Increasingly Random Notes

The Old Reader: behind the scenes: May 1 release post

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:20:01 -0400

The Old Reader: behind the scenes: May 1 release post:

…a promising replacement for Google Reader…

We have been busy implementing and testing some of the features you requested, and we finally deployed them earlier today. Besides fixing a number of server- and client-side bugs, we’ve shipped:

— Extended keyboard shortcuts. Press ? to see the list of the shortcuts that are now available to…

the-science-llama: Reflection and Emission Nebulas— Rho...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:55:25 -0400

the-science-llama:

Reflection and Emission Nebulas
— Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex

Credit: Gerald Rhemann // Astrostudio

"We, as human beings, are landed with memory systems that have fallibilities, frailties, and..."

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:36:16 -0400

“

We, as human beings, are landed with memory systems that have fallibilities, frailties, and imperfections — but also great flexibility and creativity. Confusion over sources or indifference to them can be a paradoxical strength: if we could tag the sources of all our knowledge, we would be overwhelmed with often irrelevant information.

Indifference to source allows us to assimilate what we read, what we are told, what others say and think and write and paint, as intensely and richly as if they were primary experiences. It allows us to see and hear with other eyes and ears, to enter into other minds, to assimilate the art and science and religion of the whole culture, to enter into and contribute to the common mind, the general commonwealth of knowledge. This sort of sharing and participation, this communion, would not be possible if all our knowledge, our memories, were tagged and identified, seen as private, exclusively ours. Memory is dialogic and arises not only from direct experience but from the intercourse of many minds.

”

- Neurologist Oliver Sacks on memory and its necessary fallibility (via explore-blog)

a field of #sunflowers?

Sat, 04 May 2013 15:02:29 -0400

a field of #sunflowers?

I’m Tired

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:43:34 -0400

I’m Tired

googlepoet: World Poetry Day Challenge Google Poetics...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:11:14 -0400

googlepoet:

World Poetry Day Challenge

Google Poetics celebrates the World Poetry Day with a special poetry challenge!

Use existing and/or newly made google poems to create a longer poem and email it to english@googlepoetics.com with WORLD POETRY DAY in the subject line. We’ll publish the best ones as they come in.

If possible, please use an image editor to create the combined poem so that we don’t have to do the editing for you. Also, let us know how you wish to be credited.

We’ll kick off with a poem put together by our founder Sampsa Nuotio.

Let the poetry flow!

Digg Blog: We're Building A Reader

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:00:46 -0400

Digg Blog: We're Building A Reader:

…life & blogging go on, so this is good news for news & information junkies, bloggers on every platform. I’m surveying and checking out prospective migration locations. This one looks promising.

rethinkdigg:

Like many of you, we were dismayed to learn that Google will be shutting down its much-loved, if under-appreciated, Google Reader on July 1st. Through its many incarnations, Google Reader has remained a solid and reliable tool for those who want to ensure they are getting the best from their…

Data brokers are gathering your personal info this very minute - Salon.com

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:03:26 -0500

Data brokers are gathering your personal info this very minute - Salon.com:

Data companies are scooping up enormous amounts of information about almost every American. They sell information about whether you’re pregnant or divorced or trying to lose weight, about how rich you are and what kinds of cars you have.

Regulators and some in Congress have been taking a closer look at these so-called data brokers — and are beginning to push the companies to give consumers more information and control over what happens to their data.

But many people still don’t even know that data brokers exist.

Here’s a look at what we know about the consumer data industry.

laphamsquarterly: Looking for something to do while you hunker...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:17:55 -0500

laphamsquarterly:

Looking for something to do while you hunker down for the rest of winter? Got a hangover that can only be cured by curling up with a hair of the dog and something from the 16th century?

For all your reading needs, it’s Intoxication: The Complete Syllabus—everything from our Winter 2013 issue, organized by time period.

shadow turnabout is fair play

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:03:44 -0500

shadow turnabout is fair play

insideateachersmind: dr3am-c4tching: -Albert...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:00:32 -0500

insideateachersmind:

dr3am-c4tching:

-Albert Einstein

Art…children to write their own or make new designs for quotes!

Libraries are Forever: E-books and Print Books Can Coexist - An Infographic

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:25:45 -0500

See on Scoop.it - The Independent, Autonomous Learner

Reading rules, books in any and all formats, but cuneiform tablets would be heavy for toting around

If you can remember the day you first learned to read, you probably recall that profound sense of accomplishment that came from sounding out the words in your favorite storybooks. But whether you’re 15 or 50, you know that books as we know them have changed a lot since you first cracked open your beloved pieces of childhood literature.

Ever since the first spurt of popularity in the now widespread e-readers, experts and speculators from all sides have been pondering the question, “will e-readers destroy books as we know them?” Despite the entertaining back and forth on this question, the state of the topic right now seems to suggest that, to the surprise of some, books and e-readers won’t edge one another out of the literary arena: They’ll merely coexist.

….For bookworms everywhere, it’s not simply a matter of which will destroy the other, but rather which medium is better for certain types of reading

See on teachingdegree.org

literaryjukebox: “Hope” is the thing with feathers – That...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 00:33:35 -0400

literaryjukebox:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.

“‘Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson, from The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Song: “Little Bird” by Annie Lennox

iTunes : Amazon

First Peña Blanca Sunflower Project festival celebrates plant’s growing popularity

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 09:45:03 -0400

See on Scoop.it - Sunflowers

In late summer in Northern New Mexico, along roadsides and in backyards and through cracks in the sidewalk, bright yellow sunflowers bloom. The tiny ones (two or three inches in diameter) are native to the region and thrive here, even in dry years.

The sunflowers in Peña Blanca — halfway between Santa Fe and Albuquerque in Sandoval County — are different. They’re bigger, 10 inches to 12 inches across, and they’re cultivated, instead of growing wild. About 35 acres on 13 different farms in Santa Ana, Cochiti and Santo Domingo pueblos and in Peña Blanca are part of the Peña Blanca Sunflower Project, which celebrates its first festival this Saturday and Sunday at the Peña Blanca Community Center on N.M. 22.

….

Sunflower seeds have many uses — they can be roasted and eaten, pressed to extract oil, and certain varieties are used for animal feed. Harrison-Inglis isn’t entirely sure what will be done with this year’s harvest (the quantity of seeds may be too small to send to a mill for pressing) but she’s no stranger to small-business initiatives. For years, she ran Sweetwoods Dairy, which made small-batch goat cheese to sell at farmer’s markets.

“As a gourmet food marketer, I’m interested in cold press, virgin processing [of the oil],” Harrison-Inglis said. “Sunflower oil has a dark golden color, and if you warm it even just a little bit, you can smell the aromatic nuttiness of the seed.”’

At the festival this weekend, Harrison-Inglis hopes to have cooking demonstrations. “Sunflower oil has the nutritional profile of olive oil, but unlike olive oil, you can heat it to a very high temperature without smoking it and without a burned taste,” she said.

Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico’s premier daily news with information on the arts and culture scene, where to go and what to see.

See on santafenewmexican.com

First Peña Blanca Sunflower Project festival celebrates plant’s growing popularity

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 09:44:41 -0400

See on Scoop.it - Sunflowers

….

Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico’s premier daily news with information on the arts and culture scene, where to go and what to see.

See on santafenewmexican.com

unquotables: Thomas Edison

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:40:54 -0400

unquotables:

Thomas Edison

(via 100 Historical Guitar Riffs) 100riffs.com Alex Chadwick...

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:28:19 -0400

(via 100 Historical Guitar Riffs)

100riffs.com Alex Chadwick plays 100 famous guitar riffs in one take giving you a chronological history of rock n’ roll.

See the full detailed list of all the artists, keys, and year of each song played in the 100 riffs: http://www.chicagomusicexchange.com/100riffs — PLUS see the pedalboard, guitar and amplifier too!

Alex plays a 1958 Fender Strat: http://goo.gl/g37oT

1 Mr. Sandman - Chet Atkins
2 Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
3 Words of Love - Buddy Holly
4 Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry
5 Rumble - Link Wray
6 Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
7 Pipeline - The Chantays
8 Miserlou - Dick Dale
9 Wipeout - Surfaris
10 Daytripper - The Beatles
11 Can’t Explain - The Who
12 Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
13 Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
14 Black Magic Woman - Santana
15 Helter Skelter - The Beatles
16 Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac
17 Crossroads - Cream
18 Communication Breakdown - Led Zeppelin
19 Paranoid - Black Sabbath
20 Fortunate Sun - Creedence Clearwater Revival
21 Funk 49 - James Gang
22 Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
23 Bitch - Rolling Stones
24 Layla - Derek and the Dominos
25 School’s Out - Alice Cooper
26 Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
27 Money - Pink Floyd
28 Jessica - Allman Brothers
29 La Grange - ZZ Top
30 20th Century Boy - T. Rex
31 Scarlet Begonias - Grateful Dead
32 Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
33 Walk This Way - Aerosmith
34 Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
35 Stranglehold - Ted Nugent
36 Boys Are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy
37 Don’t Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
38 Carry on My Wayward Son - Kansas
39 Blitzkreig Bop - The Ramones
40 Barracuda - Heart
41 Runnin’ with the Devil - Van Halen
42 Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
43 Message in a Bottle - The Police
44 Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) - Neil Young
45 Back in Black - AC/DC
46 Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
47 Spirit of Radio - Rush
48 Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
49 Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
50 Holy Diver - Dio
51 Beat It - Michael Jackson
52 Hot For Teacher - Van Halen
53 What Difference Does It Make - The Smiths
54 Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
55 Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
56 You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
57 The One I Love - REM
58 Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
59 Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N’ Roses
60 Sweet Child ‘O Mine - Guns N’ Roses
61 Girls, Girls, Girls - Motley Crue
62 Cult of Personality -Living Colour
63 Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
64 Running Down a Dream - Tom Petty
65 Pictures of Matchstick Men - Camper Van Beethoven
66 Thunderstruck - AC/DC
67 Twice as Hard - Black Crowes
68 Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson
69 Enter Sandman - Metallica
70 Man in the Box - Alice in Chains
71 Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
72 Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
73 Even Flow - Pearl Jam
74 Outshined - Soundgarden
75 Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
76 Sex Type Thing - Stone Temple Pilots
77 Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
78 Welcome to Paradise - Green Day
79 Possum Kingdom - Toadies
80 Say it Ain’t So - Weezer
81 Zero - Smashing Pumpkins
82 Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters
83 Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground
84 Smooth - Santana
85 Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
86 Short Skirt, Long Jacket - Cake
87 Turn a Square - The Shins
88 Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
89 Hysteria - Muse
90 I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness
91 Blood and Thunder - Mastadon
92 Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet
93 Reptilia - The Strokes
94 Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
95 Float On - Modest Mouse
96 Blue Orchid - White Stripes
97 Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
98 Steady As She Goes - The Raconteurs
99 I Got Mine - Black Keys
100 Cruel - St. Vincent

We hope you enjoyed Alex’s one hundred riffs film.

Could that be happening here in #Mountainair? It’s not a...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:56:13 -0400

Could that be happening here in #Mountainair? It’s not a seller’s or developer’s market. There are always Loma Parda listings. Recently I pulled a real estate notice listing Deer Canyon properties + news of foreclosures coming up in court.

utnereader:

Zombies Invade Teton County

Since the market collapse, suburban sprawl in Idaho’s majestic Teton County has ground to a halt as thousands of unfinished housing developments stand vacant.

By Allen Best, from High Country News
Reprinted in Utne Reader, July/August 2012

Matt Hail grew up in sweltering metropolitan Phoenix and spent 11 years selling women’s clothing. Like many other people, he imagined changing his life by moving to some mountain valley surrounded by snow-crested peaks. In 2003, he became a real estate developer near a major resort town, Jackson, Wyoming. He started small by building a house in Alpine, a Jackson suburb. Then he leveraged his equity to make a down payment on 40 acres on the other side of a busy mountain pass, in Idaho’s Teton County.

The towering arrowhead peaks of Grand Teton National Park dominate Teton County’s rural landscape, often given a heavenly alpenglow by the late-afternoon sunlight. In 2003, nearly 200,000 acres, amounting to 67 percent of the county, was undeveloped farmland or otherwise privately owned.

Even better, Teton County’s government was gung-ho for development. And the national real estate boom was finally reaching attractive rural settings. A grand development scheme launched in 2000 signaled the county’s new direction: The Teton Springs Golf and Casting Club aimed to build 600 residential units, a golf course, tennis courts, a swimming pool, hotel, shops and restaurants on 774 acres.

Even before scraping out roads, Hail sold three of his 14 lots. In return, he gained $2.9 million. Acquiring bank loans was easy. So was getting the additional approvals from the county government. In 2007, he paid $2.2 million for another 144 acres. He built a nice rustic barn-style home for himself, next to a pond in one of his developments, and moved in during 2008. Hail was $3.3 million in debt, but still optimistic. […]

Today, several years into the nationwide recession and housing bust, Teton County is a real estate disaster, probably the worst in the rural West. There are thousands of acres of incomplete subdivisions—nicknamed “zombies” because they look partially or totally dead. About 7,200 lots that were approved and mapped out, or platted, still stand vacant. Many of these vacant lots are marooned without good roads and utilities. The few that are occupied have the air of sheltering castaways.
Continue…

The Global Debt Bomb

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 12:45:46 -0400

See on Scoop.it - to market to market

Spending our way out of worldwide recession will take years to pay back—and create a lot of pain.

Not about informal economy and local markets but sure makes them look smart by comparison… and this article is from 2010. No one can say (with a straight face) that they did not see it coming.

“If 2008 was the year of the subprime meltdown, 2010, he thinks, will be the year entire nations start going broke.

The world has issued so much debt in the past two years fighting the Great Recession that paying it all back is going to be hell—for Americans, along with everybody else. Taxes will have to rise around the globe, hobbling job growth and economic recovery. Traders … could make a lot of money betting against sovereign debt the way they shorted subprime loans at the peak of the housing bubble.

See on forbes.com

Que peuvent les classes moyennes ?

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:17:09 -0400

Que peuvent les classes moyennes ?:

from Le Monde diplomatique

Courtisées par les pouvoirs à Paris comme à Pékin, Moscou ou Washington, les couches moyennes trônent au centre de toutes les stratégies politiques. En période de crise, elles oscillent entre solidarité avec les classes populaires et alliance avec la haute bourgeoisie.