OS X Mavericks: Tips, Tricks, and Details

A nicely curated list of tips, tricks and details from the one and only Federico Viticci over at Macstories.

Can Stress Actually Kill You?

Free yourself from recipes with cooking ratios

For the amateur cook within you, don’t bother learning recipes, learn about ratios and everything will go much smoother.

Beatles & Dylan songs in pictograms. How many can you guess?

The evolution of western dance music

In an interactive chart, from its origin to today.

Dramatically reducing the cost of solar panels

A watt of solar energy was worth $77 back in 1977. Now it’s worth about 80 cents.

But in order for solar panels to really replace conventional sources of energy, we need them to get even cheaper.

Some companies are harvesting their environment to disrupt the energy market while Henry Snaith of Oxford is trying to dramatically reduce the cost of solar energy:

Dr Snaith plans to replace silicon, the material used to make most solar cells, with a substance called a perovskite. This, he believes, could cut the cost of a watt of solar generating capacity by three-quarters.

In 1933, Jewish photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt was in Geneva to take pictures of a summit of the League of Nations.

He managed to take Joseph Goebbels in a cheerful mood—at first. The second time Eisenstaedt took a photo of the Nazi propaganda minister, his face was different, as he learned that Eisenstaedt had Jewish blood. He displayed “eyes of hate”.

This is what Eisenstaedt said about this day:

I found him sitting alone at a folding table on the lawn of the hotel. I photographed him from a distance without him being aware of it. As documentary reportage, the picture may have some value: it suggests his aloofness. Later I found him at the same table surrounded by aides and bodyguards. Goebbels seemed so small, while his bodyguards were huge. I walked up close and photographed Goebbels. It was horrible. He looked up at me with an expression full of hate. The result, however, was a much stronger photograph. There is no substitute for close personal contact and involvement with a subject, no matter how unpleasant it may be

Eisenstaedt’s most famous photo is this one though.

I don’t want a Google car,” I tell her. “I want a train.

Ethan Zuckerman doesn’t work where his home is, they are 250 kilometres apart.

A friend of his told him that he needed a Google self-driving car whereas he just wants a train. Zuckerman says America is a commuter culture and he’s right. Over in Europe, most people probably commute by train (in Japan as well).

Why doesn’t America has more efficient trains? Where is the Hyperloop?

Amid intensifying interest from deep-pocketed investors, the startup is looking to raise up to $200 million at a valuation of $3 to $4 billion, according to people briefed on the matter.

We are talking about Snapchat. Apparently, they refused an offer from Facebook superior to $1 billion. And they still are not generating any revenue.

How to run a country

How to Run a Country: An Ancient Guide for Modern Leaders, a book by Philip Freeman, is a short anthology that provides a small sample of Cicero’s ideas that proves the uses and abuses of power have changed little.

Interesting stuff:

Rome grew from a small village to a mighty empire by welcoming new citizens into its ranks as it spread across the Mediterranean. Even former slaves could become full voting members of society. New citizens bring new energy and ideas to a country.