They’ve still got it.
— From SF.
Stuff happened while you were sleeping
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May 21, 2013
May 20, 2013
It only took me three years to get an acceptable shot of this sign (and to make it to Top of the Mark).
— From SF.
(Source: rascouet)
May 20, 2013
The Grumpy Grammarian: Freedom From, Freedom To by John McWhorter
For someone who is in the constant process of learning this language, little posts like these are gems. I shall now dangle my prepositions without shame.
— From SF.
May 18, 2013
Same-sex marriage and adoption for same-sex couples are now the law of the land in France, a day after the Constitutional Court, seized by the “antis” to examine a piece of legislation they deemed “unconstitutional,” validated it in its entirety.
President François Hollande gave it his executive seal of approval, and the full text was published this morning in the “Journal Officiel,” establishing its promulgation.
The very first gay wedding will be celebrated in Montpellier on May 29th. Congratulations to the grooms, Vincent and Bruno.
Next step: legalising artificial insemination for lesbian couples, as it is only open to straight couples with diagnosed infertility. Surrogacy is still illegal for everyone.
— From SF.
May 14, 2013
Jane Austen, Game Theorist
Although whiffs of game theory have been discerned in writings as old as Plato, its conventional history begins with the 1944 publication of von Neumann’s seminal “Theory of Games and Economic Behavior.” The techniques gained prominence as a means of anticipating attacks and counterattacks among superpowers during the Cold War, and they played a role in determining the quantity and positioning of U.S. nuclear warheads.
“Austen’s novels are game theory textbooks. She’s trying to get readers to use their higher thinking skills and to think strategically.”
In many cases, by making tough choices and predicting how others will respond, Austen’s young (often financially deprived) heroines triumph over seemingly stronger forces, including well-to-do men and older women of higher status, he argues. In so doing, they find happiness and — just as importantly in an era with limited employment and inheritance possibilities for women — financial security.
“They build a theory of strategic thinking, not to better chase a Soviet submarine, but to survive.”
— From SF.
(Source: newsroom.ucla.edu)
May 7, 2013
she-works: TMS, Columbus, GA
We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com
— From SF.
May 3, 2013
The insanity of the Bay Area real estate market, made even more painfully obvious by the fact that some are willing to pay cash to secure their homes within hours of properties being advertised.
— Thanks to Charles-Eric, from SF.
May 2, 2013
Bulle, Burbuja, Bolha: Ain’t No One Gonna Tell Me There’s No Bubble In SF
By now, most of you know Jason and I are moving to New York City at the end of May.
There are many, many reasons we are happy about this, and a few, though hugely significant, reasons we are so, so very sad to leave (it’s never been a secret I’ve no love for San Francisco, but hell if we didn’t meet people of the highest quality here).
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of pros:
- Jason got the most incredible job a designer could get at this stage in a design career.
- We are both moving closer to our families. Mine is just a puddle jump away, Jason’s a two-hour flight South.
- A time difference reduced to five hours with Britain and six with France. I cannot overstate how life-changing this is.
- Plane tickets from NYC to anywhere are So. Much. Cheaper.
- NYC. I’m sorry, did I mention NYC? With its intense, unstoppable cultural life, with its refreshing rudeness and anonymity, with proper transports, including Citi Bikes, with its residents, who aren’t all white and childless and between 18 and 40 years old and mostly male, with enough people to dilute pervasive wankerdom and enough directness to stop it in its tracks, with its accessible parks, tough gun laws and a mayorship that actually matters.
- Broadway. Sue me.
- A mature real estate market. Not cheap, mind you. Mature.
This last point is the one I want to tell you about.
April 29, 2013
Edvard and May-Britt Moser, a couple of neuroscientists who discovered the brain cells that allow us and all other animals to locate ourselves and map things out, whether it’s to find the sock drawer or the corner shop, were profiled today in the New York Times. They are also contributing authors of the scientific publication I work for, Annual Reviews.
So I did a search on their profiles and this is what I came upon: while Edvard has an individual photograph directly linked to his Wikipedia profile, May-Britt’s shows up un-illustrated, and accompanied by a host of related searches that include Edvard’s portrait followed by those of a bunch of other white dudes.
I thought maybe there weren’t many photos of May-Britt available. A Google image search quickly disproved that theory.
In conclusion: Edvard stands on his own. May-Britt? Well, she’s pretty great, too. You know. For someone’s wife. Or someone’s student. Or someone’s colleague. Or maybe, possibly, someone’s professor.
— From SF.
April 27, 2013
— From SF.A selection of photos from “I Only Want You to Love Me,” an exhibition of work by the British photographer Miles Aldridge, which opens at Steven Kasher Gallery next week: http://nyr.kr/11qEgw4
April 26, 2013
As a long-time fan of Ze Frank, I am honoured to see our engagement announcement show up at minute 0:34 of this little video addressed to the grammar police, of which I often have been a part, faithfully showing up to roll my eyes and point at the spelling mistakes and missing apostrophes of others:
“I know that it isn’t that you have some general sense of superiority, but rather, that at least in this one small, tiny, insignificant way, you actually are superior.”
Although our announcement is correct (it in fact reads not “We’re engaged,” but rather “Anna and Jason were engaged”), it’s a thrill to help the man make his point and a nice reminder to get over myself.
— From SF.
April 26, 2013
When she died on April 8, a lot was written and said about Margaret Thatcher to try and explain her personality and dissect her legacy. But nothing I came across was as insightful as this little clip. No, no, no, the lady is not for jumping.
— From London, with thanks to my colleague Sarah.
April 26, 2013
Bitcoin: world's fastest growing currency migrates off the internet - video
Bitcoin: the first decentralised currency in the world. It has been criticised for facilitating the online sale of drugs.
Bitcoin has arrived in Kreutzberg, Berlin. It is a citizen’s revolt against the euro. How will this local currency fare in the real world? Is it sustainable or is it a prototype for an alternative currency system that could help to redistribute wealth?
— From Melbourne, fascinated.
April 24, 2013
If Jill Abramson were a man...
She’s a source of widespread frustration and anxiety who is demoralizing, uncaring, morale-draining, and very unpopular. He demands excellence and relevance.
She is difficult to work with, unreasonable, impossible, stubborn. He has a strong vision and insists on seeing it carried out.
She is AWOL and disengaged. He attended Sundance and SXSW.
She is not a naturally charismatic person, not approachable, tough as nails. He is direct.
She is brusque, blunt, and dismissive. He does not like to waste time.
She is uncaring, unable to march forward or provide reassurance, and doesn’t make people feel good. He is not your mommy.
She is condescending. He is the boss.
(Source: dyn.politico.com)
— From SF.
April 9, 2013
Meet Elizabeth Blackburn. Blackburn here is a professor at the University of California in San Francisco who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a fascinating little fact.
What fact, you ask? Well, she studied telomeres and figured out what they are made of. Telomeres are tiny little caps at the end of chromosomes and their job is to help keep genetic information safe. She also studied telomerase, which is an enzyme that helps rebuild telomeres.
Here’s why you should care: the role of telomeres is basically to make sure chromosomes stay in good shape. If chromosomes aren’t in good shape, do you know what happens? They get old. That’s rarely good.
Here’s the crazy thing Blackburn is working on at the moment: she has a strong suspicion that the shorter your telomeres, the more likely you are to become sick. So she has spearheaded the creation of a test that measures the telomeres to see if certain illnesses could be caught that way.
Many are saying it’s all too vague and needs more research, but Blackburn is adamant that this is the case. Personally I find that this test, in and of itself is really, really interesting.
But here’s what I think is super intriguing. She says that your emotional state—read this again: your EMOTIONAL STATE, which is to say your ability to handle your stress (which, by the way, can be learnt and controlled)—affects the length of your telomeres. As in, out-of-control stress shortens them.
Do you realise the implications? Blackburn’s research (which she has conducted in recent years with a psychologist, measuring the telomeres of mothers caring for chronically ill children) is basically hard scientific data that tells us we all need to chill the fuck out. And if we can’t do it alone, to seek help.
Emotional stress management really is a matter of life or death.
— From SF.
