REC

Universe

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:57:35 -0800

Universe

travel tips

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:53:06 -0800

travel tips

Brazilian guitarist Naudo - Stairway to Heaven

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:18:00 -0800

Brazilian guitarist Naudo - Stairway to Heaven

jstn: Jaap Scheeren. Booooooom - 64 photos by 64 photographers...

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:38:59 -0800

jstn:

Jaap Scheeren. Booooooom - 64 photos by 64 photographers 2009

Hard to pick just one from this set.

willw: Phoenix - 1901 (via blakewhitman)

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:02:00 -0800

willw:

Phoenix - 1901

(via blakewhitman)

mills: From Kerr: Gas stations abandoned during the fuel crisis...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:26:00 -0800

mills:

From Kerr:

Gas stations abandoned during the fuel crisis in the winter of 1973-74 were sometimes used for other purposes. This station at Potlatch, Washington, west of Olympia, was turned into a religious meeting hall. -David Falconer, April 1974

I love things like this; look how beautiful those pumps have become! “Fill up with the Holy Ghost & Fire.”

littleorphanammo: (via buddhabrot)

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:30:56 -0800

littleorphanammo:

(via buddhabrot)

simko: Please, Thank You and Have A Nice Day by Laura Adel...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:39:37 -0800

simko:

Please, Thank You and Have A Nice Day by Laura Adel Johnson…

I started using lights in my work when I went to participate in a residency program in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2007. I went during the Christmas season and was overwhelmed by the masses of decorations and lights that illuminated the city. I was inspired by the gaudy yet somehow beautiful decorations and decided to start experimenting with this medium. (via)

http://www.nikonfestival.com/

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:28:29 -0800

http://www.nikonfestival.com/

jstn: via robhuebel

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:41:14 -0800

jstn:

via robhuebel

The first thing I’m doing when I buy a house is build a built-in bookcase.

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:34:17 -0800

The first thing I’m doing when I buy a house is build a built-in bookcase.

Cap and Trade?

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:36:27 -0800

What’s worse than a Heartbreaker, Meansucker Warhellride? Supporting Cap and Trade. Especially, after watching this video clip and digesting this article.

Wesley Willis

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:52:26 -0800

Wesley Willis

How TO Make Wealth

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:34:04 -0800

By Paul Graham (click here to read full article)

If you wanted to get rich, how would you do it? I think your best bet would be to start or join a startup. That’s been a reliable way to get rich for hundreds of years. The word “startup” dates from the 1960s, but what happens in one is very similar to the venture-backed trading voyages of the Middle Ages.

Startups usually involve technology, so much so that the phrase “high-tech startup” is almost redundant. A startup is a small company that takes on a hard technical problem.

Lots of people get rich knowing nothing more than that. You don’t have to know physics to be a good pitcher. But I think it could give you an edge to understand the underlying principles. Why do startups have to be small? Will a startup inevitably stop being a startup as it grows larger? And why do they so often work on developing new technology? Why are there so many startups selling new drugs or computer software, and none selling corn oil or laundry detergent?

"Here’s what I’d do: run a series of national innovation awesomeness tournaments, in each of the..."

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:12:12 -0800

“Here’s what I’d do: run a series of national innovation awesomeness tournaments, in each of the industries above. The prize? Let’s take a page from Netflix and offer a million bucks each. The challenge? To radically reimagine each industry for the 21st century. Then, I’d seed the top ten ideas in each category with $10 million each, syndicating further investments with the private sector — and let ‘em rip. Total pricetag to the people? About $150-250 million — a drop in the bucket compared to the bailouts. Total returns? They promise to be exactly what we need today: disruptive, radical, and world-changing.”

- Solve America’s Employment Crisis With a Netflix Prize - Umair Haque - HarvardBusiness.org (via catbird)

Why I gave away my company to charity

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:05:00 -0800

Why I gave away my company to charity:

davemorin

Put this list together a few years back for a buddy moving to...

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:51:10 -0800

Put this list together a few years back for a buddy moving to The
District. These are some of my favorite stops in DC:

Haines Point
Georgetown Pool
18th Street Lounge - rooftop
Jetties - killer sandwiches
Kotobuki
Rock & Roll Hotel
Cafe St. Ex
Reef - roof
Kramerbooks - small bar inside bookstore. best place to bring a date
Local 16 - roof
Eastern Market - grab your boo, hold hands and pretend you’re married
Sculpture Garden - jazz and beer in summer…winter ice skating
Amsterdam Falafel
Madam’s Organ - go to the roof and ask the bar tender for a goldfish shot
Tryst
Bossa
National Portrait Gallery - secret coffee shop
Hotel Helix - burgers will sway even the most strict vegetarian
Tabard Inn - back porch
Pizzeria Paradiso - best beer in city
Clarendon Ballroom - rooftop in summer
World Bank Cafeteria - you’ll need an invite
Washington Law Coffee - 19th and G…go between 2-3pm
Science Club
The Big Hunt - basement
Lauriol Plaza
Lindy’s - back porch
The Raven
Greek Deli - picture the soup nazi, but from Athens
Lucky Bar - best place to watch soccer
Peacock Cafe - brunch

21 Great Innovation Methods

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:39:00 -0800

by Paul Sloane

How hard is it to innovate? Not once but over and over? How can you repeatedly implement great new products, processes or services? Continuous innovation is not easy and if you keep using the same method you will experience diminishing results. Try innovating how you innovate by employing some of these ideas.

Copy someone else’s idea. One of the best ways to innovate is to pinch an idea that works elsewhere and apply it in your business. Henry Ford saw the production line working in a meat packing plant and then applied to the automobile industry thereby dramatically reducing assembly times and costs.

Ask customers. If you simply ask your customers how you could improve your product or service they will give you plenty of ideas for incremental innovations. Typically they will ask for new features or that you make your product cheaper, faster, easier to use, available in different styles and colours etc. Listen to these requests carefully and choose the ones that will really pay back.

Observe customers. Do not just ask them, watch them. Try to see how customers use your products. Do they use them in new ways? This was what Levi Strauss saw when they found that customers ripped the jeans - so they brought a line of pre-ripped jeans. Heinz noticed that people stored their sauce jars upside down so they designed an upside down bottle.

Use difficulties and complaints. If customers have difficulties with any aspect of using your product or if they register complaints then you have a strong starting point for innovations. Make your product easier to use, eliminate the current inconveniences and introduce improvements that overcome the complaints.

Combine. Combine your product with something else to make something new. It works at all levels. Think of a suitcase with wheels, or a mobile phone with a camera or a flight with a massage.

Eliminate. What could you take out of your product or service to make it better? Dell eliminated the computer store, Amazon eliminated the bookstore, the Sony Walkman eliminated speakers and record functions.

Ask your staff. Challenge the people who work in the business to find new and better ways to do things and new and better ways to please customers. They are close to the action and can see opportunities for innovation. Often they just need encouragement to bring forward great ideas.

Plan. Include targets for new products and services in your business plan. Put it onto the balanced scorecard. Write innovation into everyone’s objectives. Measure it and it will happen.

Run brainstorms. Have regular brainstorm meetings where you generate a large quantity of new product ideas. Use diverse groups from different areas of the business and include a provocative outsider e.g. a customer or supplier.

Examine patents. Check through patents that apply in your field. Are there some that you could license? Are some expiring so that you can now use that method? Is there a different way of achieving the essential idea in a patent?

Collaborate. Work with another company who can take you to places you can’t go. Choose a partner with a similar philosophy but different skills. That is what Mercedes did with Swatch when they came up with the Smart car.

Minimize or maximize. Take something that is standard in the industry and minimise or maximise it. Ryanair minimized price and customer service. Starbucks maximised price and customer experience. It is better to be different than to be better.

Run a contest. Ask members of the public to suggest great new product ideas. Offer a prize. Give people a clear focussed goal and they will surprise you with novel ideas. Good for innovation and PR.

Ask - what if? Do some lateral thinking by asking what if…? Challenge every boundary and assumption that applies in your field. You and your group will come up with amazing ideas once the normal constraints are lifted.

Watch the competition. Do not slavishly follow the competition but watch them intelligently. The small guys are often the most innovative so see if you can adapt or license one of their ideas - or even buy the company!

Outsource. Subcontract your new product development challenge to a design company, a University, a start-up or a crowdsourcing site like Innocentive or NineSigma.

Use open innovation. Big consumer products companies like Procter and Gamble or Reckitt Benckiser encourage developers to bring novel products to them. They are flexible on IP protection and give a clear focus on what they are looking for. A large proportion of their new products now start life outside the company.

Adapt a product to a new use. Find an entirely different application for an existing product. De Beers produced industrial diamonds but found a new use for diamonds when they introduced the concept of engagement rings. It opened up a large new market for them.

Try Triz. Triz is a systematic method for solving problems. It can be applied in many fields but is particularly useful in engineering and product design. Triz gives you a toolbox of methods to solve contradictions e.g. how can we make this product run faster but with less power?

Go back in time. Look back at methods and services that were used in your sector years ago but have now fallen out of use. Can you bring one back in a new updated form? It has been said that Speed Dating is really a relaunch of a Victorian dance format where ladies had cards marked with appointments.

Use social networks. Follow trends and ask questions on groups like Twitter or Facebook. Ask what people want to see in future products or what the big new idea will be. Many early adopters are active on social network groups and will happily respond with suggestions.

story of stuff

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:16:45 -0800

story of stuff

recommended The Hurt Locker on Boxee

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:03:34 -0800

recommended The Hurt Locker on Boxee