Laura and I had the opportunity to spend a couple days in Zion after CES. It’s actually a great place to visit in the Winter. The park was practically empty, places to stay were cheap, and it was perfect hiking weather. Angels Landing, with its steep narrow final stretch, was definitely a highlight. Quite a few people on the trail had turned back before reaching the end (and the signs continuously remind you that quite a few people have fallen off and died), so I was actually expecting it to be more narrow than it is. When I got to the end, I didn’t realize I was there because I was expecting to hit a point where I questioned whether I’d continue.
Month: January 2015
Check Out Startup from Gimlet Media
I’ve listened to NPR on a regular basis for years, but hadn’t gotten into the habit of subscribing to shows using a podcast app until recently. I would typically listen to RadioLab, The TED Radio Hour, and Planet Money, all through the NPR app. And I’d sometimes catch This American Life on the radio. All this probably makes me an extremely typical casual NPR listener. To me, good online radio has always been synonymous with NPR, and I had never seen a compelling reason to explore further. Not because I didn’t think there was other interesting content out there, but I figured that if it hadn’t found me, it probably wasn’t worth the effort. That has changed. I’m now a podcast person, and it began with a new series called Startup. I
A Dog that Rides the Bus Alone
Continuing with my above average quantity of dog-related posts, my friend Jenny recently sent me this article, about a dog in Seattle: Commuters in Belltown report seeing a Black Labrador riding the bus alone in recent weeks. The 2-year old has been spotted roaming the aisles, hopping onto seats next to strangers, and even doing her part to clean the bus — by licking her surroundings. “All the bus drivers know her. She sits here just like a person does,” said commuter Tiona Rainwater, as she rode the bus through downtown Monday. “She makes everybody happy. How could you not love this thing?” When the dog got off the bus – without an owner – at a dog park last
You wanna know what takes real courage?
I am very much looking forward to the last weekend in February:
Tech East and More of Day 1 at CES
I wrapped up at Tech West (previous posts here and here), and in the afternoon I ventured over to Tech East at the Las Vegas Convention Center where many of the larger tech firms have their exhibits. A big theme this year was obviously the Internet of Things (IoT) — connected everything, with a focus on connected home devices. There seems to be a lot of innovation here, and many companies seem to be pushing their products closer to the point at which the benefits of some of these devices justify the (falling) costs, but I don’t think we’re there yet. Zigbee had a big home automation demo, showing everything from connected lights, speakers, flood monitors, motion sensors, and more: New connected
3D Printing at CES
In my second hour at CES, after spending some time looking at health trackers, I stumbled into the 3D printing area. There seemed to be hundreds of firms showing off their 3D printing skills, and all of the plastic things they printed. I was struck by how many firms are eagerly competing and innovating here. The first printer I saw, and maybe my favorite, was Zeus: A 3D scan, print, copy, fax machine: When pressed, the Zeus guy admitted the fax button just sends a copy of a scan to any other connected Zeus machine over the internet, but still. I was impressed. I asked about resolution, and learned that it’s measured in layer microns, and the highest (smallest) resolution of
First Day at CES
I spent my first full day at CES, and most of the descriptions I’ve read are spot on. It’s a complete zoo, it’s exhausting, and it’s awesome. I started the day at Tech West, spending most of my time in the Sands Expo. I first worked my way through more fitness/health trackers than I previously could have imagined existed. There were obviously dozens of Fitbit-like step counters and sleep trackers, which seemed increasingly irrelevant as much of this functionality, at least the step counter part, is a feature on most new smartphones. I found a “Smart Basketball”, 94fifty, that sends real time data on your shot speed, backspin, arc, and dribbling to your phone: There was Skulpt, which initially sounded ridiculous to
Lightroom 5 Preset: Highland
It’s been over a year since I’ve added a new Lightroom 5 Preset. I’ve actually got quite a few new ones in the works, and over the next few months will plan to post them. Here’s my thirteenth preset: Highland. It’s a vintage looking filter, with nice oranges, reds, and browns. I’ve found that it’s often helpful to adjust highlights and exposure after using it. Below are some examples. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for all the support. A highland cow, which inspired the preset: An old Porsche that was parked outside my brother’s Vancouver apartment when I visited: A couple Mariachi’s waiting for the bus in Meixco City: And a few produce traders in New Delhi: Here’s the download: Lightroom 5 Preset: Highland
More Population Density Maps
As a follow-up to my earlier post here, Vox just shared a city level visualization of population density for nine cities. Similar approach, but much more granular city-level data:
The Best Combination of a Map and a Chart
I love maps and I love charts. So I was particularly excited to find this great chart of the world’s population by latitude, which obviously resembles a map (because most people live on land): This is a much more eloquent way of combining latitude and longitude population charts, as I’ve previously posted about here. At the bottom of the post, the creator links to whackdata.com, where Ryan Brideau posted some R scripts that take publicly available data and create similar population map charts. Ryan does a great job describing why the chart is so interesting: “What I love about it is that, in the absence of any traditional map features, the outlines of countries and continents are immediately apparent. And as long as you are familiar