Ideas + Collaboration = Solutions at CityCampMN and Hackathon

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If the mayhem in Our Nation’s Capitol does nothing else it does inspire one to face and possibly solve the problems right here at home – the little stuff that makes a difference in our daily lives, the sorts of challenges that people of good can and will work together to solve. Civic-minded activists who see the possibilities in technology should seize the chance to participate in these related projects set for Saturday-Sunday, November 9 and 10. Continue Reading

Digital divide: External resources needed to help teens with technology needs

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Amidst shelves of books at Rondo Community Outreach Library in St. Paul, a group of patrons has its eyes fastened to glowing computer screens. It is a scene set in neutrals, with white tables and beige pillars, but the surroundings are not the focus. The snapping of keys and clicking of mice fills the open space as people work and play in this oasis of technology, absorbed in the pixels on their screens.Colorful elastics adorn the wrist of 15-year-old Donquala Patterson, who rests her hand next to a keyboard as she clicks calmly across her screen. A resident of the Rondo neighborhood, she doesn’t have a computer at home and uses one at the library once a week “to look for jobs.”Plenty of young people come in simply to use the public computers, but the library also offers other opportunities just for teens. Continue Reading

Minneapolis candidates 2013: Assessing their access agenda

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Open Twin Cities (http://www.opentwincities.org/) is an assemblage of local hackers with a timely cause – to harness technology for the public good. The group involves geeks, hackers, public employees and activists willing to put their technological expertise – and political influence – on the line to make change happen. Their current initiative falls into the latter category and meets one of the group’s goals: to “lead a public discussion on open data and civic technology.” Continue Reading

Technology ‘time suck’: Putting down devices is hard, but some are trying to find balance

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With a cell phone, you hold your life in your hand. Phone numbers, passwords, to-do lists and the picture from the time you posed with the cutest guy in school.But phones can also be a huge distraction. You’re sitting across from your friend having a heart-to-heart. Instead of looking into your eyes, she’s looking at her phone, laughing at the text her boyfriend sent.“Hello,” you say. “You getting this?”“I am, I am. Continue Reading

Genetically modified American chestnuts—the next golden rice?

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Golden rice’s recent re-emergence in the news reminded me of how long the biotech industry has been touting this “wonder” crop in order to gain approval for genetic modification more broadly. It appears we’re now seeing a similar tactic with the proposed introduction of genetically modified (GMO) American chestnut trees. Once stretching across the eastern part of the United States and memorialized in countless stories, songs and poems, few trees evoke more nostalgia for America’s past than the Chestnut. However, the American chestnut now mostly lingers in our memory, as the more than 4 billion trees—equaling around a quarter of all hardwoods in the Eastern seaboard—were almost completely wiped out when a disease swept through the country in the early 1900s. Continue Reading

Final light-rail tests on University of Minnesota labs begin

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As construction on the Central Corridor light rail wraps up, University of Minnesota researchers are anxiously waiting to see how the trains will impact their work.Tests beginning this week will measure how vibrations from the light rail will affect sensitive University research.For a few hours each night, light-rail trains will run to measure electromagnetic interference and vibration levels. The tests will continue into September.“These tests are really sensitive,” said Leslie Krueger, University Services chief of staff. “We want to have the quietest environment possible to get the most detailed data.”The Metropolitan Council will test vibration levels in nine buildings around Washington Avenue Southeast. To measure the electromagnetic levels, staff will limit vehicle and pedestrian traffic, elevators, use of electronics and moving metal objects in the area.Beginning in 2006, the University began looking at how much the light rail would affect research. The University wanted a “do no harm” outcome, Krueger said. Continue Reading