Don Tapscott is is one of our most brilliant thinkers, particularly when it comes to reforming education. 

I question a few of his points in this two-minute blast but appreciate his passion in defending the youth of today -- the ones us Boomers are leaving with one big, heaping pile of stink to clean up. 

Check out this amazing video showing auto racing at nearby San Luis Obispo in 1924. I had never heard of Exposition Park Raceway, but it looked to be quite sizable for what must have been a relatively small farming town at that time. 

The Exposition dirt track was bumpy and dustyand drew a large crowd. According to the YouTube detail page, the track "was located along South Street between Higuera and Broad Street."

Couple fun things to look out for:

• The close promixity of speeding cars and crew members casually walking alonside the track (the pits were not segregated by a wall as is common in modern tracks).
• The dust plumes that follow the cars along the backstretch. They reminded me of the dust left by the Roadrunner. 
• A nice pass on the backstretch that begins halfway out of Turn 2. 
• A very quick pitstop in which a crew member deftly removes the damaged undertray of a car. Not sure they could make the repair any faster these days.

OnlinePHD.org has published a fun interactive history of Google titled "When Larry Met Sergey" that tracks the company's year-by-year progress compared with the rest of the web. 

Each year gives you a peek at the company's key metrics but more fun are the yearly lists of common search terms, big site launches, top memes, browser market share and the ever-beefy hardware Google uses to power itself. 

Geeky but fun.

Rich Lam's celebrated photo, as packaged in Sports Illustrated

The photograph by Rich Lam at first glance looks staged -- how could two lovers be so self-centered as a riot spreads around them. But SI's Chris Ballard retraces the factors that fueled the riot in the shadows of a Stanley Cup final between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins and tracks down the two lovers and the touching reason they found themselves kissing as violence erupted around them. 

I finally saw the movie "Senna," which has been released throughout the world for more than a year but screened only sparingly in major cities in the States.

It's now available on Netflix and Amazon streaming, and it's well worth watching, whether you're a racing fan or not. 

Ayrton Senna, for those who don't know, was one of the greatest Formula 1 and karting drivers ever, delivering electrifying performances that left fans, viewers and competitors slack-jawed. He was also a Class 1 jerk, blinded in a nonstop quest to finish first that left many friendships and relationships by the roadside.

Senna won three world championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s before dying in a horrific race crash in 1994. "Senna" chronicles his meteoric climb to the top of motorsports, his unwavering love of God, and the complex relationships caught in between.

The film is 106 minutes long and uses only archival video, some of it rare in-car footage that captures Senna's mad skills and just how magical Formula 1 was during those days. But it's the scenes showing interpersonal relationships, or lack thereof, that are captivating and keep the pace moving quickly. Throughout it all you're taken inside the mind of a complex man, particularly toward the end as he struggles to overcome a slow car and the death of a fellow racer on the same fatal weekend. You can sense his end is near, not because you might already know the story but because you can see it in his eyes and body language. It's disturbing in a way, but powerful nonetheless.

I became a hardcore auto racing fan in 1985 for two reasons: I moved out on my own and finally had access to cable sports channels and found myself getting up at 5 a.m. on Sunday mornings to see what fresh trick Senna would pull out of his hat in shaping Formula 1 his way. 

Some would argue his aggressive driving has changed all racing in a negative way, putting an end to what was long a gentleman's sport. There's some truth in that, but he also brought a level of intensity and drive that influenced many people outside the sport. He had a sole focus and gave his life in pursuit of being No. 1. He may not have died happy but I think he died satisfied.

I just finished reading the third issue of Google's Think Quarterly magazine, and it's a quick read with some key insights with the promise of more around the corner. 

"The People Issue" focuses on social media, something Google has dived into head-first with Google+. But it's more than a marketing push for G+, and delves into the real power of turning people's intent into tools for change. 

I've made notes to reread more than a few sections, but below are just a few bullet points that caught my eye:

• A surprisingly interesting feature/Q&A with Virgin's Richard Branson. 
• "Recognize and reward quality contributions. Give attention and praise to things that are constructive or interesting. Don't reward negative behavior with attention." So smart, yet how many of us who manage online communities devote 90 percent of our time on the 10 percent intent on causing mayhem?
• Continued excellent visual design. Think Quarterly is an easy read, and superb and invigorating design is a key reason. The creative space that precedes, intercedes and follows the text allows for perspective and time to think. (I'm thinking how I could translate this to longer, thoughtful stories in a daily newspaper). 
• "Hangover" is most commonly Googled on Sundays, one day after "vodka" peaks as a search term. As TQ notes, there's a reason "Searchblog's John Battelle has called Google 'the database of intentions.' "
• Monday is the day people are most likely to click on Google's AdWords, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday, when "online purchases peak." TQ adds, "Offline spending patterns have a greater lag, trailing by one week," evidence that online ads reinforce brick-and-mortar shopping.  
• Fifteen percent of all Google searches worldwide "are ones that Google has never seen before." Awesome. 

The theme of Think Quarterly's next issue is "speed." I can't wait. 

Boston Bruins announcer Jack EdwardsAfter listening to this excellent Grantland.com podcast with Boston Bruins announcer Jack Edwards, I'm realizing "homers" can be intelligent, knowledgeable and persuasive. In a fast-paced interview with Grantland's Jonah Keri, Edwards shares bold opinions on a variety of hockey issues, including why fighting is better than legislating violence, why passion and salesmanship are important to announcing, and why late-blooming players often get short shrift among short-sighted NHL officials. 

Does this mean I like "homers"? Nope, but I now have grudging respect for those I can hear making an effort. 

Outside of "Head Like a Hole," I've never been much of a fan of Trent Reznor or Nine Inch Nails. I've admired his adoption of cutting-edge technology and marketing, and outspokenness on digital-rights issues, but his music has never made a dent in me. But after hearing this provocative interview with NPR's "Fresh Air," I think I'll take a second look. 

I was struck by Reznor's rich musical background, the demons he's conquered and continues to fight, his refreshing honesty, and his willingness to explore new territory (like "The Social Network" and "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" soundtracks). He's a complex man with big ideas, but in this interview he often comes across as likable, even warm -- a sharp contrast to his public persona. 

The worst musicians are those who strike it big but lose their will to stretch themselves and their audiences. Reznor does both, and that's something to celebrate. 

"Soundcheck" has a fun episode lamenting the death of the live album, presenting various theories as what led to them becoming a rare breed. 

One reason not mentioned is the proliferance of live concert podcasts tossed online, either by musicians themselves or through deep concert archives from outlets like "Soundcheck" or NPR's "All Songs Considered." Why pay for something when good-quality versions approved by the artists are readily available? 

"Soundcheck" also invited listeners to share their favorite live albums, which got me to thinking. Here's my top 5, which could change at a moment's notice:

• "The Mavericks: Live at Royal Albert Hall." I too saw the Mavericks perform from just offstage at the Royal Albert Hall and it's probably the most amazing concert I've attended. My wife and I had just landed in London, by chance happened to walk past the famous hall and noticed The Mavericks were playing that night, and were able to snag just-released tickets -- to a sold-out show -- about 30 feet off the stage. This recording, while from another show, captures a lot of the same magic I remember.
• "Roxy Music: Live at The Apollo." I've seen Roxy live twice about 20 years apart, including an L.A. show that was part of the same tour at the Apollo show. As much visual as aural. 
• "Elvis Costello: Live at the El Mocambo." A young Elvis plunges through a wild set that's nonstop energy. One of those live shows that captures an artist on the way up. 
• "Cheap Trick: Silver." A "Soundcheck" caller name-checked this one too, and I prefer it to the renowned "Cheap Trick: Live at Budokan."  "Silver" has more variety, trots out the band's children for some touching performances and is a wonderful celebration of a terrific band's 25-year catalog.
• "The New Pornographers in Concert," a free stream from NPR's "All Songs Considered" of a 2010 concert from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. If you've never heard the Pornographers, give the show a listen. Great show from a band that deserves much more public acclaim.  

Among the grand thoughts are:

• Blowing up the concept of investing in a country's GDP growth, instead of debt. Sounds boring but leading economist Robert Shiller argues it would profoundly rethink global investment and could have minimized the current global economic crisis. 
• Getting real about any manned mission to Mars oor further expansion into space. Not gonna happen without revolutionary breakthroughs in space travel, journalist Gregg Easterbrook argues. Instead of blindly funding NASA, a better alternative would be to invite the private sector to help discover new ways to explore new worlds. 
• Changing how we handle death by having everyone conduct "end of life" conversations with a loved one. The result, argues journalist Ellen Goodman, would be improved interpersonal relationships and improved health care. 
• Closing off portions of oceans and seas for extended periods, ala letting farmland go fallow for a few years to regain nutrients, so that overfished areas can recover before their ecosystems are destroyed.   

Big challenges beckon big thoughts.