Mike Franklin

"She suffers from a fear known as lachanophobia, which leaves her sweating and stricken with panic..."

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:47:39 -0500

“She suffers from a fear known as lachanophobia, which leaves her sweating and stricken with panic attacks at the merest sight of a sprout or a pea.”

- Woman diagnosed with fear of vegetables - Telegraph

Matt: you have no idea how excruciating a flight is with no tv, before the invention of ipods or anything else

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:00:11 -0500

Matt: you have no idea how excruciating a flight is with no tv, before the invention of ipods or anything else
Matt: staring at your path across the atlantic...
Mike: um
Matt: inching across for 9 hours...
Matt: oh wait
Matt: you're older than me
Mike: I've been flying transatlantic since 1988 :P
Matt: nevermind then

"How does this AFC differ from the fast food joints of your ‘hood? For a start - a guard with a..."

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:11:43 -0500

“How does this AFC differ from the fast food joints of your ‘hood? For a start - a guard with a submachine gun loitering outside, fast food being an obvious target for being ‘foreign’.”

- From Kabul Fried Chicken to Afghan Fried Chicken - Jan Chipchase - Future Perfect

The car comes with a great cocktail-party boast: if your Veyron,...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:30:27 -0500

The car comes with a great cocktail-party boast: if your Veyron, at rest, were passed by a $500,000 Mercedes McLaren SLR doing 100 m.p.h., you could floor the accelerator and still reach 200 m.p.h. before the Mercedes could match its speed. (via Behind the Wheel - Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - Pinnacle of the Past, Just $2.1 Million - Review - NYTimes.com)

"This removable-roof version of the Veyron coupe costs 1.4 million euros, or roughly $2.1 million. I..."

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:25:02 -0500

“This removable-roof version of the Veyron coupe costs 1.4 million euros, or roughly $2.1 million. I say roughly, because the Bugatti’s price can fluctuate about $14,000 a day simply from one-cent adjustments in exchange rates.”

- Behind the Wheel - Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - Pinnacle of the Past, Just $2.1 Million - Review - NYTimes.com

"In his old married apartment in the financial district, he said, two walls were devoted to shelves..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:55:25 -0500

“In his old married apartment in the financial district, he said, two walls were devoted to shelves showcasing his vast sneaker collection. In his new single-again apartment, shared with a pug puppy called Brooks Junior, he needs a penlight to help him excavate footwear from the mountain of clothing jammed into his small closet — though he says it’s only one-eighth of what he owned in more prosperous times.”

- The Decline and Fall of the Bachelor Pad - NYTimes.com

"One standard reference, from 1905, lists more than 6,500 distinct varieties. There are apples for..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:50:38 -0500

“

One standard reference, from 1905, lists more than 6,500 distinct varieties. There are apples for keeping, cooking, eating and the making of ciders, with names as colorful as they are various: Scollop Gillyflower, Red Winter Pearmain, Kansas Keeper…

And even in formerly great apple-growing states, including New York, the number of different apples has greatly diminished. According to one estimate, only 11 varieties make up 90 percent of all the apples sold in this country, and Red Delicious alone counts for nearly half of that.

”

- Editorial Notebook - Apples, Apples, Apples - NYTimes.com

For 27 months, Ian Fisher, his parents and friends, and the U.S....

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:48:19 -0500

For 27 months, Ian Fisher, his parents and friends, and the U.S. Army allowed Denver Post reporters and a photographer to watch and chronicle his recruitment, induction, training, deployment, and, finally, his return from combat. A selection of photos from Ian’s journey are posted below. (via Captured Photo Collection » Ian Fisher : American Soldier Photos)

"“Then along came a cyclist. And I thought, ‘Good, he’s a big bloke,’ and..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:41:51 -0500

“

“Then along came a cyclist. And I thought, ‘Good, he’s a big bloke,’ and shouted, ‘Can you help me please?’

“He stopped and turned around and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, it’s Boris Johnson.’

”

- Boris Johnson saves woman from street attack | UK news | The Guardian

"Moreover, there is one American health statistic that is strikingly above average: life expectancy..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:38:47 -0500

“Moreover, there is one American health statistic that is strikingly above average: life expectancy for Americans who have already reached the age of 65. At that point, they can expect to live longer than the average in industrialized countries. That’s because Americans above age 65 actually have universal health care coverage: Medicare.”

- Op-Ed Columnist - Unhealthy America - NYTimes.com

"Yet another study, cited in a recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:37:04 -0500

“

Yet another study, cited in a recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, looked at how well 19 developed countries succeeded in avoiding “preventable deaths,” such as those where a disease could be cured or forestalled. What Senator Shelby called “the best health care system” ranked in last place.

The figures are even worse for members of minority groups. An African-American in New Orleans has a shorter life expectancy than the average person in Vietnam or Honduras.

”

- Op-Ed Columnist - Unhealthy America - NYTimes.com

"New research from mobile phone firm T-Mobile reveals nearly a quarter of [British] men (22 percent)..."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:36:48 -0500

“

New research from mobile phone firm T-Mobile reveals nearly a quarter of [British] men (22 percent) regularly include a kiss on texts to their male mates …

“Metrotextuality” is most widespread among 18-24 year old males with three quarters (75 percent) regularly sealing texts with a kiss and 48 percent admitting that the practice has become commonplace amongst their group of friends.

”

- Metrotextual - Schott’s Vocab Blog - NYTimes.com

"Just a decade? We went back and forth on it for a while and finally Adam said his bosses just would..."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:01:36 -0500

“Just a decade? We went back and forth on it for a while and finally Adam said his bosses just would not go along with calling me the CEO of the Century, since it would not even be clear which century we were talking about, and if it was the last century then what was the point of writing about it now, and the whole point was to do a story about the decade that is just ending, and we came back and said okay how about best CEO of the past quarter century, and again we got hit with this thing about the premise being just to talk about the decade that’s ending — so fine.”

- The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Why I won’t be accepting the award from Fortune

‘The America Burger’ by Natalie Dee – Eat Me Daily

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:54:47 -0500

‘The America Burger’ by Natalie Dee – Eat Me Daily

"We try to keep these guys in a culturally significant place."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:49:32 -0500

““We try to keep these guys in a culturally significant place.””

- Advertising - Hapa Sushi Uses Medical Marijuana Stores to Market Its Restaurants - NYTimes.com

"The current problems began years ago, experts said, when vaccine companies started abandoning the..."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:21:49 -0500

“

The current problems began years ago, experts said, when vaccine companies started abandoning the American market. Vaccines, which involve living viruses, are much harder to make than most drugs. Profits are lower and unused flu vaccine expires after a few months.

Also, vaccines are primarily intended for children, and Americans frequently sue when a child is injured.

”

- Nation Is Facing Shortage of Seasonal Flu Vaccine - NYTimes.com

For those Guy Fawkes/V for Vendetta devotees out there, here’s a...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:53:11 -0500

For those Guy Fawkes/V for Vendetta devotees out there, here’s a little origami by master folder Brian Chan ’02, SM ’04, PhD ’09 (via Remember, Remember… « Slice of MIT by the Alumni Association)

"Governments should not rely on [s]ecurity tools that have not passed scientific scrutiny, and should..."

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:51:04 -0500

“Governments should not rely on [s]ecurity tools that have not passed scientific scrutiny, and should only employ those methods that have been proven effective. After all, the use of tools that do not work will only get us further from the truth.”

- excerpted in Schneier on Security: The Problems with Unscientific Security

"** So, tell me something else about your stuttering homeland: Loads of people believe in pixies and..."

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:41:45 -0500

“

** So, tell me something else about your stuttering homeland:
Loads of people believe in pixies and everyone has been over Bjork for ages… I feel horrible, this stuff is gruesome.

** Don’t say that, you’re ruining it for the kids over there.
It should be ruined for them; I’m pleased that Icelandic kids can’t eat this shit any more, they’ll be the only fit children on Earth.

”

- A TRADITIONAL ICELANDIC BURGER WAKE « Viceland Today

(McDonalds pulls out of Iceland)

"It’s becoming a reader favorite and Halloween tradition for us to count down those..."

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:25 -0500

“It’s becoming a reader favorite and Halloween tradition for us to count down those ridiculously over-the-top gruesome urban myths that, oh by the way, happen to be true.”

- 6 Creepy Urban Legends That Happen to be True (Part 3!) | Cracked.com