CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-18 11:12:32 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

International Cities Are Turning Into 'Elite Citadels'

... when something is desirable, the "one per cent" grabs it. The great cities are becoming elite citadels. This is terrifying for everyone else....

... Now comes plutocratisation: the middle classes and small companies are falling victim to class-cleansing. Global cities are becoming patrician ghettos....

Global cities are turning into vast gated communities where the one per cent reproduces itself. Elite members don't live there for their jobs. They work virtually anyway. Rather, global cities are where they network with each other, and put their kids through their country's best schools....

2013-06-16 21:38:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

BREAKING
The Guardian: UK government has spied on its allies at two G20 summits in London. Some delegates were tricked into using fake internet cafés.

2013-06-14 09:44:49 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Nicholas Carr: Transparency begins at Home

... After all, the reason spy agencies request data from Facebook (and other internet operators) is because that's where the data is--Facebook has already collected it, parsed it, and stored it. The NSA goes to Facebook for the same reason that Willie Sutton went to banks....

2013-06-10 11:32:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Yves Smith: Edward Snowden Makes Himself an Even Bigger Problem to the Officialdom

[...] We finally may have seen the abuse where Obama's default strategy, that any problem can be solved by better PR, has met its match. The fact that Greenwald and the Guardian have played this story well and gotten it the airing it deserves is very important. But it's also that Snowden has been able to provide concrete examples that put the spotlight on the scope and lack of real checks on a massive police state apparatus. And it isn't just Americans that are alarmed. It's going to be very hard for the officialdom to minimize or explain away this information, and we should all be very grateful for that.

2013-06-10 10:45:31 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Whistleblower

"The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your emails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards."

- NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, when asked by the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill about why he decided to become a whistleblower

2013-06-09 17:45:04 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Round and Round and Round and...
Our lovely new roundathingy
It makes me dizzy...

Mesquite, Nevada, USA
9 June 2013

2013-06-09 10:15:39 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

... The problem with surveillance states, and with oppression in general, is the cost.... both direct ... and indirect in the lost productivity and creativity caused by constant surveillance.....

Liberalism, in its classic form, is, among other things, the proposition that you get more out of people if you treat them well. Conservatism is the proposition that you get more out of people if you treat them badly.

Post war Liberalism was a giant experiment in "treat people well". The Reagan/Thatcher counter-revolution was a giant experiment in "treat people worse".....

If you want despotism, as elites, if you want to treat everyone badly, so you personally become more powerful and rich, then, you've got two problems: an internal one (revolt) and an external one: war and being outcompeted by other nations elites....

... The worse you treat... more »

2013-06-08 13:17:40 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Douglas Rushkoff | Present Shock | PDF13

2013-06-07 14:02:45 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

UK gathering secret intelligence via covert NSA operation
Exclusive: UK security agency GCHQ gaining information from world's biggest internet firms through US-run Prism programme

2013-06-06 11:58:42 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Stephen Colbert: Photojournalists vs. iPhones
The Chicago Sun-Times lays off its entire photography department and requires its reporters to learn iPhone camera basics.

2013-06-04 16:33:00 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 20 +1s)

Another High Desert Critter on a another rock
They are my pals...

2013-06-04 15:40:22 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

This f*cking guy...
By Josh Brown

Justin Bieber is like a smaller, more effete version of Justin Timberlake, minus the talent, charm, sense of humor and self-awareness....

http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2013/06/04/this-fcking-guy/

2013-06-02 16:47:28 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Michael Rosenblum: Is Journalism Dead?

... There used to be a time when politicians (and others) had no choice but to go to 'the press'.  But increasingly, they are starting to realize that they don't need the press. In fact, it is the press that needs them. But now they are in control....

As broadcast quality cameras become as complex to operate as point and push the button, and editing becomes simple for any 9 year old (and software is free)... and the web allows you instant access to 2.4 billion people worldwide for free... what do you need the 'journalists' for? ...

2013-06-02 11:23:12 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

David Weinberger: Knowledge in its natural state

Knowledge seems to fit so perfectly into books. But to marvel at how well Knowledge fits into books is to marvel at how well each rock fits into its hole in the ground. Knowledge fits books because we've shaped knowledge around books and paper.

And knowledge has taken on the properties of books and paper. Like books, knowledge is ordered and orderly. It is bounded.... It is the product of an individual mind that then is filtered. It is kept private ... until it's published.... It creates a privileged class of experts, like the privileged books that are chosen to be published and then chosen to be in a library

Released from the bounds of paper, knowledge takes on the shape of its new medium, the Internet....

Our old technology -- paper -- gave us an idea of knowledge that said that knowledge comes from... more »

2013-05-30 20:48:29 (18 comments, 1 reshares, 27 +1s)

High Desert Critter
My little friend...

2013-05-30 15:46:48 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Happy Birthday 105, Mel

2013-05-28 17:13:47 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Holiday Weekend Visitors
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
early on Tuesday, May 28, 2013

2013-05-27 10:54:00 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Chicago toccata & fugue
Video from geoff tompkinson

[lightpainting Chicago?]

2013-05-26 10:36:43 (8 comments, 5 reshares, 14 +1s)

The Burren
Timelapse video from Dave Hunt

2013-05-23 22:43:12 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Oasis Resort/Casino freeway sign
Ghosts of the past: Demolition in progress
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
May 21, 2013

2013-05-21 21:14:36 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Oasis Resort/Casino
Demolition in progress
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
May 21, 2013

2013-05-17 11:07:37 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 24 +1s)

Rock House (circa 1880)
Ghosts of the past
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
Photo: May 2013

2013-05-16 21:31:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Oasis Resort/Casino signs
Ghosts of the past
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
These large Freeway signs, along with most of the surrounding buildings, will be demolished in the next few months
Photo: May 2013

2013-05-15 21:12:52 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 28 +1s)

Dead Barn, Dead Trees
Mesquite, Nevada, USA
May 2013
[Testing new UI... ]

2013-05-14 14:18:14 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Just 25 years ago ...

2013-05-11 16:03:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Incredible colour footage of 1920s London shot by an early British pioneer of film named Claude Frisse-Greene, who made a series of travelogues using the colour process his father William - a noted cinematographer - was experimenting with. It's like a beautifully dusty old postcard you'd find in a junk store, but moving.
Music by Jonquil and Yann Tiersen.

2013-05-10 14:44:01 (14 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Vonda's Cafe sign (circa 1939)
Ghosts of the past, abandoned...
Mesquite, Nevada, USA

2013-05-09 17:50:43 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Google Earth Engine
Growth of Las Vegas, Nevada 1984-2012 ... and more

2013-05-09 17:22:59 (10 comments, 1 reshares, 18 +1s)

Harley's Garage sign
Ghosts of the past, abandoned...
Mesquite, Nevada, USA

2013-05-09 09:50:48 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Seth Godin: Who do you know?

Let's define "know" as... you're connected with them, in real life, by email or through a direct relationship online....

Sixty years ago, TV news changed everything, because it introduced us to ideas and places outside of our personal experience. Today, ... the online social network is anti-gerrymandered. Connect with enough people and you can't help but bump into something outside your worldview....

... now that we know these people, will we listen to them in an effort to understand? ... I wonder if we're going to develop a new sense of mass, one where it's harder than ever to demonize a group that contains your friends, even if they're merely online friends....

When they're no longer faceless strangers, is it more difficult to hate them?

2013-05-08 22:38:03 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 29 +1s)

Golf in the High Desert
Conestoga #16 - May 7, 2013
Mesquite, Nevada, USA

2013-05-07 11:04:55 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

How to get more followers on Twitter
somegreybloke

2013-05-06 21:35:17 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Adobe Announces New Creative Cloud Apps, Abandons Creative Suite

2013-05-06 17:39:26 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

That insane population map everyone’s talking about
Josh Brown

2013-05-06 14:06:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Human Brain Compared to the Internet

Wow. This is really fascinating stuff. Isn't it interesting that we try to compare our brains to the most advanced technology of the time?

"So every time you talk to and engage with a child, you are literally growing a brain."

Wow. Something to think about. #science #psychology

2013-05-06 00:57:45 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Over 55, out of work more than six months? Headhunters say you’re screwed.

... What the long-term unemployed — the seasoned workers in their 50s — have been told is that if you just go back to school and brush up your skills, you’re going to be part of the recovery. Well, if you listen to these headhunters, it doesn’t matter how many hours in the gym you put in to stay fit, or how many skills-building classes you take, or how much hair dye/Grecian formula or even Botox you purchase, you all are screwed....

2013-05-04 14:03:45 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Monarchs of Money
CBC The National: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
video length 21min

2013-05-03 17:27:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Is Internet Killing the Video Star?
Stephen White - May 3, 2013

... Today, you can draw several parallels between the music industry in the late '90s and early 2000s and the TV industry today. Viewing habits are changing....

But, instead of adapting to changing viewer behavior, the cable companies, Hollywood and broadcasters are holding onto old business models for dear life and calling the lawyers....

... It's time for TV broadcasters, content creators and advertisers to innovate their businesses instead of maintaining existing models through threats and litigation.

First, they need to understand that their viewers are setting the rules and defining the life expectancy of their programming and services. They will decide your fate -- not you. Consider the following:

• You Can't Take Content Away: The outdated model basedo... more »

2013-05-01 12:11:55 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Joshua Tree (closer view)
The Joshuas bloomed this year and have produced fruit.
In the Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area, Utah, USA
April, 2013

2013-04-30 13:41:36 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Feds want to expand wiretap law from ISPs to Google, Facebook

... [FBI] needs "wiretapping backdoors" into popular websites, or it would have to shut down more investigations. The FBI's position was reportedly that installing such "backdoors" should be mandatory, not optional.

...  Facebook and Google are specifically being pressured to allow for electronic communications to be intercepted "as they occur"—a kind of digital-age wiretap that could read, for instance, Facebook messages or Gchats....

2013-04-29 13:53:24 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Joshua Tree Forest
Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area, Utah, USA
April, 2013

You don't see any Joshua Trees nearby, because I'm standing in one of the many washes that run into the Beaver Dam Wash or the Virgin River. The view is approximately southwest.

In the distance, Left to right, are Beaver Dam, Arizona (9 miles); Mesquite, Nevada (18 miles), and Las Vegas, Nevada (94 miles). You can't see the towns, of course, because they are too far away, and the Nevada towns are hidden behind by Mesas.

More info at:
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/st__george/blm_special_areas/national_landscape/national_conservation/beaver_dam_wash_national.html

(clouds special ordered for +Danny Tan)

2013-04-28 17:13:52 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 30 +1s)

The Bottlebrush are blooming
Sunday, April 28, 2013

2013-04-28 14:34:39 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Jimmy's Trees
for +Jimmy S 
There are some spooky trees in Beaver Dam, Arizona.
They seem to be waiting for Jimmy to arrive with his camera and lightpainting kit.

See Jimmy's spooky trees here:
http://goo.gl/XwNCL

2013-04-27 14:27:30 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

Joshua Tree Forest
Running horizontally through the center is a strip of burned Joshua Trees. They were burned by a wildfire a few years ago, probably caused by lightning.
Near the Woodbury Desert Study Area
On the Utah/Arizona border, USA
April, 2013

2013-04-27 09:59:18 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

At the Joshua Tree Forest
Near the Woodbury Desert Study Area
On the Utah/Arizona border, USA
April, 2013

2013-04-27 09:56:32 (23 comments, 1 reshares, 31 +1s)

Joshua Tree
Morning near the Woodbury Desert Study Area, Utah, USA
The Joshuas bloomed this year and have produced fruit.
April, 2013

2013-04-25 12:20:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Jon Stewart: Weak Constitution

2013-04-25 10:22:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Doc Searls: TV 3.0

We're not watching any less TV. In fact, we're watching more of it, on more different kinds of screens. Does this mean that TV absorbs the Net, or vice versa? Or neither? That's what I'm exploring here.

[... lots of history! ...]

I don't want there to be a TV 4.0 because I want TV to die.

I want shows to live. Also producers and artists and distributors. I want the old TV business to be more creative than ever, and to produce more good stuff than ever. I just don't want it to be TV.

Because TV is channels, and channels are scarce. That's why I went through the history of over-the-air and cable. At first the industry and its regulators thought there wouldn't be a need for more than a few channels, anywhere. With cable and satellite it maxed at a  few hundred channels. The cable industry wants to... more »

2013-04-24 15:31:30 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Terry Heaton: How Consumer Messaging Is Going From 'Push' to 'Pull'

The biggest battle coming in the world of marketing is a 180-degree shift in the routing of commerce-related messages. Today, we call them "advertisements," one-directional messages FROM somebody with something to sell TO somebody who may potentially be a buyer. Tomorrow, the messages will come FROM those wishing to buy TO those with something to sell....

I keep reading where people are looking for "the new infrastructure" for advertising's reinvention, one that will "work" in the network. There won't be a new advertising infrastructure, because it's against the nature of networks. Geeks are familiar with Gilmore's Law, but I'd wager you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody on Madison Avenue who's ever even heard of it. Coined by John... more »

2013-04-24 13:51:24 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

We've Finally Figured Out What Makes LED Bulbs So Inefficient

Now maybe LED lighting will take off in more than just traffic lights and gadgets.

... right now, we mostly use LEDs in electronics, because they have a bit of a drooping problem: at higher currents, the amount of light they produce takes a nose-dive....