January 2012
Behind the ball in Times Square, a video billboard advertising Mitt Romney.
Speaking of the future: Mineways converts Minecraft creations into 3D-printable objects.
A man tried to pass off a homemade $1 million bill at a Kentucky Walmart to buy housewares. He was unsuccessful.
Of Rupert Murdoch’s seven tweets, four have praised News Corp properties or products; one bashed a competitor.
December 2011
Live webcam in Times Square. There are few things on Earth less worth attending in person.
Meanwhile, you should know that Michele Bachmann is “biblically qualified” to be President, per her Iowa headquarters.
Here’s the video of Newt Gingrich dismissing climate change based on his being “an amateur paleontologist.”
NASA has a spectacular real-time tool showing the location of the planets and various satellites in our solar system. Seems appropriate for the day.
This is basically “The Prince” of psychology research: anti-social tips for getting ahead.
On November 8, 1939, Hitler spoke at a beerhall in Munich to commemorate the putsch of fifteen years prior. (Another angle.) Hitler started and ended his speech earlier than expected, so the bomb hidden under the platform he was speaking from went off shortly after he left, killing eight. Looking at the photos of Hitler speaking, it’s hard not to imagine a different path of world history.
Let’s just call this the year In pbump. This is what one does. I’ve posted over 7,200 times, which seems excessive - about twenty times a day. But let’s start with actual writing I did - at other sites. Most popular writing This isn’t exactly scientific. However, by my estimates: Santa’s Christmas Eve Workload, Calculated (The Atlantic) 4 Ways Technology Can Enable...
Pittsburgh houses its (six) Super Bowl trophies in the Science Center. Seems… wrong. Though it probably boosts attendance.
The Post asks people who aren’t running for President what the GOP candidates should be doing. Because they know.
In 1886, a contractor was given the job of moving a two-story school. Halfway through, he gave up.
A year’s reading, remembered through its margin notes.
Kanzi is a chimpanzee who mastered fire. Though, to be fair, he uses matches.
Madagascar prepares to close its ports.
Gold fireflies in Japan at a slow shutter speed.
Another wonderful short film - this, about the Voyagers. About love and space travel. About unknowns and tragedy. Composed mostly of archival footage.
A sumptuous, artsy video promoting tourism in Malaysia.
A tourist’s photos from inside North Korea.
Gingrich suggests he might pick Palin for VP. Surprised this hasn’t been tried more often.
The design, construction, and functioning of the Times Square ball.
In the UK, where there’s no such thing as no-fault divorce, one “fault” is increasingly popular - Facebook.
The Bachmann campaign wonders how they lost the lead in Iowa. The real question, of course, is how they were ever viable in the first place.
This, it seems, is the result of putting a Snuggie on your dog. Backgammon. TV watching.
My sister’s argument, essentially, for why she found the minute-by-minute description of the Air France crash reassuring: pilot Darwinism.
North Korea’s Cafepress store actually has kind of cool stuff. But two questions: Who gets the profits? and, Do the shirts come in extra long?
Photos of abandoned brothels. Typically understated.
The endless glamor of a Presidential campaign.
Driving through sea foam.
Let me guess: Ron Paul didn’t write his book either?
Now an employer is claiming ownership over a fired employee’s LinkedIn account. Which: help yourself?
Japan is thinking that maybe they should get the mob out of the nuclear industry.
The life of a 52 year-old prostitute from the Bronx.
The woman arrested for bringing a gun to the 9/11 memorial should probably have left the white powder at home, too.
How many soldiers were wounded during the war in Iraq? Depends on how you define injury, but, either way, we don’t know.
Russia came up with a clever way to put out a fire on a sub: descending.
The Times has a interactive feature explaining how the GOP candidates’ efforts to rein in government stop at the door to the White House.
The world’s fastest car, airplane and boat - with videos.
Underneath a billboard in Flatbush, a painted sign supporting John Lindsay for Mayor.
The surprisingly interesting economics and intrigue of the parking industry.
The new trend in municipal budget-cutting: turning off the streetlights at night. Just as the zombies wanted.
The final preparations for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
If you’ve ever used or registered with Stratfor, time to change your password.
This is my little sister’s geometry textbook. Can you guess what state she lives in?
Fox Latin America learns that multiple choice holiday polls should not ask who killed Christ.
This is a great look at the UK riots, raising interesting questions about the organizing impact of modern tech.
Want to recover your wallet, if lost? Add a picture of a cute baby. Sorry if you only have pictures of homely babies.
The ballroom at Witley Park lies forty feet beneath the surface of a lake.