First, I'd like to take a moment to plug something. A month and a bit ago I got one of those PDA/phone thingies, to try and get organized-ish, and so I would have something to do besides read during the slow parts of my day. I'm not plugging the phone (though it's pretty neat), but the insurance I bought along with it, which is through a company called Asurion. Me being me, I managed to break the screen a couple weeks ago. I filed a claim the next day, and they had delivered a brand new one the day after. Had I put the claim in the day I broke it I probably could have had it even earlier. They charged a $50 deductible, and included an envelope to mail the broken one back in. I didn't really have any expectations in place about this kind of thing, but I was really impressed.

Anywho, if you have a piece of digital something-or-other and they support it (not to mention the six bucks a month), I'd recommend them.


Now for the links:

An 8 year old girl in Yemen was forced into marriage by her parents, and used by her new 'husband'. She stood up for herself and demanded a divorce, and the courts seem to be working with her.

Limb art.

A fascinating TED talk called 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do.

A Silicon Valley guy built a second Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2, which is now on display in Mountain View, California.

Dyslexia differs by language.

One wonders why they didn't see it coming.

An photo shoot featuring malformed people and elderly ladies - all nude. Not for the squeamish, and not safe for work.

Sometimes I want to kick my country in the ass.

Carnivorous bees!

Heartrending: "Why I am an abortion doctor".
I like finding opportunities to link this one: "The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion".

I know one of you knew about Haiku Circus before now. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!






An interview with George Clooney, where he finds out what the internet thinks of him. I've always thought he was was an interesting actor, this just cements that image in my mind.



The Sultan's Elephant.



Lots of great pictures of the parade on Flickr.



An Engineer's Guide To Cats





Airtrax. It's a sales pitch, but still cool to watch.