Link roundup

1. Raffle to win art by Britt Wilson.

2. "18 Places Google Maps Won't Let You See."

3. For next February - - goofy Valentines.

Image roundup

A few gems from Reddit:


Mama bear and her cubs one year later.



Monster house.




Fennec fox.



Owl hates being washed.



Google gets some weird questions.

Image roundup

A few gems from Reddit:


The future of Google.




Test answer.




Some products sell themselves.




Anyone know who makes this shirt?




Duct tape to the rescue.

Link roundup

1. Instructions and template for making a paper bird mobile.

2. Instructions for turning off in-app purchases on your iPhone to prevent your child (or yourself) from racking up massive charges.

3. "Google's head of research, said the main reason they launched [Google Voice] was so they could better learn how to transcribe human voice to text."

Link roundup

1. St. John's new prize basketball recruit is named God's Gift Achiuwa.

2. A detailed, lengthy analysis of the wisdom of building a Death Star and actually using it to destroy a planet. For example:

So, the Emperor and Tarkin focus on making one really huge, high-impact investment: The Death Star. They throw in Alderaan as part of that investment. This doomsday weapon will supposedly free up their resources to spend less on administration, personnel and infrastructure, and continue to function without a Senate. It seems like a big investment until you realize how much they save by not actually having a functioning government.

This is an attractive option even today, as politicians look to pay for tax cuts and handouts to core constituencies by laying off or cutting salaries and benefits for bureaucrats and government workers, as well as by skimping on infrastructure.

The problem, of course, is that it doesn’t work. The underpaid, undermotivated, poorly managed stormtroopers can’t even track down the Empire’s most wanted fugitive androids in an extremely sparsely populated area where they have undisputed control. If Tatooine still had meaningful senatorial representation and local government, Luke never would have gotten off the planet. Whole systems just break away and form not just a resistance, but a giant frickin’ fleet of spaceships that destroy not one, but two death stars. The failure of leadership is so total and complete that Tarkin is killed in his own fortress and the Emperor is murdered in his own office by his own right-hand man.

3. Guide to utilizing Chrome, including various useful extensions.

Link roundup

1. Lifehacker recommends Super Google Reader for converting partial RSS feeds into full feeds.

2. Long interview with toy designers/customizers The Beast Brothers. They used to customize their M.A.S.K and TMNT toys as kids.

3. "Meatcraft: A Real World Minecraft Art Gallery." Via.

Link roundup

1. Fashion photographs as animated gifs. (These are incredible.)

2. An assertion that Google could simply buy the entire music industry.

3. "Downward Spiral of Whole Foods House Brand."