David Yanofsky, The Atlantic, on living conditions in Hong Kong:

But according to the Society for Community Organization, 100,000 of the city’s laborers live in sub-divided apartment units averaging 40 square feet. The Hong Kong based advocacy organization commissioned and released these photographs, depicting the living conditions inside these apartments from the only vantage point able to capture the entire unit—directly above.

The photos are stunning- perhaps not surprising though given that Hong Kong has a population density of over 16,500 people per square mile.

Jason of Frugal Dad:

Read on to discover the case for responsible beer drinking, as well as some helpful tips on food pairing and optimal serving temperatures. In my opinion, if you slow down and enjoy it fully, at the right temperature and with some nicely complimentary food, you’ll be far less likely to enjoy it in excess, and far more likely then to reap the positive benefits of beer.

Be sure and check out the nice infographic that details beer and food pairings.

(via: Brian Bridges)

Patricia Vollmer, Wired, with a message for The Weather Channel:

I’m not sure how many people share my views on the long form programming or the habit of naming the winter storms, but I just wanted to get that off my chest. I’d love for you go to back to good old fashioned weather forecasting…I might be in the minority wanting this, and I’m sure the business model prohibits 24 hours of pure science these days, but it’s right there in your name: “The Weather Channel.” Let’s stick with the weather.

Look Patricia, I agree. But this is America - science doesn’t sell.

Jim Dalrymple, The Loop, on recent calls for a kid mode on iOS devices:

I can understand how some parents would be upset if Apple didn’t have some kind of controls to limit the use of the iPhone and iPad, but the fact is they do.

I read Sarah Perez’s story on TechCrunch “Apple’s iPad Needs A Kid Mode. Like, Yesterday” and was kind of amazed at how much blame was put on Apple.

I read Sarah Perez’s article and many points raised could be alleviated by a parent actually paying attention, monitoring their child, and putting a foot down even if it makes little Johnny upset. As Dalrymple goes on to note, iOS has a wide variety of parental controls in place.

In defense of the kid-mode option, I do wish Apple would offer support for multiple user accounts. If a family has one iPad, for instance, it is cumbersome to turn on all restrictions for a child and then disable them again when a parent resumes use. That said, inconvenience is not an excuse to blame others for your inaction.

M.G. Siegler, TechCrunch, looks back on a very braggadocios blog post in 2010 from Microsoft’s Chief of Communications, Frank Shaw:

My point here isn’t to rag on Microsoft — well, at least that’s not the only point. The point is to show that numbers worth touting one year may come back to haunt you in the future — especially if you’re focusing on comparing yourself to your rivals. And if you’re going to get cute in calling out your rivals, it’s probably best to make sure that your body can cash the checks your ego is writing.

I think Microsoft was still in denial about their lack of innovation in 2010. Now they are finding out how hard it is to play catch-up.

Fraser Speirs, on arguments regarding traditional PCs versus the iPad:

As I’ve written before, the question what you want to do with your computer has never had more impact on exactly the device you should buy. Therefore, it’s still relevant and worthwhile to ask the question of the iPad: what are you capable of, and what are you best at? Further, as the iOS ecosystem has developed, another question: if I add these accessories to you, what can you do now?

Still, I feel that the consumption/creation split is far too simplistic a curve to grade these devices on. It recognises almost nothing about the user’s task beyond whether it’s an input task or an output task. There’s far more subtlety that we can reach for.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions since Steve Jobs declared the advent of the iPad as the “Post-PC Era” is that iPads are designed to completely replace PCs. Subsequent arguments have revolved around consumption versus creation. The implication is that the iPad is only useful for consuming material - that you can’t do “real” work.

This line of thinking is flawed for several reasons. First, it’s just untrue. From the iPad, I can work remotely on supercomputers, edit and run code, write articles, create artwork or music, and so much more. Most importantly, the comparative distinction is overly simplistic. The “Post-PC” era isn’t about one device to rule them all, rather it is about selecting the device for a given task such that we maximize our efficiency. Speirs smartly notes this difference and presents an interesting chart that illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of today’s popular device categories - phones, tablets, and PCs.

Linus Edwards, VintageZen, with a cool bit of history about Matt Groening and Apple:

The story that The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening once illustrated a brochure for Apple back in 1989 has been making the rounds of the internet for awhile now.  However, in addition to that brochure, Groening did other artwork for Apple around that same time period.

As Edwards notes, the same year that Groening did work for Apple, the Simpsons launched. I wonder if either side thought the other would still be around in 2013?

Dominique Brossard And Dietram A. Scheufele, writing for The New York Times, about the comments section on websites:

IN the beginning, the technology gods created the Internet and saw that it was good. Here, at last, was a public sphere with unlimited potential for reasoned debate and the thoughtful exchange of ideas, an enlightening conversational bridge across the many geographic, social, cultural, ideological and economic boundaries that ordinarily separate us in life, a way to pay bills without a stamp.

Then someone invented “reader comments” and paradise was lost.

If you want to weep about society, read any comments section following a news story.

Maria Popova, Brain Pickings:

In the spring of 1971, just before the opening of Michigan’s first public library in Troy, an audacious librarian by the name of Marguerite Hart set out to inspire the city’s youngsters to read and love the library. So she dreamed up a letter-writing campaign, inviting dozens of cultural luminaries — writers, actors, musicians, politicians, artists — to share what made reading special for them and speak to the importance of libraries. She got 97 letters in return, spanning 50 states and a multitude of occupations, including notes from such icons as Dr. Seuss, Neil Armstrong, E.B. White and Isaac Asimov.

You can check out the full archive here.

Michelle Lee, Hollywood.com:

Today marks what would have been the 109th birthday of legendary children’s author Dr. Seuss, aka. Theodor Geisel. Of course, we all know Seuss through his dozens of books (600 million copies sold!) and handful of TV specials and movies. But there’s another side to the writer/illustrator, who died in 1991 at the age of 87: secret bad-ass. Let us count the ways

My favorite tidbit - Dr. Seuss coined the term nerd.

Don’t forget, we routinely mispronounce Seuss.