Kaeti Hinck

Fun times exploring what our lawmakers actually did this session. It’s interesting to see which bills Dayton vetoed that also had bipartisan support. 

minnpost:

The 2012 Legislative session: What did they pass?

Browse bills by category, see what Dayton vetoed, and find out what your legislators were up to this session.

Reblogging for all the times I’ve heard, “you’re tall.” And how often it sounds like an accusation.

adulting:

The simplest example of this is not telling a tall person that they’re tall.

So much of our lives are shaped by weird rolls of the genetic dice, or fate, or God, or however you choose to interpret that particular mystery. Whether someone is short or tall or originally from Canada or gay or Asian or born to rich parents or redheaded or whatever — that’s not something they chose or cultivated in themselves, and it’s not something they work for.

What makes someone good and valuable is not these traits. It’s the choices they make and the things they do. I’d always rather someone tell me I’m a good writer than that my red hair is pretty, because one of those things is something I work my ass off at, and another is some protein encoding. Both are sweet things to say; one means a lot more to me.

It’s not that you can’t be proud of/pleased by these intrinsic things, but don’t forget that the things you (and others) deserve credit for are the things you have control over.

One of the best features of my new apartment is the cupola — a cozy, bright space that sits on top of the house and looks out onto the neighborhood.

Outside my apartment door, another winding set of stairs leads to the top of the 112-year-old house. The last two steps feel spongy, so step lightly.

I’m planning to use it as an art/meditation/reading/escape hatch.

It’s my lookout.

What Makes A Man - The Rumpus.net

I originally read that line as “You have to let life rip you up and meet you.” That, too.

Waitin’ around to die _ Townes Van Zandt (by najaolhos)

H/t to Jeremy.

You wouldn’t believe me if I told you where this project started compared to where it ended up. 

minnpost:

After redistricting, which legislative districts are vulnerable in 2012 election?

Using an average of 2006, ‘08 and ‘10 state House elections, we’ve mapped the partisan lean of Minnesota’s new districts. We also determined the range in which a district is most likely to switch parties in the coming election. Click around and let us know what you think.

Bubble tree bubble tree bubble tree

minnpost:

Taxes in Minnesota: Where do they come from?

It’s not a space shuttle, but it is a pretty cool project from MinnPost’s interactive team. Click through the visualization to see where tax money is from in Minnesota.

What amazes me most — in addition to the equal voting rights battle of the 1860s — is how different the marriage amendment is. In 2012, we’re voting on an amendment that would amend the state constitution to strip away human rights (rights that, by law, are already withheld). o_O

I’d also like to mention that my team at MinnPost is really incredible. They pulled this together in less than 12 hours. Good things are happening!

minnpost:

An interactive history of constitutional amendments in Minnesota

Minnesota has a sordid history of amending the state constitution. Check out the full list — including the 1914 attempt to tax dog owners and give the money to owners of animals attacked by dogs.

Spending some time becoming human again.

We’re giving it a shot. Feedback and comments are welcome and appreciated!

minnpost:

We just submitted our proposal for the Knight News Challenge. What do you think?

newschallenge:

1. What do you propose to do? [20 words]

Create a simple distribution protocol for linked datasets, based on community-driven semantic standards, to promote transparency and journalistic attribution for data.

2. Is anyone doing something like this now and how is your project different? [30 words]

Data Protocols and this NASA Initiative are similar, but we’ll focus specifically on creating a semantic standard for datasets used by the journalism community and on building effective distribution tools.

3. Describe the network with which you intend to build or work. [50 words]

Our network is the Internet. The dataset standard will be similar to RDF or RSS, both widely distributed web standards. We’ll build a straightforward web-based tool that allows people to upload datasets and create descriptive metadata in this format.

We’ll mobilize a community network to define standards, a la W3C. 

4. Why will it work? [100 words]

As the journalism community rallies around open data, it’s more important than ever for there to be a semantic standard. Data needs metadata. 

As these standards develop, our open source tool will allow people to apply and distribute them easily. By creating tools to facilitate the use of the standard, integrating with existing platforms and data repositories, as well as piloting the standard with local organizations, we can ensure the success of the project and ongoing use of the SDS format. Additionally, our work will conform to the existing Open Annotation standard that is being used.

5. Who is working on it? [100 words]

MinnPost’s interactive team:

• Director of news technology Kaeti Hinck, who managed MinnPost’s redesign and move to an open source CMS

• Open-source programmer Alan Palazzolo, former Code for America fellow

• Programmer Kevin Schaul, computer science and journalism student

We hope to partner with IRE/NICAR and other organizations to gather a network of contributors. Locally, we will work with a governmental office like the Minnesota Department of GIS to develop a test case for applying the standards to significant datasets.

We’d also hire a full-time project coordinator and community manager, who will be well versed in the semantic web.

6. What part of the project have you already built? [100 words]

We have begun reaching out to partners and building a dialogue around the standard. We have also initiated planning for a web-based tool to help implement the standard for any given dataset. See our preliminary wiki at https://github.com/MinnPost/sds

We are also identifying existing data repositories like PANDA or GeoServer that could integrate the standard with large benefit in the future.

7. How would you sustain the project after the funding expires? [50 words]

Initial funding will allow us to build open source tools to implement and distribute community standards. Over time, organizations can incorporate these tools into existing workflows. Revenue could be generated by training governmental organizations in using data standards, hosting conferences or summits, or creating a membership model similar to W3C. 

Requested amount from Knight News Challenge: $250,000
Expected amount of time required to complete project: 2 years
Total Project Cost: $300,000

Names: Kaeti Hinck and Alan Palazzolo
Twitter: @MinnPost and @MinnData
Organization: MinnPost
Country: USA

minnpost:

Minnesota’s marriage amendment battle: Power of ‘messaging’ may be the key

Beth Hawkins takes a comprehensive look at the messaging strategies for both sides of the marriage amendment. Fascinating read.

Highly recommend this one.

minnpost:

We’ve launched the new MinnPost!

Read about the redesign and let us know what you think. We’re pretty excited (especially about the responsive design).

This is what I’ve been working on the past six months or so — along side the amazing web team at MinnPost (hats off to Corey, Tom and Brian) and the kick-ass designers, developers and project manager at Gorton Studios (Lynn, Drew, Denise, Ronan, Erika!).

I’m really proud of what we’ve made. And I’m looking forward to a lot of sleep this weekend.

As I’m working on the site, I’m watching Star Trek: Voyager. It got me wondering about the character trope of the talented-bad-girl-turned-officer (think Starbuck, Ro Laren, B’Elanna Torres).

Outside the system, they are just rebels — dangerous and uncontrollable, in need housebreaking. Once they are incorporated into the system, then they become valuable/safe/subordinate.

Let’s tame those dangerous women, y’all.

Just in case you needed a new villain, how about a good old boy lawyer who’s eager to dismiss assault as “aw shucks, he was just trying to get lucky!”

(via MinnPost)

One more sunset picture, this one from Florence.

St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome at sunset.

I’ll post more pictures from the trip soon. It was amazing.

Something I doodled while on call tonight.

I want to fill my sketchbook this year. Maybe I should get a scanner or something.

Wolf Ridge: Educational and life lessons for grade-schoolers

Few schools with our high percentage of families in poverty are able make their way to Wolf Ridge. Schools with higher-income families can more easily pay their way or provide scholarships for those who can’t pay.

Photos by Steve Date

PSA for Twin Cities folks who love(d) Caribe — you can help them get back up and running in NE Minneapolis. Their new location would be dangerously close to MinnPost HQ.

The 2012 Legislative session: What did they pass?

Browse bills by category, see what Dayton vetoed, and find out what your legislators were up to this session.

Bachmann has withdrawn her dual-citizenship.

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s spokeswoman confirmed that the third-term Republican and some of her family had became citizens of Switzerland.

It’s going to take a lot more than a doctrinal admonition from the Vatican to silence Sister Brigid McDonald.

Sister Brigid McDonald calls Vatican’s reprimand of U.S. nuns group a ‘misuse of power’

The Falls of Minnehaha flash and gleam

The “laughing waters” tumble 53 feet as Minnehaha Creek nears the end of its journey from Lake Minnetonka to the Mississippi River.

Photos by Steve Date

Checking out yes/no ads before N.C. marriage-amendment vote

With voters headed to the polls May 8 to decide whether to amend North Carolina’s constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage, Minnesota groups working for and against a marriage ban here are getting a sneak peek at each other’s likely tactics.

Ed makes an interesting comparison using our latest map.

edkohler:

My zip, 55406, contributed $15,521 toward presidential campaigns. 

55412, with blue tarped roofs from last May’s tornado, were good for $797.

The recent immigrants at Cedar-Riverside in 55454? $150. 

Visualizing presidential campaign contributions throughout Minnesota

We’ve mapped the donations in each ZIP code in the state. The results show an interesting picture of the community clusters in Minnesota.

Is an acquisition by Target the solution to Best Buy’s woes? Louis Johnston thinks so: The move makes a lot of sense for both companies — and it would be a win-win for the Minnesota economy.

Steampunk reigns at ‘Alternate History Day’

The Minnesota History Center presented “What If? Alternate History Teen and Family Day” with music, fashion, art, film and more.

Photographs by Steve Date

Find out which Minnesotans are giving big bucks to the various presidential campaigns.

After redistricting, which legislative districts are vulnerable in 2012 election?

Using an average of 2006, ‘08 and ‘10 state House elections, we’ve mapped the partisan lean of Minnesota’s new districts. We also determined the range in which a district is most likely to switch parties in the coming election. Click around and let us know what you think.

NFL leaders come to town, and stadium bill resurrected

The National Football League got its money’s worth from a quick flight to Minneapolis this morning.

Conflicted Catholics: Consciences wrestle with church actions on marriage amendment

Taxes in Minnesota: Where do they come from?

It’s not a space shuttle, but it is a pretty cool project from MinnPost’s interactive team. Click through the visualization to see where tax money is from in Minnesota.

Trayvon Martin case leads to corporate exodus from ALEC

Last week, as George Zimmerman was being charged with second-degree murder for killing Trayvon Martin in Florida, big business began a quiet stampede away from the organization that is promoting “shoot-first” laws throughout the country.