Horstblog

jtotheizzoe: Imagine a Living Mars Mars was likely not always...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:06:42 -0500

Imagine a Living Mars

Mars was likely not always the desolate, red-rocked planet that we see today. The Curiosity rover has found what appear to be water-smoothed pebbles, shaped by ancient rivers of flowing water. Curiosity and previous missions have also seen footprints of alluvial fans and river deltas, sure signs of a previously wet world.

Software engineer Kevin Gill has taken those observations to the next level with these simulations of a “living” Mars, covered with seas and lakes and teeming with vegetation and clouds. He used a survey of Martian terrain and elevation, plugged in a sea level to form oceans, and then painted the clouds and terrain as it might look or have looked.

It’s definitely more an exercise in imagination than in reality, as there’s no indication of past forests or marshy plains on the red planet, but it’s an informed imagination, a realization of a planet’s possible rich past or terraformed future.

Check out Kevin Gill on Flickr.

Much like Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy imagines as the result of terraforming.

vintageanchor: On this day in 1841, Herman Melville ships out...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:01:29 -0500

vintageanchor:

On this day in 1841, Herman Melville ships out on the whaler Acushnet to the South Seas.

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”
― Herman Melville

Mixee Me is now in public beta, and we're giving away stuff to celebrate

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:16:43 -0500

mixeeme:

We are happy to announce that we are officially in public beta.

To celebrate, we are giving away loads of FREE Mixees. Here’s how to get ‘em:

Make a Mixee online: http://www.mixeeme.com

Tweet @MixeeMe, link your Mixee’s URL, tell us why your Mixee is awesome

Every hour from 1 PM to 9 PM EST, we will pick one to give away for free!

That’s it! Enjoy!!!

Great project and a great team. Go, Nancy and Aaron!

Took a look at the progress of 1 WTC when I was at the Drupal...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:40:57 -0500

Took a look at the progress of 1 WTC when I was at the Drupal Meetup this week. And here it is from the opposite perspective.

architizer:

The latest photos from the top of the new World Trade Center!

nevver: The Geography of Stuck “Nearly six in ten Americans...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:06:03 -0500

nevver:

The Geography of Stuck

“Nearly six in ten Americans live in the state where they were born, according to the U.S. Census bureau. But there is considerable variation from state to state, as the map (above) by Zara Matheson of the Martin Prosperity Institute shows. More than three quarters of the people in Louisiana (78.9 percent), Michigan (76.6 percent) and Ohio (75.1 percent) were born there, as opposed to just 24.3 percent of Nevadans, 35.2 percent of Floridians, 37.2 percent of the residents of Washington, D.C., and 37.7 percent of Arizonans. A high level of home-grown residents is also indicative of a lack of inflow of new people.”

Continuations: Steve Jobs

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:42:58 -0400

Continuations: Steve Jobs:

continuations:

It feels a bit strange now that I wrote a post yesterday morning about “Apple’s Glory Years,” not realizing that in the evening I would see the news that Steve Jobs had passed away. There have been many excellent tributes and I read a lot of them last night (collected here on delicious) with…

I suppose every time I read “technology visionary” I thought of “technology-product visionary” in my head. Perhaps it’s just a semantic distinction, because to me “technology” includes not only the bare metal programmers and fundamental scientific researchers, but also those who add value and innovation to each layer on top of that (operating systems, applications, platforms, networks, etc).

Finding interesting technologies that have not been mass-marketed, and curating them, massaging them into tools that everyone can use, is something Steve Jobs excelled at. That seems a core part of his self-description of living at the crossroads of science and art.

mcnallyjackson: carolynkellogg: Moby-Dick cake. From Hell’s...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:30:03 -0400

mcnallyjackson:

carolynkellogg:

Moby-Dick cake.

From Hell’s heart I slice at thee, cake!

good: A new study from the U.S. Department of Education maps...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:10:29 -0400

good:

A new study from the U.S. Department of Education maps the ‘State of the States in Education.’ States colored green are the country’s top ten performers, yellow are the middle range, and red are the bottom ten performers.

Read more on GOOD→

California cheaped out with the 1970s tax revolt. Before that, they were up near the top, and now they’re hanging out with the deep south.

"There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there —..."

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:07:15 -0400

“

There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there — good for you.

But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers that the rest of us paid to educate…Part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.

”

- Elizabeth Warren, Senate Candidate, MA (via innonate)

architizer: The new M.T.A. Weekender subway map compared with...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:05:04 -0400

architizer:

The new M.T.A. Weekender subway map compared with the current NYC subway map.

Much more sci-fi!

theatlantic: The Freelance Surge Is the Industrial Revolution...

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:03:58 -0400

theatlantic:

The Freelance Surge Is the Industrial Revolution of Our Time

It’s been called the Gig Economy, Freelance Nation, the Rise of the Creative Class, and the e-conomy, with the “e” standing for electronic, entrepreneurial, or perhaps eclectic. Everywhere we look, we can see the U.S.workforce undergoing a massive change. No longer do we work at the same company for 25 years, waiting for the gold watch, expecting the benefits and security that come with full-time employment. We’re no longer simply lawyers, or photographers, or writers. Instead, we’re part-time lawyers-cum- amateur photographers who write on the side.

Today, careers consist of piecing together various types of work, juggling multiple clients, learning to be marketing and accounting experts, and creating offices in bedrooms/coffee shops/coworking spaces. Independent workers abound. We call them freelancers, contractors, sole proprietors, consultants, temps, and the self-employed.

And, perhaps most surprisingly, many of them love it.

Read more at The Atlantic

motherjones: world-shaker: The Golden Ratio strikes...

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:13:58 -0400

motherjones:

world-shaker:

The Golden Ratio strikes again.

Whoa. Time to whip out the absinthe and DVD of Pi.

faketv: this will knock your socks off. theatlanticvideo: ‘On...

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:57:07 -0400

faketv:

this will knock your socks off.

theatlanticvideo:

‘On Assignment’ Follows Photographer to Breathtaking Heights in Yosemite

Filmmaker Renan Ozturk follows photographer Jimmy Chin on an assignment for National Geographic to document a climbing expedition in Yosemite. The jaw-dropping cliffs don’t seem to phase either of them, as they dangle from ropes impossibly high up to get just the right shot. Make sure to watch this full screen to appreciate the spectacular landscapes, not to mention the vertigo. Ozturk talks about how he got into filmmaking in an interview with The Atlantic.

Spectacular!

motherjones: imwithkanye: popculturebrain: Key Art/Cast...

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:35:29 -0400

motherjones:

imwithkanye:

popculturebrain:

Key Art/Cast Photo: It’s Alway Sunny In Philadelphia Season 7

I don’t even know why any other show would do publicity stills or key art after this.

< /DEAD >

You win. PERFECT.

The Sisqokid: Resilience. Optimism. Herding. Fear.

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:51:34 -0400

The Sisqokid: Resilience. Optimism. Herding. Fear.:

bsiscovick:

My colleague Justin Singer wrote this excellent post yesterday. I wish I could disagree, but rumblings like this scare the shit out of me.

Definitely worth reading below.

jericsinger:

Don’t tell me this time is different. It’s not.

Don’t tell me we’ve learned our lesson. We…

theeconomist: This is no eel; it’s a robot fish. A new...

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:22:26 -0400

theeconomist:

This is no eel; it’s a robot fish. A new generation of animal-like robots include models that emulate shrews, octopuses and dragonflies. We call it “zoobotics”.

evan: Amazingly delicious Chorizo & Egg breakfast taco,...

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 17:50:22 -0400

evan:

Amazingly delicious Chorizo & Egg breakfast taco, courtesy of Lonestar Taco’s rooftop brunch preview. Eagerly awaiting the opening of their storefront!

I may have had the last one of the day, and it was superb!

shapeways: one cup a day Day 01: Octo Cup 30 days, 30 coffee...

Wed, 25 May 2011 08:06:18 -0400

shapeways:

one cup a day
Day 01: Octo Cup
30 days, 30 coffee cups project

Drink your coffee eight times faster? Find a cup handle when you’re groggy in the morning? Share one cup with seven other friends?

fred-wilson: everyone is apparently blogging about shapeways...

Sat, 14 May 2011 01:04:03 -0400

fred-wilson:

everyone is apparently blogging about shapeways today

(via Gotham Gal: Jewelry making with Shapeways)

And reblogging!

motherjones: Sitting is killing you. Literally. Major hole in...

Wed, 11 May 2011 09:04:48 -0400

motherjones:

Sitting is killing you. Literally.

Major hole in this analysis for most of America—sitting in cars. Well paid jobs require sitting at desks, but if you live in the right place like NYC, walking to work or the subway can make a big difference to your health. I’d title this post “The Suburbs are Killing You.”