JON STEWART AND GEORGE CARLIN

He has been dead for five years but George Carlin's riffs are as fresh as if he had delivered them last evening.

Today we have Jon Stewart and his crew on The Daily Show to carry on Carlin's work tweaking the no-nothing politicians and pointing out the absurdities of the American cultural zeitgeist.

The compatibility of the two men's outlook makes this an interesting and very cool video – a 1997 interview of Carlin when he was in his prime conducted by an astonishingly young-looking Stewart. I think you'll enjoy it.

BUTTERCUP THE DUCK GETS A NEW FOOT

Those of you who read this Saturday column regularly have undoubtedly perceived that I am fascinated with 3D printing and its possibilities. Plus, anyone who is still, as I am, a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation cannot help but recognize the similarities to the Starship Enterprise's replicator.

So here comes a wonderful new use of 3D printing that undoubtedly will be applicable to humans in time.

Buttercup the duck who lives at the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Tennessee, was born with a backward foot. Because it was prone to infection, the sanctuary owner decided to amputate and replace the foot with a 3D printed one. Here is Buttercup taking a walk with his fancy new foot:

You can read more about Buttercup here and at his own Facebook page.

TEXTING DURING SEX

I cannot figure out how to write a lead-in to this story that is more jaw-dropping than this first sentence from the press release:

”According to the new Mobile Consumer Habits study released today by Jumio, Inc. and conducted online by Harris Interactive, smartphone usage is so prevalent in Americans’ everyday lives that nearly one in ten (9%) smartphone owners admit to having used their phone during sex."

Further, when the survey breaks down the survey by age group, 20 percent of those 18 to 34 say they use their smartphones while shagging. [emphasis added]

Any guy who tried that with me would be out on his ass. His bare naked one. Instantly. Without his clothes. Gone. Finis. Over.

This is definitely an area of life where elders' know infinitely better than youth who are missing so much pleasure. You can read more here and here.

THE TIME YOU HAVE IN JELLY BEANS

Last week I showed you the facts of life of the mantis shrimp, a wonderful video by ZeFrank. This week I've got from him a much more personal video: The time you have in an average lifespan expressed in jelly beans.

WEIGHT LOSS AND MEMORY

As I mentioned some time back, I have been living on a new health and fitness regimen since March. I do not consider it a diet. Instead, it is a permanent lifestyle change but definitely involves weight reduction and to date I have lost just over 20 pounds with about 20 more to go.

The changes to my physical shape, general health, energy level, sense of wellbeing, life satisfaction and even mood are already large and I'll write about what I've learned so far sometime soon.

Meanwhile, however, there is some new research I'm just dying (if that's not a contradiction) to believe:

"According to the study, in addition to being a known risk factor for heart disease, cancer and a host of other diseases, obesity works on a number of different metabolic pathways that can affect the way we process information...

"Although the study was conducted on people that averaged 300 pounds the factor related to obesity that is causing their memory loss is related to weight loss improving memory for other folks too.

"Gunstad said he believes people who lose 20 to 25 pounds in more traditional ways should experience the same health benefits as those who underwent the gastric bypass surgery the study was based on."

You can read more here.

BOOKWORMS' BRAINS AGE BETTER

A lot of Time Goes By readers are bookworms and here's an interesting item sent to me by our Sunday musicologist, Peter Tibbles, you will be happy to know about. As mentalfloss reports:

"'Our study suggests that exercising your brain by taking part in activities such as [reading, writing, and playing with puzzles] across a person's lifetime, from childhood through old age, is important for brain health in old age,' says study co-author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, senior neuropsychologist at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center...

"Not a big reader? Never fear—it’s not too late to start. The study finds that people who challenged themselves later in life lowered cognitive deficits by 32 percent. The bad news: People who didn’t engage in mental acrobatics experienced cognitive decline 48 percent faster."

Which helps support, too, my long-held contention that blogging – writing them and reading them – helps maintain cognitive function in elders.

The full study is behind a paid firewall but in addition to the mentalfloss report linked above you can read the abstract here.

AN AMAZING DOG NAMED JUMPY

Darlene Costner sent this video of a really smart dog.

LOUIS C.K. DESTROYS ANTI-ENVIRONMENTALISTS

From the YouTube page:

“John Roney animated this segment from Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theatre in which Louis imagines that God would be totally disgusted by how humans have treated the environment. Some NSFW language, which is as funny coming from a deity as it is from Louis C.K.”

BEIJING STATE OF MIND

This video starring Andrew Doughtery and Princess Fortier was produced and shot in Beijing and Manhattan by Mark Griffith also known as Skarm Niffgurd. Let's let him explain:

"Andrew sent me a sample of the song which was based on Jay-z's Empire State of Mind but about Andrew's experience living as an expat in Beijing.

"Andrew mapped out a set of locations and he first recorded the track with a local artist so that when shooting he would be lip syncing to the same audio track in the video."

It's a whole different take on the music that most of us are familiar with. You can read more about the production and read the lyrics at Mark Griffith's blog.

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” in the upper left corner of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I probably won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog if you have one.