January 18, 2009
When Ad Placement Goes Wrong
A shocking scene from the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica was paired with a rather unfortunate commercial. Warning: Big spoiler in the scene if you follow the show and have not caught up. Graphic violence. [more inside]
NATIONAL ZOO: Mei Xiang and Tian Tian tried to mate
"Because competent mating did not occur," the zoo statement said, veterinarians anesthetized both pandas on Saturday, collected semen from Tian Tian and inserted it into Mei Xiang's uterus. [previously 1 2 3]
Why Google Employees Quit
Stand on the right, pass on the left
LEMUR's Gamelatron
Introducing the Gamelatron, "the world's first and only fully robotic gamelan". Brought to you by the Brooklyn-based League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, affectionately known as LEMUR.
“They didn’t tell me I had to do anything particular with it”
At the Palm Beach Ritz-Carlton last November, John C. Hope III, the chairman of Whitney National Bank in New Orleans, stood before a ballroom full of Wall Street analysts and explained how his bank intended to use its $300 million in federal bailout money.
“Make more loans?” Mr. Hope said. “We’re not going to change our business model or our credit policies to accommodate the needs of the public sector as they see it to have us make more loans.”
Personal stories from the front lines of the American bailout.
“Make more loans?” Mr. Hope said. “We’re not going to change our business model or our credit policies to accommodate the needs of the public sector as they see it to have us make more loans.”
Personal stories from the front lines of the American bailout.
Murder in Prague
Astronomer Tycho Brahe was one of the more colorful characters of the scientific Renaissance. He lost his nose in a duel; flouted the rules of Danish nobility and married a commoner; built, on the island of Hven, Uraniborg, the best astronomical observatory of his day; kept a beer-drinking pet moose; and amassed the data that would ultimately allow Johannes Kepler to derive the three laws of planetary motion.
His chief sponsor had been Danish king Frederick II, but Frederick's heir, Christian IV, quarreled with Tycho and kicked him out of Hven. Insulted, Brahe left Denmark for Prague and the sponsorship of Rudolph II. New evidence has emerged suggesting that the offended king may have had Tycho assassinated. [more inside]
Classic Rock covered by Microsoft Songsmith
We've all had some fun with Songsmith, Microsoft's new automated backing band. But other people have had some fun with it. Witness: Enter Songsmith and Intergalactic Songsmith. [more inside]
Yes, they really are bird-people
Have you ever wondered how Samus got all her powers? I mean, really, how does a simple back-planet girl learn to use this mysterious Chozo technology?
Presidential Inauguration Videos.
Looking forward to Tuesday, here's a blast from the past. Videos of previous Presidential Inaugurations. The first recorded on video was McKinley's Second (March 4, 1901). [more inside]
"An aardvark with exceptional spell resistance, a propensity for rolling natural 20s, and multi-classed to boot."
Cerebus: A Diablog. Every week or so,Laura and Leigh read, review, and discuss an issue of Dave Sim's seminal comic series Cerebus.
Obama(s) Over the Years
The New Yorker has reprinted their articles about the Obamas over the years.
From a 1996 profile as part of a series about couples in America:
MICHELLE OBAMA: There is a strong possibility that Barack will pursue a political career, although it’s unclear. There is a little tension with that. I’m very wary of politics. I think he’s too much of a good guy for the kind of brutality, the skepticism.
From a story about his Senate campaign:
He was affable with everyone, smiling warmly, but in exchanges that lasted more than a few seconds it was possible to see him slipping subtly into the idiom of his interlocutor—the blushing, polysyllabic grad student, the hefty black church-pillar lady, the hip-hop autoshop guy. Black activists sometimes say that African-American kids need to become “bi-dialectic”—to speak both black English and standard English—to succeed. Obama, the biracial kid from Hawaii, speaks a full range of American vernaculars.
There are others. Read in sequence, it's an interesting series of snapshots, with the guy slowly coming into focus.
There are others. Read in sequence, it's an interesting series of snapshots, with the guy slowly coming into focus.
Thank you. Good night
"Thank you" in 465 languages Also, Hello! in 800 languages, I love you in 89, How much does that cost? in 93, I don't speak [this language] in 58 and Go fuck yourself in 20.
Kill all humans / assemble self into chair
The Pups of War
oldskool jungle
blog to the oldskool, collecting obscure & long forgotten 91-95 oldschool hardcore/jungle gems, live sets, and more oldies from the golden era of jungle .
Who Doesn't Like Soil Science?
Who Doesn't Like Soil Science? Well, OK, a lot of people. But there is a cool collection of 3-D models of significant compound in the field at the Virtual Museum of Minerals and Molecules. Hosted at the University of Wisconsin, it currenly has 26 exhibits ranging from simple (I like graphite) to complex (plastocyanin should please everyone with its useful copper-holding functions).You can rotate the models in all directions and emphasize particular substructures to get a better look at them. Fun for anyone who like soil, chemistry, or playing with 3-D molecule models.
I do solemnly swear...
Presidential inaugurations often invoke higher powers. President Obama will swear in on the Lincoln Bible, though the appropriate verse is unknown. When Harry Truman took the oath of office he kissed the Bible. Theodore Roosevelt was the only President not sworn in on a Bible.
More Presidential Inauguration Trivia.
Vision Off
Lego Obama
CNN doesn't seem so silly now, does it?
Dogz Rule
Woof Report has a litter of pup-perfect ideas, dog care tips, products, and more. Think of it as your daily dose of doggie delight. Woof Report works to promote awareness of animal welfare causes, pet adoption initiatives and charities.
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