It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to...

Music to blog by: Omnipresence by Eraldo Bernocchi - "intensely layered, polymorphously perverse ambient music."

Who can resist Miles Davis "at the height of his powers."

And two recommended by friends: Dysnomia by Dawn of Midi (sounds like minimalist electronica but is actually acoustic) and Shallow by Porya Hatami (exploring the ambient balance of electronics and environmental sounds).

Enough with the music - onward with the gibberish.

This was news to me: in about 18 months you won't have to sign credit card receipts anymore. Instead you'll enter your PIN.

If you ever need to generate a completely new identity you might start with this random identity generator. (I'm Harry B. Lawrence of Salina, Kansas.)

Science is late to the party on this one (see Sir Mix-A-Lot) but allow me to quote: "women with larger than average butts are not only increasingly intelligent but also very resistant to chronic illnesses."

Science redeems itself by revealing the perfect way to hold a cheeseburger.

Aviation junkies can check out this vintage magazine ad showing a proposed cockpit layout for the eventually cancelled A-12 Avenger II. (This is kinda cool, having worked around - but not on - this program from inception to cancellation.)

Gotta love these vintage photos of the F-111.

Begin Mickey

Artist Damien Hirst's spot-painting homage to Mickey Mouse (see below) was commissioned by Disney for auction at Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Auction on 13 February. The painting is expected to sell in the $500,000 to $800,000 range.

Damien Hirst, Mickey, 2012

Other modern artists who've taken a shot at Mickey are shown below.

Roy Lichtenstein, Look Mickey, 1961

Andy Warhol, Mickey Mouse

Vernon Fisher, Mickey Mouse

Just for fun.

And to round out the Disney fun, here are some obscure Disney facts (even some that I didn't know).

End Mickey

If you've never watched the cult classic Mystery Science Theater before, check out this beginner's guide. And if it's TL;DR for you, just watch the videos.

Bill Nye may have been the best person to debate Ken Ham on evolution but the whole thing just leaves me dumbfounded. Creationism and intelligent design are utter bullshit. 

According to Life Battery, I'm down to my last 31%.

As a fan of truly ambient music I'm very interested in this search for the earth's quietest places, knowing full well that absolute silence can drive you batty.

I've posted a lot of odd typefaces before, but the human typeface is just plain creepy.

The typical American adult read 5 books last year. And that's just one bit of insight into reading habits.

Amazon's 100 books to read in a lifetime. 14. Sigh. I hope that 31% is wrong.

The great language game. Can you guess a language just by hearing it spoken? I surprised myself by scoring 600.

How much snow does it take to close school? From 2 feet (dark blue) to virtually nothing (green). (Before my friends from the north get all uppity about how wimpy we are in the south, keep in mind what happens up there when the mercury climbs above 90.)

You've all probably seen this by now - an interactive globe of ocean currents.

I like jelly beans. I liked a good beer when I drank. But I'm skeptical of draft beer jelly beans.

And I'm curious whether this electronic tongue can taste them.

I know where I'll be in early 2015: the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Why? They're one of the venues for the traveling exhibition, What's Up Doc: The Animation Art of Chuck Jones. Must see. Fort Worth friends should mark their calendars now.

Guess the artist. You'll be surprised.

"Every year, Americans produce about 30 billion gallons of urine, which is equivalent to about 8.6 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizer." We use 1.2 trillion gallons per year of drinkable water to flush it away. You know where this is going, right? Fertilizer from urine.

Let's make this all go away. I leave you with dripping paint.

...appear foolish. ~Aeschylus