david wogan's blog

A Little Help from Our Friends (in Brazil)

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:31:07 -0600

A Little Help from Our Friends (in Brazil):

Check out my Op/Ed in this week’s Baines Report! The piece is a trumped up version of a blog post I wrote last year after I returned home from Brazil. Even though I wrote most of my conclusions last summer, a lot of them are still true and will be important for future policy-making (I think).

The Baines Report is the online policy journal for the L.B.J. School here at UT.

8-bit NYC

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:25:02 -0600

8-bit NYC:

I would love to see a similar map made for Austin.

Apple Cracking Down on Cookie-Cutter Applications

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:05:55 -0600

Apple Cracking Down on Cookie-Cutter Applications:

I’m glad Apple is cleaning up the App Store. It feels a little like Wal-Mart when it should be a lot like Nordstrom’s.

I’m convinced that there is a secret pact between all...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:41:25 -0600

I’m convinced that there is a secret pact between all restaurants to make their websites as difficult to use as possible. I don’t know if it’s akin to the alliance between Sauron and Saruman, but some of these restaurant websites might as well have been designed by Orcs.

Normally you only have to make it through the gauntlet of Flash content to reach the pdf menu, but Roaring Fork likes to keep things interesting by adding in the requirement that I use Adobe Reader.

I just wanted to know what to order for my Mom’s birthday dinner!! So I did what one would do fifteen years ago and waited until I reached the restaurant to read the menu. If you’re wondering, I had the swordfish, which was delicious (and terrible for the ocean).

Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:13:30 -0600

Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets:

The War on Science continues.

Beautiful.

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:00:00 -0600

Beautiful.

In the World of Climate and Energy Legislation, Communication is the Key

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:17:00 -0600

In the World of Climate and Energy Legislation, Communication is the Key:

Check out this astute Op/Ed by Melissa in this week’s Baines Report about the need for improved communication between scientists and policy-makers. This article is a must-read for anyone involved in the technical or policy worlds, which means a lot of us.

FYI, the Baines Report is the L.B.J. School’s online policy journal. Melissa and I are both editors for the online journal and will be having contributions from our peers in our research group. Occasionally, I’ll be writing on topics of communication, science education, and energy policy. Stay tuned!

Keeping with the Texas Independence Day (2 March) theme,...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0600

Keeping with the Texas Independence Day (2 March) theme, here’s a great song by George Strait titled “Texas”. If anyone can write a song about loving Texas, George Strait can. We are a very proud people and have a rich history that involves the earliest settlers in America, the Spanish, French, and Native Americans. We’d like you to know that.

Unfortunately, a lot of people think Texans are crazy. You can’t really blame them for having misconceptions about Texas and its people with Governor Perry running around railing against Washington D.C. and calling for secession. Trust me, we’re trying to replace him, but the election is still eight months off.

Regardless of our cooky politics and crumbling education system, Texas is my home and I love it.

"Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the..."

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:28:32 -0600

““Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word. And there’s an opening convey of generalities. A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner.””

- - John Steinbeck

I didn’t get around to writing anything for Texas Independence Day yesterday, so I’ll make up for it with a few posts this week. What better way to start celebrate Texas Independence Day than with this famous quote by author John Steinbeck.

Tower and clouds

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:37:27 -0600

Tower and clouds

"For its part, Adobe would like to portray Flash as some noble gift that it has graciously bestowed..."

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:00:00 -0600

“For its part, Adobe would like to portray Flash as some noble gift that it has graciously bestowed upon the world, leading to a utopia of ubiquitous porn clips, time-wasting tower defense games, and artsy “web sites” where you can’t link to anything specific. But it’s really about them trying to be the content gatekeeper instead of the content being in an open format.”

- The Macalope weighs in on Flash.

If you don’t follow the tech and internet news regularly, you’re probably wondering why people are talking about Flash. The background story is that new web standards are being developed that allow your web browser to do all sorts of neat things like play video, do animations, and more. So instead of needing Flash installed to watch video or visit a website, you’ll only need a browser.

While there are serious usability issues with Flash, the heart of the issue lies with open standards. The web is a free flowing exchange of information and ideas. Open standards allow these exchanges to happen without being under the lock and key of a few special parties. Flash isn’t open.

Flash has done a lot for the web, but the web we have today isn’t the web of ten years ago. People are sharing information and browsing the web from their iPhones. It’s time to move forward.

Big congrats to the Sniper Twins for their awesome rap and video...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:57:00 -0600

Big congrats to the Sniper Twins for their awesome rap and video “Chocolate Shoppe”! Dax and Barry are two of the most creative people I know and were a blast back in Ms. Burdett’s Broadcast Journalism class in high school. I’m so stoked to see them making it happen. I remember going to Dax’s birthday party in second grade - now I’m watching him on Youtube. Congrats!

"While there are many great things about being back in school, like cheap tickets to UT football..."

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:30:00 -0600

“

While there are many great things about being back in school, like cheap tickets to UT football games and the student discounts of my undergrad days, there is a catch. Before UT will give me my diploma, I have to do a thesis. Think back to the longest paper you had to write in undergrad and then add like 100 pages.

So while I will have to do a long written report, I am also going to try to have a little fun. For my research I’ll be examining natural gas as a transportation fuel, and in May 2010 I will take a road trip in a natural gas vehicle (NGV) with one of my best friends. We will document the trip and our adventures here, at “The Green American Road Trip.”

”

- Castlen’s thesis sounds like so much fun. You should check it out. I’m looking forward to keeping up with her road trip on her blog and twitter feed.

I just gave a departmental seminar over my research. It went...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:05:47 -0600

I just gave a departmental seminar over my research. It went pretty well, if you’re asking. A lot better than the run through last night at least. My seminar wasn’t quite like this comic, but I’ve been in a few just like this. I think a lot of folks showed up for cookies and coffee. They left with some knowledge about algal biofuels - ha!

"My idea is that even if you don’t think human activity is contributing to climate change (an..."

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:37:00 -0600

“

My idea is that even if you don’t think human activity is contributing to climate change (an increasingly, and amazingly, political question), you can still support No Regrets, and the worst-case scenario is that we’ll all save ourselves some money.

Here’s another way to think about it: Even if you think you have to prove your partisan political bona fides by being against emissions reductions as a general rule, why wouldn’t you reduce emissions if you can save dough?

I mean, surely people don’t favor emitting greenhouse gases and pollution just because they really like emissions or something. It’s pretty extreme to think that being in favor of emissions is cool. Emissions aren’t really something in need of protection.

So let’s save some money.

”

- Texas State Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) on his “No Regrets” climate bill for Texas. If anything, Texas has the ability to lead the nation in clean energy policy and technology. Kirk Watson gets it.

Some pictures of downtown San Diego, near our hotel and the AAAS...

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:00:00 -0600

Conference center from our hotel room

Petco Field

The Harbor Bridge

Sunset

Clear skies

Park

Orange Line

Fish and Chips

Gaslamp

Some pictures of downtown San Diego, near our hotel and the AAAS conference.

“Her Words Destroyed My Planet” by Motion City...

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:30:00 -0600

“Her Words Destroyed My Planet” by Motion City Soundtrack

Surfing!

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0600

I’ve wanted to surf for years now, but the waves are lacking in Central Texas. When I found out I was coming to San Diego I got really excited. We lucked out by arriving in town at 9am so we had most of the day to relax and hit the beach. After hitting up In-N-Out, we headed to our surfing lessons on Pacific Beach.

The beach was a little farther than we guessed initially (by a mile..), but once we got to it we were able to walk along it, and walk back down it when we realized we were headed the wring way. We eventually made it to the surf shop for our lessons.

Surfing is hard.

I should clarify. Surfing on the water is hard. ‘Surfing’ on land isnt so bad. We started out on the beach learning how to lay on the board (toes touching the tail), paddle (like climbing a ladder), and getting up off the board (a combined push-up and jumping rotation). A small crowd had gathered on the beach to watch us laying on our boards and popping up. I think we were entertaining.

Surfing in the water is a different story. Surfing doesn’t look like it would be all that hard, but it is, and your body is wrecked afterwards. You’re constantly fighting the waves as you walk out in the water. And then when you spot a good wave, you turn around and start paddling. It’s hard to know when to stop paddling and get up on the board. Your initial reaction is to stop paddling and get on the board when the wave starts pushing you, but you have to wait and let the wave carry you. Then you get up.

At least in theory.

The combination of inadequate sleep, traveling, and cold water made getting up on the board hard. A lot of times I wouldn’t get up in time, or get up to early, and then wipe out. But after awhile the tides changed (har har) and I was picking good waves and getting up on the board. Once I could do that I was satisified. I had set a goal of standing on wave with a board by the end of the day and I did it!

But there is so much more to surfing than what I got in an hour and a half of small waves. I have incredible respect for the guys who can cut cross waves, or swim out and catch the really big waves.

What an experience though. I totally understand the lifestyle of the beach bum and Southern California surfer. My body was beat up after it and I was pretty dehydrated, but we had a blast. Here’s a really blurry photo of all of us in our wetsuits afterwards.

Much love to the guys and gal at Pacific Beach Surf Shop (Ben, Wyatt, and Isha) for showing a bunch of Texans the first steps in learning how to surf!

In-N-Out

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:00:00 -0600

As our first order of business upon landing in San Diego yesterday, and before we headed to the beach for our surfing lessons, we decided to head to In-N-Out burger for lunch. In-N-Out is one of those things that Californians are very fond of and talk about a lot. I’ve never been before, so I wanted to taste what the fuss is about.

I ordered the Double-Double, which is a double meat, double cheese burger, the fries, and a vanilla milkshake. I didn’t get the fries “animal style”, which is cheese and sauce, so I guess I didn’t get the whole experience, but I did get an In-N-Out hat.

I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think there is anything special about In-N-Out. The burger was good, but my favorite burger is still from Crown & Anchor in Austin. Crown is hands-down theyastiest burger ever. I know the In-N-Out fries are fresh cut, but they don’t do it for me. Just because something is fresh cut and organic doesn’t mean it tastes good. The milkshake was really good though.

So not to knock my Californian friends, but In-N-Out didn’t blow me away. If I want a great burger, I’ve got to stick with Crown.

Update: As some of y’all have pointed out, I’m making a direct comparison between In-N-Out and Crown when they aren’t the same type of burger place. But they both sell burgers and Crown’s taste better. I could compare In-N-Out to a local chain if we want (like Dan’s, Mighty Fine, or P. Terry’s), but again, those all taste better to me. In-N-Out isn’t bad, I just think it gets hyped up too much.

I’ve been meaning to blog this past week, but things have...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:26:00 -0600

I’ve been meaning to blog this past week, but things have been busier than normal lately. I’ll have more to say about that (hopefully) in a few weeks, but the big news right now is I’m headed to San Diego tomorrow for the AAAS Annual Meeting. I’m super excited to be around some of the world’s greatest minds, and better yet, I’m a session aide so I’ll be helping out at a few sessions here and there.

I’ve always wanted to go to San Diego - I can’t believe I’ll be there in about eleven hours. I know it’s still winter, but I’m planning on learning to surf and all the other things people do in Southern California. I’ll have daily updates (with pictures!), so check back. Until then, enjoy the song!