In Romenesko Letters today, Gordon Trowbridge makes a very good point about the coverage before the collapse of 35W: the press did see this one coming. Over the past several years, newspapers have published a number of prominent investigative stories on bridge/highway deficiencies. My own paper published a front-page story in 2001 headlined “A bridge too far gone? Repairs overdue on many spans.” An excerpt:

Bridge work is getting increasingly expensive as a bubble of structures built after World War II are wearing out and requiring major renovation or replacement during the next 20 years. [The 35-W bridge was built in 1967.]

And some state highway officials warn that Minnesota isn’t keeping up.

Read more…

Check out the tagset of del.icio.us user Kio. Also, “indigenous content.” (Via.)

I’m fine.

“We don’t often talk about love at gatherings like this; it seems too squishy.” — Clay Shirky, in a speech at Supernova ’07 that really is quite pleasant. Filled with fun nuggets. (Joho!)

• Bittman’s 101 10-minute meals.

The oppressive frequency of the need to replace the blades in my Gillette Mach 3 finally drove me to desperation this summer. When a pricey box of 20 razor cartridges ran out in a matter of weeks, I began hunting for an alternative. I have found it.

Just like this Ask MetaFilter poster, I was led to the Merkur 1904 stainless steel “Hefty Classic” double-edged safety razor by a post on Cool Tools. After reading the unanimous raves of the MeFirati, I bought the razor, a badger-hair shaving brush, and some shaving cream, and put blade to face.

Wonderful. It’s this solid, stubby metal instrument with a delicate platinum blade that bows so gracefully when you screw it in place. Few moments in masculine hygiene are as satisfying as making smooth, perfect rectangles appear on your face where foam and hair had been just before. I’m a full-fledged member of the cult now. My gaudy, plastic Mach 3 is officially retired. Does this make me old-school yet?

I just finished reading the McSweeney’s story “The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter,” about a circus elephant hanged for murder in a small Tennessee town in the early 20th Century. Brilliant. Affecting, gripping, wonderfully written, and a little bit heartbreaking. It’s one of those stories that you Google when you finish reading it, and then come to find out many wondrous things. For example, the story’s not entirely fictional. In fact, an entire book has been written about it, attempting to get at the truth behind what happened that day in Tennessee.

And then there’s the squonk, a legendary creature from the Pennsylvanian wilds said to dissolve into a pool of tears and bubbles when cornered.

There’s a throwaway reference to a ballet, “La Chauve-Souris Dorée,” by a choreographer named Plastikoff — “a rare work,” the story says, “in that it celebrated not courtship, but daily love, the often-pale and unnoticed emotions that pass between a man and wife.” Google yields no English references to Plastikoff, but “La Chauve-Souris Dorée,” or “The Gilded Bat,” is the name of a promising story written and illustrated by Edward Gorey.

I love texts that make you want to Google every word. And I love that you can.

All I have to say about the iPhone is it sure took Apple long enough to create the wifiPod. 😛

Tell me this has never happened to you waiting for a red light:

Like me, you probably don’t associate the traffic lights on Southampton Row with the end of the world.

But it was while waiting there in 1933 that the Hungarian polymath Leo Szilard conceived the idea of a nuclear chain reaction, and thus the creation of the atomic bomb.

In the Telegraph, Tibor Fischer continues:

The car contains Szilard and his de facto chauffeur, Wigner (only Szilard would use a future Nobel Laureate as his taxi service). They are trying to find Albert Einstein to convince him of the need to urge the US government to start building an atomic bomb before the Nazis do.

When they finally locate Einstein and outline how chain reactions can be achieved, Einstein comments: “Daran habe ich gar nicht gedacht” (I hadn

Interview with Alex Kubalsky, a designer of modern Transformer toys:

What would you like to design that hasn’t been designed yet?

Just an odd object that transforms into another odd object for no reason. Just so because it looks interesting as it transforms. It is not so much about what it is in a and b – but the path itself is c. The transformation itself is the interesting thing!

Whoah.

While we’re at it: original Transformers instruction booklets. For the record, I never used these, and was sooo proud of myself.

Okay, fine, one more thing: You’ve Got the Touch.