Weekend Reading

  • Redshirts Aren’t Likeliest to Die — and Other ‘Star Trek’ Math Lessons
    The original “Star Trek” series isn’t just a milestone of science fiction, it’s also a treasure trove of mathematical ideas — as Space.com discovered when we attended “Star Trek: The Math of Khan” at the Museum of Mathematics.
    Star Trek in FAKE NEWS shocker. Honestly, what IS the world coming to?

  • “Many American adults are wary of pedophiles”: The best internet advice for traveling to the US
    So you want visit the US. You’ve packed your bags, gotten your documents together, maybe paid for a pricey tourist visa, to sprawling land of barbecue and purple mountains.
    A gentle reminder to everyone across the globe that we ALL live in a bubble of some sort.

  • An Open Letter to Those Praising the New York Times “Tomboy” Piece
    Yesterday, the New York Times ran a piece entitled “My Daughter Is Not Transgender. She’s a Tomboy.” I saw the title and wanted to avoid it but then I saw people praising it and celebrating the need to reclaim “girlness” from the over-correction of trans-affirmation. I was troubled.
    I linked to the “Tomboy” piece, so I’m linking to this as well. I think both have valid points, but I’d rather be informed than not.

  • How Online Shopping Makes Suckers of Us All
    Will you pay more for those shoes before 7 p.m.? Would the price tag be different if you lived in the suburbs? Standard prices and simple discounts are giving way to far more exotic strategies, designed to extract every last dollar from the consumer.
    Confirms what I presumed was happening anyway. (tip: Amazon price tracker)

  • Here Are Some of the Best Signs From the March for Science
    Tens of thousands of people gathered in hundreds of rallies around the world on Earth Day in what was described as a “celebration” of science and support for evidence-based policies.
    I do love a smart sign.

  • Video: CNY bowler sets world record by rolling 300 game in 86.9 seconds
    Syracuse, N.Y. — How fast can a bowler roll 12 consecutive strikes and achieve a perfect game? For Ben Ketola, the answer is 86.9 seconds.
    Awesome.

  • For the Love of God, Stop Putting Two Spaces After a Period
    A close friend of mine recently asked me to edit an important professional email. We’ve known each other since we were 8 years old, and in recent years he’s devolved into somewhat of a Patrick Bateman–esque, white-collar psychopath.
    Yes. To this!

  • Long live the grimacing emoji
    Emoji are wonderful way for us to communicate all that might otherwise go unsaid: brewing rage, feeling as busy as a bumblebee, a desire for hamburgers, sexual frustration. But there is one emoji so universally applicable that it stands above the rest: the wide-eyed, grimacing emoji.
    Oddly I use the laughing hysterically with tears emoji way more (because my life is HYSTERICAL y’all!)

  • A Fitbit Helped Police Arrest A Man For His Wife’s Murder
    Richard Dabate was arrested this month and charged with felony murder, tampering with physical evidence, and making false statements following his wife Connie Dabate’s death in 2015, according to the arrest warrant.
    Murderers 0 Internet of Things 1.

  • Where did all the saxophones go?
    A saxophone screams. A saxophone honks. It doesn’t jam or shred or flow. The saxophone isn’t like a piano intro or a guitar solo. In modern music, it can feel, well, outdated. There’s no song in the Top 40 right now with a saxophone solo.
    Clearly they weren’t in Paisley for the Gerry Rafferty tribute last weekend.

  • A New Day Dawning: How “Check Your Head” Invented the Beastie Boys
    Here’s a little story that must be told. When the Beastie Boys released Check Your Head on April 21, 1992, they weren’t sure whether they still had an audience.
    One of my fav bands, with an assured place in music history almost disappeared. Funny how life works.

  • Go Ahead, Have That Fourth Cup of Coffee
    If you’re one of the millions of Americans that downs coffee or other caffeinated beverages to get through the work day, here’s some good news. A new scientific review on the safety of caffeine says drinking up to four cups of coffee, or about 400 milligrams of caffeine, is pretty safe.
    Phew. Ohhh hang on, four ALL DAY? Next up people will suggest de-caff is better… (I can crack through 4 in a MORNING FFS).

  • Resistance
    “If you find yourself criticizing other people, you’re probably doing it out of Resistance. When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own. Individuals who are realized in their own lives almost never criticize others…
    Short quote, big impact.