Bill Maher: New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country. “Even though a Gallup poll says 18% of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth. No, they’re not stupid. They’re interplanetary mavericks”

Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success | Video on TED.com. i love the quote at the end about the changing perception of “success” with age and how you really can’t have it all.

How Different Groups Spend Their Day – Interactive Graphic – NYTimes.com. that’s a pretty cool interactive graph.

what makes us happy

There’s a very large article from this month’s copy of The Atlantic entitled What Makes Us Happy? which is really quite interesting. It talks about a Harvard study that has followed the lives of 268 Harvard men for the last 72 years to find out what makes for a happy and healthy life. The article is well worth reading and points out some of the interesting individuals of the study (which, oddly enough, included JFK). The main lessons: deal with problems maturely, get educated, have a stable marriage, don’t smoke, don’t abuse alcohol, do “some excercise”, and keep a healthy weight. But in summary, “The the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.”

I also really enjoyed this video which is found in the article. It touches on some of the topics and gives a great overview…

‘Youth Magnet’ Cities Hit Midlife Crisis – WSJ.com. lots of 20somethings are still moving to cities like portland even as unemployment reaches 11%. the photos in the slideshow for the article are also really nice and typical portland. also, turns out that 8% of people in portland commute by bike, 10 times the national average.

how hospitals treat same-sex couples – well blog. it’s odd to think that same-sex couples are advised to carry their marriage license in case of a medical emergency.

David Simon, co-creator of The Wire, on Bill Moyers Journal. the interview is an hour long but it’s just amazing. Simon talks about the systemic problems in America as discussed in The Wire. And if you haven’t seen The Wire, what tv show are you possibly watching that’s better?

Look at this fucking hipster. all hip, no dangerous.

“Everyone working in the same room? Music playing? SUNLIGHT? This would never fly in the accounting world!”
- Unspace accountant while visiting Unspace

Google’s chief economist on the economic implications of technology. some great comments in the article. “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

Op-Ed Contributor – Till Children Do Us Part – NYTimes.com. so basically parents are now spending too much time with their kids.

Too Many Online Friends? Time to Delete – NYTimes.com. burger king ran a campaign where you a free whopper if you delete 10 facebook friends.

White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code – NYTimes.com. interesting contrast of the obama/bush work culture.

Man vs Woman, Decision-making for Goldstar Beer | FlowingData. I like the last one best. “Thank God your a Man”


Branford Marsalis: “What I’ve learned from my students is that students today are completely full of shit”. via rethink.


YouTube – Did you know?. i want to learn how to do motion videos.

We Hate Your Kids: The Infuriating New Face Of Poverty. nice comment about a recent new york times front page article.

Why White Supremacists Support Barack Obama – Esquire. i love how one of can call Obama “stupid” without being ironic. I wonder how many years these guys edited the Harvard Law Review? via amanda.

Giles Bowkett’s presentation from Ruby Fringe. part ruby-midi generation, part cultural manifesto. 500 slides so they just put it into the video. this presentation was awesome.

Not so middle management. talking about management structures in companies. some interesting ideas.