youtuber DaveyIsAmused has mashed the Teletubbies with some Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and the results are deliciousnessmaking and candyflosstastic.
Enjoy.
Monthly Archive for April, 2008
Page 2 of 10
Just saw this on wired.com
“Every six months, the Materials Research Society celebrates the most eye-catching images found in the course of their researchers’ studies — celebrating the serendipitous convergence of science and art.
Materials researchers may struggle for years with stubborn instruments, fragile crystals or difficult chemical reactions before obtaining a bit of precious data from the exotic substances they study. Now, the scrutiny of samples not only yields potentially important data, but also artistic inspiration.
Take a look at the latest finalists.”
-Aaron Rowe @ wired.com
Amazing.
See more here.
Zetaman is a superhero who does not fight crime. Well, not exactly. He fights the moral crime of homelessness. This paragraph is making less and less sense, let’s try again…
Zetaman goes out several times a month and gives aid to the homeless in Portland, Oregon. He wears a cool costume, but unlike Batman, his utility belt is full of coupons, homeless outreach vouchers, and granola bars.
His real name and identity are unknown, but his mission is one we can all get down with: Help those who need it.
The world needs heroes, and ordinary folks like you and me are popping up all over the U.S. to be heroic.
People like the Capital City Super Squad
“The Capital City Super Squad is a volunteer organization using superhero identities to inspire and help the people living, working and visiting Washington DC.
The Capital City Super Squad engages in civic activities in the guise of superheroes to help the people of Washington through safety patrols, community events, fundraisers and other activities. At the current time we have seven active members; Captain Prospect, team leader, Nice Ninja, Spark, Siren, Justice, DC Guardian and The Puzzler. They are a part of what some call a movement of Real Life Superheroes around the world. The team is always looking for community events where we can help and for new members to the team with the shared goal of improving their community and inspiring others.”
Helping the community and inspiring others? Sounds heroic to us!
There are a ton of Real Life Superhero sites and organizations:
Capital City Super Squad
It’s all about thinking globally, acting locally, and giving selflessly to your community.
I love that I am writing these words right now.
Life is good.
Much love goes out to all the RLSH’s out there, working hard to uphold justice.
Most of us know that green buildings are great. They use less energy, are less polluting, get fresher air, recycle water, have green roofs, are healthier for occupants, etc.
Most of us aren’t building contractors.
Check this:
“Last week the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved of a green building ordinance that promises to cut millions of tons of pollution over the next decade. The law will require new commercial buildings and high-rise residential structures over 50,000 square feet to meet LEED standards, including drought-resistant landscaping, use of recycled materials, and energy efficient heating, cooling, and lighting. This makes LA the latest of 14 US cities that have required private developers to meet greener building practices. These legislative efforts were heralded by several groundbreaking reports released earlier in the month.
The CEC’s study found that “promoting the green design, construction, renovation and operation of buildings could cut North American greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling climate change more deeply, quickly, and cheaply than any other available measure”. The two-year study brought together an international group of architects, developers, sustainability and energy experts, and local and national government representatives to explore the potential and pitfalls in greening our built environment.
Hot on the heels of these findings comes Costar’s report, a brazen testament to the economic viability of LEED and Energy Star buildings versus non-certified structures. The study analyzed roughly 1,300 LEED and Energy star certified buildings (351 million square feet) and compared them to non-green properties similar in size, location, class, tenancy, and age. The findings were incredible: LEED buildings sell for $171 more per square foot, command rent premiums of $11.24 per square foot, and have 3.8% higher occupancy rates. Energy star buildings showed similar stats, selling for $61 more psf, with rent premiums of $2.38 psf and 3.6% higher occupancy rates.”
-Mike Chino @ inhabitat
Can’t argue with those numbers.
Change the behavior, change the laws. We all win.
This is great news.
Just saw this on treehugger:
“Perhaps because Mayor Bloomberg’s plan for congestion pricing in New York City has failed, the Big Apple is now trying to make up for it by becoming more bicycle-friendly. As it is, 112,000 New Yorkers bicycle on an average day, an increase of 10% over the last decade. The proposal, which is part of a new Department of Transportation strategic plan, hopes to double that number by 2015, as well as
–Add 200 miles worth of new bicycle lane between 2007 and 2009
–Install 37 bicycle shelters and 5,000 bike parking racks by 2011
–Install 15 additional miles of protected on-street bike lanes by 2010 and 30 miles from 2011 to 2015
Finally, “To raise bike-consciousness in the city, the Transportation Department and the nonprofit group Transportation Alternatives are holding a competition to find the most bicycling-friendly employers in the city.”
Hooray! Mas bike lanes for all! Bloomy, you’re the bee’s knees.
This is rad. Just found it over at martinjmorris.blogspot
“Cookumentary” by Martin Morris (6 mins)
Jonas “The Johnnycake Man” (78) is one the very special characters who lives on Bocas Island in the Northern Caribbean coast of Panama. On Wednesdays and Sundays, Jonas peddles the streets of Bocas Town selling his homemade Johnnycakes from the box on the front of his bike.
“Johnnycakes” are small coconut milk breads traditionally baked in a pot over the fire. They are a Creole specialty, and along with other treats such as banana pudding and coconut balls, can be found throughout the Caribbean.
Jonas’ Johnnycakes are some of the best around and he is very proud (and protective) of his recipe. This cookumentary is a special opportunity to spend some time with Jonas and get baking with an expert. Why are they called “Johnnycakes”? …Watch and find out!”
A very sweet little film. Just the right thing to get you in the mood for lunch.
Click on “The Johnnycake Man”
Good Morning All!
Jackson here.
Just saw a very interesting post on boingboing.net
NYPD cops videoed illegally warring on photographers
“In March 2007, a free speech and free assembly rally was held in Union Square to protest a new NYPD rule of dubious constitutionality instituting a permit requirement for any assembly of 50+ people on foot or on bike in NYC.
While the restriction would apply to any assembly of 50 or more people, it was enacted as transparent attempt shut down, harass or frustrate the Critical Mass bicycle rides that have occured monthly in Manhattan for at least ten years.
After the rally proper, a Critical Mass ride (accompanied by citizen videographers from the Glass Bead Collective and other groups) set out north from Union Square, only to be subjected to outrageous and illegal treatment by NYPD officers in Times Square under the supervision and instigation of Sgt. Timothy Horhoe.
Despite the numerous video-verified complaints of unlawful arrest and the numerous provably false sworn statements in police reports documenting the incident, the Civilian Complaint Review Board said in March of this year that they cannot act to punish the officers involved for their willful perjury.”
So, to distill: bunch of bicyclists were exercising their right to ride around and snap pictures of stuff. The NYPD, apparently under orders to do so, were knocking cats off of their bikes and arresting those who dared photograph or videotape the arrest proceedings.
The arrests did not go smoothly. But the NYPD couldn’t arrest everybody, and so there is much video evidence of the arrests. Lots of screaming and flailing, you get the picture.
Not surprisingly, the videos tell a tale much different than the arrest reports.
So now we have an interesting conjunction of forces. The police doing their job, and citizens filming them doing it. What it boils down to is transparency and accountability. Video evidence provides us with both.
As history has shown us time and time again, put a person in a position of power over others and they will abuse that power. They will do it because they can. This doesn’t mean that they’re bad people, it just speaks to the intoxicating nature of power.
John F. Kennedy once said: “Secrecy is the enemy of Democracy.” (I paraphrase)
For a true democracy to exist, the watchers must be watched, and allow themselves to be watched, for the good of both the state and society.
The rumblings of the people’s wishes for an accountable and transparent society have begun, and that rumbling is getting louder.
Sites like RateMyCop, and PoliceWatch allow users rate their local police and upload videotapes of questionable police activity. While this is currently viewed as radical and incendiary, it is well within our constitutional rights and an absolute necessity to ensure a democratic and free society. (Does it not speak volumes about the way we currently live that transparency and accountability should be considered incendiary?)
Why should this be an issue?
If a policeman or woman is acting within the letter of the law, acting truly as a Peace Officer, then they should have no qualms about being taped while carrying out their duty. It is only when the rights of citizens are being trampled in order for the police to “control the situation” that being filmed becomes an issue.
In a world where everyone is a cameraman, this issue is not going away anytime soon.
This little issue is going to force us to reevaluate our stance toward Control and Power.
Who should have control or power over another?
Why should they have it?
What manner of accountability should those doing the controlling have to those who are controlled?
Lest anyone get the wrong idea, I am deeply compassionate to the job the NYPD do. The insanity of what they are required to do on a day to day just boggles my mind. Imagine spending your morning talking to a group of schoolchildren about drug safety and your evening having bullets flying by your head. That’s an incredible disparity of function, and quite a thing to ask of someone. The police are good and necessary, as long as they are acting with peace and the public good in mind.
Here’s a beautiful (paraphrased) quote that I think sums things up nicely:
“In an era when everything can be observed, all we have left is politeness.”
-Neal Stephenson
We the citizenry must treat those entrusted with the act of controlling us with compassion and manners, and they must treat us exactly the same way.
Improve your environment. Treat those around you with compassion and respect.
When tempers flare and things get intense, that’s when you need manners and respect the most.
Love to all,
Jackson
SuperForester Steve sent us this link to The Daily Mammal, which is the site of artist Jennifer Rae Atkins. She is trying to draw every mammal on earth. One per day.
Like this sweet little fella here!:
Laotian Rock Rat (Laonastes aenigmamus)
“The coelacanth of rodents,” this Laotian rat is a member of a family scientists thought had been extinct for 11 million years. So those scientists must have been surprised when they found some for sale in a food market in 1996!
Actually scientists initially thought the rat was a member of a brand-new family and described it as such. Other scientists who excitedly read the 2005 paper that described the new family recognized its resemblance to the Diatomys fossils they studied, and released their own paper in 2006 making the claim that the Laotian rock rat is actually what’s called a “Lazarus” mammal. (Like yesterday, I don’t have the fortitude to decipher the scientific articles to figure out whether this claim still stands or not.) There is only one other mammal species known to have that long a gap in its fossil history.
This drawing is approximately 6″x9″. It’s done in layers of marker, pen, and colored pencil on tracing paper, giving it a translucent and vivid beauty. Your drawing comes with a 9″x12″ black mat with a backing board, as well as a dark-gray sheet of art paper that makes the colors pop. I’ll pack it safely before I ship it to you.
Shipping within the U.S. costs $6. Shipping everywhere else costs $15. I use USPS priority mail.
Five dollars of every purchase goes to an animal-related charity.”
So every day she draws a mammal, the drawings go on her Etsy page, and part of the proceeds from the sales go to helping animal charities.
Nicey nice nice!
(Isn’t it funny the way science has a knack for thinking things are extinct and then finding someone somewhere who’s selling the extinct thing for dinner? Seems like it happens all the time.)
Why not cruise over to Etsy and get yourself a nice mammal?
Like this Gray-Faced Giant Elephant-Shrew?
Thanks to Steve for the intel, and thanks to Jennifer Rae for the inspirato.
Love to All,
Team SF
Episode 5 – In which our hero wins his just desserts, and reflections on the week past.
Here’s a nice quote:
“With enough money, you could do this, no question. Yet, with about $5,000 worth of gear, I wasn’t leading even a semblance of the life I’m used to. Beyond the massive cutback in the time I normally spend typing at my desk, here’s a short list of what unexpectedly fell off my radar while I tended to the solar garden: all news, the election, Flickr, Facebook, my iPod, instant messaging, most personal e-mail, shampooing, all household chores (again, just ask my wife), calling my parents, and taking time to respond to the comments left on my previous posts. Thank you for reading and for all the encouragement!
So would I try this again? Maybe. Under the same conditions, not a chance. I’d definitely want more gear (short list below!), and I’d have to see about tracking down a typewriter. All this long hand is killing my wrist.”
Doesn’t sound so bad. Sounds pretty great actually.
It has been wonderful to follow Steven’s progress.
Thank you, Steven, for the Earth Week inspiration!
For truly autonomous networking, use Easy WiFi radar to find friendly host connections.
This program scans the area, locates unlocked wireless access points and let’s you cyber-surf the internet. Hee hee.
Good thinking.
Want your own free copy of Easy WiFi Radar? (Sadly, it’s for Windows only.)
Click here: Easy WiFi
Holy Guacamole!
Something insane just happened!
I was on the instructables.com site learning how to build my own LED bike helmet, when out of the corner of my eye, something interesting went down.
On the corner of the page, where ads go, (i.e. where my eyes don’t go,) IKEA had placed an ad of a woman using a chainsaw to get a bunch of pasta to fit in a drawer.
So, get this: I actually clicked on the ad.
Whoah. An advertisement that I didn’t automatically tune out? An ad where something interesting happened? I had to know more.
Some further clicking brought me to the IKEA page at youtube, where they’ve got a ton of cool videos, all featuring the same chainsaw swinging Momma that first caught my eye.
These ads are brilliant. They are likable, watchable, and inform one about a product in a way that doesn’t pander, doesn’t ram anything down your throat, just gently showcases.
In short, these ads are everything that most ads aren’t.
Who is this woman? She’s a treasure.
Brilliantly done, IKEA.
I just realized how insane it is that every company hasn’t done this yet.
Safety is rad.
DIY is rad.
DIY safety is the intersection of rad and radder.
Thank you to sternlab.org
Make yo sweet self one of these beauties.
Live to be a thousand, my homies.
Here’s how: DIY LED Bike Helmet @ instructables.com
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