 Six interesting links for the week:
Hummingbird Nest: Take a look at these
astonishing pictures (be sure to check out all five pages) of the birth
of hummingbirds. As you do, keep in mind that these pictures are twice
actual size. Thanks to Susan Hales for the link.
iPod Flea: If you haven't seen this it's good for a laugh.
Second Life:
I'm told that Second Life, a video game "framework" where the players
create the content a sample of which is shown at right), is highly
addictive. Here's what the site says:
Second Life is a virtual world - a 3D online persistent space totally
created and evolved by its users. Within this vast and rapidly
expanding place, you can do, create or become just about anything you
can imagine. Built-in content creation tools let you make almost
anything you can imagine, in real time and in collaboration with
others. An incredibly detailed digital body ('Avatar') allows a rich
and customizable identity. A powerful physics simulation running on a
backbone of hundreds of connected computers and growing with the
population allows you to be immersed in a visceral, interactive world
that as of April 2005 covers more than 12,000 acres and 20,000 owned
plots of land. The ability to design and resell 3D content, combined
with the ability to own and develop land and a microcurrency, which can
be exchanged to real money means that you can build a real business
entirely within Second Life. If you are simply curious about what it
would be like to wander a world filled with colorful people in which
the only limits are imagination, you will find the Second Life software
easy to install, and the basic experience of moving around and
experiencing the world simple and fun, with many friendly people
waiting to help you once you arrive.
If I had more time on my hands, I might try this. Could this be used to
simulate answers to global problems in some meaningful way, to see what
the Wisdom of Crowds has to say about them before we try them in the
real world?
Taiko Mania: If you don't know about Taiko:
Taiko began as a cultural
expression of the Asian American civil rights movement representing the
dual (American and Asian) identities of the practitioners. Audiences,
performers and young students gravitated to this art form that
encouraged them to be both Asian and American. While enhancing Asian
American identity and serving as a symbol of cultural empowerment, the
first generation of American "taiko pioneers" nurtured students in
youth groups and junior taiko programs throughout North America.
You may have seen some of the Taiko videos popping up all over, perhaps the new Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial.
Personal Productivity Improvement Gets Another Boost: A new article
in HBR says that personal productivity coaching should take the place
of bums-on-chairs (and computer-assisted) group orientation programs.
I've been saying this for years. Maybe now that HBR is saying it,
people will start listening. "Don't tell me, show me."
And The Gift Economy Gets Another Boost: A new article on Open Source explains to those who haven't caught on yet the remarkable sense of giving away stuff free.
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