Category: http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post

South(gate) Park

Now the adorable and easy-to-relate-to happenings of the quartet of children from a small town in Colorado can take on your own persona. Now you can relive the old, familiar stories of your youth in suburbia with the added outrageousness that you’ve come to expect from South Park. Relive your little league games, but this time have celebrities drop by or imagine a fight between a deity and a holiday icon.

Or take advantage of the technology to create your current self in SP form. Just like they do in the show to capitalize on the priceless events of the day, you can instantly create the SP image of what’s going on with you today.

It’s fun and easy and it’s right HERE!

Props to Raul for finding this.

Houston Assembled Digitally

There are not too many people who I have run into that know of Google Earth and aren’t amazed by it. One of my professors at Tech was notorious for bringing it up in class, and by that I mean opening the application on the computers and using it to teach. I have to admit that I think it was a great way to incorporate this new technology into the learning experience. Everyone seemed to pay attention during those interludes.

On a recent visit from Lauren’s dad I decided to share with him a picture that had caught the attention of some friends and me. It was from a book called The City Assembled. The book cover the history of the urban form with great full page pictures from medieval times to present day. The picture of interest was one of Houston taken over 25 years ago. It shows multiple blocks completely paved over for parking lots. When I showed this to Peter, he came up with the idea to look up the same area ‘today’ on Google Earth and see what had progressed. A few minutes later we were looking down on Houston with a bird’s eye view.
It is cool to see the area filling in, but there is still a tremendous amount of land devoted to parking cars. Matt summed it up best when he said, “That just looks hot.”

Getting Old

If you’re not familiar with Frontline, it would be my pleasure to introduce you to the program. The PBS program allows you to view many of the episodes for free. I recently watched one report that really moved me.

It’s hard to live in the US and avoid hearing about the aging of the baby boomer generation. It’s also hard not to know someone who falls into that category. Some of my first exposure to the issue was through the work of the ARC and their aging resources division. It has always seemed like a problem with a need for attention but it was one of those things where I passed the buck and thought “someone else will work on that.” This episode really affected me and made me, for the first time, consider what I could be doing to work on this. The ARC definately presents this as a planning issue but is obviously also a health issue. Is this an area of focus for me?

Yesterday I had a phone call with La Universidad de Los Andes about some projects I could work on this summer in Bogota. They all deal with the drastic changes to Bogota’s built environment and the affect on physical activity and quality of life of the residents. One project focuses on older adults in particular. Is this my chance to enter into the arena of __________ (not sure what to call it)? It is a solid possibility.

Notably, the medium of television can tend to amplify extremes in order to engage the viewer. Nonetherless, the future of our aging population is an interesting and important problem (read opportunity for some) and I recommend you try and watch this episode. Maybe it’s one of these self-interested realizations that we reach in order to feel better about ourselves while at the same time looking out for ourselves. Maybe I feel guilty about not being near my parents and I worry about them. Maybe this show will change the way you think about this issue.

Wearing Your Helmet is Cool

Lauren thinks I’m crazy for ruining a perfectly good helmet by customizing it with some creative spray painting and a bit of school spirit. She is slightly biased, having bought the helmet for me. Nonetheless, my dream has been realized and soon I’ll be cruising the streets of Atlanta, in a totally sweet bike helmet. And just in time for spring with the dogwoods in bloom and the N.I.T. on the horizon.

I thought Lauren would be in favor of any idea that got the helmet on my head more than it already is, but this all seems childish and unreasonable to her. I wonder how she would react if I painted her helmet up like the helmet of a Vermont Catamount. Oh… I forgot they don’t have a football team and they suck!

I am anxious to see how other drivers react. Today I got honked at just for being on the road with a plain black helmet. We’ll see if this brings out more honking and if they are primarily friendly or hostile.

TUPIDA

This is my new name for Atlanta’s transit system (www.itstupida.com). I am on the verge of – make that in the middle of – a MARTA rant. After moving and finally settling into the new school schedule I am testing out my multi modal options to and from the new house. I began my experimentation with a two key assumptions based on prior experiences: the 6 goes to Candler Park and the 45 runs between Emory and Midtown. (note: go to the text description of these routes or look on the main system map to see why I thought my assumptions held)

I should have added a third assumption, MARTA does not work. Consider website as proof. I always like the example of the Tourist Loop Logo. Well done by MARTA to harness some of the power of this medium to make their presentation more engaging. Their little moving gif’s for ‘o’s in tourist and loop add a nice touch. But the two in loop are moving backward just like the entire authority. The structure of MARTA is like something out of Mega Man video game plot. Dr. Wylie designs a machine that creates chaos and calls it MARTA.

So as for my experiment… The 6 has been changed to go to Inman Park and the 45 now goes to Candler Park instead of Emory Village. You can find this on the schedules but obviously the message from the website and paper maps at stations is mixed and confusing. I am noticeably bitter and biased in my assessment of MARTA. I am sure they has reasons for changing the routes, and I probably even had opportunities to take part in meetings that helped determine the fate of the routes. But changes should be promulgated throughout the system and users should have access to information that is up to date, clear and correct.

Tegna un gran dia.

Pick Me Up

Rarely do I come into contact with celebrity. I have heard that all Atlantans have a Lenox Mall story about a sighting of Usher or Michael Vick, but the closest I usually get is seeing Lil Jon in his courtside seats at the Hawks game on the jumbotron from the nosebleed section. Sometimes I hear about a friend of a friend tied in with the news, but even this turns sour. Like when a guy I go to school with told me that he knew the ‘church-burning Alabama boys’ form his frat. Today I am proud to say that I know someone involved in something that is getting some positive press. My sister-in-law works for DK publishing (the visual publisher). She is part of a team which promotes a book called Pick Me Up.

This is a great new educational book for children and teens but is really interesting for anyone who has the curiosity to take the title’s advice. Recently it was featured the Today show and it also made the New York Times Children’s Bestsellers List. The first time I picked up the book I was skeptical but after I got into it I found it very intriguing. We passed on a copy to a friend of ours who is a kindergarten teacher and she loves it. It’s great to find an educational source so versatile across age groups. Kudos to the authors, but also to DK and Susan (my new contact with glamor) for endorsing good work.

This Christmas brought us into contact with another great book from DK. Now I can’t wait to see what DK and Susan will come out with next.

Sky Mall

Every now and then you have to surprise yourself. Take an unexpected path so that not everything you encounter is what you planned. It makes you think on your feet, expands your understanding of things going on around you and could inspire some creative thought.

On that note I picked up the Sky Mall on the plane today. I like looking at this magazine every now and then to see what inventions have been dreamed-up recently. It seems like SkyMall has become a repository for new inventions that fail to make it into the stores I often find myself in. Though I must admit that I have seen noticed a few of the products out in ‘the real word‘ since picking up my copy of SkyMall. Below I discuss some of my favorites; great gifts for next year’s holiday swaps.

The iPod seems to be a popular focal point for many of the items in the catalog. The breadth of accessories that have been schemed around this single item startles me. You can see that one such accessory is even featured on the cover above: the always popular iPod VW bug alarm clock. Seems a bit unnecessary, but different people have different needs. I do think the VW Beetle owners of the world like to take a certain pride in their choice of vehicle and like to keep flowers in their car. But I have a hard time figuring out who needs the iPod on the toilet. In the bathroom? Fine, but why not just buy one of the portable docks with speakers that are so common and well designed and just keep it in the bathroom?

(I have not doctored this picture in anyway, this is how it appears in Sky Mall.) I have to guess that the attention to detail and quality in many of the products is lacking because it comes across in the magazine’s production. Take this product for example, the giant-size world map. Who wouldn’t enjoy spending hours with their children explaining the wonders of history and culture with this amazing backdrop. Giving them a better of idea of how diverse the world is and stimulating new thoughts in their little heads. Showing them there are alternative paths to take, different ways to live life. “OK, Suzie, here is South America where indigenous culture was destroyed by the Spanish. The Spanish came across the Atlantic Ocean from the west(?) and landed here…” Maybe this a map from the future, they left off the polar ice caps.

When you’re not teaching your children about the world we live in, you’ll want to do your best to protect them from it. That’s where the next product comes in. This child locater allows you to find your child instantly with the press of a button, effectively ending his hide and seek career. This newest model is free of all the old wires you’ve become used to and best of all fits on child inconspicuously disguised as a giant lady bug. Apparently, they’ll love wearing it and you’ll love not paying attention to where they are until you’re done talking to the other moms and you’re ready to leave the playground. A must have.

Finally we have the water weights. If you’re like me you are rapidly running out of room for all your weights. Now there’s a way to make weights when you need them using only your kitchen sink. Plus you can take you weights with you on business trips. Screw the hotel gym, you’ve got water weights. Actually, I like the thinking behind this idea but included it because of the picture, the guy’s arm is huge.

Next time you’re on the plane and you can’t use your VW iPod accesories due to electronic device restrictions pick up the Sky Mall and dare to dream small.