high IQ linked to monogamy, liberalism, and atheism

via CNN(and Justin): statistical linkage between smarts & what have you. Awesomesauce.

Wimhurst machine

via wickipedia: Old-school method of creating an electrical charge. Invented between 1880-1883. Used in tandem with:

the Leyden Jar, which was invented almost 100 years before victorian times.

Nikola Tesla

via Wickipedia: Man, myth and legend. In Paris in 1882, arrived in NYC early June 1884.

Failed Murder-Suicide

via huff post: Gigi Jordan kills her autistic son, attempts to kill herself. And fails. Some sort of failed-savior complex at work here.

Regrowing neurons

via tech review: regrowing neurons via implant.

Science and unfortunate nomenclature - the Spaser!

via tech review: "Spaser" - prototype nano-scale laser, fairly strong contender for basis of optical computing (at the nano-scale, no less). Takes advantage of nano-weirdness to confine photons to a very limited path, less leakage.

School VP brags about illegal surveillance

via huffpost: School officials admit (publicly, on television, without irony or shame) that they've been using school laptops & their webcams to spy on student activities.

extra qualifier: Students parents' allege that son was spoken to, at school, concerning innappropriate behavior at home observed via his school laptop. Yup, that's not ok.

graphite data storage

via tech review: graphite structure allows for vertical stacking, potentially increasing base Flash capacity by factor of 10.

5-dimensional data storage

via tech review: New 5-dimensional digital storage medium accesses the 3 dimensions of holographic storage + wavelength and polarization of laser.

Theo Janen - Kinetic sculpture

Theo Jansen: amazing wind-powered, walking kinetic sculpture

Sociological roots of Willful Ignorance

via NPR: Studies showing how much culture influences belief/non-belief. Interesting.

Bob Marshall is a Fuckwit

Observe the evidence. Stating, publicly and on the record, that birth defects affecting children of mothers who have previously had abortions, are in fact god's punishment.
Way to go politicians! Way to go Christian Right in America!

"Basket Cells"

via Technology Review: neurological plasticity may be able to be switched back on after childhood.

Neuro-evolution as species survival

via the Atlantic: Theory that the ability of humanity to rationally think & plan ahead was a direct response to a near-extinction event.

Neuro-engineering of the future

via h+: the future of neuro-enhancement.

DOJ stats

US DOJ statistics.

Russian Language

Online russian language reference. Includes pronunciation guides.

Anatomy of Horror

Ruminations on myths and modern horror, via a fine essay by Nicholas Seeley.

Bio-Goo

not just goo, goo that's floating in the ocean and runs for more than 15 miles. And it's "unidentified". Icky.

Playing Card Collection

Yeah, what the title says.

Passports

Collection of passports, from late 1800's through mid-20th century. Mostly from Europe.

The name of the Game

List of names of London street gangs, collected in summer '09.

Self-Defence

With a walking stick, naturally. Article from 1901 or thereabouts.

Urban Archaeology

Dark Passage, documentation of various abandoned buildings & subterranean structures.

Alchemy-A-Go-Go

Online archive for all things alchemical.

Ye Esoteric Archive

Esoteric Archives, online source for all things old-school + occult-ey.

Slightly larger-than-you Brother

via the BBC:

biometric ID cards, and

bio-met passports.

Passports contain facial recognition data (distance between features, mainly), ID cards contain digital fingerprints and what have you. C'mon, no retinal scan? Wankers.

Ethics of Mars Colonization

via Slate: rational discussion of some of the impracticalities and ethical requirements for moving human life to Mars.

Sonar-Boy & Echolocation

via Slate: Child loses eyes very young, turns to clicking & listening. Yes, his name should be Matt Murdoch.

"Paranoid Style" in American Science

via Slate: Final installment of 3 linked features on the "paranoid style" of journalism, here used to demonize the scientific establishment.

Damn Pishtacos!

via Slate: False police reporting of Peruvian gang that harvests people for their fat, selling it to wealthy americans. Builds on 400-year-old legends of the "pishtaco"

History of Media Tech-scares

via Slate: printing press, early tv, and the internets

On the nature of Luck

via telegraph.co.uk: Interesting discussion/experiment on what makes someone lucky, and how to change that luck.

Skyscraper Vertical Farm

via grinding.be: China plans to build a massive vertical farm. In the city. And it's planned to look pretty.

3d Printing

via grinding.be: More info & links about the impending desktop fabrication boom.

Scrapheap Transhumanism

via h+: Lepht Anonym implants himself with RFIDs & sensors. Why? Because someone has to!

"Performance Murder" profile

via Slate: Joseph Stack, latest in a long line of nutjobs, flew his plane into an IRS building and killed people, including himself. Apparently to "make them pay." Good (if brief) analysis of his manifesto, including comparisons to other performance murderers.

Govt. Poisoning during Prohibition

via Slate: The U.S. government added poison to industrial supplies of various alcohols that were frequently stolen during prohibition. By some estimates 10,000 people died from these poisons during the pro-temperance heydey.

China's "Yi Zu"

China's Ant Tribes: Roughly 1 million recent university graduates working for minimum wage, living in squalid conditions on the outskirts of urban centers. Powder-keg possibilities.