March 11th, 2010
By Josh Kitlas Posted in Health, Technology

Biking directions added to Google Maps

So cool!! From the Google Blog:

Whenever I meet someone who finds out that I work on the directions team for Google Maps, the first question I’m asked is often “So when’s Google Maps going to add biking directions?” We’re big biking fans too, so we’ve been itching to give you a concrete answer. I don’t want to keep the good news a secret any longer, so the answer is: right now!

Today we’ve added biking directions and extensive bike trail data to Google Maps for the U.S. My team has been keeping close tabs on all the public support for biking directions that’s been steadily coming in, but we knew that when we added the feature, we wanted to do it right: we wanted to include as much bike trail data as possible, provide efficient routes, allow riders to customize their trip, make use of bike lanes, calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills and customize the look of the map for cycling to encourage folks to hop on their bikes. So that’s exactly what we’ve done.

Let’s say you want to bike to work, or maybe you want to drive less and spend more time outdoors. Biking directions can help you find a convenient and efficient route that makes use of dedicated bike trails or lanes and avoids hills whenever possible. To find biking directions, select “Bicycling” from the drop-down menu when you do a directions search: + Continue Reading

March 9th, 2010
By Josh Kitlas Posted in Future, Urban Planning

Teaching Positions: Washington, D.C. and Baltimore regions, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year

From The American University’s (my undergrad university) ListServ:

Urban Teacher Center is an innovative teacher preparation program that supports dedicated individuals to become outstanding teachers. Our applicants make a four-year commitment, including a one-year residency followed by a three-year teaching commitment. Our residency year is based on the medical model:  residents complete a structured clinical experience in an urban elementary or K-8 school. Residents also engage in a rigorous Master’s of Education program. We are looking for candidates + Continue Reading

March 9th, 2010
By Josh Kitlas Posted in Technology

Apple Portables: Calibrating your computer’s battery for best performance

So my laptop battery was on the fritz. My computer was shutting down without warning and then a ‘Service Battery’ line item appeared in my battery drop-down menu. I went to the Genius Bar at my local Apple Store and was advised that it was indeed on the fritz and had only been charged approximately 41 times out of an estimated 250 possible charges. They gave me a new battery ($129 retail) for free (sweet). I was in and out of there in about 15 minutes which was also pretty sweet. I also got some knowledge about the proper use/care for a battery which is a little more detailed than I’d like. Here’s how to keep you MacBook Pro battery happy. Oh, they provide a link to a Calendar event that updates automatically and advises you when to charge your notebook.

From the Apple Knowledgebase: + Continue Reading

March 7th, 2010
By Josh Kitlas Posted in Library

THIS BOOK IS OVERDUE How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All (NYTimes Book Review)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/books/review/Kennedy-t.html

March 4th, 2010
By Josh Kitlas Posted in Kitlas

Website Theme Song

Check it out at Codeorgan