Virtual Bike Lane

I once had an idea about developing a tiny Palm-like (iPhone now) computer using a laser created virtual keyboard and a projected screen. I never pursued it but I still think its a good idea that could work.

Although I don't bike (some close friends do) this virtual bike path reminded me of that idea.

From Good.is...

While ridership is increasing every year, bicycle safety remains a huge issue: in 2007, 43,000 people were injured in bike accidents, resulting in 698 deaths.

Enter LightLane, a safety concept from the clever designers at Altitude, Inc. The system projects a virtual bike lane (using lasers) on the ground around the cyclists, providing drivers with a recognizable boundary they can easily avoid.

Squaring the Circle

Back in November I did a post about Eugene Allen, butler to eight Presidents. On January 20, 2009, Mr. Allen personally watched the swearing in of the first African-American President.

It's a remarkable story and a very good read.

From the Washington Post...

"I never would have believed it," Allen said, sitting in an invitation-only area. He wore a black cashmere coat purchased for the occasion, a checkered scarf and a Sinatra fedora. "In the 1940s and 1950s, there were so many things in America you just couldn't do. You wouldn't even dream that you could dream of a moment like this."

Allen received his invitation from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies after The Washington Post published an article about him after Obama's election victory.

The invitation to the swearing-in surprised him. "I've served a lot of presidents," he said, "but I've never been to an inauguration."

Then President-elect Barack Obama came onto the stage. "That's the man," the butler said, nodding. "Whew. I'm telling you, it's something to see. Seeing him standing there -- well, it's been worth it all."

And then, in a moment upending the arc of American history, Obama was sworn in, becoming, before the eyes of millions and a White House butler, president of the United States of America.

DC's Change - Finally

Although this has nothing to do with the change in Administration, it has been a long time coming and actually was a bit of a battle in the House when the topic initially came up (Republicans were against it).

I'm very pleased by the decision to feature Duke. The two other finalists were Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass.

This is a good starting point for more changes to come for the District. Next up, the holy grail for DC...voting rights in Congress.

From the Washington Post...

The long-awaited D.C. quarter began circulating yesterday, according to officials at the U.S. Mint. It bears the likeness of jazz legend Duke Ellington, a District native.

The coin is part of a program established in 1998 that created commemorative quarters for each of the 50 states. It was expanded in 2007 to include the District.

Big Brother is Watching

With the rapid increase in the sophistication of technology, I won't be surprised when people start getting busted via satellite for running a stop sign.

From Wired Magazine...

Swiss police said Thursday they stumbled across a large marijuana plantation while using Google Earth, the search engine company's satellite mapping software.

The plantation, measuring almost two acres (7,500 square meters), was hidden inside a field of corn. But officers using Google Earth to locate the address of two farmers suspected of involvement in the drug operation quickly spotted the illegal crop.

Happy Cows

Interesting but I guess it makes sense.

From Live Science...

Researchers in the UK say cows with names make 3.4 percent more milk in a year than cows that just feel, well, like cows.

The study, involving 516 dairy farmers and published online Tuesday by the journal Anthrozoos, found that "on farms where each cow was called by her name the overall milk yield was higher than on farms where the cattle were herded as a group," write researchers.

The US' Other War - The War on Drugs

"There’s a reason we don’t often hear about a Michelob deal gone bad."

Funny but true.

This is an excellent article about the collateral damage, in the US and internationally, stemming from the "War on Drugs".

Here is short snippet of the article that can be found at Culture11. The article is worth a full read...

If you look at a graph of the U.S. murder rate going back to about 1915, you’ll notice a few interesting patterns. There’s a spike at around 1919, just at the onset of alcohol prohibition. The graph then takes a dramatic dip in 1933, just after the repeal of prohibition. There’s then another spike in the late 1960s, just as Richard Nixon took office and fired the first shots of his war on drugs. That spike falls in the 1970s as President Carter took a less militant approach to drug prohibition, but then with Reagan’s reinvigorated war in the 1980s, it begins another upward ascent.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Prohibitions create black markets, and black markets spawn crime. Drug prohibition, then, spawns violent crime. There’s a reason we don’t often hear about a Michelob deal gone bad.

Killer Sushi

One thing I've been interested in trying for several years now is fugu (blowfish). Unfortunately, it is extremely expensive and not the easiest thing to find in Tokyo since a restaurant must be licensed to serve fugu and I think it's illegal to serve blowfish in the US. Apparently Osaka is the place for fugu.

I've heard from friends that it doesn't have much taste but that if prepared properly it leaves a tingly, slightly numb sensation on your tongue and in your mouth...that would be from the toxins.

If prepared incorrectly, well, it can kill you.

From the Guardian (UK)...

Seven diners in northern Japan fell ill and three were still in hospital today after eating blowfish prepared in a restaurant not authorised to serve the poisonous delicacy. The owner of the restaurant had no licence to serve blowfish and was being questioned on suspicion of professional negligence, police said.

Iwase said the seven men ordered sashimi and grilled blowfish testicles at the restaurant last night. Shortly after, they developed limb paralysis and breathing trouble and started to lose consciousness – typical signs of blowfish poisoning – and were rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Three people died and 44 others became ill from blowfish poisoning in Japan in 2007 – most of them after catching the fish and cooking it at home, according to the health ministry.

Iceland Breaks the Freeze

This year has seen a lot of firsts, now we may soon see another...the first openly gay Prime Minister in the history of the world.

From Iceland Review...

The current Minister for Social Affairs, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of the Social Democrats, said she is prepared to assume the position of prime minister as long as she senses that her position is backed by sufficient trust.

If Sigurdardóttir does become prime minister, she will be the first woman to serve as prime minister in the country’s history and also the first openly gay prime minister in the world.

Is Obama Lifting African American Test Scores?

There's been much written about the potential impact of Obama's election on the self-perception of a segment of the African-American population. This article from the NYT addresses a recent study that appears to indicate that a positive change has happened already.

From the NYT...

Now researchers have documented what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election.

The inspiring role model that Mr. Obama projected helped blacks overcome anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown, in earlier research, to lower the test-taking proficiency of African-Americans, the researchers conclude in a report summarizing their results.

To read the full article, click here.

Portrait with Change

In the December issue of Time, a story ran about the best Obama related photos on Flickr.

One photo was of a portrait of Obama completed by Andy McGee. By the time the magazine hit newsstands, Magee already had sold the piece on eBay for $1,376. He personally delivered it to the anonymous buyer in Washington, D.C.

McGee's other work and artistic philosophy is quite interesting.

, ,

Here are a few other highly creative Obama portraits that appeared in Time...

Legos

State flags

Newspaper covers from around the world after election day

1,216 cupcakes

Milli Vanilli Yo-Yo Ma

File this in the history books alongside the faked fireworks and the 7 year old lip syncher at the Beijing Olympics, Milli Vanilli, and maybe even Capricon 1!

From The Huffington Post...

The classical music played for millions of people watching President Barack Obama's inauguration was not the live performance it appeared to be.

Unless you were one of the fortunate few sitting within earshot of the celebrated performers, what you heard was a recording made two days earlier.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill made the decision a day before Tuesday's inauguration to use a previously recorded audio tape for the broadcast of the ceremonies.

Carole Florman, a spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said the weather was too cold for the instruments to stay in tune.

On one hand I can understand (but don't agree with) the quest for perfection which led to the use of a recording. On the other hand, there is a genuineness about Obama that is antithetical to a faked performance at his Inauguration.

Often, perfection is found in the imperfect.

Miracle on the Hudson

Since I spend a lot of time in the air, I have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, the pilot who safely landed the US Airways jet in the Hudson River.

He now even has a Facebook fan page of all things!

Anyway, the raw footage of the Hudson landing is stunning and watching the second BBC video simulation of the landing makes me shake my head even more...

Hundreds of Inauguration Newspaper Covers

The Newseum has a great gallery of 769 front pages from 74 countries for the day after Barack's Inauguration.

Click here to see the gallery.

Going.com has an interactive gallery of covers. Click here to take a look.

Private Obama Inaugural Pix

The "backstage" and candid photos are always the most interesting.

From the Huffington Post...

Practicing the oath

Chivalry

Daddy's going out on the town

I see you

Big bad Bush scaring poor Sasha

End of a long day

To see more candid shots, click here and here.

A Polar Bear in London

A brief intermission from all things Obama.

A thought provoking piece of art.

From the The Times Online...

A giant sculpture of a polar bear stranded on a block of ice floated 7.5 miles from Greenwich towards the centre of London to highlight the problem of melting ice caps.

A total of 15 artists spent two months constructing the 20ft by 20ft square structure, which was launched at 6:30am before travelling up the Thames, stopping besideTower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. The structure weighing, 1.5 tonnes, was winched into place.

The Best Inauguration Photo Ever

This is an extraordinary photo and one you've got to see to believe.

Try zooming all the way in and scrolling around. I've already spent a bunch of time searching through the photo, looking at people's expressions and for someone I know. Check out what "Uncle" Clarence Thomas is doing...what a disgrace.

From David Berman's website...

My final photo is made up of 220 Canon G10 images and the file is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels. It took more than six and a half hours for the Gigapan software to put together all of the images on my Macbook Pro and the completed TIF file is almost 2 gigabytes.

It's simply an amazing photograph.

Inauguration from Space

As anyone who has used Google Maps or Google Earth knows, satellite imagery is pretty freaking cool these days.

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of amateur and professional photographers snapping pics of the Inauguration, there was also a satellite orbiting 423 miles above Earth that was getting some decent shots too.

From Popular Science...

Stunningly clear satellite images of the tops of some two million heads during today’s inauguration. These images were snapped at 11:19am today by GeoEye-1, the most powerful commercial imaging satellite in the sky, from 423 miles above the trampled grass on the National Mall. GeoEye-1’s optics allow it to discern objects about 16 inches in size, or about the size of home plate. (click on the photo to zoom in)

Inaugural Address

I saw it once in person, once on TV and read it once.

Each time it gets better.



To read the full text, click here.

Inauguration Photos - Pro Style

As usual, the Boston Globe did a roundup of some of the best photographs from the Inauguration. To see the entire gallery, click here.

Here are a few of my favorites...

Catching Up

With the Inauguration and other activities, the past week has been action packed and consequently I haven't had much blog time.

I have at least 20 draft posts in the queue, some of which are a little stale now but c'est la vie. I'll be trying to whittle those down over the coming days.

Inauguration Photos

I didn't want to delay these any longer so here are some photos I took during Obama's Inauguration.

Commentary and videos to come.

Click on the photo link below to access the pics...

Obama Inauguration

or play the slideshow below.

Inaugural Twitter

The whole shebang.

56 Inauguration Twitters in all...

1. Just watched Barack's speech again in the comfort of my home. Powerful, solid and of course very well delivered. On to my third time. 7:33 AM Jan 21st from mobile web
2. quote of the morning "i'm going to put my paper on eBay" (that wasn't me talking) 6:26 AM Jan 21st from mobile web
3. The quest for a Washington Post newspaper is on. i went to 8 locations today and finally got a few but it's really hard to find. 6:25 AM Jan 21st from mobile web
4. Beyonce singing At Last for Barack and Michelle's first dance. Priceless. i thought Beyonce was close to crying. 5:42 PM Jan 20th from mobile web
5. Sitting in the warmth of my home watching the parade. I'm enjoying this quite a bit. 12:47 PM Jan 20th from txt
6. The question of the day, heard over and over "Did you get in?" The logistics were awful. My wife didn't get in altho she had a tkt. That sucked. 12:43 PM Jan 20th from txt
7. As incredible as this is its still hard to believe. 12:28 PM Jan 20th from txt
8. Photos to come 11:53 AM Jan 20th from txt
9. The mood is contagious. Walking home I passed an older gentelman on his front steps asking shivering passersby if they wanted free coffee. 11:52 AM Jan 20th from txt
10. Photos to come 9:55 AM Jan 20th from txt
11. What an experience! 9:48 AM Jan 20th from txt
12. A wonderful historic speech for a wonderful historic day 9:29 AM Jan 20th from txt
13. "The world has changed and we must change with it." 9:22 AM Jan 20th from txt
14. "On this day..." 9:15 AM Jan 20th from txt
15. Barack Obama our new 44th President of the United States. Awesome 9:08 AM Jan 20th from txt
16. Biden is our new VP! 8:59 AM Jan 20th from txt
17. Here it comes. History in the making 8:57 AM Jan 20th from txt
18. Overall a good invocation. One mention of Jesus. Next up Aretha Franklin singing My Country Tis of Thee...sweet. 8:54 AM Jan 20th from txt
19. Uh oh Rick Warren begins the invocation. 8:50 AM Jan 20th from txt
20. Crystal clear skies, cold, happy crowd, Obama...what a great day! 8:48 AM Jan 20th from txt
21. Barack just introduced. The crowd chants Obama and Yes We Can. 8:47 AM Jan 20th from txt
22. Sha na na na goodbye to Bush 8:41 AM Jan 20th from txt
23. Ouch. They just booed Bush 8:36 AM Jan 20th from txt
24. Finally got in. Bands playing, flags waving, tons of people looking for a good vantage point. I'm about 100 yards away. 8:09 AM Jan 20th from txt
25. crowd spontaneously singing America the Beautiful and God Bless America 6:39 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
26. crowd spontaneously singing America the Beautiful 6:35 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
27. still not much movement and its getting colder. the throng is in a good mood tho 6:30 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
28. Encircled by folks from Nevada, Montana, N Carolina... have moved about 15 ft in 30 minutes. 5:53 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
29. i have my doubts that everyone can get thru security in time. its chaos. 5:28 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
30. Peaceful madness. No directions, little signage....its crazy out here amongst the mass of humanity. 4:51 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
31. just got to the Capitol. still dark out but the Capitol is lit up with the moon directly behind it. Beautiful! 3:53 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
32. its cold but not too cold 3:28 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
33. Passed the Obama decorated house again. This time its lit up. 3:27 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
34. 6am on the move walking toward the Capitol 3:26 AM Jan 20th from mobile web
35. Giant is taking things a bit far...selling Obama decorated cakes. Hmmm 7:05 PM Jan 19th from mobile web
36. I scored two tkts for the Blue area of the Inauguration. Standing room only but I'll be closer! Yeah! 7:04 PM Jan 19th from mobile web
37. Coincidentally passed Obama's motorcade on North Capitol St. Wow! 9:52 AM Jan 19th from mobile web
38. Barack is speaking and you can hear a pin drop. Inspiring!!! 1:15 PM Jan 18th from txt
39. The whole eagle thing..bizarre 1:10 PM Jan 18th from txt
40. U2 wow what a performance. 1:09 PM Jan 18th from txt
41. Samuel Jackson remembers Rosa Parks and the March on Washington. Nice. 3:57 PM Jan 18th from txt
42. Stevie. Nuff said. 3:54 PM Jan 18th from txt
43. Tiger Woods giving a shout to the military 3:37 PM Jan 18th from txt
44. Jon Mellencamp aint that America followed by Queen Latifah...probably never before. 3:22 PM Jan 18th from txt
45. Patti Labelle and Jon Bon Jovi nailed "It's Been A Long Time Comng". Tom Hanks being grand. 3:03 PM Jan 18th from txt
46. The party is rockin. So far Bruce Springsteen, MLK 3rd, Mary J Blige. Great atmosphere. 2:53 PM Jan 18th from txt
47. Its packed now and getting. 2:07 PM Jan 18th from txt
48. Uh oh...they're starting up the wave. 12:35 PM Jan 18th from mobile web
    
49. Its a regular rainbow coalition out here Beautiful crowd. 12:34 PM Jan 18th from mobile web
50. Its cold but bearable. Not like the last two days. 12:05 PM Jan 18th from mobile web
51. just arrived at the Lincoln Memorial concert its crowded but not to bad.. 2 hours til it starts. 12:04 PM Jan 18th from mobile web
    
52. ok, so why are the CNN broadcasters in the open when its 18 degrees outside and they could be enclosed? 10:39 AM Jan 17th from mobile web
    
53. Wow its freaking freezing here! I hope it warms up soon. 8:42 AM Jan 17th from mobile web
54. wait til you see the Obama decorated house. Photos to come. 2:11 PM Jan 16th from mobile web
    
55. More thrones (porta-potties) than you can count. 1:54 PM Jan 16th from mobile web
56. Drove past the Capitol, down PA Ave and past the White House. Flags and police everywhere. DC is looking good.. 1:51 PM Jan 16th from mobile web

Wiped Out

I'm too exhausted to post anything about the Inauguration this evening except for one word.

Memorable.

Will post photos and more thoughts (other than the Twitter) tomorrow.

Good night.

Funky President

James Brown Nostradamus called it (sorta) in 1974 with his song Funky President.

Now we've got a "brand new funky President!"

Hey, country
Didn't say what you meant
Just changed
Brand new funky President

Stock market going up
Jobs going down
And ain't no funking
Jobs to be found

Taxes keep going up
I changed from a glass
Now I drink out of a paper cup
It's getting bad

It's A New Day

After seeing will.i.am on Sunday at the Inaugural concert I thought that this would be the best song to commemorate Barack's Inauguration...

A Change is Gonna Come - Tomorrow

Change will be here tomorrow so it's a fitting time to listen to Sam Cooke's classic as sung by Seal.

Cornography

Over the past month or so I've had conversations with a couple of people about the cornification of the American diet....corn is almost in everything.

This video from Good.is is a quick and interesting look at the corn-obsessed culture in the U.S....

Birds vs. Planes

It's an unfair battle but occasionally the birds win as happened on Thursday in NY. What's surprising is that more airplanes don't crash because of bird strikes.

The main culprit?

Canadian geese.

From Wired magazine...

The US Airways plane that improbably wound up floating in the Hudson River has drawn attention to bird strikes, but a U.S. Department of Agriculture and Federal Aviation Administration joint report (pdf), released in June of 2008, warned that the danger birds pose to both commercial and military airplanes was on the rise.

From 1990 to 2007 there were 82,057 bird strikes. The trends in the collisions are disturbing as well: In 1990, the industry saw 1,738 bird strikes; in 2007, the number had increased to 7,666. Some of that trend is due to increased air travel, but the number of wildlife strikes has tripled from 0.527 to 1.751 per 10,000 flights.

Growing populations of birds and humans in the same areas have put the species on a collision course. Human developments and bird-restoration programs have created new ecological niches that some bird species have jumped in to fill. In particular, the Canada goose population is proving particularly problematic. Their numbers have ballooned to more than 3.5 million, and the birds don't migrate, they stick around our cities. Many of the geese along the eastern seaboard are closer to feral than wild.

How to combat the growing bird threat?

Chickens.

Fomr the CBC News (Canada)...

At the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the weapon of choice is the "chicken cannon."

The chicken cannon, a 10-inch-bore, 23-metre-long gun, uses compressed air pressure to launch chickens at various airplane components to test their durability.

Since 1968, the "chicken cannon" has fired more than 3,500 times, consuming more than 3.5 tonnes of chickens in the process.

The NRC's institute uses deceased domestic egg-laying chickens for bird strike tests. They are kept frozen and then thawed to room temperature when shot from the cannon.

Pre-Inaugural Photos

A few pre-Inauguration photos I took around DC yesterday...

"Obama Headquarters" on NY Ave...I wonder if Barack knows his new headquarters is here.


Flags cover the historic Willard Hotel. The Hotel that Lincoln stayed at just prior to his Inauguration.


Flags are everywhere going down Pennsylvania Ave.


The U.S. Capitol, the location for the main event.


A closer view of the Inauguration platform.


An even closer view of the Inauguration platform.


An enthusiastic Obama supporter decorates their house to celebrate the Inauguration.

More flags lining Pennsylvania Ave.


A small portion of the 5,000 Inaugural "thrones."

Obamart

Vendors in DC are doing their best (and freezing their glutes off in the process) to make this Inauguration a huge payday. They are peddling every Obama related item under the sun, some pretty good, most of it crap.

Anyway, here from an artist named Michael Murphy are a several mixed-media (wire, clay, nails) portraits of Barack by that are outstanding, particularly the "shadow" portraits created with clay and nails. If you're a Hendrix fan, definitely check out the third Vimeo short...

Inauguration Details

Here are a few important things I think you should keep in mind if you're coming to the Inauguration...

Pick your event. Either plan to be on the Mall for the swearing in or on the Pensylvania Ave for the parade. Given the size of the crowd, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to do both.

Although it's supposed to warm up to the balmy mid-30s, to be safe and comfortable, bring some hand warmers and wear a hat.

Go to the bathroom before you come and don't drink anything while there unless you want to experience one of the 5,000 Inaugural thrones.


Bring some snacks, nuts, granola, dried fruit, etc.

Bring binoculars.


Strollers, backpacks and umbrellas are prohibited so don't bring em.

If you're entering a secured area a handbag can't be bigger than brown paper lunch bag.


If you're planning to come by car via Virginia good luck with that...all bridges from Virginia into DC will be closed during the Inauguration.

If you're planning on taking the Metro, build in additional time. Metro will start running at 4am and it will be extremely crowded. Metro officials estimate it may be a 2-3 hour wait to board subway cars once the Inauguration and parade are over.

Some more information from the Atlanta Constitution...

Spectators hoping to attend the parade celebrating Barack Obama’s inauguration are being urged to show up early, with officials warning they will close off access once the crowd reaches capacity of some 300,000.

Security checkpoints surrounding the parade route will open at 7 a.m. and the area likely will be filled within three hours.

The parade is scheduled to begin about 2:30 p.m. after the swearing-in of Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. The approximately 1.5-mile route begins on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Capitol and ends in front of the White House.

About 300,000 to 350,000 spectators will be allowed in the area. Everyone will be screened at checkpoints before entering the viewing area, with some people passing through metal detectors.

Because of the large crowds, people likely will not be able to attend both the parade and the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, which begins at 11:30 a.m. He said spectators lining the parade route will be able to watch the swearing-in on large TV screens.

The entire length of the National Mall also will be open for overflow crowds, with 20 giant TV screens set up so people can watch the festivities.