Year: 2012
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Guns in Japan
My father (who started his own blog) shares what you need to do to get a gun in Japan. To get a gun in Japan, first, you have to attend an all-day class and pass a written test, which are held only once per month. You also must take and pass a shooting range class.…
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Yo La Tengo in Portland
Yo La Tengo previewed a track off their upcoming album, Fade, on YouTube. The track in the video above is Ohm and features a tree from Overlook Park in Portland, Oregon that is also on the album’s cover. Fade will be released in January.
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A day that will live in world history
At Pearl Harbor there is an exhibit of the events leading up to the Pacific War. Inside is the original draft of the speech FDR gave to congress on the day following Japan’s attack. The document is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of FDR. Several changes you can see include: Replacing, “a date which…
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Better Driving thru Optical Camouflage
This is pretty smart idea. Using principals of Optical Camouflage, researchers at Keio University project the image from a camera on the back of a car onto a recursive reflector which looks like one of those glass screens politicians use for their teleprompters. The mirror sits at an angle to project an image right where…
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The Art of Flight
I saw the most amazing video yesterday. The Art of Flight was released last year and is one of the best snowboarding movies I’ve ever seen. If you like the Warren Miller skiing flicks, this one is for you. It’s got Red Bull branding all over it but if you can get past that it’s an…
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Unbundled Lectures and the Napsterization of Education
In the US, an undergraduate education used to be an option, one way to get into the middle class. Now it’s a hostage situation, required to avoid falling out of it. And if some of the hostages having trouble coming up with the ransom conclude that our current system is a completely terrible idea, then…
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As Above, So Below
My sister noticed that a recent photo I uploaded to Instagram looked familiar. The photo I uploaded below is of my two kids on a recent trip to Mt. Shasta. The next photo is from a hike in Yosemite with my sister when I was a student at UC Berkeley. Brother – Sister. 20 years…
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Long Now Bottle Keep
As I grow older, I have come to appreciate the power of stories. I collect them as I go through life, sometimes seeking out experiences because a good story may come out of it. I was invited this past week to join the staff of The Long Now Foundation to share a story that I…
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Revenge of the Nerds
While everyone spoke of New York Times blogger, Nate Silver’s uncanny, almost witchlike ability to call the election last night, the big winner was the triumph of big data and smart algorithms over gut feel and egos. Those in tech that have been following Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog at the New York Times broke out…