August 29, 2008
Hey, I wanted to get everybody pumped up for the Detroit Grand Prix this
weekend by sharing my photos and videos from last year. I had a blast
last year and fully expect to do the same this year. Enjoy and feel free
to pass along to anyone who also may enjoy!
-Jeff Young
http://www.flickr.com/photos/browndawgdude/sets/72157601842876892/
http://www.youtube.com/browndawgdude
Hey, I wanted to get everybody pumped up for the Detroit Grand Prix this
weekend by sharing my photos and videos from last year. I had a blast
last year and fully expect to do the same this year. Enjoy and feel free
to pass along to anyone who also may enjoy!
-Jeff Young
http://www.flickr.com/photos/browndawgdude/sets/72157601842876892/
http://www.youtube.com/browndawgdude
August 27, 2008
--Corianda Rocklein
--Corianda Rocklein
August 26, 2008
August 19, 2008
(My apologies for the shameless self-promotion. I'd also like to use this opportunity to give a shout-out to Rey. See below.)
(My apologies for the shameless self-promotion. I'd also like to use this opportunity to give a shout-out to Rey. See below.)
As you know this year's Republican National Convention will take place in Twin Cities from September 1st. The local art community decided to organize a political art event (ironically named The UnConvention) using the convention as a backdrop. They have invited many artists from all over the country to participate in the event, including me. My installation, Political Science 101: A Crash Course in Civil Discourse on Political Blogs, is an appraisal of the political blogs as a civil discourse medium. It will be shown at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis from August 31s to November 2nd.
The New York Times has a report on the event and my work (the reporter got my name all wrong; I've asked for a correction):
If you will be in the area and are interested in attending the event, more info can be found here:
Rey Peralta has been helping me on the front-end programming. This wouldn't have came to fruition without his talents!
--Fang-Yu Lin
August 15, 2008
Lately, I have become convinced that multitasking is the enemy of qualitative productivity. Sometimes quality results from working on a bazillion things at once but generally a lot of potential for greatness gets lost in the maelstrom. Most of the time, you produce a variety of material that is middling in quality with maybe one or two better constructs. And you can only hide in meeting rooms and work from home so much. The most compelling article in support of the nascent unitasking movement was published in the Atlantic Monthly a while back. If I don't remember writing about it here before, and I'm really not sure if I did, it's because of this simple little idea.
Turman
Lately, I have become convinced that multitasking is the enemy of qualitative productivity. Sometimes quality results from working on a bazillion things at once but generally a lot of potential for greatness gets lost in the maelstrom. Most of the time, you produce a variety of material that is middling in quality with maybe one or two better constructs. And you can only hide in meeting rooms and work from home so much. The most compelling article in support of the nascent unitasking movement was published in the Atlantic Monthly a while back. If I don't remember writing about it here before, and I'm really not sure if I did, it's because of this simple little idea.Multitasking messes with the brain in several ways. At the most basic level, the mental balancing acts that it requires--the constant switching and pivoting--energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning. We concentrate on the act of concentration at the expense of whatever it is that we're supposed to be concentrating on.Anyway, this brings me to a new application for the Mac OS X called "Freedom"; Lifehacker alerted me to its existence a couple of days back. Perhaps best of all, "Freedom" doesn't allow you to just turn it off when you start jonesing for the 'net. Here's the scoop, straight from the Freedom "read me."
Stopping or quitting Freedom will not re-enable your network adapters. This is purposeful. To re-enable your network before the time period elapses, you must restart your computer.Download it here and get big chunks of your life back.
Turman
August 15, 2008
A portion of the pageantry that is the brewing process at this little dandy.
In this first edition of our exploration of the Organic network's many, many ways of making coffee around this great continent of ours, we start with this hulking yet techy-looking Starbucks-branded machine.
Stolen straight from the Star Trek set, this monster has a bunch of bells and whistles, but is really limited to coffee and cocoa, as far as I could tell. With Clover taking over the world, you'd think this would be a sweet machine, brewing basically two types of coffee by the cup in a very controlled setting.
And it was OK. Not as bitter as Starbucks coffee that's been sitting in a thermos for a couple hours. (After a direct comparison, this By-The-Cup machine provides a noticeably fresher cup...but not any fresher than you could get by just grinding the beans yourself right before brewing.)
Long story short, it wasn't quite as magical as one might hope for standing in front a machine for 90 seconds and listening to it buzz and whir and all that. But it was fun to do. So that's something.
Location: DET, Main Kitchen, 1st Floor
A portion of the pageantry that is the brewing process at this little dandy.
In this first edition of our exploration of the Organic network's many, many ways of making coffee around this great continent of ours, we start with this hulking yet techy-looking Starbucks-branded machine.
Stolen straight from the Star Trek set, this monster has a bunch of bells and whistles, but is really limited to coffee and cocoa, as far as I could tell. With Clover taking over the world, you'd think this would be a sweet machine, brewing basically two types of coffee by the cup in a very controlled setting.
And it was OK. Not as bitter as Starbucks coffee that's been sitting in a thermos for a couple hours. (After a direct comparison, this By-The-Cup machine provides a noticeably fresher cup...but not any fresher than you could get by just grinding the beans yourself right before brewing.)
Long story short, it wasn't quite as magical as one might hope for standing in front a machine for 90 seconds and listening to it buzz and whir and all that. But it was fun to do. So that's something.
Location: DET, Main Kitchen, 1st Floor
August 14, 2008
-Daryl B.
It's a busy day. You're tired. You've got a ton do to, and then a ton to do after that. Wouldn't it be great if you could just take a 20 minute break and get a relaxing, energizing massage before you jump back into it?
Well, you can! Every other Wednesday, the on-site massage
therapist is in the building to help you get for the day. For only $10
(normally $20, but Organic covers half for full-time employees!), you can get a
fantastic massage that will get the blood flowing and add some much-needed
energy to your day.
Sign up now - you'll be glad you did!
-Daryl B.
August 13, 2008
From the DET office lot this very morning...
August 13, 2008
Hot off the presses...
BTW...for those who might find themselves in Southern California on the big day (8-31-08), get ready to enjoy the tasty rhymes of one Kanye "to the"...live at the Coliseum. Who's gonna be at yours? Oh, doctor!
BTW...for those who might find themselves in Southern California on the big day (8-31-08), get ready to enjoy the tasty rhymes of one Kanye "to the"...live at the Coliseum. Who's gonna be at yours? Oh, doctor!
August 7, 2008
TORONTO -- What's better than an AllHands meeting? How about dogs? Cuteness meter is off the charts...here's the full report from the show floor.
(Many more hott pooch pics after the jump...)
(Many more hott pooch pics after the jump...)
Continue reading TOR Office Calls an ALLPAWS.
August 5, 2008
From the Organic Wires:
Hi, All.
On Tuesday (8/5), Mitch is bringing in his dog for a photo shoot. If you cannot be around dogs for whatever the reason, please note that the dog will be in Mitch's office and if you can avoid this area, please do.
If there is an issue with this you need me to address, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Hi, All.
On Tuesday (8/5), Mitch is bringing in his dog for a photo shoot. If you cannot be around dogs for whatever the reason, please note that the dog will be in Mitch's office and if you can avoid this area, please do.
If there is an issue with this you need me to address, please do not hesitate to let me know.
August 4, 2008
For Immediate Release
August 4, 2008
The San Francisco office celebrated the long days of summer with a reprise of last-year's trip to wine country. Viansa was kind gullible enough to invite us back and this year the ante was upped a bit by virtue of familiarity. Highlights were many, but if you're reading this from another office or as an outsider, you probably only want to know who the "headliners" were. Sure, opening acts are interesting, but who held down the main event?
Well, for starters, engineering head Tom Tully--who is known by many to be an accomplished fencer--brought his épées. Apparently, with the intent of some light sparring. Add a little California grape and a modicum of protective equipment. Voila: Department Head Swordplay Showdown. After dispatching head of HR Tracy Coté with a couple of "uninvited touches," Tully squared of against the one and only Mr. Shane Ginsberg. Armed with an accent well suited to the sporting enterprise at hand, Shane stepped into the role with verve, deftly disguising the panic he was apparently feeling with his typical verbal repartee. Nonetheless, a well-timed belly shot from Tully was his undoing. After the match Ginsberg had this to say.
"I was scared shitless. That was really scary."
But wine-fueled swordplay was only the beginning. Going home was where the real action was. At least on bus number two, where an impromptu dance battle in a moving motor coach set a new standard for wine-tour motor-skills maintenance. Since neither of the parties involved are members of the executive committee, I will resist the urge to report their names in a document that is the subject of public record. As they may eventually need to apply for jobs elsewhere. But suffice to say, that with the irony-laden sounds of (erstwhile Mitsubishi Eclipse commercial stalwarts) Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By" as the soundtrack, moves were indeed busted.
The once and future prom queen from creative was very much on her game. But, a surprise shut-down move came from a more-than-game for the challenge member of the operations team: vogueing. Not seen in competition in more than 10 years, the surprise flurry of fierceness caught our prom queen off guard and it will have to be recorded here that she was, in fact "served." In all of the excitement, a small dog then peed on the bus.
Until next year,
Turman