plurib.us

Cool time visualization.  Spoiler: we are a spec of time.  Also, the earth existed for a good portion of the existence of the universe?

hereistoday.com/

First, consider this Shaker hymn.

Then, consider this performance by the Voices of East Harlem at Sing Sing Prison .

(via metafilter.com)

Google is sunsetting Reader.  To quote my wife, "What are we supposed to do!?"

arstechnica.com/information-te...

The most accessible song on the new They Might Be Giants album also has the creepiest lyrics.

tmbw.net/wiki/Lyrics:Ca...

(Might they have been shooting for inaccessibility on this one??)

This is my new favorite thing:

In 1987, an anonymous team of computer scientists from the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic wrote a series of children's books based on the popular Choose Your Own Adventure series. The books were hastily translated into English and a small number were exported to America, but the CIA, fearing a possible Soviet mind control scheme, confiscated them all before they could be sold.

Now declassified, the books have been lovingly converted to a digital hypertext format and put online for the English-speaking world to enjoy.

selectadecision.info/

I missed part of this video because I couldn't see through the tears filling my eyes.

arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/01...

Another one of my ideas, stolen.  (Apparently my ideas are not particularly unique.)

workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/

I might just listen to this song on repeat for the rest of the day.

grooveshark.com

You'll probably want to turn up your speakers, put on sunglasses, and hold up a glowstick while giving a meaningful look to those around you:

heyyeyaaeyaaaeyaeyaa.com/

(Warning: Autoplay audio, awesomeness)

This web page plays a song for as long as you want, but it doesn't just loop the song -- it analyzes the structure and loops segments that make sense next to each other.

labs.echonest.com/Uploader/index...

Pick an already-uploaded song just to see how they present the visualization of the song. For those of us who tend to listen to the same song over and over, this is pretty much the greatest thing in the world.

Reading about Supreme Court arguments restores my faith in humanity.  There a people who appear to think thoroughly, who have some measurable control of our society.  yay.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20...

Iceland cops are on the case.

grapevine.is/News/ReadArtic...

The awesomest browser scrolling gimmick I've ever seen.  You win this time, Zachary.

zachstronaut.com/

The diary of an existentialist vs. breakfast:

November 26

Today I made a Black Forest cake out of five pounds of cherries and a live beaver, challenging the very definition of the word "cake." I was very pleased. Malraux said he admired it greatly, but could not stay for dessert. Still, I feel that this may be my most profound achievement yet, and have resolved to enter it in the Betty Crocker Bake-Off.

pvspade.com/Sartre/cookboo...

This article has the best first sentence in the history of sentences:

startribune.com/business/17351...

Also:

"Assurance is not insurance," Revere said. "Assurance comes from Heaven. If they want to regulate assurance, they have to regulate God."

Awesome time-camera "photos" (via Chris).

slate.com/blogs/behold/2...
(I want to see more.)

Cubical RGB books - via Eric

There are three books in the set, each bound along a different axis, to allow free exploration of the color space in any direction.

blog.makezine.com/2012/10/15/boo...

So, someone made a cheater/explorable version of a recent weird xkcd comic that (absurdly) is direct-linkable by location and zoom.  This allows me to note here this surprisingly accurate, accidental likeness of Abbey Road:

xkcd-map.rent-a-geek.de/

Google agrees.  It is ok to eat a Squinkie.

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=is+it+ok+to+eat+a+squinkie&oq=is+it+ok+to+eat+a+squinkie

Math and Art.  How can you go wrong?

arstechnica.com/science/2012/1...

Thank you, author, for bringing a tiny bit of clarity to a confusing patent/legal system.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20...

Curiosity rover finds former stream bed, on its journey to the top of Mount Sharp.
arstechnica.com/science/2012/0...

The longer I gaze into this image, the bigger the LOLs.  (It doesn't help that it's at a well-intentioned elderly woman's expense.)

guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug...
search: Behold the monkey

How does an A-bomb explosion affect beer drinkability?  For reals, via Eric.

npr.org/blogs/krulwich...

This guy, on why Firefox OS is magical.  (lay terms, developer slant).

rawkes.com/articles/there...

Holy cow.  I had never considered this very special place on our planet.
qwantz.com/index.php?comi...

and there are more!
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_i...

Spolsky, on Naming Things Is Hard.

blog.fogcreek.com/the-agonies-of...

Grey cubes (hover text).  I like to think I had this idea first, but I always imagined pasty sludge.  Grey cubes might actually be more perfect.

qwantz.com/index.php?comi...

What started as another weekend project has been consuming most of my spare time for nearly a month.  Introducing...

The Incredible Birthday Machine

Naming credit goes to Peter.  (I like to think the design lives up to its name.)  Now that you have a bunch of birthdays you didn't know you had, you should all celebrate them - I think - with the 'share it' link, which is hopefully not too hidden within.

Example: my son just turned 50 Million seconds old a week ago, which we missed.  But no sweat.  We can celebrate again when he turns 7 Mercury years next month.

I read an unsettling number of children's books, thanks to my library-frequenting 4yo.  I occasionally encounter awesome ones, and I'm going to start keeping a list so I don't forget them.  I'll also try to post them here.

"I Want My Hat Back", by Jon Klassen.  It's awesome.

Review:
nytimes.com/2011/10/13/boo...

Apparently it became an internet meme (but what hasn't?), and apparently children's books get official trailers on YouTube now?
youtube.com/watch?v=TYYQW_...