links « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

links

history / links / weekend / World Cup — Comments Off
28
Jun 14

The present, the past, the immediate future

Spent the day watching World Cup. I have come to at least one conclusion: Brazil shouldn’t win the tournament. They just aren’t as good as the great Brazilian teams, and they’ll prove to not be of the same quality as the better teams that are still in the thing. Also, Colombia is a fun team to watch.

One hundred years ago … This was the front page of the New York Times: ARCHDUKE FRANCIS FERDINAND AND HIS CONSORT, THE DUCHESS OF HOHENBERG, ARE ASSASSINATED WHILE DRIVING THROUGH STREETS OF SARAJEVO, BOSNIA.

And, if you’ll remember your high school history, that led to all of Europe arming up for war. The link has some great contemporary content, if you’re interested.

The Guardian, meanwhile, is coming to terms with how they played down the assassination:

The Manchester Guardian, then edited by the legendary CP Scott, was far from alone in playing down the significance of the death of the archduke, shot by the young radical Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo. The Sleepwalkers, historian Christopher Clark’s seminal work on how Europe went to war in 1914, reflects the mixture of complacency and rhetoric Europe indulged in.

But the Guardian did devote the bulk of its main news page, illustrated by a small map and family tree of the Austrian royal house, to the shooting.

[…]

The next day, 30 June 1914, a Guardian headline read “World’s Sympathy with Aged Emperor”. The paper noted that the archduke and his wife had recently visited London and, his uncle, emperor Franz Joseph, held the title of a British field marshal.

[…]

Though the newspaper’s first analysis – headlined What the Murders May Mean – played down the “immediate or salient” effect on European politics, it did warn of the dangers of increased hostility between Austria and Serbia. It also warned of “the more serious danger of a Russian attack” on Austria in defence of its Slavic ally.

It is a fascinating little summary as the paper looks back upon itself.

We’re still learning about that war, meanwhile. Earlier this month Finland announced they had divers that have discovered a lost WWI German U-boat, apparently preserved in exceptional condition.

I wonder what the researchers will learn.

Maybe there will be an augmented reality tour of it one day. Here’s the latest from the AR world, by the way.

Or would you prefer holorooms at Lowe’s? Non makeup makeup? Actual spy glasses? Or South Park?

Fascinating world.

Hope yours is riveting too!

links / Thursday / video / World Cup — Comments Off
26
Jun 14

Soccer tacos

We went to a bar and grill to watch the game today, because soccer is a communal sport. The place was full just after 10 a.m. That’s when the priest came in, wearing his collar, sat at the bar and ordered some wings.

That’s the World Cup to me.

This is billed as the Out Of This World Cup:

So the U.S. lost, playing poorly but close against a dominate German team, but still advanced. And now all of the Americans that refuse to understand soccer — And it isn’t that they don’t get it. I’ve tried explaining things, and people are so intent on hating the sport because of reasons and feet and other nations’ success and a refusal to consider that the word “football” can have multiple meanings that they’ll dismiss anything you say, even if they are mentally capable of grasping a round robin format — will dismiss the round robin format.

We celebrated in that most American way, with tacos. They were good. First time I’d been to Tacorita. Now I’ll have to go back.

Today I’ve learned: that you will pay $271 as the fine for riding a bicycle on a sidewalk. (I don’t ride on sidewalks, because I, like pedestrians, would like to live. Every traffic violation you can commit in a car, save one, is less expensive. Drive a car on a sidewalk? That’ll only set you back $164.

You figure that out.

When you need a pilot, ask for a Marine Aviator. That guy landed his Harrier on a stool. There’s video.

I have some work to do. Triathlon for Masters Athletes: Lifestyle Adjustments

Sometimes people see more in a photograph than I do, which is good. Always, though, you need the context. Otherwise you just think “Dogs!” Photo Series Captures The Quiet Dignity Of Search And Rescue Dogs That Served During 9/11. There is a book of the prints available, as well.

I do not know what is happening. / iPhone / journalism / links / movies / photo / running / things to read / video / Wednesday / World Cup — Comments Off
25
Jun 14

Why didn’t anyone ever recognize Forrest Gump, anyway?

I ran five miles in 75 degrees with 79 percent humidity tonight. Think I just exercise for Shot Bloks, which is fuel that tastes like candy to me. But you’re not here about that. Right. Back to our regularly scheduled observations.

One of the joys of having a cat around is watching a cat sleep in the sun:

A lot of things have to happen to make that work out. Someone, years ago, had to decide to orient this neighborhood along an east-west axis. Development behind us had to thin out the western tree line to allow the sun through at that time of day. My brilliant wife had to be motivated to purchase that cat condo at some point in time. We had to put it in front of that window and I had to be sitting in an adjacent chair, which we also put in place almost four years ago, to capture the moment. To say nothing of the phone and camera and Internet technology.

All of that so I can say “One of the joys of having a cat around is watching a cat sleep in the sun,” and you know it to be one of the singular truths of pets.

Just file that away under things that the subdivision developer, Steve Jobs and Tim Berners-Lee didn’t think about when they did their heavy lifting. I bet the cat condo people knew what they were doing, though.

Turns out it was made in Tennessee. I’m not sure what bearing that has on this conversation.

Things to read … because reading always gives us answers.

Maybe Vox — which is trying to brand itself as the explainer of things, can tell us. You’ve been using paper towels wrong your whole life. Here’s how to completely dry your hands using only one.

Jeff Bezos is looking more brilliant by the moment, no?

The New York Times’ Lively Morgue featured a photo of speed boat queen Loretta Turnbull. For some reason I did a little more Googling and reading about her, and was rewarded with this quote: “The odds of a shark biting a 67-year-old are remote; I’m going in.”

Sounds like an awesome lady.

This one is worth bookmarking. Multimedia reporting with mobile devices

Normally you’d watch out for the word “complete” but this is a pretty thorough discussion on the topic. The Complete Guide to Getting Started With Podcasts

Another soccer video:

This video is titled “How video from drones can be useful during news events,” but it misses a big a point.

We, the audience, still need the context of a reporter’s collected efforts to tell us the story. Where was that subdivision damage? Was it from a storm? Why were all of those people gathered at night? What were they protesting? How many structures or lives had been lost in that fire?

It also demonstrates that not all drone videos are created equally.

Forrest Gump was released 20 years ago next month. Finally, there is an Honest Trailer about the film, and it makes a great point about the recognizability of the character:

“And Lieutenant Dan kept his word. The end.”

When I saw Apollo 13 — which was released 19 years ago next week, by the way — there was a woman behind us who was getting caught up and emotional in the drama. Her kid, her child, said “Don’t worry Mama, Forrest Gump is driving.”

The end.

history / I do not know what is happening. / links / photo / running / swimming / things to read / Tuesday / World Cup — Comments Off
24
Jun 14

The picture of the World Cup

If you’ve ever really wondered about the agony of defeat, here’s Boubacar “Copa” Barry to show you what it looks like. The guy had played a fine game, only to watch one of his defenders give away a foul in the penalty box in extra time today. And that means a penalty kick, which is decidedly to the striker’s advantage. All Barry can do is guess and hope. He guessed, but his hopes were not met. So, in the final moments of stoppage time, the Ivory Coast gave up a goal that meant Greece would advance and the guys in green would go home.

This was a great “What just happened here?” shot they got of Barry through the back of his net.

Much better than Luis Suarez’s biting of Giorgio Chiellini.

So I’ve got my SEO taken care of for today, right there. Excellent.

Today I swam 2,500 yards, which is almost a mile-and-a-half. I did it in sets of 500s, because let’s not think I’m so ambitious here. This let me set a baseline time, which is good because I have something to think about in the water now, as I narrowly chip away at that with each set.

I won’t tell you what the time is, because it is excruciatingly slow.

Let’s just say this, on the wall there are large signs for pool and NCAA records. I walked over to look at the 500-yard freestyle record. It turns out that the guy that holds the pool record in the 500 also holds the pool record in the 1,000. If he was swimming his 1,000 at his record pace, he would be finishing up about the time I was starting my last 100 yards in a 500-yard swim.

So, you, see, excruciatingly slow.

A guy jumped into the lane next to mine near the end of my swim. I didn’t speak with him, but everything about him just screamed swimmer. He was backstroking down the lane faster than I can freestyle it. And he could backstroke about three times and be at his turn. It was a beautiful thing, watching the guy swim was like watching a ballerina do her warmups. They are just easy because they’ve spent countless hours making it look effortless.

Whereas I would like to take about 15 percent off of my 500 time, putting me in line with the pool record in the 1,000.

I counted the championship banners hanging from the rafters tonight. I’ve previously counted the names of Olympians stenciled into the wall. Serious, serious athletes have been in that lane. The rest of us are just in their way.

Later in the evening my buddy, Murphy, and I ran a 5K. You never know what you’ll get when you invite someone to go for a jog. I thought about that after the fact. That guy is fit, and he played flanker in high school football. And now I’m going to run with him? We had a nice jog and a nice chat and I was able to keep up.

Take that, anonymous swimmer in the next lane.

Things to read … all headline links edition … because I’m a slow reader, too.

Have to go see it … Coca-Cola mural in Opelika could be over 100 years old

‘No-fly list’ process unconstitutional, US district judge decides

A tedious SEO headline, to be sure. I wish this story was in the American media … Also, the story buries that President Bush costs more. Taxpayers will spend $944,000 to support Bill Clinton’s lifestyle in 2014 as he claims he and Hillary are not ‘out of touch’ because they ‘talk to people in our town’

Go back to high school and blame your civics teacher. A third of Americans can’t name any First Amendment rights

Someone at Slate thought “Ya know, we have to remind people we’re Slate!” Looney Tunes Cartoons Were More Brutal Than You May Remember

I wonder how often this happens. Veteran believes he sees his image in Berman D-Day exhibit

Score one for city hall. Kansas Boy Forced to Remove Little Free Library From His Yard

For my reaction, see Boubacar Barry, above.

cycling / friends / golf / iPhone / journalism / links / Monday / photo / things to read — Comments Off
23
Jun 14

Golfing with Fin

My old friend Fin and I went out for a round of golf under the bright summer sun this morning and afternoon. We rode 18 and my clothes still changed colors. I hadn’t realized how much I sweat until I got home. Fortunately the course, which is very nice and super long, is just down the street from our home.

Anyway, here’s Fin pulling off some improbable shot or another:

I had two decent shots today. See that line going toward the pin? That’s my chip from beyond the back side of the green. They’d just sanded them, giving us some excellent lines to read:

We couldn’t play best ball, because we often wind up like this. At least once a hole we are within 10 feet of one another, to the good or bad. I would have thought he’d be much better at this than I am by now. I’m not very good at all. I think he was sand-bagging.

Oh, I played the last four holes or so in my sock-feet because I did this to my old, cheap shoes:

Both shoes, within about a hole of each other. Oddly, I might have played better after I took them off. Something to keep in mind for next time.

Despite the heat I felt much better riding my bike this evening, which was abbreviated to only 14 miles because I got caught out in the rain. Usually I enjoy this, it is funny to me somehow, but today I decided I’d wait it out.

We were in a downpour, though, and I’m standing under the protective awning of a church building, staring at radar and marveling at how this system isn’t moving, it is just content to exist and drip. Then I got a text reminding me of dinner plans with our lovely neighbors. So I had to ride home in the rain.

Raindrops start to sting at around 29 miles per hour, just so you know.

Things to read … because reading never stings.

Just two things today, first your regular drone feature. CNN to study drone use for reporting:

The announcement comes amid widespread interest in newsrooms across the country in what’s been dubbed “drone journalism,” and equally widespread uncertainty about the legality of it. The FAA has severely limited the use of drones for commercial purposes, including newsgathering. It is due to develop new drone rules by September 2015.

“Our hope is that by working cooperatively to share knowledge, we can accelerate the process for CNN and other media organizations to safely integrate this new technology into their coverage plans,” David Vigilante, CNN’s senior vice president for legal, said in a statement. “It’s a natural opportunity to work with our neighbors at Georgia Tech, who have experience and insights into this area.”

The headline to this story is great — Police: 4-Year-Old Girl Foils Babysitter’s Burglary Plot — but the quote from the sheriff is even better.