Politics, as a practice, has always been...

The thermostat at work is always a bone of contention. It's set too low for some and too high for others. Other than the semi-serious interoffice conflict it engenders, there's a quantifiable effect on business. If you keep your office at 68 as opposed to 77 degrees (in the winter presumably) workers produce 44% more errors, are less than half as productive, and cost the business 10% more.

But if you just want people to think you're a more masculine and better leader, shave your head.

What time is it?

This is an interesting interview question - so interesting that I just might start using it. Ask the candidate to explain something to you in 5 minutes and convey the most important thing about it.

This is perhaps the most benign yet most entertaining interview I've seen. Jerry Seinfeld has dinner with and interviews Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks.

I do not write books nor do I ride a bicycle (at least since high school). But apparently a lot of authors are also bike riders. For example, Leo Tolstoy.

If you enjoy your periodic table with a bit of cartoonish whimsy you'll enjoy Wonderful Life with the Elements, an illustrated book. Do you play Minecraft? Here's the Periodic Table of Minecraft.

In a style only the Japanese can get away with, staff at the new Tokyo Skytree Tower have uniforms that express a spirit of hospitality, symbolize a futuristic spirit, and have enhanced function. After looking at them you (like I) may have different ideas.

Here's a site dedicated to B-29s in Korea.

Dr. Strangelove. In Lego. Woot! Part 1 and Part 2.

I'm hoping this sign is posted in the bathroom. source

If you're going to use Yiddish words, please be a mensch know what you're talking about.

Jaclynn Cutie Pie is my name, at least according to the Honey Boo Boo name generator. What's yours?

I suppose you could say that Egg McMuffins are my guilty pleasure. But this mortadella, egg, and brioche sandwich takes the whole breakfast combo idea to an entirely new level.

Comedy, pornography, or puerility? As long as you're not offended by animated sketches of testicles I introduce to you Monsieur Flap.

Yes, Virginia, there were studies for a nuclear powered space shuttle.

Back in WWII a fella who had worked for Walt Disney was sent to Japan to document the end of the war. Here are his Pacific War Photos.

Brian Eno's first solo album since 2005, LUX, is due to be released on 12 Nov 2012. (My list of music to buy is almost up to a dozen albums right now.)

From must-hear to must-see: Fort Worth's Amon Carter Museum is one of only two museums in the U.S. to see the exhibit To See as Artists See: American Art from the Phillips Collection. It runs from today through 06 January.

Mario's had enough and is getting tough. If you prefer your violence to be historically based, watch this map-based video of 1,000 years of war in 5 minutes.

Beer and booze people, here's some strange ones for you.

• In the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, will the beer still be drinkable? Survivors are gonna want to get their suds on. Back in 1955 they tried to find out during Operation Teapot.
• G-Spirits sells whiskey that has poured over the boobs of busty models prior to bottling. (I want to read a review of this beverage.)
• Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout is a beer made with exactly the ingredient implied by the name.

Reason #68 that I'm going to hell. Martin Loofah King

Have you heard about the LifeStraw? It's a straw with built-in filtration (about the size of a recorder - the musical instrument) that provides a portable tool for obtaining drinking water. And then there's Who Gives a Crap, a toilet paper brand that donates profits to the construction of sanitary facilities in the developing world.

When it comes to photography, National Geographic never disappoints. Here are a few entries from its 2012 photo contest. (Be sure to scroll down to photo #10.)

Forbes gives us this list of 40 things to say before you die. The only one that I found fitting was "I'm not finished."

Do you keep a work diary? A few minutes a day can motivate you and make you more creative by allowing you to celebrate the small wins each day.

This is a great video about making an axe from scratch by hand. (The background music is a bit weak but the visuals of watching this craftsman work are fantastic.)

There are a lot of gems in these handwritten notes attributable to Thelonius Monk and recorded by his sax player. "The inside part of the tune (the bridge) is what makes the outside sound good."

10 years of Hubble photographs knitted together results in the eXtreme Deep Field photo, our deepest ever view of the universe.

Football doesn't have the reputation for statistics that baseball has. But the numbers are out there. Data viz gurus Juice Analytics are working with Football Outsiders to create Snap Counts for every team and every player, sortable in a number of ways.

I'm not trying to start an argument but you should read this article about the different types of American BBQ sauces and focus on the Texas style.

Our Chinese friends have built themselves another stealth fighter, the F-60.

Ever hear of the state of Franklin? Or Absaroka? Neither had I until this article about 12 proposed states that never quite made it.

You can test your knowledge of the 50 states that actually exist with Know Your States, an interactive game where you place the states on a map and you're scored by your distance error. (I think mine was 22 miles, or 122.)

As you know from the titles of my posts, I've got this thing for bite-sized chunks of wisdom. However, I don't get this pairing of quotes with animated GIFs.

And finally, your mental palette cleanser: Silk - interactive generative art.

...the systematic organization of hatreds. ~Henry B. Adams