Geekeries

“:30 Day 34: Paintball”

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:00:22 -0400

“:30 Day 34: Paintball”

Dave Chappelle is doing a comedy tour this fall

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:20:55 -0400

Dave Chappelle is doing a comedy tour this fall:

I know and love most of the comedians on this tour, but let’s be honest:

In the link above, I rewrote this entire press release for brevity and importance to maximize interest.

Dave Chappelle is doing a comedy tour this fall

That’s it. That’s all you need. The rest is icing.

Dave.

Chappelle.

Will The Court's Gene Ruling Stifle Bio Innovation?

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 10:01:00 -0400

Will The Court's Gene Ruling Stifle Bio Innovation?:

npr.org

Weekend Edition Saturday Host Scott Simon talks with bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University about Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that isolated human genes may not be patented — and the implications for that ruling.

No, it won’t. It will require pharma to patent the techniques with which they isolate substances instead of patenting naturally occurring substances outside the purview of the patent system’s constitutional authority and mandate.

This Is Why You Are Blocked

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:05:00 -0400

This Is Why You Are Blocked:

I’m not always a fan of Gawker, but this is a great post about why they block certain commenters. My philosophy has long been that if you have something to say you should say it in your own space. See the “Comments” section of my other site, Constant & Endless, for more explanation. I occasionally leave a comment on one of my favorite sites, but usually I end up writing a quick post like this one. This way, my thoughts are publicly accessible, I control their availability, and no one has to deal with having what I say on their site.

The new ReadWrite looks great. They have a unique voice in the...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:24:00 -0400

The new ReadWrite looks great. They have a unique voice in the overcrowded tech news space and their 3.0 design is functional and expressive of that voice at the same time.

"In its ruling, the Supreme Court notes that the sequences of these genes are naturally present in..."

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:36:23 -0400

“In its ruling, the Supreme Court notes that the sequences of these genes are naturally present in every human cell—and simply cutting them out of the genome and isolating them from the cell does not change that fact. As a result, no matter how much work and ingenuity it took to first identify the genes, the sequences remain natural products. As such, they are not eligible for patenting.”

- Supreme Court blocks patenting of genomic DNA | Ars Technica

This is good news. I imagine there are many patentable innovations made possible by isolating genes, but the mere act of isolation does not make the gene any less naturally-occurring.

njbiz: jauntedjingling: I never realized how few people call...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:12:17 -0400

njbiz:

jauntedjingling:

I never realized how few people call it a hoagie.

Jersey, more than any other state, appears divided: is it a hoagie or a sub?

I’m from a hoagie zone myself, in South Jersey, but I noticed since I moved up here to Princeton that I’m surrounded by “sub” folks. How about you?

(via Philly Geek Awards 2013: One Week Left for Nominations |...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:36:18 -0400

(via Philly Geek Awards 2013: One Week Left for Nominations | Geekadelphia)

An incredible event, be sure to get those nominations in!

#igers_philly #philadelphia #philly #iphone5 #distressedfx...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:23:07 -0400

#igers_philly #philadelphia #philly #iphone5 #distressedfx #williampennwednesday by martevans on Instagram

"The End Of Our Austinist" by Adam Schragin

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:55:24 -0400

"The End Of Our Austinist" by Adam Schragin:

This is a moving post by Adam Schragin, on the degradation of Austin blog Austinist by its publisher, Jake Dobkin and Gothamist LLC.

I was once an editor with Phillyist, another Gothamist LLC property - until I wasn’t. Some of us created KeyPulp, until we couldn’t keep that going, either. It’s hard to do something awesome that takes a lot of time to get right when it’s not the source of your income. It’s even harder to convince others to do the same.

Gothamist and its network of sites are managed by someone who has only gotten where he is because others were willing to express love for their cities without pay. That’s something that deserves gratitude, not incompetent management.

You don’t manage a successful website about Austin from New York without leaning heavily on the experience and insight of your Austin team. You can’t. You don’t know the city, you don’t know the people, you don’t know the writers. All you have are numbers, and arbitrary goals, and apples-to-oranges comparisons. And ego. None of those things are useful when you’re trying to build something bigger than a website.

Something like, as Schragin puts it, a family.

njbiz: Our latest episode of the NJBIZ Briefcase podast is...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:26:07 -0400

njbiz:

Our latest episode of the NJBIZ Briefcase podast is ready for download! This week’s episode focuses on reporter Joshua Burd’s feature story on a potential drone testing site in New Jersey. You need a digital subscription to NJBIZ to read the story online, but you can listen to the podcast for free at the link below.

Briefcase - Episode 082: Drones

Remember, you can also find us on iTunes or subscribe via RSS.

Photo by U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 2nd Class Erich Ryland, from Wikimedia Commons

I wouldn’t share this if it wasn’t fascinating. “New Jersey” is probably the last thing that comes to mind when I think of drones, but it’s a real possibility.

“Wake Alarm for iPhone”

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:36:22 -0400

“Wake Alarm for iPhone”

Following the launch of Instagram web profiles, the company cut...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 03:11:45 -0400

Following the launch of Instagram web profiles, the company cut off the easy expansion of shared photos within Twitter streams, making it just a little less convenient to use.

— Jacob Kastrenakes writing at The Verge

Instagram would do well to return to using Twitter cards. Users don’t care that you’re owned by Facebook, they want to view content as easily as possible. Preventing them from previewing Instagram photos directly within apps and Twitter.com creates friction. Nothing is more off-putting to users, especially avid and proselytizing power users, than friction.

Since my job is helping to turn paper into bits and share it...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:45:01 -0400

Since my job is helping to turn paper into bits and share it with the world… CC @NJBIZ #businesscards #nofilter (at NJBIZ)

Bangladeshi Factory Safety Accord

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:24:11 -0400

Bangladeshi Factory Safety Accord:

This post by Peter Spiro, international law scholar and professor at Temple Law, flags the Bangladeshi Fire Safety Accord as an important development in what is essentially industrial self-regulation.

I wonder whether something like this may be of use in the healthcare sector. The levels of care available to the insured and uninsured and to citizens and non-citizens vary widely throughout both the developed and developing worlds.

To what extent is some base level of universally affordable care a possibility, perhaps with cost determined as a function of local GDP or median income or something else? This is all thinking-out-loud, and it would take economists and medical professionals and legal scholars to discuss whether it is absurd or something potentially viable.

See the Accord itself here (PDF).

txchnologist: by Txchnologist Staff This is Bill Jones, a...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:48:11 -0400

txchnologist:

by Txchnologist Staff

This is Bill Jones, a master scientific glassware maker who has been working at GE Global Research in Niskayuna, N.Y., for 33 years. Jones and his team are responsible for creating bespoke glass labware for scientists conducting experiments and developing high-tech materials.

Here, Jones is heating a tube of almost pure quartz to its softening point of around 1,700 degrees Celsius using hydrogen- and oxygen-burning torches. He then shapes the material, which is spinning on a modified lathe, according to the needs of the experiment it will be used in.

UH-MAZING!

njbiz: Big event, tiny condiments! #NJGCA #NJ #GeneralCounsel...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:12:54 -0400

njbiz:

Big event, tiny condiments! #NJGCA #NJ #GeneralCounsel #Attorneys #Events #NewJersey (at The Palace at Somerset Park)

I took a few photos this morning at the NJBIZ General Counsel of the Year Awards, but I had to share this one here because it includes tiny Tabasco sauce.

Tiny. Tabasco. Sauce.

Perhaps I’m easily amused, but I love it!

e4rleb1rd: physicsphysics: An interesting model of our solar...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:36:17 -0400

e4rleb1rd:

physicsphysics:

An interesting model of our solar system’s path as it travels through space in the Milky Way.

Certainly a departure from usual models that show the Sun as a static object, which it certainly isn’t

Now-NJ Governor Chris Christie, second from left, and Jeff...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:43:00 -0400

Now-NJ Governor Chris Christie, second from left, and Jeff Chiesa, first from the right, who was NJ Attorney General until Christie appointed him to the NJ Senate seat vacated by the death of late Senator Frank Lautenberg.

Politics aside, yellow furniture and green curtains? I’m no thought-leader when it comes to home decor, but that is not okay.

(via Photo by njbiz • Instagram)

Video: Brent Spiner tries Google Glass (via GeekWire)

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:36:09 -0400

Video: Brent Spiner tries Google Glass (via GeekWire)