And you are here why?

"Where are you from?" "Chicago" "No, where are you really from?" <pause, while I explore my options> "Chicago. Really. " <-- What I really believe. I mean, I've lived in Chicago longer than anywhere else in my life. Also, when I think "Home", I think "Chicago" "Chicago dumbass"  <-- What I'd like to say, but won't "Chicago, but I lived in New York before I moved to Austin" <-- Its true, but kinda elides the point. "Where are we all really from when you get down to it..."  <-- If I'm just cheesed off, and want to avoid this whole conversation <decision made.  Go with -1-> "Chicago. Really ". <at this point one of a couple of things happens> "Oh."  <-- Increasingly common these days.  Which is good.  Unless I'm talking to a RealAmerican™, in which case, in some very very rare circumstances,  "...

ArsTechnica has a writeup on the LIDAR mapping of the Angkor region surrounding the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom complex , and, [Scientists now have] solid evidence that the city of Angkor sprawled over an area of at least 40 to 50 square km. It was home to almost a million people. The scattered, moated complexes like Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom were merely the most enduring features of what we now know was the biggest city on Earth during the 12th and 13th centuries. The best part is that this allows us to cut through the myths and legends around Angkor This transformation of legend into fact has been a theme of the LiDAR surveys. Angkor's huge population is described in temple inscriptions and reports written by Chinese travelers who visited the city during the 12th century reign of King Suryavarman II, who built Angkor Wat. But historical sources are often exaggerated or incomplete. Plus, it was difficult for Western researchers to believe that the Khmer Empire's great...

In a short but blistering article ( "Dear Silicon Valley: Not everything can be solved with apps" ), Engadget's Nicole Lee calls out the hubris at the center of Silicon Valley's app-mentality. It's all part of a Messiah complex that Silicon Valley is sometimes prone to. Facebook and Twitter often pat themselves on the back for being the sites where people speak of injustice, but that doesn't mean they're beyond reproach. It's great that  the official Twitter account called for racial justice , but that rings hollow when you consider the company's failure to deal effectively with the violent hate speech on its own platform. What we really need is not an app or a tweet. We need more than just talk. We need action. There needs to be increased education, awareness, sensitivity and empathy across the board. We need the tech industry to use its enormous clout to speak to legislators, to work with people and groups who have already laid the groundw...

/via ThisIndexed