New York Times to Stop Charging No more will we be faced with the wall of 'Subscription Required.' via NYT

Music and amnesia. Oliver Sacks writes about Clive Wearing. [Via MindHacks.]

The McCollough Effect - seemingly a very long-lasting afterimage effect, although it appears to have a quite different mechanism. more inside

Whatever happened to Baby K?

The role of genetic dialogs in The Sopranos. "There are twenty one explicit references to genetics and DNA in seasons one through six of HBO’s The Sopranos...All of them...remind us of...the dialectic of nature and nurture that animates Tony’s complex struggles, and the nucleus of Tony’s universe: the family."

13 Tricks to Motivate Yourself Go for Five - Start working for five minutes. Often that little push will be enough to get you going. Move Around - Get your body moving as you would if you were extremely motivated to do something. This ‘faking it’ approach to motivation may seem silly or crude, but it works. What voo do you do to get things done so well? via lifehacker

A Real Life Mermaid Double amputee Nadya Vessey is about to become New Zealand's first mermaid. Thanks to the awesome generosity of Weta Workshop. more inside

RIP Robert Jordan Best selling author, mostly known for his Wheel of Time fantasy series.

Blind guy takes out mugger. Trying to steal from geezers is dangerous these days (see here or here). So this guy thought he'd play it safe and assault a blind dude. Are things so vastly messed up in this day and age that a hard working criminal can't even find an easy mark?

New Pong! Control the paddle by tilting your laptop (sorry, mac only). more inside

Ernie Chambers is Suing God The Nebraska Senator is looking for a permanent injunction against God and his followers for making terroristic threats. God did not immediately respond to a non-denominational prayer for comment by [the] reporter.

Ned Kahn combines art and science to create sculptures that harness manifestations of turbulent natural phenomena.

What kids like to do online. more inside

What should be done with Barry's Ball? ... It turns out Mark Ecko bought #756 (for US$752K) and wants your help deciding what to do with it.

Too much internet will K-I-L-L you.

Bathing Beauties has run a design competition to re-imagine the beach hut. Nine winners will be available for hire. (Alas, I don't think the winners are necessarily the best designs, apart from 'Jabba'). more inside

How drug reps operate. "It's my job to figure out what a physician's price is. For some it's dinner at the finest restaurants, for others it's enough convincing data to let them prescribe confidently and for others it's my attention and friendship...but at the most basic level, everything is for sale and everything is an exchange."

If you wouldn’t mind just waiting till my computer warms up, I will tell you when you are going to die.

Very significant or fishy hoax? Man burns sea water at temp of 3000 degrees by using simple radio waves. Humans rejoice at potential new fuel, Spongebob demands unilateral non proliferation agreement.

I own a piece of Uranus. Included in the deed are the full mining rights so I can penetrate deep inside a piece of Uranus.