Kickin' It: Susan's tumblr blog

Love this photo!

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:05:21 -0400

Love this photo!

cute!1

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:39:01 -0400

cute!1

Photo

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:36:39 -0400

intospaces: untitled on Flickr. YEAH!

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:34:38 -0400

intospaces:

untitled on Flickr.

YEAH!

fuckyeahstreetlights: Submitted by: Akber Malik

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:33:59 -0400

fuckyeahstreetlights:

Submitted by: Akber Malik

Appcide: The death of Google Reader

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:32:33 -0400

As someone who get involved in RSS feeds back in 2002 at Netscape.com, where we used them for personalization for news feeds, and who has been a staunch RSS/XML output user since that back in the day, I am both shocked and furious that Google decided to shut down Google Reader on July 1, 2013. Dudes, I would have paid money for the thing!

I’ve got more than 1,000 feeds in my reader, and like many infogeeks, I use the reader to index and search on topics in a way that Google Alerts doesn’t offer.

It feels like Facebook ruined their search, and now Google is killing a tool that is one of my favs in their suite.

Lesson: None of it is truly free, and if you want to protect your experience, maybe you’re better off paying up front.

Reading: Google Reader Shutdown a Sobering Reminder That ‘Our’ Technology Isn’t Ours - Forbes http://onforb.es/ZNunde

"Google was doing a public service for the news and blogger community by keeping Reader going...."

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:27:59 -0400

“Google was doing a public service for the news and blogger community by keeping Reader going. Understandably, the Reader shutdown was received not just as the end of an era but almost as an attack on those who count on it for traffic and attention. Over at Techcrunch, Sarah Perez had this reaction: “Don’t be evil? If that’s the unofficial Google motto, then the company has failed to deliver today. Among the products Google just announced it plans to sunset (read: kill off), beloved feed-reading service Google Reader is now on the chopping block.””

- Google’s Strange Attack on Bloggers and the Public Internet: the Massive Reaction to Reader Shutdown - Forbes

"Google’s announcement today that it is destroying Google Reader, the most popular RSS syndication..."

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 01:26:42 -0400

“Google’s announcement today that it is destroying Google Reader, the most popular RSS syndication tool was a massive blow to the blogging community – and to most of those speaking out tonight via social media, an entirely unnecessary attack on an important corner of the public Internet by a company with more than $50 billion in revenue and a newly-won reputation as a tech giant on the move.”

- Google’s Strange Attack on Bloggers and the Public Internet: the Massive Reaction to Reader Shutdown - Forbes

businessweek: A Loaded Question: Gun Ownership vs. Gun Deaths...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:08:13 -0400

businessweek:

A Loaded Question: Gun Ownership vs. Gun Deaths Worldwide

Even peaceful Switzerland is reeling from mass murders, and voters are demanding change. Public-health research on firearm deaths is notoriously inconclusive, but it’s safe to say that more guns make for more bodies: High firearm-death rates (totaling suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths) correlate with high levels of gun ownership, at least among countries belonging to the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The link between gun ownership and gun murderis fuzzier: Gun-loving Finland has more than twice as many firearms as Portugal, but the Finns have only half as many gun murders per capita. Income, development, and culture appear to drive gun-crime rates more than simple gun availability.

Explore the data at Bloomberg Businessweek

theatlantic: How Racism Is Bad for Our Bodies The researchers...

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:07:49 -0400

theatlantic:

How Racism Is Bad for Our Bodies

The researchers had each Latina student prepare a three-minute speech on “what I am like as a work partner” for their white partner. But before each student gave her speech, she read her partner’s responses — and, among other things, knew if the person evaluating her speech held racist beliefs. To monitor stress during the speech, the researchers hooked the speakers up to blood pressure cuffs and sensors to measure other cardiovascular data, including an electrocardiogram and impedance cardiography.

When Latina participants thought they were interacting with a racist white partner, they had higher blood pressure, a faster heart rate, and shorter pre-ejection periods. What this shows is an increased sympathetic response, or what is often called the “fight or flight response.” Merely the anticipation of racism, and not necessarily the act, is enough to trigger a stress response. And this study only involved a three-minute speech.

Read more. [Image: Reuters]

Reading.

Yeah, okay.

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:06:20 -0400

Yeah, okay.

Come out for a great photoshow and talk—see...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:31:37 -0400

Come out for a great photoshow and talk—see http://oaktechtalks3.eventbrite.com

OakTech Talk 3: Photographic innovation Creating Oakland photo panoramas as public art and shooting Oakland on the streets

Lisa Levine and Peter Tonningsen, Counterpoint, Eric Arnold, Oakland Local/CRP.org

March 14, 2013, 6:00-7:30 PM (talk starts 6:30 PM)
Solespace, 1714 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA.
https://www.facebook.com/SoleSpace

Oakland residents and photographers Lisa Levine and Peter Tonningsen work together to take photos of Oakland street scenes—and of other locations and images—and maipulate them on the computer to create multi-panel layered landscapes that are both dynamic artworks and narratives of what they see. Working at a scale and size that cries out for more public installations, this duo produced stunning work that reflects a changing Oakland in the most sensitive and exciting way. Come find out more about their processes—and see their amazing streetscapes from all over Oakland.

In the same event, hear from Oakland Local photographer Eric Arnold, whose unfiltered photographs of Oakland art events, music and political actions say so much about our city. Find out how Eric gets his amazing shots and learn about his aesthetic.

Events will include refreshments, music, and lots of talking, learning and looking.

Community partners include Solespace, HubOakland, Tech Liminal, and Tumis Design. If you’d like to support this event series as a sponsor, contact susan@oaklandlocal.com.

frogtog: Frog Hollow fruit blossoms! Spring!

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:25:17 -0400

frogtog:

Frog Hollow fruit blossoms!

Spring!

theatlantic: We’re Screwed: 11,000 Years’ Worth of Climate Data...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:24:06 -0400

theatlantic:

We’re Screwed: 11,000 Years’ Worth of Climate Data Prove It

A study published in Science reconstructs global temperatures further back than ever before — a full 11,300 years. The new analysis finds that the only problem with Mann’s hockey stick was that its handle was about 9,000 years too short.

Read more. [Images: Science]

OOP.S…not good.

nickkahler: Rockwell Kent, The Valley of Vermont, c. 1921 A...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:26:13 -0500

nickkahler:

Rockwell Kent, The Valley of Vermont, c. 1921

A huge favorite artist of mine—and a fascinating person.

Is tumblr the best place to blog right now?

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:24:34 -0500

Is this the best place for me to start blogging again? 10 months ago, I said I was going to redesign my name site, which feels old and stale. Good luck with that—doing Oakland Local, my hyperlocal start-up, and some side projects, like consulting, takes up all my work cycles, pretty much.

Yesterday, I had a brain wave? Why not just blog on tumblr? At least until I come up with a better idea (and one that is neutral in its impact on 3,0000+ and 10 years of blog posts on moveable type and blogger.

Where are you blogging? What advice do you have for moi?

March 6 Webinar: Raising Visibility: Building Audience, Engagement and Reach

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:12:35 -0500

I am doing a webinar for The Knight Digital Media Center at USC and The Knight Foundation’s Community Innovation Challenge Project on March 6 from 11-12 PM, Pacific time. The topic is Raising Visibility: Building Audience, Engagement and Reach and there are some free spots left for the class—go to http://bit.ly/YGIfUe for more information and to sign up.

Here’s some more info on the class:

What’s this about? Raising visibility for your project teaches you how to increase both online awareness and community outreach and engagement for your project,. This one hour webinar that will take participants through the basic elements behind successful online promotion via social media and through local events and outreach in your community .

Who will benefit from this session? Everyone involved in managing and promoting a project will learn about best practices, tools and techniques for increasing audience engagement, driving traffic and engagement through social media, optimizing web traffic through SEO, syndication and distribution, and using data to fine-tune results.

What we will talk about:
•    How to use Facebook and Twitter to increase engagement
•    How to optimize headlines and content for SEO optimization
•    How to build syndication and distribution partnerships to increase visibility
•    How to use basic measurements to fine-tune results

Please check it out if you’re interested; there is also going to be a 4-week virtual class in April 2013 on this topic that I am teaching.

Oakland unveils new flag with "YOLO" as city motto

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:49:41 -0500

oaklandunseen:

First announced by Oakland Unseen, the City of Oakland has officially unveiled its new city flag replacing “1852,” the date it was founded, with its new city motto: “YOLO.”

Good one

spencermadsen: words from a million bears by spencer madsen,...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:25:41 -0500

spencermadsen:

words from a million bears by spencer madsen, art by @catabmendoza

BIG LOVE for this.

"Aaron’s death demands a great deal of soul searching by the US Attorney who decided to massively..."

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:00:05 -0500

“Aaron’s death demands a great deal of soul searching by the US Attorney who decided to massively overcharge this young man and the MIT administrators who decided to involve Federal law enforcement.”

- The Truth about Aaron Swartz’s “Crime” « Unhandled Exception