When Horoscopes and Data Geeks Collide...

Ever wonder how the horoscope gurus of every astrology website or your favorite alternative weekly gets their grains of wisdom to produce your horoscope? Does it ever seem like the horoscope you get is repetitive, dull, or not-quite-spot-on?

Well, thanks to the folks at Information is Beautiful, there is now a graphic continuum of the most commonly used words in a sample of over 22,000 horoscopes, filtered by astrological sign.

For my fellow Pisces, here are the most common words:

• better
• life
• feel 
• happy
• change
• matter
• sure
• keep
• emotional
• energy
• decision
• moment

And here's a generic horoscope that could apply to anyone, any sign, at any time of the year, using this same data mining technology:

Here are some of the unique words mentioned for each horoscope across the range of data the researchers at Information is Beautiful catalogued:

Finally, the full range of horoscope traits they found:

Does this fit with your ideas of astrology? Leave a comment and let's hear your take :)

Via: Gearfuse

IFC's Portlandia Debut - Hipster chickens, co-op love, bookstore hate, and other beautiful nuggets of Portland life

A few weeks back I wrote about the new IFC series Portlandia that pokes fun about the unique alternative and hipster subcultures of our cute small-town sister to the south.

The show stars SNL's Fred Armisen alongside former Sleater-Kinney lead singer Carrie Brownstein (remember them?). Produced by NBC's Lorne Michaels, there are many guest cameos, including Steve Buscemi (which hipster movie hasn't he been in?) and Jason Sudeikis. With the power of SNL and Portland combined....

After watching its debut episode, I was definitely entertained and in stitches (quietly, at work, I should say). The show hits right on the head every stereotype you could possibly have about the Rose City. There's the fanatical obsession with local, organic food, the feminist co-op bookstore divas, adult "hide and go seek" leagues at the public library, and the most hilarious, stifled romance I've ever seen.

The wait for this long-anticipated show is happily over. Check out the debut episode below!

Looking Up Your Bus Route Should Not Be a Chore - Seattle Transit Frequency in One Easy to Use Map

Don't you hate it when you try to look up a bus time, and 10 minutes go by as you try to understand the oh-so-cryptic bus schedule information and route maps? For many of us, it's one of the biggest turn-offs to taking public transportation.

I can remember so many times when I would become trapped in remote areas like Factoria, Kingsgate, or Overlake because I misread a bus route map and caught the wrong bus, only to find that the next bus I was looking for didn't come for another two and half hours!!!

Thankfully, the good people of the Seattle Transit Blog have come to the rescue with this handy map of bus frequency in Seattle. This is an easy-to-use resource that shows all bus routes that have a frequency of 15 minutes or less - that is, they stop every 15 minutes. Realistically, people are only going to use public transit if they don't have to plan every single trip according to its schedule (hence the 15 minute frequency) and if routes are logically placed.

What's not surprising about this map is the extent to which it shows how imbalanced the transit density of Seattle is - Downtown, Capitol Hill, and the U-District pretty much have the greatest number of high-frequency buses, while the rest of the city is left high and dry. Part of this is due to the fact that it's easier to build transit in high-density areas, and part of it is due to budget cuts and bad planning on the part of King County Metro. In particular, the scarcity of frequent buses in West Seattle and Lake City is astonishing - these areas aren't exactly out in the boonies!

I'm sure this map will become my best friend as soon as I start taking the bus more due to the horrendous tolls coming this spring on 520.

Check it out!

Via: Seattle Transit Blog

NASA Gets a Boost From Planet Earth-like Commercial

How do you make an agency like NASA cool again?

This is the question that my favorite new nerd blog, Gearfuse, is asking in their latest post, "The Frontier is Everywhere." I love blogs like Gearfuse because they dare to ask questions that seem too bizarre, sciencey or out-there for most other writers. Everything from amazing music videos by bands with names like the Freelance Whales to the world's largest ice-core drilling operation, to alternate endings to Return of the Jedi.

Which brings us back to NASA. You probably haven't thought of NASA since the shuttle launch you saw when you were in the fifth grade, maybe even the Discovery tragedy. It's been ages since the last (failed) Mars Rover mission. The Chinese may well soon beat us in terms of astrophysical prowess and investment. Everyone's talking about how American students are trailing other countries in math and science education.

So if you happened to be a NASA executive, as thrilling as a job like that might be, it would be tempting to think that the glory days of your agency are behind you. Perhaps, but their marketing division is clearly at the top of their game. They definitely borrowed a lot of cinematic touches from Planet Earth, but it's all in good faith. With unemployment more or less permanently stuck at 10% and states and cities billions of dollars in the red, many people may need convincing that a national space program still deserves our attention (and $$). Happy Friday, everybody! This should lift your spirits just a bit:

This is Not Covered by the Second Amendment

Here's an interesting story I found from GOOD magazine about the rules in place in other countries (hell, states other than fucking Arizona!) that would have made Jared Loughner's horrific shooting spree this past weekend impossible. If anything should come out of the Giffords tragedy, it should be either stronger gun-control laws nationwide (good luck, Obama!) or the annexation of Arizona by Mexico. Take your pick!

First Arizona essentially makes it a crime to be of non-white descent, by requiring police to arrest anyone they have a "reasonable suspicion" of being illegal immigrants and send them to jail if they fail to produce a passport or Social Security card. A.K.A. anyone who is a brunette and has a tan, and has the gumption to not carry around priceless government documents on their person at all times. Everyone from pop stars to major cities have boycotted the state in response, as so they should have.

Second, Arizona officially bans "ethnic studies" in all forms in its public schools and universities. Even more heinous than its borderline-fascist anti-immigration measure, this law specifically criminalizes certain types of knowledge and political ideologies - any historical/cultural source that expresses an explicitly non-white frame of reference is out the window. Goodbye Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Saul Williams, many writings of Martin Luther King, James Baldwin, Sandra Cisneros, and many other key figures to our history. According to the state of Arizona, unless you either are white, or were assisting or placating a white man, you cannot be discussed in a classroom. Sweet Jesus, isn't shit like this what we have the CONSTITUTION for?

On November 30, 2010, in Tucson, Arizona, suspected gunman Jared Loughner was able to buy a Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun, which he then outfitted with a special extended magazine that afforded him 18 more bullets than a standard magazine would have.
Here is a list of places in the world where the legal system does not enshrine into law the types of ethnic and political hatred that ended in the Giffords tragedy:

Brazil: You have to be 25 years old to buy a gun in Brazil, and it’s illegal for civilians to carry guns outside their homes.

China: China has a blanket ban on all gun ownership by private citizens—perfect for suppressing an uprising, but also perfecting for suppressing mad gunmen.

India: People who apply for a gun license in India have to prove a “grave and imminent threat” to their lives in order to be approved. Most cannot.

Germany: To buy a gun in Germany, anyone under the age of 25 has to pass a psychological exam (which Loughner would probably have failed). You also have to answer a 4,000-question licensing exam.

Finland: Handgun license applicants in Finland, which has some of Europe’s slackest gun laws, are only allowed to purchase firearms if they can prove they are active members of regulated shooting clubs. What’s more, applicants have to provide two references, both of whom are interviewed before they can get a gun.

Italy: Again, Italy’s requirement that gun owners be screened by mental health professionals would surely have weeded out Loughner.

United Kingdom: Handguns are illegal in the United Kingdom, with most citizens agreeing police shouldn’t even carry them routinely.

Japan: Japan also outlaws handguns, allowing licensed citizens who have passed a mental exam to purchase only shotguns for hunting. Unlicensed citizens aren’t even allowed to touch a gun.

South Africa: Though guns are legal in South Africa, it’s nearly impossible for private citizens to get one. Wannabe gun owners must first offer up three references for police interview, and guns are denied automatically to known drug abusers (Loughner’s drug use kept him out of the military).

Luxembourg: All guns are banned in Luxembourg.

France: Firearms applicants in France must have no criminal record and a clean bill of health from a mental health professional. Once again, Loughner would have failed on both accounts.

Spain: Not only would Loughner have failed Spain’s medical exam, following a shooting spree in December that killed four people, new gun sanctions on the table would restrict anyone from owning a semiautomatic weapon that holds three or more bullets.

California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, and Chicago: All of these places prohibit the kind of extended magazine that gave Loughner 33 shots instead of 15.

Via: GOOD

A Guest Post from Chutzpah and Karma

I have to admit that I'm not the best at covering current events - I'd much rather be geeking out about something that isn't a situation blaring across the CNN news ticker 24/7. The tragic attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (along with 12 wounded and 6 killed) is something so shocking that I wouldn't even know where to begin touching the subject with a blog like this.

Lately I've been spending some quality time with a good friend of mine. She goes by many names - Jewbaby, Slice, @jewthedew, and my personal favorite - her blog persona, Chutzpah & Karma.
Rachael is one smart cookie - a 2009 graduate of the University of Oregon, she is set to take the non-profit world by storm. We are watching the BCS Bowl game tonight, which will probably be the one and ONLY time ever I root for the Oregon Ducks - quack, quack, quack! Ughhh, my inner Husky is dying inside... Her blog is a wonderful mix of politics, music, nightlife, and more. Her take on the Giffords tragedy is so dead-on I am dedicating today's post to Chutzpah & Karma. See her full post below:

I’m just going to go out there and say it, I abhor guns. To be honest, it makes me feel uneasy of the thought of a gun in general. I do support people who want to have it as protection, as that is their right.


In light of the recent events of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords from Arizona who is also a Democrat, got shot at point blank range, wounding her and 12 others as well as killing six people yesterday at a grocery store in Tucson, AZ; I felt that the issue of gun control needed to be addressed.

Every time I hear something “new” in Arizona, it makes me cringe. Nowwww what, AZ? What did you do NOW?

Congressman Giffords was making a speech at the store when the perpetrator fired off shots, seriously injuring several and putting Giffords in critical care. She may not recovery at all from this, although it is expected that she should.

I can’t help but think, but what the hell is going on down there? Maybe it’s something in that nasty, brown desert water that possesses people to shoot U.S. representatives and almost leave them for dead. Or it’s the legacy of the Sunbelt politics.

Political analyst and author Kevin Phillips coined the term “Sunbelt” back in the 1970s. The Sunbelt compromises of the Southern Area of the United States ranging from Arizona to Florida. This is not to be confused with the Bible Belt, which is comprised of some of the similar states, but what one would deem classically South, also known as the Southeastern part of the country.

The Sunbelt is an incredibly interesting and puzzling place for me. Some people would argue that California is part of the Sunbelt, but I would have to respectfully disagree, as I believe that California is part of what I would regard as West Coast Politics, including Oregon and Washington as well. Progressive, and all about sustainability.

The Sunbelt has become a driving force of today’s politics, thanks to the influx of people moving into that area. The influx of people are elderly folks looking to retire and immigrants (illegal or otherwise). Both demographics tend to vote (if not illegal) classically conservative/Republican, as it is a more blue-collar area because of the industries of aerospace, defense and oil.

I have absolutely no problem with the Sunbelt as a whole, or conservatives/Republicans whatsoever. What I have a problem with is the lax gun control laws in Arizona and the Sunbelt, and how easy it is to shoot innocent people.

In the State of Arizona, a law abiding person over the age of 18 does NOT need a state permit to possess a shotgun, rifle, or handgun. Nor is there is registration or licensing either. The only permit in Arizona required for gun control is handguns.
Ridiculous doesn’t cover for me, but I’ll refrain.

That really means that any Tom, Dick or Harry can go and get a gun anytime in Arizona. I’m all for constitutional rights and liberties, specifically the Bill of Rights, but Congresswoman’s Gifford’s shooting has brought up a frenzy of gun control conversations in Arizona. Everyone should have the right to the Second Amendment, for the right to bear arms, but action needs to be taken, as innocent lives were at stake.

For me, I’m a flaming liberal/Democrat but I’d like to think of myself as pragmatic and practical. People are taking sides, and people are forming alliances with this issue of what they believe to be right. Despite what political party you align with, it’s not about democrats and republicans, it’s about protecting our fellow person from showers of bullets. The suspect they believe shot Rep. Gifford is mentally disturbed. Precisely the reason of at a minimum putting harsher regulations on buying and owning a gun not just in Arizona, but in the Sunbelt in general.
Time for a New Era of Political Correctness, off The Swampland Blog on Time Magazine Online, said it perfectly, “There is certainly less harm being overly sensitive than overly violent.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’d rather be overly politically correct and proactive about this issue than overly violent. Violence is never the answer, especially with guns.

Here’s to a speedy and safe recovery for Representative Gifford and the other wounded people affected by the shooting. My thoughts and sympathy goes to those families affected by the shooting as well as the families who lost a loved one because of the awful turn of events.
That’s right, Arizona, you in some deep shit now (not that you weren’t before). And yes, your shit does literally reek of racism (whole different can of worms) and retro-activity. There’s still hope for you, make it a comeback. Here’s hoping for a more progressive, accepting and responsible tomorrow.

Carpe Diem.

Seattle Bike Share Comes Closer to Reality

In the past six months, there's been a wealth of attention devoted to starting a bike-sharing system in Seattle. In November, I wrote about the first feasibility study done for bike-sharing in Seattle, a collaboration between SDOT and the UW.

The UW study divided the city into 10-square-meter cells and ranked them based on factors like residential population density, job density, retail density, proximity to transit, and existing bike infrastructure.

The result is a detailed portrait of where bike-sharing is most likely to succeed in Seattle. The results of their analysis suggest that bike-sharing should first be rolled out in the downtown core, Lower Queen Anne, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. These neighborhoods both have very high residential density and walkability, extensive bike and transit infrastructure, and are full of retail and tourist destinations.

Photo courtesy of Publicola and the UW Bike Share Studio

Phase 1 of the proposed bike-share system begins with the green zone of downtown and its immediate neighbors Lower Queen Anne and Capitol Hill, along with parts of the Sodo stadium district. Continuing down the hierarchy of density, the system would be later expanded in Phase 2 to include Upper Queen Anne, Eastlake, the Central District, Beacon Hill, Ballard, Fremont/Wallingford, and the U District. Lower density neighborhood centers, known in City of Seattle parlance as "urban villages" would be the last to be added in a Phase 3. 

According to Seattle Transit Blog, King County is currently seeking a $150,000 federal grant to get the pilot Phase 1 off the ground. The program would launch first in the green downtown areas with between 800 and 1,000 bikes, with a capital cost of $3,500 - $4,500 per bike. Operational costs would average $1,200 to $1,600 per bike, which would be paid through monthly or annual user subscription fees in the range of $45-$75 per year with an hourly rate after the first free half-hour.

The King County planners STB interviewed seemed to indicate that Redmond (with its large high-tech workforce) be included in the Phase 1 and the suburban centers of Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton, and Kent would be included in the Phase 2.

The UW study explicitly recommended against this approach of including outlying population centers in the initial phases so as to not create a disjointed, less functional system. They even recommended not including the U District in the initial Phase 1, despite the high student population and retail density, because of the lack of bike connectivity with the downtown center. We'll have to see if King County follows this reasoning in their final proposal.

Also unclear is whether the County would require helmets on users of the bike-share system - most European systems have done away with their helmet laws completely to boost their ridership, and this approach seems to have been its saving grace. Will our litigious American culture subside enough for helmet laws to be relaxed? Or worse still, will there be vending machines at the bike stations to sell helmets? That just sounds like nanny-state ridiculousness, but with Seattle you never know!

A second interesting study was done in April by an STB writer, Adam Parast. He did a GIS analysis of the current bikeability of Seattle versus Portland. The project compared factors of street connectivity, existing bike infrastructure, slope, land use (proxy for density) and barriers (like a freeway interchange or an impassable slope). The result? Not surprisingly, Portland takes the cake on bikeability in nearly every respect.

Due to a combination of our more challenging geography (Portland has it easy lying in a mostly flat river valley) and our comparative lack of bicycle infrastructure, Seattle is reduced to "islands of bikeability" in a hostile, car-centric sea. One of the more surprising and extensive bike-friendly areas is Ballard. Should this area be included in Phase 1? It's about 10 minutes away by bike from the downtown core via 15th Ave. W and Elliott. Also in its favor: its fast-rising residential density, numerous tourist attractions, and largely self-sufficient retail district.

Current bikeability comparison, blue = high bikeability, red = low bikeability

Potential bikeability comparsion

More good news for bike sharing: bikes travel faster than cars during rush hour in most cities! According to a study out of Lyon, France's bike share system, bicycles are faster and more direct than cars in high-density areas during rush hour because of the complications of circling the block to find parking and then finally walking to your destination. Intuitively, this makes sense in Seattle - you can ride your bike between Downtown, Capitol Hill, and the U-District faster than rush hour car traffic.

King County is looking to launch the Seattle bike-share system by summer 2012, so there's sure to be a lot more going for bike-sharing locally, and a lot more reporting to come from Green My Fleet!

Via: Planetizen and Publicola