Esto es mi dragón de peluche que mi amiga mejor me regaló para la navidad. El es un character de uno de mis peliculas favoritas, “How to Train Your Dragon.” Yo lo vi la primera vez con mi amiga mejor y ella hechó el animal de peluche a mano. Me lo gusta mucho y cada vez yo veo el dragón yo pienso de ella.

Fidgital! A new word for the digital age! what next? 

think of all the words we use today that didn’t even exist 30 years ago. If you told someone in 1980 “I just texted my mother from my iPhone before surfing the web using the wifi at Starbucks to find the nearest place to buy a flat screen hdtv but it didn’t work because they don’t have a very good network connection and I couldn’t get 3G inside either. So instead I decided to go home and watch a dvd on my laptop or stream netflix on my tablet” they would have looked at you like you were crazy. 

You think someone 20 years ago would have any idea what sexting is?

The way we talk is evolving almost as fast as our technology does. Some of those terms are great and excellent descriptors. Others lack a certain amount of class. Think I’m wrong? Go explore urbandictionary.com for a fun little lesson in modern day language.

futurejournalismproject:

Fidgital

Lizzie Skurnick coins a term in the New York Times.

Over at Salon, Katie McDonough reminds us of a recent study “that found smartphone users exhibit actual withdrawal symptoms when forced to abstain from using their devices. The study also found that many subjects felt physical discomfort after not checking their phone for extended periods of time.”

As someone with a New Year’s resolution that no laptops, phones or tablets can enter the bedroom, I’m glad to be able to put a word and idea to it. — Michael

I initially thought this was a cutout on a white background. Nope, that’s ice. Incredible photo.

guardian:

Oberstdorf, Germany: a mountain stream runs through a snowy winter landscape Photograph: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/EPA

See the latest images from around the world in 24 hours in pictures.

great investigative work here.

washingtonpoststyle:

In case you missed this important investigative study from a few months back: Jack and Rose both could have survived the Titanic.

Thank you to the Smithsonian for staying on stop of this.

Photo: TheMetaPicture.com

big news!

nrdc:

Bike Sharing Coming to Downtown Los Angeles in 2013

It looks like bike sharing is on its way to the City of Angels. A company called Bike Nation has pledged $16 million towards L.A.’s first bike share network, which will be coming to downtown Los Angeles in April. The system will allow users to rent and ride bikes for time frames of less than 24 hours, so people can run errands or get to work or just ride around for fun. A membership will be required, which is projected to cost $75 for the year. Once the membership is purchased, trips less than 30 minutes are free and trips up to 60 minutes are only $1.50. (More information on rates and fees can be found here.)  Read more in NRDC senior attorney Damon Nagami’s blog.

Photo: October 2011 CicLAvia (credit NRDC)

NRDC makes great use of integrating maps in their fracking project below. Programs like meograph and batchgeo are making this kind of reporting and data aggregation easier than ever.

nrdc:

Fracking in Pennsylvania
The use of hydraulic fracturing has opened up oil and gas resources in many parts of the country where drilling was not previously occurring. These wells are drilled near our homes, schools, and offices—but information about them is not always readily accessible or publicly available.

We need to have better information about the effects of drilling on our health, land and quality of life. Click on this map to launch an interactive version that shows what data is and, more importantly, is not available to the people who live near these wells.