In the New York Times on Election Day 1996, the crossword puzzle correctly predicted the winner of that day’s presidential election. And the story behind why is absolutely phenomenal. (I only wish it didn’t include the words “tour de force”)
An anesthesiologist has discovered that allowing children to play Game Boy for a few minutes can be used as a replacement for pre-anesthesia tranquilizers. Imagine playing wireless multiplayer DS with your brother in the waiting room. That would be the best surgery ever.
Shopping for video games in Osaka, or, why I’m trying to convince M to get a residency in Japan.
I just said “Holy shit”. Aloud. At work. Why? Google just unveiled a new Beta project: Google Suggest. It’ll suggest autocompletions of your search. In realtime. Really goddamn fast. I’m almost beyond words, here.
Boston is allowing anyone who got a ticket on December 1, 2, or 3 to pay for it in toys. Toys for Tots, that is. This is the best decision I’ve ever heard, and I imagine the only reason it’s not being done on a larger scale is that the Police Department probably depends on the income to pay its officers.
Too bad, really. I’d bet they see a much higher “payment” rate for those three days.
A cereal restaurant. Fucking brilliant. Goddamnit that’s a good idea.
Check out this video of the guy who created most of the Gnome icons creating a new one. The high-speed version is great and only a minute long.
Somehow, his style (at least the style of this icon) reminds of Chris' drawing.
Someone has been considerate enough to put a flash-powered working World of Warcraft demo online. Realistic!
How to eat sushi. You may wonder why this is really necessary, but you must remember that sushi eating (and the art of making it) goes back to the time of the samurai. The rituals are detailed and wonderful, and this howto makes me want to visit Japan. Bonus: Includes a section on fugu!
IBM’s monthly teaser, Ponder This, seems like fun. Part 1 of November’s only took me about 5 minutes and 66 characters of Perl. Part 2 is a little more analytical. I’ll work on it at lunch.
Mathowie has turned MetaFilter signups back on, for a $5 one-time fee. Totally worth it. I hope the MeFi stats get updated, or Matt announces how many new signups there were today. I’m user #17646.
Update 11-19: Matt got enough signups to pay for a full year of webhosting! My calculations show roughly 1200 new users in the last 24 hours, although there are certainly people who bailed between signup and donate in that count.
Imagine going to see a Broadway play, and discovering that it was based on your own life. This true story launches us into a sketchy world of ownership, idea-ness, and copyrights, and Malcolm Gladwell isn’t sure on which side of the argument he stands.
Oh My God It Burns, a humorous science experiement. Can a Brita filter turn vile cheap vodka into Ketel One™? This is the ideal science experiment. Repeatable, organized, funny, and most importantly the scienticians get drunk!
Flickr is fun, and the tag system is perfectly done. For example, check out the photos tagged with marathon.
Some other good photos at amitgupta.com.
New York City has chosen new street lights. I like them.
I’ve mentioned them before, but after Waxy Links mentioned another recent conquest, I’ve been revisiting the Improv Everywhere website. Seriously, some of the things they’ve done are brilliant. My favorites so far: the Moebius and synchronized swimming.
It’s easy to think of the country in Red states and Blue states, especially for those of us who are a little bitter about the results of the election. But the truth of the matter is that it’s really not that clear-cut.
Update 11-05: Someone made a county-by-county version of the map , too.
American paper sizes, like all other Imperial forms of measurement, are so arbitrary. It’s quite a breath of fresh air – a veritable gale of freshness, in fact – to read about the mathematically sound basis of the rest of the world’s paper sizes. Bone up on your geometric averages and square roots, and jump into the wonderful world of the international standard paper sizes.
Red Sox World Series victories predict incumbent presidential defeat with 100% accuracy!
Grand Theftendo, a Nintendo Entertainment System fan port of Grant Theft Auto. It’ll be available for free download when it’s done!
The Gimli Glider: how a talented airline pilot saved hundreds of lives when coincidences converged and his 767 ran out of fuel. This should be made into a movie.
Free graph paper PDFs. Now if only I needed to graph something..
Regret The Error, a blog that follows major newspapers' corrections. Interesting, sometimes funny, marginally socio-political, with a touch of Schadenfreude.
Between both cellphones and M’s Palm, we’ve got three things on my bureau charging every night. Woe is me, if only there was a simpler solution! There is: Splashpower. That is so damn cool.
Update 10-22: You know, this would be even cooler if there was a module for rechargable alkaline (or NiCD or NiMH) AA batteries. Then my GPS, GBA (non-SP), and even my Gamecube controllers could all recharge on a single mat.
A zero-score Boggle board is possible. A chance to run to the bathroom for those who are addicted.