Archive for the ‘Clips’ Category
Another Fun Day of Telecommuting February 10th, 2010
Thanks to Aaron for thinking of me and connecting me with Stephanie Armour of the USA Today. After a very friendly ten minute conversation, here’s the quote she selected for the article, published today:
The ability to work from anywhere also means snow days no longer offer a break from work. Many are like Nicko Margolies, a communications assistant at the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit.
With the federal government shut down, his office closed. Margolies worked at home.
“No snowstorm, no matter how big, will keep me from working. I lost heat, but I had my space heater and network access, so I kept on trucking. It’s actually a seamless transition from home to work,” he says. “The only difference is I’m in my pajamas.”
The full article is on USA TODAY. My quote was also picked up on Time Magazine’s ‘It’s Your Money’ blog and reposted on the Battle Creek Enquirer in Michigan. The image credits on this post go to NASA for this beautiful photograph taken by the Terra satellite (which I cropped).
Tags: Snow Week
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‘Best Camera’ iPhone App by Chase Jarvis September 26th, 2009
Chase Jarvis, a world-renowned commercial photographer, recently launched an iPhone application, book and online photo community to convince everyone that the best camera is the one that’s with you and absolutely anyone can snap a remarkable image. The app is aptly named Best Camera [iTunes link] and allows users to apply a dozen filters to existing images or take new snapshots from within the application.
Beyond just another photo iPhone app, Best Camera connects to Facebook, Twitter, email and the community created alongside the app. The accompanying community allows users to vote and share on images, but also see the process each photographer used to arrive at the final image. At the heart of this playful mobile application is a photographic philosophy that anyone can capture stories and beauty if they just challenge themselves to visually fool around.
Best Camera isn’t filled with groundbreaking technology, but it pairs a series of tools that are the framework for a vibrant and visually stunning community of images. As for popularity, after 8 hours in the iTunes store the app is #4 in photo apps and #33 among all paid applications. The book on Amazon is currently a number one “Mover and Shaker” and features photographs taken around the world by Chase Jarvis using nothing more than his iPhone and some filters. Chase Jarvis discusses the app in this brief introductory video:
[Special thanks to Alex and Chase]
Originally written for and published at PSFK.
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Sunset for the Pint Glass August 27th, 2009
If there is one place that doesn’t like meddling, it’s the local pub, and in Great Britain the growing number of glass related pub injuries has led the government to investigate changing the beloved pint glass into a controversial plastic pint. According to recent statistics, over 5,000 pub-goers a year get glass related injuries from bar altercations, a figure that government officials believe can be lowered with a newly designed pint glass or simply changing the material. Design Bridge, the firm working on a plastic alternative, must tread carefully over this touchy subject due to the sense of tradition that surrounds the classic pint glass.
The British Beer and Pub Association is in quite a tiff over the proposal and one member argues that the experience of a glass container is unparalleled because it “feels better, it has a nice weight and the drink coats the glass nicely.” For others, it’s simply a question of safety. The BBC reports on the touchy subject,
The Home Office Minister, Alan Campbell, said the redesign could make a significant difference to the number of revellers who are injured. He said: “Innovative design has played an important role in driving down overall crime, including theft, fraud and burglary. “This project will see those same skills applied to the dangerous and costly issue of alcohol-related crime and I am confident that it will lead to similar successes.”
BBC: “Pubs warn over plastic pints plan”
[via Core77]
Originally written for and published at PSFK.
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America’s Growing Moped Gangs August 21st, 2009
Wired’s Bryan Derballa recently published a photo essay on the growing moped communities around the country and their passionate fascination with the fuel-efficient, but ailing, and often discarded, motorized bikes. Derballa’s three week immersion into the moped culture involved a run-in with the police and a group ride through Times Square.
The vibrant moped community in Brooklyn is centered on a little shop called the Orphanage in Greenpoint. The group support the little collection of bikes rescued from obscurity and repairs them to sputtering, though working, order. The mopeds often top out at 30 miles per hour and the little two-stroke engines pollute more than their larger counterparts, but more and more people are falling in love with these forgotten machines. This subculture, like much of the so-called hipster culture, thrives on the use of outdated technology like typewriters or NES consoles, though the moped community boasts a strong online forum. Beyond the Orphan gang of Brooklyn, there are moped “gangs” in most major US cities, including the Creatures of the Loin in San Francisco, the Puddle Cutter of Portland and Hell Satans in Richmond.
Wired: “Rebels Without a Hog: Inside Brooklyn’s Moped Gang”
Photos: Bryan Derballa/Wired.com
Originally written for and published at PSFK.
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Bobby McFerrin Crowd Sources the Pentatonic Scale August 10th, 2009
Bobby McFerrin, a master in the possibilities of the human vocal chords, recently demonstrated the common understanding of the pentatonic scale at this year’s World Science Festival. The playful and simple demonstration uses audience participation to recreate the scale even when it goes beyond the given instructions.
The musical genius behind such uplifting songs as Don’t Worry, Be Happy, demonstrated this idea at the “Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus” event which took place on June 12, 2009. The panel discussion questions whether musical responses are nature or nurture and how universal the reactions are to rhythm or melody. The whole event is viewable at the Festival’s website and below is our favorite excerpt:
[via The Rumpus]
Originally written for and published at PSFK.
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Eat Endangered Crops and Livestock to Save Them? August 1st, 2009
Our diets often single out a specific breed as the producer for consumption, ultimately harming farm biodiversity. Consider that 99 percent of all turkey eaten in American comes from the Broad-Breasted White, just one breed of the many options. An article from Miller McCune’s online magazine discusses the merits of eating disappearing crops and livestock to create consumer demand for them, often saving them from extinction.
It seems far fetched at first, but consider the growing demand for unique foods and the rapidly plummeting biodiversity. Where there once was 15,000 varieties of apple, there are now 1,500 and who wouldn’t want to try an exotic new breed of pig? Consider the Mangalitsa pig of Hungary. With an increasing demand for succulent pork, they have been saved from extinction by the marketplace. Emily Badger discusses the problem in her article,
In an era when many problems — deforestation, climate change, water shortages — have been caused by human over-consumption, here is a problem of under-consumption. Biodiversity is disappearing precisely because people no longer consume it, and if we would just eat endangered crops and livestock now, restoring their role in the food supply, we could save them from extinction.
New York Times: “Eat it to Save it” – Images via Tamas Dezso for The New York Times
Originally written for and published on PSFK.
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A Cutting Edge Hoax with a Simple Message July 15th, 2009
It all started with a laughable product: a USB-powered chainsaw. Given the range of computer accessories out there, it wouldn’t be completely unheard of for a company to take things too far in hopes to cash in on the selection. The brief video and clean-looking website got lots of media attention.
After the pre-orders started pouring in, the folks at BBH Asia Pacific revealed it was all a hoax to promote the conservation of paper. The folks who pre-ordered the i.Saw were greeted with this message:
Hello.
We love that you liked the i.Saw enough to pre-order.
Truth is, you already own a chainsaw. Your keyboard.
Help save more trees by cutting down on unnecessary printing. Download PaperCut, a free application that plays the sound of a chainsaw each time you press Ctrl-P.
Available for Mac and PC.
Thanks for the support. Help spread the buzz, if you will
PaperCut Team
(formerly known as i.Saw Team)
The harmless prank was taken well by those fooled and it’s certainly a unique path to promote environmental awareness. Bravo.
NOTE: This post was written for and originally published at PSFK. I’ve decided to republish a number of my recent articles written for other websites here. They will go under the new category called Clips.
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