Google Glass is all the rage on the interwebs lately. The nerds are a-flutter at the Internet-integrated glasses that make it incredibly awkward to have a human exchange with someone wearing them, so much so that a new term has come about for the glasses wearers: glasshole.


Unfortunately the pervy-est of nerds won't be able to extend the most intimate relationship they've had with their computers for years onto their newest tech; Google banned porn from the futuristic eyewear.

The app that likely prompted the change is called Tits and Glass, which allowed users to watch sexually explicit photos and videos. The company behind the app, MiKandi, was very happy with the initial response, claiming that nearly 10,000 unique visitors visited TitsAndGlass.com in a day. MiKandi also said it was interested in going a step further; using Google Glass to facilitate "two-way adult interaction." Source: Mashable

That's not all. Google, who has long been an anti-censoring proponent, has banned other functions of the admittedly cool gadget. Facial recognition has been nixed, as Forbes says, in a move that has pissed off developers.

"[T]his announcement is not sitting well with app developers who voiced their frustration at missing out on a business opportunity by blaming the public for being concerned about privacy protection - considering such concerns anachronistic, anti-progress and even hypocritical."Source: Forbes

I asked Kevin Davis, of Charlotte citizen photo and video licensing start-up Rawporter, if he sees any benefit for citizen journalists on the horizon with Glass.

This is a tricky one because there are so many ways Glass can be used. I'm sure people are thinking this will be great for whistleblowers and to expose atrocities but will it? Glass isn't exactly subtle nor is it affordable (or available yet) for the masses. From a practical perspective it's great that you can shoot photos and record videos including audio for interviews using wearable tech. It frees up your hands so you can what, exactly?

I suppose if you're in crisis mode, or part of a catastrophe, then you can finally help others while covering a story but should you? Journalists are meant to cover events objectively but now expectations might change. I'd be curious to see what the usual journalism panelists have to say on this topic.

I think we have to be honest with expectations. It's unlikely that the audio is as good as you'd capture with a mic. The camera might be awesome but it can't possibly compare to HD video and images with zoom functionality - yet. We shouldn't ignore the obvious either ... We've seen the funny videos online where someone has to get within inches of the subject to really capture what's being said or seen. Is putting your actual face that close to story you're covering really that smart?

Google Glass is expected to go on sale to the general public late this year, at the earliest.

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!
Teaser image on the homepage is a screenshot; credit: Mashable

Ah, South Dakota. What an astonishingly beautiful yet dramatic place.



Everything here is a little over the top. The sunsets ...


... the land before time ...


... and the history unfolding here. Most dramatic of all, though, is the greed displayed by one man.

Image: Native Sun News

I want to introduce you to the 2013 American Douchebag of the Year, James Czywczynski. But first, let's back up a little bit for context.

The gems in Charlotte's crown are many, and tile artistan Thomas Thoune is one of them.

Walking around Plaza Midwood with photo journalist Grant Baldwin and video journalist Kevin Beaty the other day, we stumbled upon his workshop: the front yard of his studio.

Photo: Grant Baldwin Photography

Mr. Thoune has been working for months on the art that will unveil today at the new Harris Teeter on The Plaza.

Photo: Grant Baldwin Photography

The aircraft and aerospace industries have been cash crops for the desert town of Palmdale, Calif., since the 1950s. On the very off, very random chance to have a private tour of Lockheed Martin's awe-inspiring UAV and jet manufacturing facility called Skunk Works, I leapt at the chance, not knowing what to expect.

Palmdale is known as the aerospace capital of the U.S., and while info about the city is readily available, accessibly details about the facility are limited. The things they're manufacturing in this place are of national importance. Since only one building is really visible from the road, some locals spend their whole lives growing up nearby, wondering what all goes on over there.

Image Credit: Desiree Kane

Skunk Works is an official alias for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. Skunk Works is responsible for a number of famous aircraft designs, including the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, and the F-22 Raptor. Currently its largest officially known project is the F-35 Lightning II, which will be used in the air forces of several countries. Source: Wikipedia

There are way more buildings than just the one. Upon entering the facility (which requires an escort), the only place photos are allowed is where everyone is screened and given a badge, which must be visible on each person at all times. Most of the buildings are for maintenance. Some are for HR, some are simply where they put paint on the aircraft. But there's one building in particular where good stuff happens.

There are places in this world that are devastatingly breathtaking, and the San Juan Islands in Washington state is one of them. By far one of the most beautiful places in North America, if you find yourself making plans for a springtime vacation, one of the first places to consider in the Pacific Northwest is here.

Rows and rows of daffodils and tulips line the roads of Anacortes, Washington's surrounding area called LaConner. It's a farm community and so idyllic it is ridiculous. The tulip festival happens annually in April, and the daffodils keep on blooming until the middle to end of May.

Even tons of snow geese flock there for spring.

Deception Pass, a short drive from Anacortes and the pass with the most badass name for miles around, is a place that connects Fidalgo Island and Whidby Island. When you walk over the bridge, you're compelled to curse at how unbefuckinglievably beautiful nature can be. I was able to be there with friends and they experienced the same compulsion. If you need a staunch reminder of how small we really, really are, all you need do is visit Deception Pass, aptly named for being, well, deceptive. All appears calm, the water and the trees. Then, it happens. You're in the middle of the bridge finding yourself barely able to walk in any direction from the blasting, encompassing wind. It's well worth the battle with the wind to get to the view, though:

Everywhere you turn in this region is blooming and beautiful, so pop that Allegra and get on out to this stunning location.

Every so often a new technology comes into the public eye that has everyone going ... "Huh?" This time around, it's the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which is being accepted by an ever-growing number of vendors and sellers like most recently and notably, OKCupid. What's a cryptocurrency, you ask? Here's a general overview:

Once you download and run the Bitcoin client software, it connects over the Internet to the decentralized network of all Bitcoin users and also generates a pair of unique, mathematically linked keys, which you'll need to exchange bitcoins with any other client. One key is private and kept hidden on your computer. The other is public and a version of it dubbed a Bitcoin address is given to other people so they can send you bitcoins. Crucially, it is practically impossible - even with the most powerful supercomputer - to work out someone's private key from their public key. This prevents anyone from impersonating you. Your public and private keys are stored in a file that can be transferred to another computer, for example if you upgrade. A Bitcoin address looks something like this: 15VjRaDX9zpbA8LVnbrCAFzrVzN7ixHNsC. Stores that accept bitcoins - for example, this one, selling alpaca socks - provide you with their address so you can pay for goods. Source: What Bitcoin is and why it matters

Since the U.S. Dollar is not gold backed, this means our dollars these days are essentially just credits we move back and forth between each other with implied value for said credits. While this isn't entirely how a Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency works, it is a method of payment credit being accepted for implied value, just like any other currency. It differs in that it's not regulated by any government (but is allegedly implicitly more secure because there's a global transaction register.) Basically, it's a peer-to-peer (P2P) PGP key for your monies. It's a lot more complicated than that, and it's worth reading up on, but the concepts of cryptographic privacy and security are the same. Here are the basics on PGP:

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is often used for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts, e-mails, files, directories and whole disk partitions to increase the security of e-mail communications. Source: Wikipedia

People are certainly buying and selling Bitcoins in Charlotte, too. Are you? What are your thoughts? Is this a dangerous new technology or the wave of the future?

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!

Article image credit: Branko Collin

About two hours away from Charlotte, deep in the country, lies Cameron, N.C., where Brooklyn artist David Ellis began painting these barns in his hometown back in 1999. In no time he had his artist friends hailing from as far away as Tokyo. I've driven the back way to Raleigh for years and have seen one barn but never took the time to investigate what all of these street art-laden, aging tobacco barns are actually all about until now. What I found was certain credence that North Carolina has unparalleled curiosities to offer literally everywhere.



This artist group dubbed themselves as Barnstormers! and the locations of the barns is near no towns, near no landmarks, and is definitely worth the trip. Here, immerse yourself:

There's no denying that everyone from companies to the U.S. government are monitoring what we say and do online. There's even a Homeland Security social media word watch list. Meaning if you tweet or use these words online, you're put on a watch list by the government.

Clicktivism, or the act of making political statements through changing your profile photo(s) and sending out messages using social networks as a means to communicate a social movement, is important because, even in some small way, it shows Uncle Sam something the marketing industry calls "sentiment." This week's ongoing Human Right's Council marriage equality campaign online eruption is a perfect example of this.



Get caught up here if you need the back story:

That's because the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, has been promoting an image of a pink equal sign over a red background in lieu of its blue-and-yellow logo to mobilize supporters online as the Supreme Court begins hearings on gay marriage today in Washington, D.C. A symbol of "equality," the photo has racked up more than 25,000 "likes" and 78,000 "shares" on the group's Facebook page in the last 24 hours. In fact, Mashable reports that since actor George Takei changed his profile picture to the red equal sign, the post has received more than 40,000 likes from fans.

Read more: What Is the Red Equal Sign All Over Facebook and Twitter?

Clicktivism is about swaying public sentiment reports based around online discussion and activity. Data on sentiment is intellectual property. The government, even if nothing else, is collecting this information and clicktivism is the citizen's way into the data history books, where people look many years later when they want to track a movement towards changing laws. It is a group of people exerting their sway and changing the data and it's a way to communicate with the people listening directly. There's nothing better for democracy than that.

My experience with SXSWi began distinctly and punctually yesterday in the airport. I missed my outbound flight because of traffic and was sitting blowing off 4 hours until the next jet when I overheard one stranger say to another in passing "I don't want your tall banana!"

Enjoying my peanut butter Twix for a 7 a.m. breakfast, all I could wonder was if this odd moment of candy and inappropriate commentary between strangers was an omen, an indicator of what is to be over the next four days. SXSW is the biggest party of the year for the creative community. My inbox is chockfull of invite-only RSVPs, too. Man, this is going to be good.

I'll be here, on this page, every day until March 11 making regular updates as things happen so check back often.

I sat there, taking in the moment, the only words crossing my mind were "this is going to be a total shit-show ..." and, inevitably, it will be.

Welcome to CL Charlotte's coverage of South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, TX.

Constant commentary, photos, tweets, and more during my waking hours on my twitter @dbirdy, instagram @dbirdy and on Facebook @desiree.kane!

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Friday, March 8, 2013:

Scott Provancher sighting! I knew there were other Charlotteans here, just wasn't expecting to see the President of the Arts & Science Council. This makes me feel good about Charlotte's representation within this artsy/science-y community!

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Unauthorized owl costume wearing at Hootsuite HQ, party of one!

Austin has an unofficial slogan of "Keep Austin Weird." They're succeeding at this. The only weirder place is Carson City, but that's a story for another day. What's so weird about Austin? It's like the culture has been so unabashedly quirky for so long that something being a little off is commonplace, nay, expected. Think of it like this: It's like the Common Market, except it's an entire city.
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Every time I come to Texas, I think, "Wow, they really do it big here." But then I meet the natives, and they're such mild-mannered nerds that I wind up pleasantly surprised. They do it big ... brained that is.
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OH: "When did scrappy and entrepreneurial become just ... Dickish?"

I've heard this a lot about the SXSW organizers from a whole bunch of different places. People are complaining that it's gotten too big, that it's sold out, too commercial, people don't like the panel track selections as much as they did in < insert arbitrary date here >, etc. Consequently, all of the people complaining are bleeding-edge techpreneurs, so I can see how they'd feel that this once-small conference has grown too much for their tastes. Everyone I've met (save one guy, Jay Baydala, Founder & CEO of Goodpin) has been here five-plus years in a row. One lady even picked up the cab for a friend and me because of this.
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OH at 1:13AM: "I've never worn a pair of shorts where my balls came out to say hello. Earlier I looked down and said, Is that a tomato?'" - our Motorphilia Limo driver
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2:55 AM: One of the weirdest moments ever. Ever.

I was walking with my friend Michael Cummings (one of the founders of BIL Conference, the open-source unconference with a mission not dissimilar to TED except in approach) and girl friends from the U.A.E., Ayesha and Latifah. Latifah looks exactly like famous Middle Eastern singer Myriam Fares and we were literally mobbed by a pack of young, drunk Saudi Arabian men who thought Latifah was the celebrity singer.

First, they followed us to the car, cat-calling and pawing at Latifah. "This is how celebrities must feel," I thought to myself.



We made it to the car, but they started opening the doors, the back window of the Honda Element ... the whole thing was actually rather scary, which is why I wasn't able to catch more video.



Afterward, Latifah expressed feeling "like a pair of shoes." It was crazy - she was wildly objectified and my heart goes out to her for that. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say there were some cultural things happening that are broad and complicated, which I can't begin to understand, let alone articulate. It was interesting, I'll give it that.

Day 1: DONE. Whew! Tomorrow: The SXSWi Gaming expo!

What do you get when you put the world's largest collection of brilliant Internet nerds plus music and alcohol all in one place? 2013 SXSW® Interactive Festival, of course!

I'm only (half) kidding. But guess what?! CL Charlotte is taking you there beginning tomorrow, Friday, March 8th! SXSWi is as follows, according to their website:

Scheduled March 8-12, the 2013 SXSW® Interactive Festival will feature five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders, the SXSW Trade Show and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games and innovative ideas the international community has to offer.

I've already got a preview of the new Nintendo Wii U and 3DS XL lined up to share with y'all via video like I did with the CES 2013 Sony 3D 1080p Playstation TV w/ Simulview. SXSWi is pretty much an in-person nerdgasm. I will do my best to share that with you, online.

I'll of course be posting here on my column but also on my Twitter @dbirdy, Instagram, and Facebook. I cannot wait to go and I can't wait to bring you with me. Hell yeah, SXSWi!

See you in a few days! Oh, and if you're going to be in town, please hit me up on Twitter. Charlotte people in Austin, Texas this weekend! Let's do this!