Feed Sift (06/12/2015)

Happy Friday, my friends! Here's a few more articles I wanted to share. Have a great weekend!

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CRINGELY.COM -- Your PBX has been hacked!

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DJC.COM -- Seattle might keep going

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CHROME.BLOGSPOT.COM -- New Research: The Ad Injection Economy

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LIFEHACKER.COM -- Outdoor Home Repairs You Can Totally Handle Yourself

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BLOG.LOSEIT.COM -- Snacks on a Plane: 8 Ways to Lose Weight on Vacation

Feed Sift (02/21)

Here's a few things I wanted to share. (A few items are a little less fresh than usual, but still interesting.)

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Seattle City Council updated on Seawall Project - new maps and artists concepts

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Dilbert - why ambition doesn't pay

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Why is Bertha stuck? WSDOT's 5 levels of tunnel-drilling hell - turns out it was scenarios 1, 2 and 3. Ouch.

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Amazon is thinking about shipping you packages you haven't ordered yet - Amazon's patent application details pre-staging items close to you that they think you'll buy so that you can get them quicker. (23 hours already seems pretty quick for a carton of air filters for our furnace. If they're ringing our doorbell minutes after we place an order, maybe they'd like to open up the furnace and just install the filter?)

-5-

Street Smart: Intelligent Motion-Activated Outdoor Lighting - *really cool*.

Vacation, Day 5: Lunchbox Laboratory and MOHAI

Day 5 was a spectacular day. Sun was beaming, blue skies all around. So we headed north to Seattle. Because of timing, we ran a few errands in town and then went up and started with lunch. Lunchbox Laboratories (lunchboxlaboratory.com) was on our to-do list, but we weren't sure if it would be during Vacation Week or next month's quick anniversary trip.

We drove up, found it, found a great parking spot and went in. The place has a fun look to it, neon test-tubes and burgers and the area between the bar and restaurant had a wall above the booths that was made of classic metal lunch boxes suspended on horizontal metal rods. They even had the yellow Snoopy lunchbox. I have the red one from when I was growing up and I've seen plenty of yellow ones on eBay, but never a red one. Anyhow, I digress.

One of the things that sold it for me was "Dork Balls" - fried balls of duck+pork. They were gone so quickly I wasn't even able to get a photo. Lori and I shared two great burgers - The Smoker (beef, havarti, bacon) and Truffle Love (beef, swiss, bacon, black truffle mayo) and Rachel had Grilled Cheese. Rachel had fries (shoestring, very crispy), I had sweet potato fries (so good) and Lori had tots. Rachel and Lori shared a Reese's Peanut Butter (substitute chocolate for vanilla) Shake and a I had a Crunched-Up Kit Kat shake. Both shakes were tasty.  I would like to go there again.

MOHAI was a late-add to our list of options for the week. Lori didn't know they had opened their new location in South Lake Union but when she found out, we penciled it in. It was a struggle to get to and from due to construction plus typical Seattle traffic, but parking was easy enough, a nice short walk through a park, and the museum. When you walk in, it feels open, possibly sparse. Along one wall are a number of Seattle icons, such as the Eddie Bauer stuffed cougar, the Rainier Beer and Ivar's Clam costumes from their ads and the Rainier beer's "R" from its old brewery. (You'll see a "T" there now as you drive north into Seattle for Tully's as a nod to Rainier.)  You also see the Lincoln Toe-Truck (a pink tow-truck shaped like a foot, used for years in parades and advertisements) and the Huskey helmet car, also from parades. And then a 1924 Truck from the Kenworth Truck Company.

Along two walls are a draped section that will be the Bezos Innovation display eventually. Right now if you peak around behind the curtain there's nothing there yet. Jeff Bezos could probably just kidnap famous people from around Seattle and just make them mill around in the space greeting people.

I ♥ Seattle

I had a conference today in Seattle.  I've been excited for several days now at the chance to get back up to the city.  I don't make it up there nearly enough.  We were just up there recently at Gas Works Park - here's some photos.  It was kinda cool.  I had planned a different route into town and right after we got on the freeway, we passed my mom and dad who had left an hour earlier.  So they followed us and got the scenic route.  Of course, they lived there for a number of years, so they already knew where we were going... Viaduct, Southlake, Westlake.  It will be a shame when they tear that down, it's such a treat from the car crowd to see the city and the water from such a great vantage point.

But anyhow, it was my first chance in a really long time to go up on my own.  The last time I went up nearly on my own was one night when Ben wouldn't stop crying.  I put him in the car, turned on the GPS and drove all over West Seattle.  Of course, it was in the dark, so I couldn't appreciate as much, but he slept and I got some nice views.

But today, headed up with the commute traffic.  It wasn't bad.  Possibly even better than Saturday afternoon traffic.  Up the 5 to the 520 to the Montlake Cut, across the bridge, past the link station contruction, University Village Starbucks and then pop over to the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture.  Conference had nothing to do with Horticulture, but it's a place they hold conferences, I guess.

Afterwards, I headed across campus, across the University Bridge, under the 5, Eastlake, Southlake, past the Amazon construction, over to Seattle Center, duck into the Battery Street Tunnel and then soar out onto the Alaskan Way Viaduct.  And then stop.  5-10 miles an hour above Alaskan Way looking at the sights, the ferries, the water.  Down to Marginal, the 1st. Ave. Bridge, then the 99 to the 599 to the 5.  And then straight home at 60 miles an hour.  I definitely love driving in King County rush hour versus L.A. County rush hour.  (Not sure they can call that rush hour.  At least not ironically.)

I love the city.  Beautiful buildings of glass, lots of people running, walking, jogging, lots of cars, lots of motion.  Motion.  Interest.  Beauty.  Water.  Trees.  Activity.

I hope we can move there someday when public schooling is no longer a factor.  (My parents wistfully mentioned last week that they'd consider moving back if they could find a pocket of conservatives.)

One more day tomorrow and then back to the gray concrete one-story sprawl of Federal Way.

Home Team Pride

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not well versed in sports, I don't have the time/patience to sit through games on TV and with kids (and again, the patience thing), rarely get to a live game.

However... if you've ever talked sports with me, you already know that I believe that where you live is your home and that you must cheer for the home teams.  (Exception: If you don't have a local team - like L.A. football or Seattle basketball - then you can cheer for whoever you want, except a team that recently left. And you can cheer former teams. Brooklyn may cheer for the Dodgers, L.A. may cheer for the Raiders.  Seattle may not yet cheer for the Oklahoma City Blunder.  It's too soon.)  

And I don't care what you say... The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles?  I don't think so.

So, anyhow, I absolutely love to see a home team giving another home team love.  Two posts that recently appeared on my Facebook News Feed...

Odds and Ends 95

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- One of These Things is Not Like the Other

2. INHABIT -- Takayanagi’s All-Electric Roadster Has a 1920’s Twist - cool looking

3. LIFEHACKER -- Simple Desktops is a Hub for Attractive, Distraction-Free Wallpaper

4. MASHABLE -- Insurance Company Tracks Driver Responsibility With In-Car Device

5. ENGADGET -- CE Oh no he didn't!: Time Warner chief likens Netflix threat to Albanian army - Yeah, and I still miss HomeGrocer. Leave it to the big bad media companies to ruin everything in an effort to keep control. Can't stop the signal, dude.

6. MSNBC -- After dozens of deaths, drop-side cribs outlawed

7. CNET CRAVE -- Force is with girl bullied for being 'Star Wars' fan

8. SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION -- One Push of the Button Will Do

9. SETH GODIN -- How to Organize a Retreat - sounds like fun.

10. ENGADGET -- Editorial: RIM seems to be as lost as my BlackBerry - sad, but true.

Odds and Ends 92

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- Have I Turned a Little Grinchy?

2. ANDY SERNOVITZ -- Give Microsoft a Break

3. MASHABLE -- ViddyJam Is a Pandora for All YouTube’s Music Videos - disclaimer: haven't tried it myself, just sounds really cool

4. LIFEHACKER -- Adopt the 30/30 Minute Work Cycle to Increase Focus -- Interesting idea for students and freelancers

5. CROSSCUT -- Financially strapped Seattle Center is owed more than $1 million in back rent

6. GOOGLE VOICE BLOG -- Santa's Calling (Note: right now, it says "Virginia" if you select "Washington" - I've let them know.)

7. SETH GODIN -- Where's Your Platform?

8. INHABIT -- Earthworms Could Be Used to Clean Up Hazardous Toxins in Soil

Kawah Ijen by Night (The Big Picture)
click to enlarge

9. ENGADGET -- European carriers want content companies and smartphone makers to pay network usage fees - boo!

10. THE BIG PICTURE -- Kawah Ijen by night (photo of a crater lake of sulfuric acid - ON FIRE!)

Odds and Ends 89

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- Home Sweet Home

2. SETH GODIN -- Your Noise is Still Noise

3. ENGADGET -- MIT developing smart adaptive LED lighting system to reduce energy use by up to 90 percent

4. INHABIT -- Forget Black Friday, Could You Give Up Shopping for a Year?

5. SEATTLE TRANSIT BLOG -- A Glimpse of a More Sustainable Seattle

6. SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION -- Design Concepts for Elliott Bay Seawall Project

7. NEWS ON A UNNAMED PORTAL -- Online Feedback May Boost Weight-Loss Success

8. tvjames x blog -- Word - yes, self-referential, but I need more comments and likes on this one. That was a lot of work and I'm especially proud of it.

9-10. Videos - Fun with math and a giggling two-year-old

Odds and Ends 88

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- Spinach (and Allrecipes) to the Rescue!

2. USA TODAY -- Hotel managers find room at the inn for needy families - via Kevin

3. ENGADGET -- Racing Green Endurance team completes its 16,000 mile, electric Pan-American trip

4. SETH GODIN -- Where Do Ideas Come From? - awesome

5. SEATTLE TRANSIT BLOG -- Redundancy - trains did great in the snow, but the argument is that that's not enough.

6. FRANK CHIMERO -- Content - via Amy

7. UNCLUTTER -- Identifying Bad Processes

8. LIFEHACKER -- Start a Meal Exchange to Save Money and Enjoy More Homemade Meals - Lori does this. It's very cool.

9. INHABIT -- Coca-Cola Working On Solar AC System for Truck Fleet

10. VIDEO -- Bouncing Ben

Odds and Ends 84

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- Updates

2. INHABIT -- Inhabit's Top Green Car Picks from the LA Auto Show

3. CROSSCUT -- Seattle schools could use some of what Kalamazoo has (yes, you read right)

4. SETH GODIN -- Our normal approach is useless here

5. FURTHER DISPATCHES -- To quote a friend: “Yay! I can finally talk about it!”

6. UNCLUTTERER -- Identifying non-physical clutter

7. ENGADGET -- FCC, Justice Department look to prevent Comcast from hogging NBC's online video all for itself

8. SEATTLE TRANSIT BLOG -- A Glimpse of a More Sustainable Seattle

9. I CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGER -- Cats vs. Dogs: An Infographic

10. MASHABLE -- Why the “Dumbphone” Market Is Still Ripe for Innovation

Odds and Ends 82

A snowy ten.

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- It's Snowing . . . Yay?

2. INHABIT -- Turning Downtrodden Detroit Into a Farm Town Could Revitalize It

3. CROSSCUT -- Seattle's live-work spaces: Commuting is such a breeze

4. MASHABLE -- The Problem That Keeps the FCC Chairman Up at Night

5. SETH GODIN -- Watcha Gonna Do With That Duck?

6. SEATTLE TRANSIT BLOG -- Ridin’ Dirty: An Enlightening Journey on America’s Intercity Bus System

7. KLOUT -- What's Your Twitter Influence? - interesting.

8-10 - Videos after the break... Misuse of a microwave, a squirrel misjudges a jump, a bicyclist doesn't -- repeatedly.

Odds and Ends 80

Today's 10 interesting posts.

1. LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- My Love Language

2. NEWSWEEK -- Cambodia: No Longer a Pedophile’s Haven

3. MASHABLE -- “Newsweek” Staffers Turn to Tumblr to Save Website - hate to say it... putting a $28 million losing business with a $10 million losing business may just be creating a $38 million losing business. Sad.

4. THE STRANGER -- City and State Have No Plan—Nor Money—for Flood of Downtown Traffic Caused by Tunnel Diversion

5. SETH GODIN -- Sure, but what's the hard part?

7. MSNBC -- EcoRoamer: High-tech, zombie-proof survival RV

8. BING -- Newscast misses a bridge implosion

9. INHABIT -- Plastic Film Bends in Sun to Passively Ventilate Homes

10. HELP, PLEASE -- What kind of dog is this???!?! (Possibly a teddy bear dog?)

Odds and Ends 73

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LAST PERSON BLOGGING -- Don't Let It Snow, Don't Let It Snow, Don't Let It Snow!

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LIFEHACKER -- Web2PDF Lets You Browse the Web from Your Email

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MASHABLE -- Ask.com: The End of an Era for Search

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NEW YORK TIMES -- In Case of Disaster, Carriers Stand Ready to Airlift Aid

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SETH GODIN -- Organizing for Joy

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ABOUT FOURSQUARE -- KLM surprises travelers to see ‘how happiness spreads’

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CROSSCUT -- How Seattle is exporting its poor people

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ENGADGET -- MacBook Air battery shown to last two hours longer when browsing the web sans Flash

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INHABIT -- BMW Unveils Brand New Plug-In Hybrid Sports Car

-10- VIDEO

Infectious fun. Ah, the power of a good song to change a baby's mood. (We could get Rachel to go to sleep by turning on "Phantom of the Opera" really loud. When Ben came along, his screaming could often put her to sleep. Nothing puts Ben to sleep, though.)

Odds and Ends 50

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CROSS CUT -- Space Needle: Tower of Power - In my opinion, a must-read for anyone who lives here.

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DELIVERABILITY -- Deliverability by engagement – a class action lawsuit waiting to happen? - That is, is it right for Google or Hotmail to classify and sort our emails for us? Interesting take from the other side.

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WSDOT -- WSDOT releases request for proposals to build SR 99 bored tunnel alternative - such a shame, such a waste, such a bad, shortsighted inflexible idea

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THE HIGH CALLING -- Originality

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FAIL BLOG -- Key Ingredient Fail - Hmmm... Maybe Hardee's has a leg up on the competition?

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MSNBC -- 20,000 Iraq war victims unidentified at morgue

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ENGADGET -- Sony's LocationPorter real-time video transmission system goes multichannel = no more news van?

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INHABIT -- Fast-Charging Electric Buses Coming to Southern California - Foothill Transit's replacing all its buses with new ones that recharge in 10 minutes. Dang!

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WASHINGTON STATE HIGHWAYS -- Washington State Route 108

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WASHINGTON STATE HIGHWAYS -- Washington State Route 109

Odds and Ends 42

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MASHABLE -- 10 Fun Microsoft Facts You Might Not Know

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ENGADGET -- Transformable Wall-E gets recreated with some love, Lego and DIY skills - yes, the text is embarrassingly bad in the video, but still cool what they did with Legos.

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CROSSCUT -- Should Seattle allow big corporate signage on its skyscrapers?

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FAILBLOG -- Gym Sign Win

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MANAGEFLITTER.COM -- Twitter Tool - great for helping you keep your Twitter list tidy - can see who posts infrequently, who posts too frequently, people who aren't following you back, people without an image on their profile, people who haven't posted in months, etc. Can also see how many other people have used the site to unfollow someone. (1 person has used it to stop following me, but that's a lot less than @DarthVader or @ConanOBrien. mwuahaha.) Also... I was still following @FlashForward?

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INFOSTHETICS -- The Interactive Holographics in Iron Man 2 - cool looking. Still need to see this.

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SEATTLE VINTAGE -- Pike Place Market photo - Yeah, taking a PPM photo is required by law of all tourists. But have you seen one from 1910 before? I hadn't.

-8-10- Videos after the break... An following-wheelchair, a bridge being built, and how Google Translate works...

Odds and Ends 39

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FAIL BLOG -- Answer Win

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CROSSCUT -- How a quiet culture war is dividing Seattle - I Love Crosscut

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ANDY SERNOVITZ -- Zombies On My Doorstep -- End the Phonebook Spam - In the first 12 months we lived here, we received 14 phone books. We had requested two, most of the rest of them were Tacoma in Pierce County instead of the Seattle/King County books that included our town.

-4-

SETH GODIN -- Getting Unstuck: Solving the Perfect Problem

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MASHABLE -- 10 Great Geek Tees For Kids

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ENGADGET -- Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid headed for production - 78 mpg, 500hp, $650k (but it does qualify for $7,500 tax credit!). Oh, and it's a nice looking car, to be sure.

-7-10- VIDEOS

After the break - Google's latest search story, the Coke Hapiness Machine, Darth Jobs and Minority Report's gloves were stupid (and unnecessary).

Odds and Ends 33

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ENGADGET -- Hey Apple, you're holding it wrong

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I, CRINGELY -- Doing the Right Thing - What BP could learn from Monsantao Chemical

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SEATTLE VINTAGE -- Seattle Center under construction. Fascinating. Part 1 and part 2.

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UNCLUTTERER -- Choosing Simple Living - if only it were that easy...

-5-

SETH GODIN -- Validation is overrated -- "You're handing over too much power to someone who doesn't care as much as you do."

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MASHABLE -- Microsoft Invention Lets You Insert Batteries In Any Direction

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I CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGER -- Respect For All

-After the Break-

Videos: First Hill Streetcar, Woot Acquired by Amazon, Kittens in Autotune

Odds and Ends 26

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SEATTLE TIMES -- Vulcan welds old with new in South Lake Union makeover

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MASHABLE -- Facebook and Others Caught Sending User Data to Advertisers - you don't just have to watch out for the criminals. *sigh*

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ENGADGET -- The fate of a generation of workers: Foxconn undercover fully translated (update: videos added)

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ENGADGET -- Editorial: Thoughts on Foxconn

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LIFEHACKER -- Check Your Local Library for Free Museum, Concert, and Event Tickets

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CAR BODY DESIGN -- Mercedes-Benz Hexawheel Concept - an articulated, 6-wheeled monster. Cool.

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CNN -- Has the iPhone lost its cool? - yes it has. I'm getting one. Mwuahahahaha.

-8- VIDEO

Robot that balances on a ball. No big deal? Gets cool when they start showing applications (like an omnidirectional wheelbarrow or a motorized platform that can move in any direction at the end)

Odds and Ends 25

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ENGADGET -- Nissan books 8,000 Leaf orders in 9 days Electric car is only available for pre-sale online in the 3 west coast states + Arizona + Tennessee

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NEATORAMA -- Subway Everywhere - I pass more Subways than Starbucks on my way to work each day. Proof they're everywhere, there's one in a shipping container high up on the World Trade Center site. Before, construction workers spent half of their lunchbreak riding elevators to street level to buy food. Now, there's a Subway up where they are.

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SEATTLE TIMES -- Kemper Freeman is suing to stop light-rail expansion to Eastside - Ugh. I'm also a Republican in this state full of Democrats and even I know Light Rail is a good idea. Kemper Freeman, you are indeed a dinosaur.

-4-

ENGADGET -- Hackers can remotely disable your car's brakes, create sensationalist headlines

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MASHABLE -- RFID Tagged Cows Start Tweeting - interesting story about how they pretty much milk themselves, too.

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SEATTLE SCAPES -- For Whom the Tunnel Tolls

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BRAND AUTOPSY -- SBC = Seattle’s Brand Confusion - Yeah, they really did lots wrong with this.

-8- VIDEO

So cool. An urban prank prompts government to quickly address a 20-year-old problem.

Odds and Ends 24

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CROSSCUT -- How to fill the hole in Pioneer Square's heart?

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GOOGLE OPERATING SYSTEM -- Disable Google Reader's Social Features

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ENGADGET -- Best Buy Opens First UK store in Thurrock, we go hands-on (video) You're welcome, UK!

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BASIC INSTRUCTIONS -- How To Fulfill The Prophecy - great

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THE HIGH CALLING -- The Game of Life

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SCOBLEIZER -- The Blacked-Out World of Music

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OPEN BIBLE -- Bible Cross-References, Visualized

-8- VIDEO

Nature by the Numbers. Beautiful 3 minute video. I'm not smart enough to understand it, but I can appreciate its beauty.