Google Street View launches here!

Google's latest mapping venture, Street View, is incredibly cool and just a little bit scary. It just launched here in the city. In addition to Google's regular maps and satellite images, you can now get a street-level view. Here's where I spend my days:




I know privacy advocates are concerned because occasionally there have been identifiable people in the photos. (Which you can ask to have removed.) But I'm really excited about this. How cool is it that you can actually "visit" a neighborhood, see what it looks like, and get a much better sense of a place than you can with a map or satellite image? So far I haven't found myself in any photos, but I'm going to keep looking. Looks like most of the city and a few suburbs have already been mapped. If nothing else, this could prove to be a really fun way to waste time!

I have always been fascinated by the variation of social norms and practices across cultures. Take, for instance, the concept of "personal space." I'm rather protective of mine, as are many people, but I remember a display at the Indianapolis Children's Museum that showed how close people from around the world stand when they talk. And right now, I am sitting on the train next to someone who apparently has no concern for personal space whatsoever. No idea if nationality has anything to do with it. I'm squashed up against the window, and I'm struck by how uncomfortable I am. And not just by trying to fit myself in a third of the seat so I don't have to touch a stranger. Most of the time, people go out of their way to keep their distance. Anyway, this is no big deal, just something I find interesting.

Moving in slow motion

I'm having one of those days where I feel like I'm moving around slowly, in a fog. Like I'll see something, then it'll take my brain a second to catch up. It's the last day in a very long week; major deadlines at work this week. I didn't get home til after 8pm last night, and then I had to work at home, and went to bed at 2am, and got up at the usual time and started all over again. And no napping on the train, either--had to work then, too. But gigantic project #2 this week is now written, edited, illustrated, designed, printed, bound, and shipped out. Now I get to start on a few little minor tasks, clean up my desk so it doesn't look like a tornado went through here, and then move on to the next deadline. Which might prove to be difficult considering I'm totally unable to focus today! (Focus my eyes and my brain!)

I'm looking forward to going home and sleeping!! I wonder if anyone in the office would notice if I left early this afternoon? Most days, probably not, but I still wouldn't do that. :) A little too honest for my own good.

Another new iPhone user

I just found out my brother got an iPhone! Seems like he likes it a lot. What he doesn't know is that he is now the one person I know on the AT&T network. So I just might start calling him all the time for no reason. :-) Ha!

Happy Monday!

In spite of starting my day by splattering coffee down the front of my white shirt (and then not noticing for 3 hours, giving it time to dry, and walking around like that, oblivious), it's been a really good day! I had a fun but tiring weekend...it just so happened that we were invited to a variety of activities (lunch with friends, dinners with friends/relatives, a boat ride on Lake Michigan), all on the same weekend. We ended up missing one get-together, unfortunately, because of the jam-packed-ness of the schedule.

And the Cubs won--doesn't get much better than that!

you learn something new every day

After I heard someone at Starbucks order a "black eye," I had to consult Wikipedia when I got back to the office. It turns out that a "red eye" is one shot of espresso in a regular coffee; a "black eye" is two shots, and a "dead eye" is three shots. Ha, ha! So funny. I would feel a little funny walking up to a counter and asking for a black eye, though.

Amazon Mechanical Turk

Has anyone heard of this? It's been getting some press of late since it's being used to help find adventurer Steve Fossett who went missing in Nevada. The basic idea is that humans still outperform computers on certain kinds of analytical tasks--in this case, visually analyzing satellite photos. The term "Mechanical Turk" comes from a supposed automaton invented in 1769 by a Hungarian nobleman. By showing off its complex gears and machinery, he convinced people that it really was able to beat people in chess, though in reality there was a human chess master hidden inside. The idea behind Amazon's tool is that if you aggregate the observations of hundreds or thousands of people, you can not only observe a lot more data, but also sort out the totally useless pieces of information.

So in searching for Steve Fossett, users look at thousands of small square pieces of satellite photo and flag those that might contain a clue. There has actually been at least one plane found--where 10 people flagged the same square and then searchers can see if this is an old plane crash site, or what. I'm completely fascinated by this technology; I even logged in with my Amazon account and searched through a few images.

Thursday Afternoon "Adventure" (a.k.a. "The Most Expensive Lunch Ever")

Leaving the office for the day at 2pm would ordinarily be a really cool thing. But leaving due to an allergic reaction to mango that I didn't know was in my lunch salad was not so fun.

Starbucks Curry Chicken Salad...$6.00
Benadryl...$7.00
Cab Ride to the Hospital...$10.00
Copay for ER visit...$100
Prescriptions...$60.00
Learning that I have not outgrown my childhood food allergies like everyone thought I would....Priceless.

If you thought you were a Cubs fan...

....this guy's got you beat.

He's building a scaled-down replica of Wrigley Field in a public park in his hometown of Freeport, IL. It's got everything from the ivy-covered brick wall (Cubs officials sent him clippings of the actual ivy), to the Harry Caray cartoon over the WGN press box. Lucky little league kids (and anyone who wants to rent it for $35/hour) will get to use it starting next year. Here's my favorite part of the article:

"Like so many ideas - both good and bad - the concept for Little Cubs Field was born in a bar. Five years ago, Garkey and a group of friends took a road trip to a baseball mecca: Rookies Food & Spirits, a sports saloon and restaurant in Mazomanie, Wis., which - as its main attraction - boasts a professional whiffle ball field.

Garkey looked out at the field that day and thought to himself: "It's too bad it doesn't look like Wrigley." Then a thought occurred to him. Why not build a little Wrigley Field? A few days later, he sat down with his wife and said, "Honey, I've got a crazy idea." Judy Garkey - an endlessly patient woman - told her husband, "Go for it." (Five years later, she says she doesn't regret supporting her husband's idea, but she does acknowledge that he has become "obsessed with completing it.")"

CSI: The Experience

We went to the CSI exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry on Sunday; it was really cool. It was actually an interactive experience where each person or group is assigned a case (there were 3 options), is given a clipboard, and you start by examining the crime scene. Then you move on to various labs (trace, toxicology, autopsy, digital evidence, etc.) to figure out what everything means. There were lots of videos done by CSI cast members, as well as actual experts. Everything was very well done---looked amazing, and was both fun and educational. I left wishing it was longer, or that I could have solved all 3 cases. It's only around for another week, unfortunately. But it looks like it'll be at other locations in the future.