Joe Speaks

"Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught. Kids are put through a strong..."

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:05:36 -0400

“Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught. Kids are put through a strong social-educational process that makes it impossible to develop unique thinking. The competition is like a tunnel from which there is no escape. That makes society simple and maybe even effective, but it’s not human.”

- Ai Weiwei

Full-page ad in the New York Times? Yeah, yesterday was a good...

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:41:03 -0500

Full-page ad in the New York Times? Yeah, yesterday was a good win for the movement.

Steve Jobs

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:19:56 -0500

I finally finished reading the bio of Steve Jobs last night by Walter Isaacson, and two things in particular struck me:

1) Jobs was a Psychopath — I’d heard about his legendary rants, but it struck me how often he could be utterly cruel to those around him. To no real end. Jobs knew he was being cruel, but either couldn’t help himself or didn’t care to stop himself.

While he achieved great things, and channeled this personality disorder to ultimate good — he hurt a lot of people in the process and was a real a**hole to be around.

2) Open vs. Closed Systems — Apple saw itself as the champion of the closed computing system. Take the iPhone with it’s a non-removable shell, tightly integrated hardware and software that can only sync to iTunes. Then compare this to the messy but open Android phones. Which is a better system for the long-term?

While not a direct answer — my dear old dad had a good analogy… the closed system blazes the trail and innovates and the open system can then follow-up and popularize the new ideas.

Witness the Apple II, then the PC; the iPhone, then Android. From this vantage point, the two are symbiotic — both necessary to technological progress. [thanks dad!]

Ultimately, I found Steve Jobs to be a deeply flawed genius. He created a great company — that I only hope can stand the test of time. But he sure pissed a lot of people off to do it.

Southern Sky Column In the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park,...

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:30:29 -0400

Southern Sky Column In the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China.

Incredible.

"These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in..."

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 10:27:00 -0400

“These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

- — The American Crisis, Thomas Paine

A colleague referenced Paine the other day and I recalled this great line. Simple prose to inspire men to great deeds.

And beware of “foreign” entanglements… or was...

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:26:42 -0400

And beware of “foreign” entanglements… or was that Washington?

So pretty… I want one.

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:46:28 -0400

So pretty… I want one.

An indie playlist for the summer, take two.

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 01:07:14 -0400

An indie playlist for the summer, take two.

laughingsquid: Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, and Lorne...

Fri, 27 May 2011 16:40:24 -0400

laughingsquid:

Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, and Lorne Michaels, in the kitchen at Elaine’s, 1975

Classic funny.

philnoto: Death Star She Wolf - A little late for Star Wars...

Mon, 09 May 2011 21:02:08 -0400

philnoto:

Death Star She Wolf - A little late for Star Wars Day, but I wanted to do this color version based on an old con sketch.

Nerd love.

Visualizing the power of @keithurbahn’s single tweet on...

Sun, 08 May 2011 19:13:00 -0400

Visualizing the power of @keithurbahn’s single tweet on Bin Laden’s death. Here’s the key analysis on why his tweet was so impactful:

Keith was not first to speculate that the address is related to Bin-Laden, nor did he have a particularly influential presence on Twitter, with a following of 1,016 and a casual digital portrayal. But the right network effects came into play, and enabled his post to generate enough trust amongst his followers, their followers, and so on.

onenineninety: Libya’s Mobile Information War

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:42:46 -0500

onenineninety: Libya’s Mobile Information War:

My post for the company blog on how mobile phones are powering the Libyan protesters.

onenineninety:

By Joe Mansour

Anxiously following the protests riling authoritarian regimes across the Middle East and North Africa, I’ve been struck by the cat-and-mouse game over communications technology played between youthful protesters and entrenched regimes struggling to maintain their grips on power.

bestrooftalkever: “It’s like I was playing some kind of game,...

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:45:23 -0500

bestrooftalkever:

“It’s like I was playing some kind of game, but the rules don’t make any sense to me. They’re being made up by all the wrong people. I mean no one makes them up. They seem to make themselves up.”

Heh.

nightline: A Pew poll from the first five days of December. The...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:20:44 -0500

nightline:

A Pew poll from the first five days of December. The headline was that the Internet for the first time beat TV as the main news source for 18- to 29-y.o.s. But look at the 50- to 64-y.o.s beginning in ‘07—they made a parallel turn online, just in smaller numbers. Also: who knew that radio was the main source of news for more young people than old people? (We bet radio people knew that.)

Notice the dip in 2009 in online news consumption across all demographics under 65. I have to think it’s a flaw in the survey methodology.

Not only does he have the best outfit, but also the best name....

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 17:30:02 -0500

Not only does he have the best outfit, but also the best name. Tremble in fear at the god king “Woot!”

Why I love Craigslist

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 01:02:43 -0400

Why I love Craigslist:

Looking for Rabbi Versed in DARK TALMUDIC ARTS to create GOLEM.

One Rabbi versed in the Dark Talmudic Arts to create one Golem for household of three. Golem will perform rudimentary household chores such as dishes & sweeping, basic Math Tutoring for our daughter in 3rd grade and basic household security. Golem must be obedient and fairly unobtrusive on our every-day lives.

laughingsquid: Help Me, Everything Bagel! You’re My Only...

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:18:19 -0400

laughingsquid:

Help Me, Everything Bagel! You’re My Only Hope

Can’t get enough of the bad Star Wars jokes.

happybutt: Domo Concerto! Dramatic domo!

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 03:58:50 -0400

happybutt:

Domo Concerto!

Dramatic domo!

"They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom."

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:46:20 -0400

“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”

- Confucius

"If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion."

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:04:28 -0400

“If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.”

- George Bernard Shaw (h/t Dad)