More and more I come across information arranged alphabetically and wish it was arranged differently. Wines are usually organized by grape or region or price, not alphabetically. I don't want to see a cheese reference alphabetically by name but organized by type or flavor (or perhaps region).
slide:ology seems to be an interesting site on presentations and the post Organizing Information Is Finite describes the acronym LATCH for: Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, Hierarchy. I'd like to see this catch on and the A be used less.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Rachel Maddow to Replace Dan Abrams on MSNBC
Finally she gets her own show. Rachel Maddow to Replace Dan Abrams on MSNBC.
Help Make a Science Debate Happen
If you use Digg, Digg this. Ignore the Katie Couric part (I know), but it would be good if she would give some network air to the Science Debate topic. It's a bad name, but the 14 questions they want the candidates to answer are good ones. They aren't quizes about science, but rather questions about policies related to science.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Court says copyrights apply even for free software
Court says copyrights apply even for free software "In a crucial win for the free software movement, a federal appeals court has ruled that even software developers who give away the programming code for their works can sue for copyright infringement if someone misappropriates that material."
Could Conflict in Georgia Block US Access to the Space Station?
What a bizarre angle to the Russian/Georgian conflict. Could Conflict in Georgia Block US Access to the Space Station?.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Myths and falsehoods about oil policies
Media Matters reports on Myths and falsehoods about oil policies
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
More Olympics
Saw some Kayaking. It's a man-made river with concrete sides and tons of white water. As with downhill skiing there gates that you have to go through, though instead of being stuck in the snow, they are hanging above the water with red and green poles hanging down. The green poles are like down hill skiing, you have to navigate through them. The red ones you have to go through them, but heading up river. Imagine some poles in skiing that you had to travel through uphill. Oh and you can't touch the gates.
I miss the scoring system in gymnastics that scaled every event 1-10. Maybe this is more flexible or something but I can't remember if 15 is good in an event or if you want a 17. I miss seeing people get "perfect tens". And is it me or is the mat for floor exercise completely new? Instead of mats, it seems like a spring board or really taut trampoline. That would explain some of the newer, more insane tumbling runs. And I don't find the little hand flourishes they do graceful at all. They seem like needless additions to tumbling runs instead of an integrated element.
For men, I think the most amazing event is rings. The strength moves are unbelievable. They said that one of the moves one of the Chinese men did was considered impossible two years ago. He hung in the air, horizontal and lifted himself, backwards, into a handstand! Slowly! For the women I think it's balance beam that's most impressive. It's basically floor exercise done on a 4" wide piece of wood.
I miss the scoring system in gymnastics that scaled every event 1-10. Maybe this is more flexible or something but I can't remember if 15 is good in an event or if you want a 17. I miss seeing people get "perfect tens". And is it me or is the mat for floor exercise completely new? Instead of mats, it seems like a spring board or really taut trampoline. That would explain some of the newer, more insane tumbling runs. And I don't find the little hand flourishes they do graceful at all. They seem like needless additions to tumbling runs instead of an integrated element.
For men, I think the most amazing event is rings. The strength moves are unbelievable. They said that one of the moves one of the Chinese men did was considered impossible two years ago. He hung in the air, horizontal and lifted himself, backwards, into a handstand! Slowly! For the women I think it's balance beam that's most impressive. It's basically floor exercise done on a 4" wide piece of wood.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Heckava Job Wendy
McClatchy had an article on Aug 1, Why Pakistan is unlikely to crack down on Islamic militants, despite U.S. pressure that includes this amazing statement:
"'One thing we never understood is that India has always been the major threat for Pakistan,' said former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlain, now the president of the Middle East Institute."
Wendy Jean Chamberlin was Ambassador to Pakistan from July 12, 2001 until May 29, 2002. Her credentials actually look pretty good, maybe it's just a bad quote. Then again, it's hard to imagine that statement being uttered by anyone.
"'One thing we never understood is that India has always been the major threat for Pakistan,' said former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlain, now the president of the Middle East Institute."
Wendy Jean Chamberlin was Ambassador to Pakistan from July 12, 2001 until May 29, 2002. Her credentials actually look pretty good, maybe it's just a bad quote. Then again, it's hard to imagine that statement being uttered by anyone.
Massachusetts Tax Holiday Sat/Sun
MA is having a tax free weekend this Sat and Sun. Sounds like a good day to visit the Apple Store.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Olympics So Far
I watched a fair amount of the games this weekend. The opening ceremonies were amazing. We were in awe at the giant LCD carpet, the synchronized drums and boxes and running the torch around the top of the stadium. Great stuff.
For the games, I've enjoyed the swimming. Both of Michael Phelps races have been amazing. I appreciate that NBC has been showing the competitions and hasn't been doing too many human interest stories on the athletes. I did see a short one on Phelps, all he does is eat, sleep and swim (about 5 hours a day). He tries to eat 8-10,000 calories a day and "can't" get over 200 lbs.
The mens gymnastics qualifiers were impressive too. I think most olympians are mutants of some type or in the case of female gymnasts, prepubescent. But the male gymnasts have the most idealized physiques of all the athletes. Watching the strength moves they do just blows my mind and this year (I guess as always) they're doing moves that just seem impossible.
I'm always impressed with high platform diving. Stand 3 stories high, jump off, twist and turn insanely and when you hit the water, you better not splash. It's crazy. And yet synchronized diving seems even crazier to me. I just don't get it.
Beach volleyball and badminton are sports where I just don't understand how the players manage to cover the entire court. it's very impressive. And Keri Walsh's shoulder patch is pretty crazy too.
I saw some rowing and it's fun, though the thing that most impressed me was that the man-made lake had a finish line in the water. It was made by underwater spigots that made a white water line across the lake. Pretty clever.
I saw the female saber fencing and think that sport needs to be fixed. It should be about (simulated) stabbing your opponent without getting stabbed yourself. Instead it's about stabbing your opponent a microsecond before they stab you. They lunge at each other, hear a beep and both athletes turn to see who scored first.
For the games, I've enjoyed the swimming. Both of Michael Phelps races have been amazing. I appreciate that NBC has been showing the competitions and hasn't been doing too many human interest stories on the athletes. I did see a short one on Phelps, all he does is eat, sleep and swim (about 5 hours a day). He tries to eat 8-10,000 calories a day and "can't" get over 200 lbs.
The mens gymnastics qualifiers were impressive too. I think most olympians are mutants of some type or in the case of female gymnasts, prepubescent. But the male gymnasts have the most idealized physiques of all the athletes. Watching the strength moves they do just blows my mind and this year (I guess as always) they're doing moves that just seem impossible.
I'm always impressed with high platform diving. Stand 3 stories high, jump off, twist and turn insanely and when you hit the water, you better not splash. It's crazy. And yet synchronized diving seems even crazier to me. I just don't get it.
Beach volleyball and badminton are sports where I just don't understand how the players manage to cover the entire court. it's very impressive. And Keri Walsh's shoulder patch is pretty crazy too.
I saw some rowing and it's fun, though the thing that most impressed me was that the man-made lake had a finish line in the water. It was made by underwater spigots that made a white water line across the lake. Pretty clever.
I saw the female saber fencing and think that sport needs to be fixed. It should be about (simulated) stabbing your opponent without getting stabbed yourself. Instead it's about stabbing your opponent a microsecond before they stab you. They lunge at each other, hear a beep and both athletes turn to see who scored first.
The Wire Seasons 1-4 for $96
I think I might have to do this. DVDs of the first four seasons of the The Wire for $96. An Amazon Gold Box offer good just for today.
Court Blocks MIT Students From Showing Subway Hack at Defcon
The Associated Press: Court blocks MIT students from showing subway hack "A federal judge ordered three college students to cancel a Sunday presentation at a computer hackers' conference where they planned to show security flaws in the automated fare system used by Boston's subway."
They basically shredded the security system of the Boston (and several other similar) subway systems. They started with unlocked doors, unmonitored computer terminals, and went on to how easy it was to forge tickets and reusable charlie cards.
"If you prevent legitimate researchers from talking about their findings, it's not going to stop people from finding vulnerabilities. It's going to stop the good guys from talking about them and from learning from each other," Granick said. "The bad guys are still going to be looking for the vulnerabilities and still be finding them."
These students weren't the ones that put all these vulnerabilities in the T, they're the ones to publicly shame the T into realizing they might have to do something about it. And that something shouldn't be silencing the critics, let alone suing them.
They basically shredded the security system of the Boston (and several other similar) subway systems. They started with unlocked doors, unmonitored computer terminals, and went on to how easy it was to forge tickets and reusable charlie cards.
"If you prevent legitimate researchers from talking about their findings, it's not going to stop people from finding vulnerabilities. It's going to stop the good guys from talking about them and from learning from each other," Granick said. "The bad guys are still going to be looking for the vulnerabilities and still be finding them."
These students weren't the ones that put all these vulnerabilities in the T, they're the ones to publicly shame the T into realizing they might have to do something about it. And that something shouldn't be silencing the critics, let alone suing them.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Maybe We're Not So Ordinary
Solar System Is Pretty Special
"Prevailing theoretical models attempting to explain the formation of the solar system have assumed it to be average in every way. Now a new study by Northwestern University astronomers, using recent data from the 300 exoplanets discovered orbiting other stars, turns that view on its head."
"Using large-scale computer simulations, the Northwestern researchers are the first to model the formation of planetary systems from beginning to end, starting with the generic disk of gas and dust that is left behind after the formation of the central star and ending with a full planetary system."
"Prevailing theoretical models attempting to explain the formation of the solar system have assumed it to be average in every way. Now a new study by Northwestern University astronomers, using recent data from the 300 exoplanets discovered orbiting other stars, turns that view on its head."
"Using large-scale computer simulations, the Northwestern researchers are the first to model the formation of planetary systems from beginning to end, starting with the generic disk of gas and dust that is left behind after the formation of the central star and ending with a full planetary system."
Madison Square, Before the Garden
The Library of Congress has been posting old photos to flickr. This is Madison Square, NY sometime between 1910-1915.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
HD Olympics and TiVo
I do enjoy watching the Olympics. I like watching gymnastics, track and swimming and other big events, though not so much the team sports (soccer, baseball, basketball). It seems like those get enough air time the rest of the time. I also like the more unusual sports like fencing, judo, archery, table tennis and handball. Mutliple cable channels covering the games make it easier to catch the odd sports and watching in HD is just great.
So tonight I setup my TiVo to record the Beijing Games. I'm traveling this weekend to Brooklyn NY to visit friends (probably not that many blog posts coming) so wanted to record the opening ceremonies (often fun to fast fwd through). Rather than record everything, I created a wishlist that I could scan through what was on and choose what I wanted.
First off, good planning on FiOS' part to upgrade the number of HD channels not on 8/10 as originally planned but on 8/20, just a couple of days before the games are over. As a result it seems like I get the Olympics in HD on only two channels, NBC and UHD (they are also on CNBC HD and USA HD but I don't get those until the 20th). My TiVo Series 3 can hold 32 hours of HD programming (I haven't upgraded the drive). That's also 300 hours of regular TV and it hasn't been a problem at all and I have some movies on there for many months that I haven't gotten too (in some cases well over a year, yeah I'll get to them).
The opening ceremonies are over 4 hours. UHD then has blocks of programming that are 4 and 8 hours long. 8 hours! I appreciate the continuous coverage, but really, could you break up the scheduling into smaller pieces? Even NBC's evening blocks are 4 hours long.
So tonight I setup my TiVo to record the Beijing Games. I'm traveling this weekend to Brooklyn NY to visit friends (probably not that many blog posts coming) so wanted to record the opening ceremonies (often fun to fast fwd through). Rather than record everything, I created a wishlist that I could scan through what was on and choose what I wanted.
First off, good planning on FiOS' part to upgrade the number of HD channels not on 8/10 as originally planned but on 8/20, just a couple of days before the games are over. As a result it seems like I get the Olympics in HD on only two channels, NBC and UHD (they are also on CNBC HD and USA HD but I don't get those until the 20th). My TiVo Series 3 can hold 32 hours of HD programming (I haven't upgraded the drive). That's also 300 hours of regular TV and it hasn't been a problem at all and I have some movies on there for many months that I haven't gotten too (in some cases well over a year, yeah I'll get to them).
The opening ceremonies are over 4 hours. UHD then has blocks of programming that are 4 and 8 hours long. 8 hours! I appreciate the continuous coverage, but really, could you break up the scheduling into smaller pieces? Even NBC's evening blocks are 4 hours long.
David Pogues Gadget List of 2008
David Pogues Gadget List of 2008 is a refreshingly honest review of the gadgets he actually uses.
Terror, Torture and Television
If I were going to be in Los Angeles on Sept 10th, I'd go to In the Name of God: Terror, Torture and Television.
"Can television narratives influence or frame audience perceptions of good and evil, right and wrong? Did Sleeper Cell help to justify abrogations of civil rights? Has 24 inured us to torture? Did Battlestar Galactica succeed in showing us that "we" could be "them"? Panelists Howard Gordon, executive producer of 24; Dalia Hashad, director of Amnesty International USA’s program focusing on domestic human rights; Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of Battlestar Galactica; and writer Kamran Pasha of Sleeper Cell will join moderator Anthea Butler, visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School, for a conversation on television’s responses to 9/11 and whether they have shaped audience perceptions of good and evil. "
"Can television narratives influence or frame audience perceptions of good and evil, right and wrong? Did Sleeper Cell help to justify abrogations of civil rights? Has 24 inured us to torture? Did Battlestar Galactica succeed in showing us that "we" could be "them"? Panelists Howard Gordon, executive producer of 24; Dalia Hashad, director of Amnesty International USA’s program focusing on domestic human rights; Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of Battlestar Galactica; and writer Kamran Pasha of Sleeper Cell will join moderator Anthea Butler, visiting professor at Harvard Divinity School, for a conversation on television’s responses to 9/11 and whether they have shaped audience perceptions of good and evil. "
What Will You Be Doing 08/08/08?
I feel like an idiot. I didn't realize the Olympics were scheduled to start on
08/08/08?.
08/08/08?.
Neocontainment
A friend pointed me at this recent article in the Boston Globe, The best global strategy to contain radical Islam may be the one that won the Cold War.
"Yet what we face today is not wholly novel: It is a war of ideas, mirroring the Cold War. Like the Communists, violent Islamic extremists are trying to spread a worldview that denigrates personal liberty and demands submission to a narrow ideology. And, as with the Cold War, it must be our goal to stop them. The United States should therefore adopt a new version of the policy that served us so well during that last long war: containment."
What they describe as "neocontainment" isn't all that different from the old containment policy, I think the neo part is just for a new (decentralized) enemy. They argue that the Iraq War has hurt our standing in the world and done nothing to increase our security. I agree. They agree with our invasion of Afghanistan.
"In Lebanon's complex political landscape, Iran and Syria support the Islamist Hezbollah party-cum-militia, while the United States backs the secular Lebanese government. Another Islamist movement, Fatah al Islam, enjoys a nebulous connection to Al Qaeda. We should be using our country's massive financial resources to allow the Lebanese government to outspend its competitors by a factor of 10, showering much-needed aid on the Lebanese people, and thus de-legitimizing their opponents and debunking their ideology. Instead, the government cannot meet its basic responsibilities, and extremist movements are increasingly seen as the only institutions capable of bettering lives."
As for Pakistan they say our $5.5 billion in military aid isn't helping as much and that "In the long run, 5,000 secular teachers for Pakistan's middle schools will do more for America's national security than will 50,000 AK-47s for the country's army." I agree, but I'm not sure how we put secular teachers in Pakistan. Bringing in Americans won't work and giving them funds doesn't guarantee the secular part. And I'm not sure how you get them to the tribal lands effectively. Still the sentiment is correct. They also say "Only after a comprehensive Indo/Pakistani border settlement will Pakistan shift its military energy from south to north.", well yeah but good luck with that.
I do agree with this:
"On occasion, extremist governments hostile to the existence of the United States (Hamas in the Gaza Strip) will enjoy broad popular support, but preemptive wars must become a thing of the past. We cannot say that we value freedom and then seek political change through force when the choice of the people produces regimes not to our liking. However, the military can, and must, be used to target individuals bent on terror aimed at American interests. Furthermore, if a nation enables attacks on our homeland, as Afghanistan did under the Taliban, then we must use all necessary means to defend ourselves. On rare occasions, this will require full-out war and post-invasion reconstruction."
Seems like a new name for a common sense policy. Maybe that is a necessary step. I'm not sure if the name "neocontainment" is too much like "neoconservative" to be viewed as different or close enough to be viewed as acceptable.
"Yet what we face today is not wholly novel: It is a war of ideas, mirroring the Cold War. Like the Communists, violent Islamic extremists are trying to spread a worldview that denigrates personal liberty and demands submission to a narrow ideology. And, as with the Cold War, it must be our goal to stop them. The United States should therefore adopt a new version of the policy that served us so well during that last long war: containment."
What they describe as "neocontainment" isn't all that different from the old containment policy, I think the neo part is just for a new (decentralized) enemy. They argue that the Iraq War has hurt our standing in the world and done nothing to increase our security. I agree. They agree with our invasion of Afghanistan.
"In Lebanon's complex political landscape, Iran and Syria support the Islamist Hezbollah party-cum-militia, while the United States backs the secular Lebanese government. Another Islamist movement, Fatah al Islam, enjoys a nebulous connection to Al Qaeda. We should be using our country's massive financial resources to allow the Lebanese government to outspend its competitors by a factor of 10, showering much-needed aid on the Lebanese people, and thus de-legitimizing their opponents and debunking their ideology. Instead, the government cannot meet its basic responsibilities, and extremist movements are increasingly seen as the only institutions capable of bettering lives."
As for Pakistan they say our $5.5 billion in military aid isn't helping as much and that "In the long run, 5,000 secular teachers for Pakistan's middle schools will do more for America's national security than will 50,000 AK-47s for the country's army." I agree, but I'm not sure how we put secular teachers in Pakistan. Bringing in Americans won't work and giving them funds doesn't guarantee the secular part. And I'm not sure how you get them to the tribal lands effectively. Still the sentiment is correct. They also say "Only after a comprehensive Indo/Pakistani border settlement will Pakistan shift its military energy from south to north.", well yeah but good luck with that.
I do agree with this:
"On occasion, extremist governments hostile to the existence of the United States (Hamas in the Gaza Strip) will enjoy broad popular support, but preemptive wars must become a thing of the past. We cannot say that we value freedom and then seek political change through force when the choice of the people produces regimes not to our liking. However, the military can, and must, be used to target individuals bent on terror aimed at American interests. Furthermore, if a nation enables attacks on our homeland, as Afghanistan did under the Taliban, then we must use all necessary means to defend ourselves. On rare occasions, this will require full-out war and post-invasion reconstruction."
Seems like a new name for a common sense policy. Maybe that is a necessary step. I'm not sure if the name "neocontainment" is too much like "neoconservative" to be viewed as different or close enough to be viewed as acceptable.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Larry Gellman: Bush's Worst Legacy
Larry Gellman in the Huffington Post writes : Bush's Worst Legacy -- The Desecration of "Patriotism". He starts off with a pretty good list of Bush's worst failures:
"After all, he is the president who decided to invade Iraq for reasons that all proved to be false and then proceeded to mismanage that war horribly. With the help of a Republican Congress he proceeded to take the country from a budget surplus to a multi-trillion dollar deficit which our children and grandchildren will have to deal with. He shredded the Constitution as he eliminated the rights of habeas corpus and gave himself the right to spy on American citizens in unprecedented ways for any or no reason at all. In addition, he destroyed our reputation and credibility in the world by presiding over agencies that use torture and treat prisoners in ways that Americans never have in the past. Before Bush, we could rightfully claim to be a moral country that refused to torture and demean people in the same ways as those countries we have criticized in the past. No more."
It is a good list but I have some quibbles. Torture doesn't just destroy our reputation, we've violated the Geneva Convention. I'd also list politicizing the government in violation of federal law. It's hard to make the federal government even more dysfunctional, but Bush has done it.
Gellman also mixes up deficit and debt. Bush inherited a $5.7 trillion debt, it's now $9.5 trillion. The latest estimate I've seen for the deficit is from Bush's OMB: "The Federal budget deficit is now estimated to fall to $205 billion in 2007, a reduction of $43 billion or 18 percent from last year." I believe the 2006 deficit number of $248 billion is an actual number (not estimated) number. This was an interesting table National debt by U.S. presidential terms.
Here's a depressing thing I came across: "Both Vice President Gore and Gov. Bush agree that the total surplus will top $4.56 trillion by 2010. Both also agree that some of the surplus should be used to pay off the national debt, some to shore up Social Security, and some given back to us in the form of tax cuts and credits. Mr. Bush says his formula would pay off the national debt by 2016. Mr. Gore says he can pay that debt by 2012."
Getting back to Gellman, instead of the above he argues, "A strong case could be made for each of these damaging missteps to be designated as the worst. But my vote has to go to the way in which Mr. Bush has twisted the meaning of 'patriotism' and turned a powerful important concept into an empty and meaningless slogan." He goes on and makes an interesting case.
"After all, he is the president who decided to invade Iraq for reasons that all proved to be false and then proceeded to mismanage that war horribly. With the help of a Republican Congress he proceeded to take the country from a budget surplus to a multi-trillion dollar deficit which our children and grandchildren will have to deal with. He shredded the Constitution as he eliminated the rights of habeas corpus and gave himself the right to spy on American citizens in unprecedented ways for any or no reason at all. In addition, he destroyed our reputation and credibility in the world by presiding over agencies that use torture and treat prisoners in ways that Americans never have in the past. Before Bush, we could rightfully claim to be a moral country that refused to torture and demean people in the same ways as those countries we have criticized in the past. No more."
It is a good list but I have some quibbles. Torture doesn't just destroy our reputation, we've violated the Geneva Convention. I'd also list politicizing the government in violation of federal law. It's hard to make the federal government even more dysfunctional, but Bush has done it.
Gellman also mixes up deficit and debt. Bush inherited a $5.7 trillion debt, it's now $9.5 trillion. The latest estimate I've seen for the deficit is from Bush's OMB: "The Federal budget deficit is now estimated to fall to $205 billion in 2007, a reduction of $43 billion or 18 percent from last year." I believe the 2006 deficit number of $248 billion is an actual number (not estimated) number. This was an interesting table National debt by U.S. presidential terms.
Here's a depressing thing I came across: "Both Vice President Gore and Gov. Bush agree that the total surplus will top $4.56 trillion by 2010. Both also agree that some of the surplus should be used to pay off the national debt, some to shore up Social Security, and some given back to us in the form of tax cuts and credits. Mr. Bush says his formula would pay off the national debt by 2016. Mr. Gore says he can pay that debt by 2012."
Getting back to Gellman, instead of the above he argues, "A strong case could be made for each of these damaging missteps to be designated as the worst. But my vote has to go to the way in which Mr. Bush has twisted the meaning of 'patriotism' and turned a powerful important concept into an empty and meaningless slogan." He goes on and makes an interesting case.
Lawrence Lessig on the coming "i-Patriot Act"
Lawrence Lessig on the coming "i-Patriot Act" "Lessig also revealed that he had learned, during a dinner with former government Counter Terrorism Czar Richard Clarke, that there is already in existence a cyber equivalent of the Patriot Act, an ‘i-Patriot Act’ if you will, and that the Justice Department is waiting for a cyber terrorism event in order to implement its provisions."
How sad.
How sad.
The Sad State of Facebook Applications
Inside Facebook looks at Which Facebook Applications Really Are the Most Engaging?. What a waste of an interesting platform. Turning other people into zombies may be fun (or not) but I think facebook could be so much more.
Given that facebook knows who your friends are and should know how you know them (that is work vs family vs college friends), it should be one of the best sites for providing access control. The classic example that most recent college students should want, is only show my photos to my college friends, not my work colleagues or family.
It's easy to form groups, but you don't get notifications from them. The discussion board doesn't have search and there are no recent group tools like wikis. Kids use its messaging systems to replace email. Add some calendaring stuff and some and replace groupware. Add location stuff and beef up events to take on upcoming.com and going.com and evite. If there's a group for a 5th grade class, it should be easy to make a group of the parents of that class, then it should be easy to schedule events inviting all members of a group or by specifying all the people you know via some organization. It should be easy to specify repeating events and coordinate who brings what or car pools with more than just posts on a wall.
Given that facebook knows who your friends are and should know how you know them (that is work vs family vs college friends), it should be one of the best sites for providing access control. The classic example that most recent college students should want, is only show my photos to my college friends, not my work colleagues or family.
It's easy to form groups, but you don't get notifications from them. The discussion board doesn't have search and there are no recent group tools like wikis. Kids use its messaging systems to replace email. Add some calendaring stuff and some and replace groupware. Add location stuff and beef up events to take on upcoming.com and going.com and evite. If there's a group for a 5th grade class, it should be easy to make a group of the parents of that class, then it should be easy to schedule events inviting all members of a group or by specifying all the people you know via some organization. It should be easy to specify repeating events and coordinate who brings what or car pools with more than just posts on a wall.
Olympic Medal Count Map
The New York Times has an interesting interactive infographic: Olympic Medal Count Map. "Circles are sized by the number of medals each country won in past summer Olympic Games. Click on a country to display a list of its medal winners."
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