Stuff I like

You need Skype

I hate talking on the phone, but despite that I've been intrigued for years about the free VOIP solution, Skype.  I finally donwloaded it and have been using it all day.  Conference calling is great.  And I've never heard better call quality in my life.  It sounds near CD levels. 

I'm wondering how this and IM will work together in the future, but it does seem Skype might replace IM.  Something I never would have thought until I tried it.

$35 Remote Control Airplane

Interesting piece on how to turn a cheap RC car into a fully functioning RC airplane.  When I get more than an hour of free time, I'm totally trying this. Of course, once I add my M-60 remote bomb dropping apparatus and string together a few successful strafing runs test flights at the local elementary school, I'll post the details.

Eagles Superfan #1

You already know I'm the most ultimate Philadelphia Eagles fan ever and as you also know the Eagles play Michael Vick and the Falcons tomorrow at noon for a spot in the Superbowl.  Bet every cent you own on the Eagles, because quite simply they are the best team ever in the history of organized sports.

Why are we late?

Ever wonder why when you're supposed to meet your colleagues for lunch everyone is always 10 minutes late?  Some economists wondered as well and as good economists do, explained the phenomenon through game theoretics.  Here's an excerpt:

The answer is surprisingly simple: I hate waiting, but don’t hate you waiting.

Here’s the logic: You don’t know when I’ll show up, and waiting is costly. If you’re early you’ll have to wait. If you’re late you won’t. So you come late. I do the same thing. Presto, we’re both late.

Seems obvious enough. However when I make this argument to non-economists they’re unpersuaded, preferring an explanation for lateness based on lazyness and stupidity rather than as the unavoidable equilibrium of a social coordination game. So for their benefit, I’ll state it more formally here with some simple game theory.

Snowflakes

Came across a gallery of photos of snowflakes taken with a microscope.  Pretty cool.

Bypass online newspaper registrations

I post lots of links to Wash Post and NYT articles that can be a pain to read since you have to register.  However you can bypass these pains easily using Bug Me Not, a neat little program that works seamlessly within Firefox.

What's wrong in Russia

A good survey article on all of the troubling events.

Which Republican in '08?

Check out this post on possible candidates. 

Smoke Gallery

Found an interesting gallery of colored smoke pictures.  Sounds odd, but its pretty cool, check it out.

The life of an attorney

Here is a great article (in pdf) from the Vanderbilt Law Review about the life of attorneys.  Spoiler: 

Three occupations were discovered to have statistically significant elevations of major depressive disorders: lawyers, pre-kindergarten and special education teachers, and secretaries.

Isn't that terrific.  A great read on ethics and life in a firm, even if its a bit heavy as it weighs in at 81 pages.