I Ate 100 Power Bars

March 12, 2018

...make the Stasi blush, one company I met promised to provide me with, “real-time shopper behavior intelligence” with a database that goes back, “35+ years of every UPC scanned in store.” (1) When I asked if this information is tied to me personally, the rep said that it’s all connected to my credit card information before abruptly cutting off the conversation when, I think, he noticed that I was wearing a media badge. Speaking of that media badge m...

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My Facebook Problem

Mr. Homegrown

February 26, 2018

Thoughtstylings

55 Comments

...ked to the press last year revealed Facebook’s ability to monitor, in real time, the mood of teens and serve them ad content based on “when young people feel “stressed”, “defeated”, “overwhelmed”, “anxious”, “nervous”, “stupid”, “silly”, “useless” and a “failure”.” To blame social media itself is not entirely fair and would be what academics call “technological determinism,” the idea that technology drives ideology rather than the other way around...

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There’s No Such Thing as a Free Watch

Mr. Homegrown

February 16, 2018

Thoughtstylings

3 Comments

...al media “influencers.” These watches begin not as a practical way to tell time but, rather, as a physical manifestation of social media interactions. Amidst the shifting winds of Alibaba sites, dropshipping networks, Shopify templates, Instagram accounts and someone somewhere concocting the details of “Our Story,” a watch was formed, like a sudden precipitate in an unstable cloud. And almost immediately after being produced, it is reviled, doomed...

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The Kit Houses of the Pacific Ready-Cut Home Company

Mr. Homegrown

August 21, 2017

Design

10 Comments

...lly think we need a small house movement rather than a tiny house one. Why not just start building these perfectly good early 20th century houses again? A big thanks to Colin for the tip on the catalog and on a article in the LA Times about the Pacific Ready-Cut Company. Which, before its demise switched to manufacturing surfboards! The Times article notes that there are thousands of Pacific Ready-Cut Designs not shown in the 1925 catalog I linked...

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Permaculturalist Paul Wheaton in Los Angeles

Mr. Homegrown

February 25, 2013

Events

3 Comments

...specially relevant talk given our climate here in Southern California. Day/Time Sunday, March 3rd 10am to 8pm Location Daytime Events @Institute of Urban Ecology 3896 N Fair Oaks Avenue, Altadena , CA Evening Paul Wheaton Lecture @Armory Center for Arts 145 N Raymond Ave Pasadena, CA 91103 Registration (click here to register) $5 for 1st ticket $1 each add’tl ticket Sponsoring Organizations Institute of Urban Ecology RIPE Altadena La Loma Developm...

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