moldybluecheesecurds 2

Friday, February 28, 2014

The environmental scandal that’s happening right beneath your feet

The environmental scandal that’s happening right beneath your feet:

BY THE TIME BOB ACKLEY crossed the Harlem River into Manhattan he’d been up for nearly four hours. It was still dark, not yet seven on a Sunday morning: the best time of the week to go sniffing for gas. The back seat of his hatchback was littered with hi-tech equipment. via Pocket

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Is it the gluten or is it the glyphosate?

Is it the gluten or is it the glyphosate?:

New evidence points to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as the culprit in the rise of gluten intolerance, celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome. A study just published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Toxicology (Vol. via Pocket

Schneier on Security

Schneier on Security:

The NSA has become too big and too powerful. What was supposed to be a single agency with a dual mission — protecting the security of U.S. communications and eavesdropping on the communications of our enemies — has become unbalanced in the post-Cold War, all-terrorism-all-the-time era. via Pocket

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Comcast’s deal with Netflix makes network neutrality obsolete

Comcast’s deal with Netflix makes network neutrality obsolete:

For the past two decades, the Internet has operated as an unregulated, competitive free market. Given the tendency of networked industries to lapse into monopoly—think of AT&T’s 70-year hold over telephone service, for example—that’s a minor miracle. via Pocket

It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?!

It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?!:

California, supplier of nearly half of all US fruits, veggies, and nuts, is on track to experience the driest year in the past half millennium. Farms use about 80 percent of the state’s “developed water,” or water that’s moved from its natural source to other areas via pipes and aqueducts. via Pocket

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Mortgage lenders should consider transportation costs

Mortgage lenders should consider transportation costs:

Mortgage lenders turn a blind eye to the transportation costs of homebuyers, and that’s bad for borrowers, banks, and urbanism. via Pocket

'Labor Union Decline, Not Computerization, Main Cause of Rising Corporate Profits'

'Labor Union Decline, Not Computerization, Main Cause of Rising Corporate Profits':

I haven’t read this paper, so I can’t say a lot about how much confidence to place in the results, but it did grab my attention (and I believe it’s in one of the top journals for sociology): Labor union decline, not computerization, main cause of rising corporate profits, EurekAlert: A new study su via Pocket

10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed By Science

10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed By Science:

Happiness is so interesting, because we all have different ideas about what it is and how to get it. It’s also no surprise that it’s the Nr.1 value for Buffer’s culture, if you see our slidedeck about it. So naturally we are obsessed with it. via Pocket

Trouble ahead: Justices’ rulings on gun rights raise thorny questions

Trouble ahead: Justices’ rulings on gun rights raise thorny questions:

Last of three parts. Former Chief Justice Warren Burger (who was so devoted to the U.S. via Pocket

The NRA's End : A Real Gun-Control Movement Has Arrived

The NRA's End : A Real Gun-Control Movement Has Arrived:

O buyers failed in the Senate, and the fatalistic shrugs in Washington were so numerous they were nearly audible. The legislation had been a modest bipartisan compromise, supported by 90 percent of the public and lobbied for hard by the president. via Pocket

Gun rights in the 1780s and today

Gun rights in the 1780s and today:

Second of three articles. The original U.S. Constitution, as drafted in 1787, made no mention of gun rights and guaranteed relatively few other rights. via Pocket

The Second Amendment is a mess

The Second Amendment is a mess:

First of three articles. Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, surely has a more informed and nuanced view of this than I could ever hold, but he can’t possibly be as confident of that statement as he sounds because the Second Amendment is a mess. via Pocket

Monday, February 03, 2014

Piikki Organizes and Uploads Receipts From Your Phone

Piikki Organizes and Uploads Receipts From Your Phone:

iOS: Receipts are ridiculously easy to lose, so I always try to snap a picture of important ones with my phone. From now on, I’ll be taking those pictures with Piikki. There are plenty of apps and methods to store receipts on your smartphone, but I have yet to encounter a faster option than Piikki. via Pocket

Going off the rails with the Second Amendment

Going off the rails with the Second Amendment:

Blog Cabin contributor Paul Udstrand has started publishing on his blog, Thoughtful Bastards, a six-part series on the interpretation of the Second Amendment especially as it relates to permitting private possession of semi-automatic assault weapons. via Pocket

In Defense of Genetically Modified Crops

In Defense of Genetically Modified Crops:

Genetically modified Bt crops get a pretty bad rap. The pest-killing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria protein these plants are bioengineered to make has been accused of harming monarch butterflies, honey bees, rats, and showing up in the blood of pregnant women. via Pocket

Sleight of the ‘Invisible Hand’

Sleight of the ‘Invisible Hand’:

Much has been made of Paul Ryan’s devotion to, and timely disavowal of, Ayn Rand and her work, but little has been said about the Scottish philosopher he and Mitt Romney have cited as the ideological embodiment of what’s at stake in this election. via Pocket

Lawfare › Catalog of the Snowden Revelations

Lawfare › Catalog of the Snowden Revelations:

This page catalogs various revelations by Edward Snowden, regarding the United States’ surveillance activities. via Pocket