February 28
Herod's Temple
Herod's Temple, originally an expansion on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Now a retired farmer has spent 30 years building a scale model of it
MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive is an astounding collection of historical material on mathematics, especially biographies. (Previously: 1 2 3 4.)
China criticizes US on human rights
China hits back at US criticism on human rights After the US needles China with human rights criticism, China responds with Human Rights Record of United States in 2008. From its preface: "As in previous years, the [United States'] reports are full of accusations of the human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but mention nothing of the widespread human rights abuses on its own territory."
DDoS on SoCal Time Warner
It seems that there is a large DDoS attack targeting Time Warner's DNS servers in Southern California. JeffTWC's latest statement. A solution for those affected? [more inside]
Why do they hate our freedom?
Hate Group Numbers Up By 54% Since 2000 according to Southern Poverty Law Center. Glen Beck thoughtfully wonders about the coming civil unrest (that he'll be stoking from the sidelines) And Sean Hannity takes down a poll on his forum about "What kind of revolution appeals most to you?" [more inside]
Stringer Bell goes legit?
In a recent report for the Abell Foundation, University of Maryland Criminologist Peter Reuter asks whether, in light of the evidence from Switzerland, The Netherlands and elsewhere, Baltimore might not be the best place to try the first US heroin maintenance programme?
government weblogs
The OMB has a blog (feed) -- Peter Orszag started one at CBO (still going under Douglas Elmendorf née Bob Sunshine) and carried blogging over to the White House. The Atlanta Fed has one too (not to be confused with Macro Man). David Altig unofficially began it as an economist at the Cleveland Fed and then, when he became research director in Atlanta, made it official (altho still hosted on TypePad). Are there any other (federal/state/local/non-US) worthwhile government blogs (wikis sure) out there from our shiny new iPod gov't? cf. DoD live (check out the other service blogs, e.g.)/air force live & USAgov on twitter
February 27
Squeeze in, get online for a better life
Newly jobless and homeless former members of the Japanese upper or upper-middle class are turning to a distinctly 21st century version of the flophouse, the net room: a tiny cubicle, rented by the day, with that all-important feature... an internet connection and a computer. [more inside]
". . . I'm Jim the Realtor"
Wiring the Castle
Circuits are flipping on in the nation's attic. A couple of weeks ago, 31 "digerati" -- like Clay Shirky, Chris Anderson, and George Oates -- dropped in to the Smithsonian Institution for the invitation-only conference "Smithsonian 2.0: A Gathering to Re-imagine the Smithsonian in the Digital Age". Dan Cohen of the Center for History and New Media provides a great summary (and continues to pose provocative questions) on his own blog. Those whose invitations were somehow lost in the mail can play fly-on-the-wall by watching the keynotes, paging through the Flickr pool of envymaking glimpses of their behind-the-scenes lab and collections tours, reading the blog (where Bruce Wyman of the Denver Art Museum lays out a succinct road map for museums using social media), and poking around in the SI's website gallery. Want to cheer on the USA's favorite 163-year-old "Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge" without taking the trip to DC? Thanks to their recent efforts, you can now follow the SI on Twitter, listen to its podcasts, watch its YouTube channel, visit the Latino Virtual Museum in Second Life, or use the FaceBook gifts page to send your best friends their very own pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers, Hope diamond, Negro Leagues baseball, or coelocanth.
Social Neuroscience
That Voodoo That Scientists Do. "When findings are debated online, as with a yet to be released paper (PDF) that calls out the field of social neuroscience, who wins?"
Sparkline Information Graphics
Speaking of Edward Tufte (see below), sparklines are a type of information graphics characterized by their small size and data density named by Tufte. Sparklines were used by sites reporting the 2008 election and were first introduced on MeFi in 2005. There are now several ways to put sparklines on your own web site including: a simple jQuery plugin, a downloadable PHP library, a dynamic generator using a Python CGI program, and even a library for Ruby on Rails.
Type Writin' Beats
When ask metafilter just wont do
You used to be able to ask Edward Tufte questions on his website. He disabled the new questions part a few years ago so only a topic or two a month comes out now. But the old topics form years long conversations running to tens of thousands of words, generally polite and insightful. Here are some excellent threads: recommendations for graphing software, Book design: advice and examples, Medical information exchange: The patient, doctor, computer triangle, Evidence and assumptions in tree diagrams, Airport maps, Lists, Advice for effective analytical reasoning, a celebration of Megan Jaegerman's news graphics, Design of causal diagrams, the merits of ISO paper sizes.
Donovan
Paul McCartney and Donovan - 1968, 1969 + Donovan talks with David Lynch & sings "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" for Maharishi + David Lynch Sings + Medley Beatles di Donovan
There ain't nothin' finer than an ice-cold LONE STAR
Lone Star Beer. Immortalized in song, it bills itself as the National Beer of Texas. Once brewed in what is now known as the historic San Antonio Pearl Brewery, it's still brewed in Texas, though Texas anti-hipsters will be chagrined to know that Lone Star's latest owner (since 1999) is Milwaukee-based Pabst. Still, it's the cheapest beer in Texas, and the bottles have an extra perk: a rebusnot this guy on the inside of the cap. (A good bartender or waitperson'll bring you that with yer longnecknot this one.) This guy has collected nearly all (he's missing TWO!) of the 400+ puzzles and their answers. Metafilter, it's beer-fifteen.
Reinventing the wheel: a brief survey of erotic literature
Erotic expression in printed form is an art that has been around since the days of Christ but surprisingly has never seemed to go away. This post aims to take a cursory survey of some of the more important works of erotic literature that have been published over the last few hundred years, and to examine the current state of erotic writing. [more inside]
We have books.
Weee! Book scramble! (Single link Daily Mail article.)
Not singing the blues anymore.
Nina Paley's animated film, Sita Sings the Blues, has been mentioned here several times before. It's a retelling of the classic Indian epic Ramayana, featuring the 1920s jazz recordings of singer Annette Hanshaw, interspersed with the story of Nina's own troubled marriage-- and despite critical accolades, it's been languishing due to copyright issues surrounding the 80-year-old Hanshaw songs. But things seem to be finally looking up for Ms. Paley: she has worked out a distribution plan, the movie will be broadcast on New York PBS station WNET on March 7, and the whole thing is finally available online, at thirteen.org. [more inside]
2!?! Why did you drop there 2?
Linez! Friday Flash Fun presents this stupidly addicting and wonderfully frustrating puzzle game.
"Senior management was probably unaware ..."
Unpack your knives and throw
On Wednesday night, the chef at Jax Fish House in Boulder, Colorado became the most disliked culinary professional in the United States. (read the comments) [more inside]
Geeks Galore.
Final Edition
Newspaper says goodbye via Vimeo. The Rocky Mountain News published its final edition today, after 149 years, 311 days in circulation.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Hotels in the 80s were so much more fun.
Another relic of the cheesy, horny, big-haired 1980s (well, besides your yearbook picture)... Chippendales guys were more than just photographs! If you only click one link though, it really should be this one. (NSFW - butts, crotches, and Judy Landers in lingerie for the dudes) [more inside]
What will become of the Baron? Surely this time he will not escape.
A man whose bravery and fame is matched only by his commitment to truth, the great Baron Münchhausen has permeated all artistic mediums of any worth: books (on-line and off), films (old and new), cartoons (french, english), an animated short film, an online graphic novel, even a game of role-playing -- if you are so despicable a person as to, for no other reason than the amusement of yourself and your fellows, slander the Baron's name with lies of your own invention. Though a similarly-named syndrome would falsely imply otherwise, he is an entirely honest man who exaggerates as little as he boasts, and as to the latter I have assurances from no less a personage than the Baron himself that his humility is without equal in the 7 earth continents, and 2 out of 3 of the moon's.
Green Grow the Rushes Go
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is signalling that marijuana policy will now be considered a matter of state jurisdiction. For obvious reasons, medical marijuana champions are celebrating the administration's committment to depart from the Bush and Clinton eras' previous policies of conducting frequent DEA Raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California. But with recent signs of a U.S. economy in even more rapid decline than anyone anticipated, and with California being particularly hard hit, some California politicians are suggesting the time has finally arrived to end the prohibition and put full legalization of marijuana on the table, pointing to potential windfalls in the range of a billion dollars in new tax revenue annually. [more inside]
The Job
where we're going we don't NEED beans
Wikileaks cracks password on NATO Afghanistan document
Wikileaks cracks NATO's Master Narrative for Afghanistan
Wikileaks has cracked the encryption to a key document relating to the war in Afghanistan. The document, titled "NATO in Afghanistan: Master Narrative", details the "story" NATO representatives are to give to, and to avoid giving to, journalists. [more inside]
Wikileaks has cracked the encryption to a key document relating to the war in Afghanistan. The document, titled "NATO in Afghanistan: Master Narrative", details the "story" NATO representatives are to give to, and to avoid giving to, journalists. [more inside]
where few men have gone before
Adventuring by Wes Modes. Be sure to make it to the Infiltration Timeline and North Bank Fred's Trainhopping page. [more inside]
"Will you still need me? / Will you still feed me?"
Romanian tango !
Tango în limba româna. Treat your ears to the lost art of the Romanian tango, refurbished well by Oana Cătălina Chiţu.
A vote for "The Indefatigable Frog" is a vote for posterity.
"Do you like fiction and mathematics? Are you interested in what our society thinks about mathematicians?" [more inside]
February 26
How quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only ten seconds ago
Louis C.K. gives us all a little dose of perspective.
Parasites that pull their own weight
Itching to start a new career? You might want to think about opening your own Flea Circus. [more inside]
The Jade Calendar
A Visitor's Guide to Hell - A translation of the Chinese version of what happens to the human soul after death [with some illustrations]. [more inside]
Gregarious Octopus Floods Aquarium
Octopus chaos. The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium's gregarious and curious two-spotted octopus plays with tank filter resulting in the release of hundreds of gallons of seawater flooding the facility. FLICK pix here.
another one bites the dust
Ladies and Gentlemen, your prayers have been answered. Tucker Carlson is no longer a character in his own life and he has returned to being a huckster for regional Republican sideshows.
The Canadian Oil Boom
Scraping Bottom: The Canadian Oil Boom. "Once considered too expensive, as well as too damaging to the land, exploitation of Alberta's oil sands is now a gamble worth billions."
Blind Justice
Blind Justice..... Sir John Fielding, 1721-1780, brother of novelist/playwrite Henry Fielding (Tom Jones), was a blind magistrate at the Bow Street court (known as the "Blind Beak of Bow Street"), home of London's first professional police force, the Bow Street Runners. [more inside]
Aardvark K Mask
Looking for some new head gear for your next party? While many reach for a cap to cover up those bad hair days, Spanish designer Kepa Rasmussen would rather sculpt a mask. Crafting highly innovative facial sculptures under his label Aardvark K Mask, Rasmussen's conceptual pieces are hand-crafted expressly to make heads turn.
Your Kid's Band Sucks!
A Jonas Brothers Guide for Adults . "If you're expecting them to fade away...think again." Tweens unite! "It's full scream ahead!" Ohhhh, myyyyy! [more inside]
FXcuisine
FXcuisine: spectacular recipes and memorable food experiences. This blog is a feast for the eyes. [more inside]
"To me, Pylon was the best band to ever come out of Athens. It still is."
Pylon guitarist and co-founder Randall Bewley died yesterday of a heart attack at age 53. [more inside]
Poet and essayist Bill Holm died Wednesday February 26, 2009
Minnesota poet and essayist Bill Holm died on Wednesday. Bill Holm passed away less than a year after receiving some of the recognition he deserved when he was named the 2008 McKnight Distinguished Artist of the Year. He was 65. [more inside]
Dance: Pas de Deux
Dance (with echoes) from 1968 It has a slow build but is worth watching through until the end. Filmed by Norman McLaren. Site Previously Noted 13 minute video.
Meubles en carton
Missing WMD
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