Two Tablets Is Not As Insane As You May Think

I've been an iPad user from the beginning, but I'm always wary about remaining tied to one brand. I'm always look for new technology out there that gives the best bang for your buck. Because of that, I'm the proud owner of the new Google Nexus 7 tablet. Now, you may ask, what the hell do you need two tablets for? It turns out that if your work involves constantly flipping between different windows to refer to pieces of information, two tablets may make more sense than you may expect.

During a recent visit at a coffee shop, I needed to test some computer programs that I'm working on. Normally I would use a heavy programming book for reference, but I used my iPad, shown on the left, to display the eBook. I connected my keyboard to the Nexus 7 tablet and began typing away.  It worked very well and it was much easier to navigate than a laptop, since I had one device dedicated to reading and the other strictly for typing.

This can definitely be done with a laptop, but you don't have the benefit of two screens that can each be dedicated to a task. And you get the obvious benefits of dealing with touch and the speed of a mobile system that the tablet provides.

This is just one of the interesting intersection points between the Nexus 7 and iPad tablets - I'll have a longer post coming soon that delves into this more.

RIP Sally Ride: Another Hero Lost

Sally Ride passed away today of pancreatic cancer. As the first American woman in space, as well as the youngest (32) and gay, her impact on history is undeniable. Amongst all of the writing on her life today, my favorite comes from PBS:

Sally Ride saw space as a tool for inspiring young people. She's a hard core scientist, she's an astrophysicist, she's a person who really was the real deal when it came to space science, and yet she never for a moment neglected or overlooked that this was a tool for inspiring a new generation. She wrote books aimed at that clientele, aimed at boys and girls, but primarily girls.

She saw space as a way to keep kids engaged in these subjects. She saw space as part of the overall well-being of our country. To her, bringing humans to space was in some ways a means to an end, in a way that it provided a means for young people to be engaged.

Check out a great video and tweets celebrating her life.

Reactions to the death of Sally Ride

Sally Ride passed away today of pancreatic cancer. As the first woman in space, as well as the youngest (32) and gay, her impact on history is undeniable.

Storified by Shareef Jackson · Mon, Jul 23 2012 21:36:12

First Female U.S. Astronaut, Sally Ride, Comes Out In Obituary http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/first-female-us-astronaut-sally-ride-comes-out via @BuzzFeedShareef Jackson

RT @CNET Sally Ride: Farewell to an American original (photos) http://cnet.co/LJLcAF #NASASocial #SpaceTweeps #NASATweetupA Geek Mom (Shannon)

Sally Ride, first U.S. woman in space, dies at 61 | http://ti.me/NQvdxKTIME.com

NASA statement on passing of Sally Ride: "In a space agency filled with trailblazers, Sally K. Ride was a pioneer of a different sort."CBS News

Sally Ride was the first American woman in space and a champion of women in science. Generations of Americans have lost a heroine today.D Wasserman Schultz

Dear cancer: FU for taking another remarkable person. #SallyRide was 32 when she went to space & died at 61. Imagine if she had more time.Linda Seid Frembes

I remember Sally Ride's thumbs up & smile as she strolled to climb into her rocket. Her smile said, "Hear me roar." RIPScott Simon

NASA: Sally Ride, America's first female astronaut, has died http://lsnlw.com/t/3268100685/Shareef Jackson

As the first woman in space, Sally Ride's life was marked by breaking barriers with courage and class. An inspiration for all #RIP #LegendNancy Pelosi

Rest in peace former astronaut #SallyRide.The first woman in space was truly an inspiration to all...Mary Benton

Amazing Photo Montage from the International Space Station

View from the ISS at Night from Knate Myers on Vimeo.

My Google+ buddy Erica Joy posted this wonderful video comprised of a collage of photos taken from the International Space Station. If you can't see the embedded video, please click here.

It looks like the opening cinematic to a video game or a movie. What's better, the fact that real life can be as epic as media that we create, or that there is still so much more out there to discover? Hard to say, but I'm excited either way!

Hey New York? Stop Messing Up The Shuttle Experience

When the space shuttles were first awarded to different cities across the country, I was a little peeved that New York was awarded one.  There are cities such as Houston that are more deserving of a shuttle due to a direct connection to the space program

Now, the geniuses are deciding to keep the Shuttle under a plastic bubble so that no one can see it. Why? The only thing that tempered my feeling about New York landing the shuttle was how awesome it would look on top of the Intrepid.  The current implementation has it hidden away behind an ugly bubble that's not even transparent, so you can't see anything unless you pay the $24 Intrepid museum fee.

It gets worse. On top of that, you have to pay an extra $6 in addition to the normal museum fee. Again, why? At the very most, it should be a suggested donation. No city should be able to get something as valuable as a shuttle without a plan to offer it free. Or, you know, don't put it in an ugly dome that people can't even see off of the highway or while flying into NYC.

Stupid.

Technology For Frog People

Frogger, one of my favorite classic games

My man BrothaTech decided to shoot a video with his kids about how they can have fun without technology. I'm a big fan of this - people, especially kids, need to lead a balanced life that's not 100% gadget based. At the end of the cute video, BrothaTech's daughter gives a shout out to the frog people. It makes sense when you watch, I promise. So check it out!