August 2009
“How harmful is it swallow a small amount of nail polish remover.”
– A tech support email sent to Tumblr today. I’m thinking about adding this question to our FAQ.
“With the death of Ted Kennedy, let the word go forth: the summer of ‘09...”
– Fineman: Baby Boomers and the Death of Ted Kennedy | Newsweek Voices - Howard Fineman
What's in a Name?
The Secretary of Transportation in the United States is Ray LaHood. The Secretary of State for Transport in Britain is Lord Adonis. And, while I’m sure they’re both competent, hardworking people, I can’t shake the feeling that the British are putting more muscle behind transportation reform than we are the U.S.
Bending over backwards for a pork cutlet in Seoul... →
I arrived too early. Terrified of being late, I had given myself more time on top of the extra time I usually allow and had arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes before my 7:30 p.m. reservation.
Standing outside, I practiced my line: “I’m Jiyeon Lee for the 7:30 reservation,” while incessantly checking the time on my phone to make sure I hadn’t missed the five-minute window during which I was...
Oh, NPR. Why do you put stories in your RSS feeds that are audio-only but then not make the audio available for three hours? Why do you tempt me with these mirages in my feed reader every day? I donate to my local NPR affiliate, I swear!
1 tag
My Thoughts on Health Care Reform
I’ve avoided posting about health care reform because it’s such a complex and controversial issue. But, I’ve decided it’s time to share my thoughts, no matter how unpopular or ridiculed they will be.
Everyone wants quality care with lower costs. Everyone wants Stephen Hawking and Ted Kennedy to have health care while avoiding Death Panels. Everyone is against rationing of...
Unearthed after 60 years, a new Hercule Poirot... →
Many people who know me will understand why this excites me. But, only a few who know me really well will remember that in a weird way I predicted this many years ago.
“URL-shorteners are bad for the Internet. They centralize linking, and make it...”
– How to fix URL-shorteners (Scripting News)
The whole article is insightful as usual.
I think syncing of read items with Google Reader is broken in the latest NetNewswire beta.
My Job is Very Special
It never ceases to amaze me what bizarre things a Tumblr employee may be called upon to do. And, I love that about my job. Alas, only about eight other people will have any clue what I’m talking about. But, I suspect they are thinking the same thing right now.
Bicycle Inflation in Paradise? - Freakonomics Blog... →
Does it make me a horrible person to think it’s kinda cool that Portland has the level of bicycle use to create bike inflation?
According to Google, someone recently found my blog after searching for “hilllary clinton boogie diva”. Not sure what that’s all about.
“In a paper last month in the online journal Evolutionary Psychology, Gregory...”
– Why Religion May Not be Hard-Wired | Newsweek.com
The Day's First Stop Is Online →
jingc:
This is morning in America in the Internet age. After six to eight hours of network deprivation — also known as sleep — people are increasingly waking up and lunging for cellphones and laptops, sometimes even before swinging their legs to the floor and tending to more biologically urgent activities.
Checking email in the morning helps me get up in the morning, since it reminds me of...
WatchMore of the Carytown Watermelon Festival.
WatchAt the Carytown Watermelon Festival.
Tesla Motors Achieves Profitability →
livejamie:
Yes, a profitable American car company
Awesome.
Does a Tax on Junk Food Make Sense? | The... →
No, a tax on junk food does not make sense. The article points out two good reasons not do this. You can eat a lot of junk food but also get a lot of exercise and thus avoid obesity. And, since “good” food is often more expensive than junk food and harder to find in poor neighborhoods, a tax on junk food would be regressive toward lower-income people.
The article touches on the idea...
“Specifically, Twitter has had to take defensive actions that are preventing some...”
– Twitter still struggling to recover from DOS attack | Topics | Macworld
This has not been a fun workday for me.
3 tags
The Shaky Economics Of 'Cash For Clunkers' : NPR →
Amen, NPR. I think Cash for Clunkers is a terrible idea.
We are literally destroying working products to buy new ones. Did we learn nothing from WALL-E? I love this quote from the NPR story: “Consider a similar program to replace old light bulbs with more efficient ones. … Would you smash the old bulbs?” Ugh.
We are encouraging people to make a major purchase that they will...
Hot Waitress Economic Index - New York Magazine →
The hotter the waitresses, the weaker the economy. In flush times, there is a robust market for hotness. Selling everything from condos to premium vodka is enhanced by proximity to pretty young people (of both sexes) who get paid for providing this service. That leaves more-punishing work, like waiting tables, to those with less striking genetic gifts. But not anymore.
(via Kottke)
“I guess you can’t even duplicate existing functionality if you are on Apple’s...”
– Twitter / Justin Williams (via chartier)
That is awesome.
Health reform: What now for Obamacare? | The... →
The work of the Gang of Six on the Senate Finance Committee may actually produce a health care reform bill that I can support.
bijan:
White Sky - Vampire Weekend (live)
I...
“The more a city is a sort of palette, a cultural kaleidoscope, the more we can...”
– Olivier Darné, an artist turned beekeeper.
Honey from Paris Is All the Buzz | Newsweek.com
