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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Tech This month in GIFness: porn, boredom and bread
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 5:00 PM
CL Charlotte's top posts of September, GIFified.
The CLog: Commenters got mad at CL music editor Jeff Hahne after he saw Muse following Cage the Elephant and was all...
Eat My Charlotte: Fourth Ward Bread Co. opened and all of Charlotte rejoiced
Bangtown: North Carolina's top porn search terms post from last month is still popular. Pervs.
QC After Dark: 2013 Halloween events in Charlotte is on the rise because, well, Halloween is coming and you know what that means:
Wayfaring Tech Nomad: This month's most popular Tech Nomad post is pretty obvious if you read my column regularly. Last week I was trapped in a freak Colorado flood. Everything's fine now but for a minute things were like...
The CLog: Commenters got mad at CL music editor Jeff Hahne after he saw Muse following Cage the Elephant and was all...
Image:Tumblr
Eat My Charlotte: Fourth Ward Bread Co. opened and all of Charlotte rejoiced
Source:Tumblr
Bangtown: North Carolina's top porn search terms post from last month is still popular. Pervs.
Source:Tumblr
QC After Dark: 2013 Halloween events in Charlotte is on the rise because, well, Halloween is coming and you know what that means:
Source: forum.NIN.com
Wayfaring Tech Nomad: This month's most popular Tech Nomad post is pretty obvious if you read my column regularly. Last week I was trapped in a freak Colorado flood. Everything's fine now but for a minute things were like...
Source:Memeorama
Friday, August 30, 2013
Tech Paintstravaganza: Paint Louis 2013
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 11:13 AM
June 2013 was a great month for the city of St. Louis, Mo., as street artists from a dozen states, even attracting graf writers from as far as Puerto Rico, revived an event that had died in 2001 called Paint Louis.
As I drove through the city simply sight-seeing, I decided to go to the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Since I have a nose for the awesome and remote, I continued driving right on past the arch, not knowing why. Suddenly, I stumbled upon what must be close to a mile of truly excellent street art.
When you first approach and go past the 1920s pumping station, there's this, which happens to be, in my opinion, one of the best crew pieces, from ATT:
Here are some more photos to look at. (To see more detail, click the image and it'll take you to the full size photo):
As I drove through the city simply sight-seeing, I decided to go to the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Since I have a nose for the awesome and remote, I continued driving right on past the arch, not knowing why. Suddenly, I stumbled upon what must be close to a mile of truly excellent street art.
When you first approach and go past the 1920s pumping station, there's this, which happens to be, in my opinion, one of the best crew pieces, from ATT:
Here are some more photos to look at. (To see more detail, click the image and it'll take you to the full size photo):
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tech Q&A with CLT Tech Power Couples: The Van Fleet Edition
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Charlotte is host to a number of annual and semi-annual tech conferences, and organizing them is a difficult, often thankless job. It's this kind of selfless behavior that makes our tech community powerful and inclusive.
As the community grows - positively - it's turning local organizers of said conferences into power-houses in the tech community. Many of those organizers are couples that band together to entice startup folks and angel investors to Charlotte. Enter Megan and Jim Van Fleet.
Megan is a stay-at-home mom. Jim is a startup founder and, I might add, has the best startup newsletter in town.Despite her pint-sizeynessMegan's upbeat attitude and tireless work toward making the Charlotte tech scene stronger is what makes her half of one gnarly power couple. So, without further adieu, I present to you this Q&A with Megan Van Fleet:
CL: What events have you organized in the last 18 months?
MVF: Charlotte StartUp Weekend, currently working on BarCampCLT
CL: The name of Jim's startup:
MVF: LaunchPad Code Academy
CL: How many events have you organized, and how long have you been at it?
MVF: Charlotte StartUp Weekend for three events; I've volunteered with Ignite Charlotte for three events and BarcampCLT for two events
CL: What is the No. 1 thing that makes you so awesome?
MVF: It's hard to narrow it down. Probably the company I keep.
CL: Where did you get the idea to begin organizing?
MVF: When I decided to leave my job to stay home with my son JJ, I didn't feel like I would be fulfilled doing baby stuff all day. So I looked around for volunteer opportunities in Charlotte with organizations and events that interested me. My husband had been a co-organizer of CSW before that, and I loved the energy surrounding the event. I also knew that they needed help with the little details, which is one of my strengths, so I saw it as a natural fit. My role has grown each year.
CL: What's the biggest lesson you've learned through organizing?
MVF: It's important not to force a fit between you and an event/organization. Consider what you're passionate about, and look for organizations involved in those areas. You're likely to be more motivated to help out and follow through.
CL: What is the one piece of tech you couldn't live without?
MVF: My iPhone. I use it for everything. Every crack in the glass has a story (the story usually ends with, "...and then JJ threw my phone.") Also, power strips.
Next up in this series: The Bjers family!
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!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Tech Soylent: For people, not of people
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 10:00 AM
With flying cars and Soylent both in the news recently, we're well on our way to a very Jetsonian existence.
Here's the skinny from Vice:
Image: Vice
The prospects for ending global hunger are huge with this project, but would you put it in your mouth or replace your entire food intake with it like the inventors hope?
Image: ViceSoylent is a liquid food replacement that aims to deliver a full allotment of a human being's daily nutritional needs. It's cobbled together from basic ingredients like maltodextrin, rice protein, and potassium gluconate. Its founder Rob Rhinehart subsisted on the drink alone for 30 days as a proof of concept. Rhinehart, an alum of the influential tech startup bootcamp Y-combinator, meticulously blogged the experience, warts and all - at one point he experienced joint aches as a result of a sulfur deficiency - and won a devoted following. He's now soliciting data from some 50 beta testers to refine the product, which is currently at version 0.8.
The company, which is based in Oakland, has already surpassed $1 million in pre-orders, and is about to begin mass-producing Soylent and shipping to consumers by the end of September. He's also fielding meetings with VCs, who've no doubt seen the explosive and he's getting ready to mass produce the finalized Soylent formula. His project has also engendered a grassroots effort amongst DIY food drink hackers - people across the nation are sharing their own Soylent recipes.
The end goal is to make a cheap, nutritious alternative for people who don't have the time or the means to eat well. Rhinehart is aiming for nothing less than to change the way we eat; he imagines a future where meals of solid food are largely recreational, and only eaten a few times a day. He also hopes his product will be a boon to the hungry - when production scales up, he hopes to sell a day's worth of Soylent for just $5.
The prospects for ending global hunger are huge with this project, but would you put it in your mouth or replace your entire food intake with it like the inventors hope?
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 credit: The Warehouse WebcomicFriday, August 16, 2013
Tech America the Weirdiful: Dinosaurs
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 3:09 PM
Ah, dinosaurs; the quintessential childhood fascination. Apparently, America had a national fascination with them back in the 1960s, and sculptures from this long gone dinosaur renaissance are curiously sprinkled all over the country.
In Williams, Ariz., parking lots:
Not dinosaurs, but close, can be found at Porter Sculpture Park:
They're everywhere! In California:
In Williams, Ariz., parking lots:
Not dinosaurs, but close, can be found at Porter Sculpture Park:
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Tech Top 10 North Carolina memes
Posted By Desiree Kane on Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 1:10 PM
Memes are like cultural germs that spread around the Internet like a bad case of Guilford County Syphilis. If the ones I've seen about North Carolina are all derogatory, what does that say about us as a state? Should we be worried? Does the Internet think we're a bunch of bass-ackwards bumpkins? Maybe, especially since we keep making the news in all the wrong ways.
Regardless of if that's true or not, here are the top 10 best memes about North Carolina available on the Internets today. Some are funny, some are insulting, and some are commentary on our ridiculously bipolar weather patterns. At any rate, enjoy!
#1:
#2:
#3:
Regardless of if that's true or not, here are the top 10 best memes about North Carolina available on the Internets today. Some are funny, some are insulting, and some are commentary on our ridiculously bipolar weather patterns. At any rate, enjoy!
#1:
#2:
#3:
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Tech Do Before You Die: Sturgis Rally
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Aug 7, 2013 at 3:56 PM
Upon entering the city, some of the most epic beards this side of the Mississippi start showing up alongside middle-aged women dressed in pasties and chaps, the uniform.
Image: Corby Bodenburg
There are no shits given at Sturgis. In fact, you might get your ass kicked if you do give any. Or, at least, that's how it appears on the surface.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Tech Las Vegas: 6 things to do besides party until you puke, from a native
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Aug 2, 2013 at 10:11 AM
We all know what all goes on in Las Vegas: the parties, the bad decisions, the drinking until you puke in the club, the gambling, and just all around being generally scandalous because it's Vegas, baby! But, if you're like me, that was fun many years ago and now you'd rather go adventuring than be caught dead in a nightclub.
I grew up in Las Vegas. It's my hometown. So, here are some adventures I'd recommend that do not involve the fist-pumping meat markets, sausage fests filled with rhinestoned Ed Hard-on shirts, or puke-shitting your way through a hangover that the city of sin is often associated with:
#1: Go to the dance and redefine the square
Hipsters are often accused of liking really obscure stuff but honestly, there are possibly few things less obscure than the randomly lively square dancing community in the Las Vegas Valley. Four times a year the local square dance groups put on a fancy dance and bring in a big-deal professional caller from out of town like this guy, Mike Sikorsky:
This is one of the best, most "honest fun" things out there to do, frankly.
I grew up in Las Vegas. It's my hometown. So, here are some adventures I'd recommend that do not involve the fist-pumping meat markets, sausage fests filled with rhinestoned Ed Hard-on shirts, or puke-shitting your way through a hangover that the city of sin is often associated with:
#1: Go to the dance and redefine the square
Hipsters are often accused of liking really obscure stuff but honestly, there are possibly few things less obscure than the randomly lively square dancing community in the Las Vegas Valley. Four times a year the local square dance groups put on a fancy dance and bring in a big-deal professional caller from out of town like this guy, Mike Sikorsky:
This is one of the best, most "honest fun" things out there to do, frankly.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tech Charlotte, Curves and Code: RailsGirlsCLT
Posted By Desiree 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.
From their website:
From their website:
Rails Girls aims to open up technology and make it more approachable for girls and women.
Rails for Girls wants to empower girls to build the capacity and acquire the tools to conquer the last online frontier.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Tech A dab'll do ya: Stoner tech 2.0
Posted By Desiree 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.
