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Checkin 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 Vons
Groceries
Checkin Cross Campus Old Pasadena
Innovate Pasadena coffee meetup
“Who is this TED guy anyway? And what the heck is TEDx?” 
“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?”
Cross Campus Old Town Pasadena on Raymond
Checkin City of Pasadena Schoolhouse Garage
📺 These 3D animations could help you finally understand molecular science | 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
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
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
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.
Checkin Super Dry Cleaners
Picking up dry cleaning
👓 How to Set a Default Fallback Image for WordPress Post Thumbnails | WP Beginner
Do you want to set a default fallback image for WordPress post thumbnails? Featured images also known as post thumbnails are very useful in engaging users and making your articles more noticeable on social media. In this article, we will show you how to set a default fallback image for WordPress post thumbnails.
I probably ought to be doing something like this, particularly for some of the social stream posts which re-use the featured image in other places on the site.
🎧 This Week in Google: #416 Mr. Nutter Butter Has a Message for You | TWiT.TV
US Digital Service - making government better. Alphabet Q2 earnings up, stocks down. Chrome's ad blocker is available to devs. Not everybody likes Google's plan to track offline sales. Is privacy a fad? Facebook hits 2 billion users. Bitcoin splits, and miners revolt. ACLU supports John Oliver. Millennials confused by discovery of broadcast TV. Jeff's Number: $600/head SV restaurant with gold-flecked steaks Matt Cutt's Thing: Hack the Pentagon! Kevin Marks' Stuff: IndieWeb.org, Liberty Foundation, extra thumb prosthetic
Awesome to see/hear Matt Cutts return to the show.
The library is finally unpacked! 📚👓
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🎧 This Week in Google: #415 Sinkhole Ahead! | TWiT.TV
No more "OK Google" search on Chromebooks? Facebook profit spikes 71%, laws of Australia trump laws of mathematics? Waze is now on Android Auto, and more.
Interesting that all the growth in mobile ads has recently gone to Facebook and Google. I’m surprised that no one else is eating up even a small piece of the pie.
I also loved the story about the Australian prime minister, in a post-fact world, indicating that the laws of mathematics don’t take precedence over those of Australia.
🎧 This Week in Google: #414 Never a Freshman | TWiT.TV
Musical Podcasts. Google Glass for Enterprise. New Google Feed. Better Google Analytics. Facebook News Subscription. Amazon Meal Kits, Spark, Treasure Truck, and Outfit Compare. Samsung Bixby arrives in the US. Net Neutrality Day results.
Musical podcasts sound like an interesting proposition, but are likely better as a larger production stream. I’m curious what the budget was for the piece and how they’re monetizing it?
I’ve been wondering about Bixby on my Samsung 8, but somehow I’ve never really bothered to use it. It doesn’t seem as interesting or as easy to use as my Amazon Alexa. Perhaps it’s time to dig into it a bit? I have been enjoying some minor Alexa use on my phone recently. I’m curious how they compare now.