Larry Page and Naivete

My favorite part of this Fortune interview with Google's Larry Page are his comments on new energy sources: "We've been looking a little at geothermal power. And you start thinking about it, and you say, Well, a couple of miles under this spot or almost any other place in the world, it's pretty darn hot. How hard should it be to dig a really deep hole? We've been drilling for a long time, mostly for oil - and oil's expensive. If you want to move heat around, you need bigger holes. The technology just hasn't been developed for extracting heat. I imagine there's pretty good odds that's possible."

"How hard should it be to dig a really deep hole?" Exactly.

Tags: innovation // 05. 6.08

Backronym

In doing a bit of research for Holy Crap! Facts about whether or not the word "tip" was actually an acronym for "to insure promptness" (it is not), I ran across the word backronym. The word is defined on Wikipedia as "a phrase that is constructed 'after the fact' from a previously existing word or abbreviation, the abbreviation being an initialism or an acronym." I thought that was pretty cool. Wikipedia also has a short list of backronyms.

Tags: language // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

You got a problem with that?

I usually end up deciding to write about something after noticing I've brought it up in conversation two or three times. As is the case with this article from Smithsonian Magazine on what makes New Yorkers who they are. Amongst other theories for why we are the way we are, it's suggested that "the special difficulties of life in New York—the small apartments, the struggle for a seat on the bus or a table at a restaurant—seem to breed a sense of common cause. When New Yorkers see a stranger, they don't think, "I don't know you." They think, "I know you. I know your problems—they're the same as mine—and furthermore we have the same handbag." So that's how they treat you."

via Anil Dash // Tags: culture, nyc // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

Recycled Plastic Bag Art

I was just out in Portland for work and while there I met Laura who showed me her bags and other case type things made of recycled plastic bags. It's pretty awesome stuff and very much reminds me of Freitag. She gave me a sneak peak of her new design for a laptop case, which was awesome and I'm planning to get as soon as it's ready to go. Go buy stuff from her shop on Etsy.

Tags: art, green, shopping // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

10 Things I Learned from Mental Detox Week

Iain took part in Adbusters' Mental Detox Week and now he's gone ahead and written up what he learned from the experience. Some real nuggets in there, I especially liked what he had to say about the "fractalisation of stuff": "The web allows you to fractalise everything. I read a few different books. But instead of doing what I’d normally do and keep leaving the book to go and look something up. I made little notes and just kept on reading."

Tags: analog, culture, technology // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

How football explains economics

A group of economists in England used a football betting market to help them understand the speed markets digest information. They found it to be efficient, with betters reacting to goals immediately (which they showed by looking at bets after goals that happen right before before halftime and the resulting movement, or lack thereof, during the break). While they admit it's not a perfect test, "Still, the old adage that one should buy on the rumour and sell on the news seems vindicated; new information is incorporated into prices too quickly to allow most traders the opportunity to profit."

Tags: economics, sports // 04.30.08

If Microsoft goes fully hostile on Yahoo

Marc Andreessen asked some of his friends who do this type of stuff to explain exactly how a Microsoft/Yahoo! hostile takeover attempt might play out. It's a great and detailed explanation of how things might play out over the next few months.

Tags: business, finance, microsoft, yahoo // 04.29.08

For All You Do, Bud, This Blog Is About You

Wall Street Journal story on Miller's Brew Blog, which is written by an ex-AdAge staffer and writes about the beer industry. The site is apparently not afraid of going on the offensive towards Anheuser-Busch and has scooped a few stories to date (which have been spun quite favorably in Miller's direction). The site is completely transparent (says "brought to you by the Miller Brewing Co." at the top) and has apparently upset the trade press who see it as serious competition (pretty amazing to think of trade press coming from a company involved in the trade).

My favorite quote from the WSJ piece: '"They are trying to aggressively go around the gatekeepers' in newsrooms and the trade press, says Stephen Quigley, an associate professor of public relations at Boston University. 'It's something you couldn't do five years ago," before the proliferation of blogs.'"

via Waxy.org // Tags: beer, blogs, business, media // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

All Three Candidates on WWE

Looks like last week all three presidential candidates were on WWE Monday Night Raw. How crazy is that? From the article (which has accompanying video of each candidates message): "Each candidate taped a special message for last Monday’s episode of 'W.W.E. Raw,' ... In their best mock-wrestler voices, Hillary Rodham Clinton renamed herself Hill-Rod, John McCain renamed his fans the McCainiacs, and Barack Obama played off the familiar tag line of a W.W.E. star, the Rock: 'Do you smell what Barack is cooking?'"

Tags: culture, politics, television // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

Gin, Television, and Social Surplus

There are a number of gems is this speech from Clay Shirky (in essay form). Two "aha" moments for me:

"No one who works in TV gets to ask that question [where do people find the time to edit Wikipedia]. You know where the time comes from. It comes from the cognitive surplus you've been masking for 50 years." (People watching a little less TV leaves a whole lot of time.)

"This information may or may not exist some place in society, but it's actually easier for me to try to rebuild it from scratch than to try and get it from the authorities who might have it now." (This is one of those things I'm pretty sure is hugely important but can't yet articulate.)

via blackbeltjones // Tags: culture, internet // 04.26.08

Strutting Season

Outstanding Washington Post article about New Jersey guidos from 2003 featuring none other than the guy who runs NJGuido.com. This sums it all up pretty nicely: "The guido ethos is showy, it bumps shoulders and yells. It is a hey-baby culture, in which the men are macho and the women wear spandex. When cruising in cars -- a popular pastime -- guidos like loud dance music and loud-looking girls. When they walk, they thrust their shoulders back and take over sidewalks."

Tags: culture, guido, newjersey // COMMENTS OPEN (0)

Beer Menus

I'm always up for supporting a friend's project (especially when it involves beer). With that said, check out Eric's long-awaited Beer Menus, already sporting 164 NYC beer menus and 1,210 total beers. The idea is pretty simple: You choose an area or a beer and it tells you where to find it. Here's my personal favorite (though not really because of the beer).

Tags: beer, nyc // 04.24.08