Saturday, February 26, 2011

From Twitter 02-25-2011

Predator (film)Image via Wikipedia
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Friday, February 25, 2011

From Twitter 02-24-2011

My science fiction shelfImage by library_mistress via Flickr
  • How the Bubble moves to main Street http://dlvr.it/HTMPn
  • 'The Way Is Open If We Want to Take It': The Dystopian Spirit in 21st-Century SF http://dlvr.it/HTTJK
  • DailyDirt: Spaceships On The Drawing Board http://dlvr.it/HTZV5
  • 5 assumptions about social search http://dlvr.it/HTfCR
  • Death By Air And Thunderbolt: Is It The End Of The Line For The MacBook? http://dlvr.it/HTl3F
  • RT @robmay: Everything I learned about doing a startup came from doing a startup... not reading blogs about it.
  • The Privatization Of Public Data Sets A Bad Precedent http://dlvr.it/HTsxM
  • Louisville Kickstarter: Help Jenn Stout Make Her New CD http://dlvr.it/HTz6j
  • Lunch? LUnch!!!
  • Yet Another Person Sues Google Because They Don't Like Pornographic Results When People Search On Their Name http://dlvr.it/HV42Y
  • Trust and utility http://dlvr.it/HV9YD
  • RT @jaymgates: Gmail, I do NOT accept your failure this morning. Shape up NOW. This is your final warning.
  • SciFi Library in WA Needs Funds http://dlvr.it/HVGTn
  • Yahoo To Shut Down MyBlogLog On May 24 http://dlvr.it/HVLGK
  • Making rules is admitting failure http://dlvr.it/HVS5X
  • New ways to experience better collaboration with Google Apps http://dlvr.it/HVXKR
  • Success, Joy and Health are Contagious (So Be Careful Who You Work With) http://dlvr.it/HVbyq
  • RT @tmbg: If they want to bring it back, have 'em call us! RT @hodgeman We believe we have the name of the exec who cancelled SCHOOLHOUS ...
  • Trailer: Source Code http://dlvr.it/HVqc7
  • What Watson did next http://dlvr.it/HVwp4
  • Can America Function More Like a Fiscally Responsible Company? It’s up to Us, the Shareholders http://dlvr.it/HVzrG
  • RT @cascio: Wondering which superhero Joss Whedon is going to kill in the #Avengers movie. Has to be someone we care about (so Hawkeye l ...
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Making rules is admitting failure

Announcement of changes in company password po...Image via WikipediaI'm stuck on a couple of writing projects at work, so I write this today as a mental gear-greasing exercise. Here's the TL;DR summary for the attention-deficient.

All company rules exist because of a failure of management.

I'll explain what I mean by way of example. At a place I used to work, we published a lot of online content. During one of our regular rounds of "management has a new idea to change everything" there arose the notion of updating our massive backlog of old articles to make them relevant again. Not the worst idea ever, until it came to the execution.

What happened to the FIRST American flag raised over Iwo Jima -- the one that DIDN'T appear in the famous photo?

Joe Rosenthal - Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (...Image by luvi via Flickr
Sixty-six years ago today, one of the most recognizable and inspirational military photographs in history was taken: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. On Feb. 23, 1945 a group of five US Marines and one US Navy corpsman were photographed erecting an American flag atop Mt. Suribachi during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. The iconic image came to win Pulitzer Prize, serve as the inspiration for the US Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery and -- perhaps most importantly -- to represent the courage and valor of American armed forces (particularly the Marines) during the second World War.

Not bad for a backup plan.

The flag immortalized in Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph was the second US flag raised atop Mt. Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Another US flag had been raised a short time earlier, one that the rather more famous (and larger) US flag was brought in to replace.

What happened to the first US flag raised atop Mt. Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima?

From Twitter 02-22-2011

CoolB and Dwayne McDuffieImage by CoolB047 via Flickr
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

From Twitter 02-21-2011

Nathan Fillion at the 2005 Serenity "flan...Image via Wikipedia
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Sunday, February 20, 2011

From Twitter 02-19-2011

A photograph of a Duff Beer mug, filled with a...Image via Wikipedia
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Saturday, February 19, 2011

From Twitter 02-18-2011

The characters of TAS.Image via Wikipedia
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Friday, February 18, 2011

My various SF Signal podcast appearances

The logo used by Apple to represent PodcastingImage via WikipediaI have been frustratingly unavailable to participate in these of late, but suffice it to say, the SF Signal Podcast is audibly awesome. Should you have some perverse need to hear my spoken opinions on various sci-fi topics, you can do so via the following SF Signal episodes:


You can subscribe to the SF Signal podcast in its entirety (and it's way better when I'm not in it) via iTunes. If you like the work, check out the guys who produce it, the Functional Nerds.

From Twitter 02-17-2011

Adrianne Palicki promoting the 2010 film Legio...Image via Wikipedia
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Thursday, February 10, 2011

What classic board game was used to help Allied POWs escape in WWII?

Americans in Asia?Image by Martin Cathrae via FlickrThis week marks the anniversary of the "invention" of a classic board game, which is to say the date a mainstream game publisher started distributing the game on a national scale. There are a number of legends and misconceptions regarding this cultural icon, but often overlooked is the board game's role in aiding the Allied victory in World War II -- by supporting prison breaks by captured soldiers.

WHAT CLASSIC BOARD GAME WAS USED TO HELP ALLIED P.O.W.S ESCAPE IN WORLD WAR II?