Brain Pickings treats us to the only known recording of Virginia Woolf, here set to music by composer Brian Mark.

The transcript shows this lovely passage

Words, English words, are full of echoes, of memories, of associations — naturally. They have been out and about, on people’s lips, in their houses, in the streets, in the fields, for so many centuries. And that is one of the chief difficulties in writing them today — that they are so stored with meanings, with memories, that they have contracted so many famous marriages. 

Fast Company reports on a fully automated coffee service that will take orders by smartphone and help you send out word of your purchase. Although you'll be able to customize your order, I didn't see whether whether you'll be able to specify what time your drink should be ready. This appreciative comment on Yelp—I LOVE this place. They just upgraded and it's now fully automatic. It opens up officially next week, but I was able to try it out today and it is amazing.—seems to indicate that Briggo is already available in some places. I'm just thinking that getting your latte from a robot, as useful as that might be, can not possibly be as interesting and enjoyable as having a barista to talk to while your drink is made.

I know intuitively that I respond well to practitioners who take time to shake my hand. To learn what that handshake can accomplish is amazing. I've seen Verghese comment on adopting new technology before. (via MedGadget)

I've got to admit that my curiosity about and enthusiasm for this device dropped precipitously when a success rate of only 83% was revealed. Still... (via MedGadget)

Shira Toeplitz provides the perspective I've been looking for in explaining my stroke experience. You get better, but you don't really recover.

The last four years of my dad’s life were frustratingly humorless, especially for my sister, who handled most of his care during and just after her college years. A sudden brain injury and diabetic complications had left him unconscious in the ICU for weeks. In his early 60s, he had to learn to talk, walk, think and type all over again. He improved but never fully recovered.