An HRC & HRC Production
If she runs, I’ll be there. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on why she supports gay marriage, and rights for all the world’s humans.
The thermostat is not a toy
Or maybe it is. I never thought I’d look forward to returning home from a trip to install a thermostat, but that’s where I found myself Friday night. Sometimes, it’s good to play handyman meets tech geek meets environmentalist.
The Nest is the smartest home thermostat you’ve ever met – and it’s pretty. Designed by former Apple employees and strongly reminiscent of an iProduct box-opening ceremony, the Nest promises to clean your home of all its predecessor’s failures in climate regulations.
It took about 15 minutes to install. To test the compatibility, you can even email a photo of your existing unit’s wiring to [email protected] and they’ll give you a ring to let you know exactly what needs to happen. I learned that I had a ‘jump cable’ to fool the old unit into thinking it had ‘emergency heat’. Tricky. Throw it out. Read more →
Sandy strolls ashore
As Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast, there’s a fascinating amount of data and collaboration on news aggregation to get info to those in its way. This image is from Google’s Crisis Map for the hurricane.
Along with the usual news websites live feeds, I remembered Lexical Gap’s “This Is Now” project that live updates Instagram photos from select cities. The only city affected in their list is NYC, but it’s fun to watch what is normally a largely varied stream of activities turn into one collective experience.
And don’t forget this incredibly wind visualization. That should be fun to watch.
I’m not very unique
Like every kid, I grew up being told I was special and unique. But as my birthday approaches, a friend shared with me this data on birth date frequencies that is yet another reason to believe I was lied to.
September 16th is the most common birth date in the US, which means I missed out by a day. September is easily the most concentrated month, yet I haven’t seen any good justification, except the easiest conclusion involving conception and holidays.Seems like an easy jump to make, but I’m hoping for something slightly more unique – I’ll have to ask my parents.
Source: The Daily Viz and The New York Times.
Junior staff confusion
It’s just so hard to write 350 words of original website copy these days. Photo by Mike Eskin, enhanced by Matt Ipcar
The President and his daughters
Watching Michelle deliver a passionate, spirited speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. A remarkable presentation. (Photo: Pete Souza, The White House)
NYTimes
“We are a single France, undivided,” Mr. Hollande said after his investiture, promising a presidency of “dignity, simplicity and soberness.” He vowed that “the state will be impartial because it belongs to all of its citizens” and insisted that a united France could meet its difficult social and economic challenges, but warned that the country “cannot have sacrifices on one side and privilege on the other.”
via NYTimes
This is Cain’s Arcade
Cain is 9, and he lives in East Los Angeles. Last summer, he made an arcade out of cardboard boxes in his Dad’s store, complete with ‘fun passes’, ticket machines, and his Staff t-shirt. Cain is adorable, but he hadn’t had a single customer all summer until Nirvan stopped by. Nirvan thought Cain was awesome and invited all of Los Angeles. The community showed up, then raised more than $100,000 for Cain’s college fund.
I can’t wait to see what this kid does, and now feel like I have a small stake in his success. The wonders of social networking tapped the emotions and support of thousands of people around the world. With any luck, in ten years we’ll see him enroll in college and go on to build bigger and better things. Read more →
