43 Folders has a post about Rules of Thumb, a series of books containing, er, rules of thumb.

Like:

Keeping Yourself in Shoes - If you switch back and forth among three pairs of shoes, they will last as long as five pairs of shoes worn out one pair at a time.

There’s a plea for the books...

There’s more ➢

George Monbiot has an alarming piece about the ramifications of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, which has just passed its third reading in the UK’s House of Commons. Read George for the full story. I can only marvel that handing a leaflet to two people will soon constitute harassment,...

There’s more ➢

A fascinating article in PLoS Biology talks about the origin of the Mlabri, "an enigmatic hunter-gatherer group from northern Thailand". These people have no diversity in their mitochondrial DNA and very reduced diversity elsewhere in their genomes. The evidence points to a recent origin, perhaps...

There’s more ➢

Open Brackets is on pretty good form today. Soft target, easy money, and a fine start to Friday morning.

And I enjoyed the photo and comments at L.A.me.

Keep mocking my PR campaign, I'll make the Internet slow too.
God | 02.16.05 - 5:08 pm | #

Received one Valentine yesterday, by email, and I was naturally thrilled to bits. Until I realized that the woman in question had sent the identical message to 71 of her closest friends. She could at least have done them as BCCs. Then I wouldn't be feeling nearly so indispensable.