Light Fingers

Writing in The New Yorker, Adam Green profiles Apollo Robbins, pickpocket extraordinaire. An excerpt:

In more than a decade as a full-time entertainer, Robbins has taken (and returned) a lot of stuff, including items from well-known figures in the worlds of entertainment (Jennifer Garner, actress: engagement ring); sports (Charles Barkley, former N.B.A. star: wad of cash); and business (Ace Greenberg, former chairman of Bear Stearns: Patek Philippe watch). He is probably best known for an encounter with Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service detail in 2001. While Carter was at dinner, Robbins struck up a conversation with several of his Secret Service men. Within a few minutes, he had emptied the agents’ pockets of pretty much everything but their guns. Robbins brandished a copy of Carter’s itinerary, and when an agent snatched it back he said, “You don’t have the authorization to see that!” When the agent felt for his badge, Robbins produced it and handed it back. Then he turned to the head of the detail and handed him his watch, his badge, and the keys to the Carter motorcade.

[HT: Instapundit]

First Paragraph

The first week of August was the hottest ever recorded in Baku. The stink of petroleum and sulfur fouled the stagnant air, grapevines wilted, and despite the half-hearted efforts of city employees who drove around in huge watering trucks, the leaves of the olive trees turned brown.

- From The Colonel's Mistake by Dan Mayland

Tech Chop

Cutting the Gordian Knot, FutureLawyer solves the iPad/tablet keyboard problem.

Stairway to Heaven

From the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony for Led Zeppelin.

[HT: Lou Rodarte]

Going Artificial

David Deutsch on the potential creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Envy Update

Eclecticity: A clean, well-lighted place to blog.

Miscellaneous and Fast

Cultural Offering: What the hell do I do with LinkedIn?
The trailer for "Side Effects."
The Pioneer Woman makes marshmallow pops.
The trailer for "The Assault."
John Barry's score from "Mary, Queen of Scots."
Wally Bock: Lessons from the Stupid File.
The trailer for "Back to 1942."
Andrew Klavan on bravery in Hollywood.
The trailer for "The Lone Ranger."
Mussolini declares war on Britain and France.
The trailer for "21 Las Vegas."

10 Ways to Botch It

Any one of these can be fatal but some "leaders" manage to do all ten.

1. Don't get enough information.
2. Assemble a mediocre team.
3. Pursue the wrong goal.
4. Cling to a poor plan.
5. Sluggishly execute all stages.
6. Let fatigue cloud judgment.
7. Over-react to set-backs.
8. Avoid accountability.
9. Stay away from the action.
10. Be smug.

Quote of the Day

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.

- Peter Drucker

Art Break: The Illustrators

Armand Cabrera has information regarding an upcoming show on "The Golden Age of American Illustrators."