June 2010
1 post
October 2009
1 post
September 2009
1 post
August 2009
5 posts
“my headphones, they saved my life / your...
silly americans!
me: internet is too slow
esp during the day
John: do you hunt and forage and gather too?
beirut, gay capital of the middle east →
NYTimes: “Beirut’s vitality as a Mediterranean capital of night life has fueled a flourishing gay scene — albeit one where men can be nervous about public displays of affection and where security guards at clubs can intercede if the good times turn too frisky on the dance floor. But even more than the partying, Beirut represents a different Middle East for some gay and lesbian Arabs: the...
July 2009
10 posts
Watchlebanon’s summer party, by CNN
$800 Apple Tablet Coming in October? →
azspot » in-progress:
According to reliable information, Apple will not follow the current market trend (by producing netbooks with screens about 10.2 or 10.1 inches in diagonal length.) Instead, Apple will produce screens with about 9.7 inches in diagonal length. Touch screen will be installed. Wintek will be the main manufacturer of the touch screen.
exit strategy nyc →
Covered in Wired and the NYTimes, check out my good friend JWeg’s new mobile app Exit Strategy NYC, which “tells you exactly which subway car to ride and which door to step out of to be closest to your destination.”
He Hit Me, Grizzly Bear.
June 2009
19 posts
How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains →
azspot» in-progress
“In “The End of Overeating,” Dr. Kessler finds some similarities [between the tobacco companies and] the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more.
When it comes to stimulating our brains, Dr. Kessler noted, individual ingredients aren’t particularly potent. But by combining...
Disco Valante, by Ida Engberg—hot dance tune...
work starts on New Mexico spaceport →
azspot » in-progress
When finished, Virgin Galactic - which hopes to begin regular tourist flights into space not long after the spaceport is completed - will base its headquarters and operations here, providing much of the spaceport’s business, though Spaceport America is keen to point out it will not solely rely on the company.
hamtunes » in-progress
A dubstep...
reading the surface of the brain →
azspot » in-progress
“Neurolutions, a startup based in St. Louis, is developing a small, implanted device that translates signals recorded from the surface of the brain into computer commands…the device is based on electrocorticography (ECoG), in which a grid of electrodes is surgically placed directly on the surface of the brain to monitor electrical...
the allure of unripe fruit →
The Atlantic ponders the delight of Lebanese in loz akhdar (unripe almonds) and jenarik (unripe plums), via Jon B.
“I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the...”
– Obama’s speech in Cairo
showtime marketing on Kindle →
Showtime understands that new marketing strategy should 1) create content that adds value to the consumer’s experience and 2) drive users to engage with the brand from one channel (mobile device) to the next (website, tv).
“Showtime will use banner ads throughout Amazon.com and on the Kindle storefront to promote the free download, which will be available until Aug. 31. Along with...
May 2009
24 posts
interactive music matrix →
Addictive and easy-to-use digital music toy! More technically, “simple sinewave synthesizer triggered by an ordinary 16step sequencer.” Built on the AudioTool engine.
Let’s Do It, by Convertion, remixed by...
the future of artificial intelligence →
“[Kevin Kelly, an editor at Wired magazine] is at work on his own book, “The Technium,” forecasting the emergence of a global brain — the idea that the planet’s interconnected computers might someday act in a coordinated fashion and perhaps exhibit intelligence.”
trains could employ auto industry layoffs →
“France’s TGV high-speed trains, which criss-cross that country, carried 100 million people in 2008, and the national rail company employs about 200,000 people (that number includes people working on commuter trains). France is 1/5th the size of the U.S. in population.
One can extrapolate: an equivalent American rail network could transport 500 million passengers a year on fast rail and...
wolfram|alpha: database search →
Wolfram|Alpha searches databases, the underlying informational building block of the web, and calculates and graphs available data for a given query. Their stated goal sounds like Google’s mission statement but with the addition of the words “systematic” and “computable.”
“Wolfram|Alpha’s long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately...
“In 1967, U.S. per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup was 0.03 pounds...”
– Yes Magazine (via AZspot)
arabs, persians, jews →
So here’s what Obama should say to Netanyahu when he says Arab states have identical fears over Iran:
“We’re aware of this, Mr. Prime Minister, which is why we sent Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others to reassure Arab allies. But the U.S. interest is not served by the Mideast status quo. Our interest lies in new region-wide security arrangements that promote a two-state peace, end 30 years...
sights and sounds of beirut
me: i think people are firing guns into the air
raja: it is beirut
me: in some sort of celebratory gesture
i know
raja: it is normal
me: i'm not used to it any more
raja: :)
