Twitter

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The “Recent Content” section above now has a Twitter badge, displaying the latest SMS update posted. There’s a way to have the badge do multiple updates, but I’m not sure I want to take up that much space above the fold — my main weblog content is already bumped down enough as it is. (Update: Well, I went and had it post multiple updates, three to be exact, and just shuffled the “recent content” stuff around till it all fit. The funny part is, the help file above uses the user ID of the guy who posted the example, so it shows his Twitter updates when you use the code as is. I had to dig up my own user ID number by scanning the code of my Twitter page.)

Twitter is such a simple, yet versatile concept: text, IM, email, or post short updates to a tracking page with an associated feed. It’s effectively a weblog — with a limited input capacity, even, and without much that would be considered unique in a weblog service: friend tracking, mobile posting, profiles, feeds, badges, it’s all stuff you can get elsewhere. There aren’t even comments or tags. So what makes this so much more desirable than your average Blogger account, then? Speed and simplicity are certainly factors; Twitter is concise and instant, with minimal steps between command and response. I wouldn’t have thought that one could build a viable content-based business on the concept of brevity, but there you have it. Go Go Gadget Evhead.

Google Earth Flight Tracking Panic Moment

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My brother flew out to Manila yesterday for Christmas, so I was tracking his flight using FBOWeb.com’s über-cool flight tracking in Google Earth — that’s FAA flight metadata mapped in 3D onto Google Earth and updated live! It was pretty cool to watch the progress of the flight as it headed along the transpolar route to Asia (though I still wonder why the route was so zigzaggy) when suddenly I saw this and panicked:

FBOWeb Google Earth Flight Tracking: UAL895

Turns out the flight data was simply returning a TIMEOUT because the plane had gone beyond the airspace within which FAA tracking could occur. So no, my brother’s plane did not come crashing down somewhere in the tundra. (I just talked to him on the phone, in fact — he’s in Manila right now.)

Update: Over on Flickr, wrastle123 explains the zigzagging path:

“Just a heads-up, the zig-zagging is a result of multiple data sources providing the original flight positional data. One source is more accurate than the other; that, and the positions come in at slightly different/offset times, giving the overall track a zig-zagging effect.”

The World According To…

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After seeing Kottke’s link to the “map of the world according to Reagan,” I remembered linking to a couple of similar parody maps in the past, so I decided to hunt down more. Here’s the list so far:

The World According To…

Have I missed anything? I haven’t found a good “World According to Filipinos” map; maybe I should make one.

Candlelight Carol Service 2006

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Choirs

Just finished the Christmas Candlelight Carol Service at First Baptist tonight, as always with the Chancel Choir, the Runnymede Singers, and the Chorale of the Friday Morning Music Club. Musical highlights included Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, Mendelssohn’s Say Where He is Born and There Shall A Star, and Rutter’s Gloria. Unlike last year, David and I were not needed to light candles.

I got photos. Note Mary’s glasses in the tableau shot. (Rough panorama above was taken by another choir member from the pulpit. Can you find me?)

Caturday!

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Today’s feature cat photo is of Pandora licking her nose. Also check out the ones of her curled up in a ball.

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Cat Curled Up In Ball 1

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Happy Brownpau Christmas Shopping Suggestions

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We’re a week into December! No doubt many of you have brows furrowed, stressed not only by the logistical and pecuniary pressures of shopping for gifts for family and friends, but also by the annual cognitive dissonance of coping with the blatantly materialist trappings with which this traditional Christian holiday has become associated in this modern culture. I cannot help you with the latter, but for the former, I humbly present to you the following suggestions:

  • Cheap and Tiny: a great way to find fun electronic devices of diminutive size and cost. Many of the gadgets on display make excellent stocking stuffers, for not too much cash.
  • Beg The Question Store: what better way to warm the heart of a pedantic grammatico-philosophical stickler than a BTQ mug or shirt (or thong) explaining the horrific truth behind this much-misused phrase? (Alternatively, you can go cheap with a stack of BTQ Cards, which make an okay gift if you print them on good card stock, cut them straight, and present them in a nice business card box.)
  • The Brownpau Store: a shirt for your dog with my cat on it. Nuff said.

Thank you for tolerating my shameless self-promotion. Buy buy now.

Clouds Stream By

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An arctic blast brought strong winds and biting cold to Washington, and as I shuttled video equipment from Farragut Square to Dupont Circle this afternoon, I marveled at the delightful patterns of altocumulus undulatus clouds streaming across the sky above the District, rushed along by the frigid winds:

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Later on, as I braved the icy cold, a tiny speck of something hit my face, leaving a spot of wetness. “Great,” went my first thought, “some tiny suicidal gnat has crashed into my face and splattered its guts on my cheek.” But then I saw the flakes, and realized it was a snow flurry, and suddenly the stress and fatigue of the week dissolved into something like peace — even after the snow stopped without leaving even a dusting.

Unique Smithsonian Christmas Decor

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Are those artichokes adorning the Christmas lamppost hangings in the Ripley Garden behind the Castle? Why, yes, I do believe those are artichokes, and some kind of round, hard-shelled fruit! It’s certainly a change from boughs of holly and such.

Lord, Before This Fleeting Season

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This Advent prayer is a poem by Mary Ann Jindra, set to music by Libby Larsen, which we sang at church.

Lord, before this fleeting season is upon us,
Let me remember to walk slowly.
Lord, bless my heart with love and with quiet.
Give my heart a leaning to hear carols.
Grace our family with contentment,
And the peace that comes only from You.
Lord, help us to do less this busy season;
Go less; stay closer to home; kneel more.
May our hearts be Your heart.
May we simply, peacefully, celebrate You.