plurib.us

Former pro-wrestler Ric Flair would like to lend you some money.

And with new-home prices dropping like they've been hit with a chair, you'll want to get a jump on building equity. . .FROM THE TOP ROPE.

ricflairfinance.com/

Google Reader moves out of Labs/Beta.
blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-0...

Thunderbird org architecture (and development roadmap) is about to get an overhaul.
linux.com/feature/119270

Next Winamp will have a new feature that will bring music listening a bit closer to the 21st century: outbound streaming of mp3s.
last100.com/2007/09/17/win...

The Northwest Passage opens for the first time in recorded history:

esa.int/esaCP/SEMYTC13...

(via slashdot.org)

Custom contact lenses.  They were designed for actors, but there are certain situations where these would really come in handy. (Eg. those interminable meetings at work where we're consistently advised to "leverage our business partners to achieve synergy.")

9mmsfx.com/lenses.html

Teddy bear kills 2500 fish.

practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item...

There are a number of remarkable things concerning this link.

Ask Metafilter question: What single book is the best introduction to your field (or specialization within your field) for laypeople?

ask.metafilter.com/71101/What-sin...

I'm officially recommending this distraction-blocking Firefox extension, for those who are handy with such things (more detail in the blog):

rip.mozdev.org/
briansverymiscellaneousblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/rip-fi...

My personal experience at Best Buy, needlessly published to the world.

briansverymiscellaneousblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/anothe...

Not everything I read on the internet is something I'm ready to post on Plurib.us.  So I've started a page where I can post everything I read (with some qualifications) without a writeup.  That place is here:

del.icio.us/blukis/linkblo...

Some of these posts grow up to be plurib posts when my brain has time to do more than just absorb, but mostly this helps me feel like 90% of my time spent reading the internet is not a total waste.  (It's gone so well, that I recommend the practice to all readers.)

Nice comic site (misc favorite linked):
pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF043AD-...

Interview with the author:
10zenmonkeys.com/2007/09/04/sec...

(These seem familiar, but I can't find any old links from plurib.us yet.)

MarkG's post made me think again about music-propagation on plurib.us.  After a series of frustrating failures, I managed to make the "Radio" link above work again.  (It's a flash-based mp3-player, from which you can right-click files to save them) 

The songs on there now are taken from the following bands - albums:

The National - Alligator
Akron/Family - Love is Simple
The 1900s - Cold & Kind
Kanye West - Graduation
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World

(Parental Advisory: Language, Extreme Awesomeness)

New Earth-based telescope system can reportedly take space pictures clearer than Hubble.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/n...

Dust storms on Mars are no good for the 2 rovers.  A dramatic progression of sun pics, from a rover:

news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug07/...

The latest Google Earth has a hidden flight simulator.  (Anyone tried it?)

marco-za.blogspot.com/2007/08/google...

One of the stranger flash game reviews I've ever read.

Lonely House-Moving is more than just a simple run, jump and dodge game, it's a meditation on love and what a person is willing to do for that love.  The setting sun that marks your progress through the game implies a subtle sense of loss, like the sun has set on the relationship, while simultaneously all the junk that imperils you gradually lightens the truck. ...

jayisgames.com/archives/2007/...

I can finally post this without jinxing the project.  I've been creating a new toolbar icon set for an open source FTP program, FileZilla since the beginning of the year.  Here's a presentation page for the set:

plurib.us/1shot/2007/fil...

Or, you can try it by downloading the latest "beta" (3.0.0rc2), and change the theme in the settings menu.  But unless you're an FTP junkie, better just stick to the web page.

Disappointingly unscientific, but I read this a few days ago, it's been on my mind, and it came up in conversation.  How Sleep Works:

health.howstuffworks.com/sleep.htm

There are other insightful studies about sleep, to do with its relation to memory that aren't described in this article.  Maybe they are elsewhere on the internet.

No one can agree on what personal information should be available about domain owners:
arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/...

All my personal information:
whois.net/whois_new.cgi?...

It is Friday.  Behold:

flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...

Novel image resizing algorithm (demonstrated as video).

youtube.com/watch?v=c-SSu3...

Vertical wind turbine design wins sustainability award in Britain.  (Neat looking design, but it's not clear how it actually spins.)

treehugger.com/files/2007/06/...
bsi-global.com/en/About-BSI/N...

First Sale, and EFF's court case about those labels on promo CDs, "promotional use only, not for resale".

eff.org/deeplinks/arch...

Windows update crashes Skype, because of so many restarting computers.
arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/...

Announcing the next in the series of [so far] monthly SVG drawings, Spring Tree.

plurib.us/1shot/2007/spr...

The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 (aka The Hays Code):

1. No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.

artsreformation.com/a001/hays-code...

In my quest to become an educated user of open source programs and copyright, I've discovered many fuzzy lines.  The one I found most recently is this:
If you integrate GPL'd code into your own, how integrated to they have to be before you are forced to GPL the whole result?  Here are the places I found the "answer":

ask.metafilter.com/27014/How-much...
gnu.org/licenses/gpl-f...

Not the first of its kind, but here's a slick "idea generator", for when you're drawing blanks.  With ideas like "battery operated nuclear exersize machine", or "pre-fab neon garden", how can you go wrong?

tdbspecialprojects.com/

Internet barometer:  here's a study that indicates people are using the internet more for "content" and less for "communication".  (2nd to last paragraph throws a hole in the whole thing, though.)
arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/...

Over 1 in 3 people can't wait a day before responding to emails.  (This has been my personal email advice for years.)
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/69...

The Perseids meteor shower, long, spliced exposure:
antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070812....

I hope some of you enjoyed this weekend's show.

Tactile, and very watchable, electric musical instrument ["ReacTable"] has the heart of your average synthesizer.  Demo and Bjork live performance videos included.

wired.com/entertainment/...