Brain Dump: A Web-o Blag

The Best Thing This Year is a mailing list where you can post...

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:53:47 -0400

The Best Thing This Year is a mailing list where you can post something awesome, but just once a year. In return, you get just one email a day that’s almost certain to be an interesting read. Members who sign up now get posting privileges from the start. Other people will have to wait.

Peekaboo allcreatures: Koalas under threat in Australia - in...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:04:54 -0400

Peekaboo

allcreatures:

Koalas under threat in Australia - in pictures

The Australian government has listed the koala as a threatened species in parts of the country for the first time. It says the species faces numerous threats including climate change, disease and habitat loss.

Ruby, Ruby on Rails, and _why: The disappearance of one of the world’s most beloved computer programmers. - Slate Magazine

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:01:29 -0400

Ruby, Ruby on Rails, and _why: The disappearance of one of the world’s most beloved computer programmers. - Slate Magazine:

What an amazing story. Let’s see that happen for C, Objective-C, C#, etc. Hmmmm. On further consideration lets not.

Food's Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie - Forbes

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:18:34 -0400

Food's Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie - Forbes:

FINALLY! Someone has the fortitude to say what I’ve suspected.

Clothes Freshener For Reals

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:15:00 -0400

Clothes Freshener For Reals

merlin: John Cleese - “A Lecture on Creativity” danforth: John...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:47:33 -0400

merlin:

John Cleese - “A Lecture on Creativity”

danforth:

John Cleese lectures on the topic of creativity.

Per Back to Work #62: Cultural Molasses.

Seriously: this wonderful video has had a huge impact on how I think about creativity. For years.

Unfortunately, the copy I’ve had and repeatedly enjoyed “fell off the back of a truck,” so I had no way to share it.

Now, (via danforth), I can finally share and highly recommend it.

And, I really, really do encourage you to watch. Really. All the way through. It’s just terrific.

Hilarious! http://mail.socialthing.com/ routes to a MediaTemple...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:20:00 -0400

Hilarious! http://mail.socialthing.com/ routes to a MediaTemple page. AOL really knows how to run a tidy ship.

Do you get distracted by all the interruptions in your work...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:54:46 -0400

Do you get distracted by all the interruptions in your work life? Edward Hallowell coined the term Attention Defecit Trait (ADT) to describe a stress state created by modern office life. People aren’t born with ADT. It is caused when we become extremely busy attending to many, many inputs and outputs. We become increasingly distracted, short-tempered, impulsive, impatient and, over the long term, underachieving.

From Staffan Nöteberg’s article “The Pompatus of Pomodoro” November 2009 issue of PragPub

I think this applies in personal life too. I’m interested in almost everything and have to try to keep that under control.

New Fiat 500X Crossover Plans | Fiat 500 USA

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:06:59 -0400

New Fiat 500X Crossover Plans | Fiat 500 USA:

This looks so cool. And is in certainly a direct competitor to the Mini Countryman.

Photo

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:04:11 -0400

allcreatures: Picture: EPA/PATRICK PLEUL (via Pictures of the...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:02:45 -0400

allcreatures:

Picture: EPA/PATRICK PLEUL (via Pictures of the day: 13 March 2012 - Telegraph)

Just in time for lunch!

While Dhani Harrison, George Martin and Giles Martin were...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:29:00 -0400

While Dhani Harrison, George Martin and Giles Martin were listening to the Abbey Road master recordings, they discovered a lost George Harrison guitar solo from “Here Comes the Sun.” At 1:18 watch George Martin’s face when he asks about the solo.

Wunderkit Beta WunderImpressions

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:00:05 -0500

Wunderkit UI Bug on Flickr.

Received my invite to the Wunderkit beta. Immediately noticed a big UI bug, or as you might say, undocumented feature.

I dig the way 6Wunderkinder are tackling project tracking and management. The social/public posting of projects is interesting. If it ties in with Facebook and Twitter, even cooler. Right now, it appears that FB and Twitter can only be used to pull in friends to follow or invite to Wunderkit. I am hopeful that inviting to projects and delegating tasks to friends on FB and Twitter can be done with FB and/or Twitter in addition to the email Wunderkit sends.

Mashable - The Social Media Guide

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:00:06 -0500

Mashable - The Social Media Guide:

Great tips from Ryan Martens of Rally Software. I loved our Techstars session at Rally and am very proud of his team’s work with EFCo and that Socialthing’s donated equity amount helped start something amazing. :)

LeVar Burton Is Bringing Reading Rainbow Back ... in an App

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:00:05 -0500

LeVar Burton Is Bringing Reading Rainbow Back ... in an App:

I’m certain that Mr. Burton and Read Rainbow greatly contributed to me not worrying if I was sent to my room. I cannot say I remember what I thought, but in hindsight, everytime it happened I was upset briefly but then just started reading all of the books my parents made sure I had.

Now I use Instapaper and Kindle apps for my reading. But its still the same. Client cancelled? Meeting cancelled? Stuck somewhere? Great! Another chance to read. :)

The Social Help Desk: Major Companies Using Social Media to Support Customers and Employees

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:00:05 -0500

The Social Help Desk: Major Companies Using Social Media to Support Customers and Employees:

Yup. Must go where your customers go. Everytime a company “reaches out” to me on a social media service, it creates mindshare with me.

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:00:05 -0500

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

—Jonathan Swift ”Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting”

nevver: Pray for you, Super Punch

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:27:09 -0500

nevver:

Pray for you, Super Punch

bigweek: (via Where The Buffalo Roamed – How Far Can You Get...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:29:05 -0500

bigweek:

(via Where The Buffalo Roamed – How Far Can You Get From McDonald’s?)

It is pretty clear that McDonald’s is in the Real Estate business, not the food business.

Holy Jeebus! - Image from original Lego patent application....

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:00:06 -0500

Holy Jeebus! - Image from original Lego patent application....:

So cool! Hard to imagine that most of the sets now don’t have a piece that looks anything like this.