May 8, 2010
The State of Metropolitan America
The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program (led by Bruce Katz) has just released its The State of Metropolitan America report (full pdf). The report builds on eight years of the Census Bureau’s American Community Surveys; and includes a spiffy State of Metropolitan America Indicator Map of changes in population indicators at state, metropolitan, and suburban levels.160;160;
Some interesting findings:
- America's suburbs are now more likely to be home to minorities, the poor and a rapidly growing older population as many younger, educated whites move to cities for jobs and shorter commutes.
- Two-thirds of primary cities in large metropolitan areas grew from 2000 to 2008
- For the first time in several decades, the population is growing at a faster rate than households, due to delays in marriage, divorce and births as well as longer life spans. People living alone and nonmarried couple families are among the fastest-growing in suburbs.
Pulp Sci-Fi Title-O-Tron
The Sphere of Mercury's Mathematician and other thrilling randomly generated retro pulp Sci-Fi titles are available to you now from the Random Pulp Sci-Fi Title-O-Tron!
A Renaissance Fair(e) for the Web
Renaissance Fair(e)s are fun(ny). All's Faire is a web comedy series about the fictional Southeastern Delaware Renaissance Faire and its actors/employees. [more inside]
She's sweet 16 and never been kissed! Never!
Pamela's Prayer: This heartfelt motion picture presents the highest standard of purity before marriage. Remember, a kiss isn't something you should just give away!
I'll take care of them.
BBC World Service Documentaries
BBC World Service has over 500 audio documentaries you can download. The subject matter is incredibly wide ranging, for example, internet cafés, the influence of Islamic art on William Morris, South African female AIDS activist Thembi Ngubane, Yiddish, the importance of cows, novelist Chinua Achebe, financial risk management, Obama as an intellectual, the physical and emotional effects of a car crash and many, many more. If the quantity and variety are overwhelming, you can subscribe to a podcast, which delivers a new documentary to you every single day.
For those far away from their mums.
Space Paranoids is alive and real.
Greetings, Programs! This is enough to make the hearts of every sci-fi geek everywhere go pitter and patter (yes and no, like a bit!). Space Paranoids was "invented" by a young programmer named Kevin Flynn back in 1982. Now it's finally come to life! [more inside]
The dolphin as our beast of burden
A Mind in the Water: The dolphin as our beast of burden. "The shocking double life of the dolphin, featuring neuropsychologists, hippies, spies, and extraterrestrials."
Everybody Edits
Everybody Edits is a fun Flash game where everyone edits the world and plays in it together.
you got dick'd
Is a Woman's MBA Worth Less? $4,600.
That's how much less women made than men in their first post-MBA jobs, according to research by Nancy Carter and Christine Silva of Catalyst. And it's not because women tend to start at lower positions than men — though they do start at lower positions than men, on average, that's a separate problem. The research controls for job level and industry. What's more, the salary lines aren't parallel; men's salaries start higher, then rise faster. The gap widens over time, even after controlling for factors like having children or differing aspiration levels.
The pay just isn't equal.
Git er Done
C.W. Roberts Contracting in Florida has come up with a simple and inexpensive method to remove crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico. [more inside]
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"At the end of March 2010, I found out that I was apparently a central figure in a conspiracy theory regarding aliens and a government cover up." David Levine's Contact Project was an early web game (1995!) in which message forum members would collaborate to translate increasingly elaborate "extraterrestrial" messages. What Levine didn't expect was that, over the course of several years, a convoluted conspiracy theory would spring up around the Contact Project based on the notion that Levine actually received transmissions from Tau Ceti, and lied to cover it up! (via gameshelf)
Escape velocity
Following Steve Eley stepping down as editor of Escape Pod, the first and probably most popular science fiction podcast magazine, Mur Laffety has taken up the reins. Probably best known for I Should Be Writing, a podcast for wanna-be fiction writers, Mur also currently hosts Tor.com's fiction podcast.
Dammit, I can smell the rooms in your pictures, Roy
Yoshida-ryo: Dilapidated, decrepit and downright dirty. A photo essay about a Kyoto University dormitory first built in 1913 that still houses student squatters for the ultra low price of ¥2,500 (about USD$25) a month. No wonder it looks like this [more inside]
I'm not one to keep my fridge and cupboards stocked but I had a few items from my last trip to Trader Joe's and they would get the job done.
"What would be it like to go a day without spending any money? I've thought about this before but I've never considered actually trying it. I couldn't imagine going a day without spending a single penny -- is that even possible? How would I get from A to B? What about food? Turns out, a day of living expense free is possible and you'd be surprised by the overwhelming sense of satisfaction and feeling of elation that comes from it. "
The Huffington Post's Alexa van Tobel tells the astonishing and empowering tale of How I Went 24 Hours Without Spending Any Money...In New York City.
Unfortunately, "this experiment is unsustainable for a long period of time."
The Fundamentals of Bodyweight Strength Training. And some other links on the same topic.
Detailed information on the Transocean Deepwater Horizon Explosion
"High pressures? You had better believe it. And in this case, Mother Nature won." Absolutely fascinating analysis of both the hazards of deepwater drilling and what happened to the Transocean Horizon rig that sank in the Gulf of Mexico. A first hand interview from one of the survivors, and discussions about drilling, safety and the equipment involved. [more inside]
"This is not about paying someone to get you laid and then sticking your company’s health insurance with the bill."
"Imagine what it must feel like never to have known gentle touch, and then to have someone hold your hand, stroke your arm, run their fingers through your hair. It's a profound experience. Often, clients cry." Inside the world of sex surrogates. [more inside]
Not available for Kindle
Life With Betty
Most people don't realize that Betty White was awesome nearly 60 years ago. In 1952, she was already TV's first female talk show host, and she became the first woman on TV to star AND co-produce her own sitcom (without being married to one of the other producers), "Life With Elizabeth", and the show is (IMO) a Lost Classic. (less lost now, with the help of YouTube; MLYT follows...) [more inside]
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