Pared Down » Links

Link Dump:The Ace in Space

Ryan — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:18:20 +0000

Link dump for December 14-20th, 2009.

Filed under: “Artistic Nerdgasm” – One man takes Star Wars legos and uses an ingenious method of photography to create Lego on Hoth. These photos are fantastic. There are a few photos using Indiana Jones legos as well.
Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far away, scientists were taking photos of astronomical bodies and events. Phil, from Bad Astronomy, picked his top ten favorites from 2009. They’re damn cool too.

Ryan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:20:43 +0000

Link dump for the week of December 7-13th, 2009.

I bought a new digital camera (a Canon G10) this year but I’ve only used it a few times. Shameful, I know. There are some absolutely beautiful photos in the Your Best Shoot 2009 Flickr pool and Life’s 2009 Photos of the Year though. If you’re looking for some photography tips and tricks, check out some of these.
Lifehacker also has a list of some of their favorite DIY projects of 2009. Who doesn’t want to build a pizza oven or hide a room with a bookcase? Want more than that? Check out Instructables and Make.

Ryan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:51:15 +0000

Link dump for the week of November 30th – December 6th, 2009.

Buy a new computer on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Check out this article about a few great cross-platform apps. I use the majority of these everyday. I also highly recommend the extension Adblock Plus for Firefox.
Google announced and rolled out Google Public DNS this week. PC Mag takes a closer look at it. I use OpenDNS currently but I’ll probably give Google’s DNS a try.
Youtube launched Feather, an opt-in beta for a slimmer version of its player. It’s worth checking out if you’re surfing on an older machine or have a slow connection. There’s a lite version of Facebook as well.

Ryan — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:59:03 +0000

Link dump for the week of November 23-29th, 2009.

The Onion A.V. Club selects the best comics of the ’00s as well as the best books of the ’00s. There are more picks in their the best of the decade section.
Last week, Google unveiled its operating system Chrome OS. It won’t be ready for users until sometime next year but the code is open source and available to those who want to take a peak.
While you’re peaking, check out Flowing Data. This site has mad graphs, son. Who doesn’t like info-graphics? Occasionally, they can even be funny.

Ryan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:13:07 +0000

Link dump for the week of November 16-22nd, 2009.

A while ago, a friend recommended a BBC documentary called The Atheism Tapes. It’s a series of interviews with several philosophers and scientists. The first interview is with the philosopher Colin McGinn. The second interview is with the physicist Steven Weinberg. The third is with the playwright Arthur Miller. The fourth is with the biologist Richard Dawkins. The fifth is with the theologian Denys Turner. The final interview is with the philosopher Daniel Dennett.
In a similar vein, check out the first three episodes of The Power of Myth, an interview by Bill Moyers with the comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. The first part is The Hero’s Adventure. The second part is The Message of Myth. The third is The First Storytellers.

Ryan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:18:26 +0000

Link dump for the week of November 9-13th, 2009.

The Catholic Church gives D.C. an ultimatum: we’ll shutdown our social service programs if the big, mean politicians won’t let us discriminate against gays and lesbians. Here’s a joke. The set-up: “How do we help people?” The punchline: “Faith-based initiatives.” Queue everyone laughing. Especially the homeless.
Filed under: “Wait. What?” Rupert Murdoch whines about Google indexing NewsCorp content in its search results. He owns multiple newspapers and a cable news channel. Wonder why they’re such rancid turd-piles? Now you know.
Kirk Cameron plans to subvert Darwin. He will save us from science one stupid person at a time.

Ryan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:30:17 +0000

Link dump for the week of November 2-8th, 2009.

Our [digital] rights continue to erode thanks to the ACTA. Sad times. Stay frosty, stay informed.
I finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. Great read though I wish it was longer. I read it in conjunction with Freakonomics. It’s also a great read.
I spent some time as a web developer. Apparently there’s a merit badge for those of us who are full stack. Who’s cool now, boy-scouts? That’s what I thought!
I filed this under ‘I Love This Man’ – Jon Stewart’s Perfect-Pitch Glenn Beck Impression.

Ryan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:18:58 +0000

Link dump for the week of October 26-31st, 2009.

World of Warcraft and Philosophy explores the ethics and philosophies found within the World of Warcraft community. That’s one way to introduce someone to Kant. Also Dwarves. And Orcs.
Ze Frank shares a brief history of Afghanistan. Watch. Learn. Now you know more than 99% of Americans. (And 100% of American conservative voters. Oh boy!)
The demo for Left 4 Dead 2 is out for those of us who pre-ordered the game. It’s so awesome. Next week it’s available to everyone on PC/Xbox. Come on November 17th, get here faster.

Ryan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:56:55 +0000

Link dump for the week of October 19-25th, 2009.

Giant Bomb shows off Borderlands in a quick look and also posts a full review of the game. I’m looking for to this but I think I’m going to wait and pick it up later in the year during a Steam weekend deal. Assuming there is one.
The Zombie Survival Guide according to Left 4 Dead 2.
Dealing with a lot of nerds in your life? Perhaps you will find The Nerd Handbook useful. I particularly enjoyed the bit about nerds and their “annoyingly efficient relevancy engine.”
Merlin Mann talks about Makebelieve Help, Old Butchers, and Figuring Out Who You Are (For Now). Insightful, sincere, and funny as usual.