1. What happens when the rich can live to 120 years old?

"What if the mantra ‘80 is the new 50’ could apply to us all? But the coming longevity gap might set us up for something else instead: a rage-filled conflagration that would make Occupy Wall Street, the US movement against the one per cent of top earners, pale. It could be grounds for revolution if the wealthy lived twice as long while the poor died even younger than their parents did."

2. Meet Bill de Blasio's digital wunderkind. 

"Coming on board the de Blasio team put Jessie in charge of creating the content across all digital platforms that would motivate people to engage with the campaign; of analyzing and targeting groups based off the data she collected; of working with everyone from parent bloggers to online activists to hipsters for de Blasio; and of introducing the Mayor to the likes of Reddit AMAs and Buzzfeed ('never had I ever defined ‘listicle’ for my boss'). But she still had one more job that was just as challenging: Soothing the nerves of New York’s anxious techies."

3. The case for a pocket Mac, not an iPhone. 

"Everyone understands the utility of a touch-screen iPhone. I have one, and it's very handy: I can look things up quickly, take notes, play games, and communicate with people all over the world. And it fits in my pocket. At the same time, it is unquestionably easier to perform many productivity tasks such as image editing and word processing with a mouse (or touchpad) and keyboard than with a touchscreen. Hence the Mac. In the years ahead, it will make less and less sense to keep these two worlds separate. Why? Because it's easier to carry one device than two."

4. Where the myth that Al Gore said he "invented the Internet" came from.

"Gore's meaning, obvious to anyone who knew the record, was that he did the political work and articulated the public vision that made the Internet possible. No reasonable person could conclude that Gore was claiming to have invented the Internet in any technical sense. The first half of his sentence makes this clear: he is talking about work he did in the context of his service in the Congress. The creation of the Internet was a process that had several phases and took several years, and Gore is claiming the principal credit for the political side of that effort. It is a substantial claim, but an accurate one."

5. A $3,360 Internet-connected thunderstorm for the modern home. 

"The Cloud is an interactive lamp and speaker system, designed to mimic a thundercloud in both appearance and entertainment. Using motion sensors the cloud detects a user's presence and creates a unique lightning and thunder show dictated by their movement. The system features a powerful speaker system from which the user can stream music via any Bluetooth compatible device. Using color-changing lights the cloud is able to adapt to the desired lighting color and brightness. The cloud also has alternative modes such as a nightlight and music reactive mode."

Today's 1957 American English Usage Tip

cal(l)isthenics. Exercises to develop 'beautiful strength.' ('Chiefly a term of young ladies' boarding schools, OED.) The -ll- is 'etymologically preferable' and is now standard Brit.; the single -l- is est. in US.

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Beautiful Strength