Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address Wordle

I thought it'd be interesting to compare Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address, "The Audacity of Hope" with this year's acceptance speech. So, I created one and this is how it came out. Click on the image to view it full size.

Click the thumbnail image to see the full sized creation at Wordle where you can also print a copy of it to hang above your desk. How cool is that?

Obama 2008 Acceptance Speech Wordle II

Here's another Wordle of Obama's speech anonymously posted at Wordle:

Click the thumbnail image to see the full sized creation at Wordle where you can also print a copy of it to hang above your desk. How cool is that?

Wordle of Obama's Acceptance Speech

This is pretty cool. I found this Wordle of Obama's speech on this Wired blog: Historic Obama Speech Sets Internet On Fire
Interesting to see the speech broken down this way. The posting is well worth reading, and you can view a much larger image of the Wordle by clicking on the image there.

I've got their back.

Paul Stamets: 6 ways mushrooms can save the world

I thought I'd at least post once in May, then I found this, from TED, and knew it would be this.

The Stupidest Bike Lane?

A SlateV.com video on one of the stupidest bike lanes. For a look at some stupid ones in England, peruse the ones posted at Warrington's Cycle Facility of the Month.

Mellow Yellow!

Another reason to watch out for bicyclists and runners.

A New York Times article on German research that proves that vigorous exercise can flood the brain with endorphins.

Yee haw! Call me Mellow Yellow (see next post) especially when I'm wearing my high-vis fluorescent yellow jersey at the end of a 40 to 60 mile ride.

Yes, Running Can Make You High
That blissful mood after an intense workout is no coincidence, a study shows.

read more | digg story

It's Spring and time for bicyling!

So please be aware of bicycles on your thoroughfares. How hard can it be to see something you're not looking for? Take this awareness test from the United Kingdom:



This is the originating website: http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

Early Easter

Easter is the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring (Vernal) Equinox. The Spring Equinox for 2008 is March 20, 1:48 a.m. EDT. The Full "Worm" Moon is the next day, March 21st, at 2:40 p.m. So this early Easter is the following Sunday, the 23rd.

This dating of Easter is based on the Lunar calendar that Hebrews used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is even more rare.

1) The next time Easter will be this early, March 23, will be the year 2160. The last time it was this early was 1913.

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285. The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.

Connie Schultz, OH Senator Sherrod Brown's wife on C-SPAN.

Pulitzer Prize winner Connie Schultz, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown's wife, was on C-SPAN the other day. She's great! Makes me like Sherrod all the more. She also tells some great stories about him that let me know what a kind, caring man he is. We are truly lucky to have him as a Senator.

I wasn't familiar with her, her column or book, but one questioner compares her to Molly Ivins, so that's pretty high praise in my book. Having watched it again, she is really good. I'm going to have to start reading her column since it is available online at http://www.creators.com/opinion/connie-schultz.html.

You can click and watch in Flash Video or Windows Media formats. It's ~ 55 min.

Connie Schultz on C-SPAN.

this is the Flash Video link taken from the player:

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=200875-1&showVid=true

The Story of Stuff

Should you care that of the 100 largest economies on earth now, 51 are corporations and 49 are governments?
And there's this qoute from 1955, in case you think that our consumerism just happened:
"Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate."
- Victor Lebow, retail analyst, 1955