observations and reports

Google Now Searches JavaScript

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:16:57 -0400

Notice that the JavaScript has to be executed on the Google servers running the Googlebot. This has led to speculation of whether or not it might be possible to include JavaScript on a site that could use the Google cloud to compute something. For example, imagine that you set up a JavaScript program to compute the n-digits of Pi, or a BitCoin miner, and had the result formed into a custom URL - which the Googlebot would then try to access as part of its crawl. By looking at, say, the query part of the URL you might be able to get back a useful result.

"Tech industry experts are saying that tech jobs with desktop support in the Information Technology..."

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:10:48 -0400

“Tech industry experts are saying that tech jobs with desktop support in the Information Technology department will be declining sharply thanks to cloud computing. Why is this happening? A large majority of companies and government agencies will rely on the cloud for more than half of their IT services by 2020, according to Gartner’s 2011 CIO Agenda Survey.”

- IT Desktop Support To Be Wiped Out Thanks To Cloud Computing

In my experience, how much support is needed is all about what systems they’re using. It goes, from highest to lowest need for support:

100% Windows environment (weekly issues) ->

Mac Environment (issues every 1-2 months, but they tend to relate to the network more than the macs) ->

Google Apps on whatever environment (issues every 2-3 months, usually relating to a new feature or change Google makes)

Of course, that doesn’t include setup. For Mac, the users can set most of it up themselves. Network takes a few hours to do it right, but that’s the same for any setup. For Google, it does take at least 10-20 hours to tune the install properly and get the users set up in an environment they can instantly use (not including the mail migration time). For Windows, the installs just never seem to end. But that’s me. Props to the Windows gurus out there. Super impressive.

"Start a tweet with @wheatherbot and say a location. I’ll tell you when it will start or stop..."

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:12:32 -0400

“Start a tweet with @wheatherbot and say a location. I’ll tell you when it will start or stop raining in the next hour. I’m powered by the Dark Sky API.”

- (Wheather Bot (wheatherbot) on Twitter

Next the twilio integration….

“Flowers,” collage, 1970Joe Brainard (Joe Brainard -...

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:11:41 -0400

“Flowers,” collage, 1970
Joe Brainard (Joe Brainard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Dear Community Advocate, Building on past successes, Troy, New...

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:47:15 -0400

Dear Community Advocate,

Building on past successes, Troy, New York is proud to be hosting the first annual New York State Neighborhood Revitalization Conference. Please hold the date and share this email with policy makers, organizers and active citizens in your community.

Where: Russell Sage College, Troy, NY

When: Friday and Saturday, September 21st and 22nd

Mission: The purpose of our conference is to bring together neighborhood activists, educators, business people, and elected officials to share successes and develop strategies to maintain healthy and vibrant neighborhoods throughout Upstate New York. As residents and businesspeople, we believe that the strength of our past and our diversity in people, cultures, and businesses, will enable us to make our neighborhoods destinations to live, work, and visit.

For More Information and updates, visit our website at http://nyneighborhoods.org

Was this email forwarded to you? To get further information directly, please sign up here.

Scroll down for some previews of what to expect:

Keynote:

James Howard Kunstler: Esteemed author and scholar of neighborhood development, James Howard Kunstler has agreed to deliver the Friday evening Keynote address. For more information, visit his website here.

(via Save the Date, Invite Your Neighborhood Leaders)

Waveclock converts music to MIDI Clock real-time, tracking music...

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:30:12 -0400

Waveclock converts music to MIDI Clock real-time, tracking music similarly as humans do. It is based on psychoacoustically motivated algorithm by Anssi Klapuri &AL. It listens to any audio input and produces MIDI clock. Unlike anything out there, it is capable of maintaining tight phase accuracy in relation to the input signal, making it very well suited for real-time visual applications. Features Turns music into MIDI Clock as it plays. Compatible with tons of software and hardware. (Anything with MIDI Beat Clock input) NEW!! A new Snail-Rabbit switch to optimize between slow, medium or fast music NEW!! Silence detection feature that stops ticking when no music is present. (via Wavesum makes machines understand music.)

Game of Phones 19 (by Carter Rosenberg) Best one yet, imo.

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:54:02 -0400

Game of Phones 19 (by Carter Rosenberg)

Best one yet, imo.

"3. Use fun strategies to encourage team members to help each other. Norton tells of one experiment..."

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:04:36 -0400

“3. Use fun strategies to encourage team members to help each other. Norton tells of one experiment where salespeople were given $20 bonus money and told they had to spend on another team member. Those teams sold more than other groups that were told to spend the $20 on themselves.”

- Harvard Professor Discovers A Cool Secret To Making Employees Feel Like They’ve Got More Time - Business Insider

Very interesting article.

(via Google)

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:27:13 -0400

(via Google)

"That’s why I can say with confidence that rich people don’t create jobs, nor do businesses, large or..."

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:27:40 -0400

“That’s why I can say with confidence that rich people don’t create jobs, nor do businesses, large or small. What does lead to more employment is the feedback loop between customers and businesses. And only consumers can set in motion a virtuous cycle that allows companies to survive and thrive and business owners to hire. An ordinary middle-class consumer is far more of a job creator than I ever have been or ever will be.”

- Raise Taxes on Rich to Reward True Job Creators: Nick Hanauer - Bloomberg

"In a capitalist economy, the true job creators are consumers, the middle class. And taxing the rich..."

Thu, 17 May 2012 21:25:36 -0400

“In a capitalist economy, the true job creators are consumers, the middle class. And taxing the rich to make investments that grow the middle class, is the single smartest thing we can do for the middle class, the poor and the rich.”

- Nick Hanauer - The Inequality Speech That TED Won’t Show You - Restoration Roundtable

(via FRACT | An Indie Adventure Game by Phosfiend Systems)

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:00:36 -0400

(via FRACT | An Indie Adventure Game by Phosfiend Systems)

(via Psychology Book Covers by Penguin » ISO50 Blog – The...

Thu, 10 May 2012 22:36:53 -0400

(via Psychology Book Covers by Penguin » ISO50 Blog – The Blog of Scott Hansen (Tycho / ISO50))

the psychotic == best title for a non-fiction book ever.

"This effect is partly responsible for the everyday observation in the macroscopic world that two..."

Thu, 10 May 2012 22:31:25 -0400

“This effect is partly responsible for the everyday observation in the macroscopic world that two solid objects cannot be in the same place in the same time.”

- Pauli exclusion principle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That may be my favorite line from wikipedia ever.

(via Color charge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Clearly...

Thu, 10 May 2012 22:16:28 -0400

(via Color charge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Clearly this should have been called Rock-Paper-Scissors charge….

Visuals for Jon Hopkins at EMPAC 2011 sample (by Carter...

Wed, 09 May 2012 05:38:38 -0400

Visuals for Jon Hopkins at EMPAC 2011 sample (by Carter Rosenberg)

Dave@EMPAC. Awesome.

A University of Dundee research team led by Prof. Mike MacDonald...

Tue, 08 May 2012 07:03:25 -0400

A University of Dundee research team led by Prof. Mike MacDonald has demonstrated that both levitation and twisting forces can be applied to an object by application of ultrasonic beams. This latest breakthrough is part of a wide-ranging U.K. research effort to develop a device not unlike the “sonic screwdriver” made famous by the TV series Doctor Who. (via Dr. Who’s sonic screwdriver a step closer to reality?)

Erlywarn Site Monitoring. Instant notification if your web site goes down.

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:12:15 -0400

Erlywarn Site Monitoring. Instant notification if your web site goes down.:

Erlywarn is an early warning system for your website. Add your url and Erlywarn will regulary check in to your site to ensure everything is running smoothly.

If we detect something looks wrong – like we can’t connect or your site is running more slowly than usual; we will notify you to let you straight away. With Erlywarn you can act fast, hopefully even before your customers notice.

You are probably not always at your computer, and you do not always have 3G reception. Setup your mobile number and Erlywarn will notify you via text-message wherever you may be.

By learning patterns in your site’s responses we can let you know early on if something looks like it might be going wrong. In many circumstances this can give you notice before a major issue occurs.

Check your website is up and running
Receive warnings to your email and mobile
See recent uptime reports
Manage mutliple sites easily
Detect if your site is running slower than usual
NEWEnsure everything is as expected by having Erlywarn search for a unique string in the response
NEWGet push notifications to your phone with Boxcar

$1 per site per month…

In 1970, John Conway came up with a 1-player game called Game of...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:51:55 -0400

In 1970, John Conway came up with a 1-player game called Game of Life. The Game of Life is a mathematical game that simulates ‘colonies’ that grow or die based on how crowded or lonely they are and is known for the way it creates a beautiful organic display out of randomness. Here is a design for a simple electronic project that plays Conway’s Game of Life. Make one kit and keep it on your desk, or attach multiple kit modules together to create a large display. Originally created by Dropout Design, this revision adds a few extra features. The kit is very easy to make and an excellent first electronics/soldering project. It is perfect for workshops since at the end everyone can connect their completed module together. (via Conway’s Game of Life Kit [v1.3] ID: 89 - $17.50 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits)

Adafruit’s IoT printer (by adafruit industries)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:45:01 -0400

Adafruit’s IoT printer (by adafruit industries)