lightcastle

No, not the Superbowl commercials, I will spare you those. (Although the Canadian-only rec league hockey one is lovely.)

Instead, some random video links I've collected of late.

Holy crap, a grizzly bear fighting a wolf!

American Sign Language music videos. I had no idea this existed as a genre.

The First Question. (Honestly, the fan trailers and such this 50th anniversary have produced are going to be so much better than what Moffatt will give us.)

130 years of global warming.

Swarming quadcopters

It's back to work and I keep glancing at interesting things but don't have time to write. So you get a link dump from tabs.

(One of my 2012 quasi-resolutions is to set up a proper reading system. I will solicit "you should be reading these" suggestions, as well as asking what to use to manage them.)

Carbon nanotubes create wearable sensors. This kind of thing has been kicking around for a while, and seems to really getting to the point where smart clothing could be pretty commonplace.

From Obsidian Wings, some useful German words we could use in English:

Verschlimmbesserung, noun [from Verbesserung (improvement) and Verschlimmerung (deterioration/worsening)]: intended improvements or upgrades that end up making everything worse. Verb form: verschlimmbessern

kaputtreparieren, verb ("kaputt" + "repair"): repair or tinker with a thing to the point that it becomes broken.

The Occupy Movement (and I'm still iffy on whether I like that term, but it seems to have stuck) has been fascinating to watch, although why anyone is surprised they are having some of the problems they are having surprises me. The fact it exploded quickly and that it pretends to be non-hierarchical almost guarantees some form of these "do any of you realize you didn't invent social justice movements or protesting" moments.

Barbie trashes her dreamhouse.

The two types of sloth may be an example of convergent evolution. (Also, Sloth babies are cute)

Add this parasitic fly to the list of possible causes of colony collapse disorder. (Also, do not read if the whole "larva then eat their way out of the insect's head" thing is going to bother you.)

Three New Hampshire republicans have proposed a bill that says “All members of the general court proposing bills and resolutions addressing individual rights or liberties shall include a direct quote from the Magna Carta which sets forth the article from which the individual right or liberty is derived”.

A reminder, correlation does not mean causation, although it allows you to imply all kinds of things.

I was going to write something about the Hugo Schwyzer dust up over the holidays, but since I always thought he was a douchebag anyway...

As most of you know, I am not a big fan of conservative politicians like Barack Obama, and am happy to see people attack their policies. But even if I didn't know Rick Perry was not just conservative, but some kind of wacky theocracy-loving authoritarian, I would STILL know I shouldn't vote for him just based on the ridiculous action-movie bombast of this campaign video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LBxFmixh70&feature=player_embedded

My favourite part is where they show Canadians are polite by having a man slapped across the face and offering the other cheek.

I'm still not sure the cat was secretly trying to eat this awesomely huge fish that kept showing up.

Some of you may have heard of SurveyFail, an unfortunate attempt to use fanfic online to explain why women and men are hardwired to desire the things they desire. (You know the drill - man is a hunter because THE SAVANNAH!)

I missed the whole thing, as it went on in 2009, and I spent some of that year moving.

Seems the book is coming out in May, and some people have decided to tag said book appropriately

I want a cat that does this.

Shamelessly yoinked from aerynne, anyone who listens to NPR should appreciate this song:

First the creepy - 500 Days of Summer with the score from Inception, to highlight the creepy obsessed stalker vibe. (found via shakesville)




And then the cute - Dogs and cats, living together! MASS HYSTERIA!!

A musical interlude to wash out the taste of the previous post.