Author: John

An interesting linguistic cartogram from Strange Maps today. The most common language in Ireland is English. Then Gaelic. But what language do you think is third? Guess before you click though.

I was chatting with my wife about this great article I’d read about how to teach your kids to argue and she asked, “Can I just search your blog for the link?” Of course, I hadn’t blogged it. Obviously I have not been keeping up with my commitment to myself to post something here every…

There are several tabs in my browser that have been sitting out there waiting to be noted for a while. I think I saw most of them on Kottke, but at this point I’m not sure. If he didn’t post them, I’m sure it was just an oversight on his part! First of all there…

The Atlantic: What Makes Us Happy? Back in the late 30’s, the founder of the Grants dime store chain wondered why scientists and doctors studied sick people instead of studying healthy, well-adjusted people. He thought there would be far more to learn from someone who was successfully navigating life than from someone failing at it.…

Guinea Pig Coats. Or to make it clearer, coats for Guinea pigs.

LA Times: The Rigors of Life Unplugged. A teacher challenges her students to live without electronic gizmos for a week. Surprisingly, a lot of kids make it. It sounds like it was really tough for most of them, though. Salon: An interview with that Free Range Kids lady. I’m sure that most parents nod along…

Posnanski: I’m Getting to That Part. So apparently Joe and his wife argue about which of them their four-year-old takes after. Each of them arguing that she takes after the other parent. Apparently she’s quite the character. Consumer Reports: ShamWow Testing! With video! At least it’s good for drying off your pet. We’ve been using…

Wednesday Chef: April in Paris. Luisa takes a short trip to Paris and returns with these wonderful words and pictures. Posnanski: Come on, That’s Not Real! Joe comes up with a highly believable story to explain how a photo of the new Collegiate Snuggies might have come to be.

How to be a successful evil overlord. A lot of folks have pointed at this, and I finally got around to reading it. I’ll have to keep this stuff in mind. Philadelphia Daily News: Rethinking Philadelphia. A very nice package of stories on — you guessed it — how to move Philly to a more…

GreenCityBlueLake: Roundup. A boatload of great information in this little post. I’m particularly intrigued by the Citizen Dashboard Project. It looks like Marc Canter (the guy who developed what ended up as Flash Player) is behind this. I think that places like Cleveland really need a kick in the pants on this kind of thing.…