Google Earth
I learned from Derek at PenMachine that Google finally released the Mac version of Google Earth, so I downloaded it and played with it for a while last night.
OMG! I visited Katy in California (I could even see her old red car parked outside the garage), the Google Campus in Mountain View, looked at my house (of course), went to see my sister and my mom in Rome, visited Barcelona, Spain, the Republican Palace in Bagdad and the Red Square in Moscow. I spent hours traveling the world.
Earth looks so small, so beautiful, and so one. You can hold the world on the palm of your hand and look at it in wonder. At the same time, there is something unsettling in these beautiful images. There are no people on Google Earth.
Where the resolution is higher–for example, the Google Campus–you can see cars, and even tables and chairs. But no people. It feels like the post-nuclear San Francisco portrayed in On the Beach.
So, Google Earth made me feel existential and strongly environmentalist. Please, let’s keep Earth alive. Let’s keep it full of people, animals, and plants. Let’s take good care of her and us.
Thanks, and most loved blogs and bloggers
The beginning of the year is a time for reflection, resolutions, and lists. I am really bad in complying with the observance of notable dates and anniversaries (well, except for my birthday…), but I think this is the right time to write about the blogs I’ve read and loved during the my first eight months of blog-life (aka b-life).
Blogging is 25% writing and 75% community. So much of the beauty of blogging is in the people you meet on the road, the conversations you listen to and those you are part of, and the help you receive on the way.
So, let’s start by thanking with all my heart Troy Worman who nominated this blog as his Favorite BlogHer blog. Thank you, Troy.
Troy’s blog, Orbit Now, is a heartwarming good read and does a wonderful job in collecting interesting and notable links.
I read a fair amount of technology and design blogs every day, but I rarely blog on what I find there. What makes me think and tick are the posts on my sentimental list of blogs, people I know or I feel a connection with. So, here is my list of favorite and beloved blogs.
I wouldn’t be here without them
- Eddie James motivated me to get my domain, introduced me to WordPress, and gave me a lot of support, technical and emotional, at the beginning of my b-life. I will be always grateful to Eddie for his help and encouragement. Eddie’s blog is an ongoing experiment and one never knows what to expect when visiting his site. He is the only person I know that has his own show.
- Andrew Hinton is a long time blogger (his archives go back to May 2002). Andrew’s blog was one my first regular blog readings and one of the first RSS feeds on my Bloglines. I treasure his insightful comments on life, politics, and religion. Andrew was one of the first to discover my blog and to link to my posts. Thank you, Drew.
- Denis De Bernardy created the popular Semiologic CMS for WordPress that powers my site. Denis adopted my site CSS for one of the Semiologic skins. He linked to my site and made sure that sites using my skin linked to it, too. All these links drove a lot of traffic to my blog and improved my Technorati rank way more than I deserve.
Blogs that left an early mark on me
- Jory Des Jardins’ Pause was the first blog I fell in love with. I immediately connected with Jory’s style and her views on work and life. Every morning I checked with trepidation for new posts (I still do). Jory is a truly gifted and insightful writer.
- Misbehaving.net was another revelation. Every single post by the women at Misbehaving is a relevant and thought-provoking commentary on women and technology.
- Nancy White’s chocolate friendly and community supportive Full Circle Online Interaction blog is another delicious treat. Nancy blogs on social software, community-building technology, and online communities and has a wonderful sense of humor.
- Shelley Powers’ Burningbird is another powerful and insightful blog discussing women and technology (and much more). Shelley is intimidatingly prolific and takes gorgeous pictures.
- Jory, Lisa Stone, and Elisa Camahort conceived and gave birth to BlogHer, the first conference on women bloggers. Sadly, I didn’t make it to the first one in the flesh, although I virtually attended. But this year I will be in San Jose on July 28-29. See ya all at the Hyatt.
Other Blogs I Read all the times
- Vancouver blogger Derek Miller writes about music, technology, life, and family at PenMachine.
- Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By talks candidly about getting old, debunks the myths about aging, and defends universal health care.
- Erik Marshall at A Memorable Fancy blogs about all sorts of interesting stuff, from technology to movies to Academia.
- Jory’s mom, Joy, talks about life and family at The Joy of Six
- I can’t get enough of Gillian, at Gillianic Tendencies. I love Canadian bloggers!
Last, but not least, all my other blogging friends
All young, some just baby blogs, taking the first steps in their b-life. A wonderful blogging 2006 to all of you.
- You go, Funky Grl!
- Tough rock climbing gal Karin at Send513
- David at cross.wired.mind
- My sister Paola’s very own Italian blog at Paolapavese.com
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