Category Archives: Public Service, Civics, Government and Activism

Read how a few Philly students organized themselves to a few hundred to be heard

AxisPhilly: Isaiah Thompson: “How a few Philly high school students organized themselves into a few hundred in four days”: It began, not surprisingly perhaps, with a modest online message. About two weeks ago, school district officials had announced, once again, … Continue reading

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NICAR 2013 Links

Mike Ball, coworker and friend, wrote up a great summary of what he saw at NICAR 2013. It was great hearing his enthusiasm when he got back from what sounds like was a fantastic conference. Check out his post. More … Continue reading

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Children Should Learn Programming Along With Reading and Writing

Boing Boing posts a TEDx talk from Mitch Resnick, of the MIT Media Lab, and creator of Scratch, and a good discussion ensued: “Kids should learn programming as well as reading and writing”. Make sure to watch the talk as … Continue reading

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NPR posts a news app HOWTO, along with code

NPR.org: “How to build a news app that never goes down and costs you practically nothing”. Python (Flask, Fabric, Jinja) and Amazon EC2. A nice walk through with code for contribution and reuse.

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Favorite Reads for 2012

Following is a list of books, essays, and articles I read (or re-read) which feel worth sharing or re-sharing on on New Years Eve: Books “Thinking in Systems: A Primer”, by Donella H. Meadows “Release It!”, by Michael T. Nygard … Continue reading

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Ryan Henson Creighton & Cassandra Creighton Teaching Children to Code

YouTube: TEDxToronto: Ryan Henson Creighton & Cassandra Creighton: Make sure to check out Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure and have some fun.

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Two other debates to watch or listen to

Both of these are worth listening to or watching: NPR.org hosted a Third-Party debate featuring Gary Johnson, of the Libertarian Party, and Jill Stein, of the Green Party. Link includes a transcript. And Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart recently had … Continue reading

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A JPL Employment Advertisement Remixed With More Mohawk

Check it out at Boing Boing. If you have a few minutes more, head over to the Atlantic and see a fantastic video about the the history of the Jet Propulsion Lab and how its offices grew over time.

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Sister Mary Scullion on the possible ban to end public food giving

Sister Mary Scullion wrote an editorial voicing her opposition to the plan being decided today by US District Judge William H. Yohn Jr.. …as the ban on outdoor feeding has gone into effect, the reality is that the proposed service-enriched … Continue reading

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A quick overview in how to build a civic app in minutes

Mark Headd recently posted a short overview (and screencast!) that demonstrates how you can build an application with open data and make it available with SMS.

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