World Bank sees Africa progress
BBC NEWS | Business | World Bank sees Africa progress
Yet another reprieve?
leftsider's bookmarks on del.icio.us
Sorry guys, but I'm really not feeling well recently. I've got a few things that are mandatory that I complete, a ton of things I should do, and I'm contemplating doing something I've never done before--taking some sick leave.
Keep me in your positive thoughts and well wishes. I'll try to keep posting as is reasonable. Until then, raid my del.icio.us?
We're gonna miss you, YouTube
And so it begins: YouTube nukes 30,000 videos
Yeah. I actually noticed it days after the rumors leaked out. What a bummer.
Defending yourself
This morning I participated in a dream where I was walking down a narrow street of rowhouses, all red and blue and yellow and in good condition. I could tell that this was a very urban area, but I felt no lack of safety--it felt like a good neighborhood.
I walked out of one house and up the street to another house where my wife was. I did something there, which I can't remember, and then decided that i needed to stop back by the first house.
On the way back, there were two people walking down the street. I moved quickly, but I saw one move in my direction to initiate contact. "Hey, do you have any change to spare?" The guy asked.
"No, I don't carry change," I said as I paused, stopped to look at him, and shrugged. I find myself doing that often because I feel that many homeless or struggling people suffer from a deficit of attention; no one even pays them mind until they interject themselves, and then they ignore. I never carry change because I spend what's in my pockets and that's bad.
I think he didn't anticipate me focusing on him directly because my pause caused him to overstep me and cross my path. Upon doing this, he slowed down to stay in close proximity to me.
I saw him reach for something in his pocket. He was actually fumbling around quite a bit, so I wondered what he could be pulling out....
A gun? too small.
A pack of cigarettes? possibly.
Something to or show me? It's not impossible, but I really don't have time to sit and chat. I pick up my pace.
As I overtake him, I see in the corner of my eye that it was a knife. A silver butterfly knife. I groan inwardly. Are you serious? Is this guy gonna try and stick me after I told him the honest truth? He skips a step to keep up and then he taps my arm with the blade.
"Hey," he says, half mumbling," you got any change for a knife?"
I slow down just a bit to look at him directly, but I keep moving to show him I'm not stopping for this crap and also to put me closer to my destination. "I don't keep change bro, All I have is this wallet and this phone..."
I reach into my pockets and pull out my wallet and phone, one in each hand, raising upward as if I were going to assume a pose of surrender. But, for some reason, as soon as my hands were out of my pockets, my leg moves like a flash in a powerful attempt to kick the living daylights out of this jerk.
That was when I woke up. My leg was off the bed. Luckily for Fru, I was facing out when I lashed out--otherwise she may have acquired a really nasty bruise this morning.
It made me think though. I live my life expecting nothing but good from all people. I am not naive enough to think that there is nothing bad in the world, but I like the idea of being surprised that my fellow man has done wrong instead of being surprised that my counterpart has done something good. While this has helped me to build a positive aura around me wherever I go, it isn't a bulletproof vest.
The same is true online. We create blogs that express our ideas, make connections through social networks and internet communication tools. We live a virtual life that expects that everyone will abide by the rules. But what happens when someone doesn't?
Thinking about my dream, I realized that I reacted much more strongly that I would have anticipated. My assumption is that the fueling factor of my action was my deep deep disappointment in the choices this aggressor made. I didn't dislike him as a person, and I didn't really feel like I was preparing to fight. I just wanted to disarm him and then explain how stupid what he did was. I wanted to help him, like I feel towards all people, but there was a distinct need for a rearrangement of variables.
Is this how I would respond to a similar act in the real world? I have no clue. I do feel that my feelings in that situation, however, were indicative of my perspective on things at a subconscious level and may shed light on the foundations of my thinking. How would this translate into a response for online assault? That's what I'm thinking about now.
visual complexity
visualcomplexity.com | A visual exploration on mapping complex networks
Wow. You know I'm like a kid in a candy store looking at this stuff, right?
USB plant monitors
PlantSense unveils USB stake sensor to prevent plant malnutrition - Engadget
Start-up PlantSense has designed the intelligent stake to relay the data via USB to a subscription-based website, where it informs users what they're doing wrong (too much sunlight or not enough fertilizer, for example) as well as "providing recommendations on which plants might grow best in a particular microclimate."
Nice idea, but currently a little expensive for practical usage.
Understanding gestures and microexpressions
Mind Hacks: SciAmMind on microexpressions and gestures
Microexpressions are like any other facial expression, but they are very subtle and occur incredibly quickly, coming and going in several hundred milliseconds.Paul Ekman, largely known for his discovery that many facial expressions of emotion were universal, has been particularly keen on researching microexpressions in recent years.
This is an area that has always fascinated me. It's virtually impossible to completely mask your emotions simply because your body often shares more than just your planned response. Masters of deception have learned not how to hide their expressions, but how to reassign them.
Good stuff.
1-800-imp-otent
BBC NEWS | Health | Heavy mobile use 'damages sperm'
Researchers found those men who used a phone for four hours or more a day had fewer sperm and those they had moved less well and were of poorer quality.
Gah!
Comparing Bachelors and Married Men
Bachelors and Married Men « The Asia Pages
So I've come to the conclusion that some men never change no matter what age they are. 총각 or 아저씨, they're all the same. I guess that's why we women both love and hate them--for they never seem to grow up and are always kids at heart whether endearingly or not.
It's the truth, I admit it.
Google can't be stopped
BBC NEWS | Business | Google sees profits almost double
Internet search giant Google has confirmed its ongoing market domination by announcing that its third quarter profits have almost doubled.
Windows gives up your hemi
O'Reilly Radar > Why Has Microsoft Abandoned the Power User?
So if I'm reading this article right.....Microsoft is like a 70's musclecar maker, the world has moved on to vehicles like a Taurus or a Camry, and Firefox is like a 97 Honda Civic? Makes perfect sense to me. :D
Can N. Koreans eat WMDs?
N. Korea Detonates 40 Years Of GDP | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
A press release issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency Monday confirmed that the Oct. 9 underground nuclear test in North Korea's Yanggang province successfully exploded the communist nation's total gross domestic product for the past four decades.
Hahahahahaha....ohh that's so sad.
Social networks for robots
This is the most important question I've been faced with today. If anyone has the answer, please let me know. :P
Why peer-to peer beats ITMS
@ Mipcom: Interview With The Pirate King - Ashwin Navin Of BitTorrent |
paidContent.org
And as for competing against Apple? BitTorrent’s strength is that it can offer formats for all devices. He predicts a backlash against Apple’s ‘locked-in’ ecosystem in the next three years. “Apple is a phenomenal company - we’ve hired engineers from Apple and know the calibre of the talent and creativity. Fundamentally Steve Jobs has challenged an entire value chain, whether it’s publishers or the consumer electronics industry. But Apple is only as good as the weakest link because that’s all forged and locked in together. If people stopped wanting iPods because a better piece of hardware came along, the whole thing would fall apart.
Skip the rest of this article unless you are particularly interested--this is all you really need to look at. I can't tell ypu how many people have scowled at my disdain for iPods and ITMS in general. But if they think about it, this statement should shut them up real quick.
Homophily in Social Software
O'Reilly Radar > Homophily in Social Software
The Washington Post has a brief article called "Why Everyone You Know Thinks The Same As You". In short, you hang out with people who are like you, a phenomenon known as homophily. This happens online, and indeed the Internet can lower the costs of finding people like you. But homophily raises the question for social software designers of how much they should encourage homophily and how much they want to mix it up.
Good topic, but an unfortunately flat post. What are the benefits and dangers of homophily in social networks?
A recent biology professor related a story about cheetahs that I often use to flesh out this point. Skipping the fascinating way in which it was discovered, basically scientists have discovered that all cheethas living today have an identical genetic makeup. At some point, their numbers were reduced almost extinction, and their gene pool, as a result, was severely reduced. With only a few cheetahs left to mate, and then the subsequent inbreeding that occured, it basically ensured that these cats would have very little difference.
The consequence of this, however, is that any virus or bacteria that is lethal to one cat will be lethal to all. There is no survival of the fittest in the extreme case of homophily; all share the same strengths--and the same vulnerabilities.
What the article refers to as serendipity (I'm not averse to that titling, but I tend to think that the benefits may be acquired without realization) does make it a more arduous task to retain our identity, but with that diversity we receive a more robust foundation for strength and growth. The same biology professor humorously noted that mutts tend to be the most resilient dogs--and this may, among other things, be a result of their genetic breadth.
How can we improve our serendipity online? What happens to our perspective when we pick one topic and cater exclusively to that audience? Or when we collect a variety of ideas under one common cause? How often do we really try to think, let alone use the web, in a way that is other than who we are? Can a social network connect like-minded individuals while still providing the spice of life that variety contains?
Foreign Policy: The FP Quiz
Think you know the world? Then test your global knowledge with 8 questions that are sure to surprise.
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