A very clever approach by The Economist for displaying creative people’s work space, the objects in that space, and why they’re there. There is some fascinating stuff here.

I particularly love Mercedes Bunz’s quote about her laptop:

The laptop is a part of me. Everywhere you travel, everywhere you go, it’s part of you. It’s a very strange object because a laptop is something where your private life and your friends meet your working life and stress. It’s all on one object now, and it’s the centre of my little world. I’m a writer, that’s what I do most. My ideas happen while I’m typing.

(Via Ryan Gonzalez)

Lukas Mathis’ article on modes versus quasimodes yesterday reminds me of linear beats versus layered beats on the drums. Linear beats are when you only play one sound surface on the drums at a time. Versus a layered beat, where you play multiple sound surfaces at the same time.

(If the lesson video linked to above isn’t that exciting, and you just want to see some crazy drumming, check out these clips of Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater. Mike often played face-melting linear drum beats and fills.)

Speaking of birthdays, this was one of the first gifts I got today. It’s a very fun and well-made board game for the whole family. And if you too are in the giving spirit, pick up Ticket to Ride via this Amazon affiliate link, and send little extra birthday cash my way.

Car and Driver Magazine finds out what we all could have guessed anyway. (Via @ianbarker)

The best hamburger joint in Kansas City. Everything — including the ketchup and mustard — is homemade. (No relation.)

Alex Payne’s argument for why the catch-all, information organizing apps such as Yojimbo and Evernote are not worth their trouble — let alone their cost for a license.

A timely article. I have been storing and organizing my files and data via file structure for years and years and years, but just recently have been considering switching to a dedicated info organization app. I tried Yojimbo for a few weeks last year and it never caught on for me. Over the weekend I gave Evernote a spin, and though it’s neat that data can sync between Mac, Web and iPhone it seems too messy. Like I have to work with the app, instead of the other way around.

They say a good filing system means you can find anything you’re looking for in under 60 seconds. My issue wasn’t that my Mac’s folder structure is messy, but rather to see if a data storage app could do a better job of organizing my files and info than the system (and habit) I’ve crafted over the past two decades. I’ve decided – at least for now – that the answer is, no.

Sweet Mercy:

8.3-litre Viper motor, 48RE auto tranny, Rubicon Rock Trac transfer case, Currie Iron Jock Dana 60 axles, 5.38 gears, ARB rear and Detroit locker front, PSC power steering assist, high steer, heavy duty tie rods, Huge SRT10 brakes front and rear, American Racing Cartel wheels 20×8.5, 39.5 Swamper Irok tires

UPDATE: It looks like someone from AutoBlog saw it on eBay and posted about it first. Then someone from TechBlog saw the AutoBlog post and so they posted about it themselve. Then someone else from 2dayBlog saw it on TechBlog and posted it.

My point being: The auction is over (it was last Fall) and the most pictures are on AutoBlog, so I’ve changed the top link.

Michael Mistretta:

I cleaned out my RSS feeds. I cleaned out my twitter. I cleaned out my blog. I was tired of being bombarded by all the senseless information of the Internet. I unsubscribed from the hundreds of news blogs, and subscribed to blogs whose content I enjoyed reading. I cleaned out my digital life, and now I have a sense of freedom that I’ve never felt before. It felt good.

This is the kind of thing I think we all want to see: Less cranking out of vanilla weblog-rhetoric and more genuine content.