ApolloLemmon

I’m checking RSS, mail and Twitter in the rain. Drops of water and drops of data are...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:10:48 -0700

I’m checking RSS, mail and Twitter in the rain. Drops of water and drops of data are refreshing.

Google's new data-center cools with weather prediction

(author unknown) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:51:01 -0700

Google new Belgian data-center uses weather prediction to save energy, shifting work to cooler centers when the mercury rises, rather than using energy-sucking electric coolers. Google has taken the strategy to the next level. Rather than using chillers part-time, the company has eliminated them entirely in its data center near Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, which began operating in late 2008 and also features an on-site water purification facility that allows it to use water from a nearby industrial canal rather than a municipal water utility.

DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body

(author unknown) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:42:54 -0700

Research by a group of Montreal scientists calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. Their results appear in the July issue of the journal Human Mutation. This discovery may undercut the rationale behind numerous large-scale genetic studies conducted over the last 15 years, studies which were supposed to isolate the causes of scores of human diseases.

Sheeple

(author unknown) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:12:43 -0700

Shared by Apollo Lemmon
XKCD imagines 5 Ayn Rand fans thrown together. It's a witty take on Objectivist silliness.

geodesic urban agri-architecture

(author unknown) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:12:59 -0700

According to Plantagon, the farm “will dramatically change the way we produce organic and functional food. It allows us to produce ecological [food] with clean air and water inside urban environments, even major cities, cutting costs and environmental damage by eliminating transportation and deliver directly to consumers. This is due to the efficiency and productivity of the Plantagon greenhouse which makes it economically possible to finance each greenhouse from its own sales.”

I saw Moon tonight. It’s understatedly smart sci fi but doesn’t break any new ground....

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:08:48 -0700

I saw Moon tonight. It’s understatedly smart sci fi but doesn’t break any new ground. (****) #Moon

Great Tweets of Science: http://ping.fm/oku16

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:08:47 -0700

Great Tweets of Science: http://ping.fm/oku16

How to Make Digital Love Last

(author unknown) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:56:41 -0700

"We're digital. How are we making this work?" I asked Joel today at lunch. We were eating in the cafe where we had our first date. Same meal, same drink. Paninis and iced coffees. "We know when to turn off," he replied. And I believe he's right. Digital love needn't be superficial. Digital love does need to know when to unplug. The rules are straightforward: sex life stays offline, family time is digi-free, and, if the meaning can't be made clear over the digital medium, follow up in person.

In "Love Virtually," Virginia Heffernan says that "By removing the body from relationships, electronic communication makes romantic love less animal. The lovers’ discourse becomes simultaneously more childlike and more intellectual, more spiritual." It also allows us to perceive it as more full of possibility. The key is making sure that notion of possibility is tethered to reality. Add body, stir.

When we play out so much of our lives online how do we ensure we're carving out time for our partner (whether or not we met them online)? Simple. We prioritize. We decide that we're going to put our partner first sometimes. We err on the side of overcommunication with one another. We view the relationship as a startup and believe in iterations. We know we're not going to get it all right the first time we try it.

RT @c4chaos: in this …. world of complexity, chaos & uncertainty, let us all learn in awe,...

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:28:43 -0700

RT @c4chaos: in this …. world of complexity, chaos & uncertainty, let us all learn in awe, care for one another & bow to the Great Mystery

lemon orange raspberry = a mighty fine smoothie

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:28:42 -0700

lemon orange raspberry = a mighty fine smoothie

I finally found a place locally where I can find #Kosmos. Kosmos, EnlightenNext and Wired are in my...

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:41:04 -0700

I finally found a place locally where I can find #Kosmos. Kosmos, EnlightenNext and Wired are in my to-read pile now.

Last.fm Top Artists (Week Ending 2009-7-12)

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0700

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr

The Green Pod for Bikers

(author unknown) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:39:19 -0700

In roughly the same space as one parking spot, this structure can hold 10 bicycles, 10 lockers plus spaces to shower and change, or 20 lockers, 2 showers, 2 changing spaces, no bikes. It's configured to allow for solar panels to be installed on the roof to power it, has a solar hot water heating system, card activated locking, motion sensitive LED lighting, a grey water treatment unit that can then discharge the water into areas it can be put to use, say irrigating plants or lawn on site.

#Torchwood was superb. It had sci fi done right, complicated ethics explorations and intense drama...

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:08:08 -0700

#Torchwood was superb. It had sci fi done right, complicated ethics explorations and intense drama in just the right doses.

The Fold-Away Desk

(author unknown) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:24:24 -0700

What can you do if you want a workspace but the only area you have free in a tiny apartment is 30" of wall space between a bookcase and a door? Fold it away.

Lifehacker reader jaypeecee decided to tackle the problem by combining some inexpensive off the shelf items to turn a basic stock Ikea laptop station into a lilliputian workspace he could fold away at a moment's notice. His description of the situation and his solution:

I haven't had an actual desk of my own in almost four years. Not that this is much of a step up, but it's a workspace! I had 30" of unclaimed wall, so I figured this unit would fit the bill.
It's a stock Ikea PS Laptop Workstation, but to spruce it up a little bit and create an impact-dampening surface for my laptop, I added some cork to the surfaces using this self adhesive 18" x 4' roll of cork lining.
It had to be mounted over the moulding, so it actually sits on two Ikea shelf brackets, and is secured in the back by three toggle bolts via holes drilled in the rear panel.

GM Crops Tool in Fight Against Poverty

(author unknown) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:46:44 -0700

And giving people a chance to better their situation is something we need to facilitate, not impede. The west may not need more food, but remember Make Poverty History – a child dies unnecessarily as a result of extreme poverty every three seconds. GM crops are not the answer to this shameful global situation, but I argue strongly that they provide another tool, another option to try to address the problem. And I do not think those of us sitting in comfortable wealth have a right to deny people the opportunity to improve their production of food. The technology is just that, a technology. Like nuclear technologies (radiotherapy or nuclear weapons) or mobile phones (communication or bomb triggers), how we use it is the main issue. I hope that the plants we have generated provide a subtle use of GM technology that will allow some positive benefits for the developing world.

When Minds and Machines Become One

(author unknown) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:37:59 -0700

At the onset of the 21st century, it will be an era in which the very nature of what is means to be human will be both enriched and challenged, as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy, and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity.

The paradigm shift rate is now doubling every decade, so the twenty-first century will see 20,000 years of progress at todays rate. Computation, communication, biological technologies (for example, DNA sequencing), brain scanning, knowledge of the human brain, and human knowledge in general are all accelerating at an even faster pace, generally doubling price-performance, capacity, and bandwidth every year. Three-dimensional molecular computing will provide the hardware for human-level "strong" AI well before 2030. The more important software insights will be gained in part from the reverse-engineering of the human brain, a process well under way.

While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, celebrated futurist Ray Kurzweil presents an inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny in which we will merge with our machines, can live forever, and are a billion times more intelligent...all within the next three to four decades.

Educating Compassion

(author unknown) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:18:02 -0700

Kosmos Journal: Integral Spirituality

(author unknown) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:48:16 -0700

Integral spirituality is the experience of a Sacred, embodied, evolutionary “now”, speaking through us in multiple voices. It incarnates all facets of our lives, inviting past and future into one moment. Integral spiritual practice, then, seems to be a consummate, persistent inquiry of many shades and shadows extending throughout life. Though our assumptions about reality restrict and bind us, they also protect us from tumbling permanently into those amazing states into which we “peak”, but do not yet have the energetic capacity to live in consistently. As the formless universe awakens to itself through form, like a sleeping child, our incarnated being begins to know the Sacred as the Sacred simultaneously knows us.

Google's War On The PC

(author unknown) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:02:36 -0700

The web giant's new operating system, revealed overnight, will make sharing programs and data easier, and Douglas Rushkoff thinks it will change the entire technology industry-for the better.

As the GoogleApps suite of programs finally graduated from its "beta" status this week, Google also announced its plans to release an operating system on which to run them. Google Chrome, based on the company's new browser, will invite us all to spend a lot less time, energy, and money on our computers—and in the process, it may force the technology industry to consider how to make money after people no longer require expensive machines and software to do their work.

The Teal Shadow: Integral Expert, First-Tier Allergy

(author unknown) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:00:46 -0700

We all have shadows, or disowned, repressed, dissociated parts of ourselves, and as we grow and develop from one stage to the next, and even as we grow into higher stages of development, a simple fact remains — the shadow does not go away, but rather follows us as we ascend into the higher reaches of self. Is it possible that certain types of shadow qualities are more probable to arise at certain levels of development? When we apply this question to the integral or teal level of development, what types of shadow material will we generally encounter in both ourselves and others? When we have the courage to take an honest view of ourselves, and as we learn more about and live an integral life, what shadow tendencies do we see? Let’s explore, with a light heart and hand, the general flavors of shadow material that we may be grappling with specifically once we acquire an Integral awareness. See Figure 1. Two specific shadow manifestations that can potentially arise with Integral awareness, at the teal level of development, can be called the “integral expert” and the “1st tier allergy.”

We do not necessarily need to understand the Integral approach (or this chart) for our center of gravity to be stationed at teal. With that said, once we learn the Integral model, in all of its dimensions, we can often come away feeling like we now fully understand everything. Comprehending the Integral model helps us feel as though we can find a place for everything and anything we come across, both within and without, which is truly wonderful — but it can easily begin to eclipse our relationship with the Mystery, with the Great Unknown. Here, it is possible for the “integral expert” shadow to manifest. This shadow quality can actually inhibit our growth and development. For instance, if we feel that we know everything, why would we continue to explore how the Integral model manifests in real time? How is it possible to approach the mystery of existence from beginner’s mind? How can we let the grace of Spirit fall into us if we are closed to new possibilities arising? We want to be aware that the potential for this “integral expert” shadow to arise is very real and to notice how it manifests. This is no fault of the Integral approach, but an issue of translation on the part of the practitioner. Once we are integrally informed, there seems to be a tendency to feel like we know everything, while Integral wisdom simply suggests a few parameters to help honor everything we CANNOT know…

Ciaran Whyte

(author unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:47:43 -0700

Being an artist is so much more than just knowing the rules. I'm continually amazed and inspired by some amazing photographers and models that produce art way above and beyond what I do today. But I hope to get there one day

Spirituality in an Evolving Universe

(author unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:40:47 -0700

In this reflection on the purpose of life in the 21st century, Integral Enlightenment founder Craig Hamilton calls us to wholeheartedly embrace a path of conscious evolution, not simply for our own happiness, but as our contribution to the further evolution of Life and Spirit.

Interplanetary Internet Gets Home in Space

(author unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:01:24 -0700

The interplanetary internet now has its first permanent node in space, aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The new software will make sending data from space less like using the telephone, and more like using the web. In the modern era of the web and information on demand, teams still have to schedule times to send and receive data from space missions. But the newly installed system aboard the ISS could one day allow data to flow between Earth, spacecraft, and astronauts automatically, creating what is being dubbed the "interplanetary internet".

The International Space Station is now testing a new communications protocol that could form the backbone of a future interplanetary internet (Image: STS-119 Shuttle Crew/NASA)

I Love Fireworks

(author unknown) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:14:31 -0700

Shared by Apollo Lemmon
A Softer World: 457 steps from small to large after a week of national celebrations in Canada and the U.S.

The Origin

(author unknown) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:01:56 -0700

The Origin – “a wash basin based on the source of a river and the way it flows into a lake. A small cobblestone blocks the source, which starts to spout water meandering down to the basin when the tone is removed. Then, the cobble can double as a plug for the sink.” [via]

Managing Tech for Abundance

(author unknown) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:50:46 -0700

Chris Anderson's stirring Wired editorial "Tech Is Too Cheap to Meter: It's Time to Manage for Abundance, Not Scarcity" accompanies the launch of his new book Free: The Future of a Radical Price, asking technologists to consider what it means to manage abundant hard drives, networks, and processors, rather than scarce ones. (You can also get a free downloadable audiobook from the link)

Convergys folks, do you know how I can determine my.convergys login info? I’ve gotta retreive...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:24:17 -0700

Convergys folks, do you know how I can determine my.convergys login info? I’ve gotta retreive a letter of employment and conf. of income.

“Take the pearl. Leave the shell.” ~#Rumi via Coleman Barks

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:24:17 -0700

“Take the pearl. Leave the shell.” ~#Rumi via Coleman Barks

I’m craving new music. Please recommend a bit of fantastic for me to discover. See...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:24:17 -0700

I’m craving new music. Please recommend a bit of fantastic for me to discover. See http://ping.fm/pUooM for what I listen to now. #music