2mrw. http://2mrw.posterous.com Data Blog and Quick Hits posterous.com Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:59:51 -0700 Is the Future of Rail Travel... Like Totally Tubular? http://2mrw.posterous.com/is-the-future-of-rail-travel-like-totally-tub http://2mrw.posterous.com/is-the-future-of-rail-travel-like-totally-tub
Amtrak

This isn't Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, but a new company called Tubular Rail hopes to revolutionize rail travel as we know it.

The passenger car becomes the rail. The wheels are in the track columns.

Check out their gallery of concept art to learn more.

I have lots of questions about how this would work and how safe this would be compared to the Metro or Amtrak.

On the site's Q&A section, the basic concept is laid out: "When sliding a pencil off the edge of a desk, given a uniform weight distribution, the pencil - or any beam - could be pushed to almost 50% of its length before tilting would occur." But what happens if people crowd to the front of the train? How would these things hold up in high winds or earthquakes?

To me, it evokes the elevated trains of Gotham City and Disney World's retro-futuristic monorail.

This technology will be featured on the Discovery Channel in October: NextWorld: Future Technology

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:41:31 -0700 The Great Depression in Color http://2mrw.posterous.com/the-great-depression-in-color http://2mrw.posterous.com/the-great-depression-in-color
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There are 70 color photos taken around the country during the 1930s and early 1940s.

Check out this window to another era at http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.html (via Economix)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:06:00 -0700 Seeing Stars: What the Flag Could Look Like in the Future http://2mrw.posterous.com/seeing-stars-what-the-american-flag-could-loo http://2mrw.posterous.com/seeing-stars-what-the-american-flag-could-loo

What would the flag look like if the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico became states?

There have been 50 states in the U.S. since Hawaii joined the union in 1959. We're all used to the number of stars increasing, but can you envision a scenario when they decrease?

1_to_100_States_of_America.mp4 Watch on Posterous
Check out a larger view of this video of a data visualization called The N States of America: http://bit.ly/1to100  Learn about the science behind the viz created by Skip Garibaldi or try it out yourself at the bottom of the page.

 

A Few Future Flag Scenarios

Thesouth
What would the flag look like if the South seceded again? 39 Stars
Theformercalifornia
How would the flag change if a state like California fragmented in response to a double dip recession, drought and record deficits? 52 Stars

Canada
What if Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota decided to pledge their allegiance to the Maple Leaf? 47 Stars


Build Your Own Flag

Try the viz out yourself and check out this graphical history of the American flag via VizWorld.

[If the embed doesn't work, find the viz here: The N States of America

The images you just saw were altered specifically for this post. The originals come from Wikipedia and have either been released into the public domain or have no copyright restrictions.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:44:00 -0700 It's Lonely at the Top: See How Aging and Gender Interact http://2mrw.posterous.com/its-lonely-at-the-top-see-how-aging-and-gende http://2mrw.posterous.com/its-lonely-at-the-top-see-how-aging-and-gende

Who said that data can't be beautiful? Is this life imitating... on Twitpic 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who said that data can't be beautiful?

Is this life imitating art or art imitating life?

Use this interactive motion chart to experiment with the Census data.

Compare male and female cohorts born at the start of each decade from 1900-1960.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 20 May 2010 10:21:00 -0700 Breaking Down the Unemployment Rate http://2mrw.posterous.com/breaking-down-the-unemployment-rate http://2mrw.posterous.com/breaking-down-the-unemployment-rate

Unemployment_tutorial

Ever wonder what the latest unemployment numbers really mean?

State of the USA explains it all in this interactive tutorial.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:48:00 -0700 Space Race Navigator: Where We've Been and Where We Will Boldly Go http://2mrw.posterous.com/space-race-navigator-where-weve-been-and-wher http://2mrw.posterous.com/space-race-navigator-where-weve-been-and-wher

With the future of human space flight hanging in the balance after the Obama administration's decision to scrap the Constellation program, it seems like the perfect time to look at where we've been and where we will boldly go.

Word had leaked out that there was a Plan B in the works and now the White House has announced that it is putting together a conference on April 15th  to discuss a new way forward.

Part of the debate over NASA's future revolves around the budget. In 2009, the Obama Administration spent $19.17 billion dollars on NASA according to data from the Congressional Budget Office. The data show that the Gross Domestic Product for 2009 was over $14.25 trillion dollars with annual spending on NASA weighing in at 0.134% of GDP and about 0.544% of the federal budget. 

To put the recent budget numbers and and possible future proposals in perspective let's take a look at government spending on NASA during the space race. Using data from the CBO, this visualization shows how funding has changed for NASA under 10 presidents.

Posterous does not support javascript and it cannot handle this visualization, but you can try it out on the Tumblr version of this story: http://anthonycalabrese.tumblr.com/post/476469711/space-race-navigator-where-...

Space Race Spending Navigator made using Tableau Public...

Space Race Navigator

Some notes on the viz: The dollar amounts shown here are not adjusted for inflation and GDP data was not available for 1964 from this data source. Photos of the Moon landing and the first manned Space Shuttle flight are public domain (NASA) via Wikimedia Commons.

A few of these new technologies may prove to be game changers:

We’ll see what happens on April 15th, but for now check out this sci-fi depiction of an attack on the space elevator.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:49:19 -0800 Must Read: The Web Trends That Will Define 2010 http://2mrw.posterous.com/must-read-the-web-trends-that-will-define-201 http://2mrw.posterous.com/must-read-the-web-trends-that-will-define-201
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This post over at CNN.com covers it all: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/03/cashmore.web.trends.2010/index.html

Location awareness, social search, and augmented reality will compete with and sometimes complement traditional social media services.

Think Foursquare and Aardvark instead of Facebook and Digg.

Location awareness and social filters can make your search more relevant in ways that Google or Bing cannot.

I wrote about augmented reality way back when it was just a sparkle in a technologist's eye. It will become more than just a cool novelty, but it will take some time...

The glue that holds this all together is a small but powerful mobile computer.

It can be a smart phone, a tablet, or something that you wear.

Here is a compelling vision of the future of social media: http://www.matthewbuckland.com/?p=1041

How long until we get there?

I say less than five years.

What do you think?

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:06:20 -0800 My Twiiter Times Is STILL Awesome http://2mrw.posterous.com/my-twiiter-times-is-still-awesome http://2mrw.posterous.com/my-twiiter-times-is-still-awesome
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It has been almost a month since I signed up for the Twitter Times and I have to say that this idea still works.

Their pitch is simple and effective. Harvesting the fruits of your extended social network just works. This is the next big thing for early 2010.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:12:25 -0800 4 Reasons Tomorrow Is Better Than Today http://2mrw.posterous.com/4-reasons-tomorrow-is-better-than-today http://2mrw.posterous.com/4-reasons-tomorrow-is-better-than-today
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I've got the future on the brain and you should too.

The future is better because it... 
  1. is undefined
  2. gives people hope
  3. always has room for improvement
  4. is where dreams can come to life

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:07:26 -0800 How to Post on Posterous http://2mrw.posterous.com/how-to-post-on-posterous-0 http://2mrw.posterous.com/how-to-post-on-posterous-0
Posterousemail

Posterous is so easy.

Write the title in the subject line

Text in the body

URLs automatically become links

http://posterous.com/faq

Photo attachments become embedded pictures

YouTube links become embedded video

Send your post to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr.. almost anywhere!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:27:33 -0700 Music as Torture via WaPo http://2mrw.posterous.com/music-as-torture-via-wapo http://2mrw.posterous.com/music-as-torture-via-wapo Played loud enough, music can prevent you from thinking according to this article. One former prisoner claims that he was forced to listen to The Real Slim Shady continuously for 20 days! One question not asked: Will the RIAA demand royalties?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR20091021037...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:11:35 -0700 Land of the Rising Debt via NYT http://2mrw.posterous.com/land-of-the-rising-debt-via-nyt http://2mrw.posterous.com/land-of-the-rising-debt-via-nyt If you thought our debt was bad, take a look at Japan..

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/business/global/21yen.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:54:28 -0700 Survivor: Solar System via Universe Today http://2mrw.posterous.com/survivor-solar-system-via-universe-today http://2mrw.posterous.com/survivor-solar-system-via-universe-today Imagine that one day, the Earth show is canceled.. Where would you go? My money is on Mars!

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/10/16/where-could-humans-survive-in-our-sol...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:39:00 -0700 The Sensor Becomes the Shooter via Esquire http://2mrw.posterous.com/the-sensor-becomes-the-shooter-via-esquire http://2mrw.posterous.com/the-sensor-becomes-the-shooter-via-esquire Drones and UACV's are changing the face of modern warfare.

http://www.esquire.com/features/unmanned-aircraft-1109

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:31:00 -0700 NextGen CleanTech That Can Change the World via WSJ http://2mrw.posterous.com/nextgen-cleantech-that-can-change-the-world-v http://2mrw.posterous.com/nextgen-cleantech-that-can-change-the-world-v Space-based solar power is a personal favorite, but all hold promise..

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703746604574461342682276898.htm...

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:27:00 -0700 Times Square + No Cars = Crazy Enough to Work http://2mrw.posterous.com/times-square-no-cars-crazy-enough-to-work http://2mrw.posterous.com/times-square-no-cars-crazy-enough-to-work http://www.vision42.org/

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:20:24 -0700 An Interesting Take on Health Insurance.. http://bit.ly/TheHealthyOption http://2mrw.posterous.com/an-interesting-take-on-health-insurance-httpb http://2mrw.posterous.com/an-interesting-take-on-health-insurance-httpb

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:27:12 -0700 New Avatar Trailer: It's gonna be big.. http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1619219/story.jhtml http://2mrw.posterous.com/new-avatar-trailer-its-gonna-be-big-httpwwwmt http://2mrw.posterous.com/new-avatar-trailer-its-gonna-be-big-httpwwwmt

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:31:10 -0700 What does the future hold for space exploration? http://2mrw.posterous.com/what-does-the-future-hold-for-space-explorati http://2mrw.posterous.com/what-does-the-future-hold-for-space-explorati Take an interactive look forward via FLYP.. http://www.flypmedia.com/content/land-among-stars

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:51:06 -0700 An Interactive Future: Apple Patents Point to iPhone Enhancements (via AppleInsider) http://2mrw.posterous.com/an-interactive-future-apple-patents-point-to http://2mrw.posterous.com/an-interactive-future-apple-patents-point-to Sign me up! http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/07/09/apple_filings_detail_id_app_other_potential_iphone_enhancements.html

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/38723/2mrw_tiny.png http://posterous.com/users/PV4cETCGzL Anthony Calabrese Telling the New American Story Anthony Calabrese