Chez Moncef

This is my submission for the Photojojo Daily Pic Pick....

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:58:00 -0400

This is my submission for the Photojojo Daily Pic Pick. Today’s topic is ROYGBIV. I took this photo while driving across the US (from West to East) last September. I believe this was close to the border between Utah and Colorado.

Michael Deal is working on an open collaborative project for his...

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:53:39 -0400

Michael Deal is working on an open collaborative project for his upcoming website chartingthebeatles.com. The image above is one of Michael’s infographics that visualizes the degree of collaboration and distribution of authorship within The Beatles. It’s no surprise that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the most songs, whether alone or together. Although not as prolific, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were responsible for some great songs such as “Something”, “Here Comes The Sun”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden”.

To join the project, visit the Flickr group.

This sand sculpture of the Simpsons is not the most intricate,...

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:36:31 -0400

This sand sculpture of the Simpsons is not the most intricate, but it still looks pretty dope to me. It was created in 2008 at FIESA: the International Sand Sculpture Festival in Algarve, Portugal. This photo was taken by Pancinha on Flickr. Check out his sets for more photos.

(via Noupe, for even more sand art.)

“No More Sounds of Music?” asks GOOD in this...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:43:59 -0400

“No More Sounds of Music?” asks GOOD in this appropriately-designed Infographic, produced in collaboration with Design Language.

As schools face budget woes, it’s sad that music education is the first to suffer. According to some studies, high school students who receive musical training fare better on their SATs than their tone-deaf counterparts.

Did you know that you can use AIM and AOL Lifestream on your...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:17:49 -0400

Did you know that you can use AIM and AOL Lifestream on your iPhone to post to Twitter, Facebook, foursquare, and MySpace all at once? If you’re looking for some cool icons to spice up those status messages, check out the free Glyphboard by Neven Mrgan. To install it, just visit this site on your iPhone and follow the instructions: http://mrgan.com/gb/

(via iPhone J.D. and Daring Fireball)

Found your blog via a Google search ("how to get more traffic on your tumblr?") - Your post ("How to get more people to visit and follow your Tumblelog") came up first. Photos still do not offer the opportunity to include a title. Did you find another way to SEO your posts? Thanks!

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:03:42 -0400

Hi. No, but I haven’t given it much thought either. I only post occasionally nowadays and just focus on the content.

AOL is Hiring: Front-End Engineer for City's Best

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:45:57 -0400

AOL wants to hire a front-end engineer for City’s Best. Contact me if you’re interested in the following position, or if you know someone who is.

Front-End Engineer:
As a Front-End Engineer for City’s Best you’ll join the small team and startup environment to lead the front-end development of an exciting new vision for the local web. We’re focused on creating an extremely social and engaging experience for both users and business owners.

The candidate should be:

• Passionate about building great products that people want to use

• A results-focused get-it-done developer

• Proud of the great code that you write

• A heads-up problem solver

• Interested in how and where the web is consumed from desktop to mobile to iPad

Experience:

• Extensive HTML, CSS and JavaScript skills (HTML5, CSS3, jQuery a plus)

• Experience with 3rd party API integration and social web development

• BS or MS in Computer Science or equivalent experience

• 3+ years experience in working on template-based websites

• Experience with source control systems like SVN and git

• Experience with PHP and MySQL

• A flawless ability to translate a PSD into semantic code

Craig Shimala captured and put together this beautiful video of...

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:03 -0400

Craig Shimala captured and put together this beautiful video of lightning striking three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time. Shot with a Canon EOS 7D and a 10-22mm lens.

(via Big Contrarian)

This montage of the Jabulani’s production process is quite...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:16:43 -0400

This montage of the Jabulani’s production process is quite fascinating. If you’re suffering from World Cup withdrawal, this video should hold you over until tomorrow’s quarterfinals. Who are you rooting for?

In January, Dan Pink gave a wonderful talk at the RSA in London...

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:39:00 -0400

In January, Dan Pink gave a wonderful talk at the RSA in London about his new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. A few months later, the RSA selected some choice sound bites from that talk and commissioned Cognitive Media to add some engaging whiteboard cartoons to accompany the words.

(via Monster-Munch)

I love the nod to Blue Note in this album cover for the...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:30:12 -0400

I love the nod to Blue Note in this album cover for the compilation “Music For Jazz Dancers” on the UK label Freestyle Records.

I featured one of the songs in this compilation on my radio show a couple of weeks ago. Listen to “Free Hands” by The Brian Lynch & Eddie Palmieri Project on Monfresh Sessions #180.

Trade in your 3GS for an iPhone 4 at Radio Shack

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:44:45 -0400

Now through July 25, Radio Shack is offering a $200 Gift Card for an iPhone 3GS in working condition that does not have a broken screen or water damage.

If you’re not in a hurry, you should try selling it on eBay or Craigslist. You could get more for it, but don’t be fooled by the completed listings on eBay with unusually high “sold for” prices. The vast majority seem fraudulent to me.

(via TUAW)

"Scientists rated 500 sunscreens based on the safety of their ingredients and the effectiveness of..."

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:12:49 -0400

“Scientists rated 500 sunscreens based on the safety of their ingredients and the effectiveness of the SPF. Of those, they will only recommend a measly 8 percent of them.”

- Read more about this alarming study on GOOD.
(via @joannakopicka)

Meltwater carves a canyon 150 feet deep in Greenland. Photo by...

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:02:27 -0400

Meltwater carves a canyon 150 feet deep in Greenland. Photo by James Balog.

Taken from National Geographic’s Melt Zone article. Accompanying the article are a Photo Gallery and Interactive special.

Eggplant Impromptu in Flavor Major

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:45:16 -0400

Here’s the recipe for my off-the-cuff dinner tonight. It turned out quite well, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves
3/4 lb. indian eggplant (4 to 6 of them)
1 small fresh tomato
1 red bell pepper
cumin
ground coriander
curry powder
ground turmeric
garam masala
coarsely ground sea salt
ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Cut each garlic clove in half
Cut the tomato in 4
Remove the stem, and clean the inside of the pepper
Cut it lengthwise in about 1/4” thick pieces
Remove the stems and slice the eggplants in thin rounds
Spread a generous amount of olive oil on a large baking sheet. Cover with foil beforehand for easy cleanup.
Coat the eggplant, tomato, pepper and garlic
Arrange them all in one layer. Try not to overlap.
Season evenly with a few good pinches of salt and pepper, 1 or 2 small pinches of garam masala and turmeric, and several pinches of cumin, coriander and curry.
Bake in the oven at 450 degrees (F) for about 20 minutes. Check after 10 and 15 minutes depending on how thinly you sliced the eggplant.
Once the eggplant is soft, remove everything except for the peppers (they take longer to soften) and mash them together with a fork in a bowl. Add the peppers once they’re done.

I had some leftover rotisserie chicken that I added to the mixture, which then ended up inside a pita.

AT&T's DataPlus Plan Lowers Your Monthly iPhone Bill by $15

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:41:00 -0400

Unless you read Tech or Mac blogs regularly, you probably aren’t aware that AT&T introduced 2 new Data Plans yesterday. If you are a current customer, here are your options:

Do nothing and keep paying $30/month for the “Unlimited” data plan (which I believe actually has a 5GB limit).
Change to the DataPlus plan without renewing your contract and start paying $15/month for 200MB. If you go over, it will cost you another $15 for every 200MB.
Change to the DataPro plan without renewing your contract and start paying $25/month for 2GB, and $10 for each additional gigabyte.

Note that once you change to one of the new plans, you won’t be able to go back to the “unlimited” plan. To determine which option you should choose, you need to figure out how much data you’ve been using. Here’s how:

Go to http://www.attwireless.com and log in to your account.
From the “Account Overview” page, click on the “View Past Data Usage” link, as shown in this image: You will see a bar graph detailing your data usage over the past 6 months. If it looks like the one below (i.e. well below 200MB per month), then switching to the DataPlus plan is a no-brainer. On the other hand, if you’ve been using more than 200MB, but quite less than 2GB, then you can still save $5/month by switching to the DataPro plan.
To change plans, click on “My Services” at the top, and then click on “Manage Features”, as illustrated below:
Scroll down to the “iPhone Bundles” section under “Web, Text & More”. Choose your desired plan and click the “Next” button at the bottom of the page.
Choose the effective date and click “Next”. I chose “Backdate to the first day of my current bill cycle.”
Review your changes, click “Submit”, and you’re done!

Josh Begley created Racebox.org to illustrate the evolution of...

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:42:45 -0400

Josh Begley created Racebox.org to illustrate the evolution of the race section in the U.S. Census form since 1790. The full forms are available in PDF format at the bottom of the site.

I’m still waiting for the “Arab” box.

(via MetaFilter)

Patch.com is looking for full-time Regional Editors

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:12:39 -0400

If you are interested in any of these positions, contact me. All the details are below:

1) Regional Editor:

Patch.com is looking for smart, innovative journalists to join our team as full-time Regional Editors. This is your opportunity to lead and inspire a team focused on creating cutting-edge community-based journalism that will inform, inspire and engage communities.

The Candidate: A quick study, able to grasp the interests, rhythms and identity of a region and its constituent communities, passion for all things digital, journalism and an entrepreneurial bent.
The Mission: Drive your region’s sites to become landmarks in their communities, and to become trusted information sources by producing impactful breaking news stories, features and content for Patch.com.
The Team: Manage a team of 12 local editors tasked with reporting, writing, editing and getting information from and to the communities that they serve.
Experience: Candidates should have a BA in journalism, experience managing others, a minimum of 5 years of journalism experience, including online journalism, and must be comfortable with the technical aspects of web publishing and have working knowledge of social media tools and trends.

2) Director of Advertising Sales:

Patch.com is seeking web-savvy sales people with management experience, to oversee ad sales for dynamic new sites devoted to news and information about suburban markets throughout the country and beyond. These positions work with local advertisers, everyone from mom and pops to large regional clients, as their local online advertising expert.

The Candidate: A born leader who is utterly self-motivated, you get an adrenaline rush from starting up a business and obsess over numbers and analytics. You understand, and have an affinity for, current and emerging media. You have a deep understanding of online and local ad markets, trends, metrics and more.
The Mission: Manage the marketing and promotional budget for a group of 20 sites; respond to requests from Editorial and Advertising; drive local and regional marketing initiatives and develop strong relationships with advertisers of all sizes.
The Team: Build and manage a team of 6-10 Account Executives in a defined geographic region.
Experience: BA degree, 5 to 10 years of Media sales experience, with significant online advertising sales and 3 to 5 years experience managing a sales team.

Where we are looking (for both positions): California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Missouri, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona

Last week, my girlfriend and I were in Key West, and these Lemon...

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:18:53 -0400

Last week, my girlfriend and I were in Key West, and these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes from Sarabeth’s were the highlight of the trip.

Water and Ice, by Mike Matas. Photography is only one of his...

Thu, 06 May 2010 14:30:18 -0400

Water and Ice, by Mike Matas.
Photography is only one of his fortes. He is also the talented designer responsible for the UI of various Apple desktop, iPhone and iPad apps.