A stirring defense of email? Yes. It is indeed a "tremendous, decentralized, open platform on which new, innovative things can and have been built," as Alexis Madrigal says at the Atlantic. It's also becoming the equivalent of snail mail, inasmuch as the personal communications come via other channels. Phones killed the letter; email killed letters; texting killed email; and so on. So this is heresy! Or is it?

That's true. But texts on your phone are easier, no?

That's true as well. Hmm. Well, here's the problem. Email as a means of personal communication works fine, and allows for more greater length, if people in the future will still be capable of such things. But it will be mostly associated with work, which for millions means it is simply a nag that tells you what you haven't done yet.

Good article; give it a read.

SCIENCE! Another big rock heading our way. Panic. Slowly. The Independent serves up some quality science writing:

Sigh. That's a meaningless statistic. Where in the US? Chicago? The Alaskan tundra? Let's keep reading:

From the comments:

Moving right along:

The chance of contemporary tactics changing to anticipate an event in 2880 seem small. It's difficult to change tactics to anticipate something we know for certain will happen in 2015. Moving right along:

Which sounds like nonsense. But speaking of being flung into space:

Votd Surely there's a point where you're fleeing the cops and you have one on your hood banging his helmet on your windshield where you think This cannot possibly end well.