all our lonely kicks are getting harder to find

First off, in case you missed it, my last RL update is here in case you're curious as to how I'm doing. ^_^;

Also, one of my cousins recently opened up a jewelry shop on Etsy! I think some of you on my f-list would be interested, so if you'd like to support her (which would be awesome! :D) or just see the kind of work she's doing, feel free to check out her store. ;-)

Because I haven't done a linkdump in a while, it's another REALLY REALLY long one, so it's under a cut. Obviously I don't expect you to read all of it -- or any of it, for that matter -- but I've bolded the ones I recommend the most for your convenience. Enjoy!

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--Scientists Uncover Invisible Motion Using Video
--How we know that this is a piece of fossilized lightning
--Brain-to-brain interfaces have arrived, and they are absolutely mindblowing
--How Capitalism Creates the Welfare State
--11 Emerging Scientific Fields That Everyone Should Know About
--The White House, Totally Gutted
--The Suit Won't Save You: Four Ways Space Can Kill You Dead
--How the FBI Helps Terrorists Succeed  (well, not really -- more like how the FBI uses informants on and then arrests "terrorists" who otherwise wouldn't have had the means or willpower to carry out an attack)
--What is "space roar"?
--How We All Became Pollyannas (and Why We Should Be Glad About It)
--The New Westphalian Web  (on the future politics of the Internet)
--How human language could have evolved from birdsong
--Un-Fair Campaign sparks discussion on white privilege
--1 Kitty, 2 Empires, 2,000 Years: World History Told Through a Brick
--"Present-day American culture gives a lot of voice to anger and outrage, all the while being afraid of it."
--#Oscars2013 - Why 'Wreck-It Ralph' is Even More Brave Than 'Brave'
--I Wish My Mother Had Aborted Me  (no, it's not what you think)
--38 Maps You Never Knew You Needed

We got a lot more snow around here than we thought we were going to get -- about 3 ft/1m of snow, to be exact. Which meant we were snowed in pretty much all day yesterday, and things aren't much better today since all 15 of the town's snowplows just had to get stuck. :P I just feel really bad for everyone who has to break their backs get rid of all the snow from the roads, driveways, parking lots, etc. -- I'm kinda glad I didn't have to do any of that, but I'm also a little guilty about it at the same time. :/ At least we didn't lose power or cable this time around, which helped things a lot.

So in lieu of an update in which Interesting Things™ have Happened™ -- another one of these posts. I'm glad many of you are liking them, though I worry if some of you are getting a bit tired of these by now. ^_^;

--How the Streetlight Effect keeps scientists in the dark
--Political failure modes and the beige dictatorship  (an attempt to explain general malaise, distrust, and cynicism in today's global politics -- lots of attempts toward a kind of political theory are used, and the comments actually do a good job of furthering the discussion)
--Why you're probably not as rational as you think you are -- and what you can do about it
--The Great Filter theory suggests humans have already conquered the threat of extinction
--Why do mirrors reverse left and right, but not top and bottom?
--Why Star Trek phasers don't exist yet  (a.k.a. "If you're wondering why we don't have cool things like jetpacks and laser weapons yet, there are very very good reasons why")
--Could an Explosion Really Knock You Over Like in the Movies?
--How NASA Prevents a Space Plague Outbreak
--University of British Columbia gives all female tenure-stream faculty a 2% raise
--Why science and technology need the social sciences and humanities
--Proving and Quantifying Sexism
--The Study That Could Upend Everything We Thought We Knew About Declining Urban Crime
--Visualizing How Poorly Amtrak's Route Network Serves Most of the U.S.
--And Now Let Us Praise, and Consider the Absurd Luck of, Famous Men  (on how much more "success" hinges on sheer chance than anyone could possibly dream of)
--First ever: UK scientists use 3D printer to print human stem cells
--Revolutionary grilled cheese sandwich replaces bread with more cheese  (at first I was like OMG MUST HAVE, but now I'm not so sure D:)