CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-19 23:39:17 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 38 +1s)

Bodies at rest

Part of a series by Antony Gormley. Try https://www.google.com/search?q=antony+gormley+bodies+at+rest&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=bUDCUfiVE4yf7Aau1YDIBw&ved=0CEgQsAQ&biw=1271&bih=921  for more images.

and don´t miss the resemblance to one of my other favorite artists  https://plus.google.com/u/0/112352920206354603958/posts/NA8pusnz5oP

2013-06-19 23:00:15 (19 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Xbox One is faster than the PS4, in backtracking on specs that is...
 As of this moment the hated ´always on´ internet requirement is gone and you´re allowed to sell your second-hand games.  The idea of a Kinect equiped Xbox with a permanent internet connection was never a good one, but with all the turmoil about the always on spying by the NSA the timing was hopeless.

Microsoft says Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is thefree... more »

2013-06-19 22:32:57 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

The man who tore the first hole in the Iron Curtain died at age 80
 Although Gyula Horn, the Hungarian prime minister (to the right on the photo) looks more like George W. Bush than Ronald Reagan, he is still the man who really brought down the wall. 

He cut the wire separating Hungary from Austria and it was this very act that triggered the inevitable ´tearing down of the Wall´. The cat, so to speak, was out the bag and there was no turning down. 

*In no way does this post infringe on David Hasselhoff´s claim that he personally opened up the floodgates between East and West. For more on that check http://hontsr.blogspot.com.es/2009/01/how-david-hasselhoff-saved-world.html

2013-06-19 21:57:03 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

Robots are taking over the world starting with air-hockey
 although this specific human could do better, but I guess we all think we are best at this game... The reality though is that the robot is capturing the game at 500 frames per second, rendering any human opponent hapless and on top of that it analyzes the play and can adjust accordingly in real-time. 
More info at http://mec2.tm.chiba-u.jp/~namiki/research/HighspeedAirHockey/index.html

2013-06-19 21:38:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Can´t refuse an invitation by +Ron Scroggin 
I´m here to listen.

2013-06-19 20:43:16 (26 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

There is a first time for everything
 Never seen before on G+ though!

2013-06-19 20:39:12 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

More fun from the Paris Air Show: An Airbus A400M more upside-down than right-side-up. Also impressive how little runway it needed for takeoff and landing. Granted, it didn't have a belly full of tanks or anything.

P.S. No, I did not tilt the camera or rotate the image. :)

2013-06-19 14:32:52 (10 comments, 10 reshares, 29 +1s)

This may be the best response ever to an idiotic takedown notice.

2013-06-19 14:19:59 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Thanks +Ena Maas for inviting me to this community and hello to all fellow Blues lovers! 

2013-06-18 23:52:42 (11 comments, 6 reshares, 24 +1s)

Irony: most wanted terrorist Mullah Omar authorizes talks with US
 The US labelled Mohammad Omar as one of their arch-enemies after 9/11 for sheltering Bin-Laden, but after 12 years of war he is still in control of the Taliban in Afghanistan and is the one controlling the peace talks the US wants, now that they are leaving Afghanistan.

The Washington Post reports after more than a decade of war in Afghanistan, and nearly three years of sputtering and unsuccessful attempts at talks, the United States will open formal negotiations with the Taliban this week aimed at ending insurgent attacks, officials said Tuesday.

The new dialogue, with a Taliban delegation that U.S. officials said has been authorized by Taliban leader Mohammad Omar

#ironic #WarFails #10MillionRewardWouldHaveBeenCheaper   #TalkingSavesLifes    #ThinkBeforeYouShoot  

2013-06-18 22:47:07 (11 comments, 24 reshares, 107 +1s)

Man in chains

one of my favorite artists: Yeong Deok Seo

2013-06-18 22:30:39 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

2013-06-18 20:48:30 (20 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

Note to tech companies based in the United States: I realize the federal government has put you in a tough spot. But you helped create the problem. If you want more trust from your customers/users, you can win it back this way:

1) Stop collecting vast amounts of data on us. 2) Do end-to-end encryption wherever possible. 3) Encrypt our cloud data so even you can't read it.

I realize these are not always trivial to do, and may conflict with your current business models. But if you want my trust -- never mind the countless millions of users outside the US and the clued-in ones here -- it's the bottom line.

2013-06-17 21:21:45 (19 comments, 7 reshares, 32 +1s)

Polyglot teenager speaks 20 languages and counting...
 He states this enables him to understand other cultures. He quotes Nelson Mandela who said that addressing someone in his second language is talking to the brain while using his mother tongue is communication directly with the heart.

No wonder Tim started with Hebrew, followed by Arab as he wanted to understand the Palestinian conflict. His ability to pick up new languages is amazing, but I count many polyglots among my friends and they all said it becomes easier the more languages you already know. At his age though it´s an amazing feat and his dedication is admirable. 

He doesn´t yet know what to do with his skills and while I hope he will find work in intercultural projects bringing people together I´m afraid the NSA will be the first to make him a job offer ;)

2013-06-17 20:38:22 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 27 +1s)

wanna play?

I took this photograph at an abandoned children's asylum in Austria.
Unfortunately, the asylum has a very dark and misty past, especially during WW2, according to misuse of children and or eugenic issues. The building is abandoned now for about 30 years and is in a very bad condition as decay is destructing it slowly.

my contribution to

#10000photographersaroundtheworld  curated by +Robert SKREINER, +Nikola Nikolski and +Walter Soestbergen +10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS.
#hqsppromotion  and #hqspnonnaturephotos  curated by +Carina Marsh, +Marina Versaci, +Rinus Bakker, +Thierry Raemaekers, +Syuzanna Avetisyan and +Mukundh B +HQSPPromotion.
#plusphotoextract  curated by +Jarek Klimek +PhotoExtract Photography Magazine.
#photojournalworldwide  curated by +andi rivarola +Photo Journal Worldwide.
#creativephotos  curated by+Edith Kukl... more »

2013-06-17 15:07:08 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 16 +1s)

Want to ask NSA whistleblower some questions?
 Now is your time. What would you like to ask Edward Snowden? 
The Guardian will host a Q&A session which should start now. You can ask questions in the comments or vote-up relevant ones. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/edward-snowden-nsa-files-whistleblower

Be aware though that due to security concerns the timing could be off or the session interrupted. Now what would be your question?

2013-06-16 22:17:23 (14 comments, 0 reshares, 53 +1s)

JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER KENDALL   (1962-2013)

With the greatest of sorrow I, +su ann lim , have to inform you that Jonathan Christopher Kendall, my fiancé and love of my life, died suddenly last night on 15 June 2013.  Despite the incredible efforts of our friends +Suzanne Jacob +Gaynal Brierley , paramedics and ambulance personnel he could not be revived.

Jonathan lived as he believed, telling it like it is, with wit and humour, enjoying life to the hilt, with honour, directness and compassion.  I was incredibly blessed to be the recipient of his immense love, and as each other's beloved, to share unbelievable happiness for too short a time.   Jonathan, I LOVE YOU with all my heart and miss you desperately.

One of the favourite activities in his life was to engage with all you here on Google Plus.  He thrived on the intellectual challenges, soaked up  avast amou... more »

2013-06-16 21:58:49 (25 comments, 21 reshares, 23 +1s)

NSA Whistleblower reveals eavesdropping on G20 summit diplomats
 A new story based on information The Guardian got from Edward Snowden shows that the British equivalent of the NSA snooped on delegates from the 2009 G20 top in London. Blackberry traffic was cracked and monitored real-time to get an advantage in the economic  negotiations while internet cafes were set-up to intercept log-in codes. 
An attempt in collaboration with the NSA to crack the encrypted satellite traffic between the Russian prime-minister and Moscow seems to have failed. 

The Guardian is still only showing snippets of the information they have in their possession so stay tuned....

Meanwhile it´s clear that the British GCHQ and the American NSA don´t waste all that tax-payers money on wannabe terrorists. Listening to befriended delegates from other European countries is apparently alegiti... more »

2013-06-16 16:47:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

The pianist, conductor, teacher and composer Ştefan Neaga (1900-1951) was born in Chişinău, today Moldova. He composed symphonies, chamber, choral and vocal music and was one of the founders of the Union of Composers of Moldova.

His symphonic poem Poemul Nistrului ("Poem of the Dniester"), written in 1943, is one of his most successful works. The intro of today's #sundayclassics  contribution is calm, picturing a meadow - a lyric poem by flute and orchestra. It is followed by a dramatic main theme (representing the World War) which finds its solution in the second theme, written in the rhythm of Hora (folk dance). The final part brings vivid and bright intonations.
Ștefan Neaga - Poemul Nistrului (part 1)
Ștefan Neaga - Poemul Nistrului (part 2) 

May your Sunday be vivid and bright - enjoy!


Related links: (none inEnglis... more »

2013-06-15 23:40:24 (5 comments, 30 reshares, 74 +1s)

Caturday under threat: mice are working out to get Mouse Monday

2013-06-13 19:05:23 (7 comments, 8 reshares, 51 +1s)

“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”  ― George Orwell
 A very relevant quote which I dedicate to the Guardian and especially Glenn Greenwald and  Laura Poitras for having the guts to bring us the story about the NSA and whistleblower Edward Snowden. 

h/t to +Steve Faktor for finding this snippet of great wisdom

Is it a fail that Snowden didn´t trust American newspapers to publish his story?

2013-06-13 18:39:58 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

NSA USB policy: when you use them people always look at you funny
 One of the many revelations coming out of the investigations how ánd what Edward Snowden managed to smuggle from the NSA computers.
A very tight policy indeed and yes the full quote is “Of course, there are always exceptions” to the thumb drive ban, a former NSA official said, particularly for network administrators. “There are people who need to use a thumb drive and they have special permission. But when you use one, people always look at you funny.”

Gives one faith that our data are safe with the NSA. The FBI still wonders how this low ranking system administrator was able to access some top secret files, but In testimony Wednesday, NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander acknowledged “grave concerns” about Snowden’s access to so many secret programs and documents.

“In this case,this individual w... more »

2013-06-13 14:45:12 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 19 +1s)

In the land of tabloid terrors, immigrants loom large. Flick through the pages or online comments of some of the racier newspapers, and you’ll see immigrants being accused of stealing jobs or, if not that, of being workshy and “scrounging benefits”.

Such views may be at the extreme end of the spectrum, but they do seem to reflect a degree of public ambivalence, and even hostility, towards immigrants in a number of OECD countries. Anecdotal evidence is not hard to find. A columnist from The Economistreported this encounter between a British legislator and one of his constituents, Phil: “‘I’m not a racist,’ says Phil, an unemployed resident of the tough Greenwich estate in Ipswich. ‘But we’ve got to do something about them.’”

Surveys offer further evidence: For example, a 2011 study in five European countries and the United States found that at least 40% ofrespondents in each count... more »

2013-06-13 14:29:17 (18 comments, 10 reshares, 39 +1s)

Apple may launch cheaper iPhones in 5-6 colours reports Reuters
 May well  be one model though, as chief designer Jony Ive helped Tim Cook optimizing future Apple logistics.

Reuters link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/13/apple-iphone-idUSL3N0EP1BA20130613

Yonathan Ive redesign link: http://jonyiveredesignsthings.tumblr.com/

2013-06-13 14:11:58 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

The sale of the Pyrex brand from Corning to World Kitchen LLC has resulted in drug dealers breaking into science labs and stealing test tubes because World Kitchen LLC changed the composition of the glass from borosilicate to tempered soda-lime, which is inadequate for handling the temperature variations involved in the process of manufacturing crack cocaine.

2013-06-13 11:55:16 (17 comments, 4 reshares, 43 +1s)

Apple designer Jony Ive caught while redesigning the world
 My first reaction to the new look of iOS7 was ´flower power and beach boys´ and I clearly was not the only one.  Loads of fun on http://jonyiveredesignsthings.tumblr.com/ #iOS7  

My initial post https://plus.google.com/112352920206354603958/posts/irwpz2Z3mBY

2013-06-11 22:30:37 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Gideon Rosenblatt's Top 100

These are the folks Google tells me are my most relevant people (slightly modified to remove people who are relevant, but not active here on Google+).

Looking through this list, I can tell you that these are great people full of interesting ideas and engagement. 

I'm not in the circle here, so I can objectively say that this group is a worthy addition to your circles. 

Enjoy this group of people - I know I do. They enrich my experience here. Without them, I probably wouldn't still be here today. 

P.S. - If you got a notification, that means you're in the circle. 

2013-06-11 11:25:25 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 48 +1s)

Sunset at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
(taken on a Photowalk with +Sebastian Nagler  and +Sebastian Dunkel  )

This panoramic shot consists of 19 HDR Pictures (each built up from 3 different exposed shots), merged together by Photoshop's Photomerge feature. Because of the vast amount of pictures, the post processing took a while - but I think it was worth the effort.

#hqsphdr +HQSP HDR  by +Aamir Shahzad  +Bret Shah  and  +dietmar rogacki 
#10000photographers by +Robert SKREINER 
+10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS 
#EuropeanPhotography  +European Photo 
+Janusz Brakoniecki  +Jean-Louis LAURENCE  +Michael Muraz  +Susanne Ramharter  +Ela Kupiec   +Carlos Duarte 
#pixelworld  by +Alberto Carreras  
#skysunday  +Sky Sunday - Photography Theme#plusphotoextract  
#promotephotography  by +Promote Photography 

2013-06-10 19:05:37 (32 comments, 7 reshares, 41 +1s)

iOS7:  Apple killed skeuomorphism, but now it´s flower power!
 I have been waiting for the day I could use skeuomorphism in a post and Apple designer Jonathan Ive gave me a proper excuse now that he introduced the #ios7 interface.

No more phone icons modeled after some receiver from two centuries past or leather bound ´agendas´. Life imitating art, imitating life it used to be and Apple finally killed that old design paradigm. 

We are now expected to understand the concept of a clock by looking at a thirty year old kitchen equivalent,  and the camera still looks like a DSLR instead of anything remotely revolutionary, but at least the wrinkled leather is gone. 

Unfortunately Ive now seems to be stuck in the flower power, sixties, neon color styling which makes you think of the Beach Boys...

Definitely not slick Ive, and out of tune with theminimal... more »

2013-06-09 21:49:01 (18 comments, 42 reshares, 83 +1s)

NSA whistleblower lost faith in Obama: now depends on Hong Kong
 The Guardian revealed today that they got their revealing documents from Edward Snowden. A former CIA technician who worked for the NSA and says that he gave up  _"a very comfortable life" that included a salary of roughly $200,000, a girlfriend with whom he shared a home in Hawaii, a stable career, and a family he loves. "I'm willing to sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

He fled to Hong Kong as he is aware the US government will come after him and he expects more safety in the Chinese enclave than on American soil. Hong Kong has autonomy over extradition so it won´t be the Chinesegov... more »

2013-06-07 20:42:57 (35 comments, 8 reshares, 55 +1s)

Google +Larry Page says ´what the .... ´ on PRISM allegations
Dear Google users—
You may be aware of press reports alleging that Internet companies have joined a secret U.S. government program called PRISM to give the National Security Agency direct access to our servers. As Google’s CEO and Chief Legal Officer, we wanted you to have the facts.

First, we have not joined any program that would give the U.S. government—or any other government—direct access to our servers. Indeed, the U.S. government does not have direct access or a “back door” to the information stored in our data centers. We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday.

Second, we provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law. Our legal team reviews each and every request, and frequently pushes back when requests are overly broad or don’t follow thecorrect process.... more »

2013-06-07 17:52:11 (0 comments, 13 reshares, 38 +1s)

The new Prism Glasses, future source of Glassified Information?

#Glassified  #classified #Prism #GoogleGlass

2013-06-07 17:12:29 (18 comments, 13 reshares, 36 +1s)

Electric car record on Nürburgring: faster than Ferraris, Lambos, etc
At 7:56 this Mercedes is only 16 seconds slower than its petrol powered equivalent and certainly in the Nürburg hall of fame if the car was completely street legal . 
The on-board video suggest it could have been slightly faster at the hands of a more experienced driver. 

2013-06-02 19:13:03 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 20 +1s)

The Psychopath Test

All about the line between sane and insane, and the vast grey area in between.

2013-05-31 18:33:25 (15 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

Defeated by a train, but majestic even in its dead

India, at an official crossing for elephants

2013-05-24 23:23:53 (6 comments, 6 reshares, 27 +1s)

Things to hit when you're angry. Graphed. 

Advice you can use on any day, but perhaps especially so on a long weekend with your family. Have a good one. Don't be angry. And if you do, now you know what to do.

Have a great weekend!

Source: http://goo.gl/qjXgd

2013-05-24 17:21:09 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

Good Morning Google+
After so much drama, lust, violence and revolution from the artists of the last few days, I need something soothing. So let's celebrate the birthday of Marcel Janco, the Romanian-Israeli artist who was born on May 24th in 1895. And yes, I am aware of the irony, because though this painting Port may suggest otherwise, Janco's life was filled with adventure and drama as well.

Born into an upper-class family in Bucharest, Janco traveled widely and spent time in Switzerland (among other places), where he became one of the founders of Dada, which is anything but soothing.  His name is most often associated with the Dada movement, though most of his work was actually influenced by many other styles such as post-impressionism, expressionism, symbolism and cubism.

After spending much of the time between the two World Wars in Bucharest,... more »

2013-05-23 22:54:29 (6 comments, 5 reshares, 23 +1s)

*Great points from +Steve Faktor on Google Strategy and Google Money :) ...*

"...From free video hosting to free document management to free phone calls to free email, there’s one thing no one can deny – Google knows how to please our inner shoplifter. If Colgate offered free toothpaste to watch us brush or Ivory offered free soap to watch us shower, they’d find a few takers and a lot of resistance.

Google’s products wear a brilliant disguise. Each consumer freebie is an irresistible magnet that brings users in droves, but is subsidized by a hidden information exchange – an entirely separate data exchange where advertisers pay to target those same users. 
...
1. Earn – 95% of Google’s revenue comes from advertising. Other than its unobtrusive ads, Google’s true nature is cleverly hidden from most users. That truth is that at its core,Google is a B2B n... more »