kishba.com

"Americans in 1776 did have British accents in that American accents and British accents hadn’t yet..."

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:44:00 -0400

“

Americans in 1776 did have British accents in that American accents and British accents hadn’t yet diverged. That’s not too surprising.

What’s surprising, though, is that those accents were much closer to today’s American accents than to today’s British accents. While both have changed over time, it’s actually British accents that have changed much more drastically since then.

”

- Nick Patrick - Did Americans in 1776 have British accents?

"How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten?..."

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:31:57 -0400

“How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect.”

- Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

Hack

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:23:11 -0400

Hack:

Political reporting is founded on very dysfunctional relationships. You need them and they need you, but on some level they hate and distrust you (and on some level you, too, hate and distrust them)…

Mini-Microsoft: The KIN-fusing KIN-clusion to KIN, and FY11 Microsoft Layoff Rumors

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:29:43 -0400

Mini-Microsoft: The KIN-fusing KIN-clusion to KIN, and FY11 Microsoft Layoff Rumors:

It’s unimaginable how thoroughly Microsoft squandered the Danger acquisition. This could be a case study in how not to run a business. Needless to say, I have my doubts about Microsoft’s ability to regroup and launch Windows Phone 7.

Washington's I.T. Guy

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:56:15 -0400

Washington's I.T. Guy:

One man’s quest to liberate all government information — with or without the government’s help.

(I’d love to work with this man.)

"Energy companies have developed breathtaking technology to drill deeper into the seabed beneath ever..."

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 15:49:00 -0400

“Energy companies have developed breathtaking technology to drill deeper into the seabed beneath ever deeper waters, yet they have little more than absorbent mops and floating Shop-Vacs to clean up the mess if it all goes wrong. Their disaster plan—the only technologically workable plan—is merely hoping there is no disaster, which is no plan at all.”

- Boom

This is an amazing first look at how it all went down. Devastating and heartbreaking. This can never be allowed to happen again.

Dr. Frazee at commencement

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:00:00 -0400

Dr. Frazee at commencement

"Remember, don’t drink and drive. Don’t drink. You are fine just the way you are. Keep 20..."

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:11:00 -0400

“Remember, don’t drink and drive. Don’t drink. You are fine just the way you are. Keep 20 cents in your pocket — we want to talk with you on Monday, not about you. See the light. Enjoy your weekend. And remember it’s alright to be a little bit crazy…just don’t don’t do anything stupid.””

- Dr. Frazee is retiring after 16 years as principal at Midland High School. A lot has changed at MHS since I graduated in 2003 — most notably, the building’s exterior — but one very important tradition has remained: Friday announcements.

Every week, Dr. Frazee closed his Friday announcements with the same advice for students, continuing a tradition started by Midland High’s previous principal, Mr. Shepard. And though there may have been a few attempts to modernize it, I think it has stood the test of time.

After putting down the microphone today, Dr. Frazee paused and reflected on the moment. “With my 16 and Mr. Shepard’s eight, that’s 24 years somebody’s been listening to that.”

The tradition definitely had an impact on me. And if you attended Midland High, I bet you still remember the words.

So here it is — a recording of Dr. Frazee’s closing message for old time’s sake. Please feel free to share this MP3 with other Chemic alumni and help preserve Dr. Frazee’s legacy.

Download Dr. Frazee’s Friday Announcements - MP3

Great moments in journalism

Fri, 14 May 2010 19:41:47 -0400

Great moments in journalism:

Classy.

"Originally, however, speech recognition was going to lead to artificial intelligence. Computing..."

Wed, 05 May 2010 16:20:18 -0400

“Originally, however, speech recognition was going to lead to artificial intelligence. Computing pioneer Alan Turing suggested in 1950 that we “provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English.” Over half a century later, artificial intelligence has become prerequisite to understanding speech. We have neither the chicken nor the egg.”

- Rest in Peas: The Unrecognized Death of Speech Recognition - robertfortner’s posterous

"There is a wonderful rigor in free-market economics when you have to prove the value of your ideas..."

Tue, 04 May 2010 12:54:00 -0400

““There is a wonderful rigor in free-market economics when you have to prove the value of your ideas by persuading other people to pay for them, it clears out an awful lot of woolly thinking.””

- Tim O’Reilly: The Oracle of Silicon Valley

What a stolen iPhone has to do with journalism

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:40:52 -0400

I thought I was over the whole Gizmodo/iPhone debacle, but it turns out the potential for a felony — not to mention the inevitable trial — could be about much more than leaked next-generation iPhone photos. At the risk of sounding over dramatic, Gizmodo’s attempted defense, hinging entirely on shield laws designed to protect journalists, calls into question the definition of a blogger.

I firmly believe that a blogger who behaves ethically deserves the same protections as a journalist, but this incident leaves a foul taste in my mouth.

Gizmodo’s abuse of the shield laws defy the spirit in which the laws were created. Yes, journalists deserve protection when working with sources that have broken the law. It’s the only practical way to uncover corruption perpetrated by governments, corporations, and individuals.

But a journalist or blogger who demonstrates corrupt behavior in pursuit of a story — by purchasing stolen property, dissecting it without contacting the obvious owners, and carefully manipulating the story to gain notoriety — simply does not deserve the same protection. Gizmodo behaved recklessly and irresponsibly, and now they’re trying to play the victim. It’s reprehensible.

On one level, it irritates me that this is going to distract us from the bigger issues that we face, but I still have hope that this train wreck will ultimately discourage questionable blogger ethics and encourage better journalism.

I still have a web site

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:12:22 -0400

One of these days I will update my blog on a regular basis.

My dear friends Kenny and Kate tied the knot in November. As...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:00:00 -0500

My dear friends Kenny and Kate tied the knot in November. As part of my Christmas gift to them, we went for a walk in City Forest over break and shot a few portraits. Click on the photo to see my favorites.

Prepare yourselves for the adorableness. Christmas portraits of...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:57:00 -0500

Prepare yourselves for the adorableness.

Christmas portraits of Jillian and Lucas are ready for your holiday enjoyment!

A Parkdale Elementary student gives Superintendent Carl Ellinger...

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:13:39 -0500

A Parkdale Elementary student gives Superintendent Carl Ellinger a sign of approval during a school-wide assembly for mentioning his role in declaring a snow day early last week. Ellinger was at Parkdale to help present one of the district’s annual Distinguished Service Awards to Laura Peterson, pictured in the background.

Chris Leigeb reacts to an overzealous cheer from a colleague...

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:37:00 -0500

Chris Leigeb reacts to an overzealous cheer from a colleague after realizing she was being surprised with a distinguished service award.

Leigeb is Northeast Middle School’s lead administrative assistant. The students and staff used their VIP assembly as a cover for the surprise award. The district honors four support staff members every year. Described as “the heart of Northeast” Leigeb was the first staff member presented with the award this year.

The first of several portraits I’ll be sharing on...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:08:49 -0500

The first of several portraits I’ll be sharing on kishba.com this season :)

I went to my friend Kate’s bridal shower this weekend to...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:44:00 -0500

I went to my friend Kate’s bridal shower this weekend to take photos. Although there are many good reasons guys should not go to bridal showers, I’ll admit it was fun to photograph.

From my Flickr stream: Dr. Jason Ohler presents to a...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:36:00 -0500

From my Flickr stream:

Dr. Jason Ohler presents to a gymnasium filled with Midland County teachers at the October 9 professional development day. Ohler’s keynote emphasized the importance of storytelling in education and encouraged teachers to “take the next step” with technology.

After the keynote, teachers had the opportunity to attend smaller, hands-on sessions about different technology topics.

Click on the photo to see a few other snapshots from the keynote. I helped teach the other sessions, so I only have photos from the opening keynote.

It’s worth mentioning that I helped organize this ambitious event. We had technical difficulties with the opening keynote (poor acoustics and overwhelming traffic on the Northwood campus), but the rest of the day went well. I helped teach a beginning and an advanced Moodle session, and I hosted a Moodle Q&A session in the afternoon.

I hope we’ll get to plan another event next year.