September 4, 2010
Toothy tubes of hunger.
Toothy tubes of hunger. SharkweekFilter. Good snaps.
don't tell Steve.
Simplicity is highly overrated. Why people prefer feature-bloat.
SNIT!
Badass Japanese Precision Walking Competition. Craziness starts at 1:45, and just gets better from there on.
The Social Network Will Be Monetized
Social Networks and Data Mining: Where it is and Where it's Going
Telecoms operators naturally prize mobile-phone subscribers who spend a lot, but some thriftier customers, it turns out, are actually more valuable. Known as “influencers”, these subscribers frequently persuade their friends, family and colleagues to follow them when they switch to a rival operator. The trick, then, is to identify such trendsetting subscribers and keep them on board with special discounts and promotions. People at the top of the office or social pecking order often receive quick callbacks, do not worry about calling other people late at night and tend to get more calls at times when social events are most often organised, such as Friday afternoons. Influential customers also reveal their clout by making long calls, while the calls they receive are generally short. Companies can spot these influencers, and work out all sorts of other things about their customers, by crunching vast quantities of calling data with sophisticated “network analysis” software. Instead of looking at the call records of a single customer at a time, it looks at customers within the context of their social network.
Medal of Honor video game sales banned by US military
EA's new Medal of Honor video game allows players to take the role of Taliban insurgents killing American troops. In response, the US military has banned sales of the game on all military bases, including in privately run businesses (such as GameStop) present on bases. Military members (who game) don't seem too happy about the decision here. (More military member comments, some pro, some against, can be found here.) You can watch someone playing as a Taliban insurgent here. (Warning: MoH gameplay is rated 'M' for mature.)
History of the first 50 years of the Idaho National Laboratory
It has gone by many names. "National Reactor Testing Station" (1949-1975), "Energy Research and Development Administration" (1975-1977), "Idaho National Engineering Laboratory" (1977-1997), the "Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory" (1997-2005), and now the "Idaho National Laboratory" (2005-present). It has been the site of more than 50 nuclear reactors, which has resulted in a fair bit of environmental impact. In 2000, the US Department of Energy published (and has since made available on the web) a history of the laboratory over its first 50 years: "Proving the Principle."
Classic comic artists at their drawing boards.
Classic Chicago Tribune Cartoonists, 1931. Leapin' lizards! We're in the movies! Excerpt from the documentary From Trees to Tribunes. You can get the whole documentary here at archive.org. Classic comic artists at their drawing boards. [more inside]
Still In Business
This Summer’s Sexiest Images From Saturn. From a billion miles away, the Cassini spacecraft continues to send spectacular images of Saturn and its moons. Cassini has been flying since 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004 after flybys of Earth, Venus and Jupiter. Its mission was originally slated to end in 2008, but it got its first 27 month extension to witness Saturn’s equinox. This year, it was given another life extension until 2017 to keep exploring until Saturn’s northern hemisphere summer solstice. [previously] [more inside]
Robert Shimmel has died
Comedian Robert Schimmel, a frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, has died a week after being injured in a car accident. [more inside]
Indonesian Glacier Drops 12 Inches in Two Weeks
"Rain is probably the most effective way to ... cause the ice to melt. So this was the first time you could see the surface actually lowering around you." A rare tropical glacier in Indonesia has dropped by a foot in the space of two weeks, as observed by a team sent to collect ice cores to study the effects of global warming. (Glaciers, previously.) [more inside]
"Getting up mad and staying mad all day certainly describes Paul Conrad"
"Don't think it hasn't been a little slice of heaven...'cause it hasn't!"
Three newly approved 'in vitro' toxicity tests using artificial human skin are reducing the need for animal testing of cosmetics and chemicals. [more inside]
Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
Le Fin du Fonz
In Defense of Jumping the Shark. The writer behind Fonzie's infamous, downfall-defining moment remains unrepentant. "More than three decades later, I still don't believe that the series 'jumped the shark' when Fonzie jumped the shark."
Justice, Justice, everywhere...
What do bottles of water used to torture people have in common with bottles of water provided to those in danger of dying of thirst? Jay Bybee. Guess which ones he likes. Scott Horton discusses the case of Walt Stanton and Jay Bybee's curious flexibility over bottled water's proper use. [more inside]
A trip through datagraphics in Kim Asendorf's head.
Britney Spears: 1-6 How we filled the sad, lonely years between the release of "Ray of Light" and the invention of Lady Gaga.
Twitter Discographies summarizes musicians' entire careers in 140 characters, album by album. (SLT) [more inside]
I. Want. Fries.
Pat Jordan from the New York Times meets William Shatner: James T. Kirk TJ Hooker author Priceline Spokesman ("and shareholder") horse buff at a farm Starbucks Gas Station horse park Tony Roma's mall equestrian ground
visionary hero icon has-been phoenix one-man universe.
“I always did assume they were laughing at me. Lately it’s come to my attention they are laughing with me.”A subtly poignant interview of a cultural
Can I haz Stanley Cup?
Professional hockey goalies usually wear intimidating custom masks, but HC Lada goalie/ Tampa Bay Lightening draftee Vasiliy Koshechkin, whose name is similar to the Russian word for kitten, decided to go in a different direction.
What does it feel like to be the only person to survive a plane crash, a boat wreck or an ambush?
The Only Ones: Escaping Near Death : Sole Survivors from the fascinating first-person experience column in the Guardian. [more inside]
"What's the difference between a virus and windows ? Viruses rarely fail."
Symantec’s “Hack Is Wack,” And Cybersecurity’s Most Embarassing Marketing Campaigns: Hack is Wack previously Jackie Chan - Kaspersky 2010 Antivirus Commercial. Ex Gang member turns Computer Hacker. Don't Copy That Floppy. & Don't Copy That Floppy 2.0.
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