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Just in case you have not noticed yet, there is a link to “TED Talks” under Blogroll. I’m an avid follower of their presentations and podcasts (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks), and I really don’t know of a better way to keep a pulse on cutting-edge ideas being developed right now.

In many ways, I really miss being part of the Institute of Ecology at UGA and being part of the Scientific community.  Keeping up with TED helps me fill this void, while getting the full benefit of keeping abreast on the latest ideas in Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED). For instance, I first heard about the touch-screen interface — now synonymous with the iPhone — in a “TED Talk” presented by Jeff Han, three years prior the overwhelming success of the iPhone launch.

In my very humble opinion, here are a couple of technology presentations which will, no doubt, be as influential in their own industries:

1. Tim Berners-Lee: The next Web of open, linked data
(http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/tim_berners_lee_on_the_next_web.html)

About this talk

20 years ago, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. For his next project, he’s building a web for open, linked data that could do for numbers what the Web did for words, pictures, video: unlock our data and reframe the way we use it together.

My comments:

Being the “Data Manager” for the Institute of Ecology for over 9 years, I can easily get excited about the potential here.  I also understand the “resistance” of many scientists of releasing “their” data. I did live it every day at UGA. I was right in between NSF (National Science Foundation) wanting the data to be made public, and the Principal Investigator requesting time to analyze and publish the data BEFORE making it public. Connecting all these databases will have a massive impact on the way science is done, and the kind of questions that can be asked/answered.

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2. Pattie Maes & Pranav Mistry: Unveiling the “Sixth Sense,” game-changing wearable tech (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html)

About this talk

This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.

My comments:

I still can’t get used to seeing folks wearing their BlueTooth headsets.  This technology will push the “mobile” industry to a whole new ball game.

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3. Ed Ulbrich: How Benjamin Button got his face
(http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ed_ulbrich_shows_how_benjamin_button_got_his_face.html)

About this talk

Ed Ulbrich, the digital-effects guru from Digital Domain, explains the Oscar-winning technology that allowed his team to digitally create the older versions of Brad Pitt‘s face for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

My Comments:

Computer visualization takes massive computational resources.  After watching this amazing presentation, I can’t help but wonder about the systems architecture behind it. The technology is obviously already impacting the movie industry — but still at a very high cost.

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4. Willie Smits: A 20-year tale of hope: How we re-grew a rainforest (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/willie_smits_restores_a_rainforest.html)

About this talk

By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, biologist Willie Smits has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans — and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.

My comments:

No more excuses…here is the “recipe” to getting it done.

Enjoy!

After last week’s snow storm, we are back to a more typical and absolutely gorgeous early-spring weather.  In fact, it was so beautiful this past Saturday that Paolo simply refused to stay inside — so much so that he even skipped his morning nap.

We started the day with a nice walk around the neighborhood; he had his bottle on a rocking chair by the front yard; and he played his first game of soccer, chasing the ball up and down the driveway on his walker. (I was thrilled!)

Soccer 101

The afternoon was not much different. He would not play with any of his toys, and he would only stop fussing once I brought him outside.  We played another round of soccer; we played “hide and seek” with a couple of small lizards; he had a great time crushing dry leaves; and he had another snack and bottle while rocking on the front yard’s rocking chair.

As you can imagine, Paolo always reach the perfect state of bliss after a good feeding.  We were just rocking and enjoying the sun and the bird songs, when all of a sudden a flock of 20-30 Tufted Titmouse landed in the American Holly right in front of us.  Paolo was fascinated by them.  What happened was that a Red-tailed Hawk was patrolling the area, and the flock of Titmouse landed on the Holly to get out of sight.  To our enjoyment, they were pinned down for quite a while. They were finally rescued after a group of crows harassed the hawk way.  Then, as fast as they landed, the whole flock flew away as a single bird.  It was quite special!

We ended the day with another walk around the neighborhood, followed by a nice bath, and lots of captial ZZZZZZZs.

Sunday was just as glorious, and we enjoyed a very similar routine — although we went to feed the ducks and geese at Memorial Park, instead of playing at the yard.  And did I mentioned we played another game of soccer in the afternoon? 

It was not as nice as being with Ashley and the kids at Disney, but Paolo and I  certainly can’t complain.

(More Flickr photos)

March, 01 2009 Snow

We haven’t had any “real snow” here in Athens for 4 years now.  But, this past Sunday (03/01), we got a little taste of winter, and at least 8-10 inches  of beautiful, fluffy snow.  The conditions were just warm enough and humid enough to make the snow flakes to bind into HUGE clumps; and just cold enough to make it stick.  In fact, you could see cable lines, which are only about 1/4 inch in diameter, with 3 inches of snow miraculously piled on it.  Amazing!

Needless to say, with so much snow the kids were ecstatic! They would go outside and play  until their lips would turn blue, then come back in to warm up just enough to hurry back outside.  They had a blast! We had a blast!

But I must say it was also a little scary.  By late afternoon, everything had a nice think layer of snow, and we started hearing quite a bit of tree limbs cracking, and even a few trees falling…  A couple of  years back, we had a very large Pine tree just miss our neighbors house during a wind storm.  That same week we hired a logger to cut all the big trees from around the perimeter of our house (and the neighbors). The loggers were extremely precise on dropping the trees, but extremely clumsy getting them out. Thus, until this past weekend, I had always felt a bit of guilty for cutting them.  Not anymore. Several of the neighbors now wish they had.

Next morning Lorenzo and I surveyed the neighborhood, and we found quite a mess.  I guess after over two years of drought, the trees were not ready to bear all the extra snow/ice weight, and they simply snapped.  Luckily no one got hurt, and a lot of the threes did fall towards the street…which explained why we were out of power for 24 hrs.

As a bonus the Unversity was close the next day, the kids’ school for two days.  More snow ball fights!!

(Link to Flickr photos)

This morning Paolo was baptized at the St. Joseph Catholic Church — the same parish that supports the St. Joseph School the kids go to.

We had been trying to schedule his baptism for a couple of months now without being able to sync up everyone’s schedules. We were trying to get the family and friends together for a nice lunch. But, being true to Paolo’s “surprising nature,” we received a call from the Church just a couple of days ago asking if we would like to get it done today. We hesitated a bit, but being fully aware that school, work, piano, sports, etc, will start again tomorrow, we bit the bullet and got it done.

It actually turned out very nice and quite intimate; only Paolo and another little girl were baptized, and we had to share the ceremonies with only one other family. Best of all, Lorenzo and Chloe were able to be Paolo’s God-Parents. They had been “lobbying” for it since Paolo’s birth, and Ashley and I were more than glad to let them have the honor. They have been wonderful with Paolo, and we, of course, want them to be as involved as possible. They were thrilled!

The photos have been posted into  Flickr.

Much Love…TheCalabrias.

2009…Amazing!!!  So much to be thankful for, and so many wishes and expectations for the new year…

The Calabria family wishes you a brilliant 2009, filled with much love, health, and peace of mind; many travels; and quality time with family and friends.

Happy New Year!!!

It is hard to believe that the Fall Soccer Season has come and gone. Poof!

I’m sorry I didn’t keep the posts up-to-date, for it was a good one. The Gladiators finished another season undefeated, and “our boy”, Lorenzo, was the leading scorer (a.k.a. Golden Boot), scoring 22 goals in 7 matches and doubling the number of goals he scored last season. We are very proud of him!

Here are the results and photos for the other matches:

Fall 2008 – Game #4: Gladiators (Green) 7 x 2 Red

In my view, Game #4 was the Gladiators’ best match yet. Not only did they beat a very strong YMCA team, they won the match quite soundly, and with a great team effort.

Fall 2008 – Game #5: Gladiators (Green) 6 x 2 Gold

The Gladiators had an usual slow start, but they did finish strong, and they have won yet another match. They continue to be undefeated, and I’m starting to believe that they could potentially have another undefeated season. […]

Fall 2008 – Game #6: Gladiators 8 x 1 Gold

The Gladiators are really maturing as a team. Not only did they win Game #6 in a big way, they played extremely well together — as it is shown by the score, and by the number of players who scored goals.

Goals from: Mikey (2), Nicolina (1), Rylan (1), Lorenzo (1), Jack (1), and Hunter (2).

What a team effort!!!

Fall 2008 – Game #7: Gladiators (Green) 7 x 1 Black

To be quite honest I don’t remember the final score. I believe it was either 7 x 1 or 8 x 1…I think I didn’t capture Lorenzo’s last goal, and I believe I also missed someone else’s.

Anyway…The Gladiators ended the season with a BANG.

In fact, the Gladiators did so well they were invited to play at Kohl’s American Cup. The kids did great! They won 2 out of 3 matches, only losing to the team that eventually won the tournament 1 x 2. A very close match which could very well had gone our way. To put it in perspective, the Gladiators are currently playing on a good Recreational league. All the other teams in the tournament were “Academy” level teams. Needless to say, we coaches were a bit nervous, and I certainly had no idea what to expect. I was simply hoping that the came home with a winning record, which they did. We are especially proud of them because we now know the team played well enough to win it all.