Brand X — In this bloggish, off-beat (I suspect an attempt to produce a youth-appeal newspaper-Web feature) section of LATimes.com, here's sci-fact news of manufactured meat. Yum.

New York Times — There's no shortage of op-ed thinkers mouthing off on what President Obama's doing wrong. I like Frank Rich's analysis.

Techcrunch.com — A professed outsider looks at the suggestions that Conan O'Brien should take his show to the Internet.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Peter McKay writes another one of those coming-of-age columns. Worth a look.

AARP.org
After 50 years, AARP is still the senior kahuna. It's grown and spread from government advocacy for "retired persons" (remember "The Third Rail of Politics?) to a comprehensive commercial enterprise, selling its good name and selling insurance and dozens of other products, and discount deals to its vast membership. You can even kill time with games on its Website. Is it relevant in the 21st Century? You decide.

NPR's Planet Money -- One of the clearest sources of information on money and our tortured economy. Read, listen, learn.

NIH Senior Health site -- The U.S. government's encyclopedic health resource for people over 50. No ads.

DumbLittleMan.com - Here's a site created for all the right reasons. A fresh approach to positive thinking -- "Tips for Life." 3rdActs wants to be like DLM when it grows up.

AgeLab - MIT
I haven't decided what to make of this site yet. It's mainly a PR play by MIT -- like, you know, boomer aging is hot, so we're there. Still, I think you ought to know about it, since MIT is such an impressive think-tank for new technology.

Medicare.gov
Here it is, the one place where all the info lives. Not the easiest Website to navigate. Lots of words and lots of charts, and I still got lost, and it didn't save me any time when I went shopping for insurance. But I give them a B-plus for effort. On my to-do list: a how-to for this site.

New Old Age - nytimes.com
One of the NY Times's best new blogs. Reporter Jane Gross is talking to boomers with parents over 80. It's one of those information jobs newspapers do the best, and TV will never do right.

NIH Senior Health
An essential and excellent, encyclopedic health site from the US Government -- the CIA of health. Pretty well-done and navigable site.

-- DN