Letter Never Sent

The 11-Year Quest to Create Disappearing Colored Bubbles “Kehoe grew up in a stoic Irish house, but Sherri came from a big, raucous Italian clan. During Kehoe’s first Christmas with his future in-laws, the grandmas and cousins and kids all gathered in the living room to play Pictionary. The game was boisterous and hilarious, and Kehoe couldn’t believe what a blast he had. That night he left with a new calling—to, as he puts it, “solve the problem of how to have fun.”

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The warning label generator. Friggin’ sweeeet.

How singing unlocks the brain “People seem to enjoy doing something jointly with other people and there is a lot of evidence that being socially engaged is good for people with dementia.”

A website with flipbooks

Skype to make U.S. retail debut “More than 3,000 RadioShack locations nationwide on Monday will begin offering the Skype Starter Kit, which includes the software that enables a customer to use Skype’s free computer-to-computer telephone service, a headset and 30 minutes of Skype’s premium service, with which a user can call a landline or cell phone, company executives said.”

Nokia boosts enterprise push with $430m Intellisync buy “This, alas, will bring it face-to-face with Qualcomm Inc, which has just applied for an injunction to halt the sale of Nokia Corp’s handsets in the US, alleging it is infringing its patents.”

Historian Charged With Denying Holocaust “Irving was detained on a warrant issued in 1989 under Austrian laws that make Holocaust denial a crime, Golia said. If formally charged, tried and convicted on the charge, Irving could face up to 20 years in prison, said Otto Schneider of the public prosecutor’s office.” You have to be kidding me. What next, a law against moon-landing deniers?

MIT to launch $100 laptop prototype in November “The 500MHz laptop will run a “skinny version” of the open-source Linux operating system. It will have a two-mode screen, so it can be viewed in color and then by pushing a button or activating software switch to a black-and-white display, which can be viewed in bright sunlight at four times normal resolution, according to Negroponte. He estimates the display will cost around $35.”

Study: Squirrels Have Complex Language

Love this woodcut from Pruned, the topography / landscape blog:

Good names are important. It’s true. Props to Freakonomics for this interesting tidbit. “There is a clear pattern at play: Once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder. Amber, Heather, and Stephanie started out as high-end names. For every high-end baby given those names, however, another five lower-income girls received those names within 10 years.”

Internet Service to Put Classic TV on Home Computer “Warner Brothers is preparing a major new Internet service that will let fans watch full episodes from more than 100 old television series. The service, called In2TV, will be free, supported by advertising, and will start early next year. More than 4,800 episodes will be made available online in the first year.”

Let Paris Hilton hypnotize you with her practiced smile. Mesmerizing.

Good online soul / R&B station. Soulful Classics. “Hey my brother, can I borrow a copy of your “Hey Soul Classics”? No, my brother, you must buy your own.”

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 “You scored as Batman, the Dark Knight. As the Dark Knight of Gotham, Batman is a vigilante who deals out his own brand of justice to the criminals and corrupt of the city. He follows his own code and is often misunderstood. He has few friends or allies, but finds comfort in his cause.” Je suis Batman.

Take a stand on important issues. There’s no middle ground.

Try World of Warcraft free for ten days It’s been difficult to keep myself from reopening my account. I just keep thinking about all the fun I used to have with my friends chasing down level thirty newbs with our mounts to pwn them. When I quit, my warlock alter-ego, Sivori, was level 43. One of my favorite tactics was to have my succubus run up and seduce the opponent with a kiss so they would be mesmerized. Then I’d dump some high damage spells on them and fear them a couple times so that they ran off uncontrollably. Ah, memories. By now all the people I played with have advanced to 60 if they’re still playing, that is. It’s crack though. I must stay away.

iWorkWithFools Rant about stupid coworkers. “She could get an Academy Award for her performance as a tired yet plucky single mom, struggling against all odds to be the best darn homemaker and mother she can. But listen closely to the personal calls; the content revolves around her soliciting free childcare for the night/weekend so she can devote attention to the pursuit of happiness (hers) and the boyfriend du jour.”

Whimsical mouse taxidermy. Yeah. I like the mouse version of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastien.