Links for the Day

Vertical Farming:
With a third of the world's surface already tied up in agriculture, we are rapidly running out of space and land for agricultural expansion. To solve this problem, Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier has proposed Vertical Farming, a technique which involves huge multi-story greenhouses powered by solar energy to meet growing world food demands. The professor suggests that a single tower would pay for itself in 10 to 15 years, and widespread adoption could free up enough land to allow for the regrowth of our forests. Very, very interesting article available on Wired.

A Modest Proposal:
I was reminded today, in the wake of the Fake Steve Jobs Shutdown Drama, of the existence of "A Modest Proposal", which is perhaps the greatest satire ever penned. A Modest Proposal, more fully known as A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being Aburden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public was written by Jonathan Swift in 1729. It playfully suggested that a portion of poor children could be sold each year to the rich to be eaten as a delicacy, with the rest comprising the "breeding stock" for future generations.

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled ... I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.

The full text can be found here.


Order of the Stick is a hilarious webcomic that I've recently found, based on the adventures of a bunch of DnD characters who represent their class stereotypes; there is a warrior, paladin, bard, rogue, mage and ranger, and so far I've found it terribly amusing!

popurls is an interesting content aggregator. The site displays feeds from a vast number of popular sites, including Digg, Reddit, del.ico.us, truemors, wired, boing boing, google news, and a whole lot more. The site looks pretty slick too.