September 2008
51 posts
“A better approach would be for the government to provide capital directly, in...”
– John Hussman
Fake Disney movie trailer for the Sarah Palin... →
Stefan says: “Sarah Palin as Disney comedy character. How do they produce something this good this quickly?” Sarah Palin: Head of Skate
Towards evidence-based reform of European... →
Rick van der Ploeg, Reinhilde Veugelers, 27 September 2008 International rankings indicate that European countries lag in higher education, research, innovation, and growth. This column argues…
Dentist forcibly repossesses patient's bridge →
Police are investigating a German dentist for entering a patient’s home and forcibly removing her bridge because he hadn’t been paid for the work. Allegedly, the dentist, from the town of Neu-Ulm,…
Chinese schoolgirl flips off old begging woman →
Dian Agung Nugroho’s photo “F*** You (What’s on her mind ?)” captures a Chinese schoolgirl flipping off an old Chinese beggar lady. The title really asks the important question — what does this…
Dentist forcibly repossesses patient's bridge →
Police are investigating a German dentist for entering a patient’s home and forcibly removing her bridge because he hadn’t been paid for the work. Allegedly, the dentist, from the town of Neu-Ulm,…
My projects seem to be heading down the Long Tail →
Over the past five years, I’ve launched project after project. I love each one and put equal effort into each. And each is successful in its own way. But I can’t help but notice that my interests…
Larry Kudlow, Socialist →
Regardless of your feelings about Larry Kudlow and/or Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (D.), this is amusing viewing.
A Video Game That You Can Play on YouTube →
Sometime back Google introduced video annotations in YouTube that can either be plain text appearing over the video or they can be links which point to other videos hosted on YouTube.
…
Walt Mossberg on the G1 →
Walt Mossberg: In sum, the G1 is a powerful, versatile device which will offer users a real alternative in the new handheld computing category the iPhone has occupied alone.
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Spore →
Our Favorite Part of Google's Android GPhone... →
From Dan Frommer’s excellent play-by-play:
11:11 Sergey wrote an app that lets you throw phone up in the air, measure how many seconds until you catch it or it hits the floor.
See…
Google's Project 10 to the 100 →
As part of their 10 year anniversary – in 1998, Andy Bechtolsheim made out a $100,000 check to Google Inc. – Google released an interactive time line of the company history. Danny…
Making money twice →
A good portion of this industry is still trying to figure out how to make money for the first time (hint: charge people). But for those who’ve mastered that, I want to talk about the next step:…
“The researchers found that the number of Facebook friends and wallposts that...”
– Narcissists Can Be Identified By Their Facebook Accounts
The future of business is avoiding cliched... →
The Long Tail’s subtitle was “Why selling less of more is the future of business”. Shamelessly, the subtitle of my Wired FREE article was “Why $0.00 is the future of business”. But now comes…
The Three Prices--more than zero, zero, and less... →
My book is mostly about two prices—something and nothing—but at dinner in NYC with Jay Walker this week, he convinced me to include a discussion of a third price: less than…
Abu Ghraib coffee table →
Abu Ghraib Coffee Table, by Phillip Toledano, from “America: The Gift Shop.” Moulded resin, plexiglass, 6’, 2008. Related: the work of Allen Jones. (Thanks, Susannah Breslin)
China to Require Imported-Product Source Code →
The Communist Party-controlled government of China plans to REQUIRE THE SOURCE CODE OF ANY FOREIGN PRODUCT SOLD IN CHINA, from computers to household appliances, starting in May. Because China…
How easily we are fooled: The rotating grid... →
Filmmaker and animator David O’Reilly (who came up with the concept for iHologram) has noticed an interesting property in this animated GIF: He writes: While working in 3D last year, I…
The First LHC Cartoon Without Any Black Hole →
Download lhc3.comicdoc
The Three Prices--more than zero, zero, and less... →
My book is mostly about two prices—something and nothing—but at dinner in NYC with Jay Walker this week, he convinced me to include a discussion of a third price: less than…
Exploding the Short-Seller Myth About Morgan... →
While no-one is likely to change their mind on this — the vilification of short-sellers is more or less complete — but let’s keep working away at it. Here is some data on the role of short-sellers…
"20 Irresistible Gadgets You’d Love to Own." →
Microsoft's "I'm a PC" Ads Created On Macs. →
Brain implant results in non-stop self-stimulation →
Mind Hacks found this research paper from 1986 about a 48-year-old woman who received a deep brain stimulation implant to help her cope with chronic pain. Soon after insertion of the nVPL…
Spore And The Great DRM Backlash →
If we can learn anything from the troubled launch of Spore, a videogame many people have been looking forward to for years, it is that binding products with digital rights management…
DRM is Helping Spore Make History As the Most... →
Spore, a Sim-like game about the evolution of creatures, was recently released as one of the most anticipated games of the year. Our initial impressions were high with the release of…
Nouveau Millionaire Rails Against Old Money Snobs →
There is nothing like a good co-op board fight to unleash the resentments between Old and New Money.
A Beacon Hill neighborhood (via Reuters)
An article by Andrea Estes in the Boston…
Europees Parlement stemt in met veiling... →
Het Europees Parlement is gewonnen voor het plan om de industrie vanaf 2013 te laten betalen voor het uitstoten van kooldioxide door hun fabrieken. De industriecommissie van het Parlement stemde…
Prez Candidates’ Page Costs (Updated) →
Investigator by Paul E. Greenberg writes:
In an earlier posting on this website (Cost Per Page of Books by U.S. Presidential Candidates, Jan. 28, 2008), I reported on the vast disparity in the…
Google AdSense in Analytics →
Digital Inspiration has screenshots of what looks like a prototype of Google Analytics featuring information on how a webmaster’s AdSense are doing. For instance, this helps you to find out…
WatchDouble Standards The best watched online clip ever on ComedyCentral.com
Justin James Interviews HTML 5 Editor Ian Hickson →
Ian Hickson: The users have to come first, with the Web authors a close second, but the problem is that if we ever specify something that the browser vendors disagree with, they will just ignore…
Worst Anti-Aging Cream Ad Every Posted Online →
Anti-aging creams often exaggerate claims with pictures showing dramatic improvements in appearance that result from using the products. But a Dermitage ad found on the Associated Press site…
Amazon's Kindle Gets Exclusive On Dueling First... →
New biographies of potential first ladies Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama will be released exclusively on Amazon’s Kindle (AMZN) e-reader, months before they go into print.
Obama’s bio,…
Peter Thiel: Best Predictor of Startup Success Is... →
In a long-ranging discussion today at TechCrunch50, investor Peter Thiel (PayPal, Facebook, Slide) gave his thoughts on what is the best predictor of startup success. At the Founder’s Fund,…
Steve Jobs Unveils New iTunes, iPod Nano, iPod... →
As expected, Apple boss Steve Jobs announced new iPods today, as well as a new version of Apple’s iTunes software.
The iPod nano is once again tall and skinny — and even more colorful. A…
Google: The all-time biggest company based on free →
I’ve always assumed that Google was the best—and biggest—example in history of a business model based on free, but until today I hadn’t actually run the numbers. Before I get to those, let’s…
Mad Magazine on Sarah Palin →
Mad Magazine has leaked its satirical Sarah Palin spread to the HuffPo — a good ‘un, too. Exclusive: MAD Magazine’s Election Coverage, Sarah Palin Edition
Guns N' Roses Piracy Spikes After FBI Arrests... →
Last month Guns N’ Roses managed to sic the FBI on a blogger who was leaking tracks from Chinese Democracy, its perpetually delayed album. Guess what happened next?
The following is an…
Printable housing →
University of Southern California engineer Behrokh Khoshnevis and colleagues are developing a 3D printer for houses. Called Contour Crafting, the system spits out layers of concrete to…
StressEraser, pocket biofeedback system →
The StressEraser is a pocket-sized digital biofeedback device designed to keep you calm in the face of stress. My friend Jerry Michalski’s pal has been carrying one for at least a year or so…
Strange fences →
The above fence sculpture comes from Dark Roasted Blend’s picks of “Some of the World’s Strangest Fences.” Also included, a very long fence decorated with bras in New Zealand, a fence…
The End is Not for a While →