berlin or beirut?

By damn, do Berliners ever love their explosives! I don't really know how to convey just how nuts last night's seeing out of 2006 was, but it seemed like every single one of the tens of thousands of people we were surrounded by last night had their own personal arsenal. There were constant fireworks and explosions for hours in every direction, leading to an atmosphere somewhere between Bacchanalian revel and war zone. The photos cannot possibly do the scene justice, and my ears are still ringing a bit 24 hours later.





Many more shots are here.

This night was also our first encounter with the new Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I'll have many further thoughts on this once I've returned there during the daytime to more extensively photograph it. Here's one during Silvester:

All in all, a most excellent evening with most excellent company.

fantastic piece of unintentional political commentary...

...from the Rose Parade:

the $100 laptop

This project excites me tremendously:

$100 laptop project eyes launch

The first batch of computers built for the One Laptop Per Child project could reach users by July this year.

The scheme is hoping to put low-cost computers into the hands of people in developing countries.

Ultimately the project's backers hope the machines could sell for as little as $100 (£55).

The first countries to sign up to buying the machine include Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan and Thailand.

The so-called XO machine is being pioneered by Nicholas Negroponte, who launched the project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab in 2004.

Test machines are expected to reach children in February as the project builds towards a more formal launch.

( Read more... )

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