Twitter Favorites

I’m a twit, I’ll admit it. Most tweets that come across my desktop are boring, industry-related or the typical narcissistic shout-out.

Few have the ability to tickle and delight. Some are profane. Some are insensitive and controversial. Some are just plain stupid. These are the ones that get flagged as my favorite.

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Design Means Business / Business Means Design

With The Ignite Series¹ “Snuff your competition with style” workshop, less than a month away, I find myself deeply engrossed in exploring the exciting and evolving relationship between design and the economy.

Since I am writing this on my iPhone and am flying 20,000 feet above the ground, rather than a formal blog entry I offer the following insightful quotes from my in-flight reading material: A whole new mind: moving from the Information Age to the Conception Age by Daniel H. Pink.
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Am I simply sleep deprived or does this letter opener really kick ass?

Which ever the case may be, I experienced a profound sense of appreciation for this letter opener this morning. Oprah may have her “favorite things” and Martha may have her “good things”, but I’ve got this handy-dandy, inspirational letter opener and a brand spanking new blog category—Appreciation Station.

Thank you, third world country. Thank you, orange no. 13. Thank you, Mac World Expo. Thank you, endicia.com. And thank YOU, Google.

Luis von Ahn is my new hero

Not only does this guy’s last name contain two words that also rhyme (von Ahn), he is undoubtedly the king of ultra-philanthropic-super-geekiness.

Luis von Ahn is an assistant computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Together with a team from Carnegie Mellon University, Luis is largely responsible for CAPTCHA¹ programs as we know them today.

A CAPTCHA or Captcha (pronounced /ˈkæptʃə/) is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. The process usually involves one computer (a server) asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade. Because other computers are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, any user entering a correct solution is presumed to be human.
—Wikipedia

Not content to simply help rid spam from the face of the earth, Luis believed that CAPTCHA technology could be used for a greater purpose. He decided to use CAPTCHA—a relatively large waste of human energy and time²—and apply it to a problem of global proportions: digitizing the world’s vast library of books, newspapers and old time radio shows.
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NWS issues special weather statement for Fresno

On June 30, 2009 at 8:15 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement for San Joaquin Valley.

…SPRINKLES OR ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS POSSIBLE IN THE VALLEY TODAY…

SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE HAS MOVED INTO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY THIS MORNING. THIS MOISTURE HAS PRODUCED VIRGA…

We might experience virga? Only in Fresno would the NWS issue a special weather statement for “sprinkles”.
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