Election Hangover

First, the best analysis, as given by Stephen Colbert of "The Daily Show" (movie):

Too many voting irregularities to be coincidence? You decide:

"Voter oversight causing problems in Travis County"

Yes, those same Hart voting machines used in Hawaii caused a few problems in Texas. But here's what gets me... the article's last sentence reads "Election officials say eSlate machines are reliable only if voters pay attention." Right. So with that kind of thinking, your Windows PC is reliable only if you pay attention.

On the other hand, democracy is only reliable if people pay attention. I don't think people have been paying attention.

Fear and Ignorance

We can explain a few things with visuals... here's a U.S. election map with county detail. Things aren't so red vs. blue now. Note how the rural areas tend to be the most red:

Here's a series of maps taking population and county-level detail into account:

Here's what the map would have looked like if the election were up to voters age 18 to 29:

Here's how states voted, sorted by the state's average IQ:

Everybody's Got an Opinion

"Mourn"

"Mourn and Organize"

"Don't Mourn, Organize"

The Younger Generation Speaks Out

Sorry, everybody:

An image of Bush labelled "asshole" on CNN thanks to an intern:

The above international news item was originally discovered by blogger Jonas Luster:

Let's Move... Or Not

"American Coastopia"

"Ten Reasons Not to Move to Canada"

Where Are They Now?

A new super-tough coating that resists wire-wool scrubbing has been developed, leading to anti-scratch CDs, DVDs, LCDs, PDAs, and other devices:

Note that modern Macs are compatible with Verizon's wireless BroadbandAccess plan ($80 a month for unlimited access):

Boeing's high-tech 7E7 jetliner slated for a 2008 launch will finally allow cabin humidity to approach humane levels:

A picture of the corn-based biodegradeable 25GB DVD:

iPodder allows you to browse audio feeds via RSS and download them to your iPod. For Mac and Windows:

The New Journalism

"Cell Phones Increasingly Used to Snap the News"

"Journalism's Future May Be Wikipedia"

"10 things the Chinese do far better than we do"

Students in Kolkata, India made a jacket that gives a shock to potential molesters. 99% of Kolkata women surveyed want one:

"How a CPU is Built"

From a Fallujah assault eyewitness, all the ways the U.S. is violating the Geneva Convention:

Most of the mainstream media's reporting of the latest bin Laden video is pretty narrow. Here's the full transcript:

Nat'l Guard and reserve troops make up 40% of U.S. troops in Iraq and get the worst armor and equipment:

But that's not why this ex-Reserve Kauai resident is making world news by suing over his recall to active duty after 13 years of being out of the service:

Need to hide from Homeland Security? Install a hidden door! However, this item was so popular, everyone knows what they look like by now:

Asian Farmers Sucking The Continent Dry

"The world is on the verge of a water crisis as people fight over ever dwindling supplies":

This was all over the news - Americans are getting heavier, leading to tons of extra weight and fuel for airlines. And 3.8 million more tons of carbon dioxide in the air:

McDonald's bans "fat" people from their new TV ads:

Stem cell manipulation induces the birth of new neurons. This work may lead to Alzheimer's and spinal cord injury cures:

One of the great mysteries of evolution - that of how the eye evolved - has been solved. This mystery has been one of the arguments for introducing creationism into schools:

Things That Return To Bite Us

That flu vaccine from Chiron was tainted with the same bacteria that was once considered so safe in the 1950's that the Army released clouds of it over California in secret germ-warfare experiments:

And an exotic grass once planted by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 70's now threatens to overrun the San Francisco Bay:

So who's to say that there won't be problems with genetically modified corn?

"Ag-tourism becomes $35 million business for Hawaii"

Farms make big bucks hosting concerts, selling t-shirts:

Because of a clash with federal law, legislation protecting whales from high-speed boats in the Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary has been overturned. This may lead to the end of offshore sightings of marine life in that area:

Healthy Clothing

Whole Foods is selling organic clothing. Could this be the start of a new retail trend - organic, sustainable wearables?

Maggie's Functional Organics:

Vitamin-infused shirts:

The smoke-free cigarette:

A photoessay on how "The Incredibles" was created:

Interactive 360-degree panoramas from around the world:

A cool new music video made with 1972 video synthesizer tech:

A time-lapse image of a lunar eclipse:

Interactive wallpaper is going commercial:

The sound shaker (movie):

Brown Paper Tickets, a cheap alternative to Ticketmaster: