Yikes, another week past without blogging.  Will you forgive me?  I could tell you I'm feeling a bit down, but that's no excuse; in fact you might argue - convincingly - that I should blog my way out of it.  So be it.  Here goes...

Oh by the way I spent the week in Boston, attending a Personalized Medicine conference in Harvard, and *that* was fun.  Learned a lot and enjoyed Boston, always a great place with some nice memories and doubly nice in the Holiday cold.

Scott "Dilbert" Adams: the waiting room is your doctor.  What part of this future is unlikely in 200 years?  (What part in 20?) 

Wow: Can marketing data predict people's life spans?  "Life insurers are testing an intensely personal new use for the vast dossiers of data being amassed about Americans: predicting people's longevity."  This would not surprise me in the least. 

Cory Doctorow observes this picture would make a great cover for a science fiction novel.  And he's right.  But even better, the picture is *real*; an astronaut on the ISS watching Earth.  How cool is that! 

Where do I sign up?  Scientists propose one-way trips to Mars.  This totally makes sense, the expense of ensuring a safe return makes space travel prohibitively expensive.  Not to mention, if you are not coming back, your attitude about working with your coworkers and making a new life for yourself is going to be quite different.  Sort of like the Wild West 200 years ago :) 

Picture of the week, from Michael Yon: Heavenly Shower.  Awesome. 

From John Gruber: OpenTable from a restaurant's perspective.  I gather it is expensive for them, but I must tell you, as a user I love OpenTable!  Just this week in Boston I used it three times to find great / perfect places to eat. 

Another thing I love / use all the time: Kayak files for $50M IPO.  I wish them well, and use them often. 

Apropos: Frank Quattrone observes It's easier to go public than be public.  Not sure about that; if you're an entrepreneur or investor, it's easier to be public than not to be - and worry about liquidity... 

Ars Technica review Facebook's new messaging system.  Count me among those who have not been affected.  Don't get me wrong, I love FB and visit it daily, but it is not going to replace email and text for me.  Yet anyway. 

And so Apple are now selling Beatles tunes in iTunes.  Not sure this is a world changing event, more like a recognition that a world changing event has already occurred.  I see where next year Apple are projected to become the #1 retailer for music.  Done deal. 

I think this was a bigger deal for Steve Jobs than for me, but hey, he is the guy who made it happen, so he should get to enjoy it!

Dead downwind, faster than the wind.  I don't know how it works either, but it seems to work well.  The physics of this are fascinating... 

An important general principle: the toy will win.  "Toy [noun]: A technological product which is simple and fun to use, and which may be criticized by some people as being weak and not suitable for serious work."  I absolutely believe this. 

Related: iPad may replace computers and textbooks in schools.  Yeah, I can see that.  The computer part, but also the textbook part.  What part of this seems unlikely in 20 years? 

Do you think Steve Jobs saw this coming?  The whole iPod -> iPhone -> iPad thing?  I don't...  I think he believed in the iPod to distribute music, that led him to the iPhone, that led to a new computing paradigm (I don't think Jobs or anyone saw the App Store success coming) and that led to the iPad.  That's what I think anyway :)

A great web-based ebook from the Google Chrome team: 20 things I learned about browsers and the web.  In order to explain things this well, you have to understand them well.  Cool. 

I love this: even if HTML5 doesn't give you much, it's buzzword status can still help your UI.  Basically, HTML5 provides a useful shorthand for "modern web browser". 

From Wired: Wooden bike like riding a perfect piece of furniture.  Hey, that's my next bike!  (Christmas is coming... I've been a good boy, right?) 

ZooBorns of the week: Black and white Jaguar twins! 

Well and so do I feel better?  Um, yeah.  Not great, but better.  Onward!