http://alchemicalmusings.org Aurum nostrum non est aurum vulgi Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:24:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Today I attended a barcamp-style CrisisCamp in NYC  where volunteers from around the world  gathered physically and virtually to brainstorm, organize, coordinate, and work to help alleviate the suffering in Haiti (CNN CrisisCamp coverage). When people talk about crowdsourcing relief to this disaster, CrisisCamps around the country helped assemble the ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2010/01/16/humane-communications-over-human-networks/ I had a fun idea for a new Free Culture campaign last spring, but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now. LET MY CULTURE GO! Walt Disney: Let my cartoons go! Jack Valenti: Let my music go! Rupert Murdoch: Let my news go! Steve Jobs: Let my iPhone go! Jeff Bezos: ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/12/22/when-lessig-was-in-disneyland/ I had a fun idea tonight (patent pending) that occurred to me after reading about the Newspaper's accelerating collapse, the Talking Point Memo's membership experiment, and the recent report on reconstructing journalism. I can't recall ever reading about or debating my new journalistic business model, and I'm not sure if ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/10/27/selling-shovels-to-news-diggers/ This week the j-school was abuzz with the conversation successfully  provoked by the publication of a detailed comprehensive report, complete with recommendations, on how to save the endangered species of professional journalists. One of the report's two primary authors is my professor Michael Schudson, a thoughtful scholar and a great teacher ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/10/25/reconstruction-time-again/ In honor of Blog Action Day I'm posting a round of my favorite posts relating to climate change and sustainable development. Intensional Energy Free Energy At work, we are also working closely with the Earth Institute, including setting up the learning environment used in the new masters program in Development Practice. I have ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/10/15/wonderful-wonderful-copenhagen/ Last week I participated in the architecture school's visualization seminar and  was treated to a mind-blowing presentation by Tony Jebara, a Columbia Computer Scientist. Jebara is a young associate professor who researches machine learning, graphs, and visualizations, and is also the chief scientist at CitySense.com. His lab “develops ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/09/29/kissing-problem/ Last week I reflected on the Everyblock.com acquisition. Since then, Knight's journalism program director has blogged about their perspective on the sale, and some great conversations have continued.  I have also had a wonderful opportunity to discuss the purchase with Christopher Mackie, a program officer at the Mellon Foundation. Chris ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/08/25/interview-christopher-mackie-on-knights-hyperlocal-gambit/ This season Fox premiered a new television series called Mental (this post has nothing to do w/ AMC's fabulous Mad Men): a medical mystery drama featuring Dr. Jack Gallagher, a radically unorthodox psychiatrist who becomes Director of Mental Health Services at a Los Angeles hospital where he takes on patients battling ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/08/23/mad-men-women-and-children/ Heh.  I enjoy a nice long weekend off, and a few of my worlds collided while I was away... This weekend msnbc.com snatched up the Knight Foundation funded everyblock.com project, and now a bunch of people I know - from  journalism, free software, law, and software development are ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/08/19/freedom-of-the-hyperlocal-press/ Is it possible that our ancestors harnessed the power of electricity? It's logically possible that electric motors pre-dated steam engines, and tantalizing writings combined with circumstantial evidence suggest that the ancients understood more than static electricity and simple batteries. This question is yet another reformulation of the regard we hold for the ... http://alchemicalmusings.org/2009/07/29/shekhinah-power/