I have just returned from Panama. It has been a quick business trip in which I have tried to make the most of my time. Here are some notes from the trip:
– United Airlines choice of dinner was "beef or chicken". Whatever happened to the broadly accepted vegetarian-friendly classic pasta choice? Besides, the chicken was breaded, in a white bun, and the "beef", lets just say it did not look too good.
Hugo sends me this amazing song/video made in Minecraft. Of course, that leads to 10 more, 14 more… there are so many!
When you make the tools available to the people, and allow them to create (in this case under the safe harbor of “parody”) wonderful things happen. Its NOT all about the money, profit, control... Its about imagination, art, creativity, culture. Thats how it happens: copying, re-using, mixing, adjusting, modifying.
New York`s Intrepid Museum, new home of the Space Shuttle Enterprise, does not allow unions. You can see it (point number 13) in their “code of conduct”. WTF!!??
via Alvaro.
Five days ago, the New Museum invited me to the “All White Party”. It`s one of those events I would not normally go by myself, but Jane told me about the rooftop bar that only opens on weekends and during parties, so I decided to go and check it out. Plus, I was told it was the only chance I would have to see new yorkers dressed in white.
July 13th-15th Alvaro and I attended Hope9 (Hackers On Planet Earth number 9) conference in New York`s Hotel Pennsylvania.
It was a lot of fun, as usual. Besides the many and informative talks (we gave one on “Digital Security in Health Care Institutions”, the first day), there was music, booths (FSF, EFF with a girl that wanted to come to Spain to help the #indignados, Free Manning, No Starch Press Books and more), arduino and lock-picking classes, a pro-ponies and against-zombies USA Presidential Candidate wearing a boot on his head, MakerBot 3D printers, the IMMI, Hackers For Charity, AlphaOne HackerSpace (will be visiting it next Thursday with Audrey), StartUpHire, SparkleLabs (awesome presents for kids and n00bies!
Let me share some odd videos I have watched recently, thanks to Leaitrice and Patricia:
The famous “Sunscreen” music video (the text comes from an essay written in 1997 by Mary Schmich, a columnist at the Chicago Tribune, as a graduation speech for the class of `97) which gives some amazing advice for life. There is even a StarWars Version.
Drunk History: get some history students drunk, have them narrate historical events, while reenacting them… more fun than it seems.
As I mentioned in my previous post, at IBM Innovation Center in Chicago they have a Watson (more info here) interactive kiosk with which to play an interactive game of Jeopardy. In case you have been living in a cave for the past few months, Watson beat Jeopardy human champions on live TV, the significance of which can not be overstated.
Now, remember: this is a “small version” of Watson, and a “self-contained” version of Jeopardy.
