It's that time of year again.

An annual compendium of ideas from A to Z.

Selected ideas include:

Acoustic Keyboard Eavesdropping
The Employable Liberal Arts Major
Feral Cities
Fertile Red States
Genetic Family Values
Hawkishness as Evolutionary Holdover
Kill Midlevel Terrorists
Land-Mine-Detecting Plants
The Mainstream Mash-Up
Purple-State Country Music
Wal-Mart Sovereignty

Asonov says that he has heard rumors of research into the possibility of using computers to translate the humming of ink-jet printers into the actual text being printed.

facture. noun. (from Latin factura action of making, from factus.) the manner in which something (as an artistic work) is made: execution.

The shareholder, in their view, is a child -- fickle and hyperactive. Care for him, provide for him and, above all, keep him from the ruinous path of instant gratification.

The scientists admit that there is probably no practical use for this knowledge.

"It's more grass roots."

It turns out that geek to geek, informal and honest, is a pretty good model.

"But what are you going to do with that?"

"premature professionalism"

"I'd been yelling about politics for years, but no one listened to me. Then I put up a couple of animations, and everyone watches."

The single most intriguing purple-state record of the year certainly belongs to Jack White, of the trendy garage-rock duo the White Stripes, and Loretta Lynn -- yes, that Loretta Lynn.

The Year in Ideas