Author Archives: Harry Katz
TED Talk: How Twitter Can Make History
Excellent TED talk by Clay Shirky called “How Twitter Can Make History.” Given earlier this month at the State Department, it succinctly summarizes the dramatic evolution of the media from one-to-one (telephone) or one-to-many communication (print, radio, television) to today’s … Continue reading
Burma’s military dictators clearly terrified of Aung San Suu Kyi
As reported in the Guardian, and other media, Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleads not guilty to violating house arrest. About a week before Aung San Suu Kyi was due to be released from six years of house … Continue reading
The Last P-I
I had a paper route when I was a kid. I delivered The Toronto Telegram, or The Telly as it was known, to about 25 homes in the subdivision where my family lived in Oakville, a bedroom community just west … Continue reading
TED Talks: Hans Rosling Debunking Third World Myths
TED is a web site featuring talks from leading thinkers in the very broad fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design. I think many of these talks are given at the annual TED conference. If you’ve never visited TED it’s well … Continue reading
Paul Krugman @ Seattle Town Hall
This evening we attended a talk given by Paul Krugman at Seattle Town Hall sponsored by the Seattle World Affairs Council. Krugman is the 2008 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and a regular columnist at the New York … Continue reading
Book Review: Outliers
Outliers: The Story of SuccessBy Malcolm GladwellLittle, Brown & Co., New York, 2008 In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell examines what makes some people extraordinarily successful, statistical outliers, in their chosen fields. He looks at Bill Gates, the Beatles, professional hockey players … Continue reading
Roller man
To paraphrase Obi-wan Kenobi, "I don’t mind rollerblading, but what this guy’s doing is suicide." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rgWl_7nH4w&feature=related
Skater in the Mist
Sunday afternoon, turkey eaten, thanks given, houseguests packed up and gone home; I tossed my gear into the trunk of my car and headed out to skate off excess consumption. I arrived at Marymoor Park a little after 4pm. Not … Continue reading
Canadian election
I watched some of the coverage on CBC and, wow, nothing much has changed in Canada. A Liberal elected in Vancouver Quadra, NDPers elected in Nickel Belt and Trinity-Spadina, Tories sweep (almost) Alberta Peter Mansbridge brought out of cryostasis to … Continue reading
Giant Pool of Money – The Sequel
This weekend, Ira Glass, host of NPR’s This American Life, ran another report from Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, a sequel to their earlier report The Giant Pool of Money. This one, Another Frightening Show About the Economy, explores the … Continue reading
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