Thursday, October 15th, 2015

1

The Sit Hits the Fan

For the last couple years, there have been few health-related stories beaten into our heads more deeply than the admonition that sitting for long periods of time will kill you. In other words, you knew this study was coming: According to University of Exeter and University College London researchers, "sitting is no worse than standing for a person who doesn't otherwise move his or her body." I don't feel bad for myself as the original warnings never moved me from my couch. But there are plenty of you out there right now standing at your desk after driving your VW diesel to work. There's nothing left for you to believe in.

+ Oh, and you know how all our screen use is preventing us from getting a good night's sleep? Well, according to NatGeo: People without electricity don't get 8 hours' sleep either.

2

Spread ‘Em

Here's a revelation that will not come as good news to the NFL, television networks, or the millions of people who like to lay fantasy bets. Following reports of "insider trading," the FBI and the Justice Department are both investigating the daily fantasy sports business model. (Luckily, I have a couple FBI agents on my federal government fantasy squad.)

+ An NYT interactive: Cash Drops and Keystrokes: The Dark Reality of Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Games.

3

You Can Check Out Anytime You Want

He's trying to get out, but they keep pulling him back in. Due to increased moves by the Taliban and an Afghan force that's nowhere near ready, President Obama conceded that the U.S. will need to keep 5,500 forces in Afghanistan into 2017.

4

I-ntifada

The increased violence in the Middle East seems like another replay of recent violent disasters between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But as The Daily Beast's Jay Michaelson reports, "thanks to mobile recording technology, Palestinian and Israeli leaders have lost control of the narrative -- and of their own extremists."

5

Bitter Refuge

For many of us, it's a time of tech-driven economic gains and increasing home prices. For many others (more than at any time in recent history), this is the era of the refugee. CNN takes a close look at one forgotten refugee city in Kenya: A Sanctuary Without End.

6

Maybe A Headline Would Work Here?

"Dave, if I could, I could just -- I just really feel like if we had liberty it would be terrific, and the alternative would just be awful, you know? That's just how it strikes me. I don't know." In WaPo, Alexandra Petri reimagines famous quotes, the way a woman would have to say them during a meeting.

7

Supplemental Evidence

According to a new study from the Federal government, "injuries caused by dietary supplements lead to more than 20,000 emergency room visits a year, many involving young adults with cardiovascular problems after taking supplements marketed for weight loss and energy enhancement." (Now the manufacturers will argue that the supplements enabled people to get to the ER much faster than before.)

8

Excellent Jack Offer

The Bay Area tech nerds get a bad rap these days, and some of it is probably deserved. As a part of this community, it's inspiring to see a headline like this: Jack Dorsey is giving up at least 50% of his stake in Square to help underserved communities.

9

Seventh Heaven

The baseball playoffs have been particularly exciting and eventful in the past few seasons, but we may have hit a new level during the seventh inning of last night's game between Toronto and Texas. Even if you're not a baseball fan, this is worth watching or re-watching.

+ Included in that 7th inning was Jose Bautista's bat flip heard 'round the world. (Full disclosure: After typing a really good sentence, I occasionally flip my keyboard.)

10

Bottom of the News

"Of Wikipedia's 26 million registered users, roughly 125,000 (less that 0.5%) are 'active' editors. Of these 125,000, only some 12,000 have made more than 50 edits over the past six month." Then there's Justin Anthony Knapp. He has made 1,485,342 edits.

+ This seems like a good candidate for lede of the day: "A meerkat expert who attacked a monkey handler in a row over a llama keeper has been ordered to pay £800 in compensation."

+ If you have toddlers in the house, they are gonna love this video of the curb roller that makes everything alright.

+ Lucky Charms has 10 boxes that contain only the magically delicious marshmallows. Pretty cool, although by now, I've gotten pretty good at sorting them by hand.