An excellent mixture of photography, science and mythology to explain the inner workings of Mavericks, one of the world’s most powerful big wave breaks.

Hat tip: Casey Maloney

The events of World War II, tweeted in realtime.

The Second World War, as it happened on these dates and times, 72 years ago. The year is 1939, times are local.

So even if you live a fairly active lifestyle, those long blocks of time sitting in front of a computer, watching TV or even driving your car are terribly unhealthy.

Men who spent more than 23 hours a week watching TV and sitting in their cars (as passengers or as drivers) had a 64 percent greater chance of dying from heart disease than those who sat for 11 hours a week or less. What was unexpected was that many of the men who sat long hours and developed heart problems also exercised. Quite a few of them said they did so regularly and led active lifestyles. The men worked out, then sat in cars and in front of televisions for hours, and their risk of heart disease soared, despite the exercise. Their workouts did not counteract the ill effects of sitting.

What’s the point then? I’m going to pick up a box of Twinkies, a 48 pack of Bud Light and just rot on the couch with my favorite daytime TV talk show hosts. If I’m going to go, I want to go comfortably.

I’ve only played a handful of Flash games in my life, but Ragdoll Cannon is one of those that I’ll happily add to the short list. This game gets addicting fast.

Cageflix is a script that adds every Nicholas Cage movie to your Netfilx queue with a single click. You have been warned.

I’m always been fascinated with the art of the cocktail. I’m not talking about the screwdrivers you throw together with a cheap bottle of Vons brand vodka, but a real mixed drink that takes equal parts finesse as it does whiskey.

American Drink looks to be shaping up into a fine website dedicated to all things alcohol, but not for the simple goal of getting drunk, but to create something delicious in the process. It’s like cooking, fine arts and tipsiness all rolled into one chilled package.

From their first post’s manifesto:

We’ve become spoiled and lazy here in the States. Instead of crafting cocktails from scratch, many turn to pre-made mixers full of food coloring and high-fructose corn syrup to help mask the taste of vodka—OF VODKA, a drink that’s rated based on the lack of taste. Meanwhile, the vodka industry pumps out flavored varieties to appeal to the juvenile tastes of a nation that is number one in the world in soft drink consumption.

America, we can do better.

Amen, brother.

Adobe’s Lightroom 3 is out of beta and ready for download. There’s a bevy of new features in this release including much improved noise reduction, lens correction and Flickr integration.

Trent Reznor hung up his hat with Nine Inch Nails for an indefinite amount of time but that doesn’t mean he’s done with music in general.

His new group, How to Destroy Angels, just released an EP free to download from the band’s website. I’m spinning it right now and it’s like listening to NIN with a female vocalist (Reznor’s wife, Mariqueen Maandig) — that’s really not a bad thing.

Shit My Kids Ruined will be one of those blogs I revisit from time to time in order to keep any rogue paternal longings in check.

30 years ago, Sony gave us the temperamental 3.5″ floppy disk. Today they’re announcing that production will cease in March 2011. Like everyone else who read this, I was more surprised to hear floppies are still being made.

A sample infographic from Esquire’s Guide to Shopping, aimed at high end men’s fashion. We’re not talking about tight, designer jeans and popped collars; more along the lines of ties, dress shirts, sport coats and shoes. As a man who has zero experience picking out suits, this was interesting to read.

The Nepalese government is sending twenty Sherpa mountaineers up Mount Everest next month to clean up discarded oxygen bottles and other trash strewn about the mountain. They will also be removing the bodies of dead climbers in the “death zone”, an area which has claimed over 300 lives since 1953.

Damn, I wish I would have known of this list last week when I went out to San Francisco. That city is overflowing with so much unique, delicious food I’d be broke and fat if I resided there.

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to spark a pointless political argument with this commentary.

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the national oceanographic and atmospheric administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the national aeronautics and space administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US department of agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the food and drug administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the national institute of standards and technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my national highway traffic safety administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the environmental protection agency, using legal tender issed by the federal reserve bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US postal service and drop the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the department of labor and the occupational safety and health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to ny house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department.

I then log on to the internet which was developed by the defense advanced research projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and fox news forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.

The New York Times on the growing trend of people shooting and sharing photos of the meals they eat. It’s not just for food critics or haughty foodies—everyday people are making a habit of snapping quick pics before they chow down.

Keeping a photographic food diary is a growing phenomenon with everything from truffle-stuffed suckling pig to humble bowls of Cheerios being captured and offered for public consumption. Indeed, the number of pictures tagged “food” on the photo-sharing Web site Flickr has increased tenfold to more than six million in the last two years, according to Tara Kirchner, the company’s marketing director. One of the largest and most active Flickr groups, called “I Ate This,” includes more than 300,000 photos that have been contributed by more than 19,000 members. There would be more, but members are limited to 50 photos a month. The same phenomena can be found on other sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Foodspotting, Shutterfly, Chowhound and FoodCandy.