iPad vs Kindle Fire – how many apps for each after one-year?

After one year, Amazon’s Kindle Fire has 31,000 apps: March 15, 2012 – Amazon Appstore for Android, which helped lay the foundation for a big Kindle Fire launch, is celebrating its one-year anniversary and has now eclipsed 31,000 apps, up from 4,000 at launch. That’s a strong first year for an app store that began …

MIT scientists prove that individual neurons store memories

MIT researchers have shown, for the first time ever, that memories are stored in specific brain cells. By triggering a small cluster of neurons, the researchers were able to force the subject to recall a specific memory. By removing these neurons, the subject would lose that memory. As you can imagine, the trick here is …

So Dad, how do you like the iPad we got you?

“Yeah, it’s good.” He then proceeds to cut some vegetables on the iPad, use it to scrape clean his knife, rinse in water, and stick in the dishwasher! The video is super funny, you have to watch it (German, 40 seconds).

Maggie O’Neill is coming to Los Angeles!

One of our favorite contemporary artists is Maggie O’Neill, based out of Washington, D.C. She does these fabulous paintings of the monuments, cityscapes, and neighborhoods. We actually bought our first piece of original art from her, a rendering of the Capitol building. The good news is that she, or more specifically her art, is coming into town (Los Angeles) …

Charles Dickens London

I’ve got a little trip coming up for Amy’s birthday and was browsing around on airbnb. We’re hoping to find a nice little cottage in Santa Barbara for a few days. Anyway, I found their blog and this great post on Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday on February 17, 2012. Doubtless, the dour Victorian author would …

Toronto – “a strong latent demand for more walkable neighborhoods”

The map above shows Toronto’s walkability, with the lighter portions indicating greater walkability (‘utilitarian walkability” being how easy it is to walk to do utilitarian things — get to work, shop — as opposed to for pure recreation). It’s striking how much high walkability follows the boundaries of the old City of Toronto. There are …

Photos – lunar halo, water strider, and a septuple rainbow

Lunar Halo The beautiful circle surrounding the moon in this image is caused by ice crystals suspended in the air. Known as a paraselenic circle, this rare phenomenon comes from moonlight reflecting in complex ways off the crystals. While the circle is commonly only seen in sections, in some cases, such as this one, it can stretch …

Useful dog tricks

Presenting, Useful Dog Tricks!! Whoever said tricks can’t be useful? Jesse loves helping around the house, and I just love his happy attitude and smile on his face =o) Jesse chooses to do the behaviors in this video, and has so much fun bringing smiles to people’s faces. He gets treats for doing his tricks, …

Most of us would probably survive a nuclear blast in Washington D.C.

It’s the most nightmarish scenario—a nuclear device being detonated in downtown Washington. Whammo and good night, right? For most of us, actually, that wouldn’t be the case, according to a recent study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 120-page report, “Key Response Planning Factors for the Aftermath of Nuclear Terrorism,” was released last November. …