• Today went through my annual exercise of unsuccessfully signing up for lunches at upcoming TED. Zero luck. Again. ->
• IRT @TreeHugger: What happens when a man tries to live solely on those foods advertised on television? http://t.co/DqeLVOr1 ->
• Vancouver showing off today in vertiginous mid-winter fashion : the Lions loom like volcanic, white sno-cones. Damn you George Vancouver. ->
• Powder powder: 10 inches new http://t.co/46olq9nm ->
• Nadal / Federer. Again that outcome. Tragic. ->

• Gaddis, Pynchon, and Mistaken Identity – http://t.co/grt2mvBx ->
• I'm so damn helpful that sometimes I just want to kiss me. ->
• Mostly for the title: Econophysics of a religious cult: the Antoinists in Belgium [1920-2000] http://t.co/lkndYLKA ->
• Photo set: Salvaging the TK Bremen – http://t.co/oiB7U1rj ->
• "Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work." http://t.co/guPozSdi ->

• Favorite anagram for new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins: Shit Enthrones. ->
• Traveling. Volunteers? RT @jholston: Can @pkedrosky read this and please translate for humanity? TIA. http://t.co/TlAQrvK5 ->
• Didier's finish at Kitzbuhel this weekend. Such a great moment. http://t.co/d2zG4qH6 ->
• Retiring Didier Cuche Sets Record at Kitzbühel – http://t.co/V9PwuZm2 ->
• Imagine if drastic change required. Whew. RT @emilychangtv: RIM closes down 8.65% after new CEO says no "drastic change" is necessary ->
• Vegas in the rain … ♫ soundtracking "Half Light II (No Celebration)" by @arcadefire http://t.co/XXesxDSu ->

• Computing probabilities in the license plate game http://t.co/p4B6vOol ->
• How 1920s Auto Shows Sparked a Color Revolution: Echoes- http://t.co/b8Vmi77k ->
• Latest SSEC animation of the river of moisture hitting US west coast. Looks weirdly alive. http://t.co/KJIsG5fM ->
• Writer Michael Lewis in conversation with Graydon Carter, 1/8 – http://t.co/lCeDgtII ->

• .@davidhfe Totally glad Wikipedia is back. Its absence on matters like electromagnetic weaponry was palpable. in reply to davidhfe ->
• You know you needed this: List of electromagnetic projectile devices in fiction – http://t.co/RPPfsjT2 ->
• Year ago, but … the mystery of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom/Schmitz – http://t.co/DPkuKmC6 ->
• Whoa, in retaliation for Megaupload bust, anonymous has offed RIAA, DOJ, Copyright Office, MPAA, Universal Music, etc. http://t.co/u4meJ26Q ->
• Congrats @crashplan. Best in class: Meet Code 42, Accel’s first Big Data Fund investment — http://t.co/f8weeZZ4 ->
• Sigh RT @BloombergNews: Microsoft 2Q EPS 78c, est. 76c; 2Q rev. $20.89b, est. $20.92b. Shares up 2.9% $MSFT ->

“Do your work for six years; but in the seventh, go into solitude or among strangers, so that the memory of your friends does not hinder you from being what you have become.”

- Leo Szilard

via THE 60-YEAR JOB: FREEMAN DYSON | More Intelligent Life.

• GRL: A recent and abrupt decline in the East African long rains http://t.co/B6wbooiw ->
• PNAS: Global risk of big earthquakes has not recently increased http://t.co/ff1JcRwb ->
• Cheap Trick, Surrender. Live at Budokan. And you lovely people thought I didn't care about you. http://t.co/NA08N0aE ->
• Benford's Law, and worldwide illicit financial flows http://t.co/g6ppa5a5 ->
• Turntable For Video ‘Chill’ Turns Into Pinterest For Video, Sees 10 Sign Ups A Minute http://t.co/ZUiEzl3E ->

Intriguing new paper:

The leading digit distribution of the worldwide illicit financial flows

Benford’s law states that in many data sets the overall distribution of the significant digits tends to be logarithmic so that the occurrence of numbers beginning with smaller first significant digits is more often than those with larger ones. We investigate here recent data on illicit financial flows from developing countries and reveal that the data does submit to Benford’s law. Further, the general improvement in the statistical accuracy which we observed supports the applicability of the normalization process used to limit the inclusion of the countries in the database for which the illicit financial flows are not substantial.

via [1201.3432] The leading digit distribution of the worldwide illicit financial flows.

Samsung: We are not buying RIM! Will you please listen? We are not buying RIM, do you understand? Honestly!

RIM bull: Only someone buying RIM denies their buying.

Samsung: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am buying RIM!

RIM bull: They are ! They are buying RIM !

Shit Skiers Say – YouTube.

Click to watch on YouTube