Rocket Bomber - article - metablogging - Last week on twitter - multiple fails

If anything, I spend too much time on twitter (to the detriment of other projects I should be spending the time on) and I probably over-share:

Is every last article I read both insightful and/or funny, and worthy to share? Just because I find a topic fascinating (you know, like the business of retail, or sci-fi anime, or the history of technology) does that mean I get to spam 500 more-or-less random strangers with every link that suits my whim and fancy?

It is also true that when I’m tweeting my own mind (and not just links) I tend to “run at the mouth” and tweet 10 or 20 times in a row, violating the spirit of Twitter’s 140 limit and imposing even further on an uncaring audience.

And of course, Not Every Recipe I Make Needs to Be Liveblogged Via Twitter, and of my many bad habits this is probably the worst (that or, you know, the drinking.)

In college I used to joke that if we did something three times, it becomes a tradition, and if we do it four times that means it’s something we’ve done *forever*. Since many of us (who did go to university) only go there for 4 or 5 years, I suppose that these ‘traditions’ are part of what makes the self-forming communities there, indeed, it may be what part of what defines the community. Otherwise, each annual class of freshmen would be a self-contained phenomenon, and the various clubs would flicker in and out of existence like generations of flies.

So: as this is the fourth link round-up I’ve posted, I guess that means I’ve been doing this *forever*. (You won’t believe me, but yes, the following list was edited and abridged.)

##

• What would one of these look like today? …oh, right, I have one in my pocket.
  http://www.wired.com/design/2013/08/remembering-the-apple-newtons-prophetic-failure-and-lasting-ideals/

• Digital disruption in clunky, physical book format. No, the other one.
  http://www.thepassivevoice.com/08/2013/the-new-explosion-in-audio-books/

• The beauty of scientific papers – Design trends of the past 350 years
  http://blog.paperpile.com/2013/06/the-beauty-of-scientific-papers.html

• long, depressing read. (just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean you’re wrong.)
  http://www.thenation.com/article/175589/welcome-post-constitution-america

• to be fair, the JSDF is only to provide a token defense against giant monsters while the teen mecha pilots suit up
  http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/08/05/inside-japans-invisible-army/

• Everyone needs a hobby : “Bezos will buy the news organization and become its sole owner” – no role for Amazon.
  http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/05/jeff-bezos-buys-the-washington-post-for-250-million-in-cash/

• Given that news, a quick thought experiment for you: name the top 3 US newpapers (by reputation, not circulation) (so no USA Today) — My list was NYT, WSJ… and then WaPo. ymmv. Maybe the $250M purchase price is more than justified.
  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_newspapers_won_the_most_Pulitzer_Prizes

• It’s not the erosion of sales: it’s that eventually (soon?) the vast physical edifice may reach a tipping point : Measuring the Death of Bookstores
  http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/measuring-the-death-of-bookstores/

• already working on mine || Should a self-published book be your next business card?
  http://www.thepassivevoice.com/08/2013/should-a-self-published-book-be-your-next-business-card/

• Liberal media? 15 things everyone would know if there were a liberal media
  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/07/1229087/-15-things-everyone-would-know-if-there-were-a-liberal-media

• hell no, you better not be threatening the coffee now : coordinated cooperative global action to follow in 3,2…
  http://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2013/08/07/coffee-plants-dont-like-it-hot/

• mmmm… BLT :
  http://thebitesizedblog.com/blog/2010/07/28/scallop-blt/
  http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/07/avocado-blt-with-fried-egg-and-chipotle.html
  http://peanutbutterandjulie.com/2008/06/bltt-bacon-lett.html
  http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/163751/bacon-lettuce-and-fried-green-tomato-sandwiches
  http://thehungrysoutherner.com/2010/08/06/southern-kitchen-bacon-lettuce-tomato-onion-ring-sandwich/

• It’s not the late-night soft blue glow that makes me depressed: it’s the fact that I share my bed with my laptop
  http://www.dvice.com/2013-8-7/study-hints-depression-link-blue-computer-lights-night

• Ninja Camp! Of course this is legit, I read about it in a *UK* newspaper (*real* journalism, kids) :
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2385881/Ninja-training-tours-offered-Japanese-towns-Nabari-Iga.html

• No algorithm can generate this content: it takes 20yrs of pissed off plus at least 5 beers. Let’s see a computer do THAT
  http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/08/some-arguments-about-fair-use-pit-humans-against-machines/

• pg 77 : “And don’t forget to install an aftermarket ray-shield on the small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port”
  http://www.hollywood.com/news/movies/55026015/star-wars-death-star-owners-technical-manual-cover-reveal

↑… that was my best joke all week. fell flat. my faith in humanity (or at least the fan base) was betrayed.

• “Our 2-person network was selling 5000 copies in over 80 shops, thanks to the relationships we had built with individual booksellers. That world has gone.”
  http://www.thepassivevoice.com/08/2013/tough-deal/

• The Third Carbon Age : http://www.thenation.com/article/175659/third-carbon-age

• article pointing out that people “smart” and “hip” enough to explain the problem are part of the problem :
  http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2013/08/what-happens-when-critics-gentrification-are-gentrifiers-themselves/6468/

• Great Publisher? “The easy answer is how consistently it produces books of value over a lengthy period of time” :
  http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2013/08/12/130812crbo_books_gottlieb?currentPage=all

• Cheap enough to pave the roads with?
  http://www.technologyreview.com/news/517811/a-material-that-could-make-solar-power-dirt-cheap/
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sensitized_solar_cell
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perovskite

• No retailer is bulletproof? Not even Wal-Mart?
  http://adage.com/article/news/walmart-s-vaunted-loop-turned-a-vicious-circle/229401/
  via http://gawker.com/5833177/the-real-reason-wal+mart-is-dying

Small, savvy player in perfect position to disrupt large, complacent establishment co. — “Walmart’s worst nightmare”
http://business.time.com/2013/08/07/meet-the-low-key-low-cost-grocery-chain-being-called-wal-marts-worst-nightmare/

Wal-Mart’s New Goal: Sell All the Beer
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-08/walmarts-new-goal-sell-all-the-beer

I didn’t intend to get on a wal-mart-kick today, but that’s what I keep finding in my feeds :
http://www.kitedesk.com/the-wal-mart-slayer-an-epic-tale-of-customer-service/

“The article claims that Aldi is so good at selling cheap goods that WalMart couldn’t compete with it in Germany.” :
http://www.freakonomics.com/2009/02/19/do-you-know-who-owns-trader-joes/

Follow-up: more on Trader Joe’s – “Its stores sell an estimated $1,750 per square foot, more than double Whole Foods”
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/20/news/companies/inside_trader_joes_full_version.fortune/index.htm

• “It’s a biiiit tricky but see if you can spot when the nuclear plant disaster happened…” :
  http://kottke.org/13/08/the-trees-of-chernobyl

• Also available as an ebook! (isbn 9780062241436)
  http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780062241436

• Occam’s Sharknado :
  http://filmmakermagazine.com/75457-in-the-age-of-digital-disruption-what-is-a-movie/
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam’s_razor

• The Crossover: [one author’s anecdote on] how to go from e- to bookstores. (spoiler, it’s kind of a lottery) http://themoonrealm.com/2013/08/08/crossover/

• Pi Crust kickstarter
  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pisupply/pi-crust-easily-connect-electronics-to-your-raspbe
  More: http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/10/pi-crust-breakout-board-makes-it-easy-to-get-peripherals-on-raspberry-pi/

• I link to this not in support of the author but so we can all relentlessly mock it :
  http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/shouts/2013/08/wizard-or-hipster.html

• Is DC’s response to the Marvel Movie Multiverse the CW TV show Arrow? — growth at the fringes, below corporate oversight/interference #thiscouldactuallywork
  http://www.newsarama.com/18638-metamorpho-on-arrow-more-dc-creative-changes-new-trask-video-more.html

OK: so *I* know DC’s response to the Marvel Multiverse was and is Timm/Dini/DC Animation starting in 1992 — kinda/sorta waiting for WB/DC to come to the same realization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Animated_Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League_(TV_series)

• Kickstarter open to Canadian projects: however, I note a distinct lack of maple, moose, touque, poutine, and McKenzie
  http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/kickstarter-in-canada
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Brew

• increasingly we’re put into the position where we must first buy access before we can actually buy the things we want
  http://qz.com/108875/why-the-us-is-turning-into-a-subscription-based-economy/

ok, seriously folks: you RT my most egregious drunken typos? do you hate me?

— Matt Blind (@ProfessorBlind) August 10, 2013

• when you’re making money anyway, and have the backing of a cable network, I’m sure your perspective is different
  http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/8/4602764/game-of-thrones-piracy-better-than-an-emmy-says-time-warner-ceo

• “None of the publishers nor Apple have expressed any remorse.” No shit, Judge. They still believe they did no wrong
  http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePassiveVoice/~3/MGI5NHfUHq4/

• Crest and Banner of the Stars back in DVD; do yourself a favor, buy it this time. *excellent* sci-fi anime :
  http://www.fandompost.com/2013/08/10/funimation-acquires-akito-the-exiled-and-more-sunrisebandai-entertainment-license-rescues/

• Is Hollywood Science Fiction Anti- Science Fiction?
  http://suvudu.com/2013/08/is-hollywood-science-fiction-anti-science-fiction.html

• I don’t know about you, but this blogger spends about $100 a year on web hosting and other sundries, which means my ‘blog income’ is negative. “How Much Money Do Bloggers REALLY Make?”
  http://www.beautythroughimperfection.com/2013/08/07/bloggers-make-money/

• TL;DR – 3 Reasons Why No One Wants to Read Your Blog Posts
  http://bloggingfearlessly.com/subheads_and_multimedia_blog

[yes, at this point in the exercise I realize that last link is both topical and self-referential]

• teen redditor asks for book recommendations
  http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1k3nsk/i_am_a_teenager_who_hates_reading_what_are_some/