David Lidsky's Blog, page 3224
July 3, 2014
The Hidden Dangers Of Crosswalk Timers
Knowing exactly when the light will turn red is great for pedestrians. The problem? Drivers can see those numbers, too.
As a pedestrian, the numeric countdown timers on crossing signals make life so much easier. No more are we doomed to grapple with the uncertainty of what exactly that orange "Don't Walk" hand means--is it "Don't Walk (The Light Is Turning Now)" or is it really saying "Don't Walk (Unless You Can Cross the Street in Less than 16 Seconds)"? You know when to walk briskly, and when you can take your time.
IBM Watson, Cookbooks, And Food's Big Data Future
IBM and Bon Appetit Magazine have entered into a cookbook and big data partnership. Here's why cooking and food are so important for big data.
This article contains interviews with Steve Abrams, IBM Watson Group Director and Stacey Rivera, Bon Appetit Digital Director.
Narragansett Brings Back The Beer Can Design From "Jaws"
With proceeds partially going to shark conservation, Quint would never approve.
From Spuds MacKenzie to Sam Adams, there have been many beer spokesmen over the years, but none of them can beat Quint, the Narragansett chugging shark hunter from Stephen Spielberg's Jaws. Played by Robert Shaw, Quint was a survivor of the U.S.S. Indianapolis who watched hundreds of his fellow sailors eaten alive by sharks. For sheer manliness, Quint's the kind of beer spokesperson that makes Dos Equis's The Most Interesting Man Alive look like a milksop.
How Tarted-Up Book Covers Belittle Women's Fiction
The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.
If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes stories about cholera, the death of an infant, and domestic abuse. The cover, featuring pink lettering and a neck-down shot of a woman suntanning on a pink towel, suggests it's a breezy summer read--and not one meant for men.
Boston Is Getting Solar-Powered Park Benches That Charge Your Devices
The "Soofa" marks a new milestone in smart urban furniture.
No longer should we have to beg a block's worth of bartenders to let us charge our dead phones. What if USB outlets were treated like public property instead?
Make Your Own Virtual Reality Headset From Cardboard, With These (Sort Of) Simple Tips
Skip out on paying for a $250,000 Virgin Galactic ride into space and do it on a pair of $20 cardboard virtual reality glasses instead.
There are a lot of things you can make out of paper products these days, not limited to cell phones, bikes, desks, and pollution measuring kits. Impossible as it seems, it was probably only a matter of time before some particularly industrious people came up with a virtual reality headset made out of cardboard.
A Table For Two That Forces You To Ignore Your Phone And Be Mindful
Stop paying attention to your meal and your dining partner at your own risk.
If you have trouble resisting the impulse to check your smartphone while you're out with friends or having dinner on a date, this table might help: By literally strapping two people together for the duration of the meal, it forces them to pay attention to each other.
The Architecture Of Abortion: How Providers Build Their Own Buffer Zones
And why architects need to do more to ensure women's reproductive rights
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Massachusetts law allowing for a 35-foot buffer zone outside clinics offering abortions. The law, which builds off of a similar one in Colorado, went into effect in 2007 and provided a fixed, no-go zone around women's reproductive health clinics. The buffer zone, which was supported by local law enforcement, limited the proximity of pro-life protestors to the women and the staff entering the facility, thus diminishing public safety concerns.
Bulletproof Coffee, The New Power Drink Of Silicon Valley
Move over, green juice. Startup execs, Hollywood A-listers, and regular joes are now swearing by butter-infused Bulletproof coffee.
Cloud computing pioneer Dave Asprey took a trip to Tibet in 2004 to learn how to meditate. But it was the yak-butter tea he tried there that ended up transforming his life.
Secrets Of Successfully Navigating A Merger
Don't let the challenge of combining two cultures sink a promising new partnership.
Suzy Deering started her advertising career dressed as a sailor at Disney World's Little Mermaid shop, eventually working her way up through the company's media department. Later, she'd oversee communications at big brands like Verizon and Home Depot. Now CEO of Atlanta-based digital creative agency Moxie, whose clients include Nationwide Insurance, UPS, and Coca-Cola, Deering is leading the company's most exciting and challenging evolutions to date: the integration of two corporate cultures after a merger with Columbus, Ohio-based agency Engauge last year.
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