Blog Posts

Micro volunteering

A very interesting article about volunteering, and applying the wikipedia philosophy to volunteering. Here he sets the scene: > “People have a problem with volunteerism: Now this statement is ...

Who can I believe about the economy?

The problems in our economy right now are real, I believe. Tons of people have lost jobs, and my investment accounts also prove it. I guess there’s no debate about that. But the question is, what to do about it. My observations: - Politicians on both sides are equally passionate yet totally contrad...

The Secret in Building 26

Dave writes an enthousiastic review of this book: The Secret in Building 26: > “I just finished reading The Secret in Building 26: The Untold Story of How America Broke the Final U-boat Enigma Code. What a fascinating read! I’ve written b...

Send Club Passim some click love

Hey, how about doing me a favor? It will only take you a minute or less. It won’t cost a penny. Help the famous and wonderful Club Passim win a grant from, who else, Virgin America. Spread the karma, it will come back to you! JUST CLICK HERE CLICK HERE JUST CLICK HERE

[GEEKY] Foxmarks now supports Mac … one fewer reason to stay with Firefox

I read in Personal Technology (Wall Street Journal) today that Foxmarks, the handy, free utility that synchronizes my Firefox bookmarks between several computers, now works with Safari as well. Great. I tested it, an...

Government Data, Apis, and the tipping point

I’ve been discovering the mass of information that is created by the government and is very slowly making its way online. I will be posting my discoveries from time to time. The process of making public information available online seems to go something like this: - Law requires that information be...

The 7 deadly sins and 10 lessons of a failed startup

Check this post The 7 deadly sins and 10 lessons of a failed startup from Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing: > “Building ...

[GEEKY] Built my first gem (Ruby Gem that is)

I’ve gotten interested in what is going on in the public sector, in particular in the world of non profits. I’ve learned a lot, met many people and been trying to define a project that would at the same time do something to better the world as be an interesting and fulfilling product challenge (noti...

Subscribe to Pandora!

I’ve known about Pandora for ages, and the last month or so have been using it again, a lot. It’s quite amazing: constant, free, music. Based on your interests. How does it work? Well just go to Pandora, set up a free account, and indicate, for...

What Life Asks of Us

A column in the NYTimes that offers a very different perspective from what we might think of as the goal of a liberal education: > “Individuals should learn to think for themselves. They should be skeptical of pre-existing arrangements. They should break free from the way they were raised, examine ...

Going, going, gone…

You’ve heard me bemoan the death of magazines, newspapers, and other valuable things (radio? small software products) that we are killing by demanding and expecting them to become cheaper and cheaper, and eventually free. And after that, “gone”. Here’s an interesting idea: [make newspapers into non-...

[GEEKY] Where are the east coast Rails / Ruby conferences?

“So yet another way you can help Ruby and Rails Activism is by attending (supporting) a conference. Below you’ll find conferences coming up in the next 6 months. If you think I’ve missed one, or if the information is incorrect, please post a comment.” (from Riding Rails) If you look at the list of conferences and meetings, all looking interesting, there’s nothing anywhere near Boston. Hey, whatup?

Science and Religion

Now there’s a big topic, eh? A magazine that I don’t normally read has a good, in depth, thoughtful article about the debate between Religion and Science (see what I just did?). It comes in the guise of a book review ...

More than Charisma

From Bob Herbert, in today’s New York Times: > “… [we’ve witnessed] the almost desperate hunger in this country for mature leadership, for someone who is not recless and clownish, shortsighted and self-absorbed...

Not surprised that he gets to keep it

There’s been some back and forth silliness about whether Barack Obama can keep his Blackberry. All the pundits said “no way” but I thought, geez, the guy is President (did you hear?) all he has to do is say: ‘make it so’: > “On Monday, a government agency that the Obama administration  — but that is probably the National Security Agency — added to a standard blackberry a super-encryption package…. and Obama WILL be able to use it … still for routine and personal messages.” (from Marc Ambinder inAtlantic) But, he won’t be allowed to use IM 🙂

HOPE

Chris and I, this morning, looking forward to a great day. We’ve waited and worked for this. And now the day has come. I saw the inauguration communally on a big screen at the Regent Theater in Arlington with hundreds of other cheering folks. It was a fun and exciting event. People even stood up for the actual oath of office. Quite something!

Tweeting from more than one account?

You might be interested in what BlogBridge is doing about twittering from more than one account: > “Sometimes I tweet on my own behalf (’the weather in Curacao is hot’) and sometimes I tweet on BlogBridge’s behalf (’can I help solve your problem?’) This poses a bit of a logistical challenge for me.” (from BlogBridge blog) Please weigh in!

More on Steve Jobs

Breaking news from CNN: “Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes leave until end of June; Jobs says health issues “more complex than I originally thought.”

Madoff Scammed His Sister, Too!

Check out this post Madoff Scammed His Sister, Too!: > "A division has appeared in the Madoff family: Those who invested all their money with Bernie (such as his now wiped-out sister)…and those who didn’t (including his sons Mark and Andrew and his brother Peter). Forgive us for tentatively concluding that the Madoff family members who didn’t lose their shirts on the scam knew or suspected that something was going on." (from: from Clusterstock) …

I think Bono would have said: “What an honour”

Check out this post Greg Mitchell: Bono Replacing Bill Kristol at New York Times?: > "What an honor," said Bono. "I’ve never been great with the full stops or commas. Let’s see how far we can take this." (from: from Huffington Post: Front Page) …