Looking for a flight?
Looking for the best flight to your destination can be a painful experience. hipmunk aims to fix that by presenting one of the best user experiences I’ve seen for this type of application. By providing a Gantt chart-like UI that’s easily sortable (by price, stops, times, and agony—no joke!), you can see at a glance which flight works out best for you.
If you prefer the standard table text presentation of sites like Priceline, Travelocity or Expedia, why not cut to the chase and use, Matrix2, the search engine that all of those sites use:
hipmunk (via Lifehacker)
Matrix2 (via Lifehacker)
The Real Life Social Network
The picture above sums up one of the issues of online social networks today: We have multiple social circles in our offline (read: real) lives, yet when we join a large social networking platform like Facebook, all those circles become one large circle. As wonderfully cute and adorable as my kids are, I know that only a small subset of my Facebook friends really care to see the photos and videos I post.
In the case study above, Debbie had no idea that the comments she posted on photos posted by her college friends who own a gay bar were viewable by the 10-year-old kids in her swimming class.
Another great analogy is the wedding reception. For any of you who’ve gone through the pain of coming up with a seating arrangement for a wedding reception, you’ll understand. Why is it painful? All of your disparate social circles will be in the same room. How do you group them? That situation, to a degree, is what a large social networking platform is: all of your friends from all circles in your life in a large room milling about with you on a pedestal using a bullhorn to make announcements about what is going on in your life.
If you have a moment, I highly suggest checking out this study that was done by the fine folks at Google on social networking. It approaches social networking from a user experience design perspective, but I think the points that are brought to light are beneficial to any user of an online social networking platform.
Nice find, Emilio!
Tuesday getting you down?
Tuesday, without a doubt, is the worst day of the standard work week. Monday is still riding high from the weekend. Wednesday, the whole thing is half-way over. Thursday is almost there and no need to speak for Friday… but Tuesday? It’s got nothin’.
So, watch the clip and take a deep sigh of relief – there is at least one small girl out there who’s high on life and can do anything “better”.
The Political Compass
With the complexity of today’s economic and social issues, I agree with website The Political Compass that a simple one-dimensional scale (i.e. left vs. right) is an inadequate descriptor of my socio-economic philosophy. To me, it’s not as simple as declaring myself as a “Democrat” or a “Republican”. Like college laundry, there’s not just “clean” and “dirty”, but rather, many fine levels and classifications in-between.
The Political Compass attempts to tackle this complexity by adding a 2nd dimension: Authoritarian (Facism) vs. Libertarian (Anarchism). I’d love to post where famous leaders fall on the above graphic, but it’s more fun if you take the (short) quiz on their website to find out where you stand first. There’s no spin here. They won’t ask you for any personal information.
After you complete the quiz, the site will show where you fall on the scale and also where other world figures fall. I found it completely enlightening and reaffirming of my personal beliefs and convictions. I also found myself in respectable company. 
Enough babble. Take the quiz and share your thoughts on this scale! No need to post your results.
Thanks for the link, Brian!
UPDATE: When you finish the test, check out where the U.S. Senate (as of 2008) lands on this scale.
Distractions of the Digital Persuasion
Whoa, Nelly! An entire month passed without a new post to MCOJ? My apologies!
What better excuse than a post on digital distractions.
via Information is Beautiful via Lifehacker
Soy Tu Aire – Interactive Digital Art
Soy Tu Aire is one of the most innovative uses of Flash that I’ve seen in a long time. It’s an interactive music video. Once it starts, the moving inkblot will follow your mouse around. The screen grab above does not do it any justice. You’ll definitely want headphones or speakers, too. The inkblot is in tune with the music.
This is the art in today’s age, no doubt.
The Day The Dancers Stayed
One of my photos was used for the cover of a book that will be released in the Fall: The Day The Dancers Stayed – Performing in the Filipino/American Diaspora.
Okay, the shameless plug is over.
Sugar Stacks
We’re all aware to some degree that there is “a lot” of sugar in fast-food staples such as shakes and sodas, but this website’s approach to visualizing all of that sugar is brilliantly simple.
via Boing Boing
Amazing Bike Control – The Next Level of Bike Trials
Wow. This guy has an incredible sense of balance and an unreal amount of control over his bike. It’s hypnotic.
Filmed over the period of a few months in and around Edinburgh by Dave Sowerby, this video of Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill features probably the best collection of street/street trials riding ever seen. There’s some huge riding, but also some of the most technically difficult and imaginative lines you will ever see. Without a doubt, this video pushes the envelope of what is perceived as possible on a trials bike.
Nice find, Paul!
Chicken a la Carte
Synopsis: This film is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society. The people who live on the refuse of men to survive. What is inspiring is the hope and spirituality that never left this people.
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