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May 4, 2008 - May 10, 2008 »

May 3, 2008

Eccentric roadside attractions make for a funky travel blog

Superspud.

Eccentric Roadside is my colleague Gunnar Johnson's roadtrips blog:

One thing you notice after a lot of cross-country driving is how much there is out there that's mundane. We've grown to love the mundane in America — the beautifully melancholy, unnoticed, unloved landscapes across this great land of ours.

Gunnar has designed features section fronts for a couple of decades. His "attractions" are not commercial tourist traps. He has a fine eye for detail, and seems not to miss a single sign, shoe-shaped building or bit of local whimsy while tooling down the road:

This oasis is near Carhenge -- yup, what it sounds like -- in Alliance, Nebraska.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 2:39 AM | Permalink

May 2, 2008

Greenville photo blogger is there when volunteers repair vandalized cemetery

On April 18, Journal reporter Tom Morgan wrote about the cemetery vandalism in Smithfield in which 50 stones were toppled at Greenville Cemetery on Smith Avenue. (Volunteers sought to restore Smithfield headstones).

Greenville photo blogger Linda Hawkins has posted some photographs of those volunteers repairing Greenvile Cemetery -- historical cemetery Number 49, the Smith Lot, last Saturday.

Linda had photographed the cemetery April 12, just before its stones were attacked.

Linda's a photographer, so she doesn't shoot this the way a news photographer would -- details interest her, and forms; her images have giant watermarks on them, and she doesn't identify the volunteers in the photos, but it's a nice follow-up to a story that begs for one: They were seeking volunteers, they got them, here's what they did.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 9:00 AM | Permalink

Recall of heart drug Digitek hits patients in the wallet

Journal photo / Sandor Bodo
Recalled heart drug Digitek is a generic form of digoxin, derived from the foxglove plant.

International pharmaceutical firm Avatis, based in Iceland, recalled Digitek, its generic form of heart drug digoxin, April 25

"due to the possibility that tablets with double the appropriate thickness may have been commercially released. These tablets may contain twice the approved level of active ingredient than is appropriate. The existence of double strength tablets poses a risk of digitalis toxicity in patients with renal failure. Digitalis toxicity can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, low blood pressure, cardiac instability, bradycardia, and possible fatality. Several reports of illness and injuries have been received...

Any customer inquiries related to this action should be addressed to Stericycle customer service at 1-888-276-6166 with representatives available Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm EST. Additional information about the voluntary recall can also be found at www.actavis.us...

Any adverse reactions experienced with the use of this product, and/or quality problems should also be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Program by phone at 1-800-FDA-1088, by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the MedWatch website at www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Longtime radio and space blogger Lou Josephs is one of those affected by the recall (Drug Recall), and he's frosted:

I called MEDCO who sold me a ninety day supply under the Federal Blue Cross Health Plan. I asked them what to do. I had already called my internal medicine doctor to get a 30 day prescription for lanoxin which is the brand drug. It will cost more at the checkout but the only pain will be in my wallet not my heart.

They said they won't be taking the drugs back but referred me to this website.

You find this is a worldwide company based in Iceland. The local US office can be found here.
Dialing the 800 number gets you to a voicemail that takes your name, and phone number and street address. You would think that MEDCO would be shelling out since they filled the script. But, NOOOOOOOO. The company that made it is. Or least that is what I hope will happen.

The pill is small and green in color.

Tracking how and when this will happen at this point is still up in the air. I did talk to a MEDCO pharmacist to find out where this drug was made. He only knew who the supplier was not where is was manufactured. Guess what country manufactured this pill of death. It's not going to surprise you when I tell you CHINA.

Actavis's China factory is in Guangdong.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

May 1, 2008

May Day; Nestcams; Local bloggers; Historic '78s as podcasts

May Day: May breakfasts seem to be the last fossilized vestige of a bawdy spring tradition. Maypoles and Mayhem - The Traditions of Mayday at Dark Dorset, "The Official Blog to Dorset's premier website devoted to local folklore,customs, mysteries and the unexplained." Dorset is in Olde Englande, of course.

The sexual symbolism of the maypole and all the immoral revelry that went along with it led the Puritans to out-law the maypole custom in 1644. However, this prohibition was soon repealed after the restoration of Charles II in 1660.

Barn owls in Italy, Tx., were awake and noisy at 3:30 a.m. when I grabbed this screenshot.

It's baby bird season: Nestcams, via the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Current streaming broods include barn owls, Eastern blueblrds, a chimney swift and more.

More nestcams elsewhere.

Local bloggers: Media rebels in the Internet age is Providence Phoenix news editor Ian Donnis's take on the Rhode Island blogosphere. (Ian's own blog is Not for Nothing.)

Politics gets the bulk of it, but Providence Geeks founder Jack Templin (R.I. Nexus) chimes in on the community aspect of it all.

The bottom line (literally) about blogging, from Marc Comtois at the conservative group blog Anchor Rising:

“You have to do it because you love doing it for its own sake. Lots of blogs flame out. People get bored or realize how hard it is. But I think that so long as you are passionate about something — whether politics, music, food or whatever — you will be able to keep it going. Just don’t ever look at it as a way to make money or gain power.”

If you start a blog, don't expect to sleep as much as you used to. I feed this blog in my jammies at 3 a.m., when the world is finally quiet. Feeding the monster never stops.

Live then: The Sound of 78s. Roger Wilmut's podcasts of 22 (so far) old platters. The offbeat collection kicks off with 14 minutes of The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Dan Leno and Enrico Caruso and includes, in the September 2007 podcast (mp3), Henry Hall's famous recording of the Teddy Bear's Picnic. .

A monthly podcast featuring 78rpm records from my collection, including music-hall comedians, operatic vocals, spoken word, jazz, dance bands and unusual recordings: available both in a plain audio (MP3) version, and an enhanced (MP4) version with illustrations.

Protoblogger Rebecca Blood started Rebecca's Pocket nine years ago this week. Here's what's leading: Women are socially rewarded at work for being nice; punished for being angry or for negotiating

.

That's my conclusion upon reading All Terrain's a discussion of a couple of studies on women in the workplace. First, there's anger. Women who get angry at work tend to be pegged as "angry people", while men are assumed to be responding to external forces. Then there's negotiating at work:

[The study] found that men and women get very different responses when they initiate negotiations. Although it may well be true that women often hurt themselves by not trying to negotiate, this study found that women's reluctance was based on an entirely reasonable and accurate view of how they were likely to be treated if they did. Both men and women were more likely to subtly penalize women who asked for more--the perception was that women who asked for more were "less nice."

There are so many ways to go with this - from work in general, to the current presidential campaign, to the gender disparity in salaries, and the dearth of female CEOs (and speakers at conferences).

None of this is to downplay the effects of actual discrimination: read Dalia Lithwick's enlightening discussion of the recent Supreme Court decision to bar women from filing for discriminatory pay if they complain more than 180 days after their first paycheck.

We told you so: Also from Rebecca, Red light cameras too good for their own good? Some cities rethink devices as drivers pay heed, reducing fine revenue

Dallas lawmakers originally estimated gross revenue of $15 million from their 62 cameras this fiscal year, which ends June 30. But City Manager Mary Suhm estimated last week that the city would fall short by more than $4 million.

So last week, the city turned off about a quarter of the least profitable cameras, saying it couldn’t justify the cost of running them...

...Nor is money the only reason cameras have been removed. In Lubbock, Texas, the City Council shut down all its cameras last month, citing a report that showed statistically significant increases in rear-end collisions at intersections, including those with cameras.

Because they'd rather get rear-ended than get a ticket.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 4:23 AM | Permalink

April 30, 2008

Better than YouTube: 206 thinkers and doers 'challenged to give the talk of their lives'

RISD author David Macaulay speaking at TED in 2002

It's not news to longtime readers that I'm more than frustrated by the adolescent flavor of much of the Web. (Stephen, this is why I ignored your emailed link to the Korean baby singing Hey Jude. It was as awful as it sounds.)

I'm long out of academia, and too far down the street to have much patience with ideas couched in dense prose. But when smart people speak on their feet publicly, they can't say whole thick paragraphs without choking on the bigger words or gasping for breath. So they try to communicate.

TED: Ideas worth spreading:

About TED: TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Its videos are sorted by Themes, Talks, Speakers, or by those rated most inspiring, funny and jaw-dropping.

Samples:

David Macaulay: All roads lead to Rome Antics

Despite a love and fascination for Rome dating to his days as an architecture student, David Macaulay found the path to his book Rome Antics took some unusual (and frustrating) turns. Through failed pop-up designs, scribbled out title possibilities, surreal sketchbook pages (think "Piranesi meets Escher"), and rambling story lines, MacAulay details each step of his winding journey towards completion of his illustrated homage to the city.

Amy Tan: Where does creativity hide?

Novelist Amy Tan digs deep into the creative process, journeying through her childhood and family history and into the worlds of physics and chance, looking for hints of where her own creativity comes from. It's a wild ride with a surprise ending.

Ray Kurzweil: How technology's accelerating power will transform us

Prolific inventor and outrageous visionary Ray Kurzweil explains in abundant, grounded detail why -- by the 2020s -- we will have reverse-engineered the human brain, and nanobots will be operating your consciousness.

Eve Ensler: Finding happiness in body and soul

In her frank TED talk, the playwright begins with an excerpt from her now-iconic play, The Vagina Monologues....

There are many more, by 206 speakers from many disciplines -- Al Gore, Stephen Hawking, Jane Goodall, Bono, Isabel Allende, They Might Be Giants, Bill Clinton, even Mena Trott of SixApart, which makes this Movable Type blog software.

Many of the speakers you've missed because you were working, too tired after working, making dinner or cleaning the bathroom when they came through town are here for you to watch when you like, when you need inspiration and elevation.

Here's the A-Z list. You might bookmark the link. It's a keeper.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 2:25 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

April 29, 2008

Testing the ScribeFire blogging extension for Firefox; Lazy crockpot chicken

Still in timeless vacationland, I'm posting this as a test of ScribeFire, the WYSIWYG blogging extension for Firefox.

It's slick -- when I first opened it, it had autodiscovered my blog software and used its API to hook into it. The blogs list displayed on the right panel, and an open entry window already showed "Publish to 'Projo Subterranean Homepage News' " as the label on the the big bottom button.

The interface is surprisingly intuitive: Formatting buttons were obvious, the code preview a tab away, tag windows and the date on the right.

It published the first draft of this post without breaking a sweat, logging me in automatically. (Since it integrates with Firefox, popping up as a half-window over wherever you are, it has access to Password Manager.)

The smartest feature I think I'm seeing: When I define text and click the link icon, the link I've just copied is already filled in in the link window. No need to paste it -- another feature of its FF integration.

I haven't quite figured out images yet -- especially how to make that screenshot pop up to a larger image -- without hand-coding it. More basic, if I copy an image from my graphics program, I get a file:/// URL, so on upload it's broken.

In all other respects, this is my new favorite extension. Here's its homepage.

Modern parboiling: Sunday, we had a three-pound family pack of skinless chicken thighs we had to cook, even though we were heading out to a party at a neighborhood restaurant where there'd be appetizers.

I put them all in the crockpot, in layers, and sprinkled each layer with salt, pepper, garlic powder and curry powder, and added 1/2 cup of water.

I intended to cook them for 5 or 6 hours on low, but instead, I flicked the crockpot to High, which I only discovered 90 minutes later when we returned from the party. Then I turned it to low, and gave it two and a half more hours.

They were tender. flavorful and delicious, and gave us a rich stock as a bonus. We stood around the platter with forks picking at it.

Last night, I coarsely chopped what survived and tossed it into a saucepan with a jar of turkey gravy, and opened a can of cranberry sauce.

Another bee story, despite the headline. Blair Man’s Self Inflicted Gunshot Wound Alcohol Related. From Altoona, Pa.

According to police 57-year-old David Walls had been drinking when he tried to shoot down some bees flying above him using a .22 caliber revolver loaded with buckshot. Walls ended up shooting himself in the left hand causing soft tissue damage.

No stings reported.
Technorati Tags: recipe. firefox, blogging

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 6:18 AM | Permalink

April 28, 2008

Transcript: Sen. Jack Reed on projo; Beekeeping booms

Reads for a rainy day off...

Providence Journal photo / Mary Murphy

Providence Journal staff writer G. Wayne Miller hosted Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), above, for an hourlong chat with projo.com readers today.

Transcript: Senator Reed answers readers' questions in live chat. Concerns about the economy dominate.

Bees are green: Buzz grows over beekeeping

Boston Globe story by Irene Sage, "Soaring enrollment in county 'bee schools' reflects a national trend." One sting, and only a little fear this cheery story. I keep a respectful distance from bees, myself.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 3:08 PM | Permalink

April 27, 2008

ROFLCon: Reports from the bleeding edge of Internet memes (JibJab, LOLcats)

A meme is an idea that catches on -- sometimes it's a profound thought ("Information wants to be free"); more often it's an acronym or a viral video. Think William Hung, a TV phenomenon. Or JibJab videos. Or the LOLcats site, I Can Has Cheezburger/ This weekend, memes had a convention:ROFLCON.

ROFLCon at Wikipedia:

ROFLCon was a convention of Internet memes that took place April 25-26 2008, at MIT. ROFL is Internet slang meaning "Rolling On Floor Laughing."

Various Net celebrities attended, such as the authors of the webcomics xkcd and Dinosaur comics, Jay Manard "The Tron Guy," the founder of popular image-sharing site 4chan, Leeroy Jenkins and many others....

Here's one of them, Doc Searls (ROFLFP)

Doc Searls photo

I’m at a panel on fame, and I don’t know any of the panelists. (They are, in fact, moot of 4chan, Randall Munroe, and Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics. They are arranged according to size: moot, Randall, Ryan.)

I am >2x the age of 90% of the people here. I may be 2x the age of ANY of the people here. (Not true, but it seems that way.) Worse, I’m dressed to “go out” to some place nice later, so it’s like I’m in costume.

Wired blogger Jenna Wortham is all over RIFLCON, and profiles some of its stars as well -- here are all her posts tagged roflcon and her Behind the Memes profiles. From ROFLCon: Welcome to the Fame Revolution:

...Welcome to the fame revolution, or what keynoter (David) Weinberger, a fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society and (co-)author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, described as "our fame," a massive shift in the definition of celebrity. The elite ranks of the famous, usually reserved for broadcast or traditional media celebrities, are now being infiltrated by the likes of web celebs...

Jim Merithew / Wired photo
The original caption: David Weinberger uses an image of the Star Wars Kid to show the changing face of fame. As people cheered, Weinberger looked around and said, "Really? I don't think this was our finest moment."

Background: The Star Wars Kid features a video made by a 14-year-old of himself swinging a golfball retriever as a weapon. It was found and spread as a prank. His family sued the families of four high-school kids, and a settlement was reached.

Ten members of the anti-Scientology group Anonymous even appeared in Guy Fawkes masks (Pranksters, Fake Products Stir Up Fun at ROFLCon).

Wortham interviews, among other meme heroes, Brown student Ian Spector, 20, who turned his wildly popular Chuck Norris Facts site into a best-selling book, :.Behind the Memes: Will Chuck Norris Facts Ever Die?

It's all, to an old fart who's consumed a lotta memes over the years, a great argument for getting everybody online, and quickly. A culture propagated by those with the most free time and tech skills will look a lot like high school, and its prevalent memes.

Doc again, live-blogging the panel:

Randall: “Your grandmother not filing bug reports for Firefox is good for Firefox.” Did I get that right? Not sure.

Randall, why shouldn't I file bug reports? After 18 years of it, why stop now?

I want my bleeding edge sprinkled with mature masterpieces. That includes Firefox. But also so much more...

ROFL Meme in the making: OGC unveils new logo to red faces - Telegraph

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 1:25 PM | Permalink