4th Amendment Wear

With metallic ink! Every traveler needs one. Shop at 4thamendmentwear. (Thanks, David!)

What good is Wall Street?

Read the Annals of Economics article in the New Yorker.

Carbon Sciences Moves Closer to Turning CO2 Into Gasoline

How is this possible? Read the FastCompany blog post.

Behavior: Too Much Texting Is Linked to Other Problems

"A study suggests that the high school students who spend the most time texting or on social networking Web sites (or both) are at risk for worrisome behaviors including smoking, risky sex, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and absenteeism."

Watermelon

At Berlin Museum, Reindeer, Art and Overnight Stays

"Carsten Höller’s “SOMA” exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for Contemporary Art in Berlin. The bed, where visitors can stay the night for 1,000 euros, is in the center of the exhibition."

"One bed. Twelve live reindeer. Twenty-four canaries, eight mice, and two flies. Lots of Andy Warhol. Plenty of Joseph Beuys." Read the NYT "In Transit" post.

13 communication and life tips that children teach us

Read the Presentation Zen article.

Army Studies Thrill-Seeking Behavior

The military, alarmed by a rising suicide rate and the number of veterans dying in accidents at home, is asking provocative questions about high-risk behavior. Read the rest of the article in the NY Times.

Depression Often Returns in Youths, Study Finds

In a study of nearly 200 adolescents, about half of the subjects who recovered from major depression became depressed again within five years. Read more in the NY Times.

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education

This piece by Yale University Professor, William Deresiewicz, argues that our best universities have forgotten that the reason they exist is to make minds, not careers. (Thanks, Chrissy)

Solitude and Leadership

"If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts."

This lecture by William Deresiewicz in The American Scholar was delivered to the plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in October of last year. (Thanks, Chrissy -- it's an incredible piece.)

I LOVE DUKE: Kyle Gets Buckets

(He made this in under an hour!!!)

The Shadow Scholar

"The man who writes your students' papers tells his story."

It's a rather eye-opening story that dives deep into bad ethical choices across our elite educational systems. Read the story in the Chronicle Review.

"Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

It gave me chills.

Chinese Woman Imprisoned for Twitter Message

"A Chinese woman was sentenced to one year in a labor camp on Wednesday after she forwarded a satirical microblog message..." Read the rest in the NYT.

Pretty Good for Government Work

Warren Buffet writes a thank you note in the NYT. (Thanks, Rish)

Are You A Christian Hipster?

Take this quick 30 question quiz to assess your CHQ (Christian Hipster Quotient)."

(Thanks, Cass)

Bosses Overestimate Their Managing Skills

"Bosses who think they're the next Jack Welch might want to reassess their talent level. A new survey of 1,100 frontline managers suggests many are overestimating their skills, with surprisingly little self-doubt. Seventy-two percent said they never questioned their ability to lead others in their first year as a manager.

"It doesn't matter what industry you're in. People have blind spots about where they're weak," says Scott Erker, a senior vice president at consulting firm Development Dimensions International Inc., which conducted the survey in September. One problem: when workers become managers, they're often surrounded by employees who flatter them as a way of ingratiating themselves to their boss, said Stanford business professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of the book Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't."

Read the full WSJ article.

Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget

Have problems with how the Government is fixing the budget? Fix it here in the NY Times interactive graphic. (Thanks Jules and Yousef)

Track Your Happiness iPhone Study Finds That Your Mind Is Wandering Too Much

"'A wandering mind is an unhappy mind,' the researchers Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert conclude. In other news: having sex makes people happy. It was the one activity where people reported mind-wandering less than 30% of the time."

Check out the FastCompany post.

Can Microlending Save Haiti?

Check out a few ideas for Haiti in the NYT. (Thanks, Dad)

When a Rig Moves In Next Door

The Gasland movie vividly documented the horrors of drilling for natural gas, called "fracking." With all the negative publicity about "clean" natural gas -- where can you find a more balanced view?

The NYT presented a less biased overview of fracking. (Thanks, Claire)

The World's 100 Most Powerful Women

Check out Forbes's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2010. Lady Gaga is number 7? (Thanks, Cass)

The Risk-Taking Edge of West Coast Women

East Coast v West Coast takes on a new spin:

When Deborah Perry Piscione moved to Silicon Valley after a career in media and foreign relations on the East Coast, it wasn’t the weather or wealth that amazed her. It was the women.

Back east, my whole network was men,” she said, “but here there’s this big group of incredible, fearless women. They rise a lot more quickly in their careers, and they support each other. They’ve made their own money and they take risks. There’s such a disconnect between the two coasts..."

Check out the entire NYT article. (I'd like to get an invite to that 50 person brainstorm event! Thanks, Jules)

Top 10 Electronic Etiquette Faux Pas

Check them out at Forbes. (Thanks, Cass)

While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales

It's a rather remarkable example of government waste:

Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies.

Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign...

...And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting...

Read the entire NYT article. It's fascinating. (Thanks, Caleb!)

What Are You Going to Do With That?

William Deresiewicz delivered a speech to freshmen at Stanford about following conventionally unpopular professions.

It's one of the best speeches I've read in a while. Check out the comments at the end, too. (Thanks, Jules)

Pumping Up the Self-Control in the Age of Temptations

Read the NYT column about how to strategically build up your willpower (and some characteristics of people who have higher willpower than others). The secret? Learning tricks to make delaying gratification "fun." (Thanks, Lucy)

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Fall in Love

Read the Modern Love NYT Column about Vipassana Romance. (Thanks, Claire!)

Neuromarketing the 2010 Elections: Scoring Campaign Ads

Republicans were highly successful with their neuromarketing ad campaigns this election season:

But what is neuromarketing? You've probably had the experience of watching an ad and unexpectedly getting choked up -- or, in the case of campaign ads, feeling the sudden need to take a shower. Neuromarketers measure the way your brain and body responds to these messages, then reverse-engineers the effect into another message.

Watch some of the videos (with their neuromarketing explanations) in the FastCompany post.

Faith

What Happens to Unused Texas Rangers World Series Gear?

But what happened to all that unsold Texas Rangers gear? Some is going to kids in developing countries!! Check out the FastCompany article.

How Google Maps Led to An Accidental Invasion

"A Nicaraguan military commander recently invaded Costa Rican territory, and ordered troops to take down a Costa Rican flag and replace it with Nicaragua's. Was this the work of a brash commander, going rogue on his superiors? A new policy of Nicaraguan imperialism? Neither. The incident was caused by an error in Google Maps."

Read the FastCompany article. I guess the army should have used Bing...

Wanted: The Family Blankeez

Read the FastCompany article for more packs.

As H.I.V. Babies Come of Age, Problems Linger

The NYT produced a powerful video and article about young adults who contracted HIV from birth come of age. The video is definitely worth your time.

David McCandless: Fears hidden in data with color

Hayek vs. Keynes

(Thanks, Ed!)

Innovation: It Isn’t a Matter of Left or Right

Steven Johnson maps out a 2x2 matrix of types of innovations and entrepreneurs in the NYTimes. (Thanks, Jules)

Houston. It's Worth It.

Check out HIWI. (Thanks, Prabhnoor)

Why You Should Start a Company in... Raleigh-Durham

Read the FastCompany article.

Where Having It All Doesn’t Mean Having Equality

Check out this NYTimes article about family dynamics in France (the video is just as good as the article).

McKinsey Quarterly: The case for behavioral strategy

"Left unchecked, subconscious biases will undermine strategic decision making. Here’s how to counter them and improve corporate performance." Read the McKinsey Quarterly article.

Also, check out this McKinsey Quarterly article about behavioral economics from 2006.

CultureMap Houston

Check it out here.