Links for the week ending on Nov 20th, 2013

 

Links for the week of Nov 20th, 2013

The weekend involved a lot of travel, so my link list was a bit delayed.   

Japanese puzzle boxes have always fascinated me. I've played with a few, some very simple, and others quite complex. This video does an excellent job of showing how they work. Video  

I've seen a few talks from XOXO this year and have enjoyed all of them. I may need to get down to it one year. Cabel Sasser from Panic Software is the latest talk I've found. Video  

David Foster Wallace gave a great commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. The longer speech was condensed and used as the voice over for a video. It was going around a while back, but worth reposting. Video 

And while I'm linking to inspirational videos, this classic from Merlin Mann is worth your time. Merlin is known for a lot of things, and has written some useful and inspirational stuff over the years, but his Scared Shitless talk at Webstock a few years ago is perhaps his best. Be sure to have some tissues around for this one. Video

This can't be good. Article  

One of the podcasts I listen to regularly is This American Life. The show is well produced and written, and even mundane subjects are presented with interesting stories. The episode a few weeks ago was particularly entertaining. Seven things you're not supposed to talk about. Podcast

I've never been much of a celebrity watcher. I don't care what famous people are doing in their spare time, or who they're dating. I do like good interviews about interesting people though. After reading this Esquire interview with George Clooney, I suspect he would be an interesting guy to sit and chat with, in spite of the fact he's famous. Article

I'm skeptical of most virtual reality headsets that come to market, but these look very promising. Article

I'm a huge fan of Chris Hadfield. Space was one of my obsessions as a kid, and I've always followed space exploration. During his time on the ISS, Hadfield captivated twitter with his photos and observations about life in space. I don't think any astronaut has been more successful at capturing people's attention and introducing them to the wonders of space exploration. Adam Savage interviewed Chris at the Ames' Visitor Center a few weeks ago. While there is no video of the event, there are a few articles with transcripts of the event. Article Article Article Article

I love these photos of the Munich underground. Article 

My friends over at The Federal have a Kickstarter project going right now. Peg is a simple stand for organizing things. I am  happy to be the first backer, and they've been getting some good press about it. Article  

I love the look of this watch, and their use of classic pocket watch design cues. Article

In an era when many museums are becoming less open with information about their collections, the Smithsonian is releasing 3D models of theirs. Article

When Apple released the iPad mini last year, and people complained about the lack of retina screen, I was one of the people who said they wouldn't until at least 2014. They had two major hurdles to overcome, one was price, the other was power usage. They dealt with the price issue by raising the price on the retina models, and this article discusses how they were able to overcome the power consumption issues. Article

I've never been a fan of baseball, but this film looking at the husband and wife team who created the MLB schedule for years is interesting. Video 

I'm a huge fan of Fiftythree's iPad drawing app Paper. Recently they've launched a service with the makers of Moleskine notebooks to print your drawings. They also just announced a new stylus called Pencil to make drawing a bit easier. Article

The Gettysburg Address turned 150 this past week. Article

Spheres aren't the only solids of constant width. Video

Synthesized jellyfish proteins used to make ice cream glow in the dark. Article

Volunteers from around the world help map out the Philippines to assist rescue workers. Article 

Portraits of well loved toys. Article  

Derek Muller is host of the great Veritasium YouTube channel. In this video he discusses the 24 best accidental inventions. Video  

For a guy who has spent his professional career being silent, Teller sure is chatty once you get him started. Talking about his new movie Tim's Vermeer. Video

How synthetic sapphire  is made. Video

Jony Ive and Marc Newson on their Project Red auction. Article

Bladerunner as a water colour. Video  

I try to focus on links which are not time sensitive. If you found these links interesting, you can find past link posts here.