DecemberDec 1 Tuesday 09
How Bad Could Obama Screw Up and Still Beat Sarah Palin?
Shared by bjohnsme
I still love this statistical political stuff. Forgot how fun Nate Silver is to read.
Although I'm fairly bullish on Sarah Palin's prospects of winning the Republican nomination, I also subscribe to the conventional wisdom that, were she to be the …
"He is a second Dirac, only this time human."
Shared by bjohnsme
Like most nerds, and probably lots of others, I think Richard Feynman is about the coolest dude around. If you haven't read his books (or his book of letters, which is also fascinating and hilarious), it's definitely worth the time. He's …
NovemberNov 22 Sunday 09
ULTIMATE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ON WHEELS | THE 1970’s VAN CUSTOMIZATION CRAZE
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Once upon a time — or more accurately, back in the 1970s — the van reigned supreme. Riding in right on the heels of the fading muscle car era, the custom van became the ultimate self-expression vehicle– tricked-out and personalized to show all the world …
NovemberNov 21 Saturday 09
Geithner Not the First Treasury Secretary to Spar With Lawmakers
Shared by bjohnsme
I'm probably tainted from watching too much Deadwood, but I would love to read a book of heated interactions in Washington. Back in the day Congress was a bit more violent, with Charles Sumner nearly being beaten to death in the Senate over some …
NovemberNov 20 Saturday 09
What the U.S. Long Bond Market Is Telling Us...
Paul Krugman reads the tea leaves in what looks like the best piece of economic analysis I have read this month. When we do the things we do well, this is the kind of thing we do:
Interest rates: the phantom menace: From various bat squeaks I’ve put together a …
N.A.S.A. feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith – Spacious Thoughts
Another eccentric song by N.A.S.A. that comes along with a more than according visual. The musical collective – founded by Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon – recruits seasoned veterans Kool Keith and Tom Waits for their new single Spacial Thoughts off their debut …
NovemberNov 19 Thursday 09
Houdini's Last Trick
Shared by bjohnsme
This made me incredibly uncomfortable to read. It's kind of bizarre that reading about having a hard time breathing could do that... I don't know how Houdini could bring himself to do it time and again.
At New York's Shelton Hotel on August 5th, …
NovemberNov 18 Thursday 09
Cormac McCarthy interview
The WSJ has a conversation with Cormac McCarthy.
Your future gets shorter and you recognize that. In recent years, I have had no desire to do anything but work and be with [my son] John. I hear people talking about going on a vacation or something and I think, what is …
Slaughterhouse Five
Shared by bjohnsme
I can't get enough of this blog. Totally amazing.
In December of 1944, whilst behind enemy lines during the Rhineland Campaign, Private Kurt Vonnegut was captured by Wehrmacht troops and subsequently became a prisoner of war. A month later, …
How do you convince someone to stay away?
The feverish but resilient Megan McArdle refers us to a problem in signaling theory:
Slate ponders how to communicate the danger of radioactive waste to the far future. The problem is, if they can't read English, or recognize the radiation trefoil, anything you do …
John McCain's favourite joke
Back in 2003, John Hargrave of Zug.com posed as a 10-year-old schoolboy and sent a written request to 100 U.S. Senators. Armed with a mythical 'government project' set by his Social Studies teacher, Hargrave's temporary alter-ego politely asked each Senator to reply to …
The 100 best quotes from The Wire
This is really well done. (thx, joris) Tags: The Wire TV video
NovemberNov 14 Saturday 09
Capybara Goes Acoustic
Watch CAPYBARA play Cutaway Kid / KRUXcoustic. Buy their record, love them like I do.
NovemberNov 13 Saturday 09
Japanese Barcode Design
Masters of turning the mundane cute, we recently came across this collection of the clever ways Japanese designers have extended this eccentricity down to the boring barcode.
Without impeding on the necessary numbers, inventive versions transform humble skus from the …
NovemberNov 9 Monday 09
Market Street, 1905
Man, lots of good stuff today. This is a film of a trip down Market Street in San Francisco taken in 1905 from the front of a streetcar. The array of driving styles and vehicles on display here is dazzling. (via justin blanton) Tags: San Francisco video