Tab Sweep 14

The University of Washington has released a cool tool for recovering stolen laptops. Adeona is completely free and decentralized. I've had Undercover from Orbicule installed on my last couple laptops, but now I'm thinking of switching to Adeona. (via Freakonomics.)

A Google map of coyote sightings in Seattle (via Inessential.)

The new Mount Rainier visitor center at Paradise is open. I wrote a bit about the old "spaceship" visitor center here.

I'm amazed at the continued level of interest in David Lynch's Twin Peaks. In Twin Peaks, WA has some great "then and now" shots of locations used in the show. I bought my Primo Grill at a place half a block from the Double R Diner.

It's too bad Canon's new PowerShot G10 has such disappointing high-ISO performance on an otherwise stellar camera. Why do camera companies keep chasing after higher pixel counts? I'd happily settle for half as many pixels on a compact digicam that can shoot smooth, low-noise shots at, say, 1600 ISO. Make it 3200 ISO and throw in RAW support and I'm sold! I can't be alone on this, can I? (via Engadget.)

These beautiful pictures of slime molds remind me of a great TED talk I watched on our flight to California: Paul Stamets: 6 ways mushrooms can save the world. Did you know fungi are more animal-like than plant-like? (via digg.)

Something new from the makers of Bacon Salt: Baconnaise—bacon-flavored mayonnaise! To tell you the truth, I was a little disappointed in Bacon Salt (the salt-bacon ratio tilts way too far toward saltiness), but Baconnaise sounds like a winner. (via Slashfood.)

Once upon a time, there was a Cable TV channel that played music videos. That channel is long gone, but today MTV rolled out something better: MTV Music. With a gazillion videos, there's something for everybody. MTV: some people just don't get it. (via Giz.)

"The Unfinished Swan is a first-person painting game set in an entirely white world. Players can splatter paint to help them find their way through an unusual garden." Brilliant. (via Kottke.)

Annoyed by the TSA's Security Theater? You'll be even more annoyed after reading The Things He Carried, by Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic. (via Schneier on Security.)

Xylocopa: A Young Mad Scientist's First Alphabet Blocks. A is for Appendages, B for Bioengineering, C for Caffeine... (via MAKE: Blog.)

Ecobee, the thermostat of the future. And I thought our thermostat was cool.