Longread #341 -- Crush Point -- 6/27/13

The parade for the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks is tomorrow and is expected to bring hundreds of thousands if not millions of people to downtown. Crowd control will be an issue, and one that has more science involved than you might think. To all in attendance, be safe out there.

As with many prior (and upcoming) Fridays, I'll be on vacation, so no longread tomorrow. Happy weekend!

"Crush Point" by John Seabrook
Published in the New Yorker, February 7, 2011

Eric

Longread #340 -- Inside The Immortality Business -- 6/26/13

Ever wondered who pays to be cryogenically frozen? Or who it is that does the freezing? This article provides an interesting look into the business of immortality.

"Inside The Immortality Business" by Josh Dean
Published on BuzzFeed, June 6, 2013

Eric

Longread #339 -- Hawks Win! -- 6/25/13

HAWKS WIN!!!!!

"Beyond Belief: Hawks Make History With Comeback" by Joe Posnanski
Published on NBC Sports, June 25, 2013

Eric

Longread #338 -- Skymall -- 6/24/13

After spending a lot of time recently on airplanes, I couldn't help but love this article about Skymall. Skymall is one of the great joys of flying, and this story details its recent and somewhat bizarre financial dealings.

"SkyMall: The Strange Story of America's Most Delightfully Weird Catalogue" by Rohin Dhar
Published in the Atlantic, June 12, 2013

Eric

Longread #337 -- The Piano Mover -- 6/20/13

Continuing with this week's theme about work and labor is a feature about New York City's preeminent piano mover. I love stories like this that highlight a person (or place or occupation, etc.) that otherwise might never enter my mind.

"The Piano Mover" by Brendan Spiegel
Published on narrative.ly, September 4, 2012

Eric

Longread #336 -- Robot Bosses -- 6/19/13

When we think of robots or artificial intelligence (AI), many of us gravitate toward thoughts about the Terminator or other weapons. While that makes for better movies, this article goes into the very real, day-to-day effects that may come about as a result of greater robot functionality in the workplace. For American workers who are already struggling with myriad challenges including lack of education, overseas competition, dearth of adequate wages to name a few, this represents another significant issue that will need to be managed as technology moves forward.

"Welcome, Robot Overlords. Please Don't Fire Us?" by Kevin Drum
Published in Mother Jones, May/June 2013

Eric

Longread #335 -- Everyone Only Wants Temps -- 6/18/13

Yesterday's article dealt with white-collar workers and their choices in the direction of their careers. Today's article looks more at blue-collar workers and how the trend toward temp workers has changed their employment landscape.

"Everyone Only Wants Temps" by Gabriel Thompson
Published in Mother Jones, July 16, 2012

Eric

Longread #334 -- Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup -- 6/17/13

I really enjoyed this article for its frankness in addressing some of the pitfalls of pursuing a career in a technology startup. I think the author does a good job of countering the glorification of these careers without demeaning their importance. Innovation and entrepreneurship are clearly values that should be encouraged, but their costs, too, must be understood. In general, I think this is a valuable read for anyone who thinks introspectively about direction to follow for a career, and obviously it is even more well-suited for someone in the technology field.

"Letter To A Young Programmer Considering A Startup" by Alex Payne
Published on http://al3x.net/, May 23, 2013

Eric

Longread #333 -- The Thin Red Line -- 6/14/13

Over the last few days, reports have come out of Syria that U.S. and international investigators have concluded that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons -- sarin gas, in particular -- against anti-government forces (and potentially civilians as well). The crossing of this so-called "red line" from the Obama administration raises again the questions about what the U.S. can and should do in Syria. This article from the New Yorker reviews the complex and challenging issues behind the "upward trajectory" of U.S. involvement in Syria.

"The Thin Red Line" by Dexter Filkins
Published in the New Yorker, May 13, 2013

Eric

Longread #332 -- Microbes -- 6/13/13

Continuing on this week's topic of health and scientific research, this longread looks at the emerging field of studying microbes. Microbes are gaining more and more attention for their role in human health although, as this article cautions, the field is still too young to start making significant conclusions about how this affects medicine or the daily practice of trying to be healthy.

"Microbes: The Trillions of Creatures Governing Your Health" by Richard Conniff
Published in Smithsonian Magazine, May 2013

Eric

Longread #331 -- The Girl Who Turned to Bone -- 6/12/13

This is another incredible medical story. It focuses on a rare disease (fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva) and the efforts to better understand and address the disease. It also uses this case as a lens into the general difficulty in studying rare diseases.

"The Girl Who Turned to Bone" by Carl Zimmer
Published in the Atlantic, May 22, 2013

Eric

Longread #330 -- Beyond Recognition -- 6/11/13

This article is fascinating in that it

a.) explains the incredible science behind face transplants
b.) also explores the psychological issues involved with such a procedure and
c.) does not mention the movie Face/Off.

"Beyond recognition: the incredible story of a face transplant" by Katie Drummond
Published in the Verge, June 4, 2013

Note: my apologies for missing several days of longreads recently. I was traveling for family issues, but I should be back to regularly posting every business day (at least when I'm not on vacation...).

Eric

Longread #329 -- How A War Hero Became A Serial Bank Robber -- 6/5/13

This is a follow-up to yesterday's article about the difficulties for veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is tragic that someone with such commitment, loyalty, and ability was only able to find comfort in robbing banks. Even more tragic is that it may have been preventable had the mental health system not failed him miserably.

"How A War Hero Became A Serial Bank Robber" by Scott Johnson
Published on BuzzFeed, May 30, 2013

Eric

Longread #328 -- Veterans’ struggle -- 6/4/13

I first read this article well over a year ago, but for some reason, it has been continually pushed down in the queue for the blog. Sadly, it's largely with how Veterans' issues have been handled in our society. The tremendous challenge of supporting former soldiers is one that it appears our country will struggle with for many years to come.

"Veterans’ struggle" by Anna Fifield
Published in the Financial Times, January 20, 2012

Eric

Longread #327 -- How the NRA Ends -- 6/3/13

This article offers some resistance to the argument that the NRA has such a strong grip on gun politics in America that effective gun regulation is impossible. While the NRA is well-funded and vocal, it is also alienating many mainstream voters and is facing new challengers that are formidable and similarly deep-pocketed.

"This Is How the NRA Ends" by Alec MacGillis
Published in the New Republic, May 28, 2013

Eric