I spent the afternoon working on spreadsheets in a bar.  It was so cool, at first there was nobody, and then gradually people showed up, and then more people, and finally there was a point where everyone was there and it was like, wow, who's that nerd with the laptop?

So, that icebreaker sent to rescue the stuck icebreaker filled with climate scientists?  Stuck.  I know weather isn't climate, but still...

Saw American Hustle tonight.  Meh.  Kind of a waste of all those great actors ... I feel like it could have been better.  It's such an interesting story, too... 

Truth is stranger than Onion: Giant Rubber Ducky Bursts Before a Crowd in Taiwan.  Let's hope it gets repaired and reinflated soon! 

This is too bad: Santiago Calatrava to Face Legal Action as Valencia's "White Elephant" Opera House Falls Apart.  Such a beautiful building, too, but I guess the beauty was only skin deep. 

From the inimitable esr: The lost art of C structure packing.  Ah, yes, I remember DSECTs and XLs too... :)( 

Excellent: Massive 100,000-Piece K’Nex Ball Machine at The Works Museum in Minnesota.  Some people have too much time on their hands, and I'm so glad they do. 

In the same vein: Apple Engineer Uses LEGO Bricks to Build Machine That Writes Messages and Draws Pictures!  It's amazing what people do with lego... 

So, what can you get these days for $51B?  (Yeah, that's a B)  How about the Sochi winter Olympics?  Seriously, does anyone truly believe these events pay for themselves? 

Hehe: New Years' resolutions of an anteater.  "That’s right, you guessed it, I’m gonna eat a shit ton more ants."