Luke and I have Something in Common

Do you remember the scene in A New Hope when Luke is in danger of freezing to death and Han, in a moment of panicked desperation, realized if he cut open his taun-taun he might be able to save his friend? Last night I had a similar experience.

Our house is freezing, even though we seem to be paying our heating company every three weeks. Two blankets just wasn't enough, and I was faced with a dilemma many may find familiar: did I want burn my wallet to keep my room warm? Then I remembered, tucked away in my closet was the $100 novelty sleeping bag I purchased from Think Geek three years ago. The taun-taun sleeping bag. Like the smuggler, I deftly opened the beast's belly with the tiny light saber zipper and used it to insulate my comforter. Better than down.

A New Project

We officially began organizing the TEDxUD event this week, an independently run conference under license from TED. Personally, I'll be snuggled behind the Twitter account, @TEDxUD, and helping with the social media efforts. The TED Talks are a thing of beauty and if you aren't familiar I highly recommend visiting their website. They bring together the brightest minds from around the world to discuss cutting edge ideas and the general state of human progress, all in less than 20 minutes.

TEDx is a branch of the organization aimed at delivering smaller, more localized talks. Don't let the size fool you, though- these are some of the most enlightened individuals I've ever had the pleasure of hearing speak. To be part of the TEDxUD team is an honor and a thrill, and the enthusiasm and determination present in the rest of the Executive Planning Committee ensure an amazing experience from planning until the curtains fall... if the stage has curtains; we haven't got that far yet.

Blackout City

If I fire up the Wikipedia app on my hone screen, I still have access to their database at my fingertips. However, later this afternoon when I shop for belts and I want more information about a particular brand (I'm very picky), I'm greeted with the slightly Twilight Zone screen below. Wikipedia is joined by other web giants Google, Reddit, and Craigslist, among others, in protesting the SOPA Bill and Senate counterpart PIPA.

For more information, this article from the Stanford Law Review dissects the legislation in fairly simple terms.

To get involved, the Wikipedia page is a great place to start.

Interested Development

Holiday season 2011 graced me with a Lilliput USB monitor, now a sold out item on Thinkgeek, which I primarily have displaying my Twitter feeds and Google calendar. But occasionally while I'm reading blogs I'll play Netflix on it for ambiance, my favorite being Arrested Development. Watching it now, though, I can't help but think of something a buddy and I discussed a few nights ago. My friend Dylan mentioned how Party Down was 'pulling an Arrested Development' and had a movie in the works. We noticed shows cancelled before their time landing sweet movie deals. Look at the facts-

Firefly:14 episodes, then they hit us with Serenity.

Arrested Development: Somebody goofed and cancelled this gem after the 53 episodes but Netflix was smart enough to realize another season and movie would be sound investments.

Party Down: Two seasons wasn't enough so they've started writing a movie.

All I want to know is when somebody will have the decency to do the same for Better off Ted.

Let's Help our Friends get over G+ Phobia

My circles are pretty full. I'm no Tom Anderson or Felicia Day, but compared to my friends I follow a lot of other users. While they occasionally check to see if more of our peers have joined Google's social network, I eagerly hunt down individuals who consistently generate great posts. That's the difference- I think of Google+ more as a content-based platform more akin to Tumblr rather than a purely social Facebook clone like they do. My circles are populated with web authors and thought leaders I admire, with some friends thrown in. This way, I've created a consolidated location where people with opinions I respect are casually discussing topics I'm interested in. By organizing circles by topic, rather than relationship (or in addition to if you're fancy), it's simple to tailor your home stream to provide content you want to read.

If you're like dozens if people I know, you're thinking, "but I don't know enough people on it to warrant investing the time." Fortunately, Google has a plan for that. Sharing circles let's you broadcast some of your favorite (or most useful) connections. Talk to your friends who use Google+ and find out who keeps them coming back, then ask them to share. It may seem like a lot to ask, but trust me you'll get out of it as much as you put in.

LOTR: Family night

Gandalf is falling into the depths of Moria; my roommate just got off an 8 hour shift at a local restaurant and I still haven't taken a shower and neither of us is going anywhere anytime soon. Lord of the Rings (specifically Fellowship tonight) has a certain stopping power to it, something I've noticed in my generation in particular. Then generation who had a yearly tradition of going to see the subsequent instalments of Peter Jackson's surprisingly faithful adaptation (don't bring up Arwen, most of us begrudgingly accepted her because she's hot, why can't you?). I'm pretty sure they just remind us that we used to get excited about going to see movies.