bookofjoe

Tina Fey brings "Bossypants" Tour to Google

From Open Culture: "The conversation led by Eric Schmidt teaches you the secrets of improv, how to take pictures like a model, the pros & cons of goofing on Sarah Palin, and why male and female comedy writers differ in fundamentally odd ways. Tina Fey is funny. But sometimes funnier is watching Schmidt trying to keep the conversation from going off the rails. Scroll to the 8:20 mark, and you’ll see what I mean."

EARonic iPhone Case

Designed by Daniela Gilsanz.

Five styles.

$20.

[via mappeal and Better Living Through Design]

Feathers in amber

Long story from the September 17 issue of The Economist short: A paper published in this week's issue of Science reports "the discovery of eleven feathers preserved in amber from the latter part of the Cretaceous (70-85 million years ago). Intriguingly, not all of them seem to come from birds."

The picture above shows filament-like structures believed to be the precursors of feathers.

Below, one similar to feathers sported by modern birds.

Below, feathers demonstrating the coiling behavior seen in modern diving birds; "such coiling allows a feather to absorb water, which streamlines and insulates the owner."

Below, pigmentation preserved in a fossil feather.

Below, the abstract of the Science paper.

A Diverse Assemblage of Late Cretaceous Dinosaur and Bird Feathers from Canadian Amber

The fossil record of early feathers has relied on carbonized compressions that lack fine structural detail. Specimens in amber are preserved in greater detail, but they are rare. Late Cretaceous coal-rich strata from western Canada provide the richest and most diverse Mesozoic feather assemblage yet reported from amber. The fossils include primitive structures closely matching the protofeathers of nonavian dinosaurs, offering new insights into their structure and function. Additional derived morphologies confirm that plumage specialized for flight and underwater diving had evolved in Late Cretaceous birds. Because amber preserves feather structure and pigmentation in unmatched detail, these fossils provide novel insights regarding feather evolution.

 

Limited-Edition Carbon Fiber Bathtub

Handmade in Salzburg, Austria.

Edition of 51.

More excitement? Watch the movie.

Apply to: office@corcel.eu

[via Luxury Issues and TrendsNow]

Unloved Gloves

From the website:

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Have you ever lost a glove? If so, you know the frustration, annoyance and expense. Now consider how the glove feels. Lost, lonely and discarded. Missing in action after giving loyal service, the glove has been forgotten and left to perish like everyday rubbish.

Here at "Unloved Glove" we aim to show those lost gloves (or at least half of the pair) some love in memory of the care and service they gave.

What do you do if you find a glove? Pick it up and throw it away. Place it in a more prominent place so the original owner (or parent) might see it and reclaim it or simply do nothing? It's a conundrum we hope to solve.

We don't expect to reunite lost gloves but we hope to bring a smile to glove owners, losers and admirers.

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Exemplars and their provenance above.

Memory City — "Turn your flash drives into skyscrapers"

From the website:

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A handy place for your digital accessories with spaces for:

• 3 micro SD cards

• 3 SD cards

• 4 USB sticks

• 3 USB caps

15.2cm L x 10.8cm W x 7.5cm H.

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White or Red.

9.95€ (storage media not included).

[via Red Ferret]

The celestial economy: China rules the world in 2030

From The Economist : "By 2030 China's economy could loom as large as Britain's in the 1870s or America's in the 1970s."

Panasonic LED Lantern Light

I was wondering when the company would enter the LED lighting space; I guess the time has come.

This would be the perfect prize for my occasional contests: I can't see why anyone on the planet wouldn't be pleased to get one.

From the website:

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• 3 AA batteries provide up to 70 hours (nearly 3 days) of continuous light

• Water-resistant (capable of withstanding a rainfall of 1mm over 10 minutes)

• Batteries included

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$49.99.

[via The Awesomer]