Becoming a star

At this week's Bonnaroo, Wu Tang Clan's sign language interpreter stole the show: "[Holly] didn't just sign every word, but put back into it."



More here.

Detroit is screwed

From Marginal Revolution:

And then comes the litany of municipal woes: Detroit has the highest violent crime rate of any major US city, at five times the national average; there were 344 murders in 2011, of which just 39 were solved. Right now, the average response time, if you put in an emergency call to the Detroit Police Department, is 58 minutes. 

Detroit’s infrastructure is crumbling: 40% of its street lights are out of order, and it has 78,000 abandoned and blighted structures, of which 38,000 are considered dangerous buildings. Those buildings account for a large proportion of the 12,000 fires Detroit has every year. At the moment, firefighters are instructed not to use the hydraulic ladders on their firetrucks unless there is an immediate threat to life, because the ladders have not received safety inspections for years. Detroit also has just 36 ambulances, of which generally no more than 14 are in operation at any given time. 

How tough?

From our friend Lance Mannion:

You probably heard this story in history class in high school, how in the days of Roman conquest, Julius Caesar’s army entered a barbarian kingdom and early one morning Caesar sent one of his generals to the barbarian king’s camp to demand their surrender? 

The barbarian king laughed. 

The general warned the king not to underestimate the Romans. We are very tough, he said. 

How tough? said the king smiling.

The general looked around. It was a chilly morning and there was a fire burning in a brazier by the king’s chair. The general strode up to the brazier and stared into the fire. Then he turned to the barbarian king. 

Do you have any coffee? the general asked. 

We’ll have to brew a new pot, said the king. 

The general grinned. 

I can wait, he said. 

The king surrendered on the spot.

Guess the answer?

What data input was used to create the map of the US below? (e.g. for example, this map was created inputting all the roads in the US).

Email me for the answer.

Banishment rooms

Japanese companies have severe restrictions in firing their employees, even if the company is in dire financial situations. So what are they doing to avoid penalties that come with downsizing?

Banishment rooms.

Basically, banishment rooms are departments where companies transfer surplus employees and give them menial or useless tasks or even nothing to do until they become depressed or disheartened enough to quit on their own, thus not getting full benefits, unlike if they were actually let go.

For more details, see here. Originally found at Marginal Revolution.

Fresh coffee IS better

Why does coffee taste like donkey's butt when it's reheated?

The brewing process releases chemicals call lactones that are slightly bitter. As coffee cools, lactones break down into smaller carboxylic acids, which are unpleasantly bitter. When coffee is reheated, these carboxylic acids remain along with the bitter taste. 

However, when fresh coffee is poured quickly over ice, carboxylic acids have less time to form so your coffee tastes better. 

The best is cold press coffee as carboxylic acids don't form at all.

For more scientific breakdown, see here. For original source, see here. 

Keurig Vue Pack Tully'S Coffee French Roast Coffee - 16-Pk. (Google Affiliate Ad)

Lookalikes

Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, looks so much like Alec Baldwin, it's borderline creepy.

See many more here.

Lions vs. tigers

If a tiger fought a lion, which animal would win? This Quora answer favors the tiger:

While it would depend on the size, age and aggressiveness of the specific animals involved, generally tigers have a significant advantage. On average tigers are larger, but more importantly they are more capable of fighting standing on their hind legs.

Read the whole article, it's pretty interesting.

Hipster as American Psycho

I live in the American Gardens Building on W. 81st Street on the 11th floor. My name is Patrick Bateman. I'm 27 years old. I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.

That's a quote from American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, a novel that's (partly) about the lead character's superficiality and unashamed pursuit of status, wealth, pleasure and visual appeal at any cost.

A Twitter user finitor makes an interesting observation:

Finally read American Psycho, and you could totally swap it to 2013 Williamsburg with startup people namechecking artisanal food & cocktails
— finitor (@finitor) May 28, 2013

Can't you just see 2013 Patrick Bateman living in Brooklyn and obsessing over polyorganic maple syrup from Vermont, hand produced by blind artisan monks, that's slowly poured over gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free, fodmap-free crepes based on a French recipe by Andre Papalmous Njienxga, a Filipino-Ghanian chef who grew up in Chile, all served on jar covers that were hand designed by Syrian refugees.

Less therapy = less trauma

Andrew Sullivan's blog links to an interesting study that suggests many single counseling therapy sessions are not only ineffective but counterproductive:

In our trauma-focused society, it is often forgotten that the majority of people who experience the ravages of natural disaster, become the victims of violence or lose loved ones in tragedy will need no assistance from mental health professionals. 

Most people will be shaken up, distressed and bereaved, but these are natural reactions, not in themselves disorders. Only a minority of people – rarely more than 30% in well-conducted studies and often considerably less – will develop psychological difficulties as a result of their experiences, and the single most common outcome is recovery without the need of professional help. 

… [W]hat the individual therapist can’t see is that [recovery] would happen more effectively, leaving less people traumatised, if they did nothing. 

More here.