Chaos as constrained randomness

Chaos refers to a kind of constrained randomness. "Wherever a chaotic process has shaped an environment, a fractal structure is left behind." Fractal renders: RoddH and Fractal Lab, a WebGL app to interactively explore and render 3D fractals in real time.

Things to do in Tuscany

I made a Google Map of things to do in Tuscany, based on what we've already tried and some advice from fellow Internet Marketing School teacher Kenny Van Beeck (a specialist in the good things in life - make sure to check out his (and his wife's) project Authentic Taste.)

Back to my map. What do you think is still missing?

Rain makes everything better

RainyMood.com: Rain makes everything better. It adds a little sparkle to everything it touches.

Inflated expactions and Big Data

Since 1995, information technology research firm Gartner has used hype cycles to characterize the over-enthusiasm or "hype" and subsequent disappointment that typically happens with the introduction of new technologies. These hype cycles are invariably interesting, and so is their latest edition.
At the peak of the July 2011 hype cycle, right between the mass media hype and negative press are: gamification, group buying, social analytics, wireless power, activity streams, internet tv, NFC payment, private cloud computing, augmented reality, cloud computing, media tablets, and virtual assistants. According to the same model, cloud/Web platforms are slipping into the "trough of disillusionment" but QR/Color codes are climbing back up on the slope of enlightenment.
Keep an eye on: "Big Data" and Extreme Information Processing and Management. From Big data @ wikipedia.org:

Big data are datasets that grow so large that they become awkward to work with using on-hand database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage, search, sharing, analytics, and visualizing. This trend continues because of the benefits of working with larger and larger datasets allowing analysts to "spot business trends, prevent diseases, combat crime.

Reality starts looking more and more like Minority Report every day. I'd rather have it look like Star Trek episodes each day. Still waiting for that sonic shower and a microwave over that actually fulfills my request for a "Tea! Earl Grey. Hot!"

Where Children Sleep

Where Children Sleep - stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms."

The one pictured above is Alyssa, 8, Harlan County, USA. The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds ' intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience.

More Google Streetviews from the middle of nowhere

No Man’s Land "explores the margins of our urban and rural European environment as experienced by what appear to be women soliciting sex in liminal, post-industrial and rural settings, captured by Google’s Street View cameras." Mishka Henner (b.1976 in Belgium) is a photographer and artist living and working in Manchester, England. He operates in the genres of social documentary and appropriation art and embraces the self-published artist’s book as a means of transmitting his work. Order No Man's Land over at Blurb.com.