GluFactory

"The bad news is that state funding for California libraries has been completely eliminated. There’s..."

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:28:29 -0800

“The bad news is that state funding for California libraries has been completely eliminated. There’s not really any good news about that except that it was expected.”

- Goodbye, state funding for California libraries | KALW

Well shit.

I rate this G+ a ✔-

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:54:00 -0800

I rate this G+ a ✔-

(via Why I Need To Thank My Enemies - Confessions of an...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:51:25 -0800

(via Why I Need To Thank My Enemies - Confessions of an Entrepreneur - Keyhubs)

"Pinterest already is driving buyers to some websites. In the last six months, the retail deal site..."

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:26:45 -0800

“Pinterest already is driving buyers to some websites. In the last six months, the retail deal site ideeli.com has seen a 446 percent increase in web traffic from Pinterest and sales resulting from those visits have increased five-fold.”

- How Pinterest Is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business — Entrepreneur.com (via courtenaybird)

Hey @dpstyles - which cat photos are quintupling sales again? BAM

Our First Principles | Contents Magazine

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:45:52 -0800

Our First Principles | Contents Magazine:

Have only read a third of this, and digested far less, but I already want to bookmark it to come back to.

Thanks for the link @timoni!

February SIlent Reading Party Announcement

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:19:49 -0800

sfsilentreadingparty:

We’re returning to The Palace Hotel on Thursday evening, 7pm. We enjoyed the quiet space and classy vibe last time, so we’re back again, enjoying each other[s company and a few good books. Can’t wait to see everyone there.

(via Print by @imajes | Stay Focused) Yep

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:29:27 -0800

(via Print by @imajes | Stay Focused)

Yep

"The first hour of the Social Network is about making a CRUD app seem like sexy, the second is a..."

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:22:01 -0800

“The first hour of the Social Network is about making a CRUD app seem like sexy, the second is a Lifetime drama about a divorce improbably involving two heterosexual men.”

- Don’t Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice | Kalzumeus Software

LOL

(h/t @timoni)

"After being a liaison between these two worlds long enough, you end up knowing more than anyone else..."

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:25:19 -0800

“After being a liaison between these two worlds long enough, you end up knowing more than anyone else on the team. When you have millions and millions of users that hit every button and link in combinations you would never dream of, then reporting the “interesting” outcomes of their explorations, these support agents become walking encyclopedias of the ins-and-outs of the site and with Flickr, there are odd edge cases waiting on every page. Having people on your team aware of everything the site does is huge. You literally can’t buy that or replace it or outsource it, though it appears that Yahoo thinks it can.”

- The Front Line

truth

A List Apart: Articles: Pricing Strategy for Creatives

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:50:01 -0800

A List Apart: Articles: Pricing Strategy for Creatives:

I don’t consider myself a creative, and think this article works far beyond that category.

The Savvy Startup: Copywriting as Scalable Customer SupportExpect Wow

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:46:39 -0800

The Savvy Startup: Copywriting as Scalable Customer SupportExpect Wow:

Great tips. Sometimes practicality wins over confusing elegance.

Letters of Note: I am a lousy copywriter

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:27:43 -0800

Letters of Note: I am a lousy copywriter:

Amen.

courtenaybird: Who’s Using Pinterest? Yup, It’s Mostly...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:08:20 -0800

courtenaybird:

Who’s Using Pinterest? Yup, It’s Mostly Ladies

Or, as Gizmodo calls it: “Tumblr for ladies”

I find it amazing Pinterest comes in third in referral traffic in Warby Parker’s annual report (Social Media page). It’s only bested by Twitter and Facebook.

There’s a perception that Pinterest is Mormon housewives. Either Mormon housewives love Warby Parker or there is a more nuanced story here.

coketalk: I’m totally addicted to answering people’s questions...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:41:14 -0800

coketalk:

I’m totally addicted to answering people’s questions with a thoughtful musical selection on this emotional baggage website.

whaaaaaaa

Best food in Argentina.

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:09:27 -0800

Best food in Argentina.

superamit: Many of you have asked, so here’s what’s going on...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:27:33 -0800

superamit:

Many of you have asked, so here’s what’s going on with me.

WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE

8/1979: Born. Grew up in CT, built a killer eraser collection, fell in love with computers.

Left college to start a company. Fell hard. Fled to India for 3 months.

Started 2nd company. Learned to be an adult. Fell in love with NYC.

Moved to SF, discovered burritos & some of my fave people on Earth.

9/2011: Got diagnosed with Leukemia!

Cried. Went through 3 cycles of chemo. Hurt. Thought hard about what I want out of life. Grew up a second time.

TODAY

… After over 100 drives organized by friends, family, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and Facebook posts, press, fundraising and international drives organized by tireless friends, and a couple painful false starts, I’ve got a 10/10 matched donor!

You all literally helped save my life. (And the lives of many others.)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Tomorrow, I’ll be admitted to Dana Farber in Boston for 4-5 weeks.

First I’ll get a second Hickman line to allow direct access to my heart (for meds and for nutrients if I’m not able to eat). Over the next week, the docs blast my body with a stiff chemo cocktail to try and eradicate all traces of cancer cells. In the process, the immune system I was born with, and my body’s ability to make blood, are destroyed.

Next Friday, I get my donor’s stem cells by IV. I start on immunosuppressants to prevent my body from rejecting them (I’ll be on them for 12-18 months). For these weeks I’ve no immune system, so I’m severely vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. My hospital room and hallway become my world.

Meanwhile, the stem cells make their way to my bone marrow and, with some luck, start producing platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. At this point, my blood type changes to the blood type of my donor. And my blood will now have my donor’s DNA, not my own.

This is science fiction stuff. I can hardly believe it’s even possible, and there’s lots of chances for things to go wrong. It’s frightening.

AFTER THE TRANSPLANT

Recovery to a new state of “normal” takes about a year, but there’s a few storm clouds hovering:

My immune system is new, like a baby’s. I’m prone to getting sick.

Just as with any organ transplant, there’s a chance of rejection. Except in this case, it’s my blood that’s the foreign body, and it touches every organ. They call it graft-vs-host-disease and it can cause health issues and organ complications for the rest of my life.

Successful transplant or not, Leukemia can relapse. Stubborn mofo.

Overall, 75% of AML transplant patients survive year one, 50% make it through year five. My odds are a little better since I’m young.

THE GREAT NEWS

I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’ve got a donor & amazing family & friends. A few months ago I didn’t have many options. Today I have a plan.

I am alive. I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Thank you.

Go internet!

"Android phones aren’t as simple to use as the iPhone, but they’re not that much more complicated,..."

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:52:52 -0800

“Android phones aren’t as simple to use as the iPhone, but they’re not that much more complicated, and “if you’re willing to do the work to understand it a little bit, well I hate to say it, but there’s more available in some ways.”

- Steve Wozniak

Woz often diverged from Jobs. He wanted Macs to be easily upgradable, Jobs didn’t. Same reason he likes Android.

One of the things that drove Jobs nuts was how he thought Google stabbed him in the back with Android, he felt they stole a lot of the iPhone technology from him and would not get into the smartphone business, even at just the OS level. This comment from Woz would have likely set him off if he were still around today because of the anger he carried around with him about Google.

(via soupsoup)

It’s also worth pointing out that to the vast majority of people out there, the notion that they have to “work” at their phone is fairly objectionable. Some people like to tinker on cars. Most want a car that “just works.”

(via rickwebb)

Not at iPhone prices though. Not necessarily Android prices either. None of my friends in MI have either; they have a flip phone or maybe a touchscreen and they are teachers or salon owners or bankers (in a small town) etc. And all their phones ‘just work’ for what they use them for.

Seven UX Best Practices of Community Design | UX Magazine

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:30:32 -0800

Seven UX Best Practices of Community Design | UX Magazine:

to read.

jtotheizzoe: the-star-stuff: The best Celestial Events to...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:54:28 -0800

jtotheizzoe:

the-star-stuff:

The best Celestial Events to expect in 2012

2012 is here, what celestial events might we look forward to seeing?

Jan. 4: Quadrantid meteor shower peaks

This meteor shower reaches its peak in the predawn hours of Jan. 4 for eastern North America. The Quadrantid meteor shower is a very short-lived meteor display, whose peak rates only last several hours. The phase of the moon is a bright waxing gibbous, normally prohibitive for viewing any meteor shower, but the moon will set by 3 a.m., leaving the sky dark for a few hours until the first light of dawn; that’s when you’ll have the best shot at seeing many of these bluish-hued meteors.

From the eastern half of North America, a single observer might count on seeing as many as 50-to-100 “Quads” in a single hour. From the western half of the continent the display will be on the wane by the time the moon sets, with hourly rates probably diminishing to around 25 to 50 meteors.

Feb. 20 to March 12: Best evening apparition of Mercury

In February and March, the “elusive” innermost planet Mercury moves far enough from the glare of the sun to be readily visible soon after sunset. Its appearance will be augmented by two other bright planets (Venus and Jupiter), which also will be visible in the western sky during this same time frame.

Mercury will arrive at its greatest elongation from the sun March 5. It will be quite bright (-1.3-to-0 magnitude) before this date and will fade rapidly to +1.6 magnitude thereafter. Astronomers measure the brightness of objects in terms of magnitude, with lower numbers corresponding to brighter objects.

March 3: Mars arrives at opposition

On March 3, the Earth will be passing Mars as the two planets wheel around the sun in their respective orbits. Because Mars reaches aphelion — its farthest point from the sun — on Feb. 15, this particular opposition will be an unfavorable one. In fact, two days after opposition, Mars will be closest to Earth at a distance of 62.6 million miles.

Compare this with the August 2003 opposition when Mars was only 34.6 million miles away. Nonetheless, even at this unfavorable opposition the fiery-hued Mars will be an imposing naked-eye sight, shining at magnitude -1.2, just a bit dimmer than Sirius, the brightest star, and will be visible in the sky all night long.

March 13: Brilliant “double planet”

The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, team up to make for an eye-catching sight in the western sky soon after sunset. They will be separated by 3 degrees on this evening, Venus passing to the northwest (upper right) of Jupiter and shining nearly eight times brighter than “Big Jupe.” Although they will gradually go their separate ways after this date, on March 25 and 26, a crescent moon will pass by, adding additional beauty to this celestial scene.

May 5: Biggest full moon of 2012

The moon turns full at 11:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and just 25 minutes later it will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2012, at a distance of 221,801 miles. Expect a large range in ocean tides (exceptionally low to exceptionally high) for the next few days. [Photos: ‘Supermoon’ of 2011]

May 20: Annular eclipse of the sun

The path of annularity for this eclipse starts over eastern China and sweeps northeast across southern and central Japan. The path continues northeast then east, passing just south of Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain. The path then turns to the southeast, making landfall in the western United States along the California-Oregon coast. It will pass over central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, the extreme southwest corner of Colorado and most of New Mexico before coming to an end over northern Texas.

Since the disk of the moon will appear smaller than the disk of the sun, it will create a “penny on nickel” effect, with a fiery ring of sunlight shining around the moon’s dark silhouette. Locations that will witness this eerie sight include Eureka and Reading, Calif.; Carson City, Reno and Ely, Nev.; Bryce Canyon in Utah; Arizona’s Grand Canyon; Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New Mexico and just prior to sunset for Lubbock, Tex.

A partial eclipse of the sun will be visible over a large swath of the United States and Canada, including Alaska and Hawaii, but no eclipse will be visible near and along the Atlantic Seaboard.

June 4: Partial eclipse of the moon

This partial lunar eclipse favors the Pacific Ocean; Hawaii sees it high in the sky during the middle of its night. Across North America the eclipse takes place between midnight and dawn. The farther east one goes, the closer the time of moonset coincides with the moment that the moon enters the Earth’s dark umbral shadow.

In fact, over the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada, the only evidence of this eclipse will be a slight shading on the moon’s left edge (the faint penumbral shadow) before moonset. Over the Canadian Maritimes, the moon will set before the eclipse begins. At maximum, more than one-third of the moon’s lower portion (37.6-percent) will be immersed in the umbra.

June 5: Rare transit of Venus across the sun

The passage of Venus in front of the sun is among the rarest of astronomical events, rarer even than the return of Halley’s Comet every 76 years. Only six transits of Venus are known to have been observed by humans before: in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and, most recently, in 2004.

The next one will occur in the year 2117. When Venus is in transit across the solar disk, the planet appears as a distinct, albeit tiny, round black spot with a diameter just 1/32nd of the sun. This size is large enough to readily perceive with the naked eye. HOWEVER … prospective observers are warned to take special precautions (as with a solar eclipse) when attempting to view the silhouette of Venus against the blindingly brilliant solar disc.

The beginning of the transit will be visible from all of North America, Greenland, extreme northern and western portions of South America, Hawaii, northern and eastern portions of Asia including Japan, New Guinea, northern and eastern portions of Australia, and New Zealand. The end will be visible over Alaska, all of Asia and Indonesia, Australia, Eastern Europe, the eastern third of Africa, and the island nation of Madagascar.

Aug. 12: Perseid meteor shower

Considered to be among the best of the annual displays thanks to its high rates of up to 90 per hour for a single observer, as well as its reliability. Beloved by summer campers and often discovered by city dwellers who might be spending time in the country under dark starry skies. [10 Perseid Meteor Shower Facts]

Last summer a bright moon wrecked the shower by blotting out many of the fainter streaks, but in 2012 the moon will be three days past last quarter phase on this peak morning – a fat waning crescent presenting only a minor nuisance for prospective observers.

Nov. 13: Total eclipse of the sun

The first total solar eclipse since July 2010. Virtually the entire path of totality falls over water. At the very beginning, the track cuts through Australia’s Northern Territory just to the east of Darwin, then across the Gulf of Carpentaria, then through northern Queensland, passing over Cairns and Port Douglas before heading out to sea.

The rest of the eclipse path, including the point of the maximum duration of totality (4 minutes, 2 seconds) is, unfortunately, pretty much wasted by falling over the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Dec. 13-14: Geminid meteor shower

If there is one meteor display guaranteed to put on a very entertaining show it is the Geminid meteor shower. Now considered by most meteor experts to be at the top of the list, surpassing in brilliance and reliability even the August Perseids.

Bundle warmly against the winter chill; you can start observing as soon as darkness falls on the evening of Dec. 13 as Gemini starts coming up above the eastern horizon and continue through the rest of the night. Around 2 a.m. when Gemini is almost directly overhead, you might see as many as two meteor sightings per minute … 120 per hour! And the moon is new, meaning that it will not be a factor at all.

Dec. 25: Christmas evening and Jupiter

On Christmas, many will be looking skyward and wondering what that brilliant silvery “star” is hovering just above the waxing gibbous moon. It’s not a star (or Santa returning to the North Pole), but the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, serving as a sort of holiday ornament with our nearest neighbor in space to cap off a year of interesting and predictable sky events that we all can enjoy!

(Submitted by vernardm)

I’ll go ahead and add this for the submitter, vernardm, who has mastered the use of Ctrl+C: This material was originally posted by Joe Rao of Space.com/Scientific American

I’m looking forward to several of ‘em, though. Every year is a good year to look up and pay attention, 2012 will be no exception.

rickwebb: Got in just under the wire on one of my new year’s...

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:07:49 -0800

rickwebb:

Got in just under the wire on one of my new year’s resolutions and got engaged Sunday.

To this girl. Couldn’t be happier.

Congratulations! So happy for you both :)