Author: Chris Aldrich

I'm a biomedical and electrical engineer with interests in information theory, complexity, evolution, genetics, signal processing, IndieWeb, theoretical mathematics, and big history. I'm also a talent manager-producer-publisher in the entertainment industry with expertise in representation, distribution, finance, production, content delivery, and new media.

👓 A Micro.blog #FollowFriday, Part I Among the Stones

Read A Micro.blog #FollowFriday, Part I by Jimmy Baum (Among the Stones)
For those of us wanting to leave Twitter and other silos behind and focus more on microblogging on our own domains, discovering new people to follow can be a little tricky. Manton Reece has a Discover tab on Micro.blog to find people, but the service is still in its infancy. Colin Devroe suggested a #FollowFriday movement. I’ll start off with two bloggers I’m enjoying. Feel free to use webmentions for your own lists! Please correct me if anyone else has started this, I haven’t had great connectivity for the last few weeks.
Jimmy has added me to his list of recommendations. Perhaps I missed the webmention/notification for it while I was moving, but I saw it organically anyway–since I follow him myself. His list has several people that I also follow pretty closely, so I’m honored to be included.

It also reminds me that I ought to get to work on keeping a following list of my own or add a follow post type to my site eventually. Perhaps something to think about over WordCamp LA and IndieWebCamp NYC this weekend?

Checkin Just Tires

Checked into Just Tires
Replacing the tire I just blew on the 210 freeway—five months after its warranty ran out.

Thanks for the kind and speedy help AAA.

I blew out my right passenger tire while at full speed in the second lane on the northbound 210 Freeway this afternoon. Oh joy!
I blew out my right passenger tire while at full speed in the second lane on the northbound 210 Freeway this afternoon. Oh joy!
The AAA tow truck shows up to help out since my jack seemed to be missing.
The AAA tow truck shows up to help out since my jack seemed to be missing.
Waiting for a new tire at Just Tires
Waiting for a new tire at Just Tires
The repair bay that's got me back on the road.
The repair bay that’s got me back on the road.

Checkin The UPS Store

Checked into The UPS Store
Look the UPS store is so close! Returning some parts to Amazon.

I had actually looked up a UPS Store on my phone while leaving Vons and was shocked/surprised to see there was one just 275 feet away. Somehow I’d never noticed it before.

Checkin Cross Campus Old Pasadena

Checked into Cross Campus Old Pasadena: Innovate Pasadena - “Who is this TED guy anyway? And what the heck is TEDx?”
Innovate Pasadena coffee meetup
“Who is this TED guy anyway? And what the heck is TEDx?”

While short and relatively interesting, this talk felt kind of like filler compared to what Friday morning coffees typically present. I’m surprised that it was something that came out of someone who organizes TEDx talks (aside from the short length). The take away was definitely don’t do one of these talks the day before one of the areas biggest TEDx events of the year. The worst part was that she was tired as the result of the event coming up on Saturday and didn’t get the real PR value out of it because the event had been sold out for months already. Better, she should have done it the week before the next event to lead into it.

Heather Heimerl Brunold talking about “Who is this TED guy anyway? And what the heck is TEDx?”
Heather Heimerl Brunold talking about “Who is this TED guy anyway? And what the heck is TEDx?”
Cross Campus Old Town Pasadena on Raymond
Cross Campus Old Town Pasadena on Raymond

📺 These 3D animations could help you finally understand molecular science | PBS NewsHour

Watched These 3D animations could help you finally understand molecular science from PBS NewsHour
Art and science have in some ways always overlapped, with early scientists using illustrations to depict what they saw under the microscope. Janet Iwasa of the University of Utah is trying to re-establish this link to make thorny scientific data and models approachable to the common eye. Iwasa offers her brief but spectacular take on how 3D animation can make molecular science more accessible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9NDXk7Gs8Y

Visualizations can be tremendously valuable. This story reminds me of an Intersession course that Mary Spiro did at Johns Hopkins to help researchers communicate what their research is about as well as some of the work she did with the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology.

📺 The Vietnam War: Déjà Vu (1858-1961) Episode 1

Watched The Vietnam War: Déjà Vu (1858-1961) Episode 1 from PBS
After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva. Communists in the north aim to reunify the country, while America supports Ngo Dinh Diem's untested regime in the south.
The opening history is intriguing and really only seems to scratch the surface in this episode. I could have taken a more in-depth opening, though they’ve got a lot of ground to cover in just 10 episodes. Sadly, it’s the beginning and subtle causes for the war that are culturally the least understood, so this becomes a more useful place to lay them out for viewers.

I can only watch it and think about the futility of the whole thing.

I’m a bit curious how others found the flash forward portions of the late 60’s. It felt like the directors were trying to keep an American audience involved in the ongoing story, though, if continued throughout the series, these could provide interesting personal counterpoint to the overall arc of the story.

📺 PBS NewsHour full episode Sept. 28, 2017

Watched PBS NewsHour full episode Sept. 28, 2017 from PBS

Thursday on the NewsHour, the wreckage of Hurricane Maria poses a logistical nightmare for those in need in Puerto Rico. Also: The technology Russia used in the 2016 election under scrutiny, Yemen's war-induced humanitarian crisis worsens, the influence of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, the woman who sparked debate about discrimination in Silicon Valley and a journalist's experience with miscarriage.

The Ellen Pao interview was quite interesting and germane to much of what has been a huge story over the past 6 or so months. It reminds me a lot of Valerie Alexander’s work, which I’ve highlighted before.

The miscarriage story was just heartbreaking. I really love this series of “brief but spectacular” stories they tag onto the end of episodes though. It really adds some interest and humanity to what can often otherwise be bleak stints of news coverage. Even when they’re not uplifting–like this one–they’re always unique and interesting.

👓 Ikea has bought TaskRabbit | Recode

Read Ikea has bought TaskRabbit (Recode)
Swedish home goods giant Ikea Group has bought TaskRabbit, according to sources close to the situation. The price of the deal could not be determined, but the contract labor marketplace company has raised about $50 million since it was founded nine years ago. Sources added that TaskRabbit will become an independent subsidiary within Ikea and that CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot and its staff would remain.