February 2012
Perspectives - Communicating Data Beyond the Speed... →
What this headline misses is the fact that trading companies are planning to use microwaves to high-frequency trade faster than the speed of light in a fiber (as opposed to the math we all know about speed of light in a vacuum).
This is nuts.
In this approach, McKay Brothers are planning on linking New York city with Chicago using microwave transmission. This is a 790 mile distance but fiber...
People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to... →
infoneer-pulse:
The democratic process relies on the assumption that citizens (the majority of them, at least) can recognize the best political candidate, or best policy idea, when they see it. But a growing body of research has revealed an unfortunate aspect of the human psyche that would seem to disprove this notion, and imply instead that democratic elections produce mediocre leadership and...
Algiers - Atlanta “doom soul”...
Mother Jones obtains Syrian government hit list... →
producermatthew:
From Mother Jones:
A 718-page digital document obtained by Mother Jones contains names, phone numbers, neighborhoods, and alleged activities of thousands of dissidents apparently targeted by the Syrian government. Three experts asked separately by Mother Jones to examine the document—essentially a massive spreadsheet, whose contents are in Arabic—say they believe that it is...
“Instead we have today the democratization of criticism, represented by customer...”
– The Work of a Critic - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education (via infoneer-pulse)
Colonel Parker Had a Bad Temper, But Was He a... →
So far as the wider world knew, the Colonel was Thomas Andrew Parker, born in Huntingdon, West Virginia, some time shortly after 1900. He had toured with carnivals, worked with elephants and managed a palm-reading booth before finding his feet in the early 1950s as a music promoter. Had anyone taken the trouble to inquire, however they would have discovered that there was no record of the birth...
“Every time society advances, it faces challenges from those people economically...”
– Are books and the internet about to merge? | Books | guardian.co.uk (via wildcat2030)
Secret Renaissance Letter Reveals Plan to Save... →
infoneer-pulse:
A newly discovered document, written by one of Europe’s most famous philosophers, Thomas Hobbes, reveals a plan that, if successful, could have turned the tide of one of England’s bloodiest wars.
In the words of Hobbes, the plan would prevent the “ruine of the English nation.” The document was written during the height of the English civil war, a series of conflicts between...
"Even the most skilled war correspondent, steeped... →
“Eventually I found the farm, and a teenage boy who worked there - who was at...”
– NYT: My Debt to Ireland
“‘In the name of the law!’ cried the tipstaff again, making a most desperate...”
– Post Captain by Patrick O’Brian
Barrett Bonden’s got your back.
(via tuulikki)
12 Great Articles that Inspired Films →
tetw:
A Tetw reading list
The Man Who Knew Too Much by Marie Brenner - The Insider Death of an Innocent by Jon Krakauer - Into the Wild The Muse of Coyote Ugly Saloon by Elizabeth Gilbert - Coyote Ugly Racer X by Kenneth Li Rafael - The Fast and the Furious The Return of Superfly by Mark Jacobson - American Gangster Life’s Swell by Susan Orlean - Blue Crush A Farewell to Arms by John Carlin -...
“This is the worst war we’ve ever seen. And they’re getting away with it.”
– The late journalist Marie Colvin, as written in a personal obituary penned by Channel 4’s Lindsey Hilsum. Colvin, a reporter for the Sunday Times, was one of two western journalists killed after the shelling of a neighborhood in Homs, Syria on Wednesday. [Channel 4] (via producermatthew)
“The story [Rihanna] wants to tell is the one in which the endangered woman...”
– Ann Powers on Chris Brown, Rihanna and occupying the emotionally difficult space where blues women, country singers and girl groups once trod. (via nprmusic)
“Those donations have helped new Republican-leaning outside groups swamp...”
– 25% of super PAC money coming from just 5 rich donors – USATODAY.com
Who’s Financing the ‘Super PACs’ - Graphic -... →
I’ll admit it still makes me giggle to see Colbert’s PAC in the mix. I should probably be terrified.
Hubble Discovers the First 'Waterworld,' an... →
infoneer-pulse:
The James Webb Space Telescope may someday put Hubble out of business, but until then NASA’s old standby is still making new discoveries. Today, that comes to us in the form of the first exoplanet “waterworld”—a water-covered planet shrouded by a dense, steamy atmosphere, the first confirmed planet of its kind.
The planet, known as GJ1214b, was discovered in 2009 by...
WatchKickstarter - Global Sorority
Help out a great project, please!
Record $6 Trillion of Fake U.S. Bonds Seized -... →
The financial fraud uncovered by the Italian prosecutors in Potenza includes two checks issued through HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) in London for 205,000 pounds ($325,000), checks that weren’t backed by available funds, the prosecutors said. As part of the probe, fake bonds for $2 billion were also seized in Rome. The individuals involved were planning to buy plutonium from Nigerian sources,...
Watchjourno-geekery:
On a personal note, my former teammate Queen Underwood (not pictured in the still above) just won the women’s boxing lightweight title to qualify for the first Olympic USA women’s boxing team. Here is her penultimate bracket fight against the impressive N’yteeyah Sherman. …Which, because it’s a silverlight video stream, few people can view and the stream is not segmented per...
Delicious Cake Futures : Planet Money :...