dangerousmeta!

Guardian.UK: Record Burmese python caught in Florida.

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:09:54 -0000

Free hugs.

rc3.org: NewsBlur redesigned.

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:02:18 -0000

Rafe admires the new NewsBlur. And, via Mefi, a new rss reader called CommaFeed.

CNet: U.S. Navy dolphins find antique torpedo.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:47:44 -0000

A totally steampunk object, don’t you think? Even down to using a hand-wound propeller mechanism.

The New Yorker: How Far Did PBS Go to Avoid Offending a Sponsor?

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:41:26 -0000

Woof. When one has to beg for public dollars, pushing a shiv into your largest donors comes hard.

Guardian.UK: Timbuktu’s literary gems face Islamists and decay in fight for survival.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:37 -0000

“We are all Muslims, and in Timbuktu our practical version of Islam has existed for centuries. [snip] But they practise an archaic Islam and do not consider these writings as the authentic Qur’an because they cover not only religion but science, astronomy, history and literature. That’s their ideology and we don’t support it.”

OpenCulture: Philosopher Daniel Dennett Presents Seven Tools For Critical Thinking.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:31:18 -0000

“Often known as reading in ‘good faith’ or ‘being charitable,’ this second point is as much a rhetorical as a logical tool, since the essence of persuasion involves getting people to actually listen to you. And they won’t if you’re overly nitpicky, pedantic, mean-spirited, hasty, or unfair.” Ah, I hear that one resonating through thirteen+ years of emails and comments.

Herman Miller/Lifework.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:25:01 -0000

When I see folks brag of contemporary sterile studio spaces, I continue to wonder “Where’s all the paper?” and “What about Post-its?” And … “Crumbs?” They don’t even show a wastebasket.

Sure, I could clean my office to this state of vacuum. But I’d never get anything done.

Damn.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:13:58 -0000

And here I recycled our old G5.

Guardian.UK: Oklahoma tornado – in pictures.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:11:58 -0000

Reports say they had 15 minutes’ warning.

NY Times: Ray Manzarek, 74, Rock Keyboardist And a Founder of the Doors, Is Dead.

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:07:26 -0000

RIP. “Riders on the Storm” remains my favorite Doors tune.

Mashable: The New Flickr—What it Means for Flickr Pro Users.

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:24:07 -0000

A whole lotta confusion if you’re a Pro member. New skin on most of Flickr, but much is the same … an anchored top menubar slammed over the old interface. Another tablet-like experience, better than the old cluttered design. I’ll live with it a little, and decide whether I’ll continue in a month or so. I use too many photo services now, and need to eliminate a couple.

Guardian.UK: Giant 1950s robot Gygan up for sale.

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:19:12 -0000

The video’s a hoot-and-a-half. I sorely miss that style of narration.

BlessThisStuff: 2014 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC.

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:57:26 -0000

Nice. When I learned to ride, I loved the Honda TransAlp … one of those odd-but-legendary bikes. This looks like a sort of update to that genre.

The reason I didn’t buy one? I couldn’t straddle the bike at stoplights without standing on my tip-toes. Short inseam, long body. I felt it was a little too dangerous, given my beginner-mind. I bought the Nighthawk, where I could plop both soles flat on the ground. Wish I’d bought the TransAlp, in retrospect. Nighthawk’s got all the caché of a sewing machine. And it can’t even competently handle a logging road.

NY Times: Revisiting the ‘Crack Babies’ Epidemic That Was Not.

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:29:35 -0000

This makes me want to spit nails. It wasn’t an epidemic. But it existed — don’t try to wash it away. Until you’ve taken infant CPR, walked the floors with a newborn who won’t stop crying from suffering detox, having to remain calm when their heart monitor goes off (again), and more … I’d certainly like to give these folks a piece of my mind. Not a one of these ‘investigative reports’ ever talks with foster parents of the era.

Later: Perhaps I wasn’t clear. Many of the victims are dead from heart defects. If they made a year, they were lucky. Who speaks for them?

Lychee.

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:59:15 -0000

Nice. Perhaps it is finally time to walk away from Flickr. I’ll have to look more closely when I have a moment.

NY Times: High Plains Aquifer Dwindles, Hurting Farmers.

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:55:28 -0000

“And when the groundwater runs out, it is gone for good. Refilling the aquifer would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years of rains.” The American frontier was built on the model of using up resources and moving on to new pastures. Where will the Kansas farmers go? To the breadbasket of Russia?

CNet: Adobe unplugs Creative Cloud sync tool during transition.

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:38:12 -0000

Turned mine off. I was getting annoyed by the constant “Creative Cloud can’t sync” messages. I don’t use the feature anyway, at the present time. Leaving it deactivated still gives me quick access to the Creative Cloud website from the menu bar. Note the link at the bottom of the article to the CC Status page.

Gizmodo: Get SwiftKey, Our Favorite Android Keyboard, On Sale for 50% Off.

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:25:28 -0000

When I upgraded my HTC Sensation 3G, I lost Swype, and was completely dissatisfied with the standard ICS keyboard. SwiftKey introduced their “Flow” gesture beta, and I immediately downloaded it and was even happier than with Swype. The gesture feature is now rolled into the main SwiftKey app. It allows me to swipe and type on a small screen with big fingers pretty fast. I have no commercial connection here, just my recommend based on use.

The only problem? I keep swiping on my iOS devices, and getting frustrated. Apple? You really need to get something like this working on your products.

You thought Ryanair’s attendants had it bad? Wait ‘til you hear about their pilots - Home News - UK

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:20:01 -0000

“The RPG [‘Ryanair Pilot Group’] organised the letter amid concerns that the airline was making the majority of its pilots self-employed. Under the scheme, pilots sign a contract binding them to fly exclusively for Ryanair – but not as employees. The pilots are then paid for the work they do but have to pay for all their own expenses, including uniforms, identity cards, transport and hotel accommodation. The contracted pilots have no pension scheme or medical insurance unless they set it up themselves.” The golden days of richly paid and overqualified former WWII aviators is long, long gone.

Atlantic: Facebook, One Year Later: What Really Happened in the Biggest IPO Flop Ever.

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:17:11 -0000

“The consensus among hedge funds on the West Coast was to short the stock on day one.” Gawd. After missing out on various other tech IPOs, I actually contemplated dropping some coin this time around. So glad I didn’t.