David Lidsky's Blog, page 3278
April 23, 2014
Solar Power Is Now As Cheap As Grid Electricity In These European Countries
Germany, Italy, and Spain could zoom forward on solar, now that it saves people money compared to buying electricity from a power company.
Choosing solar power no longer has to be a sacrifice for the sake of the environment. In Germany, Italy, and Spain, installing your own solar panels can now actually save money.
April 22, 2014
New York City's Version Of The Cat Cafe: Strays On The Bowery, "Cat'achinos"
Purina is opening a pop-up cat cafe in lower Manhattan--but it won't look much like the ones popular in Japan.
Starting this Thursday, you can hang out with New York's finest stray cats while sipping "cat'achino." Doesn't that sound delightful?
AT&T And Chernin Group Will Invest $500 Million In Online Video Streaming Venture
The two companies previously placed an unsuccessful bid for Hulu.
AT&T and the Chernin Group announced Tuesday they are jointly investing $500 million to create a venture to invest, acquire, and launch over-the-top streaming services to take on Netflix.
Uber's Misguided Weekend Promotion Tapped The Boston Marathon Bombings
"This weekend, people will come together from all over the globe to celebrate human perseverance in the city of champions," wrote Uber.
Uber's PR woes are well-documented, but this might be the most misguided yet. As pointed out by Valleywag, Uber's big promotion over the weekend tapped into the atrocity of last year's Boston Marathon bombing. It was called "BostonX."
This "Real Beauty" Parody Featuring Gorillas Shows How Condescending Dove Is To Women
As Dove's tactics for convincing women they look good get nuttier--a "beauty patch," anyone?--the backlash gets smarter and funnier.
Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign has seen its fair share of backlash for condescending to and manipulating women. But mockery of the most recent ad, "Patches," most perfectly encapsulates everything that is irritating about Dove's award-winning efforts.
DARPA Is Developing The Ultimate Autopilot System
It can do the jobs of five crew members.
One of the problems the military faces with several decades of working aircraft is that the command interfaces are all slightly different, therefore requiring them to be manned by different people. But now, the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will soon debut a new "ultimate auto-pilot program" that, with any luck, will allow a single pilot to do the jobs of five crew members on a given mission.
The Secret To Engineers And Non-Engineers Getting Along Is Simpler Than You Think
According to investors we spoke to, it takes a special type of non-technical person to muster the empathy to work with developers.
This story contains interviews with Bubba Murarka, general partner at VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and former business strategy guru for Facebook; Redpoint VC Ryan Sarver, formerly Twitter's director of Platform; and Paul Biggar, founder of automated testing startup CircleCI.
To Bring Climate Change Home, A Chef Cooks Eggs and Bacon Directly On Hot Pavement
The "Global Warming Menu" gives new meaning to street food.
This past December, Asuncion the capital of Paraguay, was found to be one of the hottest cities in the world. The reason: deforestation. According to the WWF, today, 1,700,000 hectares are left of the 8.8 million hectares of the Upper Parana Atlantic Forest (BAAPA) that existed in 1960, equivalent to one fifth of the surface of Paraguay--that is, in the last 50 years 80% of these Paraguayan native forests have disappeared.
There Is A Gay Jean: Betabrand's Denim Reveals A Rainbow With Repeat Wearing
Move over Diesel, your dance pants ain't got nothin' on Betabrand's fade to rainbow.
On the heels of its campaign to showcase (really) smart women in its spring clothing, Betabrand, the San Francisco-based purveyor of Cordarounds and "Vagisoft" blankets is introducing a "Gay Jean."
The Top 10 Most Innovative Sustainable Buildings Of 2014
From a net-zero energy historic courthouse in Colorado to a homeless center in Oregon filled with green space, these days, the best sustainable architecture goes far beyond a few rooftop solar panels.
By next year, as much as 48% of new non-residential building construction will be green, according to estimates. Sustainable architecture is no longer rare, and that's something that's happened fairly quickly--from 2005 to 2012, the number of new green building designs jumped up 39%.
David Lidsky's Blog
- David Lidsky's profile
- 3 followers
