Conan O’Brien presents “The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour”
Artist adds Street Fighter’s Ryu on Hoboken interstate sign
An interesting take on my home town. Relax, it was done in Photoshop, which makes it exponentially less cool, but infinitely more legal.
Chilean Earthquake May Have Shortened the Length of a Day on Earth →
One scientist says the shaking may have affected the entire planet by shifting Earth on its axis. This possibly may have shortened the length of each day on Earth by about 1.26 microseconds. Using a complex model JPL research scientist Richard Gross computed how Earth’s rotation should have changed as a result of the Feb. 27, 2010 quake. If his figures are correct, the quake should have moved Earth’s figure axis (the axis about which Earth’s mass is balanced) by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches).
I almost didn’t link to this because of the obnoxious on-hover ads. That being said, forewarned is forearmed.
Selling Content to the Great Unwashed
Dave Chatier responding to Merlin, who is responding to Marco:
Most people don’t give a crap about where they get their laughs or information, so long as it’s free. “Because so many things on the Internet are free, everything else should be free.” I admire Mr. Mann for spending tons of cash on the things that he loves. I often do the same. Most people don’t and—thanks to the current culture of the Internet—won’t.
Some people are willing to pay a ton of money for stuff they love and others are going to give least possible and/or settle the bare minimum—and this isn’t limited to the Internet or online content. It’s the reason people by particle-board furniture that falls apart within a year from Target.
Target is in a very different business than the carpenter down the street who crafts furniture by hand. Target knows that and so does the carpenter. The national chain thrives off razor-thin margins and an economy of scale, while the craftsman makes his living off of enthusiasts who are willing to pay a bunch of money for something they really like. The Internet isn’t somehow exempt from this rule and I think a lot of content providers are losing sight of this.
You’re never going to be able to please everyone, so you have to choose you’re battles. Are you going to do whatever it takes to squeeze an extra penny out of the window-shopping masses or are you going to make something that delights a small group of obsessives with their hands on their wallets?
I argue that unless you really think you can scale to the size of Amazon or Google, alienating hardcore users who’d love nothing more than to spread your ideas and content out to anyone and everyone who hasn’t gotten tired of hearing them speak yet, is a short-term strategy at best—and not a particularly good one.
The big thing here—and you can correct me if this isn’t the first time this has occurred—is that you can get access to these lovely notebooks without having to subscribe to the Colors subscription.
The crew at Coudal Partners sure know how to target us northerners as we yearn for signs of spring. The latest version of the Field Notes brand plays to that desire: PACKET of SUNSHINE is a nice way to bring in the new season.
I’ve been working my way through my first pack of Field Notes and I have to say, they’re much more resilient than any other notebook that I’ve tried to carry around in my back pocket for an extended period of time. I’m thoroughly impressed with the amount of thought that went into these small little notebooks.
When you don’t create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. Your tastes only narrow and exclude people. So create.
— why the lucky stiff (via inky)
Building Robots at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning in Manhattan
This Machine Kills Fascists (via Cool Hunting, patrickrhone)
A boxed set of standard No. 2 pencils ($22) comes emblazoned with the phrase, “This Machine Kills Fascists,” a nod to “This Land is Your Land” legend Woody Guthrie and making a great gift for folksy and literary types alike.
Here’s a reference point in case you don’t get it immediately.
I like it when competitors copy me because it means they aren’t about to leapfrog me: they’ll always be playing catch-up.
— An Open Letter to Steve Jobs Concerning the HTC Lawsuits (via chartier)
Rocks in a Pond
Logan and I were talking over a bottle of cheap Spanish wine the other night about this elusive thing called simplicity. I don’t really remember how we got to that topic, but it’s been something I’ve been obsessing over lately. So, it’s more than likely that I somehow steered the conversation in that general direction.
I went off on some tangent about signal versus noise, the need to eliminate all of the things in your life that don’t add value. I don’t like talking about signal versus noise, because it reminds me of that 37 Signals blog I don’t read.
Logan had a similar concept: rocks in a pond. When there is one rock or stone in a pond, you can clearly see its effect. You can see its ripples gentle move through the water’s surface. When there are too many stones in the pond, all rippling, they cancel each other out and you’re left with nothing.
I think that stuff is extremely tempting, you know? You look at something you don’t have and you think to yourself, “Man, if had this—my life would be totally different. If I had this [crock pot, new smart phone, MacBook Pro], things would really change for me. I’d totally [cook at home more, be an organized member of society, write the Great American Novel].” The thing is, more often than not, this doesn’t happen. You’re the same person you were, but now you’ve got somewhere between $30 and $2000 of debt to your name—and more junk to dust.
It’s also a lot more than that. In general, we considering buying something to be a one-time transaction. You pay your money and take your item. Unless you’ve signed a contract with AT&T, then that’s it. Transaction over. But there’s another metric, which I think we lose track of a lot—you’re still paying for that item with mental energy. You still have to think about it, look at it, and potentially dust it. You’ve got to organize it, move it, and worry about breaking it or the dog chewing it.
When we were living in our first apartment. We bought so much random shit. As money got tighter, we cut out more and more. We went from 300 channels we didn’t watch down to 9 channels we didn’t watch. Surprisingly, we found we were just as happy—if not happier—without all of the stuff and expenses.
However, I don’t believe for a moment the people who claim that material items don’t make you happy. It’s kind of like money in that sense. Once you can meet your basic needs, additional money doesn’t make you any happier, but money definitely does play a role up to that point. My mother always said, “Money doesn’t make you happy, but not having money can certainly make you unhappy.”
It’s similar when it comes to stuff. Having lots of extraneous stuff can (and does, in our case) make you unhappy. That being said, a few well-designed, high-quality items (e.g. a good desk, a quality notebook, or even a MacBook Pro) can bring you happiness.
The trick is knowing where that fine line is and making sure not to cross it.
Recommended Reading
- “Stuff” by Paul Graham
- “Simplicity is Hard. Let’s Go Shopping!” by Mark Pilgrim
How to Live 100 Years →
Scientists are studying people approaching their centennial and looking at how both genes as well as our behavior impacts not only our life expectancy, but also the quality of life we experience as we age. One scientist predicts that genes may only account for about 30% of our longevity, which means we’re in control of many of the factors that lead to a long and active life.
Do-It-Yourself Genetic Engineering →
Synthetic biology involves rearranging DNA patterns to dramatically alter existing lifeforms or create totally new ones. The team at City College in San Francisco is working on making a bacteria-powered battery with nothing but borrowed and used equipment in any spare room they can find. Other colleges, such as Berkeley and Stanford, have whole labs dedicated to creating new organisms that do incredible things. Some examples include an adaptation of the E. coli virus that turns one of five different colors when it detects an environmental toxin and a bacteria that secretes a substance astoundingly similar to diesel fuel.
