And though they clearly aren’t the same company that started producing Pong (while virtually single-handedly inventing the video game) in the 1970s, they remain a fantastic example of innovation.
Atari 2600: the Game Console that Started it All!I still remember (like it was yesterday!) the Christmas morning when my Dad gave my brother a cartridge for the Atari 2600 in his stocking. As my brother tried to explain that it was no good without the unit, my Dad started laughing and told him to go look in his room. The 2600 changed our lives forever!
Check out the infographic below to see how Atari became a household name in the 1980s, got killed when Nintendo came on the scene and ultimately reinvented themselves after several changes in ownership. You may not be aware, but a lot of the great Atari titles are alive and well today!
Recently, I’ve become starkly aware of how demanding our culture has become. One day last week, within the span of a just a few short minutes, I was randomly assaulted by literally dozens of phone calls and text messages.
I will certainly admit that that exact scenario is very uncommon. But since I was desperately trying to get something accomplished at the time, and since some of those texts and phone calls were from people who had made repeated attempts at reaching me already, I became particularly frustrated. (Let’s just say it’s a good thing there weren’t any sledgehammers, ponds or toilets close by… because my phone might not have survived.)
This isn’t to mention the daily onslaught of emails, Facebook messages, Twitter DMs, instant messages and face-to-face interruptions that bombard so many of us today.
In my business, large uninterrupted blocks of time are required to produce the kind of output it takes for our work to get done. I’m increasingly cognizant of the fact that this doesn’t mix well with a culture that expects a response within a matter of seconds, minutes or hours from any given interaction. It’s forcing me to recognize that two of my most valuable assets—time and attention—require bigger and better defense systems today.
Coincidentally, just as these thoughts were taking shape in my brain, I bumped into two very insightful posts today: one on “Pest Control” from Seth Godin, and the other on our “Culture of Distraction” from Matt Mullenweg. These are two of my favorite authors these days, and these posts don’t disappoint.
Matt Mullenweg actually shared a poignant 15-minute video clip featuring a talk from Joe Kraus on this topic. I’m including it here for you to enjoy.
Sarasota, FL June 5, 2012 — Spencer Lasday, a sophomore at Pine View School in Sarasota, received a singular honor among high school students in being selected to perform environmental research at Mote Marine’s Tropical Research Station near Key West. The trip was part of the Mote Marine Laboratory High School Internship Program, a highly-competitive program that provides a few, select high school students with a dynamic, hands-on marine science experience which complements their traditional advanced academic studies.
Hammering away at coral reefs nearly 60 feet underwater, Spencer alarmed other divers who thought he was damaging the reef. Gina Santoianni, Spencer’s dive partner and Director of the Mote Marine Laboratory High School Internship program, looked on with amusement as Spencer tried to communicate to the concerned divers that he was actually restoring the reef.
“Spencer really enjoys diving, so this project was a great fit for him,” said Gina.
Spencer with Gina Santoianni, coordinator of Mote Marine High School Internship Program
The work on the reef is part of the internship program, which partnered with the internationally known Coral Reef Restoration Foundation from Key Largo, FL in an effort to ensure the health of this important part of Florida’s underwater ecosystem. The project requires clearing away dead coral to make way for the new coral which is hand-planted, one coral polyp at a time.
In addition to multiple SCUBA dives working on the reef, Spencer also cleaned up fishing lines in mangroves and learned about Dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center while in Key West.
“It’s been a great privilege to be part of the internship at Mote,” said Spencer. “The program is competitive, which I found out first-hand when I was not accepted the first time I applied. I love the ocean, and I truly enjoy science. I was looking for a way to combine something I loved to do as a hobby, like SCUBA diving, with a way to be proactive and help make my part of the world a little better place. In this part of Florida, the water is everywhere and you see it all the time. But you only see the surface. So much of this planet is hidden from us, under the water, but even what we can’t see is so critical to life above the water. Coral reefs are maybe 1% of the ocean floor, but support 25% of all marine life. They provide feeding areas and safe nurseries for the fish we eat. They provide breakwaters to protect our shores. And just like the rainforests on land, there is untapped potential for medicines and treatments for so much human illness. I can’t thank Gina and the staff at Mote enough for exposing me to the most amazing things about my own backyard.”
Spencer is the only student from Pine View — Florida’s only school dedicated to intellectually gifted students — who was accepted into the internship program this year.
In addition to this research trip, Spencer has also spent time behind the scenes with the animal trainers at Mote in the Marine Mammal Rehabilaitation Hospital, and behind the scenes at The Living Seas at Epcot, one of the largest man-made ocean environments in the world. He’s been a tour guide on kayak trips through Sarasota Bay, maintained tanks at Mote’s Sarasota facility, and participated in the Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, a statewide gathering of students dedicated to conservation and renewal efforts for the ocean and coastline.
Spencer hopes to “dive deeper” into research at Mote next year as a high school junior.
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Mote Marine Laboratory has been a world leader in marine research since it was founded in 1955. Mote is an independent nonprofit organization and has seven centers for marine research, the public Mote Aquarium and an Education Division specializing in public programs for all ages. More information is available online about the Lab as well as the High School Internship at mote.org.
Today, a bizarre-looking phenomenon showed up in the Sarasota sky. Frankly, I’ve never seen it before, so when I snagged a photo and shared it on Facebook, I added the remark:
I’m pretty sure if I were an Old Testament prophet I’d be freaked out about this…
Turns out… it’s not a “real” ring at all. The phenomenon is known as a “Halo” and has a very natural, scientific explanation. (A bit of a let-down, I know.)
What Causes the Ring Around the Sun
Halo Around the Sarasota Sun
My first thought was that this must be related to a cloud formation. A quick search online revealed that it is, in fact, caused by ice crystals suspended within cirrus clouds. Apparently, we’re seeing the most common form of halo: the 22-degree halo. This means that the light passing through the ice crystals (which are hexagonal in shape) is deviated by exactly 22°.
Since the light is being reflected by millions of tiny crystals, and the light reflection is always exactly 22°, you’ll see a perfect circle no matter what angle you look from. This is why all of the photos showing up on Facebook today from Sarasota people all show the same shape! (Otherwise, some of the photos taken from different angles would show an oval or oblong shape instead).
A word to the wise: as cool as this thing is… don’t look at it. I’m sure today doctors throughout Sarasota will be seeing people for headaches, floaters, retinal burns and other problems from staring up. (It’s hard to resist, I know.)
Instead… just point your camera up and take a look at the photos. Or just load up your Facebook feed to see all the interesting comments about it! From what I can tell, the ring around the sun is visible from quite a bit of Florida. We’re getting visits here today from all over Southwest Florida, from Tampa and as far away as Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It’s hard to be certain of exactly how widely visible this halo is, but quite a few people are curious about it today!
What About Venus?
Some folks are asking about the 2012 transit of Venus. It’s a coincidence that Venus is passing in front of the sun. Actually, tomorrow is the best time to see Venus blocking 1/32 of the sun. But… here again, follow NASA’s recommendations and view it safely!
Note: This post was originally published on the Nourish The Dream blog.
SOPA: Are You Prepared To Be Silenced?
Here at Nourish The Dream, we are incredibly passionate about the success of small businesses and entrepreneurs. We work tirelessly to produce events and resources that will help “nourish the dream” of business ownership and success in the lives of people. And that’s why we feel it’s important to bring SOPA (and its evil twin: PIPA) to your attention.
Depending upon when you read this, the links above may not be working. That’s because Wikipedia is “going dark” for the very first time (at least for its English version) in its history in order to protest this outrageous piece of legislation.
Why Sound the Alarm?
On the surface, the idea behind these bills is honorable and even noble: to stop the illegal downloading & sharing of content protected by copyright. The biggest beneficiaries of this action are relatively obvious: record labels, movie studios and others who create content which is ordinarily sold but which is being pirated (something which, I would like to note, is already illegal).
The egregious nature of the legislation comes not from its ostensible purpose but from its far-reaching, dangerous implications. Specifically, as the legislation is currently drafted, it gives incredible powers of internet censorship to the US courts. Further, it places ridiculous demands upon search engines to no longer provide links to sites which are accused of violating copyrights.
Picture a world where Google is required to police its search results at any given moment for links to websites which have not been proven to be guilty of violating copyrights. Picture a world where your small business website can be shut down at will by anyone willing to throw out a complaint.
In short: the legislation as drafted violates the free speech rights of US citizens via censorship without due process of law.
What About Piracy?
First let me say that we make our living creating content and enjoying the wonderful protection of copyright law. Without copyrights, it would be very difficult for our parent organization to recognize revenue from the training products it creates. Similarly, here at Nourish The Dream, we value very highly the ability for us to create and distribute CDs, MP3s and (soon) DVDs of materials to empower, train & equip the business owners and entrepreneurs we exist to serve… and to, in turn, achieve revenue from those sales to fuel our mission and to give us the ability to create new & better products as we go.
It is therefore of no small significance to us that there be appropriate tools in the hands of legislators and law enforcement agencies to go after piracy and shut it down where possible. We fully understand that no retailer would leave their shop doors unlocked at night with no one watching. There are evil people in the world, and the “honor system” doesn’t always pan out well in the end. Hence the need for proper protections for those who create items of value.
All of that said, SOPA & PIPA do not place appropriate powers in the hands of the right parties to solve the issues they purport to address. Rather, they place undue power in the hands of a few while effectively crippling the business model of many valuable companies who contribute to an open, free (as in speech) internet.
Latest Update: Since many of the apps we reference in the updates and content below are starting to remove the codes, you can see the codes are available in the commentsbelow.
2nd Update: The Unlock Code for Bonus Level 2 is divided between 4 apps:Elfster, Earbits, Astrid, and Hipmunk.
Update: Unlock Code for Bonus Level 1 is found in the BBC Good Food App for Chrome (more details below).
After playing the December 25th level of Angry Birds for Chrome (with the sequence of Christmas comics), 3 bonus levels appeared this morning.
Some quick searching online revealed that at least one of the Christmas Bonus Level Unlock Codes for Angry Birds Chrome Edition could be found by installing the Google Books app. After installing the Google Books app (which essentially just opens the Google Books website), there was a banner ad running. The ad said an unlock code could be found by reading at least 5 pages of Birds for Dummies. Purchasing the book was not required: I simply read through several pages of the free preview. Suddenly, the unlock code appeared.
Angry Birds for Chrome Christmas Bonus Levels Unlock Code
I entered it several times into the Angry Birds Chrome app on the screen shown here. While previous “guesses” had resulted in an “Invalid Code” message, this time I didn’t see that message. Unfortunately, however, it didn’t appear as though anything had changed. After re-entering it several times, I finally realized that level 3 of the Christmas Bonus Levels had, in fact, been unlocked! Great!
But now… where do we find those other 2 unlock codes?
Keep up with the Twitter conversation by following me: @TheDavidJohnson.
How to Install the Google Books App
From your Google Chrome web browser, visit the Chrome Webstore
It should now appear in your normal list of apps when you open a new tab in Google Chrome.
The code contained in the Google Books app is for level 3.
Where to Find the Unlock Code for Level 1
BBC Good Food App: Angry Birds Code Offer
For level 1, you need the BBC Good Food app. Install it the same way you installed the Google Books App (above).
Once you’ve got the app launched, look for an Angry Birds offer in the lower right-hand corner of the main app screen. Once you click it, the Unlock Code for Bonus Level 1 will be revealed.
Where to Find the Unlock Code for Level 2
For Christmas Bonus Level 2, the unlock code is contained in 4 chunks inside each of 4 different apps. Each app has its own trickery for locating the digits contained therein.
I started with Hipmunk. Once you get it installed, you need to login. I chose to use my Google Account (since I’m in Chrome and that’s what I use for Angry Birds login purposes). You’ll see an image of the Hipmunk mascot with a reference to Angry Birds on the home screen.
Clicking that only gets you the following set of instructions:
Click “Start Game!”
Perform a hotel search
Turn on a Heatmap
This seems a little vague and is obviously intended to force you to get to know what the app does a little bit. I ran a search, which was easy enough, but locating how to turn on the heatmap function was a little more ambiguous.
Hipmunk: Where to find the Heatmaps
After playing around with it for a couple of minutes, I finally spotted the heatmaps just above the Google map itself in the upper right-hand corner of the search results screen.
Once you click on one, a massive hover box containing the portion of the code that comes from Hipmunk will be displayed.
Knock on Wood Game: Play Angry Birds for Real!
Each of the other apps has its own methodology. The Hipmunk blog has a post with some additional info. If you get stuck on anything, just post in the comments below.
Angry Birds: Everybody needs a stuffed King Pig with Sounds!In the meantime, maybe you should pick up an Angry Birds item or two. The “Knock on Wood” Game is a blast… my 6-year-old daughter got it for Christmas. But she doesn’t yet have the stuffed pig!
Today, a group of techies took over G.WIZ as part of the weekend event known as BarCamp Sarasota. I had the opportunity to be a part of this special Occupy Sarasota: Techies Take Over G.WIZ event with a twist — not to be confused with any other “occupy” events taking place around town today.
If you missed today, there’s still time to make it tomorrow for the 2nd Day of BarCamp. Here’s where to learn more.
Join Epiphany Marketing founder David G. Johnson at BarCamp Sarasota today for the following presentations as part of the Occupy Sarasota movement! (Techies Taking Over GWIZ)
Growing Your Business Exponentially w/21st Century Tools
2:30pm-3pm Saturday October 15th Microsoft room at GWIZ
What We’ll Cover: How to capture the missing money in your business by leveraging tools like Google, Facebook, Twitter and more!
SEO Rock Stars Site Clinic
4pm-5pm Saturday October 15th
Microsoft room at GWIZ
What is a Site Clinic? In addition to providing valuable information, my good friends Mical Johnson and Tracy Ingram & I will be evaluating websites LIVE for people in the room during our presentation. Let us tell you what you can do to improve your site’s performance in search engine rankings!
**Update (October 16, 2011): The process is a lot simpler now than it was a few weeks ago. This thread outlines the new simpler method for achieving root for your Evo Shift 4G. (I haven’t tried it myself, but I’d use it if my device weren’t already rooted.)
A few months ago, I upgraded my HTC Hero on Sprint to the HTC Evo Shift 4G. I liked the Shift because it had a good size and promised a little better battery life than the original HTC Evo. I didn’t need 2 cameras and a couple of the other bells & whistles of the bigger device, so the Shift looked to be a great choice.
And it was… for months. But unfortunately, the latest OTA (over-the-air) update that came to the device in late August / early September created a giant mess. For the first time ever, the Evo Shift started running slow. Every time I would hit the “Home” button to exit an app, the HTC Sense UI would restart. I wasn’t actually aware this was exactly what was occurring, but the home screen took forever to come up and the HTC logo would spin for a while. This was incredibly frustrating.
Rebooting the device didn’t help. Eliminating some apps made no difference. On a couple of occasions, using the device was so frustrating that I was about ready to throw it at the pavement.
Root, Root, Root Your Phone
I’ve written previously about rooting my HTC Hero. That turned out to be the best thing I could’ve done with that device. But I had hesitated to root the Shift. In fact, I hadn’t even looked into it because I was so happy with the device’s performance and really enjoyed the latest version of HTC’s proprietary Sense UI. Sense is a set of apps and tweaks that sits on top of the device’s Android O/S.
My experience with the HTC Hero was that by rooting it, I gave up access to the Sense UI. I liked it enough on the Evo Shift that I hadn’t gone down that road.
But with all my frustrations after the latest OTA update (which bumped me to Android 2.3.3 “Gingerbread”), I wondered what could be done. So… I started to check out the community of Android device hackers.
What I discovered was both delightful and frustrating. First of all, the guys & gals that work on this stuff had found a way to re-install the Sense UI after rooting the device. (This was not possible when I originally rooted my Hero.) Yippee for me! I can root the device and have full control, but still get the enjoyment out of Sense.
The downside — which was a bit frustrating — was that the road to get to a nicely-running, rooted “Gingerbread” (Android 2.3.3) Evo Shift with Sense UI was pretty convoluted.
Essentially, here’s what had to happen:
Backup everything
Gain a “temporary” root (goes away on reboot) on the Evo Shift
Install some code to the device allowing a downgrade
Backup everything
Downgrade to “Froyo” (Android 2.2)
Permanently root the device on Android 2.2.
Backup the device
Install a nice fresh new ROM
Definitely convoluted. Definitely more frustrating than the process on the HTC Hero (when I did it). But the results have been amazing. I’m running a custom ROM called MikShifted-G “Executive” from TheMikMik. It is gorgeous. It is lightning fast. All the “bugginess” from my device is ancient history.
And of course, with a rooted device, there’s no end to what you can do that was locked down previously by Sprint & HTC. All the Android goodness is there… and it gets better all the time!
I’m glad I rooted my Evo Shift 4G. You will be too!
For reference: xda-devleopers is the ultimate resource for rooting Android devices. For the HTC “Speedy” (Evo Shift 4G) running Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”) this thread in particular will be helpful. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth it!
Over the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of becoming acquainted with Melinda Leeson, DOM. She’s an acupuncture and homeopathic physician who operates a clinic here in Sarasota called “Nature’s Own Wellness.”
Now let me first say that I haven’t yet tried acupuncture. Prior to meeting Dr. Leeson, I would’ve placed it in the category of “things that might be helpful that I might be willing to try.” Frankly, I would’ve never thought that I suffered from any condition that would’ve been helped by acupuncture.
As far as homeopathy goes, I would’ve said, “I’m definitely open to it.” I have a healthy skepticism about medications. In fact, I tend to think that as a general rule, we Americans are little too quick to reach for (or ask our doctors for) a bottle of pills. The idea of natural remedies that don’t involve a lot of bizarre pharmaceuticals is actually appealing to me. Thankfully, I’ve been very blessed with great health. Aside from some injuries that have required chiropractic treatment, I rarely darken the door of a doctor’s office… unless they are a client!
And that’s how I happened to meet Dr. Leeson. We were introduced by Sarasota florist and my good friend and client, Becki Creighton. Since Becki has raved and raved about her experiences with Dr. Leeson, I was delighted to be able to meet her.
One of the things that Dr. Leeson (who tends to call herself Melinda) helped me understand is that acupuncture doesn’t hurt. I guess a lot of people assume (as I did) that the needles would prick or sting a bit on the way in. Evidently that is not the case… most people don’t feel anything and are even surprised to find out a needle as already been inserted.
Another thing she helped me understand is that the needles are about energy flow. Traditional Chinese medicine looks at physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy differently than we tend to think of it here. This is very intriguing to me, as is the idea that treating a specific symptom or condition really should be done from a holistic perspective. She explained that she spends a great deal of time with her patients… learning about their lives, how they spend their time, what they eat, what stresses they experience, and so on. This helps her arrive at a course of treatment that is more likely to get to the source of the problem(s) and not just alleviate a symptom.
Another interesting thing I learned is that the practice of Chinese herbal medicine goes beyond acupuncture to the use of herbs and teas that introduce natural substances which may target certain deficiencies and so forth. This is very interesting to me because I’m convinced that eating the same foods over and over again — does anyone do this but me? — is bound to cause us to come up short in certain areas… not to mention ending up with too much in some others!
Overall, her use of homeopathic remedies goes most deeply into re-balancing or correcting the driving forces within each person that initially set up the energetic patterns for disease. This is a major departure from what we typically experience in health care today. And… to me, it’s worth exploring.
Another thing I didn’t know is that traditional Chinese medicine — acupuncture, herbal remedies, etc. — is able to really help with a wide variety of ailments. Melinda helps her patients with everything from weight loss to chemical imbalances. She works on colds and flu, ADD/ADHD, symptoms of menopause, osteoporosis, allergies, chronic fatigue, headaches, joint pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, insomnia, depression… the list truly goes on and on.
Whether or not you’ve ever considered or tried acupuncture, Sarasota has a true gem in Dr. Melinda Leeson. I’ve spent a number of hours getting to know her — both face-to-face and over the phone — and she is a highly conscientious, precious, compassionate person. She has demonstrated the highest integrity, which in and of itself gives me reason to highly recommend her. Here’s how to find her:
Nature’s Own Wellness (Website: http://www.naturesownwellness.com) 7029 South Tamiami Trail, Suite A, Sarasota, FL 34231
Appointments & Info: (941) 926-9082
