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Andy put together a handy list of geeky Portland spots. Wish I could be up there for ROFLcon tomorrow.
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A great blog about futures past has moved to the Smithsonian Magazine. Seems like a good fit.
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huh, Corvallis has the largest percentage of bicycle commuters in the country.
corvallis
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"...none other than Corvallis stands out as the top city in the country for innovation — after you account for its size. New York is merely average." Some theoretical physicists are looking at new ways to measure the creative output of cities.
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Awesome vintage terminal emulator with a hilarious incentive to purchase. [via waxy]
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And apparently the Web is for complaining. [via seanyboy]
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Some auto-generated ebooks based on top Stack Overflow questions in various categories.
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Nicely designed community events project based on Portland's Calagator.
Corvallis Fall Colors
My Favorite Ignite Talks
Ignite Corvallis is going to have its second event on November 5th. The basic idea is that several speakers will each have 5 minutes to give a presentation with 20 slides which advance every 15 seconds. That's pressure.
I'm helping choose the talks that will be included this time around, so I thought it'd be good to revisit some of my favorite Ignite Talks and collect them in one place for easy viewing. I've been to several Ignite events now, and what I love about them is hearing a wide range of ideas in a short amount of time. Half of the fun is that the format forces speakers to stay on task, and most of the time the presenters aren't pros. I've always found the audience is pulling for the speakers.
So here are some of the five minute talks from Ignite events that have stuck with me. I was at the first Ignite Portland in 2007 and this year I was in San Jose at Ignite Etech. But most of these I've just seen online.
If you have an Ignite event in your area you should check it out. It's a fun way to learn about and from people in your community. I'm looking forward to hearing what folks in Corvallis are thinking about in a few weeks.
I'm helping choose the talks that will be included this time around, so I thought it'd be good to revisit some of my favorite Ignite Talks and collect them in one place for easy viewing. I've been to several Ignite events now, and what I love about them is hearing a wide range of ideas in a short amount of time. Half of the fun is that the format forces speakers to stay on task, and most of the time the presenters aren't pros. I've always found the audience is pulling for the speakers.
So here are some of the five minute talks from Ignite events that have stuck with me. I was at the first Ignite Portland in 2007 and this year I was in San Jose at Ignite Etech. But most of these I've just seen online.
How to Buy a New Car by Rob Gruhl (Ignite Seattle 2007)
How to Work a Crowd by Alexis Bauer (Ignite Sebastopol 2009)
A Series of Tubes by Molly Wright Steenson (Ignite Etech 2009)
How Chickens Will Save Your Life by Sarah Gilbert (Ignite Portland 2007)
You can't see the slides in this one, but they're on slideshare. So you might open them in a new window as you watch: How Keeping Chickens Will Save Your Life. I'm going to build that chicken coop in my backyard one of these days. (I say wistfully.)
The Secret History of Fonts by Bram Pitoyo (Ignite Portland 2009)
Great Designers Steal by Jeff Veen (Ignite San Francisco 2009)
How the Hell Did Matt Get People to Dance With Him? by Matt Harding (Ignite Gnomedex 2008)
Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk by Scott Berkun (Ignite Seattle 2009)
If you have an Ignite event in your area you should check it out. It's a fun way to learn about and from people in your community. I'm looking forward to hearing what folks in Corvallis are thinking about in a few weeks.
Saturday Morning
Bouncy Ride
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"Joe Raiola, Senior Editor of MAD Magazine will present his one man show, The Joy of Censorship." Sounds fun. At the Corvallis library April 4th, 7pm.
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A recording of The Decemberists in Austin. [via protherj]
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This little plug computer that runs Linux looks like it'd be fun to play with.
Ignite Corvallis Wants You
Ignite events are like stunt presenting. You get five minutes on stage with 15 slides that advance every 20 seconds. They happen all over the world, even here in Corvallis. I had fun participating in the first Ignite Corvallis a few months ago and even got my picture in the paper. Jason—the event organizer—asked me to write some encouragement/advice for future presenters on the blog: You Can Present at Ignite Corvallis.
They're looking for speakers for the 2nd Ignite Corvallis on April 3rd, so if you're local think about putting together your own stunt presentation. My Ignite talk was a little nerve-wracking, but that's half the fun.
Update: Ignite Corvallis 2 Moved To October!
They're looking for speakers for the 2nd Ignite Corvallis on April 3rd, so if you're local think about putting together your own stunt presentation. My Ignite talk was a little nerve-wracking, but that's half the fun.
Update: Ignite Corvallis 2 Moved To October!
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Here's the ongoing voter turnout numbers for Benton County.
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The Ignite theme is coming to my town November 13th. I wonder what I'd present about for five minutes.
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"Apple's current practice of rejecting certain applications at the final hurdle - submission to the App Store - is disastrous for investor confidence." We're already running into problems with the centrally-controled application distribution system for the iPhone. [via waxy]
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A list of "Best City" lists that include Corvallis. [via UnderStory]
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"That's the lesson. You spit in Congress's face, and they'll give you what you want." [via Schneier]
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"This is going to sound a little weird at first considering what I do for a living, but I want you to stop using FTP." Agreed! [via 43Folders]
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"This, no less than the defiling of the Constitution, is the legacy of an administration that not merely rationalized the immorality of torture but shackled our national security to the absurdity that torture could easily fix the terrorist threat."