eugene gordin

Newspaper This week’s collection is limited in political articles, filled instead with innovation and technology. This may or may not be the result of me not yet understanding what type of articles you readers prefer most. Therefore, if you are so inclined, please let me know in the comments what types of articles you guys prefer. Otherwise, your silence (and clicks!) will be construed as approval. Enjoy!

1

Stereomood - Emotional Internet Radio

Sometimes a genre, or an artist, or a title doesn't quite encompass the kind of music you want to hear - sometimes that desire is best described by an emotion. That's the concept behind Stereomood, which, with a single click lets you hear the kind of music you want, whether it's raining, you just woke up, or you're simply happy. It's simple, straightforward, and surprisingly good.

2

A Better Understanding of Stoplights

It's always refreshing to come across someone improving a seemingly dead-end product, which is exactly what Damjan Stankovic is doing with the traditional stoplight. Stankovic's stoplight gives drivers a bit more information as to just how much longer they have to wait until they see green. Considering most of us just watch that crosswalk timer count down anyway, we might as well look straight into this great little idea. For extra credit, check out the Piece of Cake, another refresh take on the common split the check problem.

3

Still Waiting for An Evil Google? It's Not Going to Happen.

As one of those people who has basically relinquished all personal data to Google while complaining of its ever increasing dominance of everything everywhere, I was slightly comforted by this Louis Gray piece which reassures us tin-foilers that all will be ok.

4

MIT Harnesses Online Crowds to Beat Darpa Balloon Challenge

A curious nationwide contest took place this weekend, celebrating and harnessing the power of the internet to locate and report the location of 10 giant red balloons released all over America. The challenge was organized by the Pentagon DARPA unit, which aimed to highlight the true power of social networking today. As it turns out, a team of graduate students at MIT took the $40,000 prize, using a creative monetary incentive scheme to do it. While its not completely clear what lessons can be garnered from this type of widespread experiment, the fact that the challenge was over less than 9 hours after the first balloon was released speaks volumes about our collective (incentivized) power.

5

The Case of Anna Anderson

This short post is from a great website I found called Iconic Photographs, which, in addition to showing the photographs themselves, also reveals a bit of the history behind it. Anna Anderson was the name of a woman who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, Nikolai II's daughter. Although the Romanovs had been murdered in the run up to the Bolshevik Revolution, that fact didn't stop the controversy around Anna Anderson more than three years later.

Newspaper This week’s entry comes a bit late, as the snap back to reality from the Thanksgiving holiday was more difficult than expected. Time with family and friends did provide an opportunity to think about all of the things I’m grateful for this year, and among them are the people who write all of these great articles, and those of you who take the time read (and comment!) them. Thank you all!

1

What Facebook Can't Give You

Fifty-two years ago, a group of New York City's most promising young businessmen began to meet in order to better understand the world around them. Maybe I've been watching too much Mad Men, but the idea of these guy meeting every week to discuss business, politics, and life in general evokes thoughts about a simpler time, and old-school tradition.

2

A Partial Lexicon of Current Political Speech

In this era of never-ending campaigning and empty rhetoric disguised as political wisdom, it is important to have a dictionary by your side to decode the cavernous dribble which politicians spew on a daily basis. Luckily, the great people at The American Thinker have created this humorous guide - and its continuation - to help us better understand it all.

3

He Can't Take Another Bow

With White House approval ratings dropping, more and more people from the left side of the aisle are speaking out against a President from their own party, highlighting the troubling issues with having a president with little experience and hindsight.

4

Buying any ebook reader now is a gamble

As someone considering a Kindle, the current state of affairs in the world of ebooks is particularly interesting. Marco Arment, creator of the amazing Instapaper, brings a handful of interesting points about ebook readers like the Nook and Kindle.

5

The Arabs Have Stopped Applauding Obama

Despite America's recent unclenched fists, extended hands, and "arms are for hugging" platitudes, the effect on the Arab world has been minimal, despite its initial (luke)warm reception. Appeasement is going to get us no where, and no one knows that better than the likes of Jimmy Carter and Neville Chamberlain. The problem is, the price of adding one more name to that list is paid by the American people.

Newspaper I sat down to write this week’s entry with more than 15 articles marked for sharing, forcing me to choose the most interesting 6 out of the bunch. It was a difficult choice, and further reinforced my intention to create a more usable layout for all of these articles. In the mean time though, you can get a more realtime preview of the best contenders for the week’s Aggregate here.

1

Visualizing Empires Decline

This great little video visualizes the sizes of the four main European colonial empires over time. Starting in 1800, the video brings to light the dramatic geopolitical fluctuations in the last 200 years. Although I would have liked to see a similar visualization for the entire world, this video does its part to bring history alive.

2

iPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients

An organization is using music to improve the lives of stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer's patients, providing them with iPods filled with the music of their childhood. The organization is accepting used iPods as donations in order to further their work and help more of their patients lead fuller lives - I'm donating my old iPods, and an address is provided in the article if you are also interesting in helping.

3

Why You Can't Use Personal Technology at the Office

Although my experience in the corporate world is limited to a handful of summer internships, the disconnect between the consumer and corporate technology was always fascinating, given the pace of technological development we are experiencing. No where is this disconnect more notable than in the draconian corporate requirements for internet browsers, which forces employees to use prehistoric version of Internet Explorer, increasing their overhead costs while decreasing their network security. The article does provide some hope though, as firms are slowly thawing from their stringent technological policies due to potential increases in productivity.

4

We Need a Civilian ROTC

Proposed congressional legislation is aimed at creating a civil service program mirroring that of the armed services, encouraging and incentivizing public service. Despite the article's mistaken claim that the New Deal and the Great Society programs were highly beneficial (the prolonging of the Great Depression and the destruction of the African American family were the respective unintended consequences), the overall idea of civil service is a good one, providing opportunities for America's youth to gain beneficial experience while applying their knowledge to serve the public good. It should be noted that President Obama promised during his campaign to establish this exact type of program, so it will be interesting to see if any significant progress is made in this area.

5

Underground Psychology

It is always interesting to read about the various types of experiments that psychologists come up with to learn more about who we are - this article explains some of those experiments, specifically focused on people riding the subway. As a strange coincidence, I was riding BART as I read this article, and couldn't help looking around wondering what the outcomes of the same experiments would be if they were conducted here in the Bay Area.

6

Tinkering Makes Comeback Amid Crisis

I think I managed to catch the tail end of this phenomenon here at Cal, as more and more students focused on hands-on type projects in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. As a person who benefits daily from the innovations of technological giants such as Apple and Google, I must admit that I am rooting for the little guy in his garage working on the next big thing, just as Steve and Sergey did not so long ago.

Newspaper History and politics seem to dominate this week’s Aggregate, quite possibly the result of the tragedy at Fort Hood and my own increasing frustration with the leadership in Washington. While the future may be uncertain, there is comfort in the lessons of the past. I’ll mix it up the topics a bit more next week, but for now, enjoy.

PS I have greatly appreciated the comments you guys offer on the things I post – it’s this type of discourse that pushes me to keep sharing these articles.

1

September 10? It’s Worse Than That

Written by the attorney who prosecuted the first World Trade Center terrorists, this article explores America's seemingly forgotten history with Islamic Extremism. In the wake of Fort Hood, and all of the recent developments that have highlighted the breadcrumbs leading to this act of terrorism, the importance of history and context cannot be greater.

2

Deciphering the Mohammed Trial

The unparalleled complications of bringing 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to trial in a New York criminal court propelled George Friedman to analyze the legal quagmire that Eric Holder and the Obama Administration has now created. I found the short background on the Geneva Convention particularly fascinating, especially in light of last year's Gaza War, where Hamas fighters launched rockets from schools and fired from civilian-populated areas.

3

America's Top College Professor

Despite the gameshow-sounding title, this article describes a contest for the best college professor in America. As someone who has been in school for almost eight full years, I can personally honestly attest to the troubling state of the nation's academics. With an ever-increasing focus on research and publication, many professors place teaching at the end of their priorities, leaving a select few professors who truly care give their students their all. Although I have been fortunate to work frequently with the latter, I have unfortunately experienced the saddening apathy of the former as well.

4

Our 'Constitutional Moment'

The recent and seemingly infinite expansion of the federal government has sparked a very simple question in the minds of those weary of getting their rights trampled on: where the hell does the Congress [or the President for that matter] get the power to do any of this? They key to the answer lies within our Constitution, which, unlike our contemporary legislative defilements, clearly and masterfully outlines the powers (and, more importantly restrictions) of our government. So in keeping with the spirit of this article, I encourage all of you to know and understand the backbone of our great nation.

5

2012 already? GOP wannabes jockeying early

With the heat of New Jersey and Virginia's election results behind them, GOP bigwigs are ramping up for potential nomination bids. Unfortunately, the only deficit bigger than that of the federal government is the deficit of inspiring presidential contenders in the Republican Party.

Newspaper For the purposes of this week’s Aggregate (as well as my own sanity), I’m going to ignore the passage of the healthcare bill in the House of Representatives this weekend. Instead, I bring you a proverbial salad bar of articles which cover religious pets, charter schools, Bay Area lunacy, and covert emigration. I promised to mix it up last week – what do you guys think about all this?

1

Secret Mission Rescues Yemen's Jews

A fascinating and scary look into the secret rescue of 60 Jews from Yemen by the US Government. Although the experiences that these people went through in Yemen are horrific in and of themselves, their way of life in Yemen now poses significant challenges to their adjustment to American life. It is difficult to imagine what they're about to go through, but as a Jewish immigrant to America, I can tell you that they've now given their children a chance for true survival & success.

2

Why Every Country Has a Different F#$%ing Plug

Despite the occasional four-letter word, this article very concisely explains the history behind why the world has so many different plugs. The article also links to an interesting explanation by a UC Berkeley Physics Professor of electricity about the history of electricity in America. It mentions that at one point the Europeans tried 50 seconds to the minute, 50 minutes to the hour, but the system just didn't take. That's fascinating if it actually happened, but I couldn't find any more information about it.

3

No Child Left Behind

After decades of research indicating that school choice results in tangible improvements to educational systems, the current White House administration is actually doing something about it (see, not all of their decisions are shudder-inducing). The Race to the Top Program (regardless of its basic imitation of No Child Left Behind), and increased funding of charter schools provides a glimmer of hope in a system which gasps for air under the sheer tonnage of the despotic teachers' union.

4

The Double Standard About Journalists' Bias

Written by John Stossel, a 19-time (I kid you not) Emmy winner, this article examines the one-sided nature of the mainstream media. As we find out from his experience (and by watching CNN, NBC, MSNBC, etc) the only type of criticism & exposé allowed is the one aimed directly at the political right.

5

L.A. church caters to canine crowd

Although the Church (and LA for that matter) is no stranger to gimmickry, this one caught my eye out of the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. Fortunately, the Washington Times decided to add a little balance to that day's paper and include an editorial advocating that we should eat our pets in order to save the planet. Even Jonathan Swift didn't see these two ideas coming.

6

By and large, Bay Area voters say yes to tax hikes

In case you were in search of additional evidence that the Bay Area has completely lost its mind (and not even recently as seen in last week's Aggregate), this local article seems to pat the Bay Area on its back for passing more than a handful of tax hikes during the most significant economic downturn in more than half a century. Well done guys, well done.

Newspaper While I was expecting large amounts of healthcare news this week, it turned out that the only large thing about it was the $1.2 trillion price tag (or roughly $4 million per word, I kid you not). There was however a return to political topics this week, despite non-political news such as the 40th birthday of the Internet. Next week, I promise to mix it up a bit more .

1

After the Wall: A Debate Over Democracy's Reach

An intriguing look at the latest competitor to democracy: authoritarian capitalism. With the world's emerging economies teetering in their stability and selection of a governing system, India and China provide ample case studies for both sides of the debate.

2

Democrats' Policies Based on Dogma, Hopes, Dreams, not Reality

Dennis Prager attempts to explain the left's unflinching faith in the ability of government to improve everything around us, including our healthcare system. While I admire undying optimism in society in general, that very same optimism in our political leaders typically results in tragedies of the worst kind.

3

'Civil Gideon' Trumpets Legal Discord

A new California law provides the poor with the right to an attorney in civil matters such as child custody and foreclosure, extending beyond the standard "Gideon" rights to an attorney for criminal cases. While there is more than adequate justification for the new law, it is still unclear where the money will come for such expenditure, regardless of necessity. Besides, this law definitely makes more sense than the new San Francisco policy that prevents police officers from automatically impounding cars driven by unlicensed (and illegal immigrants) drivers, instead giving them 20 minutes to find someone with a valid license to drive their car. Oh California.

4

Obama and the U.S. Strategy of Buying Time

Although I feel like I include Stratfor articles all the time in these posts, the balance and insight of their articles force me to add one more. This time George Friedman looks at British and Roman history as guides to understanding American foreign policy. Friedman makes the valid point that the moment that a nation establishes full national defense is the same moment that other nations view it as a threat: defense is offense.

5

Updating the legislative scenarios: Reply hazy, ask again later

Keith Hennessey, a former director of the National Economic Council, reexamines and quantifies the probable legislative options for the healthcare bills currently facing Congress. As a major political operative, it is always fascinating to read Hennessey's insight into Washington politics, despite the troublesome nature of our current situation.

Newspaper This week’s Aggregate includes only one political article (I was highly tempted to include the ridiculous Politico piece about Matt Drudge being responsible for the dollar’s decline), but instead focuses more on science & technology. However, with Congress inching closer to a vote on ObamaCare, next week is likely to include more political content.

1

When Tyranny Calls

A finely toned sense of pattern recognition is the perfect compliment to a thorough understanding of history: while the latter provides the context, the former provides insight to the current, as well as the future. This article, much like the bestselling Liberty & Tyranny, describes our current state in the context of the past. The paragraph about future politicians being forced to support Universal Healthcare the way that Social Security is now supported was particularly insightful.

2

Getting It Wrong: Surprising Tips on How to Learn

In the age of Google, and Wikipedia, much of the debates around the kitchen table end prematurely when someone whips out their iPhone in search of getting it right. New research in the Scientific American suggests that and getting it wrong the first time, and only then looking it up will lead to better comprehension. This research is particularly interesting in light of the American educational system's focus on giving away answers for fear of diminishing a student's self esteem. Looks like failing a few times really does help drive a point home.

3

Why hasn't Vista sold well?

Speaking of failing, Microsoft released Windows 7 this week, which caused a bit of reflection as to why Vista was such a problem. This blog post by the very talented Marco Arment looks beyond Vista's technological blunders to the bigger picture, and the computer industry's current approach to its customers.

4

The Future of Laundry: No Water

Just a few minutes after finishing my laundry last week, I happened upon this Popular Science article about the latest advancements in clothes washing. While the technology seems impressive (it comes out of Xerox no less), I'd like to see how clean it actually gets clothes comparing to conventional machines. Also intriguing is the article on that same page about energy efficient appliances.

5

AT&T's A-List

Lastly this week is not so much an article but a new feature from AT&T called A-List, which allows you to talk to 5 of your contacts for as much as you want without it counting against your monthly minute allowance. I hadn't seen much publicity for this feature, probably due to the fact that it is free for AT&T customers with cell phone plans that cost $59 and above, meaning that almost all iPhone customers are eligible. Combined with Rollover minutes, this almost makes up for AT&T's notorious lack of service coverage.

Newspaper Although it was easier to write than last week’s (which was written entirely on my iPhone), this week’s Aggregate consists of articles which I caught up on while flying back from Boston to California. A few of this week’s articles address topics covered before, but in a bit of a different light, so take a look and as always, let me know in the comments what you think about all of them!

1

Why Email No Longer Rules…

As I traveled around New England last week, and had the opportunity to think more about Google Wave, I began to really see the benefits of that type of real-time communication. I tried to think of a good example of the need for more instant communication which was filled neither by email nor instant messaging, and the best that I could come up with was email attachments. Have you ever sent an email with an attachment, only to find out a few minutes later that something in the attachment or email needed to be changed? Well Google Docs began addressing this problem, but Google Wave truly fixes it.

2

How Israel Was Disarmed

This opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal fast forwards to January 2010, when Israel is forced to disarm by the United Nations. With geopolitics spiraling the way that they have been recently, and with the White House fully investing in its impotent foreign policy of little more than words, the situation described in the article is, frighteningly, not all that implausible.

3

The Fallacy of Identity Theft

If you watch TV or listen to the radio, you have likely been bombarded with ads which claim to protect you from the impending disaster known as Identity Theft. This article examines that very trend, and presents some interesting statistics on how widespread the problem really is(n't).

4

Why Obama Was Awarded The Nobel Prize

Two weeks later, President Obama's Nobel Prize win is still on people's minds, as it is still unclear what exactly he did to win, except appease the world's left. Therefore, Dennis Prager examines the Norwegian Nobel Committee's justification of their pick, sentence by sentence. This is particularly interesting, considering the majority of the committee objected to the selection of Obama.

5

Presumption of Guilt

Finally, this story explains the cobwebs of the Mexican legal system, and one man's wrongful imprisonment which was ended only when a couple of filmmakers & lawyers heard his horrific story and decided to help. While Stratfor did offer some detailed intelligence on the growing trouble in Mexico, the legal issues there were not addressed. Luckily this article sheds some light on our southern neighbor.

Newspaper I’m writing this Aggregate post from a lakeside cabin in Massachusetts, and the entire thing was written on my iPhone. Therefore I ask you to disregard the spelling and grammar mistakes, which are hard to catch on this little device (proofreading will definitely happen when I get back!). That said, if you’re interested in reading about my weeklong roadtrip across New England, you can find my trip journal here.

1

Newsom's Nanny Problem

One of the front running Democratic candidates for governor of California, Gavin Newsom seems to be running on the platform that his success in San Francisco can simply be ratcheted up to Sacramento. There's only two problems with that plan: first, the city of San Francisco isn't representative of the state of California, and second, his "success" in San Francisco is minimal at best. That's all we need in Sacramento - another politician telling us how to live our lives from the pulpit of a bankrupt state house.

2

Revolutionary Anti-Semitism

While I have a thorough understading of Anti-Semitism in Europe and the Middle East, I must admit that I knew little about it in South America. This article sheds some (scary) light on the matter. Venezuela's friendship with Iran is only second to that of Russia's and President Obama's criticism of the well justified removal of the leftist Hunduran despot only serves to confirm his lack of historical understanding.

3

Two Leaks and the Deepening Iran Crisis

With the situation with Iran quickly brewing into a serious geopolitical moment, no one can explain the entire tangled web better than Stratfor's George Friedman. The analysis is thorough, insightful, and awefukly frightening for anyone with a president who keeps being rewarded for his consistent lack of productivity.

4

Our Gross National Happiness

If you've ever wondered what good can come of the vast amount of information that Facebook knows about the world around all of us, here's one example. Facebook created an algorithm which examines people's (anonymous) status messages for indications of positivity and negativity. The result is an almost realtime plot of what they call our "Gross National Happiness." Although this kind of infographic is fascinating to look at, it should be noted that the people who consistently post status messages indicating their mood are likely (even collectively) not representative of anything except our gross national need to get a life.

5

Google Wave's Unproductive Email Metaphors

Google Wave has been well touted as the next greatest thing, and as someone who has had an account since Google unveiled the product, I have to say that in it's current state, I fail to see it ever reaching the ubiquity of email. I'm not talking about the bugs, I mean the concept - it's just too difficult, unintuitive, and just plain overwhelming for the vast majority of the general public. Robert Scoble explains some of the reasons why.

6

Why Obama Should Not Have Received the Peace Prize -- Yet

The morning I found out that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I, like most everyone was shocked. One of the most astounding aspects of the whole fiasco is that it angered people across the political spectrum, particularly because he hasn't, um, done anything. While the "yet" part of this Reich post title is debatable, the first part definitely rings true.

Newspaper This week’s articles are a bit all over the place, but I guess that is the point of this little series. The commentary this week is peppered with a bit more links, just in case the 5 Aggregate articles weren’t enough.

I should also mention that I came across an article this week by Michael Medved (talkshow host, film critic, and author) where he agrees with Robert Reich that universal healthcare very well could bankrupt the US if economists, the American public, history, and well, logic are ignored. If you recall, I highlighted that very same Reich article an Aggregate post two weeks ago, as a seemingly odd justification for healthcare legislation. Glad I wasn’t the only one perplexed by the article, and concerned by the perspective.

Here’s what I have for you this week:

1

Walk or Bus?

This handy little tool will help you answer the age old question of urbanites everywhere: should I walk or take the bus? The idea is that given a certain distance to go, and the time until the next bus, this chart will tell you if you're better off walking or waiting for the bus. Although a mobile version of this tool is both missing & already suggested, the concept is quite useful.

2

The Real Jimmy Carter

Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor and author of many great books, explains his take on Jimmy Carter, with whom he has extensive personal experience. Despite being arguably the worst US president of the 20th century, Jimmy Carter has continued to plague this country with anti-semetic, anti-Israel, and plainly insulting rhetoric, arguing that those who disagree with President Obama do so out of their own inherent racism. It would be astounding that a man with such hateful views has yet to be marginalized, but as Dershowitz clearly points out, he's quite well-funded with hate-spewing oil money.

3

Liu Bolin - The Invisible Man

Liu Bolin is a contemporary Chinese artist who paints himself in order to blend in with his surroundings. Although I am still unclear about what the intended underlying message of his art is, it seems to me that in a regime like China's, the common man often fades into a background of political turmoil, unbridled success, and unabashed tyranny.

4

Health 'Reform' Is Income Redistribution

Three prominent political operatives make their case against the health reform currently under debate in Congress, arguing that the "guaranteed issue" and "individual mandate" sections of these plans will likely result in increased premiums for an overwhelming majority of Americans. The ironic thing about all of these critiques is that none of them are based on an actual, finalized bill. Therefore, the response from the left is often that the bill is unfinished. That may be the case, but since neither congressmen nor the public will get much time with the finalized bill, all we're left with is the current (and quite scary) legislative language.

5

Haunting ‘Gulag Collection’ Records Soviets’ Inhumanity

Nikolai Getman was a Gulag survivor who painted the horrors of these Russian labor camps after his release in 1953. Getman vividly portrays the widespread hunger, vicious abuse, and unadulterated atrocity of the Russian camps, and his important work is now on display at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC to commemorate the anniversary of fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 1989. Sidenote: I was actually named after my grandmother's sister, who passed away just before I was born, and was sent to the gulags for "espionage" under Stalin.

[The Aggregate] Week of November 30th, 2009

December 7th, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of November 23rd, 2009

December 1st, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of November 16th, 2009

November 23rd, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of November 9th, 2009

November 16th, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of November 2nd, 2009

November 9th, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of October 26th, 2009

November 2nd, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of October 19th, 2009

October 26th, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of October 12th, 2009

October 19th, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of October 5th, 2009

October 12th, 2009

[The Aggregate] Week of September 28th, 2009

October 4th, 2009