Link roundup

1. $230,000 bodyguard dogs.2. Philip Taylor Kramer:

(July 12, 1952 – February 12, 1995) was a bass guitar player for the rock group Iron Butterfly during the 1970s. After this he obtained a night school degree in aerospace engineering, worked on the MX missile guidance system for a contractor of the US Department of Defense and later in the computer industry on fractal compression, facial recognition systems, and advanced communications. His disappearance on February 12, 1995 caused a mystery lasting for years.

Via.3. "[T]he largest landslide in New York's recorded history."

Link roundup

1. Even Jiffy Lube is now saying you don't need an oil change every 3,000 miles (at the location I pass the most, business is so bad, there's typically multiple employees holding signs in front instead of servicing cars). 2. Marie Callender's declared bankruptcy and kicked out diners (and workers) mid-meal. (I sure hope my local store hasn't closed, I need the occasional French apple pie fix.) 3. "The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday plans to fire 36 Honolulu International Airport employees and suspend 12 more" for incompetence.

Link roundup

1. Alex CF posted several photos of the taxidermied White Rabbit he created for Gallery 1988.2. Medieval Justice League by Ulises Farinas.3. "The government of Norway has begun offering training for foreign diplomats in black metal, following a reported rise in global interest in the genre." "'We now have 106 foreign service missions and they get many enquiries from people who want information about Norwegian black metal as a phenomenon.'" I didn't watch it, but apparently this episode of the Vice Guide to Everything includes feature on Norwegian Black Metal. Via.

Link roundup

1. Misconceptions about China.2. Two lackluster reviews of Samsung's Chrome laptop. Tablets, I understand (although I'll wait until they're half the price). But mostly reading the review of the Chrome laptop I'm left wondering why anyone would buy such a thing instead of buying a Windows laptop with a Chrome browser.3. If you're a Batman Brave and the Bold obsessive, the latest episode starring The Atom(s) was placed for sale at iTunes ($3) and Amazon ($2) before airing. Via.

Link roundup

1. Totally bizarre story of a nuclear power plant mishap that killed three men in 1961 Idaho. "When one of the trio was buried, his family asked to see the coffin: permission was only granted when they agreed to rush through the funeral in five minutes."2. Fast Company chose Reshma Shetty as one its most creative people in business:

At MIT Shetty earned her synthetic-biology chops by helping engineer a strain of E. coli bacteria that smelled minty fresh, eliciting praise from experimental biologists who hated the outhouse stench of unadulterated E. coli.

3. It's Star-Lord and a sort of space Dr. Moreau in "More Than Human" by Doug Moench, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Bob McLeod.

Link roundup

1. A good reminder that you should read every article critically because the author probably has all sorts of biases you don't know about. 2. The stories about Mark Zuckerberg are going to get weirder and weirder, right?3. Lawyer complains that his opponent is using a large-breasted woman to distract the jury.

Link roundup

1. Comment and win a copy of the 3D Art Book.2. "China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work. Labour camp detainees endure hard labour by day, online 'gold farming' by night" Via.3. I actually didn't like Baldur's Gate very much, but this makes me wish I had. (The 4 in 1 box set mentioned is $18 at Amazon.) Via.

Link roundup

1. "Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt."2. Age of Conan is the latest MMO game to go the freemium route.3. Tips on haggling.

Link roundup

1. The US Army design guide is available for download (top, right). Via.2. "On Feb. 5, 1958, a B-47 bomber dropped a 7,000-pound nuclear bomb into the waters off Tybee Island, [Georgia], after it collided with another Air Force jet. Fifty years later, the bomb — which has unknown quantities of radioactive material — has never been found." Via these sites.3. Custom Portal gun.

Link roundup

1. I'm not saying I agree with her assertions, but it's fascinating to read how a defense attorney would go about defending Dominique Strass-Kahn.2. A football player drafted in the seventh round by the Bills has lost 75 pounds:

The Tennessean has a story today about [Michael] Jasper’s journey from Bethel to the NFL and from a high of 448 pounds to a svelte 375, and it includes details like the fact that Bethel didn’t have a scale that would register higher than 400 pounds, so when Jasper needed to monitor his progress in trying to lose weight, he’d go to the McKenzie Feed & Grain Store.

3. Sounds like the start of a thriller:

An outbreak of smallpox was the farthest thing from Paul Levengood's mind when his staff at the Virginia Historical Society put together an exhibit of "bizarre bits" in the society's collection since its founding in 1831.There was Confederate President Jefferson Davis's cigar, confiscated by Union troops. There was a fungus carving of Robert E. Lee on his horse Traveller and a wreath made of human hair.Then someone mentioned a letter, handwritten and dated 1876, with what appeared to be a smallpox scab pinned inside—light brown, about the size of a pencil eraser, and crumbling.

Via.

Link roundup

1. "Infographic: Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus."2. "In China, where a growing demand for organ transplants coupled with a dramatic shortage of donors has fuelled a rampant black market trade, selling your organs for cash is a mouse click away." Via.3. Guidance (but not instructions) on how to knit the Companion Cube sweater that was featured on various sites last week.