Articles

This MRI from the study, Chronic Exercise Preserves Lean Muscle Mass in Masters Athletes, says everything you need to know about exercise:

How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?: "Just as baffling as the Iowa corn ads — at least to the uninitiated — were some commercials Colbert produced taking the side of the owners during the recent N.B.A. lockout. These were also sponsored by Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, but they were “made possible,” according to the voice-over, by Colbert Super PAC SHH Institute. Super PAC SHH (as in “hush”) is Colbert’s 501(c)(4). He has one of those too — an organization that can accept unlimited amounts of money from corporations without disclosing their names and can then give that money to a regular PAC, which would otherwise be required to report corporate donations. “What’s the difference between that and money laundering?” Colbert said to me delightedly."

A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors. Another piece of Skynet comes online. Dad and Mike, you’ll dig this one. (thx david)

Just a quick administrative note: I have lately been capturing a quick blurb from the articles that I’ve been socking away in Instapaper, which makes my to read and liked lists a bit more useful.

A couple good posts on Google disillusionment: no longer loving Google, Inc. and against the wall.

Can’t believe how well this came out, this fellow created a font by taking an average of the fonts he had on his machine (not a straightforward process). The result is Avería:

The Scottish accent gives Siri a wee bit of trouble:

Happiness Takes (A Little) Magic: Great piece on the joys of being online a bit less.

Alabama, wow… Listen and despair. But then listen to act 2. Unrelated, but very funny.

Bill Clinton: Someone We Can All Agree On: "One of the things that I think should be done is the infrastructure bill that Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Kerry proposed, which sets up an infrastructure bank which would be seeded with U. S. taxpayers’ money, but it would be open to investors. Like, you and I could buy a $1,000 infrastructure bond, or the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, Saudi sovereign wealth fund, anybody could invest in it, and the returns on infrastructure are significant enough that in an uncertain stock market, I think you could get a lot of private capital."

Fantastic reflexes on display at the Australian Open… by the ball boy.

Netflix and Warner Bros. ink a deal that makes it impossible for you to use your queue like a To See list. Why? Hollywood hates you.

I don’t think you have to be a programmer to enjoy these visualizations of shuffling algorithms.

How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work: Wow. A stunning piece on China's capabilities and the stark realities around the manufacturing jobs that are never coming back to the US.

Vi Hart finishes up her three-parter on Spirals, Fibonacci, and being a plant: part 1, part 2, and part 3. Great stuff.

A different performance interrupted by a ringtone (looks like from six months ago or so). Great response by the performer.

Great public service announcement, Vinnie Jones teaches CPR:

Feel a bit behind! Here you go:

• Hello. Must see.
• Athena Vs. The LP: A 13-year-old sees her first record.
• The world covers Rolling in the Deep. Watch it even if you are totally sick of that song.
• Two supercuts: The Many D’ohs of Homer Simpson and Tumbleweeds.
• Khan Academy’s great explanation of SOPA and PIPA.
• We Are Not The Dead: soldiers’ faces before, during and after serving in Afghanistan.
• Maybe my next printer? Will only buy another printer when I absolutely have to though, because printers are from hell.

The Case of the Vanishing Blonde: Pretty riveting sleuthing.

The Shadow Scholar: "I have become a master of the admissions essay. I have written these for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, some at elite universities. I can explain exactly why you’re Brown material, why the Wharton M.B.A. program would benefit from your presence, how certain life experiences have prepared you for the rigors of your chosen course of study. I do not mean to be insensitive, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been paid to write about somebody helping a loved one battle cancer. I’ve written essays that could be adapted into Meryl Streep movies."