Things I Think Are Kinda Cool

YOU:  You’ve been quiet lately…everything ok?

BRAIN:  Yeah, just thinking.

YOU:  About the Icelandic volcano?  Or maybe the SEC’s charges against Goldman Sachs?

BRAIN:  Um…not exactly.  You know what, actually, let’s just drop it.  You have any articles for me?

YOU:  Come on, you can tell me anything.  We’re friends.

BRAIN:  …Fine…I…uh…I just can’t get this image out of my mind:

YOU:  What the – is that Betty White holding a flaming chainsaw while riding a Jon Ritter centuar?

BRAIN:  Um…yeah.  DON’T say anything – just give me those articles…
—

* It’s impossible to walk out of a Costco empty-handed, no matter how much we don’t need that 20 lb tub of peanut butter.  There’s actually some serious scientific stuff going on in our brains that explain this phenomenon. – Science Blogs

* Humans are superstitious animals…especially when we’re playing & watching sports.  Why can’t sportscasters (and the rest of us) resist finding meaning in completely random events? - Skeptic

* Every single tweet ever tweeted (even this one) will now be saved and stored by the Library of Congress…it might sound laughable, but it actually makes sense. – The Atlantic

* Accidentally leaving a child in the backseat of a car is a terrifying mistake.  But is it a crime?  The answer is more complicated than you might think…this Pulitzer prize-winning piece explores the thorny issue. - Washington Post

* It was once thought that artistic globalism (and Evil Hollywood) would suffocate and homogenize local cultures around the world.  But in reality, new D.I.Y. hyper-local cultures have thrived. – NY Times

* The obsessive need for kids to be constantly connected online shouldn’t be discouraged or ignored.  It’s actually made younger generations more empathetic, and has shifted the emphasis from individualism to collaboration. – Huff Po

(crazy Betty White / Jon Ritter image from Neatorama)

There are 4.2 million surveillance cameras in the UK – that’s one CCTV camera for every 14 Brits. So sure, almost everything they do is caught on camera, from picking their nose while waiting at a stoplight, to going back for unauthorized soda refills at Pizza Hut (yes, they have Pizza Hut in the UK). The problem is that only 1 in 1000 of these cameras is actually monitored by anyone. So, how did businessman Tony Morgan solve this problem while also coming up with a way to make some money? He created an online game called “Internet Eyes”.

Here’s how it’ll work in the first trial city, Stratford-upon-Avon, starting in a few weeks: people sign up to be a part of “Internet Eyes”, a site which taps into the feeds from CCTV cameras in the city (local business owners fork up money each month to have their cameras included in the game). Players then scour the camera feeds from their computers and watch for any crimes being committed. If they think they spot something fishy going on, they click a button and a text message is sent to the owner of the camera along with a screengrab of the alleged crime. If the business owner agrees it was a crime, the player earns points. The players with the most points at the end of each week can win up to £1000. After the first trial city is up and running, the game will rollout to the rest of the UK by December, and worldwide next year.

As much as it pains me to admit it, I’ll probably sign up to be a player. And when I do…beware – I’ll be watching you like a hawk. I want some cash!

-link via Digg