Wired News ran a story about an innovative company in Canada.Ottawa-based Iogen is already producing ethanol by exploiting the destructive nature of the fungus Trichoderma reesei, which caused the “jungle rot” of tents and uniforms in the Pacific theater during World War II. Through a genetic modification known as directed […]
Blogging is a world of have and have-nots, according to a story in New York Magazine, titled Blogs to Riches. “Economists and network scientists have a name for Shirky’s curve: a “power-law distribution.” Power laws are not limited to the Web; in fact, they’re common to many social systems. If […]
Tonight’s travels took me to a teeny tiny Thai restaurant in downtown Greenfield. The diminutive eatery, staffed by one smiling women, is called Hetterkorn. They had seating for two. The restaurant was a sliver of a space, and her wok sizzled by the cash register. We ordered our pad thai […]
David Remnick says that the trademark attribute of The New Yorker is the insistence on accuracy. The legendary editor of the world’s most desirable publishing market was interviewed in Haartez, an Israeli News outlet. “When I go to interview, for example, Sheikh Naif Rajoub, one of the leaders of Hamas, […]
Last night as we snuggled up by the fire we turned on the telly to watch PBS. There was a man on a show who chases spiders around, and he talked with much zeal about tarantulas. The female of this hairy spider can hear the sound of the male coming […]
Pandas were in the news today, as the snow fell outside and we hunkered down with a fire and piles of newspapers. It seems that the Chinese government fleeces Zoo Atlanta and others with $80 million a year in rental fees for the priviledge of keeping the animals in their […]
We tuned into the Grammys last week, and among the spectacles, the most bizarre had to be Sly Stone’s two minutes on stage. I have been intrigued with this iconic ’60s figure ever since I first heard that classic tune “Family Affair,” and when I saw him emerge on stage, […]
Friday was a big day; I made my presentation to a standing room only crowd who filled a hall at the Washington Convention Center. The title was How to Make your Website Google Friendly and Make More Money with your Website. It went beautifully. Thanks to Joe I was well […]
A man was sitting at a table in Au Bon Pain, in Washington’s Union Station, and I sat down next to him. He was friendly, a black man with books and a backpack spread out before him. I knew he wanted to talk, he had that eagerness that strangers sometimes […]
Time Inc has a new idea for a website that they hope will reach male office workers, and they’ve hired Mark Golin, the editor behind beer-and-babes heavy Maxim Magazine for the job. the WSJ reports. “The site, www.officepirates.com, for now consists of a red-and-black page with a diamond-shaped sign depicting […]
Reading on my laptop in the basement of the Comfort Inn in DC. BBC News reports this morning on a newly revealed report from 2003 evidencing the US military’s desire to “fight the ‘Net” using psyops tactics. The “roadmap” calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military’s ability to conduct […]
The Edgartown Yacht Club is the epicenter of the rich, connected and preppie boater world on Martha’s Vineyard. I used to work with the people there and remember hearing about one of their members, a bigwig named Frank Biondi Jr., who often called in for tennis reservations. I also remember […]