The Real Social Network

Despair.com is selling this "Social Media" T-Shirt (for $19.95):






















"Unlocking the Awesome Potential of Behavioral Disorders"
It pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.

NEC CRV43 - The "CRV" stands for Curve

Engadget has a nice write-up of this sleek new curved monitor.

I think this is the way displays are going. Even a slight curve like this one goes a long way to immersing the user in the computing experience. Haven't you ever wished that you were in your spreadsheet? Well, maybe not spreadsheets, but photos, movies, and games would be great in this environment.

Crispy Squirrels

Apparently squirrels are big trouble when it comes to energy. This article talks about the growing problem of kamikaze squirrels. Ya see, frying a squirrel to a crisp usually results in a power outage - costing electric companies millions of dollars each year.

That completes the circuit and bammo!" said Ed Bettinger of the Public Service
Company of Oklahoma.

Damn tree-rats.

Steampunk Keyboard

This is perhaps the coolest keyboard I've ever seen. Detailed instructions on how to make one are available here.

Beer Launching 'Fridge

'nuff said.

http://www.duke.edu/~jwc13/beerlauncher.html

Ira and Philip Glass

This weekend I listened to an episode of Fresh Air that featured Ira Glass (host of the PRI radio show, This American Life, interviewing his second cousin - composer Philip Glass.

This American Life happens to be one of my favorite radio shows, and Philip Glass happens to be one of my favorite composers. The interview is fascinating, focusing on the process Philip Glass goes through when writing music, and how he learned to do it.

Quit Smoking via Brain Injury

According to the New York Times, a paper will be published soon in the Journal of Science that shows a link between a certain area of the brain and addiction. Stroke patients who had injured this specific area had lost their desire to smoke.

Before you go hitting smokers in the heads with a baseball bat, at least read the NYT article so you know where to aim.