11

Mar

Google’s response to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami

While the news media has been brining us incredible and sad accounts of what’s happened in Japan, the response from Google has been different–and incredible in its own right.

Within hours of the earthquake and tsunami, Google had compiled a special site with information about local municipalities, a person finder that you can embed on your website, maps with overlays of all kinds of geological data, and a trove of useful information.

It’s all part of Google Crisis Response, which I had not realized was a formal group at Google until today. I think this is fantastic. Kudos to Google for being on the ball and leveraging their technology and prominence this way.

>> Link: 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

832 days ago Short URL

Feedback/Read/Salvo's Thoughts

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04

Feb

Google receives more than 75,000 job applications over the last week

Sometimes a headlines is more powerful than the story.

>> Google receives more than 75,000 job applications over the last week | Los Angeles Times

867 days ago Short URL

Articles

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19

Apr

Skewering the Tea Party on “Le Show”

In his weekly radio show “Le Show,” Harry Shearer (comedian/Spinal Tap bassist/voice of many characters on “The Simpsons”) takes on current affairs with a generous dose of sarcasm. Parts of the show feature fake skits about real topics in the news. On yesterday’s show, Harry took on Tea Party activists in a very clever segment.

Rather than explaining the skit, you should listen to it on Harry’s site:

“Up To Here” from “Le Show” – April 18, 2010 [HarryShearer.com]

Sometimes dry humor and sarcasm shed light on an issue better than a more serious argument. This is such a case.

1158 days ago Short URL

Media/Online Fun

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18

Apr

Volcanic Ash + Jet Engines

As the eruption of Iceland’s volcano Eyjafjallajokull (a nightmare for both airlines and non-Icelandic newscasters) has shut down all of northern Europe’s air travel, the New Scientist presents a nice primer on why and how volcanic ash threatens aircraft:

Volcanic ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull spreads over northern Europe.

Volcanic ash is composed of particles of glassy pulverised rock less than 2 millimetres in diameter. When an aircraft flies into it at its high cruising speed, the cockpit windows get a sandblasting, obscuring the pilots’ view. Crucially, though, the engines suck the dust in, where it melts in the hot combustion chamber and fuses to form globs on the turbine vanes that block the engine airflow. Only when it cools and solidifies – as the aircraft plummets engineless – can enough of the muck flake off to allow an engine restart.

A nightmare, indeed. So, if you’re lying on the floor of Heathrow or Charles De Gaulle, it’s a headache I’m sure–but nothing like the experience of losing engine power. NPR ran a fascinating interview with the Captain of a British Airways 747 that suffered all-engine failure because of a volcanic eruption off Jakarta in 1982 — only a reminder of the frailty of aircraft in the face of fine volcanic ash.

1159 days ago Short URL

Articles

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18

Jul

Worlds oldest man, WWI veteran dies

From Yahoo! News:

Allingham, who was the world’s oldest man when he died Saturday at 113, attributed his remarkable longevity to “cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women.”

Worlds oldest man, WWI veteran dies – Yahoo! News

1432 days ago Short URL

Uncategorized

08

Aug

Washington Post: Counter-Terror War Plans

War Plans Drafted To Counter Terror Attacks in U.S.: articles like this one are eerie, if anything. It’s basically terrorism war games–while practice is necessary to know what to do in the real thing, these kind of things are never really “comforting.” Hmmm.

2873 days ago Short URL

Uncategorized

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08

Jul

Frontline: Al Qaeda’s New Front

Two posts in a row about television, but this one is much more timely and important. Frontline, my favorite show on television, ran an episode back in the early part of this year called Al Qaeda’s New Front–about the “threat radical jihadists pose to Western Europe and its allies–including the United States.”
With yesterday’s tragic news, this seems quite topical. As with most great episodes of Frontline, you can watch the whole thing online. You should check out the show, especially if you’ve never watched it before.
I’m sure this won’t be the last time I post about Frontline.

2904 days ago Short URL

Media/Pictures & Videos

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