Link roundup

1. How to create a snow globe that looks like your own home. Via.

2. How to fix Android's GPS.

3. "Parasitic flies turn bees into zombies before wiping them out completely."

*Buy snowglobes at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Part of a longer interview, William Gibson explains how he got published:

As soon as he got home he sent me a draft of a short story he had written perhaps an hour beforehand: “This is my new genius short story.” I read it—it was about someone who discovers there are things that live in bars, things that look like drunks and prostitutes but are actually something else—and I saw, as I thought at the time, its flaws. I sat down to write him a critique, but it would have been so much work to critique it that instead I took his story and rewrote it. It was really quick and painless. I sent it back to him, saying, “I hope this won’t piss you off, but it was actually much easier for me to rewrite this than to do a critique.” The next thing I get back is a note—“I sold it!” He had sold it to this hardcover horror anthology. I was like, Oh, shit. Now my name is on this weird story.

People kept doing that to me, and it’s really good that they did. I’d give various friends stuff to read, and they’d say, “What are you going to do with this?” And I’d say, “Nothing, it’s not nearly there yet.” Then they’d Xerox it and submit it on my behalf, to places I would have been terrified to submit to. It seemed unseemly to me to force this unfinished stuff on the world at large.

2. "How to Get iOS 5’s Biggest Features in Android Right Now ."

3. Kotaku and Destructoid gave Arkham City great reviews, but this was definitely my complaint about Arkham Asylum:

It's just confusing to have so many buttons doing so many things, and so many enemies that require so many different ways of dispatching. It's certainly great to have options and variety, but there's an information overload that can drown even the most focused of brains. This is an issue that doesn't just affect combat -- with so many gadgets, it's tough to keep track of which items perform which tasks, and when they're needed against certain obstacles. I was stuck at one point because I forgot that, among everything else he can do, Batman can slide to get under low barriers. It totally slipped my mind among all the things I needed to remember. This ties into the earlier criticism of Batman's grappling hook -- there are so many things to latch onto that the game itself gets confused.

4. Relatedly, Topless Robot is giving away Arkham City figures.

Link roundup

1. Looks like /Film movie reviews have to be taken with a big grain of salt.

2. Plan B Locates Your Lost or Stolen Android Phone, Even If You Didn't Install It Beforehand.

3. XKCD on cancer.

Link roundup

1. How to make a Princess Leia cinnamon bun headband.

2. Gizmodo's latest must have iPhone and Android apps.

3. Want to tell if someone's lying? Skillfully question them (rather than looking for microexpressions).

Link roundup

1. Lifehacker's top 10 privacy tricks. I especially like, the suggestion to use temporary credit cards to avoid repeat billing.

2. Bill Belichick gave a commencement speech saying that no championship team in the last decade in the four major sports had the league M.V.P. from that year on the roster. Not remotely accurate, but it sounded good.

3. Gizmodo's updated list of must have iPhone and Android apps.

Link roundup

1. I'm pretty sure I've posted this once before, but - - download Chris Ware's Batman paper toy.

2. Marvel Super Hero Squad is a simple, free online MMO you can play with your kids.

3. Gizmodo's latest list of essential iPhone and Android apps.

*Buy iPads at eBay.

Link roundup

1. There's a blog devoted to pictures of Paula Deen Riding Things.

2. English Muffins recipe.

2. Gizmodo lists the essential iPhone and Android apps.

*Buy iPhones at eBay.

Android vs. iOS (with lightsabers)

Wallpaper-sized lightsaber battle between Google and Apple. Via Reddit, source unknown.

*Buy iPhones at eBay.

Link roundup

1. An unidentified SEC school complained about Alabama objectifying women to announce its new football recruits.

2. 74 people have been injured by hunters in Italy in the last four months:

The annual bloodletting is a result of the unusual freedom allowed to shooting parties under Italian law. They can go on to private property and fire anywhere not within 50m of a road or 150m of a house.

Via.

3. There's now an official Blogger app for Android.

*Buy Android phones at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Lifehacker recommends this program if you're afraid you might lose your Android phone.

2. Steve Niles:

Can I say something I’ve wanted to say for a long time? If you like something, tell your friends. If you love it, tell the world. But if you hate something, just throw it away, don’t buy it again and move on. We spend way too much time tearing shit down. I just want to try the other direction for a while.

I try to follow that philosophy for this blog - - there's so much great stuff in the world, why waste your time dwelling on the bad? Via.

3. Speaking of, Incognito by Ed Brubaker* and Sean Phillips is the best comic I've read in recent memory. If I wanted to introduce (or reintroduce) an adult to comics, this is what I'd give them. It starts off like a crime drama, and ends up as super hero pulp. Great art, great writing. $13 at Amazon.

(*I haven't really been a very big fan of the other comics I've read by Brubaker.)

Link roundup

1. Bat Country is a fun free game that lets you pilot a helicopter against giant bats, enormous sharks, and more. (Make sure you get good at slinging the bombs.) Via.

2. "Free Print-and-Fold Guide Offers 10 Tips for First-Time Android Owners."

3. How to use Mechanical Turk to get a story on the NY Times's most emailed story list. Via.

*The HTC Droid Incredible is one penny at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Bat Country is a fun free game that lets you pilot a helicopter against giant bats, enormous sharks, and more. (Make sure you get good at slinging the bombs.) Via.

2. "Free Print-and-Fold Guide Offers 10 Tips for First-Time Android Owners."

3. How to use Mechanical Turk to get a story on the NY Times's most emailed story list. Via.

*The HTC Droid Incredible is one penny at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Gizmodo's picks for the best RSS readers on iPhone and Android devices.

2. Harry Reid apparently spent dramatically more per voter than Meg Whitman.

3. Ghastly zombie Christmas ornaments on sale at Etsy.

*Buy Star Wars ornaments at eBay.

Link roundup

1. How to Break Down the Barrier Between Your iPhone and Computer; and Your Android Phone and Computer.

2. California's "budget deal gives company owned by founders of Gap clothing chain a $30-million tax break." (Maybe enough to buy a decent logo?)

3. Byron Scott's swastika tie.

*The HTC Droid Incredible is $50 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Read about The Google Five, the creative lab responsible for endeavors like The Wilderness Downtown.

2. This free Android app lets you take a photo of the sky and find out how smoggy it is. Via.

3. "However, one thing I’ve learned about myself since I’ve been living as an unclutterer is the more I know about a chore, the more eager I am to do it. If I research sponges to learn which ones are the most durable, least likely to transmit bacteria, and best at cleaning a bathtub, I’m excited to use that sponge when I do the chore. Add to that research about methods for scrubbing and the most effective and safe-for-the-environment cleaner, and I’m downright giddy when I clean the bathroom." Via.

*The Droid II is $100 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Some insight into why Google's Nexus One was such a flop.

2. Crush the Castle 2 (sequel to the enjoyable Crush the Castle) is now available to play.

3. Destructoid gave Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions a 6 out of 10.

*The HTC Droid Incredible is $80 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. A look at some of the costumes for villains Green Goblin and Swiss Miss from Julie Taymor's upcoming Spider-Man musical. (I remain cautiously optimistic.)

2. How to convert video to watch on a Droid.

3. If you missed the announcement, this month's art contest has a huge prize.

*The HTC Droid Incredible is $80 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. The Best Android Apps for Your Car.

2. And The Best iPhone Apps for Your Car.

3. Neal Stephenson's The Mongoliad is now active. Cory Doctorow gave it a positive write-up.

*The HTC Droid Incredible is $80 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Art from the Scott Pilgrim video game. Via.

2. You do not want to see what ducks look like when they take their dog masks off.

3. Lifehacker's List of the Best Android Apps.

*Buy Scott Pilgrim toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Government Finds Little Evidence of Car Defects in Toyota Crashes.

2. How to boot up your Droid silently.

3. Synopses of rap songs at Wikipedia. For example, here's an excerpt from Gin and Juice:

Mr. Dogg quickly diffuses the situation by reminding the listener that he is very good at cultivating music that captivates his listeners. He wants to know, “Who listens to the words that I speak?” This is most likely a rhetorical question. We do not learn if he ever does share the Seagrams.

Via.

*Buy Droid phones at eBay.