Paul Bloom: The origins of pleasure | Video on TED.com

Nazi art lovers, a three-year old channeling Jackson Pollack, George Clooney's sweater, and undergraduate students being zapped as part of some experiment.  Do the origins of a work of art affect the value thereof?  Apparently so.

Somebody loves you, Jing.

The Cake on the Conference Table

We've all been there.  There's a delicious cake staring right at you but you can't take the first piece; that would make you look like a glutton.

For some reason I'm more averse to being seen as a glutton than I am about being one.  I know that in the privacy of my own home I can and sometimes do eat an entire bag of potato chips.  I shouldn't, but do.  However, in public, the fear of being perceived as a glutton pulls me in one direction while my desire for conference-table-cake pulls in the opposite.  So the two forces tend to balance out.  Sure, I eat some cake, but I also go without some....unless no one's looking.

UPDATE: Books, Pixels, & E-Ink Gadgets

Amazon is once again boasting free 3G wireless web browsing for it's 3G Kindle e-reader device on it's Kindle webpage.  When Amazon updated its Kindle from the Kindle 2 (purchase the Kindle 2 for as little as $160) to it's new Kindle line (featuring WiFi access), the 3G web browsing claim had been removed.  The ability to surf the web (albeit slowly) wherever you are is certainly an advantage over Kindle's competitors.  The nook, for example, allows for web browsing over WiFi, but even the 3G equiped Nook lacks 3G web surfing capability.

See the original article:  Eben's Bikes: Books, Pixels, & E-Ink Gadgets: "The NEW Amazon Kindle I've been keeping a close eye on the electronic book reader market ('e-readers') for this simple reason: I want one..." (continued here)

Stephen Hawking to Human Race: Move to Outer Space or Face Extinction (VIDEO)

Advisory warning: I am in no way, shape, or form a scientist (unless you include "political scientist").



Couldn't evolution solve this problem? Not saying that it's a utopian future, but if there's an abundance of humans, doesn't that encourage other animals to evolve to become predators of humans? More predators means less humans. This would probably be bad for contraception manufacturers, but good for pharmaceutical companies that make anti-anxiety medication.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Half-Marathon + 13 Beers = Bad Idea

13 Miles, 13 Beers:  "This guy is nuts haha, he ran a half-marathon and drank a beer for every mile. He eventually states- 'beer is a very good thing for a run of six miles or less.' "  Continued at ...don't confuse the path with the destination... (Thanks, Vicky.  Happy birthday!)

The Pixar Blog: Toy Story 3 is highest grossing Pixar film ever

The Pixar Blog: Toy Story 3 is highest grossing Pixar film ever: Toy Story 3 has brought in over $895 million worldwide, surpassing Finding Nemo's $867.8 million worldwide gross over the weekend to become Pixar's highest grossing film to date. (via The Pixar Blog.)