Off The Grid

http://www.quantic.org/

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:19:22 -0500

http://www.quantic.org/:

Discovered Quantic this evening, as the background music on a web video. Afro-beat/jazz/funk/electronic/eclectic goodness.

Jobs: CEO of the Decade

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:53:55 -0500

Jobs: CEO of the Decade

A License Required for your house? It's a flat out lie.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:23:45 -0500

Received an email forward today about H.R. 2454, stating that,

Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Cap and Trade Act, you won’t be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act. H.R. 2454, the “Cap & Trade” bill passed by the House of Representatives, if also passed by the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced.

What the email depends upon, of course, is that you’re too lazy to read the 932 page bill that passed the House on June 26, 2009, also known as ACES (American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009)

But you don’t need to read the whole bill if you don’t want. You can read the recap from it’s author, Rep Waxman. It states, unequivocally:

ACES imposes no requirements on homeowners. Nothing in ACES will impose new requirements on the owners of America’s existing buildings. Nothing in the bill would impede upon home sales. No one will be required to make improvements, but building owners who desire can obtain assistance to increase efficiency and save money on their energy bills.

I just thought I’d put this up on the interwebs so anyone who might be fact checking this dubious email could find an easy answer. But don’t take it from me, read the bill. I did. I found every claim in the email to be entirely bogus.

Think for yourselves, people.

Sunset over a Boston Pier

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:05:10 -0500

Sunset over a Boston Pier

These are the night-time views from my 10th floor room in South...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:32:05 -0400

Towards Downtown

Towards the piers and East Boston

These are the night-time views from my 10th floor room in South Boston. Apologies for the phone cameraphone quality. Also, a light rain is falling.

Checked in at the Renaissance Boston for UI14. Nice view of the...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:41:59 -0400

Checked in at the Renaissance Boston for UI14. Nice view of the water from my room.

A lot of people think government regulations are bad. Have a look at what China looks like without...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:10:00 -0400

A lot of people think government regulations are bad. Have a look at what China looks like without environment regs today: (via @jlbruno)

40 more disturbing photographs if you follow the link.

I contend that Trader Joe’s Maple Leaf Cookies are the best...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:39:15 -0400

I contend that Trader Joe’s Maple Leaf Cookies are the best cookies you can buy in a box.

I’ve never seen a store that looks remotely like this....

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:07:41 -0400

I’ve never seen a store that looks remotely like this. Ever. Especially not any other computer retailer. Nope.

Gosh.

Innovative.

Welcome to the Microsoft Store (via microsoftstore)

Did you know North Dakota runs the country’s only state-owned bank? I think Massachusetts should have a look at this model.

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:51:06 -0400

Did you know North Dakota runs the country’s only state-owned bank? I think Massachusetts should have a look at this model.:

“How the Nation’s Only State-Owned Bank Became the Envy of Wall Street” | Mother Jones

As you may have caught me discussing on Twitter today,...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:53:35 -0400

As you may have caught me discussing on Twitter today, I’ve stumbled upon Pomplamoose, a two-person “indie” musical group who make very entertaining videos of their songs. My Favorite Things is an all-time favorite song of mine, so when I saw it covered with Nataly’s dulcet voice and Jack’s clever instrumentation, I couldn’t resist linking it here. Be sure to check out their other inventive covers (See Earth Wind & Fire’s September for an unexpected delight) and their lovely originals, as well.

A diagram after my own heart: When should you use Comic Sans?...

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:46:31 -0400

A diagram after my own heart: When should you use Comic Sans? (via @cameronmoll)

The snow was falling on our trip back from Connecticut this...

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:35:14 -0400

The snow was falling on our trip back from Connecticut this afternoon. From northeastern CT all the way to Boston, the flakes were big and heavy.

You won’t ever hear me griping about snow, but this is pretty early.

My Facebook account is still inaccessable after about 24hrs. Lovely. I’m posting this to my...

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:46:29 -0400

My Facebook account is still inaccessable after about 24hrs. Lovely. I’m posting this to my Tumblr, in case other people can see my account, as the Tumblr cross-posts to my Facebook account. Hope no one’s been waiting for me to reply to something there.

Tell Congress Now is the Time for Health Care

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:58:12 -0400

The insurance industry is launching desperate attacks to stop health reform from happening. I just sent a message to Congress, urging them to stand up to the smears and pass real reform this year. I told them to due their duty to represent the citizens of the United States, who, poll after poll strongly support the public option.

http://my.barackobama.com/Fight_Back

Senators supporting the public option received half as much money from health insurers when compared with those who oppose it.

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:54:57 -0400

Senators supporting the public option received half as much money from health insurers when compared with those who oppose it.:

The 30 Senators who signed the letter in support of the public option received an average of $15,937 in campaign contributions from the health insurance industry between January 2003 and June 2009, 57% less than the $37,322 received by the 70 senators who did not sign the letter.

Survey after survey shows a strong majority of Americans support the public option. I guess they just did not give enough to their representatives to be represented in this debate.

Sesame Street: Mad Men A higher res (but unsharable version) is...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:45:25 -0400

Sesame Street: Mad Men

A higher res (but unsharable version) is available here on SesameStreet.org.

A beautiful fall day for a bike ride in the New England woods

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:55:00 -0400

A beautiful fall day for a bike ride in the New England woods

Great Quote on the Reality of Partisan Health Reform

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:48:30 -0400

“No Republican save Olympia Snowe has actually come forward with a concrete set of proposals that could permit them to sign onto the final legislation. Which is a shame, as there are actually places where conservative ideas and Republican cover could have bettered the bill. Conservatives have long wanted to end the preference for employer-based insurance, which would’ve been an important step forward. Many Republicans have been big proponents of moving away from fee-for-service medicine, which is a needed change. Republicans have been big proponents of making the insurance market more consumer-focused, which would be important in the context of the insurance exchanges.”

“But all those opportunities were lost. Because Democrats had no Republican cover, they could not sacrifice a single member of their party. That’s meant that they couldn’t be courageous on taxes, and they couldn’t tell the unions to stuff it when they demanded that the exchanges remain constricted. Republicans complain that the bill is too liberal (though the Senate Finance Committee’s bill is actually not very liberal at all), but that’s in part because no Republicans were willing to offer their votes in return for making it more conservative.”

—Ezra Klein, Washington Post

Sen. Max Baucus, bought and sold by the Health industry… see the numbers.

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:04:51 -0400

Sen. Max Baucus, bought and sold by the Health industry… see the numbers.:

Clearly, this was the best Democrat for leading the health care charge in the Senate. Bastard.