Picnics, Pit Stops and Potty Breaks A brief history of America’s Rest Areas

https://futuretravel.today/picnics-pit-stops-and-potty-breaks-93a54625fcf2#.xb2zj7k91
The origins, rise and demise of the humble highway rest area.

Segregated Witness: A Fork Too Far

https://medium.com/the-publius-letters/segregated-witness-a-fork-too-far-87d6e57a4179#.j7a6whbgk
Yet another excellent BitCoin article. I'm very impressed by the amount of thought going into the blockchain lately.

How To Go From Successful To Very Successful (and why most people can’t do it)

https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-go-from-successful-to-very-successful-and-why-most-people-cant-do-it-eab95f82be53#.h5o55gdg8
Article on success, and the obsession it requires

Must-add new Roku channels of 2016

https://blog.roku.com/blog/2016/12/28/new-roku-channels-of-2016/
some of the best new roku channels of 2016

The 11 best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2016

http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/28/13792040/sci-fi-fantasy-book-year-in-review-best-of-2016
some of the best sci-fi & fantasy novels of 2016

Discourse Civilized Discussion

http://www.discourse.org/
Open Source discussion engine, in Ruby with Docker insall if you wish.

The Science of Background Noise and the Best Sound Apps for Work, Sleep, and Relaxation

https://zapier.com/blog/best-background-noise-apps/
Always looking for good background music/noise/sound for working. Here's some new ones:

‘Duck Dynasty’ vs. ‘Modern Family’: 50 Maps of the U.S. Cultural Divide

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/26/upshot/duck-dynasty-vs-modern-family-television-maps.html?_r=0
Fascinating set of maps showing the geographic distribution of viewers of 50 TV shows. The most even? Tom & Jerry and ... 

HandBrake 1.0.0 Released

https://handbrake.fr/news.php?article=37
after 13 years in development, Handbrake hits release 1.0.0. Yea!!!

The farmer who built her own broadband

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37974267
Farmer in England who organized a co-op ISP which delivers cheap Gigabit Internet: 

Which Actor Has Died The Most On Screen? It’s Surprisingly Not Sean Bean

http://www.slashfilm.com/which-actor-dies-the-most-on-screen
Actors who die more than Sean Bean on-screen? There are 3:

Sigil is a multi-platform EPUB ebook Editor

https://sigil-ebook.com/
An opensource, multi-platform ebook editor.

Rhythm of breathing affects memory and fear

https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/12/rhythm-of-breathing-affects-memory-and-fear/
The type and rhythm of breathing affects memory and feeling of fear. Hint: nose.

The most promising design tools you should try in 2017

https://blog.prototypr.io/the-most-promising-design-tools-you-should-try-in-2017-2e5d34b16261#.4tvmjos2y
Various new visual design tools:

FreeDOS is a complete, free, DOS-compatible operating system that you can use to play classic DOS games,

http://www.freedos.org/
DOS lives! in the form of FreeDOS. 

How a 2011 Hack You’ve Never Heard of Changed the Internet’s Infrastructure

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/12/how_the_2011_hack_of_diginotar_changed_the_internet_s_infrastructure.html
Recap of a hacked Certificate Authority and its fallout:

Yubico blog

https://www.yubico.com/blog/
maker of u2f hardware

FIDO Specifications Overview

https://fidoalliance.org/specifications/overview/
Overview of the FIDO universal 2nd factor authentication schema. 

The Distance is a podcast by Basecamp about longevity in business

https://thedistance.com/
Podcast about businesses who have gone the distance and still thrive after decades.

The Fee Market Myth

https://medium.com/@johnblocke/the-fee-market-myth-b9d189e45096#.2vbxgm2uy
Detailed look at more trouble around the corner for the BitCoin ecosystem.

JoomlaUX – Premium Responsive Joomla Templates

http://www.joomlaux.com/jux-templates.html
A Joomla template shop I wasn't familiar with. 

Congressional Encryption Working Group says encryption backdoors are near unworkable

http://betanews.com/2016/12/23/ewg-encryption-report/
At least one congressional committee has half a brain: We can't weaken encryption just for law enforcement.

The Primary Barrier Stopping You From Everything You Want In Life

https://medium.com/the-mission/the-primary-barrier-stopping-you-from-everything-you-want-in-life-7e62c1c30316#.d0gy1xb7r
Primary barrier to success is...

World’s largest hedge fund to replace managers with artificial intelligence

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/22/bridgewater-associates-ai-artificial-intelligence-management
More in the AI theme: large hedge fund wants to replace most of its management with AI... Soon!

If It Doesn’t Suck, It’s Not Worth Doing

https://medium.com/the-mission/if-it-doesnt-suck-it-s-not-worth-doing-d72533893aba#.x7be4lxlg
Yes, the worthwhile things in life are hard. The ones that move you forward.

Refactoring Legacy PHP

https://icyapril.com/programming/php/2016/12/24/refactoring-legacy-php.html
Pragmatic view of how and why to refactor legacy code. 

How to Install Gulp.js as Build and Task Automation Tool

http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2016/09/gulp-js-config/
Basics of installing Gulp on Linux and its uses.

12 Reasons You Should NEVER Use the Public Wi-Fi

https://due.com/blog/12-reasons-never-use-public-wi-fi/
Perhaps a bit over-paranoid, but still informative piece about the hazards of using public Wi-Fi. 

Intro to Linux KVM (Kernel Based Virtualization) and its Benefits

http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2016/10/linux-kvm-intro/
Intro to KVM linux kernel virtualization. With not enough diagrams.

Advanced Blogging: How to Make Your Blog Serve Your Business

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/advanced-blogging-how-to-make-your-blog-serve-your-business-darren-rowse/
Good intro to next-level blogging: calendars, portals, evergreen, welcome mats, etc.