Month: February 2012

This Problem of Taste

This Problem of Taste:

Our essential human duty – without question – is to see into other people’s hearts and minds, no matter how heinous their thoughts and actions may be, and we must understand and empathize with why they think and act the way they do.

[A favorite writer on the topic of cycling, but just generally, I dig the dude’s work.]

weltunit – Papercrafts

papercrafts

weltunit – Papercrafts:

Why should your dock last longer than you use your current phone model? A lot of those remaining products are not being passed on when devices are sold, so people happen to collect them or even throw them away.
Not the greatest use of material, if you ask us.

So why not make some of your supporting hardware match this cycle, so it won’t last that long? This would only make sense if it can be made a lot more eco-friendly and way cheaper.

So here we go: Welcome to the Papercraft series. Made from recycled cardboard and laser-cut with carbon free energy.

[Nice idea. Now if we could locally source these things for everyone we’d be making a dent. It relates to that whole 3D printing thing. Sell the design (the cad file or what have you, either by charging a “wholesale” amount for the design the lisc. to reuse, or some such) and have it locally produced by a shop. This will further lower the environmental impact, designer gets paid, local shop gets paid, and we don’t ship finished goods around the world. Win.]

Lance’s smelly jockstrap

Lance’s smelly jockstrap and me « Cycling in the South Bay:

We got to the course and the race started. For the first lap we sat in the back and chatted. We came through the start/finish and crested the hill. Far off in the distance were two tiny specks. “Are those guys off the front?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “They’re gone. So much for this race.”

He looked at me funny. Without getting out of the saddle, he pushed the pedals harder. In a few seconds he had rocketed off the front, never getting out of the saddle or even appearing to exert himself. I watched him vanish up the road. He caught the breakaway, dropped it, and won the race so far head of the next finishers that it was as if he had been in an entirely different race.

[The line that really gets me is this one: “The world was going to look the way he wanted it to look.” I think that can be true for us all.]

Do this

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[It’s the last line that is key. It’s not how you do it, or what you do. It is the act of creation and recreation that will provide the enormous reward. And a gift to us all. Note: I do not know where the image comes from… if you do let me know so that I can give credit.]

Music Labels’ Joint Venture, VEVO, Shows Pirated NFL Game

To Catch A Hypocrite:

Techcrunch:

Which is why my jaw dropped when I saw that VEVO, a property jointly owned by some of the biggest record labels in the world, was showing a pirated stream of an ESPN football game at its Sundance PowerStation venue last month — on no fewer than two televisions, and a pair of laptops.

First, some background. VEVO is a sort of ‘Hulu for music videos’ that’s owned by Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and the Abu Dhabi Media Group. EMI (which Universal and Sony are in the process of acquiring chunks of) has licensed its content to the site. Together, these labels comprise three of America’s ‘Big Four’ music labels — Warner Music being the lone holdout. And these Big Four make up the vast majority of the RIAA.

So when you hear about the record labels suing people, or trying to get ISPs to clamp down on users, or trying to pass legislation that could destroy the web as we know it — a lot of these people are behind it.

MG Siegler:

Why would VEVO pirate content? Because it was easier than getting it legally. This is the actual root cause of piracy online. It’s not shady, masked individuals at swanky events commandeering computers to pirate for the hell of it. It’s VEVO employees. It’s everyone. 

[See this post. They’ve always had the wrong approach.]

Source: Marco.org

Jeremy Lin Is No Fluke

Jeremy Lin Is No Fluke:

It’s also worth watching to see whether Lin can extend the streak tonight against Minnesota. Only 17 of the 41 players had streaks that lasted for longer than four games, with many of the more marginal players dropping off the list.

[Er, um, done:]

Lin LIfts Knicks past Timberwolves:

But he still became the first player in N.B.A. history to post at least 20 points and 7 assists in his first four starts, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, while outplaying the flashy Minnesota rookie point guard Ricky Rubio. And he burnished his growing legacy at the finish, making the second of two free throws for the go-ahead point with 4.9 seconds to play as the Knicks, who trailed most of the second half, eked out the victory. 

[And next…]

Only five players had such a streak that lasted for six games or longer. Four of them are Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade. The other was less illustrious: Lafayette “Fat” Lever.

[Now, on the bigger picture…]

Bryant had this to say:

…in hushed tones for gravitas: “When a player is playing that well, he doesn’t come out of nowhere. It seems like he comes out of nowhere. Go back and take a look, and the skill level was probably there from the beginning, it’s just that we didn’t notice it.”

[This is something I’ve been teaching people for years. No one comes out of nowhere. No actor, no musician, no business. It just doesn’t work that way. Yes, you can win the lotto of life at times, but the odds are just that long. Almost 100% of the time there’s years of effort behind an “overnight sensation”.]

Stuff like this has network effects:

For me, as an Asian-American, the chants of “M.V.P.!” raining down on Lin at the Garden embody a surreal, Jackie Robinson-like moment. Just as meaningful to me as a Christian, however, is the way the broadcasters have hailed Lin as not just the “Harvard hero” but the “humble Harvard grad.” His teammates appear just as overjoyed at his success as he was. Both seem to be testaments to his character.

In the midst of his stellar run last week, I couldn’t help but reflect on Lin’s journey. A Bible verse that he has cited as a favorite came to mind, encouraging believers that “suffering produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.”

[Linsanity? Best thing to happen to the Knicks in a long time. And maybe to a lot of folks who needed to believe.]

collin’s gist: But what about the cheaters?

collin’s gist: But what about the cheaters?:

I would design a system that lets players play. And then I would design an identity system that reduces complete anonymity and records all the action of the game. Nobody wants to play with a cheater and a cheater will be on record.

[I like this idea a lot. It plays into my sense of simplicity and the natural world. I’ve repeatedly used this pattern in my life, writing music for the players rather than the other way around. In the end, rules must be embraced as a willful limitation and ultimately cannot be enforced.]

Bread elevates your sense of “home”

Fresh!

If you want make any abode feel like a home you should bake bread. I don’t know why it makes this seem truer than preparing other food stuffs. But it does. Never done it before? Think you lack the equipment? Here’s what to do. Go to your local pizza place. Ask for one of the uncooked rounds of dough they make into a pizza. Take it home, shape to suit, pop into the oven until it looks done to you. Wonder at how you’ve just elevated the sense of home in your house, apartment, hovel, what have you…

Now, start looking at recipes…