The Guardian ran an article yesterday warning us that a "vast reservoir of methane is locked beneath the Antarctic ice," and it may escape into the atmosphere if the warming trend continues. How much methane may be locked up under the phenomenal amount of ice and snow? About four billion tonnes; ten times what is expected to be locked up in the quickly dwindling permafrost that lays across the uninhabited arctic territories.
Missed Opportunities
August 30, 2012 By
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Over the last few weeks there has been an ever-increasing number of high profile geeks declaring Twitter "dead" and jumping ship to share their ephemeral quips and links through another service. For me this has resulted in a slower-moving and far more automated messages appearing in the timeline. So where have these tech-savvy individuals gone? Facebook? Google+? Oddly enough, no. They're going to a completely untested platform that has been Samsunged1 to look, act, and feel just like Twitter; App.net.
Warm and Fuzzy
August 28, 2012 By
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Today my glasses are in for repair which has translated into a day of fuzziness. While nothing bad happened in the 14 hours since the trusty lenses and I split company, something quite interesting has happened. I feel pretty decent.
What Makes Us Happy?
August 28, 2012 By
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Today was pay day and, after looking back at just how hard I worked this month, I must say that I am sorely disappointed. Not only was there no summer holiday, a treat afforded to almost every resident of Japan, but there was no real bonus, either. I worked my ass off for just a little bit more than I would have made at a coffee shop. It's a topic I've mentioned before, but this is really, really getting stupid.
Thin Is In
August 27, 2012 By
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I spotted it from across the train and felt compelled to move in for a closer look. A fellow passenger was reading on something a little bit thinner than an iPad, but as big as an 8.5"x14" piece of paper. A legal-sized reading device? How grand! The amount of information that could be displayed on a screen of that size, depending on the resolution, would be amazing. But are there effective reading devices in this form factor?
Next Year's Big Project
August 27, 2012 By
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I stumbled across a post I wrote at the start of last year that talks a little about our digital legacy and who will take over when we leave this world. It's still a new problem and one that I hope Noteworthy will actually solve for many people. When we die, who will take over our digital data and make sure it remains available for the long term? Is this the role that Evernote is going to play in the future? Perhaps Noteworthy and Evernote should be integrated a little bit more to make the task much easier for the average person?
Time Flies
August 26, 2012 By
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I find it absolutely astounding how quickly time can pass. If we're not careful, an entire year can whiz by us in the blink of an eye. This is certainly happening with me as I quickly approach the 1 year mark for returning to the life of language instruction. It's not an anniversary I'm looking forward to, though. I was supposed to be programming for the company no later than February. Aside from a few little projects I've pushed forward, nothing of the sort has come to pass.
15 Minutes of Shame
August 26, 2012 By
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Neil Armstrong, the first human that we know of to have stepped on a world other than our own, has passed away. He was 82 years old and, despite the heart bypass surgery earlier this month, this life could not be extended any further. May he rest in peace.
Still Astounding
August 25, 2012 By
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One of the many things that I still find absolutely astounding here in Japan is the size of a typical bookstore. By North American standards, even the smallest bookstores in Japan are huge warehouses of paper that serve triple duty, acting as a library and music store in addition to what one might expect while shopping for information or entertainment the old fashioned way. I typically make a bee-line for the technology section as soon as I enter one of these huge stores. While I don't really learn a great deal from these books in terms of code, I am always on the lookout for Japanese books on website design. These books very rarely have anything to do with design, but are chock full of expectations. There's always something interesting to walk away with when perusing these colorful collections.
