Connected Conversations Politics, technology, et cetera

Forward pass

A nice video demonstrating the physics of a rugby pass. Note that unlike football where a forward pass is determined by the field, rugby’s definition of a forward pass is based on the relative motion of the passer.

This video will make you happy

A great concept, very well executed. If you watch this video (called “Dancing”) for the next 4 1/2 minutes, you will be happier than you were before. Enjoy!

PS Notice the impressive new high quality video offered by youtube!

Nice catch!

‘Nuff said. Check it out:
Ball Girl Makes Incredible Catch

One of the cheapest deals ever valued at $1bn

Oh, boy! Social networking continues to be white hot. I like these VCs, but they do seem a tad cocky in this video. David Sze says that “when they look back, they will say this is one of the cheapest things that those investors ever did.” Cheapest things–really? I hope, [...]

A local deliberative poll

We’ve just completed another successful deliberative poll this past weekend. This time, I did not have to travel to a far away place; the poll was in my own county, San Mateo, CA. The topic: housing. I do however see a parallel with the EU poll. In the EU, the deliberators [...]

On Texas and Ohio

As an Obama supporter, I was disappointed that Barack did not seal the deal yesterday. I have been reflecting on the delegate stalemate and the PR loss, and I have a few thoughts.
1) Identity politics: Obama has made massive progress in demonstrating that equality for all is a powerful message for whites and blacks. [...]

Jack is for Hillary

Jack Nicholson has made this short video ad for Hillary. It’s pretty good: it draws on short clips from some of his best movies to help raise Hillary’s issues:
But Hillary’s video still doesn’t hold a candle to Huckabee’s classic spot from a month or so ago. I think the difference: Huckabee demonstrates a sense [...]

Virtual Reality coming to my home

I had overheard people talking about using Nintendo’s ‘Wii’ game controllers with their computer, but I had never seen it used before. This grad student at Carnegie Mellon is up to some really cool stuff, and it looks like something I might be able to do with home DVR. He has three projects [...]

Debunking myths of global poverty

This twenty minute lecture is a tour-de-force. It is a flashy example of data visualization, but more importantly, it provides important insights about global poverty. Worth your time (after the over-the-top intro), in my opinion.

Crazy downhill bike run

I have to think this course looks even crazier in person than in this video. Holy cow. Posted for my cousin Nathan: is this kinda like what you do?

Awesome finishes

For those who miss football, here is a video of perhaps the most amazing finish that I have ever seen. Sent to me by a buddy - I have no idea why this vintage footage is floating around at the present time. But a nice way to spend 4 minutes.

Yes, we can

Inspirational video for obama…enjoy!

btw, Obama is up to 50/50 on intrade.com today. We have a real race here, ladies and gentlemen!

Sold Out! 10 million in 10 weeks

Look ma! Someone decided to post a video of my presentation last night on a prominent facebook blog.
My Stanford class on facebook apps is wrapping up. As a class of 80 students, we created 40 or so applications that run within facebook’s social network. As of last night, more than 16 [...]

TokBox

This video conferencing technology is quite good. For some weird reason, iChat has been the only even slightly passable video chat technology. Skype kinda works, but it is too complex. Well, TokBox has had the simple idea of hosting video chat on a web site — and it seems to work pretty [...]