This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on February 11, 2009). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
Sometime between February 9th and February 11th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- Less Water, More Heat Forecast for State: "Fewer cherries and apples — but possibly more wheat. ¶ More summer days when streams grow dangerously warm for salmon — and worse winter floods flushing away or burying their eggs. ¶ More people dying in King County from heat stress. Less drinking water in the summer. A quadrupling of the acreage burned statewide in summer wildfires. ¶ But more electricity to heat our homes in the winter. ¶ Those are a few of the effects projected for Washington by the first comprehensive look at how climate change is likely to affect the state by the end of the century."
- China’s CCTV Didn’t Cover Its Own Tower’s Fire: "There were no pictures on the front page of The Beijing News. The home page of Xinhua, the official news agency, featured a photo from another tragedy: a stampede in South Korea that left four people dead. Throughout the morning, CCTV's brief bulletins about the blaze omitted footage of the burning tower. ¶ Even before the flames had been extinguished early Tuesday, images of the burning hotel had been removed from the country's main Internet portals. A directive sent out by propaganda officials left no room for error: 'No photos, no video clips, no in-depth reports,' read the memo, which instructed all media outlets to use only Xinhua's dispatches. 'The news should be put on news areas only and the comments posting areas should be closed.'"
- How a Dentist Visit Became a YouTube Hit: "David's father, also named David DeVore, says his son was safe the entire time and finds the video very funny. Mr. DeVore says he filmed his son to help ease his fear of doctor's appointments. 'I was trying to teach him that the anticipation is probably much worse than the actual event,' Mr. DeVore said. 'This might not have been the right case to give an example.' "
- Sad News for Architecture Fans: Portion of CCTV Complex Burns Down: "In 2009, one of the most eagerly anticipated buildings in the last 20 years was to be completed: The headquarters of CCTV in Beijing, designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA. A striking, integral piece of that complex was the nearby Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Sadly, it looks like the hotel has almost completely burned down this morning." Yikes. More photos and video from Reuters, on Flickr, and from Shanghaiist.
- Wm. Shakespeare’s Five and Twenty Random Things Abovt Me: "14 On the topic of dating, my daughter Susanna loues to remind me: ~Jvliet was only thirteen! And I remind her that i) she was Italian, an impulsive race ii), she was actually played by a middle-aged Eunuch named Ned, and iii) she died. That always shvts her right vp."
- Things I’M Standing Next To: "Earlier last week we enabled a quiet little feature that, hopefully, allows you to navigate some of that same mystery and serendipity in the 100 million geotagged photos on Flickr. We call it 'nearby' and it is available for any geotagged photo on the site."