At Instructables, we just debuted new, super-easy-to-contribute content types. One is slide shows (an series of images that plays automatically) and the other is videos (just and embed from any major video service.) It allows people to share projects with the community commenting features at instructables, without having to create a whole instructable. The idea is to let people just show off their projects; we expect this to increase the content available at Instructables dramatically.

Here’s a video I put up of the huge fish tank stand we’re building at my house:

And here’s a slideshow I made of the liner I put in my Chrome messenger bag.

Here’s a full description of the new features.

Amy posted on her blog about the difficulty of buying responsibly. In her post, she links to an SF Chronicle article that traces the myriad social and environmental costs of real versus fake Christmas trees. Amy notes:

the article more or less concludes that the number of variables to consider when determining whether to buy a product or which product to choose over another in terms of sustainability are completely overwhelming, but even though sometimes it feels like the more informed you are the harder it is to make the decision, there is always a better choice and we should just do our best.

For sure, it’s really difficult as a consumer to make informed purchasing decisions. However, the armchair economist in me believes that good regulation would simply make these social costs a part of the prices of things (i.e. government forcing the internalization of externalities.)

For example, things like toxicity and fire safety are hard factors for a consumer to consider, but good tort laws can push those hard-to-evaluate costs to the manufacturer. If anyone can sue a christmas tree maker/seller when a highly flammable plastic tree burns down a home , those companies will have to decide how to make their products safer and how much more to charge in order to cover legal costs. Instead of every consumer trying to navigate a whole mess of social implications, the legal system just raises the prices of the trees to reflect their true cost.

Carbon footprints are even easier: Carbon tax! If you tax carbon at the source (right where the coal is mined, right where the oil is extracted) then the extra cost is distributed throughout the web of consumption exactly as those costs move through the economy. Every carbon emission going into a tree (transport, petroleum-based plastic, disposal, etc.) is accurately reflected in the increased cost of the tree.

Of course, by “easy” I mean that these things are conceptually easy, not politically. The solutions are clear as long as one is dealing with a populace that believe that the environment and health are worth preserving, even if there is potential drag on our economy. And as obvious as that seems to me and most people that I know, there’s not consensus on that issue, nation-wide.

So, what to do in the meantime? Well, we should muddle through as the author of that SF Chronicle writer does. I just object to the exasperated tone of the piece. It conveys the sense that do-gooder consumers are engaged in a futile exercise, which they’re not. We can make better purchasing decisions, learning about where our products come from is a good in of itself, and raising awareness can lead to the systematic, political changes that will cause all economic players to do the right thing.

This is cool: Walk-Score looks up common businesses nearby, finds out how far you’d need to walk to get to them, and compiles a “walk score” to tell you how walkable your neighborhood is. Genius use of the Google Maps APIs!

Here’s an example of an intersection near where I live:

From Andrea:

“Propaganda is the use of magic by those who no longer believe in it against those who still do.” - W. H. Auden

Just because:

This is the most frank appraisal I’ve read of the intersection between politics and ethnic tensions in the the Great Lakes Region (i.e. easter DR Congo and Rwanda.) The history of the area is complicated, and this Op-Ed (by Jan van Eck) reflects that. But it dives straight into the topics that I’ve been unable to get straightforward discussion on, during personal conversations.

Unless the Rwandan government opens up the possibility of Rwandan Hutus exercising what should be a normal democratic right, that is, forming a predominantly Hutu party, the Hutu military and political movements in exile in the eastern DRC will continue to grow — both in determination to liberate their country and in numbers — with more and more politicised Hutus supporting them.

Unless Rwanda liberalises its internal political situation, and allows freedom of political and ethnic expression (as is, for example, the case in neighbouring Burundi), it will remain under threat from politicised Hutus — most of whom are either in eastern DRC or in the diaspora.

If 13 years after the genocide Rwandans still cannot be trusted to not use ethnicity to repeat the genocide, the country is surely in serious trouble. Invading the DRC to root out these Hutus is neither justified nor a solution.

I’m going to send out some emails to see what people I know in Goma think…

Also, here’s a good overview of the current military situation. This is some lazy blogging, but I’m really just caching links…

This is cool: Progressive auto insurance has a program where you can get discounts on your annual premiums, depending on how safely you drive. They send you a little sensor that you attach to your car’s diagnostics port. It tracks speed and acceleration every ten seconds (but, importantly, not location.)

At the end of the year, you view your data and decide whether or not you want to submit it for your discount, which ranges from 5%-25%. Check it out: TripSense.

It’s insurance that gives drivers another financial incentive to drive less and to drive more safely.

I love DIY porn. That’s why I work at Instructables: to see how people practice their crafts, reinvent objects around them, and experiment with new ideas. Every so often, I do one myself, but it’s mostly just compulsive clicking on images to see how people make stuff.

A similar thing that gets me off is what I’ll call “Factory Porn.” I love videos of industrial processes, from automated bread-baking to car manufacture. One of my best memories from Vietnam was touring an entire town that devoted itself to pottery making, from dredging silt to make clay to the huge kilns that fired the painted urns and bowls. Enter HowStuffIsMade, a wiki-based site that describes the manufacture of all kinds of things:

What is this?

HowStuffisMade is a visual encyclopedia documenting the manufacturing processes, labor conditions and environmental accounts of contemporary products.

Who made this?

HSIM is a collaboratively produced, independent, academic, wiki-based publication. Encyclopedia entries are summative photo essays created by engineering, design and art students guided by faculty who ensure high standards of evidence (see diagram/scenarios for student participation process). HSIM is accessible to students and faculty, to manufacturers, professional engineers and designers, and to the general public, all of whom may contribute edits and updates to any student entry.

Here, for example, is how jellybeans are made. I think I’m in heaven…

Rachel and I attended a presentation by the creators of the Facebook API about the design of the platform. Rough notes after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

A new microfinance site just went live (Microplace) and it bears some similarity to Kiva, but with some important differences. I thought I’d outline those differences and point out that both offer an opportunity for ordinary people of privilege like ourselves to make a huge, sustained impact on the lives of the “working poor” around the world.

In a nutshell: Kiva is more personal, and some would say more interesting. Microplace, on the other hand, is safer and allows for larger, hassle-free loan-making. There’s a place for both. Kiva has made over $14 million in loans, already, breaking ground for average people to consider microfinance as part of their investment portfolios. It has connected tens of thousands of people all over the world who would never have any interaction, otherwise. Microplace, on the other hand, has the potential to grow the market enormously. Kiva’s $14 million (and growing exponentially) is nothing to sniff at, but Microplace could bring in many orders of magnitude more.

A potential Kiva investment

A potential Microplace investment

I have a longer explanation, after the jump; click through to read on.

I encourage everyone to try out Kiva and Microplace, as both make it really easy to invest. I’ve signed up for both, in fact, and will be putting a chunk of change in each. In a year or so, I’ll report back on my experiences.

Read the rest of this entry »