Import Genius

I've had to set the blog aside for the last few weeks to work on my thesis, and all signs point to another month or two of intense academic discomfort before I get it all polished off and ready to sit, unopened, on a bookshelf for the next 50-100 years. However, I'll still post the occasional diversion on here when I find interesting stuff.

Example: Import Genius. This website (featured on the Freakonomics blog a few days ago) makes use of the public nature of customs reporting forms (and the awesome power of freedom of information requests) to publish a constant, real-time report on the contents of every single container arriving in the United States. The ticker (at the bottom of the page) is endlessly fascinating. 22,000 USB keys, 1000 bottles of sodium stannate, 128 televisions, 2600 "elegant wall clocks". The sheer volume of stuff constantly streaming across the world's oceans is pretty mind-blowing.

Ice on Mars

This is pretty cool. NASA, if you're reading this, I can clear my schedule and be ready for astronaut training as early as next Wednesday.