Monday Links from the Premier Inn vol. CLXXXIV

[NickFitz]

Eggshellent stuff yet again.

Loved the DMV photo thing.

Aye. I've only gone through two, because I passed my test when I was 39, but that ten-year-apart-mugshot made me reflect on temps perdu, as Proust put it

You mean it is written by cretins?

A rather convincing satire on cretins

Just in! Shaving rash thread on CUK, so the perfect opportunity to add your views.

And now it's turned to ageing; and so we come full circle

[mudskipper]

You mean it is written by cretins?

Just in! Shaving rash thread on CUK, so the perfect opportunity to add your views.

[northernladuk]

[*]The Comment Section for Every Article Ever Written About Intimate Grooming - Eerily similar to many threads in General

You mean it is written by cretins?

[NickFitz]

Rather hectic day today; once again, lunchtime lasted no time. But finally, here's some time-wasting opportunities:

• How did I end up growing old? - "Today I have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get my driver’s licence renewed. My current licence photo is 10 years old, so old that the carefree woman in the picture always takes me by surprise. Her hair looks unnaturally shiny. Her smile says, ‘I have nowhere in particular to be. Let’s go grab a cocktail!’ Today I have to say goodbye to that lighthearted girl, and welcome her older, more harried replacement." Heather Havrilesky reflects on the sometimes arduous business of ageing.
  
  
• Horticultural Hate: The Mystery of the Forest Swastikas - "Over 20 years ago, a landscaper in eastern Germany discovered a formation of trees in a forest in the shape of a swastika. Since then, a number of other forest swastikas have been found in Germany and beyond, but the mystery of their origins persist."
  
  
• How NASA steers the International Space Station around space junk - "Orbiting about 250 miles (400-ish km) above our heads is one of the most complex and expensive engineering projects that the human race has ever put together: the International Space Station (ISS). The station masses around 450 tons (400 metric tons) and is a bit larger than an American football field... How does one move 400 tons of fragile space station when there's an asteroid or something bearing down on it?" A look at the work of the Trajectory Operations Officer.
  
  
• The Comment Section for Every Article Ever Written About Intimate Grooming - Eerily similar to many threads in General
  
  
• Salinger, the Swamis, and the Secrets - "New letters shed light on J.D. Salinger’s spiritual life—and reinforce the need for his estate to come clean about what, if any, works remain locked in the vault." Interesting look at J. D. Salinger's long involvement with the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Society in New York.
  
  
• How to Avoid Work: A 1949 Guide to Doing What You Love - "In 1949, career counselor William J. Reilly penned How To Avoid Work — a short guide to finding your purpose and doing what you love. Despite the occasional vintage self-helpism of the tone, the book is remarkable for many reasons — written at the dawn of the American corporate era and the golden age of the housewife, it not only encouraged people of all ages to pursue their passions over conventional, safe occupations, but it also spoke to both men and women with equal regard." Plan B FTW!
  
  
• Revising your writing again? Blame the Modernists - "It’s easy to assume that history’s greatest authors have been history’s greatest revisers. But that wasn’t always how it worked. Until about a century ago, according to various biographers and critics, literature proceeded through handwritten manuscripts that underwent mostly small-scale revisions." Craig Fehrman explains who the now-common practice of revising texts is a comparatively modern invention, brought about by new technology and changing attitudes to creative writing.
  
  
• 1,001 Droll Pranks for Rich Boys - "Donate a hospital wing in another fellow’s name, but change his middle name to Dingus. His family will be forever shamed by the Dingus Wing."
  
  
• Immersion: a people-centric view of your email life - "Immersion is an invitation to dive into the history of your email life in a platform that offers you the safety of knowing that you can always delete your data." This MIT project reveals just how much can be determined from your email metadata - the stuff NSA says you don't need to worry about them collecting...
  
  
• These Soviet anti-alcohol posters offer a lurid view of communist history - "What a shame! He got drunk, swore, smashed a tree and now he's ashamed to look people in the face"
  
  
  

Happy invoicing!