Curious Fish - Web goodies (quotes, sounds, links), filtered by Penar Musaraj.

Jocks

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:05:07 +0000

Just months after the election and the humiliation, everyone is again convinced that Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity and the rest possess real power. And the saddest thing is that even Republican politicians come to believe it. They mistake media for reality. They pre-emptively surrender to armies that don’t exist.

David Brooks, in the NYT

All externalities, everywhere, all the time

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:55:02 +0000

@tylercowen Just noticed that your praise of twitter was almost all externalities--ways a nonuser could benefit. Perverse sort of praise.

Tyler Cowen

OK Genius [Opinions]

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:55:02 +0000

Apple’s iTunes software claims to be a Genius at making mixes. GILES TURNBULL begs to differ, knowing how mixes should be made, and proposes a duel of “Fingertips.”

(author unknown)

Is the university next? (disintermediating higher education)

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:45:03 +0000

No one is talking about it, but what's happening to journalism may some day happen to higher education.

It's not too early to look down the road.

Tim Sullivan and I were chatting about the options the other day and I came away with this rough sketch of a radical scenario: the university continues as a center of knowledge production, but ceases to matter as a center of knowledge distribution.

Let's assume the following.

Grant McCracken

Kids

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:01:25 +0000

Kids have this incredible capacity for happiness. They can give themselves an endorphin rush the likes of which you and I haven’t experienced in decades from just the sight of a new stuffed animal or the mention of chicken nuggets.

Kevin Gulfoile

Hands-Free Shopping

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:35:03 +0000

If Adam Smith were alive today, he might rely on InvisibleHand for his online shopping. The service, a Firefox add-on, notifies users if a product is available for less elsewhere, eliminating the need for price-comparison websites. The invisible hand never worked so quickly.

By Freakonomics

My Name is Roger, and I'm an alcoholic

admin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:10:02 +0000

In August 1979, I took my last drink. It was about four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, the hot sun streaming through the windows of my little carriage house on Dickens. I put a glass of scotch and soda down on the living room table, went to bed, and pulled the blankets over my head. I couldn't take it any more.

Roger Ebert

Ikea as tourist attraction

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:50:03 +0000

For many Chinese, the Ikea in Beijing is not just a store, it's a lifestyle amusement park with free admission.

Jason Kottke