bookofjoe

Nicholas D. Kristof's Top 13 Children's Books

As seen in his column in today's New York Times, they are (from easiest to hardest):

1. "Charlotte's Web"

2. The Hardy Boys series

3. "Wind in the Willows"

4. The Freddy the Pig series

5. The Alex Rider series

6. The Harry Potter series

7. "Gentle Ben"

8. "Anne of Green Gables"

9. "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be"

10. "Little Lord Fauntleroy"

11. "On to Oregon"

12. "The Prince and the Pauper"

13. "Lad, a Dog"

Well, at least I'm consistent, in that I'm as poorly read in the children's book arena as the adult: I've read only three titles on Kristof's list ("Charlotte's Web, The Hardy Boys and "The Prince and the Pauper").

Fruity Notes

Fruit-shaped sticky notes.

¥1,890.

[via LikeCOOL, Inspire me, now! and MoCo Loco]

How good is your sense of color? Take the Munsell Hue Test and find out

Testing here.

[via Pulp]

NYC Subway Map Dress

Massimo Vignelli's iconic 70s-era map stops at Francis New York's 2009 spring collection.

Silk with acetate lining.

$249.90.

[via The Daily What, 2nd Ave. Sagas and ANIMAL]

'The Fly in the Cathedral'

Best non-fiction book I've read this year.

By Brian Cathcart and subtitled "How a Small Group of Cambridge Scientists Won the International Race to Split the Atom," it's science writing at its very best, telling the story of the pioneers of nuclear physics and explaining what could be impenetrably dense subjects with clarity and sparkle.

No equations, no mathematics, no gibberish, but rather a description of what it was like at the bleeding edge of experimental and theoretical physics in the 1920s and 30s, with all the false starts, unexpected disasters, and failed conjectures that go toward construction of a successful theory.

The phrase "like a fly in the cathedral" was an analogy popular early in the 20th century to describe the relation of the atomic nucleus to the atom as a whole, a mere speck in a cavernous void or, as Rutherford described it, "a gnat in the Albert Hall."

Highly recommended.

You can read the first chapter here.

Vegetarian Haggis

Umm, haggis.

Now for the crunchy set.

$7.99.

FunFact: "33% of American visitors to Scotland believe haggis [below]

to be an animal."

You could look it up.

New bookofjoe linkage policy — It's a Twitter world

Yesterday it occurred to me that much better than linking to someone's blog or website is using their Twitter page — assuming they have one.

Because the whole point of Twitter is to gain followers, right?

I mean, if that's not what you're wanting, why are you there?

This will let me do my part to enhance the popularity of those who provide me with all the great links and tips that:

1. Make bookofjoe fun for me and you

2. Let me do less work

As I have remarked in the past, my goal is the best possible result with the least possible work.

And that goes for life its ownself, not just bookofjoe.

Teleport 2.0: Voice recording + Caller ID + USB

"Teleport 2.0 is designed for storing phone call records on a computer and registering incoming and outgoing calls. Teleport is compatible with any telephone set. It comes with Paliha-Teleport software for Windows."

TechnoDolts™ will please move along, nothing to see here.

Features and Functions:

Automatic redialing of numbers from the phone book or calls log
Outgoing call registration in tone dialing and pulse modes
Contact number interchange with MS Office application
Call record system (incoming and outgoing calls)
Sending a list of calls to MS Office application
Caller ID in Russian and American standards
You can choose tunes for your ringer
Storage of dialed and incoming calls
Displays caller image and name
Call signal computer backup
Information backup storage
Expanded phone book

$115.38.