Via: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/rosetta-stones/2013/03/21/on-the-necessity-of-geology/

There is an urgent need for talking and teaching geology.

Many people don’t know it. They think geology is rocks, but if they’re not rock aficionados, it’s nothing to do with them. So our K-12 schools inadequately teach the earth sciences. People don’t learn about geology, and they grow up to move to hazardous areas without being aware of the risks. They grow into politicians who feel it’s smart to sneer at volcano monitoring. They become people who don’t understand what geologists can and cannot do, and imprison scientists who couldn’t predict the unpredictable.

Due to downsizing and restructuring, last week was my last week at DeNA San Francisco (formerly ngmoco). Past ngmoco alum have a special saying for this type of thing: “I’m an ngnomo’!”

The past year or so has been a blast! I met so many great people and I know we’ll cross paths again. We did a lot of great work together and had a lot of fun in the process, plus we learned a lot and taught each other a lot too.

Anyway, I’m excited for new opportunities and even bigger and better things to come. Stay tuned! 🙂

A look back at the last year:

I was finally able to catch Comet PanSTARRS tonight from our roof in North Oakland. So hard to see, but awesome.

Caught it with my DSLR and a 200mm lens.

See you again in 110,000 years, PanSTARR!

Sutro Tower at Dusk, originally uploaded by Dave Schumaker.

As seen from our apartment building in Oakland. I was up on the roof trying to catch a glimpse of Comet Pan-STARRS. No luck on the comet, but it was a pretty night!

Maybe it’s because I like maps, but I really love this game.

There is a man on Earth who drives a rover on Mars. And he follows me on Twitter!

Mind = blown.

Via: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/technology/tech-companies-leave-phone-calls-behind.html?_r=3&ref=technology

The companies argue that with millions of users every day, they cannot possibly pick up a phone.

“A lot of these companies don’t have enough employees to talk to,” said Paul Saffo, a longtime technology forecaster in Silicon Valley. Facebook, for example, has just one employee for every 300,000 users. Its online systems process more than two million customer requests a day.

Google, which at 14 years old is a relative ancient in Silicon Valley, is one of the few companies that publishes phone numbers on its Web site. Its phone system sends callers back to the Web no less than 11 times. Its lengthy messages contain basic Internet education in a tone that might be used with an aging relative, explaining, slowly and gently, “There’s nothing Google can do to remove information from Web sites.”

Thanks to Last.FM, I’ve compiled a list of the top artists I listened to in 2012. See my previous list for 2011 right here.

My top artists and musicians of 2012:

1. Mocean Worker (463 plays)
2. Hot Water Music (383 plays)
3. Johnny Cash (373 plays)
4. Imagine Dragons (359 plays)
5. Alt-J (337 plays)
6. Trampled by Turtles (282 plays)
7. The International Noise Conspiracy (268 plays)
8. State Radio (267 plays)
9. Of Monsters and Men (220 plays)
10. Bob Dylan (207 plays)