I added some links to the list of sites I visit.  Check it out.

My choice for the best music video of 2008:

"Feedback in the Field" by Plants and Animals

Great article in the Times today about injury reporting in Football.  One group of teams (Jets included) will report hammy injuries as simply “thigh” injuries.  This keeps the nature of the ailment vague, which is an obsession of most coaches in the Belichick tree.  Other teams have no issue with transparency.

As they do in every aspect of their football operation, the Redskins seem to fall in the muddled middle of the pack, reporting what looks to the naked eye as an average number of thigh injuries and an above average number of hamstring injuries.

Check out this great “info graphic.”

Meet MTV music, the Hulu of music videos:

Yes |MTV Music

As a big fan of modern art and someone who is training for the NY Marathon, I was interested to learn of Work No. 850 by Martin Creed.



The piece is a sort of participatory performance art - runners sign up to run as fast as they can through the Tate for 30 seconds.  Then pause for 30 seconds before repeating. The whole thing is inspired in part by Creed’s experience of running through the catacombs of the Capuchin monks in Palermo to see everything before closing time.

I’ve always like going to museums (especially modern ones) because you can spend as little or as much time as you want on a particular piece (unless you do the lame audio tour).  Some work takes only a split second to register and enjoy while others can be absorbed for hours. The same gallery can be a great experience in both fast forward and slow motion - it’s up to the viewer.  

Creed has found an interesting way to riff on this fact.

For those bored by the traditional process of buying something (select a product, find the best price, make the purchase) there are many options for added excitement these days.

American Express is currently running its Going Once promotion, where you can watch the price of a “dream vacation” drop into your price range before pulling the trigger. The risk is that you can’t predict when inventory will run out, so if you wait for the price to go too low, you’ll be shut out.  It’s essentially a reverse auction.

While Going Once adds intrigue but creating uncertainty around the price and availability of a product, some companies take it to the next level by adding uncertainty about the product itself.

Alex Rainert wrote a great post on EverydayUX about “Blind Faith” a promotion where Coudal Partners is offering early access to its latest product. The catch: you pay before knowing what the product actually is. Alex draws a great parallel to Monty Hall of “Let’s Make a Deal” fame.

Another site, Something Store, builds an entire business of selling mystery products. You pay them $10 bucks and they send you a product. You don’t find out what you’ve paid for until it arrives.  The site provides examples of the types of things other people have received (hand made earings, goggles, a knife set) and some firm guidelines on what you will not receive (body parts, alcohol, an endangered species).



So far, 11,727 “somethings” have been delivered. Interestingly, other than showing a ton of real examples, the site doesn’t do much to fluff the value of the products. There is no claim that you’ll receive something worth far more than $10, rather the site issues the sober statement that “we believe eventually it’s your perception that will decide what your something is worth.”

Regardless, in these three cases, the value of the product takes a back seat to the thrill of the transaction.

Kiasma Stairway, originally uploaded by bender_todd.

Another photo I took, this one from the national modern art museum in Helsinki. The Kiasma housed in a great modern building designed by the American architect Steven Holl.

Sam’s Restaurant on Court Street, originally uploaded by bender_todd.

A photo I took of Sam’s on Court Street in Brooklyn.

A  recently concluded research study that tracked the whereabouts of 100,000 European cellphone users concludes that people move around in boring and predictable patterns, staying close to work and home.  The data, which was scrambled of personally identifiable information for privacy reasons could have huge implications in fields like disease tracking and urban planning.  Typically, there is concern over the study from privacy advocates.  Privacy concerns continue to be a huge stumbling block for technological and academic progress - even when data is used in an anonymous and aggregate fashion.