantasy world of our heads.  This "trial and error" of forethought is the primary evolutionary advantage of brains.  Much better to think of falling off a cliff - and think through the consequences! - than to do it; and yet the experience gained ("don't fall off cliffs") is the same.

When you get to know someone, there is another form of learning by copying, too; you copy what they are thinking!  Or even how they are thinking.  And so it is, with me, with Daniel.  As situations arise, I find myself thinking ahead, and also find myself thinking ahead like Daniel would have thought ahead, which gives me a point of view and a learning I wouldn't have had otherwise.  Very valuable, and very interesting.

So here's to you, Daniel.  May you always remain alive - in my head - so I can keep learning from you.

 

Tuesday,  03/18/08  11:29 PM

Hendrik Hertzberg often writes editorials in the New Yorker, and he usually engages in relentless Bush-bashing (or Republican-bashing).  He writes well and thoughtfully, so much so that although I disagree with him, I don't mind reading it.  This week however he wrote about John McCain in a pretty positive way, and makes an interesting suggestion: Condoleezza Rice for Vice President!  "This space is usually devoted to pristine moral reasoning, but, hell, it’s an election year. Let’s get down and dirty. If McCain really wants to have it all—to refurbish his maverick image without having to flip-flop on the panderings that have tarnished it; to galvanize the attention of the press, the nation, and the world; to make a bold play for the center without seriously alienating “the base”—then he can avail himself of a highly interesting option: Condoleezza Rice."  Hey, I could go for that.  Not because she's a woman, and not because she's black, but because she's a pretty interesting choice; experienced, intelligent, and balanced.  Unfortunately I fear it won't happen because McCain will have to avoid any link to the present Bush administration. 

Did you know that Rice is third in line to be President?  I didn't...  apparently the succession order is Vice President, Speaker, Secretary of State.  That would make her the closest a woman has ever come, already.  Update: Of course that is wrong, Nancy Pelosi is Speaker.  How quickly I forget :)  Another update (thanks, Shawn): Apparently Henrik Hertzberg got it wrong; the succession order is VP, Speaker, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, so Rice is fourth.  BTW I had to look it up, President Pro Tempore is the most senior Senator of the majority party; currently Robert Byrd...

Barack Obama made his case with me for being President by giving a great speech yesterday.  It wasn't what he said, it was what he did; there was a problem (his association with Jeremiah Wright), and he took immediate action to deal with it (gave the speech).  He didn't disown Wright, and he didn't deny his involvement in Wright's church - both of those things would have made him look defensive - instead he used the opportunity to move forward.  I don't agree with Obama on many things, but he does have the Right Stuff to be President. 

So it begins: Landis begins final appeal against doping ban.  Good Luck, Floyd!  I give him no chance at all, but yet I profoundly believe he is innocent, and more importantly that no proof has been made that he is not.  One might well say - as Floyd has - that the system itself is on trial.  Update: Velonews has a nice timeline of the case

How to IPO in a tough market: Visa shows how it is done.  (Having a massive network effect is nice :) 

 
 

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Archive: March 18, 2003

Tuesday,  03/18/03  10:36 PM

Man, there's a lot going on!  I actually pushed stuff off so you wouldn't be overloaded.

Want to see a classic example of press bias in action?  Compare the headlines reporting the British Parliament's vote to join the U.S. war against Iraq.  Two extremes: Blair Survives a Mutiny Over Joining U.S. in War (N.Y.Times, predictably critical of Blair), and Blair rallies the Commons for War (London Times, predictably supportive).  As usual, the blogosphere has better detail and is more balanced.  { You want to hear it firsthand?  How about a blogging MP. }  I'm just really glad the Brits have joined us, as have the Aussies.  Don't worry, weasels, noses are being counted... 1 2 3 4 not to mention 5 and 6 and of course 7 and 8...

Navy Women Finding Ways to Adapt to a Man's World.  We're thinking about you, Nicole!

The Times (London) is reporting the first shots of the war have been fired.  And according to the Mirror 30,000 Iraqi soldiers have deserted.  Meanwhile WP reports negotiations with Iraqi officers to surrender.  Too bad it isn't all going to be that easy...

This is great stuff: The world according to Donald Rumsfeld.  Sample:

For those who think world affairs can use a bracing shot of candor, Rumsfeld is the star of this war.  At one Pentagon briefing on Afghanistan, some showboating reporter noted that human rights groups had objected to the dropping of cluster bombs and demanded to know why the U.S. was using them.  "They're being used on frontline al-Qaeda and Taliban troops to try to kill them," replied Rumsfeld.  It was a small indicator of a large cultural shift when NBC's Saturday Night Live introduced a weekly parody of his press conferences, mercilessly mocking not the politician but the dopey journalists.

A fascinating article in the N.Y.Times suggests that It Will Be a Smaller World After All - about a new U.N. population study which indicates world birth rates are dramatically lower than previously thought, particularly in third-world countries.  [thanks Future Pundit.]  This would be tremendously important if true - really good news, actually - I'm going to try to get the report.  Without having read it, my guess is that the trends are accurate, but the figures themselves are not; they are simply too different from what many previous studies have found.

This is awesome - How to Write a Book in 10 Days.  Some great material here for would-be authors.  { I am really jealous, I've been working on Unnatural Selection for four months and have little more than an outline to show for it.  Maybe some books take longer than 10 days :) }

It's been thirteen days since I last found the RIAA guilty of stupidity, so here we go again.  These guys are just determined to piss everyone off, aren't they?  And it is working.  Let's see a show of hands, how many people out there aren't pissed off at the RIAA?  I thought so.  Hilary, you can put your hand down now.

Yahoo has launched Yahoo Platinum, a premium multimedia service which costs [ahem!] $10/month.  It looks similar to RealOne, with a heavy emphasis of sports (for boys) and entertainment (for girls).  The lack of downloaded client software will probably be the differentiator; it makes installation and maintenance more cumbersome (advantage Yahoo) and improves the user experience (advantage Real).  The key sales driver for Yahoo appears to be "exclusive" coverage of the Men's NCAA basketball tournament, but at $17/month I seriously doubt this will get traction.

Strawberry iMacApple Pulls Plug on Original iMac.  One of the all-time great consumer marketing adventures ends.  We have two of the little guys, one strawberry, one biondi blue...

Mozilla 1.3 has been released - yet another browser to try in my never ending quest for surfing perfection...  =O

I'm listening to the Rolling Stones tonight...  haven't done that in a long time.  Man are they good.  They have that "four guys in a garage having a good time" sound which is timeless.  I distinctly remember blasting "Some Girls" from my pickup truck when I was a teenager; Miss You still has me reaching for the volume knob...

Don't you hate it when a blogger doesn't post her email address?  I do.  Tonight I was reading Scoble's blog - which I really like, BTW - and he wrote "David Coursey is someone I respect".  I think he is being sarcastic, nobody as insightful as Robert could really respect someone as lightweight as David Coursey (the ZDNet AnchorDesk editor), but how I am I supposed to ask without his email address?  Would everyone please click through this link so Robert sees my link in his referer logs?  Hey Robert, shoot me email, okay?  My address is posted.

[ LaterRobert, thanks for getting in touch with me.  I apologize, he does have his email address on his site, only it isn't an address, it is a link to a web page which sends him email.  A little less convenient but given the spam situation these days, quite understandable. ]

If you've never visited Gut Rumbles, please check out this post, in which he, er, discusses a, er, situation involving two dissimilar neighbors.  I read it twenty minutes ago, and I'm still laughing.  Remember, this is the guy who said my site made his head hurt.  In retrospect, I think he was being nice, don't you?  I mean, I own a white couch.