The round-up of links I felt like sharing in my various social media outlets:
What is the Federal Research Public Access Act and why should you care about it?
Nocturnal by Scott Sigler (pre-order) – because Scott’s fiction is my guilty pleasure, and the drilling into Lake Vostok is the perfect set-up for his next science horror story:
On 5 February 2012, a team of Russian scientists successfully drilled through 4 kilometers of ice to reach Lake Vostok, which had lain undisturbed for over 15 million years. Three days later they ceased communicating with the outside world. It took two weeks before a rescue team could reach the drilling site. This is the story of what they found. . .
The Hidden Beauty of the Bottom of Toy Cars – because I enjoy an elegantly built toy.
Republican in Washington State legislature delivers emotional address in support of gay marriage
Skeptically Speaking #150: Fungi & “Fossils”
BitTorrent doesn’t hurt US box-office, delayed international releases drive downloading – I’ve seen this result spun a few different ways, but the argument that the US film industry has not adapted to modern methods of distribution is pretty compelling to me, even if their films are not.
What Jeremy Lin Teaches Us About Talent – I don’t know if Jeremy Lin is the real deal or not, but I do know that most sports statistics and metrics, especially those used in scouting, are bunk.
What it’s like to be uninsured
Silk from Crickets: A new twist on spinning
Ento Box
The Bomb and the General – because anything by Umberto Eco deserves at least a look, and probably needs a few more if you are going to have any hope of getting it.
There Will Be Blood: Follow Up to Skeptically Speaking Podcast
Todd Glass comes out on WTF with Marc Maron Podcast – because its not about one guy coming out of the closet, but why so many people stay in the closet.
-player repeated prisoner’s dilemma in which players are given traits (e.g., height, age, wealth) which, we assume, affect their behavior. The relationship between traits and behavior is unknown to other players. We then analyze the performance of “prejudiced” strategies. . .Such prejudiced strategies have the advantage of learning rapidly. . .they perform remarkably well. . .when the population changes rapidly.
The Finch and Pea 