Visualized NFL Data

If I was into fantasy football I would think this was cool. Well...actually...this is cool either way.

via FlowingData

NASA Proves that Jabulani has Issues

NASA has proven that it has no issues with focusing on its core mission and has officially proven that the Jabulani exhibits strange behavior when when it hits 45-50 mph. Watch the short video below to see some grainy footage of the tests and watch the trail of the ball. Pretty crazy.

Here is a link to the actual page on NASA's website (a different cut of this video is available there). To be fair to NASA, using something like the Jabulani to help educate students on aerodynamics is actually a pretty neat idea in my opinion.

NYT Article on Apple vs Google

George Frey/Getty Images

I thought this article in the NYT over the weekend was pretty interesting. It gives you some good background and insight into the battle between Google and Apple when it comes to mobile computing. If I had to pick a team to side with I would probably pick Google...even though I am pretty tempted to pick up an iPad. I haven't had a chance to go research the claim, but it sounds like Google has actually been in the process of making a tablet very similar to the iPad, just running Android. Click here to check out the article.

Where is the Money Going?

Recovery.gov has a great GIS interface to help you explore where ARRA funding is going within the US (Where is the Money Going?). You can zoom into your hometown, choose the type of funding source you want to see, and examine each individual award to see the amount, jobs created/saved, and the recipient. Here is a snapshot of my hometown with a specific award selected and stats being displayed.


Here's a view of Lafayette Parish in an aerial satellite view with the recipients of the $44M in funding that has been distributed to the parish to date.


This set of data was recently used by Sunlight Labs to feed into the iPhone Layar app to create an augmented reality application that displays recovery.gov data on your iPhone.


What an awesome example of how data standardization and transparency can combine to create new ways to view and share data. Just think of the possibilities of being able to stream environmental and public health data into applications like this in the future...the data could be sent to regulating agency staff out in the field, surveying companies, construction companies or the general public.

Google Wave Testing

Testing out Google Wave as I chill out out the couch today. Looks like it might be a really effective collaboration tool. As a result, I sent out some invitations to some people I work with to see if it helps with communication for some of the teams I am on that are geographically dispersed. Playback features, inline editing, the ability to respond to mid-stream thoughts, and the option of adding new participants to a dialogue...all pretty sweet. Anyone else playing with Wave?

Listorious

Follow-up to my last post - check out Listorious if you are interested in exploring Twitter lists. This site has them broken down by category including: News, Media, Marketing, Charity, Food, etc...

Twitter List: Non-Profit Technology

Posting this for my friends (and especially my wife) who are involved in non-profit work and are interested in how technology can be used to help with their missions. Looks like a decent twitter list for those interested in this theme.

Non-Profit Technology Twitter List