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Little Things

or, The Lives of the Flu Cell

For me, microbiology always communicates a sense of secret revelation – it is so intimate, our very flesh & blood, and yet so intricate and strange. What a wonder to be able to see some small portion of the invisible entities that underlie our physical life! Here’s an animation of a flu virus attack, from Zirus, Inc. via NPR.

For me, microbiology always communicates a sense of secret revelation – it is so intimate, our very flesh & blood, and yet so intricate and strange. What a wonder to be able to see some small portion of the invisible entities that underlie our physical life! Here’s an animation of a flu virus attack, from Zirus, Inc. via NPR.

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November 14, 2009 By
For me, microbiology always communicates a sense of secret revelation - it is so intimate, our very flesh & blood, and yet so intricate and strange. What a wonder to be able to see some small portion of the invisible entities that underlie our physical life! Here's an animation of a flu virus attack, from
Filed Under: Biology, Reading the Book of Nature
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RCB Bookmarks, Mid-January, 2009

Links on culture, reading, and the web.

Links on culture, reading, and the web.

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January 18, 2009 By
Links on culture, reading, and the web.
Filed Under: A Reading Life, Margin Notes, Mind & Society, Science & Technology, Visual Arts
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WordPress 2.8 – Better Widgets?

Widget management is item #1 on the list of priorities for WordPress 2.8 development. I explored the cognitive psychology behind the widget management screen design in an earlier post, WordPress 2.5 Widgets?Taking the Load Off Your Mind. Here are the takeaway design suggestions.

Widget management is item #1 on the list of priorities for WordPress 2.8 development. I explored the cognitive psychology behind the widget management screen design in an earlier post, WordPress 2.5 Widgets?Taking the Load Off Your Mind. Here are the takeaway design suggestions.

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December 30, 2008 By
Widget management is item #1 on the list of priorities for WordPress 2.8 development. I explored the cognitive psychology behind the widget management screen design in an earlier post, WordPress 2.5 Widgets?Taking the Load Off Your Mind. Here are the takeaway design suggestions.
Filed Under: Margin Notes, Science & Technology
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The Infinite Book: The Plastic Logic Reader (and the Real Nature of Books)

A book is essentially whole, unitary — a little world of human thought, word, & spirit, chosen, shaped, and bound within its covers. Books are bundles; a book is what is bound together. For what makes a book more than it’s binding?

A book is essentially whole, unitary — a little world of human thought, word, & spirit, chosen, shaped, and bound within its covers. Books are bundles; a book is what is bound together. For what makes a book more than it’s binding?

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December 28, 2008 By
A book is essentially whole, unitary -- a little world of human thought, word, & spirit, chosen, shaped, and bound within its covers. Books are bundles; a book is what is bound together. For what makes a book more than it's binding?
Filed Under: A Reading Life, Science & Technology, Visual Arts
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Gutenberg’s PC: The Espresso Book Machine

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The Espresso Book Machine brings the flexibility and ubiquity of digital media to the old medium of printed paper books, extending the transformation that Gutenberg’s press began, and putting the final say on publishing a book firmly in the hands of the authors and readers. So what will happen when everybody has one of these?

The Espresso Book Machine brings the flexibility and ubiquity of digital media to the old medium of printed paper books, extending the transformation that Gutenberg’s press began, and putting the final say on publishing a book firmly in the hands of the authors and readers. So what will happen when everybody has one of these?

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December 17, 2008 By
The Espresso Book Machine brings the flexibility and ubiquity of digital media to the old medium of printed paper books, extending the transformation that Gutenberg's press began, and putting the final say on publishing a book firmly in the hands of the authors and readers. So what will happen when everybody has one of these?
Filed Under: A Reading Life, Science & Technology, Visual Arts
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Shiny new software…

Snow outside, snow on Matt’s blog, WordPress 2.7 (with a snazzy redesign and full support for child themes!), and Firefox 3.1 Beta 2. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Snow outside, snow on Matt’s blog, WordPress 2.7 (with a snazzy redesign and full support for child themes!), and Firefox 3.1 Beta 2. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

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December 11, 2008 By
Snow outside, snow on Matt's blog, WordPress 2.7 (with a snazzy redesign and full support for child themes!), and Firefox 3.1 Beta 2. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Filed Under: Margin Notes, Science & Technology
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Does Your Book Deserve My Vote?

Kids react to books much as they react to their favorite candidates: they like them because everyone else does, adding titles to their favorites list even when they haven’t read them. Voting for a Book, part of the Youth Radio series on NPR.

Kids react to books much as they react to their favorite candidates: they like them because everyone else does, adding titles to their favorites list even when they haven’t read them. Voting for a Book, part of the Youth Radio series on NPR.

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September 4, 2008 By
Kids react to books much as they react to their favorite candidates: they like them because everyone else does, adding titles to their favorites list even when they haven't read them. Voting for a Book, part of the Youth Radio series on NPR.
Filed Under: Margin Notes, Mind & Society, Science & Technology, Visual Arts
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August, 1945

Sixty-three years ago this week, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The enormity of the event, the inhuman scale of both this power and its consequences, is nearly impossible to communicate. How can one understand the power of a thousand suns unleashed upon whole cities? It became one of the defining stories for generations [...]

Sixty-three years ago this week, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The enormity of the event, the inhuman scale of both this power and its consequences, is nearly impossible to communicate. How can one understand the power of a thousand suns unleashed upon whole cities? It became one of the defining stories for generations [...]

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August 8, 2008 By
Filed Under: A Reading Life, Continuing Stories, Mind & Society, Science & Technology
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There’s Something Happening Here…

Nicholas Carr says, This is your brain online. You’ve been warned. Now go forth and read.

Nicholas Carr says, This is your brain online. You’ve been warned. Now go forth and read.

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August 5, 2008 By
Nicholas Carr says, This is your brain online. You've been warned. Now go forth and read.
Filed Under: A Reading Life, Mind & Society, Science & Technology
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Civility on the Web (or, If you talk, be polite)

The New York Times explores calls for a Code of Conduct (like this from Jimmy Wales, or this from Tim O’Riley) on the web, as well as the motivations and secret lives of the Trolls Among Us; and Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, explains why A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy.

The New York Times explores calls for a Code of Conduct (like this from Jimmy Wales, or this from Tim O’Riley) on the web, as well as the motivations and secret lives of the Trolls Among Us; and Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, explains why A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy.

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August 3, 2008 By
Filed Under: A Reading Life, Margin Notes, Mind & Society, Science & Technology
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Male and Female: Equal After All

Cecilia Ford’s investigations into the power of conversation for her new book, Women Speaking Up: Getting and Using Turns in Workplace Meetings, are reviewed here: Researcher finds that women are speaking up; and Janet Hyde, author of Half the Human Experience, has published research that finds no gender differences in math performance.

Cecilia Ford’s investigations into the power of conversation for her new book, Women Speaking Up: Getting and Using Turns in Workplace Meetings, are reviewed here: Researcher finds that women are speaking up; and Janet Hyde, author of Half the Human Experience, has published research that finds no gender differences in math performance.

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August 2, 2008 By
Cecilia Ford's investigations into the power of conversation for her new book, Women Speaking Up: Getting and Using Turns in Workplace Meetings, are reviewed here: Researcher finds that women are speaking up; and Janet Hyde, author of Half the Human Experience, has published research that finds no gender differences in math performance.
Filed Under: Margin Notes, Mind & Society, Science & Technology
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The Library Has Landed! Phoenix Takes Books to Mars

Human interactions with the Red Planet have long been a blend of wonder, science, imagination, fear, longing & engineering. In honor of this interplay, The Planetary Society has placed a DVD among the scientific instruments on board the Phoenix Lander that touched down on the Martian south pole this last memorial day. And it carries books.

Human interactions with the Red Planet have long been a blend of wonder, science, imagination, fear, longing & engineering. In honor of this interplay, The Planetary Society has placed a DVD among the scientific instruments on board the Phoenix Lander that touched down on the Martian south pole this last memorial day. And it carries books.

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June 11, 2008 By
Human interactions with the Red Planet have long been a blend of wonder, science, imagination, fear, longing & engineering. In honor of this interplay, The Planetary Society has placed a DVD among the scientific instruments on board the Phoenix Lander that touched down on the Martian south pole this last memorial day. And it carries
Filed Under: Science & Technology
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