currently reading: Kelly Link, Magic for Beginners

Not only has the Olympic torch become a lightning rod for anti-China criticism, when it's all over, the relay will have produced 5,500 tons of carbon emissions. But all controversy aside, the torch itself is certainly a work of art that can be appreciated on its own. I'd love to visit a gallery of past torches, but I guess it's only possible in digital form for now. Howstuffworks also has a page on, well, how the torch works.

How It's Made videos are my new time waster du jour. At five minutes each, they're great spontaneous diversions, though it's hard to watch just one.

Proof that YouTube comments are the dregs of the internet (via Waxy).

Recently took a flight on Virgin America, which had too much fluff for my taste. Does anyone really want to text chat with strangers on the plane? I was delighted, however, to find a small selection of TED Talks on the entertainment system. I've yet to see one that wasn't utterly fascinating.

Creative bar codes.

The Monty Hall Problem has a simple, perfectly good explanation, but it still feels like a paradox no matter how many times I read it. The same subtle pitfall that makes the Monty Hall Problem so counter-intuitive has also crept up in some famous psychology experiments.

Functional geographies - France, Taiwan. What are some other countries with useful shapes? The Chile lockpick?

Extreme papercut art. These would go much faster on a LaserCAMM.

I feel that the term "love letter" makes no sense when it is used in the phrase "a love letter to fans."

MySong generates an accompaniment to a vocal melody (via Futurismic). Luckily, it doesn't work on the fly, which is why you're not living in a musical right now.

I had no idea that Jack Handey is a real person. Deep Thoughts is absolutely timeless, but the official site is annoying, so get them in text form here. Handey has also written several New Yorker articles (via Metafilter).