architecture, Great Recession, professionalism: A really great article …
The cynicism and navel-gazing that infect the field of architecture at this moment—the whining malaise and never-ending complaints of powerlessness and economic hardship and marginalization and irrelevance and on, and on, and on—set me on fire. Not because some of this is not true. Not because I don’t share the difficulties we are all grappling with to build and maintain a business during the most challenging economic conditions in living memory. Not because I don’t appreciate and support the dreams and ambitions and authentically good citizenship that form the cultural foundation of the architectural life. I am infuriated for two reasons: First, there is simply no basis in historical fact that could possibly support a complaint about being an architect—of any kind, in any form—at this moment in history. Second, to the degree that there are problems in architectural practice in America, they are self-inflicted. Architecture is largely irrelevant to the great mass of the world’s population because architects have chosen to be.
kindle, bookshelf, lists: If you did not know this you can download samples of new books on Kindle for free. Best Books of 2010: A Free Literary Sampler – GalleyCat.
google doodles, Paul Cezanne: Happy birthday, Paul!
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If you go to Google today on pretty much all the versions, Google.com or a localized version of Google, you will find a special Google logo, also known as a Google Doodle. This Google logo is for Paul Cezanne, it is his 172nd birthday today and for the day, Google posted a special logo commemorating his life and work.
He was born today in 1839 and died on October 22, 1906. He was known for his art and painting, specific notable works include Apothose de Delacroix, The Bathers, Mont Sainte-Victoire, Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier, and The Basket of Apples.
The Google Doodle today was actually first painted by a Googler as a real oil painting and then reconstructed in digital format. That is right, they first took out a canvas and oil paints and made this the old fashion way.
technology, Starbuck, change: We all knew it was coming …
Futurists have long predicted that one day, shoppers will swipe cellphones instead of credit cards to make purchases. At Starbucks stores nationwide, that is about to become a reality.
On Wednesday, Starbucks plans to announce that customers of the 6,800 stores the company operates in the United States and the 1,000 that are in Target stores will be able to pay for their lattes with their cellphones instead of pulling out cash or a credit card.
Various technology and payments companies, including PayPal, Bling Nation, Square, Venmo and now-deceased dot-com start-ups have been experimenting with ways to wean Americans off cash, credit cards or both.
But the introduction of mobile payments in Starbucks stores may be the most mainstream example yet.
via Now at Starbucks: Buy a Latte By Waving Your Phone – NYTimes.com.
followup, education, college: Everyone has to cover this story … I thought Time’s intro was humorous.
Turns out, students spend more time learning how to master a beer pong than they do completing homework for Psych 101.
social networks, quora, new:
A New Social Network Where Inquiring Minds Run Wild
If brief communications like Twitter’s 140-character messages, Facebook status updates and text messaging leave you longing for more substantial discourse, you may be in luck. This week, I took a look at Quora, a question-and-answer site that encourages thoughtful—even long-winded—discussions.
Quora (Quora.com) was launched about six months ago by two former Facebook employees who wanted to create a forum where in-depth questions could be posed and answered. Users vote answers up or down according to how good they are, the idea being that the best answers get pushed to the top of the queue by the community of users. Few of these questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. For example, one question asks, “What role did social media play with regards to the revolution in Tunisia?” (See here for the answer with the most votes: http://3.ly/8Gqf.)
via Quora Question and Answer Web Site Review | Katherine Boehret | The Digital Solution | AllThingsD.
economics, Great Recession, recovery: puzzling? The world does not always respond to our models …
Alone among the world’s economic powers, the United States is suffering through a deep jobs slump that can’t be explained by the rest of the economy’s performance.
The gross domestic product here — the total value of all goods and services — has recovered from the recession better than in Britain, Germany, Japan or Russia. Yet a greatly shrunken group of American workers, working harder and more efficiently, is producing these goods and services.
The unemployment rate is higher in this country than in Britain or Russia and much higher than in Germany or Japan, according to a study of worldwide job markets that Gallup will release on Wednesday. The American jobless rate is also higher than China’s, Gallup found. The European countries with worse unemployment than the United States tend to be those still mired in crisis, like Greece, Ireland and Spain.
Economists are now engaged in a spirited debate, much of it conducted on popular blogs like Marginal Revolution, about the causes of the American jobs slump. Lawrence Katz, a Harvard labor economist, calls the full picture “genuinely puzzling.”
via Jobless Rate Points to Lost Power in Work Force – Economic Scene – NYTimes.com.
emerging nations, India, business models:
MANAGEMENT theorists have fallen in love with India in much the same way that they fell in love with re-engineering fifteen years ago. India is synonymous with rapid growth, frugal innovation and exciting new business models.
I agree with all that (and have promoted it myself). But it is important to remember that India is also a mess.
via Indian sojourn: The messy, non-shining side of India | The Economist.
gardening: I love the hope of a new year … Cumberland County Garden Calendar.
history: I can’t decide what I think of following the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It doesn’t have the same energy and optimism of following the Lewis and Clark Expedition. What do you think?
Historic Oakland Cemetery
150 years ago today, GA seceded from the Union (5th of 11). SC was the first on Dec 12, 1860 and TN was the 11th and final state on June 8, 1861.
via Facebook.
Dennard's Clipping Service 