the garrison show

master storyteller ira glass gives some tips in video clips

great essay on the homo-eroticism and ghastly trashiness of he-man

5 unusual things you can insure

this is indescribably geeky: a bunch of clips from start trek TNG about sex

six degrees of kevin bacon applied to wikipedia

the age-old diatribes against videogames do not apply to today’s games (but i still don’t like them)

americans don’t know anything about geography - because we don’t teach it

the young generation doesn’t know much, but is knowing where to find it more important?

a fairly amazing world clock which gives some visualization to the numbers of marriages, divorces, disease rates, bicycle and computer production, and countless other statistics

an explanation of the cooperative business model

this is one badass bathroom, but it’s not quite worth $20K to me

these lawn lights look pretty sweet too, but again, i’m not mogul; scroll to see them all

don’t be surprised to see tommy murphy wearing this laptop sock sometime soon

you can use these gorgeous graphite sculptures as pencils

here’s some good news: UN peacekeeping troops were recently found to have sexually abused children in countries they were peacekeeping in - what can the UN do about it? send them home

utne article about the lingering (bad) habits of our schooling system

a bunch of people speculating (in the comments) on what we could have had for the cost of the war in Iraq

super-sweet silent solar speedboat

i don’t know about you, but i couldn’t stand the science fair–it’s always either some kid who just designed a supercomputer made out of bananas and discarded batteries or a plastic volcanoe that spits kool-aid every ten minutes

guess who might be in a uniquely powerful position this election: puerto rico

even scientific american says blogging is good for me

a good (and long) review of the kindle–yes, i want one

an interview about chemistry in the kitchen (including 10 important facts)

10 interesting facts about memorial day

amazing post by former gawker blogger about living her life online and the consequences

long article about the possibly really high chance of asteroids striking the planet

get ready for a series of massive bank failures

interesting website showing a visual development of the war on terror

on the psychology of investing

some nude photos on the paris subway prompted the metro authority to ask the photographer to take them down

unendingly-long profile of one of new york’s highest-priced call girls

top 5 johnny carson moments

free shakespeare in DC

a review of a 200 page book about having sex in the woods; i am withholding my jokes b/c the review does a better job

new survey indicates your boss is e-watching you

a very seriously long e-book about the history of star wars ONLY for the dedicated fanboy

guess the country: highest birth rate in Europe + highest divorce rate + highest percentage of women working outside the home = the best country in the world in which to live

too bad the US hasn’t taken the lead in weaning energy supplies away from oil the way that Japan has

energystar has a new component: watersense

if they hire you, zappos will pay you $1000 NOT to work there

interesting short essay about sex in high school

writers die younger but i’m not scared

crazy flickrset of discarded mannequins and dolls

to put the current food crisis in start contrast, america throws more than a quarter of its food away uneaten

a perfectly preposterous doghouse

awesome art

it’s possible that more soldiers will kill themselves than die in afghanistan and iraq

piece examining america’s loss of status as world leader

a short comparison of the decisions by the california and massachusetts supreme courts legalizing gay marriage

expose on the twenty-somethings writing the president’s speeches; i wasn’t interested until the middle of it

floating solar panels? i’m not sure…

a few funny ads, probably not from the states

a heartbreaking essay on the life of a community college english professor

an interview with hugh hefner’s 18-year old son

american’s IT workers are getting fatter (noooooo….)

in-depth investigation of the psychology and sociology of sex, both in and out of marriage

do we need to focus solely on carbon emissions to get a handle on climate change? yes or no

a 3-year old has never slept

microgravity enables scientists to create cool new materials

cute: interspecies animal adoption

great essay on having a relationship with an artist who paints you

new yorker piece on the sociology and biology of the hangover

essay from utne on the changing “american dream”

a couple of poems that i really enjoyed: here and here

this started as a post about a new prison the pentagon is building but in the comments below it has grown to much more

a collection of memorable commencement speeches

trick your brain into thinking one eye is open (haven’t tried it yet)

a profile of a couple who has never been more than 15 feet apart since becoming partners a decade ago

photo of a rare marbled iceberg

if i were better at “blogging,” it might look like this

debate about the fed’s role during a bubble - they think they can stop it but most think they can’t

8 child prodigies only slightly smarter than yours truly

so DC fires more than a dozen police officers for a variety of offenses but has just rehired them cause the city can’t read a calender

a group is planning to live at sea under their own government - i want to join

despite the FBI’s attempt to redact information in a report, sophisticated computing techniques (copy and paste) reveal it

it’s claimed that 20% of the US population has never sent an email

hairy solar cells are dramatically more efficient and could be badass

someone who’s been busy during the recession: the boat repo guy

some depressing predictions about climate change

“Other things being equal, if a kid plays sports, he will earn more money, stay in school longer, and be more engaged in civic life. ”

the female orgasm is precipitated by a general neural shutdown…fascinating

all you wanted to know (and then some) about carbon offsetting

the case, briefly stated, against rock festivals

crazy article about subway track-workers constantly and narrowly avoiding death

you know i’m into this: how virtual reality affects “real reality” (that’s copyright greg)

our president has given up golf while everyone is busy dying in iraq. thank you, mr bush

ibm is applying chip-cooling technologies to solar cells

if i invented an automatic peanut-sheller, i’m not sure i’d be generous enough to give it away

a DC community is considering a march on the subsidized housing project

amazing photos of a cleaning crew working on the seattle space needle

i hate these stories: an italian citizen was detained at the border trying to visit his american girlfriend

along the same lines: an oceanography grad student at MIT was deemed a security risk

7 real-life crazy conspiracies

how does your wife stack up?

what you do know might hurt you

market economics is failing because it hasn’t admitted it can’t account for every variable

much of our imports come from resources which are “stolen” from the native people by corrupt dictatorships

more conjectures about the kindle eReader and the future of reading (i totally want one)

the coal industry is fighting back on the PR front

a surprisingly difficult seinfeld quiz: name the role played by now-famous actors

brief coverage of the controversy developing around the proposed MLK memorial in DC

“crazy raspberry ants” are swarming houston and eating electronics (seriously)

the farm bill that was passed in congress is a joke

some notes about determining whether your ISP is shaping your torrent traffic

some cool black watches

self-cleaning hairbrush (if i hadn’t just cut my hair…i still wouldn’t actually buy this)

if i could set tommay murphay up with anyone in the world, it’d be this girl

for all you lovers of free content, here’s an adblocker that will let you watch hulu.com without ads

you know i’m into this: games with a purpose, courtesy of carnegie mellon i think

google invests in a solar thermal energy company

a little of the history of the catholic church’s stance on the sin of suicide (and what happens when bishops commit it)

our collective obsession with solitaire

how the british feel about the french

interesting ruminations on the prevalence of anorexia in modeling

some new research on fat cells

a new book is coming out talking about the underground hip-hop gay scene

the world’s most dangerous gangs — holy shit

an argument against the traditional bachelor’s degree

some myths about the high cost of health insurance

people visit new york just to kill themselves

interesting piece of the secret consumption of sex

interesting insider description of chinese sweatshop inspections

who doesn’t want their own personal submarine?

a few perhaps unintentional casualties of the war on drugs

even a blind guy can bowl a 300

executives in the secret service are racist (the email on the last page is the most outrageous)

colleges are allowing co-ed rooms

hilarious explanation of a flag’s “symbols”

metro is going to be trying to make bus runs more efficient

facebook is trying to grow up but it’s not so easy

summary of the case for nuclear power from mother jones

the founding of America is complex and bloody.

it appears women have more orgasms when sexing a more symmetrical male

a summary of the science behind human-induced climate change, aka global warming

a new online game will allow players to advance the science of protein folding

if that’s not your style, you can also design your own typeface online

you can determine whether you’re having a heart attack by examining saliva

short essay on the age of consent and the difficult american culture has in processing it

a portable shower! seriously!

a search engine that “parses sentences and extracts meaning”

an essay on the way facebook—and society—makes us make lists of books, music and ideas we name our favorites

an introduction to the picasso of digital photo editing

robert downey jr gives an emotional tribute to his dad

it’s now possible for an “artist” to survive with only 1000 die-hard fans

from the world of “so difficult to believe:” it seems the FBI and ATF have not been cooperating very well since they were merged 5 years ago

i really don’t understand why we still search for the “best way” to teach math.

i also don’t know why i like art with tiny people so much

as much as i hate cars (and it’s considerably), i’m not sure how practical this really is

hyper-concentrated solar power could be more efficient economical

the best ironing board ever, at least for men

“you have to be different, great or first.” -loretta lynn

pj o’rourke’s graduation advice

it would be nice if US broadband were like singapore’s

a little history about LSD usage

monkeys like porn (who doesn’t??)

GM and Saab have been using dead bodies in crash tests

if you’d like the opportunity to lie in bed for 90 consecutive days, NASA’s got a job for you

for all you dreamers out this, a WUSTL CS geek has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft (don’t miss the links at the top of the page)

for all you tommy murphy’s out there: star trek porn (it just doesn’t seem fair…)

a professor argues that todays students really don’t know anything (and it’s due to atrocious news reporting)

a few ideas about a coherent energy policy and the government’s role in the same

a debate between incinerating paper and recycling it

the brain on booze: the science

on the psychology of pricing

would you pay $10/gallon for gas? europeans already do and we might not be too far behind

list of rationales for studying history, complete with examples

cool batteries make wind power more viable

the times gives us a great snapshot of the war against dentists: the number of dentists has been flat since 1990 and the CDC just reported the first worsening of american dental health since they started keeping statistics.

is obama elitist? is it so wrong if he is?

is grand theft auto IV more than a video game? is it art?

a few words on the effect flickr is having on photography

math geeks only: what’s special about any given number

a programming language’s future is determined by the facial hair of its designer

in case you hadn’t heard, plastics are so very baaaad

no one understands magnetism

a blueprint, courtesy of Time, on how to win the war against global warming

a kid in high school complained about the political bias of his government textbook and the author responds; i might side with the author, although i’d instinctively distrust anyone who teaches at pepperdine

while it’s generally agreed that people are reading less and less, it seems they’re writing more and more

facebook in real life (video)

pictures of people on subways

what’s better than recycled paper? reusable paper

great article about an enormous squid eye (enormous describing both the squid and the eye)

review of a book describing the hook-up culture and forced promiscuity on today’s college campuses

the rockefeller heirs tried to convince exxon-mobil execs to stop making so much money

and finally, this essay arguing something i really dig. the bottom line: where did wikipedia come from? it came from people not watching sitcoms anymore

david sedaris in the new yorker on smoking and nonsmoking

a long (but interesting) article about the movement for unpastuerized milk

an incredibly impressive beer pong table

teachers need to be aware that unwelcome eyes may be on their online profiles (i could tell you a story…)

if you’re cool, you need these walkie-talkie watches

arctic ice is in trouble

short essay detailing a few ways that voters are stupid

article from the times about the absurd distances food travels

a few ideas about schooling vs. training

thoughts about the importance of localization in terms of sustainability

what happens when you attach a small camera to the trunk of an elephant?

marijuana propaganda in the form of a children’s story - genius

an interesting list of eight problems one economist has with america

florida wants to offer a religious license plate - why not?

making its way around the nets: an attorney gives a cop a parking ticket

google’s design principles

i think tv news is mostly a joke anyways (esp CNN) but CBS might be the worst offender

interesting summary of the history of the (confusing) legality of the death penalty

an American Cancer Society poll found that 25% of americans think the medical community has a cure for cancer that they are suppressing. this goes to explain the troubling success of quack medicine

japan might run out of butter

this is good: a high-speed rail in california

cool (but expensive) clock+dry-erase board

cool inflatable car jack that works with your exhaust

the case against shoes

poll after poll confirms that americans are clueless about global warming

high-tech dishwashing is coming

a battery that never loses its charge

a new type of brake light that communicates how much braking is being done

learn to free dive by holding your breath for more than 4 minutes

some serious problems with the military

enterprise will start renting green cars

earth day is a lot like mother’s day

scientists need to get political if they want to save the world

a former national champion gymnast pulls the curtain back on the shit that goes down

a former metro executive has pilfered half a million - shocker

but even with the theft, wmata can still afford non-carpeted flooring on the next metro cars

according to UPS, the economy is facing a dramatic slowdown

interesting, quite detailed, scale replicas of crashed cars

people are talking about it: the NYT magazine, green edition

an attempt to actually count the threads in 350-thread count sheets

what’s wrong with asking what the meaning of life is?

if you’re curious about the forces that push and pull on the price of oil, start here

this may not be news to some, but it seems the american male is devolving

energy-intense foods (read: sugary) seems to influence the likelihood of a male child

special series, the elements of building: energy, water and materials

the world (especially the poor people) is running out of affordable food

global warming may be causing the jet stream to move

turn your books into a shelf

a 5-year study concludes that open source is stealing $60,000,000,000 from industry

a nice remix of charlie rose interviewing himself

will we soon be eating meat grown from vats instead of animals?

the craze in china is to learn english before the olympics (so you can scam tourists)

we’ve got serious problems not only with our water, but also the bottles

one of a collection of letters from johns

“if you think you understand it [evolution], you don’t know nearly enough about it”

photo essay: the world’s largest gun show (and we’re not talking about shotguns)

how do YOU clean your nasal passages?

interested in living without utility bills?

debate rages over whether science is better pursued completely openly.

the time for “earth day” has passed

no photos in disney parking lots now

another discussion of the nuclear potential for the US

A123 Systems designed a type of litium-ion battery for the chevy volt

cool blog from the company laying the $200,000,000 undersea cable from sydney to guam

regarding yesterday’s made-up travel writing, a more ‘meta’ view on things

the fastest growing religion in america? no religion