Newmark's Door

And Jeff Cornwell at Belmont University thinks they should buzz off.

We now have to introduce failure into our curriculum so our aspiring entrepreneurs have a clue as to what might await them -- they have no experience with failure as children of helicopter parents.

More than you probably want to know about "Evolution's Most Effective Killer: Snake Venom".

As judged by Time magazine. Ten each in the categories "Advice & Facts", "Information & Gossip", "Handy Tools", "Fun & Games", and "Hobbies & Interests".

"In other words, because someone might not follow instructions, the rest of us should be deprived of a feature we might want to use."

Damn, It Feels Good to be a Banker.

About Wharton: "The fact it is attached to the University of Pennsylvania is [its] biggest and most tragic downfall . . . being lumped together with such a big, ugly mass of mediocrity creates insecure, overcompensating alumni."

About Harvard: "It's obvious that the university is trying to sell students on the notion that they could and should be the next Natalie Portman, John Roberts, or a writer for 'The Simpsons.'"

Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid (by the inimitable Denis Leary).

I'm sick of low esteem and fake fat-suit-wearing female talk-show hosts and extreme makeovers and steroid-laden home run hitters and Reese Witherspoon movies and Paris Hilton's himbo boyfriends and celebrity rehab and Dr. Phil.

Nine months ago I asked, "[I]nstead of sending many letters asking me and my wife for donations, wouldn't Duke do better to offer to sell us investment advice or money management services?"

Well, they do.   

As economics predicts, substitutes are, and soon will be, available. Short answer: farm-raised Scottish salmon, wild Atlantic salmon, and arctic char. (The latter, though, isn't as rich in omega-3 fats.)

"A few years back, Leno's curatorial tendencies led him to start jaylenosgarage.com, a General Motors-sponsored site whose videos feature him riffing on car minutiae at a frightening pace. And his keen interest in historic vehicles has led Leno to sponsor a scholarship at McPherson (Kansas) College, which offers a four-year degree in auto restoration." 

Wired magazine: "6 Intelligence Myths Exposed".

Interesting, and I'll have to pay closer attention to the stories Wired runs. This article rejects--with a sneer--evidence that is "correlational, not causal". If all the major media did that, there'd be a whole lot of blank space, particularly on reporting about health.

Reading this Atul Gawande piece (June New Yorker) is a little like rubbernecking a car accident. It's horrifying but you can't take your eyes away.