Hexup for Feb 1

Happy almost big American sportball day…Nope. I have no idea. Neither of us do. I’ll be livestreaming D&D for much of the day, and spending the rest of it playing Minecraft and writing. It’s not bad, just not our thing. But today we want to share some things that are. Like LEGO, creepy sea creatures, and explaining. Oh, and something that just might change everything about that thing you’re using right now.

Build LEGO. Win.

No, this is not about that. The LEGO blowjob competition has been cancelled. Instead, go to buildwithchrome.com (using Chrome, the browser of real humans), and build to your heart’s content using digital LEGO in a movable 3d space. Yep.

Under the sea

Everything is not necessarily better where it is wetter. In fact, sometimes it’s downright terrifying. Here. Have some examples. And by examples I mean here are enough terrifying sea creatures from the Mariana Trench to fuel your nightmares for years to come. Life is weird and wonderful.

Getting started is the hardest part 

Sometimes you just need to make music, but can’t quite afford it. This week, 2 Broke Geeks give an overview of how to get an instrument, start learning, and even some production software that can help you along the way. Given that this is pretty much how I started (and how I still roll, being a jerk with a guitar on the internet is a tough gig), it’s a good watch if you’re looking to learn a few things.

Preventable harm is the worst kind

I’m going to assume you’re familiar with the anti-vaccination movement and what they do. It’s hard to see the impact of not having your kid get some needles, I admit. But the Council of Foreign Relations has put together a map that details all the vaccine-preventable outbreaks that have happened since 2008. These are outbreak that, had there been vaccinations done, never would have happened. Measles, mumps, polio, etc. This isn’t all down to the anti-vaxxers, but there’s a lot more dots on that map than there should be.

‘Splaining

Lots od ideas are complicated, and occasionally must be explained to people who don’t have the background. I spend a lot of time explaining why we need to use the internet and what we can use it for to people who chiefly use email and whose grandkids put pictures on their Facebook. Sometimes they don’t understand. It’s not because they’re dumb, it’s because it’s complicated and there are better ways to explain it. Lifehacker offers a few tips this week on explaining complex things to nonspecialists

The end of the world

Dramatic, no? The decision on net neutrality came down last week, and internet service providers can now more closely regulate what their customers have access to. They can charge extra for premium content like Netflix or Google, and limit the bandwidth available to other, smaller places. You know, like here. They’re in a position to make life a lot more difficult for tiny, independent content creators. The New Scientist ran an article that details the net neutrality problem well.

So yeah. That’s a heavy one. We’ll see. Not exactly fighting the good fight in the underground of the internet here or anything, But I want to make more stuff for you, and look forward to doing it.