There is a man on Earth who drives a rover on Mars. And he follows me on Twitter!

Mind = blown.

Via: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/technology/tech-companies-leave-phone-calls-behind.html?_r=3&ref=technology

The companies argue that with millions of users every day, they cannot possibly pick up a phone.

“A lot of these companies don’t have enough employees to talk to,” said Paul Saffo, a longtime technology forecaster in Silicon Valley. Facebook, for example, has just one employee for every 300,000 users. Its online systems process more than two million customer requests a day.

Google, which at 14 years old is a relative ancient in Silicon Valley, is one of the few companies that publishes phone numbers on its Web site. Its phone system sends callers back to the Web no less than 11 times. Its lengthy messages contain basic Internet education in a tone that might be used with an aging relative, explaining, slowly and gently, “There’s nothing Google can do to remove information from Web sites.”

Thanks to Last.FM, I’ve compiled a list of the top artists I listened to in 2012. See my previous list for 2011 right here.

My top artists and musicians of 2012:

1. Mocean Worker (463 plays)
2. Hot Water Music (383 plays)
3. Johnny Cash (373 plays)
4. Imagine Dragons (359 plays)
5. Alt-J (337 plays)
6. Trampled by Turtles (282 plays)
7. The International Noise Conspiracy (268 plays)
8. State Radio (267 plays)
9. Of Monsters and Men (220 plays)
10. Bob Dylan (207 plays)

This story will make my Mom proud.

When Kerry and I were at the palace of Versailles earlier this week (viewing 300+ year old artifacts), we went on a tour of King Louis XVI’s private apartment.

While taking a photo, I backed up into a rope that I suddenly felt go slack. A second later, a gigantic “BANG!!!!!” echoed through the room we were in and the tour guide said “oh dear!” with a hint of panic in her voice. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped for a beat or two as well.

Turns out, I only knocked down a pylon that was supposed to separate a non-public area from a public area.

Good thing, because 20 minutes later, we saw an ugly ornate dresser (that was designed to never open — simply a decoration piece) that sold at an auction for $11 million dollars!

London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Europe, here we come!

Via: http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/10/30/weather-journal-what-made-sandys-flooding-so-bad/

Over its lifespan, Sandy set several important records: just before landfall it was the most intense hurricane (as measured by its minimum central pressure of 940mb) ever recorded north of North Carolina (even including those that never made landfall), its potential wave/storm surge destructiveness (peaking at 5.8 on a 6.0 scale) was ranked by NOAA to be higher than any other hurricane in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico since at least 1969, and it was also at one point the largest hurricane ever recorded (since 1851) as measured by the diameter of its gale force winds (945mi). Though National Weather Service forecasts for Sandy appeared to have been very good, Sandy’s impacts — at least relating to storm surge — came in at the top end of anticipated ranges. It’s quite likely that Sandy’s mix of ingredients maximized damage for New York City in a way that no other hurricane has anywhere in the United States for at least the last 150 years.

Typical Monday.