Made Moot

Why the Japanese are better at marketing than we are.

2011-11-20T19:29:00.001-05:00

Nope, nope, that about says it all. Just look at the link: http://www.sunokotan.com/index.html Perhaps it is the benefit of an animist culture? Or one that never went through an extended phase of industrial form as aesthetic? It is a much deeper question that an aluminum cooling stand might indicate.

Miss Kitty Fluffington would be so proud!

2011-10-12T17:39:00.002-04:00

Dr. Seuss Lovecraft via failblog.

Blind

2011-09-25T12:47:00.001-04:00

GIGO

2011-07-20T19:29:00.002-04:00

The technical term is "pissing in the pool", or why Google translate failed.

BioCouture

2011-07-19T22:02:00.006-04:00

Keep referring people to this and having to look it up again, so here is is. You too can wear organically grown faux leather that looks pretty much like dried skin. BioCouture If the product doesn't take off, at least they have a future making props for post-apocalyptic horror movies. Okay, I will probably want this when the transparent vinyl jumpsuits of the 1970s make a come back, this

Biiru

2011-07-16T15:34:00.004-04:00

Though it fail to explain why Japanese beer by and large is ... ermmm .... very mild. Okay, except for Hitachino Nest and other microbrews. Via One Inch Punch.

The Poet of the United States

2011-07-10T14:03:00.003-04:00

Cleaning out old AdBusters magazines and found (or perhaps refound) this little story, which someone was nice enough to post online for all to read. The Poet of the United States Enjoy.

SLArt Museum

2011-07-09T21:49:00.003-04:00

I mentioned in the last post I went for a walk in Second Life down a good old Linden road. An honest to goodness walk. The walk ended up here: A collection of museums of mostly Second Life art that takes up a good chunk of the mainland sim it inhabits. Won't say all of the art was good, but much of it was, and some was really must see. Like the framed pictures in the above image. The

Waterfalls

2011-07-05T11:53:00.003-04:00

I did something unusual yesterday, at least for SL. I went for a walk. Now, I will often buzz out in a random direction flying over sims looking for interesting things, but this time, I hopped on the nice Linden road half a sim from my mainland holdings and just went for a walk. Or perhaps, since I was being something that walks on all fours, a canter. Walking about on mainland SL can be a

A day made of glass

2011-06-13T10:44:00.002-04:00

Interesting, but is it really the future we want? On the other hand, now that the idea is there, will we even have a choice in the matter? Via Next Nature.

When Worlds Collide

2011-06-11T18:03:00.001-04:00

This just plain made my day ... Via TreeHugger.

God Complains

2011-06-06T12:01:00.003-04:00

Some lyrics, worthy of contemplation. No images, just words Via Randomness Thing.

New Look for 2011

2011-06-05T10:02:00.007-04:00

My new look, if anyone is interested. The horribly broken wrists courtesy of the pose ball. I'm not in pain, honest. (I should have taken a picture of what it did to my back. Ooof!) Can someone get me something to drink ... with a straw? And possibly a stretcher? Same me, not counting some small bits of tweaking not visible in this picture, different skin. My favorite Infinity skins, by

Review: Mamaa Saiz

2011-06-04T23:28:00.004-04:00

Haven't done one of this in a while, and am totally out of practice, but here goes ... A wonderful hour just sitting here in SL listening to Mamaa Saiz siging what he sings. A mellow combination of music with R&B overtones, or maybe that is his voice. The guitar work is masterful and you feel each little pluck and strum playing on the strings of your heart. A sort of warm, ever so slightly

Cuteness can be terminal ... who knew?

2011-06-03T13:58:00.000-04:00

Via Randomness Thing.

The Education Cycle

2011-06-01T12:29:00.006-04:00

Let's look at a typical business proeject cycle. It looks something like this: There are more complicated models, but this one is nice and simple and covers its bases. Now let's look at a comparable education cycle. It might look something like this: It is a problematic model. One might even argue that it is not a cycle at all: Now it is easy enough to argue that these three images

Corruption Garden

2011-05-26T08:49:00.002-04:00

A PV for Vocaloid Luka ... actually made me cry ...

Blackberry

2011-05-21T21:48:00.001-04:00

via Next Nature

We're Doomed!

2011-05-16T17:04:00.000-04:00

Cats in Tanks from Whitehouse Post on Vimeo.

The Monoculture of American Education

2011-05-16T12:49:00.004-04:00

An important read on why the United States educational system is a dangerous monoculture that has been abstracted from reality. Mike Rowe's Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation via the Discovery Channel See also Mike Rowe Works. I will resist the urge to say Bloom's can suck my big rubber implem- ... oh, wait.

Spy On Your Camera!

2011-05-16T10:33:00.000-04:00

Did you know that digital cameras include tracking information on exactly what camera took the picture? It is public information. You can call it up in Adobe Photoshop and look at it. (Which, by the way, also stores information on who editing the image, but in encrypted format so Adobe can spy on you and make sure you are using a licensed version). Now, has your digital camera been lost or

Want!

2011-05-15T09:57:00.003-04:00

Via Handmade Charlotte, whose entire blog really merits a look.

Want!

2011-05-14T09:50:00.003-04:00

Via DeviantArt

A Busy Marketplace

2011-05-14T09:06:00.003-04:00

This video is strangely compelling. It says something about the adaptability of human nature. Via gizmodo.

Climate Change

2011-05-13T12:41:00.003-04:00

Some bad rapping on climate change courtesy of some real climate change scientists. Or so they claim. Oh yah, NSFW! via treehugger

Multiplayer Learning

2011-05-13T10:26:00.000-04:00

Multiplayer High via boing boing. A very good argument on why we should be looking at MMORPGs for inspiration on improving education.

The Comfort Zone

2011-05-12T16:05:00.002-04:00

One compliant I hear, and have made myself, is how hard it is to get students out of their comfort zone. They will work right up to the edge of what they know and then stop. Our challenge then, as instructors is to pull them out of that comfort zone to spur them on to learn new things and to do better. The problem is that we so often fail to teach by example. Much teaching looks like this:

Price Stability

2011-05-11T18:57:00.001-04:00

Why it is important to let computer algorithms set your prices for you ... Lana, The Lady, The Legend, The Truth What? The prices only differ by a factor of 10 billion. Hint: If they fixed it by the time you find this, the lowest price was $0.01. The factor between prices should tell you approximately what the highest was. Maybe one of the booksellers is trying to find the money to help

What the Instructor Sees

2011-05-11T17:10:00.000-04:00

I am firmly of the opinion that no matter what they may say, most educators sort of look at education like this: That is how it felt to me as a student, and as an educator too. The problem is that education should not work that way. The point of being an educator is not to use your greater wisdom and knowledge to get students to that goal. The point of being an educator is helping students to

The Vise of Education

2011-05-10T16:49:00.008-04:00

Yes, there is a intentional pun there (in fact, I even spelled it wrong the first time because of that), but what I really mean is this: Which to the typical student probably feels more like this. Which is where I would like to begin an extended discussion of the problems of education today and what we can do to work toward a solution. This is the first step in a first draft, expect it to

The OCD Kitchen

2011-05-09T10:28:00.001-04:00

My other half truly needs one of these for those days when they want to help in the kitchen but get all stressed out about what the "right size" is for this recipe ... the one I stopped following about three ingredients ago. Via [Perpetual Kid].

Change of Pace

2011-05-08T09:03:00.005-04:00

Well, another school year done. A crazy one, as my heavy posting schedule during its course might sort of, kind of hint at. I am finally ready to admit that teaching turns me into a zombie. Even desk jobs that I would hate would leave me full of creative energy in the evenings, but teaching so totally drains me all I can do is sit there and go "meh". Time for some brain recovery and a definite

How to Save Architecture

2010-08-17T08:35:00.002-04:00

Yes! Architecture clearly needs more googly-eyes! via Build Blog

Some cool thoughts on design thinking

2010-08-15T08:47:00.000-04:00

Design Thinking Comes to the U.S. Army The Language of Design Imperialism Both from Design Observer, and mostly so I can find them again.

Jackson Fusion! Woohoo!

2010-08-14T08:30:00.002-04:00

*snerk* Via Pundit Kitchen

LOLeducation

2010-07-27T07:28:00.001-04:00

An educational graphic on the history of lolcat. For the good people at online schools (scroll past the ads that take up the entire top of the page).

Real Men Don't Like Killer Commie Squirrels

2010-07-26T14:30:00.003-04:00

I am not sure what the message is I am supposed to be getting [here]. And really ... can be?

Support the Little Guys

2010-07-23T06:50:00.005-04:00

If you are going to license music, which is not a bad idea if you are using it for projects, support the little guys at Friendly Music. After all, you're probably a small indie yourself, otherwise your lawyers and publicity agents would be dealing with all this for you.

Wake Up and Smell the Lard

2010-07-08T17:40:00.002-04:00

Weight. Water.

Follow Up

2010-06-17T21:26:00.007-04:00

The music in the video in my previous post is by ChouChou, a Second Life band devoted to exploring new frontiers of creating music. That is awesome. Especially since they seem to be part of a movement. Check out the in-world music store where you can buy real MP3s and AIFFs. It even comes with music previews. You can get ChouChou's songs on iTunes (though if you buy them through Second

The story that disappeared on the earth.

2010-06-14T20:20:00.001-04:00

Some truly awesome machinima.

Stop-motion Lego documentary about early microbiologists

2010-06-05T15:25:00.001-04:00

via boingboing

The Internet is Over

2010-05-23T19:37:00.001-04:00

Yep, the Internet is over. It has nothing left to document. Now go read a book or something. I hear it's good for you. Terrible Gallery Signals End of Internet via the Awl.

Gnome Defenders

2010-05-21T08:01:00.002-04:00

Just in case you thought there were all red point hats and cuteness. Ninja Gnomes, available at Design Toscano. via Foolish Gadgets << Nerd Approved.

Distributed Faces

2010-05-10T09:15:00.001-04:00

Diaspora - the privacy aware, personally controlled, do-it-all distributed open source social network. The open source alternative brought to you by a group of enterprising college kids.

Powered by Tesla

2010-05-09T20:38:00.000-04:00

A blade-free Tesla wind turbine, coming soon to an ecologically friendly location near you.

Volcanic Activity

2010-04-18T10:00:00.004-04:00

A very handy little chart via Information is Beautiful.

Awesome Toonage ... on Balloon

2010-04-06T13:52:00.001-04:00

Balloon Bass via boingboing

Record Player

2010-04-06T09:40:00.000-04:00

An interesting promo package from an interesting company. Image via treehugger. Idea via GGRP Sound.

Awesome Re-Use

2010-04-05T09:30:00.001-04:00

Some awesome re-use via SwissMiss.

But it could never happen now ...

2010-04-04T10:08:00.002-04:00

Steven Weber assures us this could never happen now ... it is too 19th century. Ooh! I know! Perhaps the Republicans are playing into some master plan wherein all power is gradually, systematically leeched from the masses and centralized into a snug, capitalistic, corporate version of an aristocracy, keeping The People perpetually strained but entertained by shiny yet easily broken/disposable/

Word of the Day

2010-04-04T09:22:00.005-04:00

Antiestablishmentdysentarianism an·ti·es·tab·lish·ment·dys·en·tar·i·an·ism [an-tee-uh-stab-lish-muhnt-dis-un-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm] (noun) 1.) Vacuous anti-establishment fear mongering. 2.) What passes for anti-federalist rhetoric these days.

Nerd!

2010-03-27T09:54:00.001-04:00

Okay, sort of had to find out because of this handy little diagram.

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

2010-03-24T09:51:00.005-04:00

Happy Ada Lovelace Day! Excitement! Drama! Women being good at math! Historic videos! Historic Comics! Historic T-Shirts! Okay, seriously, a computer used to be a female profession, not a machine. There have been some wonderful histories of computing discussing the images of early computers showing men in uniforms in front of computers who were really the office managers and

Evoking Collaboration

2010-03-21T10:16:00.002-04:00

An online game about tackling real problems in the real world collaboratively ... Evoke. What an awesome concept. via TreeHugger.

Flow

2010-03-20T18:12:00.003-04:00

New animations from CCP, makers of EVE Online, make their new Incarna look very promising. Not to be greedy or anything, but I want a way to do this in Second Life. via Massively.

A Wonderful Flavour of Reality

2010-03-14T15:02:00.001-04:00

Virtual

2010-03-01T09:59:00.001-05:00

Have to say that I kind of find this a little creepy.

New Modes of Learning

2010-02-20T14:51:00.001-05:00

You know, I can still sing a fair number of the old Schoolhouse Rock songs. Maybe that should tell us something.

QOTD

2010-02-18T16:59:00.001-05:00

"Several studies have shown that poor families tend to have very few assets." Well, I'm glad we cleared that one up.

Just click your heels together and say ...

2010-02-11T19:07:00.005-05:00

U900

2010-02-06T21:41:00.002-05:00

Don't press play unless you have a few hours to watch all of them ... repeatedly.

Between

2010-02-05T14:35:00.002-05:00

Is between inclusive or exclusive? Dunno why that question just struck me, but I think in perceiving it as exclusive we may be making a mistake. I also think that between is exclusive in Western culture, but inclusive in Asian culture. Though I could be wrong. I suppose I should acknowledge that the between I am referring to here is the between that is the social and the political. The

Quantifying Education

2010-02-02T16:59:00.006-05:00

In the big push to quantify education, I have come up with some measurement systems of my own that I would like to present here. I feel these will be invaluable in advancing our ability to effectively measure key components in education, as well as applying educational measures to other endeavors in life. FTWE Primarily a measure meant for post-secondary educational organizations, though

The Internet is Made of Cats!

2010-01-30T10:46:00.000-05:00

Does your iPad have wings?

2010-01-29T18:48:00.004-05:00

Wings!

Terror for the Hearing Impaired

2010-01-25T08:00:00.003-05:00

Yes,the zombie song, Re: Your Brains, is now available with ZSL (Zombie Sign Language). Remember! The undead are equal opportunity destro- ermm... employers. Well, okay, except for those snooty, perfectly coiffed, perfectly emo, unholier-than-thou vampires. Ever notice how they never go after ugly people? Elitist bloodsuckers.

QiQi Studios

2010-01-24T13:44:00.003-05:00

QiQi Studios is a truly awesome Second Life machinima studio out of China. The art work, the production values, and the ideas are all simply awesome. See their work, be impressed. You can also find them in Second Life in China and China West sims.

Want!

2010-01-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

The bookbook!

Promotion

2010-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Just in case you have any doubts that cats aren't slowly taking over the world, step by step ... cat gets promotion.

Broadacre City is One Step Closer

2010-01-22T13:50:00.003-05:00

NASA Unveils All-Electric Personal Flight Vehicle I think I liked Wright's ornithopters better. Well, it will redefine the problems with drunk driving if nothing else. And when you need to recharge it in the middle of nowhere because you forgot to stop at the station: Eolic: A Foldable, Portable Wind Turbine

Flintstones

2010-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah, looks like a bad Photoshop job, but is a real place. Details via TreeHugger.

Publish or Perish

2010-01-18T14:58:00.005-05:00

Being a book reviewer is beginning to convince me that the publishing industry might be a better place if more academics picked the perish option instead. Can one get tenure for picking the perish option? Maybe schools should give it some thought. Especially those with publishing units. Think of it as akin to the government paying farmers to leave fields fallow to help prop up the value of

Language Lessons

2010-01-14T19:35:00.001-05:00

The true international language of the world! Well ... you'll just have to click it to find out.

Space, Time, and Archeology

2010-01-12T15:04:00.002-05:00

The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project

The Third & The Seventh

2010-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Some flat out awesome architectural CGI via boingboing, including "making of" videos on Vimeo.

Obsessive Diagnosis Disorder

2010-01-10T15:18:00.002-05:00

Is the compulsion to diagnose things other than the statistical mean as aberrant a psychiatric disorder? You will become mentally ill in 2013 via boingboing. The Americanization of Mental Illness from the New York Times.

Allow me to communicate at you with my languaging skills

2010-01-06T18:47:00.002-05:00

Found on the InterWeb: "Anyone else who texts me first is at their own risk that I don't really care about what they have to say. If I did, I would have texted them first." It is to laugh, It is to cry, It is to scream and wonder why.

Want!

2009-12-28T16:10:00.004-05:00

from schultzeworks via dezeen via TokyoMango

Fairy Mishmash!

2009-12-24T23:50:00.002-05:00

Or something like that.

JP Nataf: Come Tell Me

2009-12-10T22:48:00.001-05:00

Some awesome cute via boingboing

The TV Show

2009-12-08T23:09:00.000-05:00

via laughing squid

The Best Toys

2009-12-05T19:09:00.002-05:00

Wait, since when do environmental activists get to have the best toys? Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Symphony of Science

2009-11-28T19:56:00.001-05:00

Science is often a beautiful thing, and sometimes art its own right, but usually not like this ... The Symphony of Science.

Cheese or Font?

2009-11-17T10:45:00.003-05:00

Too much time on your hands? Cringe at the sight of Papyrus? Then here is just the thing for you: cheese or font? Perhaps you will then forgive the occasional Papyrus.

L'il Cthulhu

2009-11-16T22:10:00.001-05:00

Unreal

2009-11-15T21:06:00.003-05:00

Some awesome artwork from the Netherlands. Yes, that really is all just tricks of the light. via Good Magazine.

Afganisu-tan

2009-11-15T17:07:00.001-05:00

War made cute. And oddly enough, it still contains more meaningful information than the evening news on the topic.

Why Insurance Companies are Just Plain Dumb

2009-09-15T07:33:00.006-04:00

$300 for a portable device that people might find alternate uses for versus $8000 for a stripped-down, custom-built, big-box PC with all the software removed ... you do the math. Now guess which one is the one the insurance companies are willing to provide to those who need them. Insurers Fight Speech-Impairment Remedy Apparently people with serious speech impairments only need to

Fritz Linden's Metropolis

2009-08-13T17:47:00.002-04:00

I think Fritz Lang's Metropolis is an interesting landmark of sorts. I mean beyond the normal reason. I am more interested the remakes, interpretations and allusions to it. Here is one done entirely in Second Life, broken down into bite size chapters for your convenience.

Big Moon

2009-08-10T17:23:00.005-04:00

Was playing with the environment settings in an alternate Second Life client when I happened to look up. Looks close enough to visit.

How to Stop Gog and Magog

2009-08-08T15:45:00.000-04:00

Ermmm .. True or not an interesting read. The real reason for the invasion of Iraq.

Unrefutable Proof

2009-07-21T15:46:00.002-04:00

Yes folks, the moon landing was ... faked! And here's an author who explains how. Very, very clever, these Hollywood types. What? How dare you doubt the veracity of the internet!

Shocking!

2009-07-16T12:16:00.001-04:00

Councils powerless to prevent surge in Table Morris Dancing. via NewsBiscuit

The Ineffable Dresden Codak

2009-07-13T08:36:00.001-04:00

Dresden Codak brings you fabulous prizes.

Virtual Discrimination

2009-07-11T09:33:00.003-04:00

An interesting article on discrimination against virtual persons via h+ magazine.

NYS Government Adopts Internet Memes

2009-06-23T20:21:00.004-04:00

New York State Government adopts Internet memes as the politics of the future. If only they hadn't started with goatse. Though it would probably help too if they used something other than their own heads to stretch it like that. I want to know is what are they on, so I can avoid ever trying any of it. No, really. They could be doing good, but it is far more important that they argue

Want!

2009-05-21T07:58:00.003-04:00

Okay, I so totally want my own galactic shuttle. Wonder if it would make a good house? Via Wallpaper*.

The Hexagon House

2009-05-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

Slowly accumulating a store front inside the hexagon house in Tipsico. At some point the furniture will be replaced by things I've made that are for sale. But for now I don't have much that goes with the theme except the modernist kotatsu.

The Hexagon House

2009-05-14T08:00:00.002-04:00

The hexagon house was specifically designed to sit on a slope or a ridge line, meaning it is perfectly suited to the terrain of Tipsico. I also bought up a good chunk of the ridge line in an attempt to de-flatten the sim, lots of which got leveled into 512 flat plot. Leads to a very strange geography along the ridge, where the old slope was close to 45 degrees. No, the big thing next