Thursday, September 29, 2011

Redit Rocks - cryogenic discussion

Reddit Rocks!!

Where else could you read a discusssion about this.

I am signed up to have my head cryogenically frozen when I die. AMA.
submitted 5 hours ago by OnVeryThinIce


Fire away!

The organization i am signed up with is Alcor. They have frozen over 100 people. Full disclosure: I do not work for them, I am just a member/subscriber.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/kvd06/i_am_signed_up_to_have_my_head_cryogenically/



(btw for those of you who dont know AMA means ask me anything).

Glitter font

i'm calling it now, Facebook has jumped the shark and the FB Timeline is the "Glitter" font that brought down MySpace.

Brooklyn Literary Tour

I knew that a lot of writers have lived in Brooklyn heights before (eg Mailer, Capote etc) but was stunned how long a list it actually is.
Check out - http://www.nycgo.com/articles/brooklyn-literary-tour-nyc

H. P. Lovecraft's onetime home
W. H. Auden and Thomas Wolfe's homes

though this list isn't complete by any means and doesnt include one of my favorite authors Normal Mailers place at 142 Columbia Heights which is currently for sale.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/nyregion/norman-mailers-last-home-still-reflects-his-life.html


Cheers,
Dean

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Big C

Just watched the season final of "The Big C" - wow, what an ending. Had me balling my eyes out.....shortly followed by rushing to the computer to make sure there IS going to be a 3rd season.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/showtime-renews-the-big-c-for-season-3/

City tax premiums for second/vacant homes

I've often thought city taxes should be charged at 1.5x for people where it is NOT their primary residence (eg out of state or pied-à-terre owners) and 2.0 X for proeprties that are vacant/dilapidated etc.


What do you think?
 
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/09/27/manhattan_borough_pres_unleashes_stalled_sites_offensive.php#more
Borough President Scott Stringer is calling attention to the 129 stalled construction sites in Manhattan in a 44-page report with the Curbed-approved title "Arrested Development."
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Saturday, September 24, 2011

In car Tsunami footage

Fast forward to 3m mark if you want but this in car footage of the Tsunami gives you an idea of how fast it came from no where.

Worth watching from the start though.

Interesting to see how well the cars floated, you would think that if you could tie yourself to a pole or a tree etc you could just remain stationary in one place floating like a boat etc,it didn't seem that until his car got into the "fast' water flow that he was in any trouble.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Paul McCartneys ballet Ocean's Kingdom

We were luck enough to get invited the the opening night of Paul McCartneys ballet Ocean's Kingdom.
 
11.jpg

01.jpg

 Really enjoyable.

I especially like how the outfits were less formal and showed off the athletisicm of the dancers.

It's a little short at just over an hour but the music was really evocative as it sounded more like a movie score (though i cant help but feel there was a base riff that was ripped off from a song and it's been driving me nuts trying to think of what song it's from).

Some more photos are online here.

Cheers,
Dean
 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Hands Off My Sister

Hands Off My Sister are doing a set at Cafe Vivaldi saturday night from 9pm.

Jodie and I are going to see Moneyball at 6pm then head down to the show if you want to hang out.


Cheers,
Dean

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

patent approval is the crux of the issue

FFS really? someone was awarded a patent in 2010 for what amounts to nothing more "on demand infrastructure" - how is this patent examiner even still employed??


http://www.google.de/patents?id=rC3OAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
 

Monday, September 19, 2011

Reddit Rocks

Reddit Rocks!!!! Check out the number 1 voted answer from someone called “kibitzor”



How much bubble wrap would you need to wrap yourself in if you wanted to jump out of a first story window and survive?


I have lots at work and am very tempted. Preferably I would like to come out of it unscathed..... and yes im an idiot.
- http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/kkdez/how_much_bubble_wrap_would_you_need_to_wrap



Cheers,
Dean

"the excitement of possibility"

love this description "the excitement of possibility", this encapsulates exactly why i build startups and sacrifice so much when i could be pulling down an easy lifestyle in a 9 to 5.


http://www.thisisgoingtobebig.com/blog/2011/9/19/the-excitement-of-possibility.html

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Stunning ISS view of earth from space footage

This ISS footage is just stunning, somehow i always thought you would be further away from the earths surface than this.

Love watching how the rising sun reflects off the solar panels. Cant wait to get to space to see this for myself.

Makes you realise we are all stuck on this blue ball together and all these petty human disagreements are irrelevant.

James Drake took 600 still photos from the International Space Station as it orbited the Earth, and created a fantastic time-lapse animation out of them. It must be seen to be appreciated; storms and cities fly past below in amazing clarity."



Make sure you click the button in the bottom right to watch this full screen and crank up the resolution to 1080.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Verizon to start throttling

2gb of data is nothing - what exactly are we paying our $30 a month for to be on an unlimited plan if they are going to cut us off at the nuts.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/16/verizon-starts-optimizing-read-throttling-network-for-the-m/




Sony changing the rules "mid agreement"

I'd like to know if you can return to Sony your PS3 AND all the game titles you've purchased for a full refund as they want to change the terms "after" you've purchased.



Sony asks gamers to sign new terms or face PSN ban
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14948701
Sony is preparing to ban gamers from the PlayStation Network (PSN) unless they waive the right to collectively sue it over future security breaches.

The firm has amended PSN's terms and conditions and users have to agree to them next time they log in.
The move comes months after a string of hacking attacks compromised over 100 million accounts of the PlayStation Network subscribers.

Check out the discussion here.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3004674

Friday, September 16, 2011

Being Boring



It's a weird Friday, tinged with mixed emotions about being too far away from friends and not being able to do anything about it. This video reminds me that life is for living and it's too short to do anything boring.

I've uploaded a few of my other favorite Pet Shop Boys tracks into the blogs "Mood Music of the Day" box.

Happy Friday everyone.

Cheers,
Dean

Man Land

An Ikea store in Sydney, Australia, has either set retail shopping forward by three decades or set gender equality back by three decades—you decide: they're testing out Manland, which is, as one local newscaster describes it, "basically a creche for husbands and boyfriends with short retail attention spans.

http://curbed.com/archives/2011/09/15/ikea-tests-out-manland-a-holding-pen-for-bored-male-shoppers.php

Screen-shot-2011-09-15-at-10.00.50-AM.jpg

LOL - love it, great idea (though i have to admit i'd be happy doing the shopping in Ikea OR hanging out in the Man Cave equally as much).

Cheers,
Dean

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

EPA needs to slow down

ha ha ha, who signed off on this commercial? lol keep spending your money on "clean coal" ads guys because no one is believing your shit.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The NY MTA lies to you daily.

I love this guy.

http://www.fuckedinparkslope.com/home/interview-with-the-f-trains-4th-amendment-vigilante.html
But the F-train Vigilante is not as concerned with this component of the campaign - his focus is on the in-car announcements that take place during his morning commute:


"Ladies and Gentleman, this is a reminder that your personal belongings are subject to search by the New York City Police Department..."

It's this announcement which causes the 4th amendment vigilante to stand up and address his fellow passengers in a loud and steady voice:

"Ladies and Gentleman, the announcement you have just heard is misleading: No, the fourth Amendment to the United States constitution has not been repealed- If the NYPD wants to search your property without relying on probable cause and they do not have a warrant, then they have to get your consent, and you can say no."

Monday, September 12, 2011

Global Debt infographic from Fortune August 2011

I love this infographic, there is so much information encapsulated in it.

Strinking was the relative size of the debt.

Monday, September 05, 2011

LIC Bar - Sept 5th

Hanging out at LIC Bar on labor day 2011 - great location out the back, sound is excellent.

Apparently this was first gig for  "The Turndown service"  and they absolutely powered the space. Would be a wicked sound with a larger audio stack.





Julie Kathryn sounded amazing on a big stage, lol she rocked the siren interruption at the end like a pro :)

Sunday, September 04, 2011

Times change

Its interesting to see how things change over time.
At one time in the far far history “Third Voice” was seen as a game changer that had site admins outraged.
…and today - http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/09/03/1611214/Google-To-Shut-Down-10-Products googles version of it “sidewiki” is being shut down due to lack of interest.


Cheers,
Dean
(more The Third Voice posts here )

Saturday, September 03, 2011

Hot Coffee !!

Watching #HotCoffee documentary on HBO -eye opening about how big business twisted Tort Reform -eye opening about astroturf.

I will admit i was one of the people who said "darwinism at work" about the woman who spilt coffee while driving....only she wasn't - in 5 minutes of watching this video you will change your mind on everything you thought you knew.


I strongly encourage everyone to watch this documentary (besides being good tv) it will open your eyes to inustices that will blow your brain.






P.S.
I really wish i didnt google the answer to the Jaime Leigh Jones case. This is ridiculous.

Friday, September 02, 2011

Baby moose in sprinkler

Dare you not to have your heart melted...go on i dare you.

Mike Arrington ...you owe us some money thanks.

TechCrunch editor and founder Michael Arrington is no longer employed by AOL, clearing up some confusion about his standing with the company after his $20 million CrunchFund was announced yesterday.

- http://venturebeat.com/2011/09/02/arrington-leaves-aol/


interesting move....bet you he didn't have to hand back his golden handcuffss - AOL investors should sue under a class action.

Starz / Netflix contract

What i noticed was interesting in this article  http://venturebeat.com/2011/09/01/netflix-loses-starz-2012/   was that it is a fixed price rather than per subscriber, so as netflix signs up more users the additional users are pure profit for netflix instead of a per subscriber fee which is the way content providers work with cable networks.

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Culture jacking

I know sign modification is bad, but if this is bad i dont want to be good.

This link cracked me up. - http://www.happyplace.com/4286/brilliantly-sarcastic-responses-to-completely-well-meaning-signs








Have a great Thursday.

Cheers,
Dean