Not Pinterested
Posted by Jak in Technology, Web on October 28, 2011
The wife has been tearing it up on Pinterest, and while I admit I was eager to try it out, it turns out it’s just not my cup of tea. First off it’s really more of an image/video board. Not a bad thing if that’s what you’re looking for, Pinterest handles it well in a very Tumblr-esque way. My problem was that I wanted to also bookmark sites quickly using the same service. This is a weak spot as far as I’m concerned. Not only do you have to pick an image you also have to add some kind of a caption. Again, great for an image gallery but not so hot if you just want to keep track of that open-source software for later.
Enter Zootool. Basically I get the same gallery features as Pinterest with all the social sharing, with the added feature of bookmarks. I also found Zootool to be more stable for me. I was able to add some animated gifs that Pinterest was choking on and when you do choose to save a page it creates a thumkbnail of the whole page rather than tring to find a random image to represent the site. Neato! Get this, there’s also a neat little WordPress widget that shows off your Zoo on WordPress. If you have any interest here’s my page.
What’s Happening?!
I was reading through an article on lifehacker.com the other day which really got me thinking again about my goals. My updates have been sporadic at best and I have always convinced myself that it was because I didn’t know what to write about. I have actually started a couple of pieces between now and my last post but either discarded them or left them collecting dust in draft purgatory. The afore mentioned article has given me a better outlook on what I should be doing. I have often discarded writing that I thought was irrelevant or just plain bad, but I have come to the realization that most of what I write WILL be bad. There’s just no way around it. Instead I will now try and take some sadistic pleasure in exposing my audience to what amounts to literary offal. Excited aren’t you? Read the rest of this entry »
Social Butterfly
…though you could hardly call me a butterfly; the similarities end at the expression. I don’t know that you could describe me as social either. Two months without a post? Ridiculous. I have been doing things though. Look there’s a Faceborg widget on the site now! I owe my friend Ranvis for the requisite number of Likes to get a real page name. You know, instead of some ambiguous alphanumeric gobbledygook like www.facebook.com/uR461An7L053r. I think that might have actually been my identifier prior to the proof of 25 friends! You have to hand it to the man who hijacked his friends accounts; thanks Ranvis! I have threatened my own friends on Faceborg that they won’t receive my witty updates unless they “Like” Nerdtopia, since I switched my twitter feed to stream to the Nerdtopia Faceborg page instead of my personal page. Their loss! Read the rest of this entry »
Newsed
Image via Wikipedia
Just a few things I picked up on this week. It’s not new news, just gently used.
Motorola Mobility Building Web-Based OS – Have they learned nothing from Nokia?
The Father of Mac OS X Is Leaving Apple – More signs of the coming Macopalypse.
AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile USA Ffrom Deutsche Telekom – Super now our choices are only limited to Bad and Worse.
Is Amazon Ready to Make A Push With Android-Based Kindle? New Job Listings Suggest So – It’s guaranteed since I’ve only had my kindle for about 3 months.
Japanese Engineers Create Human Powered Exoskeleton Suit (Video) – I don’t feel this would have worked as well for Ripley, but still neato.
Man Creates Microwave Gun From Small Appliance, Starts Burning Things (Video) – I knew I should have kept that old Microwave.
Steam May Be Coming to Android Soon [Rumor] – I foresee problems playing Counter Strike on my phone.
In Gundam We Trust
I have been watching the news all day about the disasters that have stuck Japan seemingly one after another after another. As if the largest earthquake in the country’s recorded history was not enough, I watched video of the resulting tsunami wash away cars, homes, roads, farms, almost towns in their entirety. Fires began and engulfed the city of Kesennuma. There is even the threat of nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima prefecture as the nuclear power plant suffers malfunctions in the cooling towers. The videos run like some kind of macabre mashup of 70′s disaster films. In the midst of it all I saw this.
If it wasn’t abundantly clear, I hold more than a passing infatuation with Japan. To me it is one of the Mecca’s of all things I nerd out about most. When I saw that the Obaida Island statue had toppled, I had mixed feelings. I think some view it with mockery and certainly this is not even close to the most important structure damaged by today’s quake, but I see it as a symbol. If you’ve never seen the original Gundam series, I think it’s important to note how important that anime is. This meta series is one of Japan’s longest running and shows up in so many facets of Japanese culture. Gundam is a household name, if not universally liked, at least recognized. I’m suret there are plenty of ways to interpret the story but I feel the core of the story is simple. Mankind faces disaster from war, and the Gundam rises as an icon of freedom and hope. That’s how I see this statue, an icon of hope. Maybe I’m putting meaning where there is none, but I can’t help but see the parallel. It’s at times like this when people need a beacon.
I’ve always viewed the Japanese as a strong people, and they have faced crises before-perhaps not the same level of destruction caused today, but they have been forced to rebuild before. They will do so again. I mourn with their nation at this tragedy, but I also have hope. I believe in their determination and innovation. The statue that may now be broken can be repaired. It will take time and it may be difficult, but Japan can also be repaired. Most of all, despite a world that can seem so callous and cold, Japan is not alone. Already many countries have volunteered aid, and there is an outpouring of support globally.
If you can help go to www.RedCross.org
MyZoo
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