The safe answer to how a lantern shark turns its luminescence on and off is: “Any way it wants.” Now researchers have looked into the belly of the beast and found that three hormones act as on-off switches for these glow-in-the-dark sharks. It is the first discovery of hormones controlling bioluminescence in animals, the scientists report in the November 15 Journal of Experimental Biology. Belgian researchers identified melatonin, prolactin and alpha-MSH, three hormones known to control sharkskin coloration, as key players in setting sharks aglow. In all animals investigated up to this…
Selected by dralisyed
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Wired Science
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Glow-in-the-Dark Shark Turned on by Hormones
6 Nov 2009 | 2:01 pm -
Vet School 2.0: Stick Your Hand Up a Virtual Cow Butt
6 Nov 2009 | 1:04 pmThere’s nothing tidy about sticking your arm deep into a cow’s backside, getting up to your elbows in warm and gooey bovine innards. But for new vet students, there’s no avoiding the procedure: To diagnose pregnancy or check for infection, you’ve got to reach into a cow’s rectum and feel for the uterus, ovaries and stomach. Unfortunately, proper palpation is a tough skill to teach, because once your arm is buried inside a cow butt, no one can see what you’re doing. That’s why veterinarian and computer scientist Sarah Baillie has created the… -
Signature of Antimatter Detected in Lightning
6 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pmWASHINGTON, D.C. — Designed to scan the heavens thousands to billions of light-years beyond the solar system, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has now recorded some more down-to-Earth signals. During its first 14 months of operation, the flying observatory has detected 17 gamma-ray flashes associated with terrestrial lightning storms. The flashes occurred just before, during and immediately after lightning strikes, as tracked by the World Wide Lightning Location Network. During two recent lightning storms, Fermi recorded gamma-ray emissions of a particular energy that could only have… -
Close Encounter with Saturn Moon’s Fantastic Plumage
6 Nov 2009 | 9:56 amEarlier this week, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft took its deepest dive ever through the center of the icy plume shooting out from the southern pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. NASA reports that the spacecraft survived Monday’s flyby in good health, and is now transmitting eagerly awaited data and images back to Earth. At its closest point, Cassini dipped just 60 miles above the surface of Enceladus. Although previous flybys have gotten even closer, this trip included the spacecraft’s deepest foray into the south polar plume, which was discovered in 2005 and is known to… -
Out of the Blue: Islands Seen From Space
5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm<< previous image | next image >> Islands are some of the most beautiful, peaceful, violent, desolate and unique places on Earth. While experiencing a tropical island from its sandy beaches, or a volcanic island from its towering peaks is wonderful, experiencing them from above can be inspiring as well. We’ve collected images taken by astronauts and satellites from space of some of the most interesting islands on the planet. Atafu Atoll, Tokelau, Pacific Ocean Around 500 people live on Atafu Atoll, mostly in a village that can be seen on the corner in the left of the image…
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NYT > Science
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Observatory: North American Origins for the Falklands Wolf
7 Nov 2009 | 12:05 amA genetic analysis helped solve some of the mystery about the origins of a species that was once found on islands off the Argentinian coast. -
National Briefing | West: California: Sewers for Malibu
6 Nov 2009 | 11:16 pmOfficials have banned septic tanks in parts of Malibu, ending years of wrangling among surfers, environmentalists and residents in the celebrity-filled community. -
Paul C. Zamecnik, Biologist Who Helped Discover an RNA Molecule, Dies at 96
6 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pmDr. Zamecnik also revealed a method for blocking individual genes that pointed the way to a new class of drugs. -
Creationism, Minus a Young Earth, Emerges in the Islamic World
6 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pmA growing number of Muslims seem to accept the idea of a very old planet but reject human evolution, international academics said at a recent conference. -
Giving Sight by Therapy With Genes
6 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pmOnce clinging to his mother and father, now playing Little League and riding go-carts, an 8-year-old benefited from a new technique.
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NYT: Nanotechnology
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Sending Drugs to Specific Spots in a Tiny Cage
2 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pmNanocages can deliver compounds, then free them when they reach a certain temperature. -
Nanomaterials Under Study by the E.P.A.
29 Sep 2009 | 9:00 pmResearchers plan to look at what effect tiny substances found in products like sunscreen and industrial adhesives have on the environment. -
After the Transistor, a Leap Into the Microcosm
31 Aug 2009 | 9:00 pmWith silicon nanowires, computer scientists seek a basic building block for a new kind of electronics to outpower today’s transistors. -
Collaborating for Profits in Nanotechnology
15 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pmGiant universities and start-up companies are finding they need one another to bring the benefits of nanotechnology to the public. -
Panel Criticizes U.S. Effort on Nanomaterial Risks
10 Dec 2008 | 9:00 pmIn a sweeping critique, the federal government has been accused of not doing enough to identify potential health and environmental risks from engineered nanomaterials.
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Al Jazeera: News
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Ocampo to request Kenya trials
7 Nov 2009 | 6:42 amICC prosecutor cites "strong evidence" to charge individuals over post-poll unrest. -
Tunisian blogger detained
7 Nov 2009 | 5:47 amFatma Riahi, known as Arabicca, held by police and denied access to lawyer, sources say. -
Kabul rejects 'foreign criticism'
7 Nov 2009 | 4:19 amInternational demands on government "violate national sovereignty", foreign ministry says. -
Iran rejects nuclear deal, MP says
7 Nov 2009 | 3:57 amPolitician's remarks are not Tehran's official response to uranium swap, official says. -
Youth lured to fight in Somalia
7 Nov 2009 | 3:24 amKenya accused of secretly training young men of Somali origin to battle al-Shabaab.
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Financial Times - US homepage
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Brown calls for global tax on banks
7 Nov 2009 | 6:19 amWorld governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, departing from London’s longstanding resistance to a global tax -
Afghanistan hits back at UN and foreign criticism
7 Nov 2009 | 6:01 amAfghanistan hit back at pressure from Western powers for it to crackdown on corruption and accused the United Nations envoy to Kabul of seeking to interfere in the formation of the next government -
Honduras pact crumbles over unity government
7 Nov 2009 | 5:42 amAn agreement to end a four-month political crisis in Honduras collapsed after two rival leaders failed to form a government of unity to heal the damage from a June coup -
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway triples profit
6 Nov 2009 | 4:37 pmWarren Buffett highlighted his rebound from last year’s poor performance as strong stock markets and derivatives gains helped Berkshire Hathaway, his investment vehicle, triple profits in the third quarter to $3.24bn. -
Insider trading net entangles further suspects
6 Nov 2009 | 3:43 pmInvestigators hope for more charges in what is thought to be a big network of insider schemes
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NYT: Freakonomics
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What Are the Most Notable Quotes From 2009?
6 Nov 2009 | 11:43 amYale Book of Quotations editor Fred solicits your nominations for most notable quote of 2009. -
A Different Kind of Organ Market?
6 Nov 2009 | 11:00 amWho gets bumped to the front of UCLA medical center's liver-transplant line? The godfather of the Japanese mafia, according to this 60 Minutes video... -
Charity Won't Contain This Secondary Market
6 Nov 2009 | 9:20 amEach year I receive about 10 introductory economics textbooks from publishers. The purpose is to induce me to adopt the book in my 500-student principles class... -
Do Earmarks Matter?
6 Nov 2009 | 8:31 amMaking fun of earmarked Congressional spending is easy, feel-good entertainment. But is it a distraction from the bigger problem? -
SuperFreakonomics Book Club: Emily Oster Answers Your Questions
6 Nov 2009 | 7:34 amOur first guest was University of Chicago economist Emily Oster, whose research, co-authored with Robert Jensen, formed the basis of the section where we discuss how the introduction of television turned out to be an unlikely boon for rural Indian women. (I should have also mentioned that we cite Emily's fascinating research on how women were regularly put to death for centuries on charges of witchcraft.)
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Al Jazeera: Asia-Pacific
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Thailand and Cambodia in fresh row
6 Nov 2009 | 4:13 amCambodia's appointment of ex-Thai PM as economic adviser sparks diplomatic tension. -
China condemns US trade action
6 Nov 2009 | 3:12 amUS decision to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made pipes called "protectionist". -
Men shot in Japan 'gangster' attack
6 Nov 2009 | 2:49 amAssailant claiming to be crime-syndicate member takes own life after raid, police say. -
Senior Indonesian officials resign
5 Nov 2009 | 12:57 amHeads roll over inquiry seen as attempt to weaken country's anti-corruption agency. -
Australia probes Timor oil rig leak
4 Nov 2009 | 11:54 pmGovernment begins inquiry into one of region's worst environmental disasters.
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Calculated Risk
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U.K.: Bank of England Warns of "Doom Loop"
7 Nov 2009 | 6:08 amFrom The Telegraph: Bank of England says financiers are fuelling an economic 'doom loop' On the eve of the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Scotland, Andy Haldane, the Bank's executive director for financial stability warned that the relationship between the state and banks represents a "doom loop" which will keep inflicting crises on the public unless arrested. The warning, which follows Governor Mervyn King's call for investment banks to be split from their high street wings, is the most radical yet from the Bank, and comes amid growing concern that the G20 has abandoned any plans for… -
NY Times: Unemployment Measure U-6 Highest Since Great Depression
6 Nov 2009 | 8:59 pmFrom David Leonhardt at the NY Times: Broader Measure of Unemployment Stands at 17.5% Excerpts:Officially, the Labor Department’s broad measure of unemployment goes back only to 1994. But early this year, with the help of economists at the department, The New York Times created a version that estimates it going back to 1970....If statistics went back so far, the measure would almost certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.In all, more than one out of every six workers — 17.5 percent — were unemployed or underemployed in October. The previous high was 17.1 percent,… -
Bank Failure #120: United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, California
6 Nov 2009 | 6:40 pmSunrise in the East United Commercial Bank Sunsets in the Westby Soylent Green is PeopleFrom the FDIC: East West Bank, Pasadena, California Assumes All the Deposits of United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, California United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, California, was closed today by the California Department of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. ...As of October 23, 2009, United Commercial Bank had total assets of $11.2 billion and total deposits of approximately $7.5 billion. ...The FDIC estimates that the cost to the… -
Unofficial Problem Bank List Grows to 505
6 Nov 2009 | 6:27 pmNote: This was before the FDIC seized four banks today.This is an unofficial list of Problem Banks. Changes and comments from surferdude808: The steady climb in members on the Unofficial Problem Bank list continued this week despite the failure of the multi-bank holding company FBOP Corporation, which took down 9 banks including 5 banks with aggregate assets of $17.5 billion that were on the Unofficial Problem Bank List. There were 10 additions this week, which pushes the total number of institutions on the list to 505, up from 500 last week. Aggregate assets did drop to $330 billion from… -
Bank Failures #118 & 119: Banks in Minnesota & Missouri
6 Nov 2009 | 4:13 pmWhats a "Prosperan"? A breakfast food, car or band? Answer: money pitLooming Gateway Arch Symbol of pioneer spirit Their bank now a ghost.by Soylent Green is PeopleFrom the FDIC: Alerus Financial, National Association, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Assumes All of the Deposits of Prosperan Bank, Oakdale, MinnesotaProsperan Bank, Oakdale, Minnesota, was closed today by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. ...As of August 31, 2009, Prosperan Bank had total assets of $199.5 million and total deposits of approximately…
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naked capitalism
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Links 11/7/09
7 Nov 2009 | 1:41 amThree bald bears perplex experts BBC Antidepressants and Violence EconoSpeak. One of my pet peeves is how psychoactive medications are handed out like candy in the US. Just go to your MD, say you are exhausted, and once they eliminate anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and low thryoid, they assume it’s in your head and will offer you all sorts of mood altering goodies. What does Google Suggest suggest about the state of humanity? CNet Jon Stewart spoofs Glenn Beck Ed Harrison. Too funny. Landing a job like getting into Harvard CNN (hat tip Felix Salmon) A Tsunami of Red Ink Michael… -
Einhorn: First, Let’s Kill All the Credit Default Swaps
7 Nov 2009 | 12:13 amDavid Einhorn, who enjoys his considerable reputation for hard-fought battles against firms with shaky finances and dubious accounting (Alliance Capital and Lehman), has taken aim at a new and equally deserving target: credit default swaps. In an interesting bit of synchronicity, Einhorn’s comments in a letter to investors overlap to a considerable degree with a post we wrote yesterday on why a clearinghouse for derivatives wasn’t a solution to the dangers posed by credit default swaps (and note the Orwellian branding, the reforms are about “derivatives” which include… -
Guest Post: Investor Psychology … Fear Turns People Into Sheep
6 Nov 2009 | 8:23 pmBy George Washington of Washington’s Blog. Investors are basically rational, right? In fact, as many studies have demonstrated, the answer is no. But instead of wading through all of the investment psychology research, let’s look at research into people’s basic reasoning abilities. Bear with me for a minute. A study in an area unrelated to investing sheds light on people’s basic thinking processes. Sociologists from four major research institutions investigated why so many Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, years after it became obvious that Iraq… -
The less optimistic view of Treasury’s handling of the crisis
6 Nov 2009 | 11:09 amBy Edward Harrison of Credit Writedowns The Obama Administration is captured. To understand why it has acted as it has, one doesn’t have to take the view that its efforts to save the banking industry were a deliberate attempt to line bankers’ pockets by transferring money from taxpayers to the banking industry. One need merely read the last post I wrote on this topic. In their wildly optimistic view, the banking industry is solvent and always has been. All that was needed to ‘solve’ than banking crisis was a lot of liquidity, government backstops and, most importantly, time. This… -
Links 11/6/09
6 Nov 2009 | 2:18 amNewborn Babies Cry in Native Tongue Live Science (hat tip reader John D) Understanding long term chronic pain symptoms from minor motor vehicle accidents RFK Action Front, This is intriguing. Second Life creates virtual world for businesses Raw Story (hat tip reader John D) Fannie Mae’s results – oh, and what if Bank of America reported the same way… John Hempton Dollar rise *alert* FT Alphaville Reed Apologies for Glass Steagall Repeal, Building Citigroup Bloomberg Banks Thwarting Feinberg Pay Model by Changing Bonus Formulas Bloomberg. I’d post on this, but it has been in…
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Seeking Alpha
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LivePerson, Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
7 Nov 2009 | 6:37 amLivePerson, Inc. (LPSN) Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript November 5, 2009 5:00 pm ETComplete Story » -
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
7 Nov 2009 | 6:02 amPlains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript November 5, 2009 11:00 am ETComplete Story » -
Syntroleum Corporation Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
7 Nov 2009 | 5:53 amSyntroleum Corporation (SYNM) Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript November 5, 2009 3:00 pm ETComplete Story » -
Furniture Brands International, Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
7 Nov 2009 | 5:44 amFurniture Brands International, Inc. (FBN) Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript November 5, 2009 8:30 pm ETComplete Story » -
KKR Financial Holdings LLC Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
7 Nov 2009 | 3:55 amKKR Financial Holdings LLC (KFN) Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript November 5, 2009 5:00 pm ETComplete Story »
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Footnoted
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CBS’ last CFO still hanging around…
6 Nov 2009 | 7:56 amBack in June, CBS (CBS) announced that its CFO, Fred Reynolds, planned to retire in mid-August. That same day, the company announced that Joseph Ianniello would be taking over as CFO on July 20.Now Ianniello was no novice. He had been with CBS or Viacom (VIA) for the past 12 years and had been deputy CFO since November 2008. Indeed, in the press release that announced Ianniello’s promotion, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said this:”“He’s been involved in every major financial decision of this company, from the time that the new CBS Corporation was formed to the present day, and he’s… -
J. Crew Designer Benefits from “Obama Bump”
5 Nov 2009 | 7:18 amAfter the public learned that the Obama girls wore J. Crew-designed coats for their father’s inauguration, the company enjoyed what became known as “the Obama bump.” Sales soared – especially after the company crowed about its connection to the First Family – and online traffic spiked so high that the company’s web site crashed.The “Obama bump” no doubt contributed to J. Crew’s (JCG) decision to reward Jenna Lyons Mazeau (who’s often referred to as “Jenna Lyons”), the company’s Creative Director for its women’s clothing.In an 8-K and Special Bonus Agreement… -
On Black and Decker’s CEO and unicorns…
4 Nov 2009 | 8:02 amThough we often read filings several times just to make sure we’re reading (and interpreting them) correctly, we honestly did a double-take when we read the 8-K that Black and Decker (BDK) filed late yesterday. The filing was a follow-up to the $4.5 billion deal that was announced on Monday. The part that caught our attention was the agreement with Chairman and CEO Nolan D. Archibald. Here’s a snip:Under the terms of his amended and restated employment agreement with Black & Decker, Mr. Archibald would be entitled to certain benefits upon the termination of this employment by… -
SEC Madoff exhibit list now available…
3 Nov 2009 | 11:22 amYesterday, we poked at the SEC for not just dumping 6,100 pages of material on a Friday afternoon, but for failing to provide a road-map to the 536 exhibits. In separate conversations with me, a representative of the SEC and SEC Inspector General David Kotz each suggested that it was the other’s fault for not making this information available.Whose fault was it? Well the Inspector General’s office has just made the list of the 536 exhibits available on their site, while the SEC’s list remains uncategorized. You can see the full list here:Public Exhibit List If only this had… -
Diedrich’s odd disclosure…
3 Nov 2009 | 8:01 amLate yesterday, Peet’s Coffee & Tea (PEET), my personal favorite when it comes to caffeine delivery devices, announced that it was buying Diedrich’s Coffee (DDRX) for $213 million.Coincidentally, Diedrich’s filed what’s likely to be its last 10-Q yesterday. But what’s surprising was the very first exhibit in the 10-Q: an agreement with CFO Sean McCarthy. Now, McCarthy was named CFO back in January 2006. But the agreement was dated May 1, 2008 and was filed yesterday — roughly 17 months after it went into effect.We don’t mean to be sticklers here,…
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Statistical Modeling
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In the Applied Statistics Blog this week
6 Nov 2009 | 1:15 pm1. Understanding the 'Russian Mortality Paradox' in Central Asia: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan Short answer: alcohol and suicide. 2. Lumberjacks as a counterexample to the idea of a "risk premium" They take lots of risks and don't get paid well for it. 3. Cell size and scale This is a visualization you won't want to miss. 4. Three guys named Matt 5. The political philosophy of the private eye A genre that was rendered obsolete in 1961 (but nobody realizes it). -
The two blogs
6 Nov 2009 | 6:44 amTyler Cowen writes: Andrew Gelman will have a second blog. I don't yet understand the forthcoming principle of individuation across the two blogs. I have to admit I haven't thought this through at any level of detail. When the Science Blogs people asked me if I wanted to blog there, I canvassed my co-bloggers, and most of them thought it was a good idea. The Science Blog would reach a new audience, but I didn't want to abandon the blog here. (This blog is an extension of my research persona, which seems about right to me. On Science Blogs, I'm just one of seventy bloggers, which is fine--I… -
Slipperiness of the term "risk aversion"
5 Nov 2009 | 11:57 amI don't like the term "risk aversion" (see here and here). For a long time I've been meaning to write something longer and more systematic on the topic, but every once in awhile I see something that reminds me of the slipperiness of the topic. For example, Alex Tabarrok asks, "Why are Americans more risk averse about medicine than Europeans?" It's a good question, and it's something I've wondered about myself. But I don't know what he's talking about when he says that "the stereotype is that Americans are more risk-loving" than Europeans. Huh? Americans are notorious for worrying about risks,… -
Computing power, n, and multilevel models
5 Nov 2009 | 6:37 amAsa writes: I took your class on multilevel models last year and have since found myself applying them in several different contexts. I am about to start a new project with a dataset in the tens of millions of observations. In my experience, multilevel modeling has been most important when the number of observations in at least one subgroup of interest is small. Getting started on this project, I have two questions: 1) Do multilevel models still have the potential to add much accuracy to predictions when n is very large in all subgroups of interest? 2) Do you find SAS, STATA, or R to be more… -
Jewish Marriage Tied to Israel Trip
5 Nov 2009 | 2:06 amAleks sends along this amusing news article by Jennifer Levitz: A new study found that rates of marriage outside the faith were sharply curbed among young Jews who have taken "birthright" trips to Israel . . . Over the past decade, Taglit-Birthright Israel, a U.S. nonprofit founded by Jewish businessmen, has sponsored nearly 225,000 young Jewish adults for free 10-day educational tours of Israel as a way to foster Jewish identity. . . . A study [by Brandeis University researcher Leonard Saxe and partly funded by Taglit-Birthright] showed that 72% of those who went on the trip married within…
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Marginal Revolution
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Assorted links
7 Nov 2009 | 4:47 am1. The vote to defund political science: how it went.2. Jason Kottke doesn't read books anymore.3. "Food rewards obsessiveness," the best eater in the United States. The full article is gated (the link offers only an excerpt), so buy the 9 November New Yorker. I don't usually link to gated material of this kind, but this was one of the three or four best magazine pieces I'll read in a year.4. Why Buffett bought that railroad.5. Weird stuff McDonald's sells around the world. In the Philippines it is "spaghetti soaked in sugar."6. -
Why it's harder than before to get into your favorite college
7 Nov 2009 | 4:30 amCaroline Hoxby reports:This paper shows that although the top ten percent of colleges are substantially more selective now than they were 5 decades ago, most colleges are not more selective. Moreover, at least 50 percent of colleges are substantially less selective now than they were then. This paper demonstrates that competition for space--the number of students who wish to attend college growing faster than the number of spaces available--does not explain changing selectivity. The explanation is, instead, that the elasticity of a student's preference for a college with respect to its… -
How to run a successful blog
6 Nov 2009 | 10:57 am...They understand that public opinion matters...they understand that it’s a little harder to criticize someone after you’ve met him and he’s given you free cookies...they couldn't possibly have expected to change anybody’s mind, they understand that it’s better to talk to your critics than to avoid them. Waldman talks about some of the techniques used to make the attendees [readers] feel like they were being treated as special guests. Whoops! That's not advice for running a successful blog. Those are James Kwak's comments on how Treasury tries to trick… -
Assorted links
6 Nov 2009 | 7:49 am1. More lessons from the VHA. 2. Net use does not lead to social isolation. 3. IQ predicts portfolio diversification, at least in Finland. 4. Finish time variation in marathons, across time and across Boston and New York. 5. What your phone might do for you two years from now. 6. John Cassidy on the health care bill. -
Talks at TEDx Midatlantic
6 Nov 2009 | 4:05 amThe talks are here, including one by yours truly on the limits of story-based thinking. I was happy to meet Sonja Sohn. One thing I learned from this experience is that if you follow professional entertainers, the "status rub-off" effect dominates the "suffer by comparison" effect. The audience is primed to be sympathetic to you and many of them do not actually know which of the speakers are truly the high status people. Perhaps the talk has to meet some minimum quality standard, or involve some minimum level of self-confidence, for the rub-off…
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footnoted.org
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CBS’ last CFO still hanging around…
6 Nov 2009 | 7:56 amBack in June, CBS (CBS) announced that its CFO, Fred Reynolds, planned to retire in mid-August. That same day, the company announced that Joseph Ianniello would be taking over as CFO on July 20.Now Ianniello was no novice. He had been with CBS or Viacom (VIA) for the past 12 years and had been deputy CFO since November 2008. Indeed, in the press release that announced Ianniello’s promotion, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said this:”“He’s been involved in every major financial decision of this company, from the time that the new CBS Corporation was formed to the present day, and he’s… -
J. Crew Designer Benefits from “Obama Bump”
5 Nov 2009 | 7:18 amAfter the public learned that the Obama girls wore J. Crew-designed coats for their father’s inauguration, the company enjoyed what became known as “the Obama bump.” Sales soared – especially after the company crowed about its connection to the First Family – and online traffic spiked so high that the company’s web site crashed.The “Obama bump” no doubt contributed to J. Crew’s (JCG) decision to reward Jenna Lyons Mazeau (who’s often referred to as “Jenna Lyons”), the company’s Creative Director for its women’s clothing.In an 8-K and Special Bonus Agreement… -
On Black and Decker’s CEO and unicorns…
4 Nov 2009 | 8:02 amThough we often read filings several times just to make sure we’re reading (and interpreting them) correctly, we honestly did a double-take when we read the 8-K that Black and Decker (BDK) filed late yesterday. The filing was a follow-up to the $4.5 billion deal that was announced on Monday. The part that caught our attention was the agreement with Chairman and CEO Nolan D. Archibald. Here’s a snip:Under the terms of his amended and restated employment agreement with Black & Decker, Mr. Archibald would be entitled to certain benefits upon the termination of this employment by… -
SEC Madoff exhibit list now available…
3 Nov 2009 | 11:22 amYesterday, we poked at the SEC for not just dumping 6,100 pages of material on a Friday afternoon, but for failing to provide a road-map to the 536 exhibits. In separate conversations with me, a representative of the SEC and SEC Inspector General David Kotz each suggested that it was the other’s fault for not making this information available.Whose fault was it? Well the Inspector General’s office has just made the list of the 536 exhibits available on their site, while the SEC’s list remains uncategorized. You can see the full list here:Public Exhibit List If only this had… -
Diedrich’s odd disclosure…
3 Nov 2009 | 8:01 amLate yesterday, Peet’s Coffee & Tea (PEET), my personal favorite when it comes to caffeine delivery devices, announced that it was buying Diedrich’s Coffee (DDRX) for $213 million.Coincidentally, Diedrich’s filed what’s likely to be its last 10-Q yesterday. But what’s surprising was the very first exhibit in the 10-Q: an agreement with CFO Sean McCarthy. Now, McCarthy was named CFO back in January 2006. But the agreement was dated May 1, 2008 and was filed yesterday — roughly 17 months after it went into effect.We don’t mean to be sticklers here,…
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FlowingData
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7 Visualization Groups On Flickr to Find Inspiration
5 Nov 2009 | 11:01 pmI've always thought of Flickr as a place where I can share my photos with friends and family; however, I'm starting to see there's a whole lot more than that. It's a great place to find inspiration for infographics and visualizations or to just browse the giganto collection of work from others. Here are some awesome data-related Flickr groups that are worth a look. Info Graphics "Charts, graphs, facts - anything that is about information or visualising information" [link] Guardian Datastore "Take our data, mash it up and create great visualisations with it - then post them on here" [link]… -
Make Thematic Maps With Cartographer.js
4 Nov 2009 | 11:43 pmLike it or not, Google Maps mashups continue to be a Web favorite. It's just so easy to use. Stick a few lines of javascript in your web page, and voila, you've got an interactive map. That's for point-wise data though. It gets a little trickier beyond "you are here" pointers. Cartographic.js, in its first release, aims to make thematic mapping with the Google Maps API easier. The above is a bubble map for Twitter user locations, and below is a simple choropleth demo. There's nothing earth-shattering here, but the above only required a couple lines of code, which I think is something every… -
Unemployment, 2004 to Present – The Country is Bleeding
3 Nov 2009 | 11:32 pmThe Bureau of Labor Statistics released the most recent unemployment numbers last week. Things aren't looking good for the unemployed, I'm afraid. I showed my younger sister the maps. Her response: "It looks like the country is bleeding." While the recession is "over" the unemployment rate rose to 9.8% in September from 9.7% in August. That's 214,000 more people who are jobless in the United States. The last time unemployment was this high was back in June 1983 when it was 10.1%. Check out the more detailed view here: From 2004 to 2007, unemployment was actually decreasing, but things went… -
Fictional Character Interactions Over Time
2 Nov 2009 | 11:54 pmPopular nerd comic xckd takes a look at character interactions over time in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, 12 Angry Men, and Primer. The horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis indicates which characters are together at any given time. The result is something that looks like famed Minard graphic. Well, sort of. And of course it's all hand drawn, which adds to the nerd-ish charm. [Thanks, Wesley & Dave & Everyone else] FlowingPrints - Get cool data prints, spread awareness, and support data. -
FlowingData is On CNN – A new way of looking at the world
2 Nov 2009 | 10:24 amJust a quick note. There's an article up on CNN right now by Manav Tanneeru about the growth of visualization: A new way of looking at the world. There's a blurb in there about your.flowingdata, but mainly read it for the other sources. There's some nice tidbits from Martin Wattenberg, Ben Fry, et. al. Thanks, Manav for including me. FlowingPrints - Get cool data prints, spread awareness, and support data.
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Wired Top Stories
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The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model
6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pmA fiendishly clever startup knows what we are Googling &mdash! then churns out thousands of cheap videos and articles to meet our every whim and wish. -
2010 Superfly Will Make You Say 'My Oh My'
6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pmConventional wisdom says a mountain bike with 29-inch tires is an ungainly ride. Conventional wisdom can suck it. Meet the 2010 Superfly. -
After 5 Years on Web, Firefox Preps for Next Round
6 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pmThe Firefox web browser celebrates the fifth anniversary of its debut Monday. With IE humbled and Chrome on the rise, the next five years are going to look totally different than the first five. -
Replace Your MacBook's Hard Drive Yourself
6 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pmIt may not seem like it, but your MacBook hard drive is no different than that of any other laptop. Replacing it without Apple's help might void your warranty, but it sure is a lot cheaper if you do it yourself. -
National Data Breach Laws Move Through Senate
6 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pmThe nation is closer to a national data-breach notification law and setting security standards for handling sensitive data. After legislation aimed at the problem languishes on Capitol Hill for four years, two bills make it out of Senate committee.
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Holy Kaw!
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25 wackiest NYC Marathon costumes
6 Nov 2009 | 11:01 pmRunning 26.2 miles while sucking down polluted urban air wasn’t quite difficult enough for some jogging fools competing in the New York City Marathon last week, so a handful of creative folks decided to extend Halloween an extra day and run the race while donning costumes. Photogs spotted clowns, super heroes, Uncle Sam, nuns and even an apparently alive Michael Jackson. Lucky for you, you didn’t have to travel all the way to the Big Apple to check out all the shenanigans because Buzz Feed has collected images of the 25 best costumes at the 2009 NYC marathon. Enjoy (and feel lazy… -
Tech that refuses to die
6 Nov 2009 | 10:26 pmCall them the Jason Vorhees of technology -- gadgets that just won’t die, no matter how many times you kill ‘em with a chain saw. Tech moves fast, -- remember, like 10 years ago you probably had a pager in your pocket -- but why is it that some technology seems completely resistant to kicking the bucket? From cables that remain tangled under your desk to the hipsters’ audio format of choice, vinyl, CNet highlights eight tech items that refuse to meet the Grim Reaper. Even Twitter makes a surprise entry on the list. Check out the full list, including why the sans business… -
How to change
6 Nov 2009 | 10:09 pmWant to change? Then, according to Peter Bregman, just change one thing. In his case he stopped consuming large amounts of sugar. For me, it would be carbohydrates. But the article isn’t really about dieting—it’s about how to become a better business person, so read it and reap. More Lifehacks. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Guess who is a Glamour woman of the year?
6 Nov 2009 | 9:56 pmIt’s going to be a long time before I post about anything in Glamour, but this is a special occasion. The magazine named Google’s Marissa Mayer as one of the women of the year for 2009. Joining her is “refuse to use Bluetooth” Maria Shriver and others. The only reason Matt Cutts didn’t win is that he’s a man—despite the concerted efforts of SEO consultants around the world to game the voting.. More, albeit less glamourous, news about Google. Permalink | Leave a comment » -
Generation Y flocking to Twitter
6 Nov 2009 | 9:37 pmIn 18 short months, Facebook has aged seven years. No, Zucks and crew didn’t spend too much time crisping at the tanning salon; new data from Pew says the median age for Facebook users has gone from 26 in May 2008 to 33 today. So, where have the late 20-somethings started hanging out online? Look around and you’ll find them tweeting away. In December 2008, only 20 percent of people in the 25-34 age bracket used Twitter, but now 31 percent can be found DMing and @ replying. Twitter now claims the second youngest users with a median age of 31. Only MySpace has a younger fan base at…
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Guy Kawasaki
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The 19 bloggers Inc. thinks you should read
6 Nov 2009 | 6:20 pmInc. named 19 bloggers that you should read. We’ve aggregated them all in one place: Inc19.alltop. -
How to Get Found
4 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pmThe reality is that people and technology is getting better and better a blocking out unwanted interruptions—aka, “marketing.” Brian Halligan is the CEO of HubSpot, and he explains in my post on the American Express Open Forum “how to get found.” It’s all about creating great stuff and letting Google et al do what they do: find great stuff. -
How I tweet
2 Nov 2009 | 8:47 amBy popular demand (and some complaints), I’ve done a FAQ with myself about how I tweet. Hope this helps you use Twitter for your business too. I explain how I use ghostwriters and why I repeat my tweets among other “unusual” practices. -
Current Twitter Demo Script
28 Oct 2009 | 2:26 amThis is the set of links that I used to demo Twitter by going down through this list to show why Twitter is such a valuable marketing tool. Introduction Home page Profile page Monitor Search Guy Kawasaki or Alltop Starbucks VIA introduction Search for “Prius” or “Civic” Sell Dell Outlet Kogi BBQ Support Comcast Cares Engage JetBlue Virgin America Fandango Prospect Camaro Camaro near Palo Alto Advanced searches Surfing or skateboarding (shows how to eliminate extraneous results such as “surfing the web” How I Tweet - Find Alltop MyAlltop helped me find this. -
How to Avoid Twitter Cluelessness
26 Oct 2009 | 4:24 pmOver at the American Express Open Forum blog, I explain how to not look clueless on Twitter. The first five ways are: Don’t tell other people how to tweet. Don’t tell the world that you unfollowed someone. Don’t ask people why they unfollowed you. Don’t constantly tweet mundane updates and babble. Don’t use a small picture for an avatar. To read all ten and why they impugn your intelligence, click here.
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Seth Godin
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Take what you can get (?)
7 Nov 2009 | 3:34 amWhen you're just starting out or when your organization is struggling or when the economy isn't hot, it's very tempting to take what you can get.You just graduated from law school and you have a lot of debt and the best job you can get is doing collections work. Should you take it?Your consulting firm is organized around providing high-value work for large corporations, but the only gigs you can get in the consideration set for are small, struggling companies looking to spend a few hundred dollars a day. Should you take them?The list goes on and on.There are two things worth remembering here:… -
Everyone is clueless
6 Nov 2009 | 2:29 amThe problem with "everyone" is that in order to reach everyone or teach everyone or sell to everyone, you need to so water down what you've got you end up with almost nothing.Everyone doesn't go to the chiropractor, everyone doesn't give to charity, everyone has never been to Starbucks. Everyone, in fact, lives a decade behind the times and needs hundreds of impressions and lots of direct experience before they realize something is going on.You don't want everyone. You want the right someone.Someone who cares about what you do. Someone who will make a contribution that matters. Someone who… -
The unclicking 84%
5 Nov 2009 | 2:36 amMark points us to this great set of stats.Basically, all of the clicks for all the ads online come from only 16% of the surfers, and most of them come from just 4% of all internet users.So, if you optimize your ads for clicks, it means you're ignoring a huge population.If your business is built around the kind of person who clicks, you win. If it isn't, you either need to not buy ads online or buy ads optimized for attention and familiarity, not clicks.Imagine that only left-handed people clicked on ads (it's about the same percent). What are you going to do if you make a product for the… -
When data and decisions collide
4 Nov 2009 | 2:54 amUntil recently, most of the decisions we were called on to make were based on hunches, insight and a little bit of data. Occasionally, a field like direct marketing would develop into something quite data-driven ("I don't care if you like mailer one, Smythe, mailer #2 did three times, better! Number 2 it is.") but not often.It took Ignaz Semmelweis more than twenty years (he died before it happened, actually) to persuade doctors that washing their hands could save the lives of mothers giving birth. He had the data, he had the proof, but that wasn't enough to change minds.Data mining and the… -
Limited edition boxed set available today SOLD OUT!
3 Nov 2009 | 7:41 am[We ended up selling more than three a minute. You guys are so cool. We had a few counter problems, but it didn't effect the number we sold...they're all gone, 800 in total, and I won't be able to sell any more. Thank you for the energy and support!]It seems as though the Apple tablet is unlikely to be ready in time for the holidays... what to get? How about a boxed (a wooden box) set of five of my books? Very limited (only 800 will be sold, ever). Sold at a discount from retail, with cool packaging, assembled by elves, delivered by Martians, blessed by enlightened goats. My goal was to make…
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NYT > Fashion & Style
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Generation B: As Luck Would Have It ...
7 Nov 2009 | 1:07 amAfter surviving a heart attack on the New York subway, Michael Kiernan, 50, is trying to be a better partner to his longtime girlfriend and seize each day a little more. -
Can a Boy Wear a Skirt to School?
6 Nov 2009 | 9:51 pmA growing number of teenagers have been dressing to articulate gender identity and sexual orientation, confounding school officials, whose responses have ranged from indifference to applause to bans. -
Jay-Z, His Bid for King of the Hill
6 Nov 2009 | 8:52 pmThe rap star is shooting not only for popularity with his song “Empire State of Mind,” but also for a symbolic crown: the king of New York music. -
Losing the Limo: New Fashion Dolls
6 Nov 2009 | 8:48 pmMore funky than flashy, a phalanx of doe-eyed fashion dolls are jostling for attention on toy shelves this season. -
Social Q’s: Meet the Parents, Again
6 Nov 2009 | 4:16 pmThis week, answers to readers’ questions about dealing with a boyfriend’s mother, how long to wait to date after a spouse dies and thank-you notes at baby showers.
