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Fools of the Year

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Much respect to The Macalope for a great list. I might have given Eric Schmidt two or three spots though.

The view from on top of the Great Pyramid

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Cheops raskalov_vit:

I want to tell you a little story about how we climbed to the top of one of the seven wonders of the world.We had to hide from the guards at the Tomb near the foot of Cheops. Climb the stone slabs on the most ancient structure of humanity to the sounds of prayers. It was one of the most intense nights of my life. Many thanks to good friends who accompanied and supported the idea.

While I can’t condone the climbing of these beautiful and ancient structures, the view from the top must be magnificent. I’ve been to the Great Pyramids at Cheops and some things are striking – how massive they are and how close the city of Cairo actually is, for example.

EZ-PR

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Thanks to EZ-PR for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week.

Want great press for your startup, app or company? EZPR specializes in getting great stories written about what you’re working on. Call 646-569-9027 or email Ed Zitron to get started.

Facebook phone

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It seems clear by the invite that their entering the mobile space in one way or another.

Lazaridis leaves Blackberry

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Mike Lazaridis is leaving Blackberry to focus his efforts on an investment fund focusing on “quantum information science.”

Amplified: Fully Bearded Child

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Jim and Dan talk about Apple’s broken promise (iCloud), Google Reader, Fever, NetNewsWire, Black Pixel, Newsfire, iTunes Purchase fraud, WifiSLAM, the value of Apple stock, guitars, and more.

Sponsored by Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME3 for 30% off), and Shopify, and Harvest (use code 5BY5 for 50% off).

Úll Conference

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This is a great conference with one of the best speaker line-ups I’ve seen. Don Melton, Matt Gemmell, Matthew Panzarino and many others, including me, will be there. Go sign-up and we’ll see you there.

Bend over to get a refund

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“I went into my local store to return my Astro pants and Invert crops, both purchased this month. I was asked to BEND OVER in order to determine sheerness. The sales associate then perused my butt in the dim lighting of the change room and deemed them “not sheer”.

Wow Lululemon.

Fever: A personal Google Reader replacement

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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Shaun Inman’s great Fever feed reader. With all the talk about finding a replacement for Google Reader, Fever should be high on your list.

“Please do it in America”

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tokyo-metro-manner-posters

RocketNews24:

Sometimes the hustle and bustle of big city life in Tokyo makes you forget your manners. With most people commuting by train and working very long hours, sometimes there’s no time to do things at home. And sometimes, you’re just so tired and stressed that you don’t care that you are behaving badly.

As a result, back in 2008, the Tokyo Metro system launched a three-year-long campaign aimed at reminding subway passengers to mind their manners while riding the trains.

Some of these are hilarious.

Forecast

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A new weather service from the people behind the Dark Sky app. This is really nice.

Alien³ by William Gibson

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Are you a fan of the Alien movies? Are you a fan of William Gibson, SciFi author? Then you’re in luck.

Gibson just tweeted a link to a site that has the script of his first ever screenplay – Alien 3. This version was never made but it’s an interesting look into what might have been.

Grab it before some tight-assed Hollywood type makes the script disappear.

“Ungoogleable”

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In December, the council unveiled its customary annual list of new Swedish words. Among the words that Swedes had begun using in 2012 was “ogooglebar” (‘ungoogleable’).

The California-based multinational soon got into a huff, asking the council to amend its definition. But the language experts refused to bow down to the demands, instead choosing a third option – removing the term all together.

Now Google is trying to control the words a country and its population can use? Really Google.

The FedEx Panda Express ships pandas from China to Toronto

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Pandaplane FedEx:

On March 25, 2013 the Toronto Zoo welcomes two giant pandas. This will be the first time since 1985 that pandas have visited the Toronto Zoo.They will spend five years in the Toronto Zoo before residing in the Calgary Zoo for an additional five years.

You really can ship anything via FedEx. And, unlike those of us forced to ride in coach on most airlines, the pandas will have In-flight catering that will include 220lbs of bamboo, 330lbs of bamboo shoots, 110lbs of apples and 33lbs of fresh water.

The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks, the sequel

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henrietta
New York Times:

Last week, scientists sequenced the genome of cells taken without consent from a woman named Henrietta Lacks. She was a black tobacco farmer and mother of five, and though she died in 1951, her cells, code-named HeLa, live on. They were used to help develop our most important vaccines and cancer medications, in vitro fertilization, gene mapping, cloning. Now they may finally help create laws to protect her family’s privacy — and yours.

I read the original book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” (Amazon referral) and it tells a fascinating story of medicine and ethics.

BBC Radio 4 presents Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere”

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Neverwhere BBC Radio 4:

Every Friday we bring you a new drama from Radio 4 or Radio 3. This week begins Neil Gaiman’s classic, “Neverwhere”, voiced by X-Men’s James McAvoy, Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer and soon to be Star Trek bad guy and present BBC Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch.

The first episode is available for download from the iTunes Store and other episodes are streamed from the BBC’s web site.