owsome

"Okay, put on The Moody Blues."

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:42:55 -0400

“Okay, put on The Moody Blues.”

- Mom’s telling me about the ’70s tonight. She’s got some good stories.

jkottke: When Commander Chris Hadfield covered David Bowie’s...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:04:00 -0400

When Commander Chris Hadfield covered David Bowie’s Space Oddity on board the International Space Station, how were the intellectual property rights handled?

The song “Space Oddity” is under copyright protection in most countries, and the rights to it belong to Mr Bowie. But compulsory-licensing rights in many nations mean that any composition that has been released to the public (free or commercially) as an audio recording may be recorded again and sold by others for a statutorily defined fee, although it must be substantively the same music and lyrics as the original. But with the ISS circling the globe, which jurisdiction was Commander Hadfield in when he recorded the song and video? Moreover, compulsory-licensing rights for covers of existing songs do not include permission for broadcast or video distribution. Commander Hadfield’s song was loaded onto YouTube, which delivers video on demand to users in many countries around the world. The first time the video was streamed in each country constituted publication in that country, and with it the potential for copyright infringement under local laws. Commander Hadfield could have made matters even more complicated by broadcasting live as he sang to an assembled audience of fellow astronauts for an onboard public performance while floating from segment to segment of the ISS.

We live in a world where sending a guitar into space is trivial while ironing out rights agreements is the tough part. (via waxy)

I remember hearing a few years ago that space lawyers were going to be needed a lot in the coming decades. Here’s one of the reasons why.

Small victories

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:55:38 -0400

Getting back to normal life is taking longer than I’d like. I have zero patience, and that doesn’t exactly lend itself well to recovering from surgery. But here are a few things I have done in the past couple days that I couldn’t do a week ago:

Gently cough/sneeze/laugh. Still can’t go crazy with it, but it won’t double me over in pain if I giggle at something.
Wear pants. I was so excited to be wearing pants yesterday. The weather has gone from warm and pleasant to muggy and rainy, so this is well-timed.
Drink a beer. That was awesome.
Get up out of bed on my own. I figured out this sort of roll, scoot, push-up-with-my-arms maneuver that doesn’t require any help. Now I’m finally sure that when Mom leaves I’ll be okay on my own.

I still would like to be able to lift things (say, groceries) and drive and build the grill Mom bought me (it’s sitting in pieces on the deck). But I’ll just have to try to be grateful for these little moments of normalcy and know that the rest will come. Slowly but surely.

wnycradiolab: Did you know that Gertrude Stein wrote a...

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:17:23 -0400

wnycradiolab:

Did you know that Gertrude Stein wrote a children’s book? We didn’t, but Brain Pickings did.

What did you say
I said it is not easy to give a lion away.

colchrishadfield: This is how I flew, raced and drove a Mars...

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:15:59 -0400

colchrishadfield:

This is how I flew, raced and drove a Mars rover 2 hours after I landed back in Houston. I’m less of a hazard now…

Is this the standard re-entry protocol? Touch down, change clothes, race a Mars rover simulation? Because, that’s awesome.

brookhavenlab: Building a ladder with golden rungs sounds like...

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:11:54 -0400

brookhavenlab:

Building a ladder with golden rungs sounds like a pricey project, right? That’s probably why we restrict these construction projects to the nanoscale.

This ribbon-shaped molecular structure is actually composed of nanoscale gold rods linked together by strands of synthetic DNA. The coolest part? This thing built itself. Brookhaven researchers discovered an entirely new nano-mechanism in which the DNA actually directs the construction, acting as a kind of intelligent glue.

The research could lead to new nanomaterials, custom-designed and self-assembled to scientists’ specifications. You know, if gold ribbons strung together with DNA isn’t enough for you.

Suuuuuuuuuper cool.

(I miss Brookhaven. I miss blogging for work. I miss science every day.)

I love this little look into the process of making Radiolab.

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:52:18 -0400

I love this little look into the process of making Radiolab.

tedx: Give a kid Vegemite and this is what happens: 7 kids...

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:52:12 -0400

tedx:

Give a kid Vegemite and this is what happens: 7 kids taste anchovies, Vegemite, olives, yogurt, lemon, orange, pickled onion, and gherkin, and the results are quite … fascinating.

To see what we mean, watch this beautifully-shot video, “First Taste,” which premiered at TEDxSydney this May and shows some very expressive kids tasting foods for the first time — in slow-motion. Mediabistro says it stole the show.

Olive is so totally the best. But goodness, all these kids are so adorable that I involuntarily squeal a bit as I watch them.

"Refrog is such a funny name. It’s like he’s a frog, and then he’s a frog again."

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:21:00 -0400

“Refrog is such a funny name. It’s like he’s a frog, and then he’s a frog again.”

- Yes, Mom, it’s exactly like that.

Pond + Sunshine + Iced Coffee = Happy

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:52:35 -0400

Pond + Sunshine + Iced Coffee = Happy

Out and About

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:25:00 -0400

I finally got some fold-up camping chairs to put around my fire pit. I’m sitting in one on the back porch, just soaking up the sun, and I’m having this intense sense memory that takes me straight back to Toph and Charlie’s backyard last summer. It’s the nicest feeling in the world.
We went on a hunt for a hatchet today so we can chop up some kindling for a fire. We started at the awful Ace Hardware that never ever has anything I need. They didn’t have one. On the way home, we stopped at the rinky-dink hardware store in Rocky Point. It’s this cluttered old house that’s been converted to a store, so I figured there wouldn’t be much in stock, but the nice old dude there had everything I was looking for and it was all so cheap. He even gave me a token for a dollar off next time I come in. I’m never shopping for tools anywhere else. The owner was so sweet, too. After he rang me up, he said, “Be careful with that hatchet, okay? It’s sharp. Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.” Hurray for the kindness of local store owners.
This morning, I was sitting on the front porch and I watched a tiny little ant dragging a dead carpenter ant back to its ant hill. I wonder if the little guy conquered the big guy in battle. Maybe he was dragging him back as proof. That’s the only thing that makes sense. Ants don’t eat other ants, right?

These little beauties also bloomed overnight. No clue what they...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:40:00 -0400

These little beauties also bloomed overnight. No clue what they are, but the bushes lining my back fence are full of them and I’m loving the way they brighten up the yard.

They’re azaleas!

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:35:00 -0400

They’re azaleas!

The Acquisition

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:32:00 -0400

I’ve done a lot of thinking about Yahoo purchasing Tumblr since the rumors first started a few days ago. At first, I was worried, like most everyone else. I’m certainly not business savvy, and I won’t even pretend to know all the reasons the deal was made, but my gut tells me it’s not The End of Tumblr As We Know It.

I trust the staff at Tumblr. I trust David Karp. I know a lot of people have problems with the changes that have happened over the past few years, but I’ve loved them. I really like the Radar showing me new and interesting blogs. I have never minded that they introduced advertising. I want the platform to flourish and make money and continue to expand. I enjoy watching Tumblr grow and change. I don’t use it the same way I did a year ago or four years ago. Some of that is because Tumblr has changed and some of that is because I have. And the changes have brought new and interesting people into my life, people I never would have met or known on the internet without my little blog.

When it comes down to it, this deal means that the internet place I love most of all will have the funding to keep growing and connecting me to more fascinating people. I’m incredibly proud of the Tumblr staff and grateful for the service they’ve built and I’m so, so excited to see the changes this will bring.

Fuck yeah is right, Karp. Fuck yeah.

We went all out for lunch today. Pulled chicken with homemade...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:57:18 -0400

We went all out for lunch today. Pulled chicken with homemade pickled onions and jalapenos and some avo. When you’re stuck at home, adventures are limited to the kitchen.

Pizzelle and puzzles make for an okay rainy Sunday afternoon....

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:05:44 -0400

Pizzelle and puzzles make for an okay rainy Sunday afternoon. These pieces are so pretty, I almost don’t want to put together the puzzle, but it’s Seurat’s La Grande Jatte, so it’ll be gorgeous when it’s done, too.

She’s upset because she can’t come snuggle on my stomach, like...

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:59:46 -0400

She’s upset because she can’t come snuggle on my stomach, like usual. She’s having to make do with my knees.

Prepping Persian spices. Clockwise from the top left: sheved...

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:20:47 -0400

Prepping Persian spices. Clockwise from the top left: sheved (dill weed), shanbalileh (fenugreek), tareh (dried leeks), and limoo amani (dried sour limes). It smells like my childhood in my kitchen right now.

Dad sent me and Mom a care package that included these little...

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:43:23 -0400

Dad sent me and Mom a care package that included these little Persian sweets that translate to “sequin candies”. They’re just little flat discs of sugar that taste very lightly of honey. Yum.

Our soundtrack this morning. Mom and I are having fun learning...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:09:53 -0400

Our soundtrack this morning. Mom and I are having fun learning to sing along.