IT Director for a non-profit in Washington, DC. Man About Internet.
John Gruber linked to an article this morning that I found very interesting, "The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science." John summarizes:> Chris Mooney on why cold hard facts and scientific evidence seldom change the minds of those who already hold a strong opinion. (E.g., climate-change deniers on the right, vaccines-cause-autism believers on the left.) Fascinating but utterly depressing.
Kyle Baxter writes at TightWind:
Google is seeking a controlling position in the smartphone market and all of the benefits it entails. In Leading the Revolution, Gary Hamel wrote that what is not different is not strategic, and he’s right; pursuing the same strategy as Google is a fantastic way to fail. Apple could open iOS to chosen partners and try to compete with Google on their own terms, but that’s precisely the problem. That’s Google’s game, and one Apple will lose. Instead, Apple should try to continually define the industry, rather than control it. This means both creating the mobile industry’s device types (pocket-sized touch screen phone, touch screen tablet) and introducing new features and technologies that set the norm for mobile devices. By doing so, Apple can control the market without needing a monopoly position. Spot on.
Christopher Mims, at technology review writes about developing for Android devices:
Developing for such a wide array of device screen sizes and aspect rations means that not only is it impossible to create pixel-perfect designs for Android interfaces, there isn’t even any guarantee that a given interface can be scaled to fit a particular screen. And in case you missed it, you should read this article that made the rounds a few days ago as well.
Paul Krugman, writing about GOP Congressman Paul Ryan's proposed budget plan:
Notice the marked area at the bottom: Ryan is assuming that everything aside from health and SS can be squeezed from 12 percent of GDP now to 3 1/2 percent of GDP. That’s bigger than the assumed cut in health care spending relative to baseline; it accounts for all of the projected deficit reduction, since the alleged health savings are all used to finance tax cuts. And how is this supposed to be accomplished? Not explained. This isn’t a serious proposal; it’s a strange combination of cruelty and insanely wishful thinking.
Due to the fact that my wife has had a lot of time on her hands lately, she discovered this kickstarter project last week called Coffee Joulies. The video above is from their Kickstarter project page. The concept is cool - or hot, I should probably say: > Coffee Joulies work with your coffee to achieve two goals. First, they absorb extra thermal energy in your coffee when it’s served too hot, cooling it down to a drinkable temperature three times faster than normal. Next, they release that stored energy back into your coffee keeping it in the right temperature range twice as long.
> This amazing feat of thermodynamics happens thanks to a special non-toxic material sealed within the polished stainless steel shell. This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal. Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee warm twice as long.
> 
When we first spotted the project, it was on it's first day. If I remember correctly, approximately $2000 had been contributed. As of this writing, they've raised $88,197. It is now April 6. The project doesn't end until May 2. I predict this project could be as big as some of the other big Kickstarter projects.