Friday, March 9, 2012

Why Videos go viral- great insight from youtube

Given the all the discussion about the KONY 2012 viral video this TED talk seems very appropriate.

48 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute!

As described in the video above, it takes three things to make a video go viral:

taste makers, community, unexpectedness.

But these viral video can serve a more useful purpose than just entertainment.  It is and will be a great way to spread new ideas.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Nothing more powerful than an idea: KONY 2012

Another idea showing the power of our connectivity.  We can all do our part to end this plight of invisible children.

Please watch, comment, share, and encourage others to as well.

Improv Everywhere: Ninja Ambush

I discovered this on Xbox this morning getting ready for work and it really made me laugh.  I am now also ready if I see one of these jokers somewhere.

P.s. I don't think these are real ninjas, but that is a great ambush tactic.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Japan February 2012 Trip: Final Thoughts

Well it is over a month since I left for Kobe Japan and I still have a few pictures , experiences, and thoughts to share.

In Kobe, everyone is in shape. I saw maybe two people the entire week that had maybe a few extra pounds, other than when I looked in the mirror.  It might have a little to do with how expensive everything is, especially food. People also trend to run, in short bursts, everywhere.  Actually at one point I did sprint across the street giggling madly, but no one reacted.   

Below is a picture of a huge fish I did recognize the first few days because I only passed by at night and only I could miss a 100 foot statue repeatedly.

The only shot glasses I found were for NY!


Above is the famous Kobe beef.  From what I could gather it is high price is based more on rarity of Japanese beef (there is not a lot of space to raise cattle).  Also, my friend Mike had a less than pleasant experience with it.  So for this trip I settle for taking the picture above.


Again, I am pretty sure I mentioned how almost no one spoke English, so one night we search out "The Hobgoblin", a British bar.  The beer was enjoyable, but the real just relief was speaking English to someone.  There was one guy literally asleep sitting up at the bar that I have pictures of, but I don't see any reason to post incriminating photos of anyone- especially without their permission.

Below is a strange picture on a small vending machine, it made me laugh so why not share it:



And the Kobe Tower (I think):
At the airport there was this poster which warns you to be polite, not litter, and remember that you take up more space with winter jackets on:

There was also this poster with a 70s aesthetic that included a cowboy hat wearing smoker:


Along every sidewalk was this yellow track with bumps very similar to what you see in the NY subway for the visually disabled. We didn't see any blind people but these tracks were everywhere.

And a few final thoughts:

Like 90% of women wear skirts, on Friday night it was closer to 99.9% regardless of the weather.

People point in both directions at intersections to show that they looked both way, walkers and drivers. I did a double finger-gun draw, fire in each direction, blow the smoke out the barrels, and reholster at most intersections (but nobody reacted).

Until we meet again Japan...

Monday, March 5, 2012

Japanese toys at the airport

Japan is know for its toys (or collectibles if you will).  I didn't get a lot free time when I was in Japan last month for work, but I did have some at the Osaka-kensi airport.  There is a small shopping mall that had a small toy store.  I really was expecting more, but of course it was an airport toy store, I get take this to cutesy videos.

Also note: according to the book a Whole-New-Mind (why isn't the Amazon Associates gadget working) Japan's biggest export is now pop culture.

This one is for you Stephanie!



Police use of non-lethal weapons

Now let me just say I am pro-police.  It is also probably the career I would have followed other than rocket science.  I have many cops friends and know them personally.  This comes especially import subject after the number of seemingly police abuses of non-violent protesters last fall in the occupy movement.

Stephen Coleman: The moral dangers of non-lethal weapons


What I find interesting from his report is how pepper spray in Australia only in lieu of shooting someone: an option between shouting and shooting.  The way some American police callously dumped it on people was disturbing to say the least. 

What is even more interesting is the cops I know will not use pepper spray. If you didn't know the version of pepper spray the police and military get is much stronger than anything you get as a civilian.  That stuff sticks on you for hours and is definitely an "area-effect" weapon.  In NY, the arresting officer will be spending at least the car ride in an enclosed area coughing as well.  They may have to spend hours with them.

As far as I know only Sergeants or higher are issued Tasers in the NYPD and go through extensive training.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

More on the future: What will it be like

As I mentioned before, I listen to Doggcatcher when travel instead of the radio.  I listened to two related TED.com talks one right after the other and that have good information.  What I really love is just from there titles they seem to present conflicting ideas. (Note: I mention in one of my previous posts whether Doggcatcher is available for the iphone and like my clueless self the open screen says "podcasting for Android" so that the obvious answer I missed is that it is not available for iphone.

TED: Peter Diamandis: Abundance is our future



TED: Paul Gilding: The Earth is full


Fossil fuels are getting harder produce (or get to), nuclear power has significant grand risks, and I agree that solar has a lot of potential, but I really feel more effort should include Solar Power Satelites (SPS).  I'll write more on it in the future, but Rebecca Costa mentions it in "The Watchman's Rattle".

On the second video, it is obvious to me that we must change our economic system that is based on endless growth.  Not only should it change, or must change, but it will change.

These videos do re-enforce my belief that we can overcome the vast multitude of problems we face.

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