Name-Calling Ninny Loose in Los Altos

So just now I was waiting patiently on the side of the road in the car line to drop off my son at school when a jogger comes running towards us right along the CENTER DIVIDER LINE with iPhone buds in his ears. Apparently he decided to cut in front of me to get to his left side (shouldn't joggers stay to their right?), but I hadn't used my ESP to leave him lots of room in front of my car. So right there in front of all the school kids (and my son) he yells "Idiot!"

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TED 2011: Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

This review was written by Nina Khosla.

Score: 5 balloons

Eric Whitacre, a well-known composer, began his talk with a personal story. He described how one day, he logged onto his computer to find a YouTube video recorded by a teenage girl who was singing one of his songs. The young singer, Britlin, left a message for Whitacre:

Britlin's message to Mr. Eric Whitacre... I was REALLY nervous!!! but hopefully he will see this video and see how thankful I am for him... he is the one who inspired me to compose!!! I hope to talk with him or meet him one day... wouldn't that be a dream come true!!!!!

It was this video that gave Whitacre the inspiration for his latest experiments - virtual choirs. He realized that by having individuals record each of the parts of a song, he could stitch them all together, creating a complete recording. This allowed him to connect all these individuals through music. 

Whitacre put a call out for submissions on his website, and has received thousands of submissions. He shared two videos and the process used to construct them: his first virtual choir, Lux Aurumque, and a reveal of the beginnings of his second, in-progress virtual choir.

 See the Guide to TED Talks 2011.

TED 2011: Sebastian Thrun on Google's Driverless Cars

Score: 9 balloons


Here's a tasty 4 minute TED snack on how and why Google promises to vastly improve the nature of automotive transportation.



 See the Guide to TED Talks 2011.