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Dear My iPhone 4S,

I'm sorry, but the time has come. You knew what this was when this first started. You knew that, eventually, I'd be seeing other phones. That's why I made sure things didn't get too serious. Sure, I bought you that nice case, but that, frankly, was as much for my protection as for yours. 

We had great times, though. I'll admit, before you, I had never even thought about talking with a mobile phone, and with you I ended up having whole conversations! I turned to you for everything: helping me find places to eat, settling bar bets and tabs, helping me keep track of my appointments. 

And my God were you good looking! Your screen was always a head-turner. 

But, as they say, you're not getting any younger. Every year a new crop of hot new phones come out and hey, I'm only a consumer. And before you ask, yes there is someone else. I won't say who, but you can probably figure it out from my social media feed. 

But don't despair. You're still a great phone, with lots to offer. I've got a friend who has had his eye on you. You'll like him. I'll set you two up.

Yours,

Hold on to your supersized slurpees, kids. New York City’s Board of Health has officially passed the “thou shalt not soda more than 16 ounces” rule, according to the New York Times.

After months of debate, the heavily controversial ban was passed yesterday morning, putting into place the “sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters” beginning next March. The ruling, of course, has not gone unnoticed – according to New York Magazine’s Daily Intel, the city fielded 38,000 comments from concerned – or ecstatic – citizens.

  Strong opinions? Comment here, let us know – we promise there’s some else who agrees.

Image via Vox Efx

Hold on to your supersized slurpees, kids. New York City’s Board of Health has officially passed the “thou shalt not soda more than 16 ounces” rule, according to the New York Times.

After months of debate, the heavily controversial ban was passed yesterday morning, putting into place the “sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters” beginning next March. The ruling, of course, has not gone unnoticed – according to New York Magazine’s Daily Intel, the city fielded 38,000 comments from concerned – or ecstatic – citizens.

 Video via youtube

Strange but true! Lego has never released a haunted house set. But now the new Monster Fighters (a set of Victorian-inspired heroes who vow to take down zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc.) have a battleground.

The three-story Haunted House has over 2,000 pieces. The designers were challenged with the problem of making shiny, new plastic bricks look old and spooky. Their solve? “Broken” floors, crooked shutters, and an attic complete with stacks of newspapers and boxes. Other details include deer horns above the bed, a gramophone player with records, and spider web stickers.

The Culturazzi loves this jam:

Image via WIRED

While everything is cuter in miniature proportions, everything is even better when it’s bigger. Especially toys. Here are three larger-than-life projects that take the classics and blow up the fun just a little bit–ok a lot bit.

Giant Rubik’s Cube

It’s more than 2 feet by 2 feet and the man who created it uses it as a coffee table. Considering that it’s fully functional, you might not want to set anything on top–until the puzzle is fully completed of course.

Giant Lego Car

This 1997 Volvo went from boring to dorktastic–in a good way–with just a little paint and a studded hood. Buy this Amsterdam-based car or recreate the look on your own ride.

Image courtesy of Mohzy

USB drives are awesome. They’re small, portable, and hold tons of data. The ubiquity of them make floppy disks seem like an ancient relic, we wonder how we ever got by with such limited storage capability (only 1.4 megabytes?). They are by far the most convenient devices in terms of physical storage products.

Image Via GoSoapBox

Many educational experts argue that technologies such as smartphones and tablets are a distraction during school hours. With students able to constantly text each other, watch YouTube videos, or play Angry Birds, it's no wonder schools are wary to allow technology into the classroom. 

GoSoapBox hopes to change these attitudes with their web-based app. Used in classrooms, students can ask questions, participate in discussions, take quizzes, and let the teacher know if they are confused or comprehending the material. Most importantly, this is done in real time to ensure instant feedback.

Image via Moleskine

Dieter Rams is for me what Joss Whedon is for sci-fi nerds or Michael Jordan is for sports fans, a larger than life character who basically changed the game. Rams almost literally designed the modern world. He worked for decades at Braun making coffee makers and shavers into works of functional art, and now he has a retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

Check out this great interview on Dwell as he discusses his essentials of design. According to him, products should be "easy to understand" something designers like Apple have clearly taken to heart. Need more proof that this dude knows his stuff?

Video courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy

It’s like the Olympics, but for eco-nerds.

Washington, D.C. is currently filled with maker-minded collegiate folk as they take on the ultimate challenge: building a home. The catch? It has to be energy-efficient, affordable, and – oh yeah – good looking. It’s a brutal race to win the U.S. Department of Energy’s biannual Solar Decathlon.

The contestants have seven days to bring their vision to life before the solar village opens to the public on Friday. But once the global contests complete construction, the competition has only begun. Teams will be ranked on performance, education, and promotion in addition to design, architecture, and engineering.

Image courtesy of TheWandCompanyLtd

While I love a good movie replica, a plastic prop is never fully satisfying. My lightsaber – no matter how many noises it makes – isn’t a true laser sword. From what I can remember, that proton pack of my childhood never really caught ghosts. And even though I can walk into Olivander’s at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, whichever wand I choose is not going to make magic.

But The Wand Company is changing that. This isn’t your average reproduction movie prop.

Photo via WIRED

 Did you enjoy this week’s high-profile firing? Poor Carol Bartz of Yahoo! never really had a chance. With Yahoo’s stock in the tank and the Dow Jones doing its schizophrenic freak-out routine this month, only Steve Jobs could’ve kept that job. But she went out just like she came in, with a short email displaying all the authenticity and candor she was known for.  And if history’s any guide, Mrs. Bartz now has some terrific opportunities to look forward to.

Image via http://useful-banana.blogspot.com/

Do bananas have a future in the US? The widely prevalent and downright dominant Cavendish variety of banana is at risk of extinction. Dan Koeppel, author of The Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World uncovers the possibility that a lethal fungus will irradicate the Cavendish and argues that this possibility is practically a certainty. In his interview with Ira Flatow for NPR’s Science Friday program, Mr. Koeppel explains the fascinating reason the Cavendish became the only banana variety widely sold in the US, and why it’s reign is coming to an end.