SHOULD?

What should we be working on? How can social and technological innovations be applied to the deeper concerns of our times?

As we come to the close of this deceptively languid but ultimately fleeting period of relative peace and surplus, how do we confront the inconvenient truths of our situation? If we face a world of peak oil, overpopulation, environmental degradation, financial collapse, political instability and wars... what should we work on?

the youtube in my mind

Daydreaming is closing your eyes and watching the youtube in your mind.

Hello hello hello is there anybody in there?

After a year of neglect, I've decided to start posting randomly here. In its short existence, the blog format has evolved into an art form seems too much of a commitment to maintain... At the other extreme is Twitter, which gives you a quick fix like IM chat... or telepathy. TWITTER : BLOGS :: INSTANT MESSAGING : EMAIL

But is there something in between? Something that is interactive and chaotic yet trending toward meaning and order? Would that be the Facebook wall? A wiki/blog hybrid?

For now, I'll continue to jot down thoughts here in an old-fashioned "blog" format.

Facebook

Still living in the Facebook world these days.

Summer of Facebook

"For nostalgic hippies in the SF bay area, this was the 40th anniversary of 1967’s famous Summer of Love. But for every Silicon Valley developer, entrepreneur, and VC who has a pulse it’s been the Summer of Facebook."

Lean, Green and Clean

Here are some newsletters and blogs related to efficiency ("lean"), the environment ("green") and alternative energy ("clean"):

• Renewable Energy Access - comprehensive weekly survey of renewable energy news. (Subscribe) (Podcast)
  
• Inside Greentech - covering the latest technology and business developments in greentech/cleantech. (Subscribe)
• GreenBiz.com - "Business. The Environment. The Bottom Line." (Subscribe)
  
• WorldChanging - Change your Thinking. (Subscribe)
• e-FFICIENCY News - from the Alliance to Save Energy.
  
• Cleantech Blog - commentary and news on energy and environment (Subscribe) (RSS)
• Alternative Energy News - an aggregation of many other blogs and news sources (Subscribe)
• Playgreen.org - a "green" wiki
  

All "subscribe" links are for the email newsletters. Note that any blog with an RSS feed can also be turned into an email newsletter using a free service such as RssFwd. Just enter the RSS feed URL and your email address, and the new blog entries will arrive as emails.

Technology Entertainment and Design (TED)

The brilliant expositions, profound vignettes, distillations of wisdom, and general ruminations from this annual conference are online and also available on iTunes -- definitely worth checking out!

My favorites so far:
David Deutsch - on being improbable
Jeff Han - multitouch (now seen in the iPhone and Microsoft Surface)
David Pogue - humorous musical takes (a la Tom Lehrer) on software
Tony Robbins - motivational speaker and life coach
Hans Rosling - making demographic statistics (and swordswallowing) come alive
Seth Godin - sliced bread and marketing by being risky
Jeff Bezos - the early days of the electric industry... and the internet
Rick Warren - a purpose-driven talk -- what is in your hand?
Barry Schwartz - choices make us less happy
Steven Levitt - the freakonomics of Chicago gangs
Jeff Hawkins - the brain as a prediction engine