Enseada dos Tubarões (“Shark Inlet”) [on the Brazilian ‘Fernando de Noronha‘ archipelago} gets its name from the sharks that visit the inlet during the high tide. They seem to enjoy swimming in the quiet shallow waters (it’s prohibited to go down to the beach). The best time to spot them is during the high tide in the morning, when there’s more sunlight on the water. Since I’m not one for getting up early, we went in the afternoon, and saw 5 sharks swimming around, all in single file.
This has suddenly, (as in just now) become a place I’d like to visit. Like? Love. More information available on Wikipedia. Quote & Image by Jim Skea.
These friggin guys just don’t quit, do they? They’ve ruined computing. …Now they’re going after household furniture too with this “Surface” computer. Just think. Soon you can sit down and start cursing at your coffee table when it freezes up or needs to reboot or warns you about some security alert. Jesus.
I’ve finally come across someone who at least questions one of the emergent Web 2.0 phenomenons. Lifehacker writes the first post I’ve read which criticizes the new fad-of-the-moment Twitter for the timewaster that it is. I don’t see much point in posting micro-posts about what I’m doing at any given moment. If I wanted to do that I’d have an always-on connection to MSN or AIM through my mobile: I don’t see a need for another blogging application. One’s enough for the moment.
Senor writer Elinor Mills says Twitter’s just a bunch of “stream-of-conscious babblings” for friends and people who have time to “read inane musings of strangers.” Staff writer Caroline McCarthy says Twitter’s randomness is a “welcome diversion.” Coincidentally, the Lifehacker editors had quite the internal debate about whether or not Twitter is a post-worthy app, and while there was a difference of opinion about Twitter’s longevity, we all agreed it is never going to boost productivity.
A new display technology to be released by Microsoft today called Surface could be a dangerous threat to Apple Computer (as well as others like Philips, Sony and Nokia). It’s essentially a multi-touch screen embedded into table that allows the user(s) to interact with it through using their hands as well as objects placed on the table itself. You could use your fingers to grab the edges of a photo to make it bigger or just drag it ‘into’ a mobile phone that’s laying on the ‘Surface’ and in connnection with the device. This dragging move would simply drop the image into the mobile phone’s storage. It could be used (according to Microsoft) to plan directions to or from a location (such as if it were placed in a coffee shop/airline departure or arrivals lound/museum).
What’s interesting about the technology is that the brains behind it are not all that revolutionary. Many of the techniques shown have been displayed in other forum like Jeff Han’s multi-touch talks at the 2006 and 2007 TED conferences, the music browsing application’s technique of flipping the album cover art to show a track listing (showed at Steve Jobs’ January 2007 Macworld(iPhone) Keynote). Embedded dots on the bottom of an article would read the pre-programmed intentions of an object (like a higly reduced Datamatrix machine readable barcode). The underlying technology isn’t new but screwing it all together in a pleasing way is. This is the realm of Apple’s strengths and Microsoft, in a number of areas of late, has been showing its design acumen is not as faulty as sometimes thought.
This device could be a success for Microsoft, and ironically if Apple were to have made it I don’t think it would be. Why? Because the technology relies on interaction with other companies and partnering with groups to place the device, something that Apple is very weak on. A great example is the iPhone currently on the route to release. It may be a fantastic product but months after its announcement, developers still don’t know if it will be open to outside applications or whether it will be locked down to only Apple-approved initiatives. Of course Microsoft isn’t always successful in this field: see technologies like its Spot watches and other devices that are based on FM radio transmissions of data over the air. The project is still running but never gained anything like the momentum Microsoft must have hoped it would attain.
What’s most dangerous about this development is that it makes Microsoft look cool and hip. If you can simply place your iPodZune onto your Surface at home and it starts piping music through your home theatre system without the hassle of having to network it up with your PC then that makes Microsoft look good. Even better if you can do that with your Zune at a friend’s house. Or a friend’s player at your house. It’s the social interaction that is key and makes devices like this work. Getting maps at a coffee shop has limited appeal after a while. There’s no reason why you’d rather do it there than your PC at home, but sharing photos or videos of a recent vacation is much more fun at a local third-space than in your office cubicle.
The technology is amazing because it’s not the technology that’s interesting. It’s the content partners and the network of locations that counts. This isn’t perhaps the type of thing that’s going to be in an average home for some time yet but it’s the perfect thing to have in a B2C environment like a coffee shop/dentist waiting room or even a corporate foyer. These play directly into Microsoft’s strengths, and Apple’s weaknesses.
The WSJ’s D-Conference joint interview today between Jobs and Gates should be interesting.
Senator Mike Gravel sounds a bit like a sage Al Gore who’s been around the block a couple times and is sick and tired of the hypocrisy and weakness of potential leaders. He’s bold and old and comes across as a granddad with an opinion. Perhaps, at times, a little long-winded, he’s quickly becoming my one-to-watch of all the US Presidential candidates. I hope he’s paid due attention and supported by the people as much as he’s trying to empower them.
Three videos of his thoughts; the first is a short clip from an interview on MSNBC, the second from a speech he gave in New Hampshire: “We should be guided by Eisenhower’s warning that an inordinate emphasis on military power breeds a culture of militarism that threatens all vital areas of our society.” and the third from the debate amongst Democratic candidates for the presidency on April 26th in South Carolina.
Un de les choses le plus drole que j’ai vu dupuis longtemps: quelqun a mis leur cameraphone sur le courroie d’un restaurant de sushi au Japon. Personne a fait rien sauf faire signe de la main. Ahh, une ville sans les voleurs! Le meilleure truc, je pense, est quand l’appareil va dans la cuisine. Chouette!
This photoshoot by Cliff Watts, proves to me how talented an actress Lindsay Lohan is. Not only can she act, but the fact that she can model as so clearly demonstrated in these shots, with the variety and quality of poses offered, really affirms my respect for her. She may be a party animal and currently a bit off the rails , but her talent shines. It’s impressive.
When the noun phrase or pronoun heading a relative clause is the implied object of a preposition in that relative clause, and is futhermore animate, the normal relative pronoun to use is qui (except when the preposition is de – see 15.6 below)…
I came across a really interesting book earlier while reading a story in the New York Times about how the publishing business is, essentially, eternally flying blind. Publishers notoriously have no idea what makes a bestseller, why one book bombs and another soars in the sales charts. It’s a chaotic, highly unpredictable market.
The story mentions a book called ‘Skinny Bitch‘ by Kim Barnouin who was formerly a model and Rory Freedman, a former modeling agent.
“The voice is funny, tough love, no nonsense,” the authors’ agent, Talia Rosenblatt Cohen, said. But the authors were largely unknown and advocate a vegan lifestyle. “Everyone kept saying, ‘No platform!’ and ‘Vegan!’ ” Ms. Rosenblatt Cohen said. -Shira Boss in the NYTimes
Amazon’s Online Reader feature for the book allows me to show this excerpt. I think the book is fabulous. It’s billed as “A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!” Now I’m not a girl and I don’t really feel I need to loose weight (not that that’s the main aim of the book anyway), but I think a book like this is great because it pokes through many of the food myths that people are expected to believe, demonstrates how many of the modern amenities that we live with may not be very good for us at all, and sets about giving examples of how to eat right to stay healthy:
“Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my morning coffee.” Uhm… pathetic! Coffee is for pussies. Think about how widely accepted it has become that people need coffee to wake up. You should not need anything to wake up. If you can’t wake up without it, it’s because you are either addicted to caffeine, sleep deprived, or a generally unhealthy slob. It may seem like the end of the world to give up your daily dose, especially if you rely on Starbucks as a good place to meet men. But it’s not heroin, girls, and you’ll learn to live without it. Caffeine can cause headaches, digestive problems, irritation of the stomach and bladder, peptic ulcers, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. It affects every organ system, from the nervous system to the skin.
But don’t go grabbing for the decaf. Coffee, whether regular or decaf is highly acidic. Acidic foods cause your body to produce fat cells, in order to keep the acid away from your organs. (Please, do not link this acid issue with citrus and other fruits. We discuss this in depth later.) So coffee equals fat cells. P.S. It also makes your breath smell like ass. …If you enjoy the occasinoal cup of coffee, fine. But if you need it, give it up.
I’ve finally come across someone who at least questions one of the emergent Web 2.0 phenomenons. Lifehacker writes 
