New York City at night.
The Atlantic magazine has a new feature about collections of shots like these, including various official NASA ones but also photos shot by astronauts in space.
Just fascinates me and I wanted you to see it too.
Self Distraction
Self Distraction
Self Distract: the App Store’s sixth anniversary
Over on my personal blog Self Distract: how these little software apps became so important.
But as well as the Self Distract blathering, I did also do you a video that was fresh-baked this morning but took six years of filming. I’m like an iPhone version of Richard Linklater
The world is a good place when there are people like this in it
It just made me happy. A guy by the name of Zack Danger Brown – you know what he says to everybody about his middle name – launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his making a potato salad. His stated goal was to raise $10 (£5.85) and as of this moment, with 22 days left to go, he has got 5,660 backers contributing a total of $46,052 (£26,873.46).
The page’s description just keeps tickling me:
We’re making a lot of great progress. I think it’s time for us to think about getting hats made. I added a new donor level for people who want hats.
And he made a stretch goal – long since beaten – where he says:
$1000: I’ll do a live stream of the potato salad making
The Onion: Coworker with Two Computer Screens Not Fucking Around
For once I can’t give you a bit of this and then suggest you read the full piece on The Onion because this really is the full piece. An excerpt just doesn’t seem to work. So may I ask you a favour? Have a click on through to The Onion for more so that I am not blindly stealing their work for no benefit of theirs. Thanks.
Now, the story.
Coworker With Two Computer Screens Not Fucking Around
FORT WORTH, TX—Credible sources within your office reported Monday that the guy on the third floor with two computer screens on his desk is not fucking around. “Amazing—he comes in here, sits down next to me and my one sorry-ass screen, turns on his two screens, and starts tearing it up,” marketing assistant Todd Piotrowski said as the guy dragged a window from one screen to the other, which sources confirmed was like watching fucking Minority Report or something.
“He’s got three, maybe four programs open on each screen, plus some sort of group video chat running nonstop—he’s going balls to the wall over there. How is he doing all this with only one keyboard?” Piotrowski also speculated that if there’s a limit to how many tabs you can have open in your web browser at once, this guy’s gonna hit it.
I’m having this – hang the internet on your wall
It is a Kickstarter campaign but it’s already achieved it’s funding, this is happening.
It’s called Electric Objects. Go check out the Kickstarter page. At this stage, you’re not pledging, you’re buying at a pre-sale price. And then admittedly waiting a bit.
The 29 reasons you’re reading this article
Medium writer Gilad Lotan argues that as addicted as we are to lists in articles, we are particularly prone to odd numbers. Especially 29.
And I thought the reason we saw so many of these articles was just that they are easy for the writers. Write a list, forget bothering to have a structure or any reason for the reader to read on through the whole piece. I have obviously never done this ever, ever.
But if I were to do it, I would use lists. Let me give you 29 reasons why:
You make a Listicle. How long should it be? 5 items feels a bit short. 30 Feels a tad long, and way too even. But 29 seems like a good, shareable length. What if I tell you that using data we’ve found statistically significant difference between performance of odd vs. even numbers? Sounds odd? Read on.
Lists have been around for a long time. From the Bible to the Billboard charts, packaging items in lists is an effective way to gain heightened attention from a broader audience. The format makes content more easily consumable, promising an effortless way to get through a finite amount of information. Choosing the right length involves a dash of voodoo magic and a lot of speculation.
The 29 reasons you’re reading this article – Gilad Lotan, Medium (1 July 2014)
For once, the speculation seems sound and backed up by experimental data. Do have a read of the full piece.
The 5 tools you need for writing, definitely
Actually, you could do this with three and those would be:
1) Computer
PCs are cheaper, Macs are better. I vote Mac because I put a big value on the time I no longer have to spend piddling about getting Windows to damn well work. But Macs don’t suit everyone; if you like piddling, save yourself some bucks and get more geeky enjoyment with a PC.
But.
If you’re buying a PC, you have a million options and every one ends up with you having to make a choice between models that have some clear and obvious difference like a 1Mhz speed increase or something. Ignore salespeople, they will – seriously – just read you the spec sheet you were already puzzling over. Instead, ask a friend who has one, get their recommendation and then see if you can find it on the end of this Amazon UK link. That way, if it all works out for you, I get some pennies from your having bought this way and if it doesn’t, it’s your friend who gets your support calls. Everybody wins and it costs me nothing.
If you’re buying a Mac, you’ve fewer options and they always end up with you needing to make a choice between two very similar models. In all cases, save money by buying the cheaper processor speed and spend money on extra RAM and extra storage space. You’ll thank me later, which is nice as I am going to suggest an Amazon link – here it is, do check this out – but I also think you should go into an Apple Store and ask there.
If you’re looking at me like that for the bit about processor speeds and RAM, Apple Store staff will just tell you straight what Macs are good for and not so good for. They’ll ask what you expect to be doing with Mac: be honest. Tell them straight that you should be writing but you’re going to distract yourself with a photography habit that you only do to be social, that you can stop any time.
They will translate processor speeds – actually, no, they won’t bother translating, they’ll just tell you what it means in terms you can use. And Apple Store staff are not on commission so they’ll push this stuff but it’s more from genuine enthusiasm.
Last, if you’re havering between a laptop, desktop or tablet computer, they all work, they all do the job. You will just typically get more done on the desktop, you will be substantially freer with the laptop and the iPad will do everything, everywhere but you need to think about it more as you go.
2) Word processor
Microsoft Word if you have to, if it’s already on your computer or if you know you like it. Google Docs is fine, if a bit clunky looking. If you did buy a Mac, you’ve just got yourself a word processor called Pages and the odds are that you may never need anything else.
3) Email
How else are you going to deliver work? It’s also great for pitches. Just for god’s sake make sure you get a sensible email address.
Get and use these three and you’re away to the races. But I’d recommend two more:
4) Somewhere to track what and where and when your work is
I track invoices in the Numbers spreadsheet and jobs in Evernote. I track tasks in OmniFocus and I keep an eye on my week with Calendar in Mac OS X.
So this would be one of the five tools and I’m saying it’s – wait, counts on fingers – four different applications. Yes. You could do it all in your word processor though. And the time it would take you to pick up and figure out all these applications would probably be better spent at first on learning what your word processor can do. You’re smart, you can use anything but they all have nooks and crannies that are worth exploring for how they may be able to speed up your work.
When you know your word processor well, though, then start branching out into these others.
5) Kettle
Enough said.
One in seven would give up friends before smartphone
There’s a flaw in this survey of American smartphone users: they say this about giving up friends but they also say that they leave their phones on all the time so that they can be contacted. By whom?
Re/code got the whole survey this came from and that’s the statistic they pulled out but there are others. Of this poll of US users:
74 percent keep their smartphones within reach throughout the entire day
60 percent sleep with their phones and that number increases to 84 percent in the 18-29 year olds demographic, while their European counterparts are more likely to keep their devices in the next room
17 percent of women would give up their best friend for a week instead of their smartphone
53 percent keep their phone sound on even while they sleep
Fireworks filmed from a drone flying through them
Some of it just looks like being close to fireworks but some is startling and I wanted to share it with you:
Running with scissors
Not productive, at least not for you and I, but mesmerising to watch: