[PERSONAL NOTE: For the second Saturday in a row, today's is a shorter than usual Interesting Stuff. I just ran out of time.

REPUBLICAN VERSION OF IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Apropos of yesterday's post about the Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life, my friend Jim Stone sent this video - a Republican version of the film. Enjoy.

WHERE ARE ALL THE OLD PEOPLE GOING TO LIVE?

My friend Chuck Nyren who blogs at Advertising to Baby Boomers is one of the best observers I know of the absurd. This time he has taken note of the recent upsurge in concern over where all the old people are going to live.

“It used to be that old people lived wherever they lived – and that was that...” writes Chuck.

“Now there are choices. So many choices you could have a multiple strokes just thinking about them. There’s staying put (aka aging in place) where you don’t go anywhere and you’re taken care of by people or robots.

“Or you can buy a motor home, drive it around for a few years until you get bored, then park it somewhere.

“Or you can purchase a ready-made tiny house and have a helicopter dump it in one of your children’s backyards.”

Or – read the rest of Chuck's take on old folks' 21st century living arrangements here.

ALL THE VERMEERS IN THE WORLD IN ONE PHONE APP

Johannes Vermeer made few paintings in his lifetime – just 36 that have been authenticated and they are scattered among 17 or 18 collections in seven countries – hard for most people to be able to see in a lifetime.

”Now, the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague...has teamed up with Google Arts & Culture in Paris to build an augmented-reality app that creates a virtual museum featuring all of the artist’s works,” reports The New York Times.

9TO5Google tells us:

”Google Arts & Culture is leveraging augmented reality for a new Pocket Gallery feature. Opening the app and camera will display a virtual seven-room exhibition space that you can tap to enter with the ability to drag, pinch, and resize to move around.

The app is available for phones with a camera for iOS and Android.

OLDEST KNOWN CAVE PAINTING FOUND IN BORNEO

As the Los Angeles Times reports:

”In limestone caves hidden deep in the jungle of Borneo, archaeologists have discovered the oldest known figurative drawing created by a human artist, dating back at least 40,000 years.

“The ancient artwork is incomplete, but appears to depict a large mammal — probably a type of wild cow — with an oval-shaped body, thin legs and a spear sticking out of its rump.”

(You might want to turn off the annoying audio on this video. It astonishes me how badly produced many news videos are.)

AUTOMATION GONE TOO FAR?

As David Neevel explains on the YouTubepage:

”I'm always looking for ways to be more efficient in my shop. Voice commands are one way. Automation is another way. And I combined those two ways into one.

“Why? Efficiency. Have a look at my candy thrower, beer thrower, ibuprofen thrower, and other robots and marvel with me: What will I accomplish now that I don't have to throw ibuprofens at my own mouth any more? I can't wait to find out.

“Google end dictation. No don't type that. Stop the dictation. Google stop. Google stop. God damn it. Post video google.”

This is so silly. Take a look:

MANDARIN DUCK IN MANHATTAN

Have you heard the story about the Mandarin duck, native to Asia, who has been hanging out in the pond in New York City's Central Park for the past month or more?

If not, believe me, you've never seen a duck as gorgeous as this one – well, I hadn't.

You can read more in The New York Times and at The Los Angeles Times.

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” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I 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.