Open Reading Frame

HousingZone.com - A Zero Energy Home - 5/1/2006 - CA6332828
Good news: "Ideal Homes built the first zero energy home in the country priced under $200,000. The modest one-story, three-bedroom, two bathroom home produces as much energy as it consumes in a year, achieving net zero energy consumption." It's 1650 sq ft, plus (?) a 2-car garage. I wonder what they could do with 1200 sq ft, no garage? (via rebecca blood)

The Observer | Magazine | Give me a shelter
Profile/interview: WorldChanging/AfH's Cameron Sinclair.

Creek Running North: Fuck your civility
Fuckin' amen. Chris Clarke: "I have decided I no longer trust anyone who insists on others being civil. The bumper sticker from ten years ago said "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." That needs updating. If you're not outraged, then you've decided that the suffering that exists in the world is just fine with you, as long as you don't feel it. And if you've decided that, you don't deserve civility."

Model purge on anorexics makes weight vital statistic - World - Times Online
Some sense at last. "LEADING figures in Israel's fashion industry, alarmed by the number of young women suffering from bulimia or anorexia, are supporting a move to ensure models have "normal", healthy figures."

stardust holiday :: the NASA bedrest project (v5 stripey goodness)
What else would you do during 3 months' enforced bed rest, except blog? Via Matt.

Majikthise : Polanski, the Academy, and rape
Great thread on art and ethics, taking off from the example of acknowledged great director and convicted child rapist Roman Polanski, and the question of whether we ought morally to refuse to watch his movies.

Prozac's target revealed
Prozac treatment specifically stimulates the generation of "amplifying neural progenitors" -- the second step in the neurogenesis pathway from stem cells to mature neurons.

Alas, a blog: the Chris Bliss Diss
Amp liked Garfield's routine; I think it's kinda boring. Mad props for skill, but boring to watch -- and Garfield is kind of an ass.

Robert J Lang: Origami
Amazing origami. I particularly like the bronzes as a way of rendering the paper art permanent.

Don Hong-Oai: 2 portfolios at photo-eye
These are extraordinary: toned silver gelatin prints made with multiple negatives in the style of classical Chinese painting.

White Hat
"dude, sorry to put this here but i felt the need to warn you that sharing the root of your C drive is a bit silly."

Effect of open access on citation impact: a bibliography of studies
From the Open Citation Project. Via Stevan Harnad.

Caveat Lector » Open Access
Self-described "repository-rat" Dorothea Salo's "open access" blog category. An eye-opener for someone like me, coming to OA from a researcher's point of view.

Caveat Lector » How are we doing?
"...I'm probably the wrong person to ask whether open access will fly. Still--I think the world will change in our direction. Utopia, certainly not. An entirely open-access landscape, certainly not. A world where many more people have unfettered access to much more research and scholarship--yes. I think we'll get there. Here's why I think that." Via Suber.

E-LIS - Taking Stock of Open Access: Progress and Issues
Abstract: Purpose -- Aims to provide a broad overview of some of the issues emerging from the growth in Open Access publishing, with specific reference to the use of repositories and Open Access journals. Design/methodology/approach -- A viewpoint paper largely based on specific experience with institutional repositories and the internationally run E-LIS archive. Findings -- The Open Access Initiative is dramatically transforming the process of scholarly communication bringing great benefits to the academic world with an, as yet, uncertain outcome for commercial publishers. Practical implications -- Outlines the benefits of the Open Access movement with reference to repositories and Open Access journals, to authors and readers alike, and gives some food for thought on potential barriers to the complete permeation of the Open Access model, such as copyright restrictions and version control issues. Some illustrative examples of country-specific initiatives and the international E-LIS venture are given. Originality/value -- An attempt to introduce general theories and practical implications of the Open Access movement to those largely unfamiliar with the movement. Via Suber, of course.

Mark Elliott on Stigmergic Collaboration -- CooperationCommons
"As stigmergy is a method of communication in which individuals communicate with one another by modifying their local environment, it is a logical extension to apply the term to many types (if not all) of Web-based communication, especially media such as the wiki. The concept of stigmergy therefore provides an intuitive and easy-to-grasp theory for helping understand how disparate, distributed, ad hoc contributions could lead to the emergence of the largest collaborative enterprises the world has seen."

Public Knowledge Project
"The Public Knowledge Project is a federally funded research initiative located at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University on the west coast of Canada. It seeks to improve the scholarly and public quality of academic research through innovative online environments."