February 2, 2012
January 18, 2012
Stop On-line Privacy Act: Please Take Action Today!
If you are ready to take action on this important internet matter please click here: http://www.craigslist.org/about/SOPA
Tell Congress you OPPOSE Senate 968 “Protect IP Act” (PIPA) and H.R. 3261 “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA)
Let congress know that you are against this and want to keep the internet accessible. Use this link above to take action, it’s easy and is very important….
January 16, 2012
December 15, 2011
Cool Visuals
The visual display of information when well done can be an awesome way to display data. One such illustration is one that shows “Why Apples are Better than Oranges” sure to warm the hearts of the many people in Washington State’s international apple growing industry.
Another is one that shows the differences between the decades 2000 vs 2010 called “A Decade of Change“
Our lives can go in different directions, here’s one that shows ‘the incredible savant brain‘ and another that illustrates a time line of ‘the real cost of prison.‘ Here’s another that shows the amount of student loans state by state called “Graduating from IOU“. Here’s another that shows you how to “Build a Work Wardrobe from Scratch“
What’s not to love about these creative ways to display information? Perhaps they will inspire you to come up with your own visual display of information and let your talent shine.
December 1, 2011
November 16, 2011
November 8, 2011
7,000,000,000 Nine Zeros…
It was said that Halloween marked the day that the world population reached seven billion.
Many people I surveyed had no idea how to get their heads around that number and didn’t have any idea how many zeros that really was. We can comprehend ten, hundred, and thousand easily and routinely but then the numbers get to move into more zeros they are less familiar.
Population control is one of those taboo topics I have always been interested in, along with prison reform and end of life choice. There was an excellent New York Times opinion piece by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF this week called the “Birth Control Solution” urging us to look more realistically at controlling family size vs. listening to religious people many of whom have taken a vow of chastity.
If you are interested in exploring various countries and their birth rates here’s a link that will ring your bell.
If you would like to see an estimate where you fall in the population of the world based on your birthday give this a whirl.
Take a moment this week to talk about population by posing the question to your friends and family if they know how many zeros there are in a billion and use it as a starting point to discuss the world’s resources and the growing strains population puts on Mother Earth.
October 16, 2011
August 15, 2011
Commonwealth Club of California Talks
If you are scoping out some good podcasts to listen to and have spun through the TED Talks and want something else to sink your teeth into check out the many lively talks that take place at the Commonwealth Club of California.You can listen to Les Hinton, the CEO of Dow Jones & Co (May 2011)and hear his take on the changing landscape of journalism or hear author and activist Alice Walker (December 2010). These are great hour-long talks some of which include a lively question and answer period.
July 27, 2011
Hearing Voices: a Radio Series Worth Finding
Delicate Tulips
Hearing Voices is an NPR program that I have in my podcast feed that brings together stories that have been produced for their various stations that are brought together by a narrator and a theme. Here’s what they say on their website about the series ” Each episode mixes broadcasts, podcasts, sound-portraits, slam poets, docs, radio dramas, features, and found-sound. One-hundred+ stations all already on board”
You never know quite what you may find but I recently listened to one called “Hippies: Flying our Freak Flag ” that was about Haight Ashbury, in San Francisco, circa 1960s that gives you that “you are there” feel and reminds us of another time and place. “Mormon Fringe: Life with Latter Day Saints” is about the fundamentalist sect of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and tells about their feelings about Native Americans that I never had any understanding of until this program. “Elvis Aaron Presley: Birthday Party” will introduce you to fans of Elvis and tell about how many have no believe he is still alive living in seclusion. The story of the family, from the UK, that saved for years to pay to go to Memphis will remind you how this hound dog still has tons of fans in this country and internationally that will go to great lengths to walk through the gates of Graceland.
This is a great series, perhaps you will not want to listen to every episode but if you do you will hear stories you likely never heard before or would never likely hear were you not listening to this program, they get people to speak candidly and their selections are well done indeed.
