the tweney review

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from June 18th through June 20th:

• A List Apart: Articles: Put Your Content in My Pocket - Tips for formatting web pages for iPhone display
• Gallery: Mechanical Marvels Hide in Plain Sight - Preview of the Mechanicrawl happening in SF July 12
• *relativity by Drzach & Suchy - Artist’s “shadow casting panels” technique displays different shadows depending on the angle of incident light: Marilyn Monroe one way, Marilyn Manson the other
• State Cell Phone Driving Laws - Holding a cellphone and driving is banned in 5 states: CA (starting 7/1/2008), CN, NJ, NY, and WA, plus DC and the Virgin Islands
• How to nap - Boston.com - everything you ever wanted to know about how, when, and why to take a nap
• George F. Colony: Bill Gates’ Legacy: Constructive Monopolism - Just what the PC industry needed…

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from June 13th through June 17th:

• The Mundaneum Museum Honors the First Concept of the World Wide Web - NYTimes.com - “this will be the radiated library and the televised book” - a quote from Otlet about his system. BTW, “Mundaneum” is a great alternate name for the WWW
• The Library in the New Age - The New York Review of Books - A more nuanced and bibliophilic reading than Carr’s of the effect of Google (and earlier information tech, like books) on how we think
• Is Google Making Us Stupid? - Nicholas Carr finds that Google is creating artificial intelligence — our own brains’
• Why women quit technology careers - Why? Because there’s too much machismo among geeks. Seriously
• Meteorites are rich in the building blocks of life, claims new research - Amino acids found in meteorites, and analysis of their carbon content shows the acids could only have formed in space.
• Developers at WWDC Looking Forward to iPhone 3G Platform | Gadget Lab from Wired.com -
• WWDC Keynote: Steve Jobs Announces a $200, 3G iPhone | Gadget Lab from Wired.com - Wired.com’s coverage of the keynote. I was the guy who did all the typing.
• War Photog Blends Video, Stills for New Combat Views | Danger Room from Wired.com - Awesome gadget: little video camera sits on top of photographer’s lens, so you can watch from his point of view as he shoots stills in warzones

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from June 10th through June 12th:

• Cover Story - When Mom and Dad Share It All - Adventures in Equal Parenting - Lisa Belkin - NYTimes.com - “Adventures” is putting it optimistically. This stuff is hard to pull off
• Things younger than Republican Presidential candidate (oh, and did I forget to mention war hero?) John McCain - The margarita. The nacho. The automatic transmission. The LP record. All of these things are *younger* than John McCain.
• Featured Article - Professor designs plasma-propelled flying saucer - “Roy’s design is partially hollow and continuously curved, like an electromagnetic flying bundt pan.”
• New iPhone Pricing Model Is a Step Backward for Consumers - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog - Despite the new-era hype, Mr. Moffett wrote, ?the philosophy of the new iPhone is ?business as usual.??
• BBC, Wired & Twitter on the African Savannah | Mara Triangle - Wired.com’s story — by Emily Meehan, and which I edited — resulted in a big jump in the number of people following Kimojino on Twitter
• NASA - Solar Probe Plus - NASA has started planning a solar probe that could approach within 7 solar radii of the Sun itself. Freakin’ hot! Launch could happen as early as 2015.

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from June 4th through June 6th:

• New D&D Rolls a 20 for Playability | The Underwire from Wired.com - 4th edition has simplified rules making it much faster to create and play and adventure. If I only had time
• Gates-Ballmer Clash Shaped Microsoft’s Coming Handover - WSJ.com - The personalities behind the scenes
• KidsRunning.Com - Youth Programs - Various running programs for kids. The KidsRunning website also has a ton of info (poorly organized though) on running with kids
• Just Run! - Website-based program to assist schools and other youth organizations in promoting fitness, running, and healthy lifestyle choices.
• Don’t Talk to the Police- Prof. James Duane - Law prof’s advice: Don’t talk to the police. Ever. For any reason. The police chief he brings in as a guest speaker agrees with him, btw.

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from June 2nd through June 3rd:

• Networking Things: How the Internet Is Redefining Environmentalism - Wired.com writer Alexis Madrigal’s recent presentation in Portland Oregon. Very thought provoking statement on how network tech can make things more efficient!
• Five People Who’ll Make You Feel Good About the Future | Wired Science from Wired.com - Blaine Brownell gave a Willy Wonka-esque demostration of sustainable building products: spherical solar cells, flexible solar cells, zero-energy wallboard, luminescent gravel, … air-scrubbing paint and self-cleaning glass.
• Paul Gravett: Article - China Earthquake - Short comics by Coco Wang give an intense, moving, personal look at the aftereffects of the 5/12/08 earthquake in China.
• On Language - Shovelware - On Language - William Safire - NYTimes.com - Safire quotes Wired.com writer Alexis Madrigal, aka “Captain Obvi”
• Why Judy can’t add: gender inequality and the math gap - “performance differences correlated with the status of women” … not just for math, either, but also reading scores

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from May 28th through May 30th:

• 01SJ - Arts event in San Jose June 4-8. Free admission for kids @ the Tech Museum on June 7
• Free MP3 of the Day - Cnet Download.com Music - free music
• librarian.net - Collaborative Information Systems - 30may08 - interesting summary of how to get answers from a group of people. Also contains a great epigram from PJ O’Rourke about the difference between information and knowledge.
• The iPhone patent: Steven P. Jobs, inventor - Engadget - US Patent office releases a 371-page document detailing most of the iPhone’s features
• “The Rise of the Creative Class” by Richard Florida - how creative is your city?
• The Alpha Geeks - Op-Ed by David Brooks - NYTimes.com - A wonk explains the difference between a geek and a nerd. Includes the line “Barack Obama has become the Prince Caspian of the iPhone hordes.”
• InfoWorld tech celebrity quiz | InfoWorld | News | 2008-05-26 | By Dan Tynan,Gina Smith - I scored 80. I have clearly spent *way* too much time in this industry.
• www.NYCBikes.com - Looks like a good source for practical bike parts (singlespeed hubs, 3-speed hubs, chains etc)
• Report Criticizes ‘Colorblind’ Adoptions : NPR - from Talk of the Nation. includes a link to the actual report.
• All Events by Date ? World Science Festival 2008 - Five Day Science Festival In New York City Featuring Nobel Laureates Co-Founded by Brian Greene -

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from May 23rd through May 27th:

• De-emphasis on Race in Adoption Is Criticized - NYTimes.com - In a nutshell: “… social workers and state agencies fear litigation and stiff penalties under the law for even discussing race with adopting couples. As a result, families often do not get the counseling they need.”
• Artist Says He Used GPS, DHL to Create ‘Biggest Drawing in the World’ | Gadget Lab from Wired.com - Looks like complete bollocks, however.
• SF-SV Marathon Training - I’m going to train for the San Francisco half marathon on 8/3 and the Silicon Valley full marathon on 10/26. Here’s my training schedule, which starts June 2.
• Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Training - Training schedules for various races from 5K to marathon
• Chip Company Unveils Open Source PC Design - Chipmaker VIA is releasing the CAD files for its mini notebook design under a Creative Commons license.
• MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU on Vimeo - Amazing, bizarre animation. Each frame was painted on a public wall somewhere in Buenos Aires
• Technology Review: Where Are They? Why I hope the search for extraterrestrial life finds nothing. - Based on the fact that we’re not finding any signs of spacefaring civilizations in the galaxy, the author argues that most forms of life don’t make it that far. Thus, either we’ve already survived the “great filter” — or we have yet to face it.
• Is mobile Internet really such a good thing? - Joi Ito’s Web - Although all of us are experimenting with advertising … the overwhelming percentage of money spent on mobile devices goes to … a small number of not so innovative products from a small number of providers.

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from May 21st through May 22nd:

• Why doesn’t QS find my documents? - Blacktree: Quicksilver | Google Groups - By default Quicksilver finds files on your Desktop and in your Documents folder but it doesn’t scan very far into those locations.
• Traversal Technology - Open-source graphics platform?
• Jet-Powered Bicycle Makes 50 MPH Feel Waaaaay Too Fast | Autopia from Wired.com - Today’s awesome transportation story from Wired.com: Profile of a guy who straps pulsejets onto bikes. Available on eBay, too…
• Libertarian Island: No Rules, Just Rich Dudes : NPR - “What happens when Milton Friedman’s grandson, an eccentric billionaire and some ocean real estate all intersect?” Wired.com reporter Alexis Madrigal chats with NPR about his recent story on the Seasteading Institute.
• Geeks Crash a House of Fashion - New York Times - David Carr writes about Wired and Wired.com

These are a few things I found interesting on May 20th:

• Global Voices Online » Iran: Blogger writes book the impact of the Internet - Wired.com contributor Cyrus Farivar is working on a book about the impact of the internet in Iran, South Korea, Senegal and Estonia.
• wired.com NYC Bureau - jobs at Wired.com’s NYC bureau, opening this summer
• The ‘photonic beetle’ may hold key to future optical computers - ?Photonic crystals are a new type of optical materials that manipulate light in non-classic ways? …. Some colors of light can pass through a photonic crystal at various speeds, while other wavelengths are reflected as the crystal acts like a mirror.
• Active.com | Event Results - Good news: I ran faster than I’ve ever run before on Sunday. Bad news: It will be difficult for me to beat this time.
• Adventures in $40 eyeglasses - buy ‘em cheap online
• Felt Curbside Fixed Gear Bicycle - This fixed gear bike weighs just 18 pounds

These are a few sites I thought were interesting from May 16th through May 18th:

• Whiskey Geeks Keep Moonshine Tradition Alive - Lots of people are making whisky in their garages, it seems
• Gardenaut: BPA-Free Water Bottle Showdown - Excellent reviews of many alternatives to Lexan/polycarbonate bottles, including insulated, sports, etc. Trendy Sigg bottles don’t fare so well in this review.
• CNN video: Scientists study ‘memory man’ who remembers everything - Amazing video of a guy who can remember amazing levels of detail decades later. Echoes of Borges’ “Funes the Memorious” and my April 14 talk at IOUG. (Thanks for the link, Ari!)
• Sarah Lacy’s Hot Book-Signing Party | Epicenter from Wired.com - not quite enough pixie dust. Plenty of pictures of Sarah, though
• Review: Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good | Epicenter from Wired.com - good book on a bunch of prominent “web 2.0″ entrepreneurs
• ‘t Is Goud - WalletCards on my iPhone - Nice hack: scan your membership cards, put them on your iphone