A really, really good piece from the guys over at *Polygon.* It shows how much actually goes into making those like $2-3 “downloadable content” add-ons that are available for music games.
Category: Culture
Take that Bieber.
I think I am going to add a couple of these to my reading queue.
Horrifying. Simply horrifying.
> Two sets of experiments, performed 40 years apart, have been recognized with today’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Cambridge University’s John Gurdon won for showing that adult cells contain all the genetic information necessary to create every tissue in the body. That work set the stage for Shinya Yamanaka, who demonstrated that a relatively simple process could convert adult cells into embryonic stem cells. That development is already opening new avenues of research, and it holds the promise of new ways to repair tissues damaged by injury or disease.
Conservatives and other pro-life life people have been saying for years that adult stem cells are what scientists should be studying. Not only does using such stem cells not result in the destruction of life, but they provide [actual solutions to issues people face](http://www.nationalreview.com/the-feed/230244/adult-stem-cells-restore-sight-blind). Hopefully, these findings by Dr. Yamanaka will provide more momentum away from embryonic stem cells.
Categories
A Vist to Hobbiton
I am not sure when, but one of my upcoming vacations will be to Hobbiton.
Categories
Is Eating Organic Food Healthier
> The bottom line is eat organic foods if you like. Just don’t believe there’s any scientific basis for claiming you will be healthier as a result. As the paper’s senior author, Dena Bravata, explains: ““There isn’t much difference between organic and conventional foods, if you’re an adult and making a decision based solely on your health.”
This does not surprise me at all.
Categories
Art Restoration as it Should Be
> “The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic.”
Tell me that does not make you want to read the rest of the article.
On this week’s [B&B Podcast](http://5by5.tv/bb/70), [Ben Brooks](http://brooksreview.net) and [Shawn Blanc](http://shawnblanc.net) talked about the returning popularity of email newsletters. I realized the other day that I was also starting to subscribe to more newsletters. Here is my current list:
* [Dave Pell’s NextDraft](http://www.nextdraft.com/) – A daily newsletter featuring tech news and related stories.
* [TThor](http://tthor.com/) – A weekly newsletter featuring stories for designers, programmers, and geeks.
* [Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin’s Bulk Bag](http://merlinmann.us2.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=40f9bca54e3ea011fecc2118d&id=7f35ed7801) – A newsletter for the [5by5](http://5by5.tv) podcast [Back to Work](http://5by5.tv/b2w).
* [Shawn Blanc’s Member’s Journal](http://shawnblanc.net/members/) – A newsletter for members of Shawn’s site.
* [Dan Lewis’ Now I Know](http://www.nowiknow.com/) – Learn something new every day.
Categories
Pliny the Elder Named Best US Beer
I’m going to have to try out all of these.