Blake Burris

In pursuit of innovation for a sustainable humanity and planet. Insights on Cleanweb, ConnectedCar and Smartups. Into cycling, coffee and theology.

[birdi]

Season’s Greetings from China! It may be the holidays in the West, but here in the East, the Birdi team is hard at work, like little elves putting together packages before years’ end.

I’m here on the factory floor along with co-founder Justin as we cut steel for tooling. Moving the design...

[blakestar-blog]

It's great to see how far birdi (née Canary) has come! Mark and Justin have shown true fortitude all the way. I recall them first telling me their inkling of an idea at #Cleanweb Dev Day for NYC Big Apps 2013 in Manhattan where they took home the prize! Here's to a prosperous 2015 as you go to market markbelinsky and Justin Alvey! 

[bijan]

Startups don’t win by attacking. They win by transcending

Paul Graham (via bijan)

[drewdoleski-deactivated20150724]

The new Ferrari F60 America might epitomize everything I love about the prancing pony…

[blakestar-blog]

Be part of world's biggest hack against climate change Geeklist #hack4good this weekend 12-14 Sep Join in your city! http://thndr.it/1qa36yh

[irrolyphant]

[blakestar-blog]

"So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality"

[blakestar-blog]

First batch of homemade #kombucha. Using Kali Cha Oolong tea. Thanks for the SCOBY @brianmovement!

[oriolpascual]

3 WAYS CLEANWEB IS CREATING ENVIRONMENTAL & BUSINESS VALUE

I recently joined The Cleanweb Initiative as community leader for Spain. This post is part of my exploration of a model with large business and environmental opportunities. If interested in cleanweb, like our Facebook page, and get informed about our next meetups. 

TAKEAWAYS

Cleanweb, a cleantech sub-category, capitalizes on the potential of IT and network-based technologies and platforms - i.e. internet, social media, mobile - to develop solutions that reduce the environmental burden associated to a given activity. 

Typically, cleanweb solutions take the form of a web or mobile app, might involve big data, and have the potential to disrupt existing markets. Combination of hardware and apps are also possible.

There are plenty of opportunities to develop business and environmental value within cleanweb framework. This is only the beginning.

A growing database of cleanweb companies is available (add yours) 

Read More

[blakestar-blog]

Way to go Oriol! Great to have you on the team and cranking on Cleanweb España from Barcelona! 

[kanocomputing]

Make your own Pong game!

In 1972, Al Alcorn got handed a “warm-up exercise” at his new job (Atari), and came up with Pong: two paddles, one ball, and soon after, lines of people around the block to play it, all over the world.

Pong’s still classic, and still awesome, and we wanted to...

[blakestar-blog]

I'm a bit miffed that I'm just now discovering Kano! Just a day after the campaign closed. Kano reminds me of my days lusting for a #Commodore64 and getting a VIC-20 that I programmed pong-like games on and saved my code to a cassette tape. I just found the whole kit back at mom's house. I showed it all off to my boys including the 2K expansion cartridge which must have cost $50 back then. It's truly amazing what tools everyone now has in their hands for cheap and free to learn and make things. 

[blakestar-blog]

Searing some pastured lamb sirloin chops. Nom nom #paleo

[nycedc]

Architectural renderings allow us to peer into the future of our beloved city without a crystal ball. New York City has some big changes coming, and here are 17 future attractions that will transform the Big Apple as we know it.

Amazing before-and-after visualizations of New York City’s transformation in the next 20 years. 

[blakestar-blog]

Wow!

[nycedc]

Looking for coworking space? New incubators are creating communities of entrepreneurs. Check out the latest additions to NYC’s growing incubator network, including Harlem Garage which just opened this week. 

[blakestar-blog]

Ever expanding niches of opportunity...

[patrickt]

Prevalence of obesity among adults by country. Unbelievable. 

Source here. 

[blakestar-blog]

The fight against #diabesity is a now a national security issue. Having battled my own nutrition-related demons, helping others overcome the challenge is a key personal mission.

[blakestar-blog]

I've waited almost 2 weeks to read any actual news on Musk's Hyperloop. To date, I've only heard him describe in an interview (the Hangout with Branson) and seen a variety of tweets riffing on the news. I think I know why I've waited to explore it in detail.

I must say the Hyperloop is intriguing - duh! We all hate airports and the life-wasting experience they have always been. These days, I'm only somewhat excited to be at an airport when the journey will take me to a new and faraway place. As for the Hyperloop, it's a dreamy idea that we'd all love but I think I've avoided considering it a possibility for the same reason I've not tracked with news of projects to build high-speed rail around the country - primarily in Texas (Dallas-Houston-Austin would be amazing!) and California. The big interests protecting existing modes of transportation make all of that a near impossibility methinks, so why bother spending any precious brain cycles on it?!

With the Hyperloop, however, it's guys like Musk who have some fairy power (plus that ZA accent to hypnotize an audience) to really make things happen and quite possibly, rally the funding and political will to push such a grandiose plan forward. As with any idea, a grand vision can command attention, hope and capital.

The Billionaire Boys Club (also a great movie if memory serves) does have a chance to fix some things from the top and I hope transit is one of them. The grassroots, now totally networked and empowered by the web (via crowdfunding - for one) - is doing its part too. Look at projects like Ubuntu Edge (boo hoo, try again), Kite Patch, Kiva, etc. There is hope to fix some of the world's biggest issues. Most folks I know are contributing to funding of multiple Kickstarter/IndieGoGo projects - some of which are charitable and others just cool new toys like custom bike lights 'Made in Brooklyn' FTW!

(via 3 Hyperloop details you might have missed — Tech News and Analysis)

[blakestar-blog]

Cleanweb Europe Summer Tour 2013

As we're traveling across Europe the next few weeks - in advance of their summer break - from Rome and Milan, Paris to Rotterdam, The Hague, Brussels and Copenhagen, we'll be planting new Cleanweb seeds (Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark) and watering others (Paris, Roma). It's a real treat to see the enthusiasm for Cleanweb and to learn of existing companies cranking under the banner in several of these cities. Our schedule is already chock full of opportunities to share the vision and hope of the Cleanweb with community leaders, government officials, incubators, open data enthusiasts, national programs (like France's Etalab) and, of course, entrepreneurs. Our vision is to have locally-led communities of individuals connecting on Cleanweb to learn, innovate and create the next web-scale solutions solving for resource efficiencies.  Help us build the Cleanweb to usher in the clean economy and to create a new era of abundance!  Please also share this with friends around Europe who may be interested.

[patrickjmorris]

#Cleanweb takeover of Europe going on now!

[blakestar-blog]

I'd say that Europe is rather taking up with Cleanweb! Totally excited by all the conversations we've been having with locals ready to lead. In Copenhagen, we've heard "Cleanweb is a great unifier of things" to create new opportunities. 

[andrewmoseman-blog]

Here’s a solar-powered plane flying over the Golden Gate.

[blakestar-blog]

Hoping to catch a tour while the plane is at DFW.

[fred-wilson]

So pumped for this (at Parsons The New School for Design)

[blakestar-blog]

I'll have to try them on my next visit. I saw plenty of empty racks in most every corner of Manhattan and around Brooklyn.