Weekend link dump for April 26

The war on acronym overuse continues apace.

“Universal Television, which developed the project and is producing it, always had been high on Emerald City, initially trying to shop it elsewhere and then taking a new stab at the premise, described as a modern and dark reimagining of the classic tale of Oz in the vein of Game Of Thrones, drawing upon stories from Baum’s original 14 books.” I will totally watch that, and I bet Olivia will watch it with me.

I’ve been on the receiving end of a few of these outbound interactive voice response robocalls. It’s easy enough to tell you’re talking to a computer, but it is a little freaky the first time or two. Someone needs to figure out a smarter way to do inbound call whitelisting, because I don’t think any other method of screening out crap calls like these will work as a general matter.

The case against one-way streets.

Who knew that owning a machine that presses vinyl records would be such a lucrative proposition these days?

I can’t help but feel that the Hugo Awards nominations saga has some lessons in it for those of us who would like to see greater participation in American elections. I’m not sure what those lessons are yet, though.

RIP, FM radio, at least in Norway and likely on the horizon elsewhere. Yeah, I feel really old right now.

Food service workers have more than twice the poverty rate of the overall workforce, and thus more often seek out public benefits.”

Public opinion on abortion is way more complicated than you might think.

RIP, Betty Willis, designer of the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

Now that‘s an epic rant. Somewhere, Lee Elia is smiling. At least none of his guys were lollygagging, so that’s something.

What click farms are all about.

How does a TV series based on the movie Galaxy Quest grab you?

The opposite of binge-watching, and why a week between episodes can be a good thing.

What the neighbors of those free range kids think about them.

RIP, Mary Keefe Doyle, model for Norman Rockwell’s iconic “Rosie the Riveter” painting.

“Scientific consensus isn’t always right, but it’s our best guide to understanding the world. Can reporters please stop pretending that scientists, like politicians, are evenly divided on guns? We’re not.”

Not sure how I feel about a “more adult” version of The Muppet Show. Give me corny jokes and wacky hijinx, that’s what I want from my Muppets.

“The quest for a good battery that can store home-generated power is kind of like the holy grail for a renewable energy future. This one product might change everything.”

Happy 25th birthday to the Hubble Space Telescope.

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