"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

The genius of RSS feeds

January 24, 2010

Books and Stuff to Read, Musings, Society, Technology

4 comments

When you train your dog to bring you the morning paper, that is a neat trick. When you train your computer to bring you news you want to read, that is an RSS feed.

I never fully appreciated RSS feeds for what they can do until I started reading the book We the Media by Dan Gillmor. The underlying idea is that you don’t need to search the Internet for the things that interest you but that they come to you through your RSS subscriptions and preferences.

This is useful for you when you want to be kept up to date on certain topics. Anytime there is an article, your RSS feed is updated to show it. I currently use Google Reader to keep track of blogs, job postings, and news.

Gillmor discusses another way to use RSS, which is to follow what is being said about yourself. This is a good way for popular bloggers and organizations to know what is going on in their realm and connects with their readers on a different level.

Honestly, I haven’t used RSS feeds enough in the past but I’m starting to really appreciate what they do. It could particularly be very helpful for my current job search!

What is the Study of Science and Religion?

January 20, 2010

Features, Science, Society

5 comments


Image credit: Flickr user Colin Purrington
(This image created by Axis of Evo is not exactly what this entry is about, but it is an interesting use of a scientific technique to map out religions of the world.)

I wasn’t so sure what to expect when I went to the first lecture of the Earth Institute Practicum yesterday. The speaker was Bob Pollack of the Earth Institute’s Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR). The first thing he did was tell us that the ideas of “right” and “wrong” are completely human constructs and that there is no evidence of them in nature.

So what is “natural” and how are science and religion connected?

Pollack’s definition of what is natural is biologically derived. DNA is the force by which things may naturally happen, and anything that happens by other means could be considered “unnatural” or derived from human imagination.

The biggest example of the latter that was discussed over the 2-hour seminar was language, not just as words, but also as ideas and general communication. Pollack explained that it was the main goal of CSSR to facilitate communication between science and religion and their practitioners. They certainly are not attempting to incorporate the two, but reconcile them so that they both can work to solve global issues.
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Spotlight videos on The Nature Conservancy

January 10, 2010

Nerdy Things, Science, Society

2 comments

Here are some interesting videos!

This first one is about river flow, featuring the Potomac River. Mark Bryer, who is the director of The Nature Conservancy’s Chesapeake Bay program, explains a little bit about how river flow is important for ecology and the wildlife living in the rivers and in the Chesapeake Bay.




Taking a different angle, here is funny video and song about supporting The Nature Conservancy as part of Project for Awesome:

Interestingly, the auctions for the two items featured in the video sold for a total of more than $300.

Review of my Google Wave experience, after sort of using it for a month

January 7, 2010

Musings, Society, Technology

7 comments

The buzz on Google Wave has slowed down considerably, considering that Google had big news that was announced 2 days ago. I’m not sure how the Google Phone will compare with Google Wave, but I hope we can say that the impact of both still are or will be quite interesting.

Image Credit: Flickr user niallkennedy
During the holiday season, Google gave out thousands of invites to users who already had Wave so that they may invite friends to use the service. How many do I still have left? 18! I’m not sure if there just isn’t enough interest or people simply don’t care to find out what exactly Google Wave is, at least not enough to seek out an invite from a friend (i.e. that everyone who would want it or would be open to trying it already does have it).

So far, I’ve used Google Wave with friends and family to:

  1. Participated in a poll on how many people think Rain (the Korean hip hop star in the movie Ninja Assassin) is cool
  2. Load copies of my statement of purpose for my friend to proofread and give suggestions on
  3. Post pictures for my sister to access and use for her painting project
  4. Say hello, all at once, to the people in the academic department I was in for graduate school
  5. Play Sudoku with others
  6. Invite others to Google Wave

Number 2 on that list was particularly better than using email because I ended up making several edits between the time I posted it and the time when he was free to read it. I would simply go back and delete the old copy and post the new one. I could have waited until he had time to read it to send an email, but I like this way of doing things. Later, I would post other things for him to read and I have peace of mind knowing that they are waiting for him in the Wave whenever he would like to find them. Same thing with number 3.
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LEED Green Associate Study Guide (Part 2 of Series)

December 11, 2009

Features, Society, Technology

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Every LEED project needs to fulfill all prerequisites and Minimum Program Requirements. These do not get the project any points towards certification. To get points, the project must include many different strategies in the different categories to add up to the threshold number of points. Read through this website for details on the process: GBCI.

Here are the different certification levels:

  • LEED certified – 40-49 points
  • LEED Silver – 50-59 points
  • LEED Gold – 60-79 points
  • LEED Platinum – 80+ points

Strategies that are used to fulfill credits are very diverse. The LEED project should be using more strategies than needed so that if some are not awarded points, then others that do get points will still count towards making it to the certification threshold.


USGBC is very careful to NOT condone specific products for LEED buildings, but instead they promote overall strategies such as low-flow showerheads and faucets. Therefore, there is nearly never a case where a product or material can be for-sure used on a LEED project to gain points. The only exception is that, as things are now, Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood is approved for LEED (there is some controversy over this and there is talk of USGBC making their own label for wood products).


For example, the new Nintendo building will be building a green roof and including composting bins towards gaining points for LEED Silver certification. Strategies may contribute towards credits in more than one category (i.e. Energy & Atmosphere in addition to Materials & Resources).

Other strategies might include:

  • Bicycle and shower facilities
  • Light shelves in windows and shell
  • Natural ventilation
  • Constructed wetlands

For previous posts on this topic, Part 1 and more advanced notes.
For a more in-depth look at LEED in action, check out the blog Real Life LEED.

LEED Green Associate Study Guide (Part 1 of Series)

December 3, 2009

Features, Society, Technology

5 comments

This entry will focus on how the LEED rating systems are set up and the basic categories of credits. For a basic introduction to LEED, check this website.

The LEED Rating Systems are the sets of credits and categories that a LEED project team is aiming for. They are specific for the type of construction, like a new building would go for LEED for new construction, a school would go for LEED for Schools, a home would go for LEED for Homes.

Every rating system has the same set of categories, though the credits within them may be different.
The categories are:

  • Sustainable Sites
  • Water Efficiency
  • Energy & Atmosphere
  • Materials & Resources
  • Indoor Environmental Quality
  • Locations and Linkages
  • Awareness & Education
  • Innovation in Design
  • Regional Priority

The different credits in each category may be weighted to be worth more points than other credits. Some credits allow for incremental points to be earned by how much is accomplished by the building. For example, a certain percentage decrease in water usage could result in 1 point, but by decreasing water usage by then next threshold percentage could result in 2 points.

The Energy & Atmosphere category’s credits have the most potential points to be earned.

That’s it for now. I’ll be posting more on this since I’m almost done with graduate school applications, but for more advanced notes, see my previous post.

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