1. Did your last dose of Tamiflu taste like licorice? Probably not, but if it did it would make sense as it is a compound derived from Star Anise.

2. If you were disappointed by a lack of flying cars in the 21st century, read this story about inserting genes from pond scum into brains and shining blue light on the area to help cure diseases like Parkinsons that is being pioneered in a new field called optogenetics.

3. Have you ever wished that somebody made a flowchart that guided your decisions about what fast food restaurants to eat in? The future is now! (via Serious Eats)

4. Africa remains a fairly dark continent in terms of it’s infrastructure development, and this infographic illustrates the point beautifully. (via Alan Perlman)

5. BIG ROCKS

1. I don’t know about you but I plan on some Leonid meteor-gazing tonight!

2. A study reveals why sea sponges are real life carbon sponges. They will always be loofas to me.

3. Hate oily peanut butter separation? Fear no more.

4. What would Tokyo and New York look like after being inundated by a flood?

5. BORING ALERT: If you are like me you never click on banner ads. So how does the internet make money? And what happens when people stop clicking?

1. I have met a few Crazy Cat Ladies in my time, and now a town in Massachusetts is passing a law against animal hoarding. But will it work?
2. What’s the difference between a $100,000 micro printer and a shrinky dink? Not much apparently.
3. A comprehensive list of 10 things you can do to avoid an unlikely death. (via kottke)
4. I wish I had more time to read Errol Morris’ thought experiments in full.
5. Nature vs Nurture. Genetics vs Experience. The debate goes round and round, but this time it is artfully narrated by science writer David Dobbs.

1. Novelist Jonathan Safran Foer pollaned (from now on Micahel Pollan’s name qualifies as a verb) his most recent book on America’s carnivorous culture and our unwitting acceptance of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (or CAFOs). Why character driven novelists are writing things that don’t involve characters or plots still confuses me.

2. Where did you learn how to use a condom? Did you read the box or did the governmentt have to tell you in a sex-ed class? Despite being whiz kids in maths and science China has been struggling with the most basic form of contraception: the rubber.

3. Having just spent 4 months in China, I have my own opinions about the pollution problem over there. And while I don’t completely agree with James Fallows take on the pollution problem in China it’s a worthy read. BONUS: more pictures of China’s pollution problem (via sculls)

4. Dead fly art. How do I summarize that any better?

5. I should just have a direct feed from Olivia Judson’s brain to this site. She wonders about wonder in this week’s column.

1. I like maps. I like dinosaurs. When you combine the two, I swoon.

2. It’s not just that this set of photos from India is wonderful and worthy in it’s own right. It’s that they forgo the hard edges for some lovely retro rounded edges.

3. We have already covered that I am a sucker for maps and dinosaurs. If it involved science and tea it would have been golden and one for the ages.

4. I can’t wait until this new social network for scientists involves drunken photos of lab techs swilling ethanol from giant erlenmeyer flasks.

5. So you think you are so smart because of your high IQ? Not even MENSA can save you.

1. Karl, I don’t care if you are going to complain about me relinking to bOINGbOING. Kevin Van Aelst’s art is awesome and totally deserves it.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped a vertical F bomb in a veto he sent to the California Legislature and claimed it was coincidence. Odds are it wasn’t.

3. Tuna stocks are dwindling. Science says something must be done.

4. Swedish fish stocks are dwindling. Science says they are awesome. (FYI: swedish fish stocks are doing fine)

5. Most people who commit murder kill people who they know and who are like them demographically. Does this mean if we stop hanging out with people who are similar to us we will lower the murder rate? Oh, how I love the divide between causation and correlation.

1. I wish there was something witty to say about a sperm whale eating a giant squid. But there isn’t. It’s just awesome.

2. Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire is starkly different from his more recent polemic work as it speaks to something far deeper than agricultural policy or corn syrup, which is why I am excited for PBS’s upcoming documentary series of the same name.

3. Will a flat-out-broke California be the first to brave the untested waters of marijuana legalization? $1.5 billion dollars in potential tax revenue seems all-too-tempting.

4. Say “eeeeeeeeee.” Olivia Judson discusses the value of lifting the corners of your mouth upon our happiness.

5. Climate change sucks. But so does most of our limited attempts at regulating carbon dioxide. Will it take massive amounts of behavioral change before we can really start making a difference?

1. Moving to the mid-west from the east coast several years back led to some pretty significant culture shock. But as Christopher Hitchens points out in his newest piece that outlines what he has learned from talking to religious zealots most fundamentalists are kind and tolerable people.

2. Dopamine seems to be the neurological buzzword of the “noughties” and with good reason. Natalie Angier of the Times breaks it down with her piece on rethinking dopamine’s function in the brain. BONUS: an additional post by Jona “the neuroscientist” Lehrer on how dopamine helps with abstract thinking.

3. Anti-vaxxers are a particularly upsetting bunch of hysterical polemics whose continued affront to science demonstrates why defending science isn’t always easy but is always necessary.

4. One of the most fascinating developments in the “local food” movement is the rise of urban agriculture. The prospect of Detroit going under cultivation (which it slowly, but surely, is) brings to mind images of old Ford dealerships being surrounded by fields of rutabaga and kale (also, who eats rutabaga?), while cows munch their way down main street.

5. I always took comfort in knowing that the world was going to end in 2012. Now Mayan researchers prove that I don’t even have that safety blanket.

1. Are you afraid of the dark? If not, a new study of an old project reveals that sensory deprivation (being placed in a dark, sound-dampened room for extended periods of time) makes your brain act all funny, and causing you to hallucinate. Strangely, nobody hit the panic button.

2. Was it the landmark decision that emerged from Roe v Wade that caused a massive drop in crime during the 90s (legalized abortion leading to a drop in unwanted babies)? Or was it a reduction in lead poisoning (whose side effects include lack of inhibition and increased aggression)?

3. So, you’re a wannabe environmentalist and you want to know what topics to be tracking. Fear no more, NewScientist lists the top environmental tech stories in easy to read summaries.

4. I used to religiously wake up at 7:43, exactly 2 minutes before my alarm clock. New research now shows that our brains have features that allows us to track time with extreme precision. And I thought I was special.

5. In a throwback to caveman politics, it seems that the testosterone levels of men who voted for John McCain (remember the old dude who lost because he hired a rogue?) dropped significantly after the election.

1. American health care is in shambles, but it is becoming so bad that people are enlisting in the army to qualify their cancer stricken family for services.

2. Even as the Media Armageddon continues strange, but wonderful, features keep cropping up; like this tree of the week feature by the LA Times.

3. EAGLES HUNTING REINDEER. Nuff said.

4. Mexico has a problem with harassment in cabs, so a cab company has been founded that caters exclusively to women.

5. A great piece by Lee Billings on the abstract nature of cosmic distances.

1. The lowly lamprey (it literally buries itself in the mud) is not the most loved of creatures. Given its affinity for slime and blood sucking it is sort of understandable why, but try and have some sympathy for this fossil of a fish.

2. Is there something about Colombia that just inspires magical realism in everything? Gaviotas, the strange and isolated town that could have unfolded from the pages of a Marquez novel, is clinging to life because of it’s rejection of traditional fossil fuel technologies instead relying on the inventions of its local “doctor.”

3. I love indexes. I do. I also love pasta. I really do. So an index of pasta shapes is kind of my jam. via kottke

4. Being English, my affinity for Earl Grey tea verges on obsession. However, I am not as bad as the guy who paralyzed himself due to an overconsumption of bergamot oil found in Earl Grey.

5. Every now and then a piece of art criticism pops up that I wish I had written. Most recently it was a piece by Dennis Dutton (a Kiwi art history professor) who talks about the rise (and perhaps inevitable fall) of conceptual art and the inherent (and wonderfully timeless) value of craft.

1. Is the Large Hadron Collider being sabotaged by it’s future self? Absolutely loony (but perhaps plausible).

2. For all those who complain about the waste problem associated with nuclear energy you are barking up the wrong power plant, as coal seems to produce more of it in the long run.  More damning of coal with this piece about water quality and coal power production.

3. In case you had the misguided belief that language is boring (it’s not btw), a study found that dyslexia in English and Chinese are two different conditions.

4. The  neuro-philosopher-cum-sous-chef Jonah Lehrer has a great piece on cooking at home.

5. David Brooks talks about the emergence (more like explosion) of up-and-coming-thirty-somethings studying cognitive social neuro-science.

Ironically, this short article from USA Today features what seems to be a “silent battle” between our friends Mark Bauerlein and Dr. Gary Small. I guess I was too quick to assume that they had not already butted heads!

“If you think our incessant use of the Internet, Blackberrys, iPods, text-messaging and video games has changed our lives and our children’s lives, here’s some breaking news: Technology has not only altered our lives, its altered our brains.”

Those are the words of Dr. Gary Small, the Director of the UCLA Memory and Aging Research Center recently wrote “IBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind.” His work focuses on the impact of technology on the brain and how the brain has been evolving/changing over the past few years. This is interesting to think about in relation to Blauerlein’s work and our discussion of Generation Y growing up in an Age of Technology. Small’s work proves not only insightful, but it also provides a scientific look at this issue. With an understanding of his assertions, we may be better able to tackle the question of whether or not we are in any danger.

Dr. Small's Work

Small spoke out about his work, as many were wondering if this so-called “brain alteration” was positive or negative. It seems to be a little of both. Watch this video clip of Small explaining some of his findings.

In addition, on KNBC Channel 4 news, Small was asked whether technology does anything bad. He explained,

“There are people who are losing their face to face human contact skills because they;re in a sense overdeveloping their technology skills. And you can’t have conversations with them. The other day I said to my teenage daughter, Rachel, I’m talking to you and your looking at your iPod/iPhone. So the major point; learn the technology. Use it; it may help your brain stay healthy. But don’t lose sight of the people, the social part of your life. Take breaks; days even weeks where people are your only technology.”

I am a little more at ease now. Small does not seem to be as worried about our generation as Bauerlein does. However, the two men may have to duke it out in a battle of some sort….

Visit Dr. Small’s blog on Psychology Today.

1. It may be Monday, but at least your entire neighborhood doesn’t hum audibly.

2. Sort of similar to our current political situation: when top predators fall a surge of lower level predators can destabilize an ecosystem.

3. It isn’t often that clouds are used as inspiration for strange and floating architectural formations.

4. Today is not a good day for foodies. First, Gourmet magazine goes under and then the French allow a McDonald’s to open up shop in the LOUVRE!

5. Recessions suck. Sandwiches, in contrast, do not, as is demonstrated by this handy sandwich calculator that shows how much you save by crafting your own multi-layered consumables at home.

1. Caught on tape: A skier gets caught in an avalanche and is thankfully saved by his friends (Kottke has been on fire recently, thanks in part to Ainsley Drew)

2. We all have the occasional sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia or cold-stimulus headache (brain freeze to the rest of us), now find out why brain freeze occurs.

3. I am incredibly jealous of our British counterparts’ ability to watch BBC nature documentaries in the full, but for the rest of us watch this photographer get shagged by an incredibly rare flightless parrot.

4. There is no such thing as having too much data–the trick is asking the right question as is exemplified in this study that demonstrates the relationship between medical history and domestic violence.

5. Given my recent obsession with toxic waste (check out the post on Superfund Sites) this story about detecting toxic waste from space was a nice surprise.

1. China uses “magic” chemicals to ensure blue sky for it’s 60th anniversary. If you have ever been to Beijing you know this is some seriously dark magic.

2. Photographer Rachel Sussman has been photographing the oldest living things in the world with great results. (via kk)

3. BLDG BLOG never disappoints, especially when talking about the poetry of wastewater treatment plants

4. A great piece on how our current education system is failing our democracy.

5. Science isn’t about proving things true, but instead proving things false; a fact made abundantly clear in this list of obsolete science theories.

1. The always insightful Olivia Judson talks about bears and the landscape of fear.

2. Don’t understand new OLED technology (the stuff they are using to make screens prettier and more efficient)? Try electrocuting a pickle.

3. Feeling a bit detached from the natural world? Try the new CompuBeaver and it’s furry companion Text-Opossum. (If you look at anything today, make it this) (via kottke)

4. Infosthetics has a great map on visualizing the distance between the nearest McDonalds in the U.S

5. The psychology behind Where the Wild Things Are is just as fascinating as the book itself. (via mindhacks)

1. MIT engineer Daniel Nocera is back in the news with his new lower energy electrolysis that utilizes a newly discovered catalyst.

2. George Monbiot, environmental critic extraordinaire, has a good piece on how over-population scaremongers are usually well-off white men.

3. Have writer’s block? Maybe you can try falling in love as new studies point to love’s ability to increase creativity (don’t forget your grain of salt).

4. Natalie Angier of The New York Times lays out a convincing argument on why we should keep our cats inside.

5. Another giant freshwater fish edges closer to being labelled extinct (look for a post about this later this week).

Arteriovenöser Kurzschluss: Um einen solchen handelt es sich und das zuverlässig, lernte ich gestern, wenn sich in der Folge von einem (besonders zu) reichhaltigen Essen der Kopf kurzzeitig, jedoch mithin mit fatalen Folgen zu annähernd 100% ausklinkt, weil unser Blut dann zu annähernd 100% den akuten Magen- und Darm-Aufgaben zur Verfügung gestellt wird.

Also besser keine wichtigen Entscheidungen treffen in den ersten
30 Minuten nach dem Essen, das könnte noch zu gaaanz anderen Kurzschlüssen führen.

Hoch lebe die Siesta!

Das wird er wohl, der Titel des zukünftigen Manager-Mut-zur-Gelassenheit-Workshops hier auf Mallorca.

Im Ernst: Gestern traf ich (erst zum zweiten Mal überhaupt, doch es fühlte sich wie eine gute, bodenständige, gewachsene Bekanntschaft an) Irene Leifert, diesmal hier auf der Insel.

Mehr zu Irene hier: http://www.redelberger.net/mitarbeiter/

Irene ist von Haus aus Bio-Bäuerin der absolut ersten Stunde -1983!-, erfolgreiche Unternehmensberaterin für Bio-Höfe und solche die es werden wollen, und außerdem: Kasmacherin. So wie es ausschaut, demnächst mit temporärem Wohn- und auch Arbeitssitz auf Mallorca. Zumindest, wenn es nach ihr und auch nach mir geht.

Ausgeheckt haben wir ihre aktiv beratende ‘Bio’-Leistung bei allen Food-eduCentives & cookies; das Workshop-Modul ‘Selber Käse machen’ (und dabei live das Gefühl von Entschleunigung erleben); gedanklich haben wir außerdem schon diverse Privat-Nutzgärten hier auf der Insel eingerichtet … mal ganz abgesehen davon, dass Irene darüber hinaus auch noch, ihrem Hobby frönend, Gesangs-Workshops auf der Insel ausrichten wird.

Ob die wohl auch TOT BIO sind?!

Egal, aus welchen Gründen ich bei oder mit Ulla Echterhölter zusammen bin, gestern und heute in Sachen Renovierung ihres neuen Gästezimmers in der Casa de la Luz: Irgendetwas kochen wir auf die eine oder andere Art und Weise immer zusammen. Und beim essen reden wir von Leichtem und Tiefgängigem und außerdem mit Begeisterung über’s … Essen & Kochen. Neben dem wie immer regen Austausch von Rezepten und Erfahrungen (‘Ach, eine gute Konsistenz für Falafel erreicht man nur mit vorgekeimten Kichererbsen?!’) haben wir dieses Mal auch Termine & Neuerungen 2010 für den von uns beiden gemeinsam durchgeführten Workshop brainFood Flyer BrainFood besprochen. Und so ganz nebenbei ein pikantes neues Rezept, Verzeihung, Konzept ‘gekocht’: slimFood – Abnehmen durch Essen. In Kürze mehr, hier und auf www.ccsl.info