Jul 17 2012
Tuesday News: EBook gifting in the form of a gift card; Amazon seeks to expand same day delivery; Male DNA is killing men
Photo: Andy Collett / SWNS.com
Farmer creates heart-shaped meadow in memory of wife – “Dedicated Winston Howes, 70, spent a week planting each oak sapling after his wife of 33 years Janet died suddenly 17 years ago. He laid out the fledgling trees in a six-acre field but left a perfect heart shape in the middle – with the point facing in the direction of her childhood home.” Telegraph
Livrada Announces National Launch of New Innovative e-Book Gifting Solution – “Starting Sunday (July 15th), Livrada e-book gift cards featuring such best-selling novels as “Fifty Shades of Grey”, “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”, “Gone Girl” and “State of Wonder,” published by Random House, Inc. and HarperCollins Publishers will be available for purchase in all 1,771 Target stores nationwide. …. Each card is associated with a specific book title and designed to be visually appealing, featuring the book’s original cover art and description. Livrada has designed a seamless redemption experience; gift recipients simply visit http://www.livrada.com to redeem their PIN code, which allows them to download an e-book directly onto their Kindle or NOOK e-reader.” SF Gate
Symtio was in the business of selling digital books via physical cards. Symtio who, right?
Amazon same-day delivery: How the e-commerce giant will destroy local retail. – Slate Magazine – “But Amazon isn’t simply opening up a lot of new shipping centers. It’s also investing in making those centers much more efficient. Earlier this year, it purchased Kiva Systems, a company that makes cute, amazingly productive “picking robots” that improve shipping times while reducing errors. Another effort will allow the company to get stuff to you even faster. In Seattle, New York, and the United Kingdom, the firm has set up automated “lockers” in drug stores and convenience stores. If you order something from Amazon and you work near one of these lockers, the company will offer to drop off your item there.” Slate
I admit I would love to order something from Amazon and have it delivered the same day.
Are Men Going Extinct? I Fucking Hope Not! – “If you’re not turned off by SCIENCE, this actually-pretty-accessible-and-conversational Slate piece explains how men’s XY chromosomal structure is making their DNA shittier and shittier with each generation. Basically (please now enjoy my pseudo-scientific floundering—I did get As in chemistry AND physics, BTW!), certain palindromic DNA strands, like CTAGCTAG and GATCGATC, are bad (bad!!!), because they get all kinked up and make it impossible for DNA to replicate (cell death! Bad!!!). But smart little DNA strands do this thing called “crossing over,” where the two chromosomes tenderly hug and trade their troublesome bits for the troublesome bits on their neighboring chromosome. Then, no more palindromes, and everyone’s healthy! Oh, except for dudes.” Jezebel
National Endowment for the Arts announces new Big Read grants – latimes.com – “On Tuesday, the National Endowment for the Arts announced its 2012-13 Big Read grants totaling $1 million. The Big Read supports community-based reading of a single book. It provides specially produced supplemental materials including CDs, robust historical context, teachers guides and discussion questions. And, of course, funding.” LA Times Blog
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Jul 17, 2012 @ 08:24:35
Um… that male DNA thing is scary.
And the heart thing made my heart sigh a little. How lovely.
Jul 17, 2012 @ 08:37:09
Slate is increasingly filled with sensationalist garbage. The whole idea of survival of the fittest is that defective genes/organisms die out and the ones with more successful mutations thrive. Long before men go extinct, human societies would change to no longer be based on the pair-bond of one man and one woman. Chalk this one up as something to worry about after you’ve worried about whether the man in the moon has toenail fungus.
Jul 17, 2012 @ 14:59:57
I actually like the idea of buying a physical gift card at Target to give to someone to buy digital books. But making the cards good only for that title is shirt-sighted. I would much rather it be a general gift certificate they could spend the funds on books of their own choice.
Jul 17, 2012 @ 16:14:37
Well, it Amazon must collect state and local taxes, then might as well open distribution centers around the county. I can hear the screams of Wal-Mart now. (Wal-Mart was one of the big lobbiest behind requiring Amazon to collect the taxes.)
Jul 17, 2012 @ 17:31:53
@ Are Men Going Extinct? I Fucking Hope Not!
LOL, that article was hella funny!
@ Amazon same-day delivery
Yes to this soooo much.
Jul 18, 2012 @ 06:30:10
Pragmatic & slightly cynical I may be, but – I snivelled so much on Saturday am when I read the piece on Winston & Janet in the Daily Mail (it’s online too) that the old man not only made me a cup of tea – but brought me a cake too !
Jul 18, 2012 @ 12:45:46
I can’t wait to tell my Biology students that crossing-over is “where the two chromosomes tenderly hug and trade their troublesome bits for the troublesome bits on their neighboring chromosome.” Ummm, not quite, but okay. It’s true the X and Y chromosomes can’t cross-over because they’re not homologous chromosomes (they aren’t the same… :-D), but crossing-over isn’t about “troublesome bits,” it’s about genetic diversity.