Tableau Rising

As Stephen Few delivered his keynote address at the recent Tableau customer conference in Seattle, he suddenly broke his rhythm to look at someone in the audience. "Is that Howard Dresner?" he wondered, surprised. It was. Howard is the man who as a Gartner analyst in 1989 revived the term "business intelligence," and he's one of the industry's patriarchs.

Hipster Travel Gift Guide

So we're starting up our Hipster Travel Gift Guide for you for the second year in a row -- and this time, we're running it for 30 days. We know times are tough and we hope you can collect more than a few ideas from us for finding that just right gift for that person who seems nearly impossible to buy stuff for -- in part because they already have every thing.

WWE: Hell in a Cell 2010 DVD Review

The rise of Daniel Bryan as a major superstar continued last month when he delivered a spectacular match in his first pay-per-view title defence against The Miz and John Morrison in a Submissions Count Anywhere match.

Climate Activists Create Art That Can Be Seen from Space

What's being called "the first planet-scale group art show" began over the weekend, as climate activists in several countries gathered to create symbolic images that could be seen from space. In Spain, citizens created a maze in the form of a young girl's face who is afraid the Delta del Ebro will be destroyed by climate change. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a thousand Girl Scouts and residents holding blue tarps formed a human "flash flood" in the dry remains of the Santa Fe River bed to show what it could look like if water still flowed there.

Sharing Our Creativity on the Web

Sharing our creativity on the web is increasingly popular to do. But how do we get the credit we are due for our creative work? How can we identify the original source? I don't know about you, but I am eager to know everyone out in cyberspace who cares about the stuff I do.

Sam Harris Speaks in Berkeley

I was in Berkeley last night to see Sam Harris talk about his new book, The Moral Landscape. Harris makes a convincing case for how science, so broadly defined that I think rationality really serves as a more appropriate phrase, can allow us to determine right from wrong, or when one of those clear positions is not available, the ethically most optimal behavior.

RockMelt: A Browser for the Facebook Generation

RockMelt is a new web browser based on Chromium (by Google) and tightly integrated with the social web, particularly Facebook. This 2.5 minute video gives a short overview.

Licensing Tutorial for Wikimedia Commons

Free knowledge is the foundation of all Wikimedia projects: anyone is free to use, modify and redistribute the content for any purpose. But copyright and free licenses are very confusing for new users, especially when they want to contribute pictures and other media files. A new illustrated licensing tutorial will now guide new users through the basics of copyright and free licenses to make their first steps easier.

New Orleans May Dump Security Cameras

Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans has proposed discontinuing the city's use of its security camera network. The cameras began to be installed in 2003, as a response to the city's high crime rate. However, despite the expenditure of several million dollars, a recent report by the city's inspector general said that only 41 out of the 211 installed cameras were actually working.

Basic Tips for Cigar Care

Cigars are a very expensive and artful hobby. And I say hobby and not vice because, at least for me, its a once in a while thing. But you really enjoy them once you appreciate the care of making them and the craft of storing them appropriately. Here are some simple tips on how to select and store a cigar.