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Friday, May 16, 2014
Tech Best North Carolina memes for 2014 (so far)
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, May 16, 2014 at 10:33 AM
It's been awhile since we presented you with the top North Carolina memes. Here's the second iteration because the first one was just so damn good.
1. The great snowstorm meme of February wins the No. 1 spot because not only was it hilarious, it birthed lots and lots of similar ones. Memes on memes on memes!
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Travel St. John, Antigua and ... an active volcano?
Posted By Desiree Kane on Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 12:51 PM
Ah, the West Indies. A place of rich food, rich culture, and ... an active volcano?
When first arriving in Antigua, "active volcano" aren't words one expects to hear. This is an island of the bluest waters, the whitest sands and some of the most iconic beach scenes anyone can imagine.
Get into the soundtrack of this beautiful, vibrant place. This is the sound of buskers on the port:
When first arriving in Antigua, "active volcano" aren't words one expects to hear. This is an island of the bluest waters, the whitest sands and some of the most iconic beach scenes anyone can imagine.
Get into the soundtrack of this beautiful, vibrant place. This is the sound of buskers on the port:
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Tech Kids get all the cool stuff: DIY.org
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 1:00 PM
DIY.org makes me wish I was a kid again. This amazing iPhone app and social platform strictly for children is like the Girl/Boy Scouts plus Foursquare plus tech on steroids. How cool is this?!
Kids earn badges for uploading a photo or video of them completing each challenge. Even better, they have a wide range of epic skills, skills that I as an adult want to learn. It's all over the board, ranging from experimenting with gravity to becoming a linguist to being a backend dev to being a historian or journalist.
Despite the weirdness of the above video (which I am assuming is weird because I'm not a kid so it doesn't appeal to me) this app/platform plus real, tangible, sometimes non-digital skill teaching is perhaps one of the best uses of technology seen in awhile.
Here's a small cross-section of the type of things kids are learning. Click the badge to go to their website and see what's going on with that particular skill:
Kids earn badges for uploading a photo or video of them completing each challenge. Even better, they have a wide range of epic skills, skills that I as an adult want to learn. It's all over the board, ranging from experimenting with gravity to becoming a linguist to being a backend dev to being a historian or journalist.
Despite the weirdness of the above video (which I am assuming is weird because I'm not a kid so it doesn't appeal to me) this app/platform plus real, tangible, sometimes non-digital skill teaching is perhaps one of the best uses of technology seen in awhile.
Here's a small cross-section of the type of things kids are learning. Click the badge to go to their website and see what's going on with that particular skill:
I want to learn to be a Yeti, don't you? Kids get all the cool stuff. Click here to visit the DIY.org iTunes app download page.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr, if you're into the travel philosophy thing read my website, and to see a bunch of random and fun travel videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Zero, zilch, none and no part of this post is sponsored by any of the above mentioned company or companies, nor would I ever present such a thing.
All image credits: The DIY.org website
Monday, April 14, 2014
Travel One day in DeShaies, Guadeloupe
Posted By Desiree Kane on Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 9:34 PM
There's not much to do in the itsy, bitsy town of DeShaies, Guadeloupe, but take it slow and enjoy the finer points of Caribbean vacationing. From its easy atmosphere to breathtaking access to sea turtles, this island is one from the movies. With miniature-scale one-way streets featuring lively colored architecture and French-speaking yuppies everywhere, it's both curious and exotic. Jump into the view in the below picture and audio from one of the few beach restaurants on the island, La Savane, where the WiFi and pineapple sorbet are excellent on both fronts.:
Monday, April 7, 2014
Travel A heavy lesson learned at the Port of Roseau, Dominica
Posted By Desiree Kane on Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 5:45 PM
Roseau is Dominica's most important trade port, with roots going back to the 14th century. It's heavy French influence from the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th century is evident in the architecture and the teeny, tiny, illegible little streets. The beautiful racket of daily life paired with super vibrant, gorgeous colors on the buildings is a mix of Caribbean and French that is totally charming. Oh and the breeze-in, breeze-out smells of cooking food on this island are incredible.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Tech Cloak: The perfect iPhone app for avoiding weirdos
Posted By Desiree Kane on Thu, Apr 3, 2014 at 10:09 AM
Cloak, the newest social network that's recently been featured in a slew of national media outlets, like the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, NPR, CNN, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, is exactly not that. It's a social network to help users avoid weirdos IRL. Or, as the creators more sensitively put it on their Apple app download page, they're offering "incognito mode for real life."
I, of course, had to sign up for this app when I heard that it gives you alerts when people check in on a location-aware network like Foursquare, Instagram, etc., for the sole purpose of avoiding them. While I don't always go about actively avoiding people, since I am so plugged into social media, I couldn't help but be curious about this antisocial social network. My inner urban explorer certainly can see the value in this, but my personal safety radar goes off.
I've downloaded and poked around. Here's what I think:
I, of course, had to sign up for this app when I heard that it gives you alerts when people check in on a location-aware network like Foursquare, Instagram, etc., for the sole purpose of avoiding them. While I don't always go about actively avoiding people, since I am so plugged into social media, I couldn't help but be curious about this antisocial social network. My inner urban explorer certainly can see the value in this, but my personal safety radar goes off.
I've downloaded and poked around. Here's what I think:
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Travel Blissed out: Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Posted By Desiree Kane on Sat, Mar 29, 2014 at 12:31 PM
Bequia means "island of the clouds" in the native Arawak language, and it's no wonder. The clouds constantly roll in, sprinkle refreshing, cool raindrops for a minute, then roll out.
Port Elizabeth, Bequia Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a curious, colorful place popular with cruising yachts, expatriots and tourists from all over. When I first arrived, I needed Internet because being on a ship at night means there's not much connectivity. Not to mention, the food around this area is downright delicious.
Without much effort, I found myself in a tiny cafe called Maria's French Terrace surrounded by futbol-watching French people. The entire island measures only seven square miles (roughly the size of San Francisco proper) so I didn't figure I'd have trouble finding WiFi, and I was right. This place has stunning views to enjoy your lunch overlooking this: Better brush up on your Français if you want to enjoy Bequia though, just FYI. I took it back in high school and this was literally the first time in all of my life that I was able to use it in the wild.
There's not much to do on this tiny island except enjoy it's surrounding ocean, which is perhaps its most enchanting aspect. There are beaches, but they're not really for sun-bathing. Why would you lay out on the beach when the ocean is right there? There aren't many clocks, there's a lot of simultaneously relaxing and intoxicating rum punch, and opportunities to do the following abound. Here's 26 seconds of what Bequia is best for:
Friday, March 21, 2014
Tech Coming soon: Charlotte Startup Celebration and Awards
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 2:28 PM
From the Packard Place Eventbrite page:
One of the keys to building a successful start-up ecosystem is celebrating the wins of our entrepreneurs. We're hosting an annual celebration, alongside Detailed Block, to bring together entrepreneurs and celebrate these wins, big and small. The ticket price covers dinner and the awards.All of the proceeds from this event benefit start-up Detailed Block, to boot. Detailed Block, for those not in the know, is the source for info on Charlotte's high-growth start-ups and general commentary on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the city. This is an event not to miss.
We'll celebrate the impact of start-ups in Charlotte. We're celebrating events like:
- Exits > $5M
- Raises > $1M
- NC Idea winners
- Innovation Fund NC winners
- Charlotte Venture Challenge finalists
- Successes of Incubator programs
- Recap of the BIG entrepreneurial growth survey
- Other major events and successes in the last 12 months
Tickets are $20 and the event is April 4, 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr, if you're into the travel philosophy thing read my website, and to see a bunch of random and fun travel videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Zero, zilch, none and no part of this post is sponsored by any of the above mentioned company or companies, nor would I ever present such a thing.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Travel 3 things to do in Barbados
Posted By Desiree Kane on Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 10:30 AM
Bridgetown, Barbados, is a beautiful place full of rich culture and warm weather, unlike the frigid rain Charlotte hasexperienced lately. The island in the heart of the West Indies is a popular destination for those looking to thaw out in the middle of winter, and people hail from all over the world. Subsequently, there are a lot of things to do as a tourist here in the land that gave the world the gorgeous pop singer, Rihanna. Here are some of my recommendations.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Travel Exploring the Caribbean with @dbirdy
Coming right up!
Posted By Desiree Kane on Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 11:29 AM
Well, we all knew this day would come. It's time for this gal to get back on the road and, in true Wayfaring Tech Nomad form, y'all are coming with! I'll be posting stories with photography, 3D panoramas, sounds, videos, and more from some of the most epic places in the Caribbean!
Places to look forward to seeing in the coming weeks:
- Bridgetown, Barbados
- Bequia, St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Port of Roseau, Dominica
- Deshaies, Guadeloupe
- St. Johns, Antigua
- Road Bay, Anguilla
- Prickly Pear Island, BVI
- Philipsburg (St. Maarten), AN
See you in Barbados!
P.S. - Did you catch me in the print edition of CL Charlotte a couple of weeks ago? If you missed it, make sure to read Kim Lawson's cover story on urban-exploring, featuring pics and quotes from yours truly, Urban explorers capture the invisible.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr, if you're into the travel philosophy thing read my website, and to see a bunch of random and fun travel videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Zero, zilch, none and no part of this post is sponsored by any of the above mentioned company or companies, nor would I ever present such a thing.
Places to look forward to seeing in the coming weeks:
- Bridgetown, Barbados
- Bequia, St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Port of Roseau, Dominica
- Deshaies, Guadeloupe
- St. Johns, Antigua
- Road Bay, Anguilla
- Prickly Pear Island, BVI
- Philipsburg (St. Maarten), AN
See you in Barbados!
P.S. - Did you catch me in the print edition of CL Charlotte a couple of weeks ago? If you missed it, make sure to read Kim Lawson's cover story on urban-exploring, featuring pics and quotes from yours truly, Urban explorers capture the invisible.
For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr, if you're into the travel philosophy thing read my website, and to see a bunch of random and fun travel videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Zero, zilch, none and no part of this post is sponsored by any of the above mentioned company or companies, nor would I ever present such a thing.
