I’m no food purist, and I’m really happy there’s a booming market for organic foods in the United States, but I have to admit that part of what makes organic goods satisfying to purchase is the knowledge that my dollar is going to fund businesses in my community. Imported organic foods are still a net benefit to the world’s ecology over conventionally grown foods, but the carbon burden of shipping (for example) organic almonds from Spain is definitely something to consider. Not to mention the improved quality of fresh picked local produce: the organic section at Safeway can’t compete with my local farmer’s market for taste and freshness.

The Brennan Center report on voting system security vulnerabilities (584KB PDF) is out and, as expected, has some damning things to say about the ability of attackers to breach the security of the machinery of democracy. Bruce Schneier’s summary of the summary is worth a look for the main points.

What will those wacky designers think about next? How about a bed that floats in mid-air suspended by magnetism? The philosophy of design is the best: “The goal in this project was to make a usable artefact of respectable size that doesn’t have gravity but another force as it’s image dictating starting point, namely magnetism.”

A team at the Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a low temperature plasma needle that kills bacteria (and can trigger cell death in cancerous cells) without harming healthy tissue. Because dental tools just aren’t scary enough yet.

As a kid, I would frequently compose soundtracks to accompany the scenery that flashed by my window in one of the many interminable car trips we used to take. LocoSound proposes a similar experience, music composed to match the scenery of a specific train voyage and broadcast over low power FM radio to the denizens of a single car.