onfocus

In this Long Now talk Kevin Kelly wonders if the networked machines are working for us or if we're working for the networked machines.

Toyota is making a small run of all-electric RAV4s over the next three years. It'll be the first all-electric SUV.

Oregon is starting to build infrastructure to support all-electric vehicles.

Solarized is a color palette for code editors. I've been using these colors in TextMate for a day or so and I'm enjoying it.

"Diesels are wildly popular in Europe, accounting for roughly 50 percent of the car market there. So why don't automakers simply bring the European cars here?" An older article that explains why diesels are hard to come by here.

Anil is promoting the idea of keeping and using the gadgets you have instead of upgrading. Great idea!

It's a good time to revisit this Lakoff article on framing taxes. Basically, taxes are an investment, our fair share, patriotic, and our dues for enjoying our high standard of living.

You deserve this!

This is spectacular. They're suggesting high speed rail between Eugene and the Canadian border.

"While daylight time reduces demand for household lighting, it increases demand for heating in the early spring and late fall (in the mornings) and, even more important, for cooling on summer evenings. Benjamin Franklin was right about candles, in other words, but he did not consider air-conditioners."

"Gordon Hempton is an international acoustic ecologist and Emmy Award-winning sound recordist." He uses a dummy head for binaurel field recordings and has dozens of albums on iTunes with no cheesy synth music.

Nice article about Bernie Krause, bioacoustician. [via MeFi]

"Four years ago Time photographer Callie Shell met Barack Obama backstage when she was covering presidential candidate John Kerry. She sent her editor more photographs of Obama than Kerry. When asked why, she said, 'I do not know. I just have a feeling about him. I think he will be important down the road.' Her first photo essay on Obama was two and half years ago. She has stuck with him ever since." [via kottke]

"The newest and cutest exotic animals babies from zoos around the world." CUTE!

"For a planet plagued by rising energy prices and rising temperatures, better energy management has gigantic potential." Good summary of the current state of 'smart metering'. [via veen]

Frank Rich on Obama's overseas tour. [via TPM]

"Media reporting about other media's approach to producing media is pretty confusing business to begin with. Feelings...will be bruised. But that does not fully explain the scorched earth between Fox News and those who cover it." [via Fimoculous]

The Prius will go solar? [via Doc]

"While mindful of free speech and other rights, Yahoo and other companies say they must craft and enforce guidelines that go beyond legal requirements to protect their brands and foster safe, enjoyable communities -- ones where minors may be roaming."

I've almost hit my strawberry wall this season, but notmartha's homemade popsicle looks amazing.

A story about Rain Dancer, a solar car designed and built by a group of OSU students.