Mike Industries Tumblelog

How to Do Philosophy

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 17:22:41 -0700

If you’ve ever suspected that most classical philosophy is a colossal waste of time, Paul Graham tells you why you’re probably right.

TIME: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 17:17:30 -0700

TIME: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us:

Stephen Brill follows the money to uncover the pinnacle of corruption that is the U.S. Health Care system. A must-read article if there ever was one.

DIY Dot Org

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:17:47 -0800

DIY Dot Org:

A beautifully designed site full of fun and challenging DIY projects. I could spend months on here.

The Steve Jobs Video Archive

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 13:24:58 -0800

The Steve Jobs Video Archive:

A collection of over 250 Steve Jobs videos in biographical order

Self-portraits from an artist under the influence of 48...

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:13:00 -0700

Self-portraits from an artist under the influence of 48 different psychoactive drug combos.

Water Wigs are pretty amazing.

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:49:42 -0700

Water Wigs are pretty amazing.

David Pogue proposes to his girlfriend by creating a fake movie...

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:08:20 -0700

David Pogue proposes to his girlfriend by creating a fake movie trailer about them and then getting a theater to play it before a real movie. Beautiful and totally awesome.

Jonah Peretti's letter to BuzzFeed’s employees

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 15:33:23 -0700

Jonah Peretti's letter to BuzzFeed’s employees:

If you’re wondering what a excellent blueprint for a modern media company looks like, look no further than Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti’s latest email to his employees. In it, Peretti explains a lot of his company’s virtues, the most important being a relentless focus on always providing what’s best for the user. Vox Media (operators of The Verge) is the only other company I can think of which approaches this level of reform and execution.

The Covers Project

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:05:50 -0700

The Covers Project:

I love this so much: a cross-referenceable database of cover songs, searchable by song or artist. Slowed down, acoustic covers — no matter the song — are so enjoyable to me that I wish it was a requirement to play one at every show. If you like them as much as I do, make sure to check out M. Ward’s Let’s Dance or Sun Kil Moon’s entire album of Modest Mouse covers.

"More and more people in this country no longer make or do anything tangible; if your job wasn’t..."

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 13:08:19 -0700

“More and more people in this country no longer make or do anything tangible; if your job wasn’t performed by a cat or a boa constrictor in a Richard Scarry book I’m not sure I believe it’s necessary. I can’t help but wonder whether all this histrionic exhaustion isn’t a way of covering up the fact that most of what we do doesn’t matter.”

- Tim Kreider’s denunciation of the cult of busyness is excellent. (via jimray)

The iPhone and Disruption: Five Years In

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:28:51 -0700

The iPhone and Disruption: Five Years In:

Take your pick of about 20 great quotes from this Daring Fireball article. My personal favorite:

The iPhone is not and never was a phone. It is a pocket-sized computer that obviates the phone. The iPhone is to cell phones what the Mac was to typewriters.

sirmitchell: Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity’s Seven...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 09:08:14 -0700

sirmitchell:

Challenges of Getting to Mars: Curiosity’s Seven Minutes of Terror

The precision and innovation that is required for space exploration just blows my mind. I did not realize that Curiosity will have to basically land on Mars completely unaided by man, but it’s so much more complicated than that.

High speed liquid flowers. Beautiful.

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:44:55 -0700

High speed liquid flowers. Beautiful.

Negative Equity Visualization by Stamen Design and Zillow

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34:44 -0700

Negative Equity Visualization by Stamen Design and Zillow:

Very cool interactive infographic showing you what percentage of homes in your area are underwater (mortgage-wise, not wetness-wise).

The Facebook Fallacy

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:18:00 -0700

The Facebook Fallacy:

A well reasoned, extremely pessimistic outlook on where Facebook is going and how much of the ad-driven web it will take down with it (hint: all). Lots of great quotes in here, and lots of warning signs to heed. Part of me thinks the end of low rent display advertising on the web might be a good thing, however.

A Running RSS Feed of Baseball Streakers

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:03:57 -0700

A Running RSS Feed of Baseball Streakers:

Well this is just the best thing I’ve seen in days. A page AND DEDICATED RSS FEED of all streaking incidents around Major League Baseball, as they happen. With commentary.

Gale force winds applied directly to people’s faces. (via...

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:57:02 -0700

Gale force winds applied directly to people’s faces. (via @itscolossal)

Fungible

Mon, 07 May 2012 17:38:48 -0700

Fungible:

An excellent, must-read treatise by Stijn Debrouwere about how journalism is slowly being replaced by other services which perform journalistic duties (inform, entertain, etc.) without being journalistic entities unto themselves. Examples include Netflix reviews, Quora Q&A threads, and the like:

There are organizations and websites everywhere that are taking over newspapers’ role as tastemaker and watchdog and forum. These disruptors don’t replace investigative reporting, but they replace the other 95% of what made professional news organizations important.

The Forgetting Pill Erases Painful Memories Forever

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:34:40 -0700

The Forgetting Pill Erases Painful Memories Forever:

Fascinating article about how memories work and how we are very close to being able to biologically destroy them.

“Memory comes with a natural updating mechanism, which is how we make sure that the information taking up valuable space inside our head is still useful. That might make our memories less accurate, but it probably also makes them more relevant to the future.”

How The Huffington Post Ate the Internet

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:56:16 -0700

How The Huffington Post Ate the Internet:

This is the best article about the Huffington Post that’s ever been written. If you care at all about business or the news industry, it’s an absolute must read. Whether you love or hate HuffPo, the story of how they rose to prominence is fascinating and instructive. When you’re done, also make sure to check out this 1983 New York Magazine article about Arianna (then) Stassinopoulos.