PostedByDesiree Kane
on Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 1:12 PM
This weekend an exceptionally rad international event happened in the Charlotte tech scene. Attendees from as far away as Brooklyn, N.Y., came to learn Ruby, a computer programming language, for free. The day-long class, hosted at Skookum Digital Works in Uptown, connected top-level local instructors with ladies with a baseline understanding of coding then taught them the fundamentals of coding. These classes happen all over the world, courtesy of the Rails Girls.
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 2:46 PM
Stoners the world over have graduated. Not just from college, where they're using their engineering degrees to make homemade bongs, either. The weed connoisseur set has graduated in efficiency, health consciousness and snobbery as well. Gone are the days of rolling up a jimmy, grabbing a BIC and passing the dutchie pon de left hand side. Butane produces headaches and can further damage your lungs, as can inhaling the rolling paper. Potheads have officially moved on from all of that childish riffraff.
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 10:49 AM
It's one thing to travel and another thing to have tech but there's a precarious balance one must strike while traveling with tech. Since I traveled 218 days last year and it's shaping up to be even more than that this year, here I offer up a look at the tech I travel with and why I chose each piece. There's no room for carrying things you don't need when you're hiking up the Qatari oil sands or rummaging around taking photos in a ghost town in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
If there's one thing I've learned from a fellow Charlottean traveling compatriot, Tamela Rich, who travels the U.S. on a hog telling stories of cancer survivors, it's that mindful minimalism is where it's at. I start by carrying a small bag:
It's a Patagonia Mini Mass messenger bag. I like it because it's made entirely of recycled materials, looks rad and holds just enough, but not too much. Too much is cumbersome and not enough is annoying. This bag goes the distance for me with room to spare.
Next, in clockwise order, my Macbook Pro charger with my ID sticker on it and my BookBook iPhone 4S phone wallet combo case. This thing has paid for itself many times over in both compliments and functionality. Plus, it looks like a 12-step Bible, and no one wants to steal a Bible.
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Wed, Jul 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Sometimes it's more difficult to keep the fire stoked than to light the travel + tech flame. Assuming that we all spend time at our computers at some point in the day, either before or after work, here are five great travel + tech desktop images.
Because, even though you can't get away, it doesn't mean you can't dream a little:
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 10:30 AM
Humans have long been fascinated by bones. We've been decorating and making cathedrals, guns and museums out of them for years.
But, there's nothing more personal than decorating your yard with the remnants of mammals past. Over the last three months I've seen a number of really creepy, yet very interesting homes. Here are my top 3 ranked by which is most elaborate, beginning with No. 1, this yard near Curt Gowdy State park in Wyoming:
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 6:00 AM
Digital boundaries. Some of us are over-sharers. Others opt out of sites like Facebook in order. We all have digital boundaries in some way, shape or form because we're seeking the same thing: how to remain present.
Personally, I do something I call Screen-free Sundays. No phone screens, TV screens, computer screens, movie screens - NO screens of any sort. I also have a personal mantra that I live by: Be present. Why? Because I feel the face-to-face connections between humans - which are critical to a healthy society - are degrading. We're putting up walls by joining together non-stop online either subliminally or on purpose, and it's not right.
Screen-free Sundays are about reconnecting with what's in front of me and the people around me. Sometimes I fail on random Sundays, but it's been a really eye-opening experience for the most part. Screen-free Sundays are also when I discovered the value of slow travel. When you're not moving at the speed of the Internet, even for one day a week, life opens up in unimaginable ways.
This excellent spoken word poem bywriter of words and filmer of things, Alex Sparks, speaks to this idea that our connection to other humans face-to-face, a trait that makes our lives truly authentic, is eroding because of tech's pervasiveness in our minds and culture as Americans:
So, if you find yourself experiencing phantom vibration syndrome, which is basically the sensation that your phone put on silent is ringing when it's not, take a listen to Alex's poem and unplug for a day. Your rested, centered mind will appreciate the digital boundary - and so might the people around you.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Silicon Valley, Calif., is a strange and enthralling place. The average passer-by might be confidently sporting Google Glass like it's no big deal. People ride their bikes all over the place because it's such a healthy, beautiful environment, and one can't help feeling smarter and better looking just for being there amongst this madness.
Cupertino, Calif., the 11th richest city in the nation and one of the 24 cities that compromise Silicon Valley, is home to Apple, Inc. and has been since 1993. I know a guy and got to go inside Apple headquarters. I've always wanted to eat in the employee cafeteria, so that's what I did. But, of course, not before I took a long gaze at this sexy thing on display in the employee lounge (which, I'll add, had real trees growing in it):
PostedByDesiree Kane
on Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Google's Lat Long blog had a travel + tech announcement last week that is sure to excite tech nomads everywhere:
We're working to build the very best map of the world, and we'd love your help to do it. Today, we're kicking off a pilot program that enables third party organizations to borrow the Street View Trekker and contribute imagery to Google Maps. For the first time ever, this program will enable organizations to use our camera equipment to collect 360-degree photos of the places they know best -- helping us make Google Maps more comprehensive and useful for all. This program is part of our ongoing effort to make it possible for anyone to contribute to Google Maps.
Can you imagine getting one of these? It's all the excuse in the world you'd need to get far flung and weird for a year! If you want one of these as bad as I do, The folks at Google say they want you to apply:
Now it's your turn! If you're a tourism board, non-profit, government agency, university, research organization or other entity interested in borrowing a Street View Trekker to capture and share imagery from a place you know and care about, please apply today. In the coming months, we'll open up this pilot program to a limited number of other organizations around the world.
Or, if you don't care about any of this and just came for the cloudporn, here's a shot I took in Rocky Mountain National Park at sunset three weeks ago:
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!