Now that Edmonton no longer has an NHL hockey team … the Oilers were moved to Tuscon, right? … the fans (still talking about the Gretzky days) can get, instead, a season’s ticket at the recently renovated Art Gallery of Alberta.
… Why did I make a special trip to Bilbao, Spain to see the Guggenheim?
The AGA is Alberta’s Guggenheim Museum
It opens Jan. 31st. Thanks Rocco.
When I first travelled in India years ago, conspicuous were the number of eye diseases, most easily preventable.
This is one of the most inspirational videos I’ve ever seen. It makes me optimistic about the future of humanity.
India’s revolutionary Aravind Eye Care System has given sight to millions. Thulasiraj Ravilla looks at the ingenious approach that drives its treatment costs down and quality up, and why its methods should trigger a re-think of all human services.
Email is the best way to communicate with Rick McCharles.
Phone? Facebook chat? Gmail chat?
NO. NO. NO.
Texting by phone … ??
Don’t even ask.
People love their Kindles.
But the electronic book reader from Amazon is a huge target. Everyone, including Apple, is scheming to eat their lunch.
How is Amazon responding to that threat?
They’ve announced the next generation, available January 19, 2010, called Kindle DX:
3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.
Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents
Longer Battery Life: Now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of 4 days
Cost $490. About $10 / book. But no monthly charges. Sweet.
Many of the competitors require a monthly internet connection service.
Click through to Amazon to see details and videos on how it works.
… I’d still wait to hear about Apple’s Kindle killer device the end of January before ordering a DX.
Dan Brown, author of super popular blockbuster hit novels, has done it again.
The Lost Symbol, his most recent, is the best of his very, very similar books. They follow a formula.
Amazon review:
… The Lost Symbol begins with an ancient ritual, a shadowy enclave, and of course, a secret.
Readers know they are in Dan Brown territory when, by the end of the first chapter, a secret within a secret is revealed. …
Again, brilliant Harvard professor Robert Langdon finds himself in a predicament that requires his vast knowledge of symbology and superior problem-solving skills to save the day. The setting, unlike other Robert Langdon novels, is stateside, and in Brown’s hands Washington D.C. is as fascinating as Paris or Vatican City …
Brown is only an average wordsmith. But his plots are complex, interesting and entertaining.
The plot of The Lost Symbol is terrific. It had me guessing. The setting, Washington, D.C., is superb. I want to visit as a tourist now.
This book is highly recommended. Author Dave Adlard calls it one of his favourite books of all time.
There’s one glaring problem. This book is perhaps 30% too long. Dan Brown, get an editor!
The future is people creating online content for their friends. Kids will be addicted to Facebook. And find commercial TV boring.
Rockin’ linked to this heartwarming children’s version of a modern classic pop song.
The PS22 Chorus is a kids choir of 60 kids from a new york city public elementary school. They are slowly but surely taking over the world…..
This choir has been viewed more than 13 million times.
Click PLAY or watch Landslide on YouTube.
Click PLAY to watch the Dixie Chicks cover on YouTube.
And, of course, the original vocalist, Stevie Nicks acoustic version.
Good news, Dana.
Here’s a much better device than the Kindle, only $490.
Click PLAY or watch the Entourage Edge on YouTube.
Lenovo’s amazing Tablet/PC Hybrid brings a tablet and a PC together in an amazingly elegant way.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I’ll wait to see what Apple comes up with. … Love detaching the monitor, though.
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.
Bruce Sterling annually addresses the State of the World and Things Various and Sundry.
It’s very amusing, scary and thoughtful.
… the polarity of the world is changing, literally and figuratively; the climate’s wonky, the economy’s tumbling like a house of cards in a demented wind, political will is weak and the body politic is disfigured in ways that are gross and fascinating.
It’s a circus, and the tent’s on fire.
I asked around for thoughts about what we should discuss, and got this from science-fiction author, Internet maven, and new Dad, Cory Doctorow:
… If you were in my shoes, what concrete, discrete, individual steps would you take on behalf of your snoring little toddler? “
read Sterling’s rambling answer on The WELL
… The WELL?
Is that online community still around?
They haven’t moved to Facebook or Friendfeed?
Rick McCharles 