Last week, we brought you our run down of some of the dumbest calls, worst decisions, and overall bonehead moves of the past year. We don’t want to go out on a low note, though — we try to think more of the world at large than that, even if we don’t always succeed. It’s in that spirit that we offer the following ten things that rank among our very favorite to happen in 2012, from a brilliant new LEGO Settlers of Catan board to Joss Whedon’s in the offing return to television with a S.H.I.E.L.D series for which we couldn’t be more excited. Let us know what we missed and what you think the best things to happen this year were in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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1. FCC Tells Commercials to Keep It Down
Does it always seem like commercials are louder than the actual thing you're watching? That's not your imagination -- advertisers desperate for your attention typically jack up the volume to get it. No more, though. The passage of the CALM Act means that commercials will no longer be an offensive assault on our senses. Well, they still will be, actually, but they'll at least be quieter ones.
Read More: FCC Tells Commercials to Keep It Down
2. A New Tooth Filling That Fights Cavity-Causing Bacteria
If there's one thing worse than having a cavity filled, it's having a cavity filled in a tooth you've already had a cavity in. That painful doubling up could one day be a thing of the past, though, thanks to researchers at the University of Maryland who have come up with a substance for dental fillings that actively fights further tooth decay, and anything that prevents visits to the dentist is a great call in our book.
Read More: A New Tooth Filling That Fights Cavity-Causing Bacteria
3. Landing The Curiosity Rover on Mars
We got up to plenty of crappy stuff as a species this year. We also dropped a robot onto another planet with a sky crane, in nothing but the name of discovery and exploration. That's an amazing thing, and while it doesn't forgive the ignoble endeavors we undertook, it does remind us of what we can do when we put our minds to it, and, sometimes, that is pretty incredible.
Read More: Landing The Curiosity Rover on Mars
4. IRL Frogger With the Traffic From 5th Avenue
Okay, so not every great decision of this year was a hugely noble one. Sometimes, it's kind of a goofy one, in fact, like updating a classic technology -- in this case, Frogger -- with a brand new one -- augmented reality -- to build something that gives you a new idea of what each one is capable of. For anyone who has wanted to the to experience the thrill of dodging traffic on a busy street without actually putting their life in mortal danger, a game that takes it's cues from live traffic on New York's Fifth Avenue is a real gift.
Read More: IRL Frogger With the Traffic From 5th Avenue
5. Google Fiber: 'Nuff Said
Slow Internet connection? We all bear the mark of that lash. In Kansas City, though, it may soon be a thing of the past as Google wires them up with fiber optic connections providing some of the fastest speeds ever available on the Internet. This is about more than making buffering a thing of the past, though. It's also bringing a new wave of tech immigrants to the city, with the potential to turn Kansas City into a new Silicon Valley for Middle America.
Read More: Google Fiber: 'Nuff Said
6. Re-Releasing Jet Set Radio
Ever since remixing old games for next generation consoles became a thing, we've had exactly one game at the top of our wish list -- the Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio , into which we sunk a great many hours of our misspent youth. Combining a psychedelic cel-shaded palate, one of the best game soundtracks on Earth, and tight, fun, one-of-a-kind skate/graffiti gameplay, it's no wonder we have fond memories of this one. If there's one thing better than fond nostalgia, it's finding a gem from your past that holds up as well as this one does in its HD remix.
Read More: Re-Releasing Jet Set Radio
7. LEGO Settlers of Catan
Clearly, Settlers of Catan is the best of all possible games, but even it has it's problems -- namely a board composed of pieces that can shift faster than the brief trading alliances the economics-based game of chance is famed for creating. We've seen other workarounds, like frames for the board and even other LEGO solutions, but this one is the most attractive and elegant board we've seen yet... and someday, we will play a game on it, mark our words.
Read More: LEGO Settlers of Catan
8. Just Five Bucks for a Louis C.K. HBO Special Without DRM
Louis C.K. is turning into the stand-up comic of his generation with a series of classic concerts and a critically acclaimed, award-winning TV show on FX. He's also shown himself to be a savvy businessman in the easiest way available by actively not screwing over his fans and making his stand-up shows available at a low price without DRM restrictions. Yes, people can still pirate his shows, and many probably do, but many of us also paid the perfectly reasonable asking price of five bucks for a copy we can play on any device or computer without hassle -- which, if you're the RIAA or MPAA and you're listening, was all we really wanted in the first place.
Read More: Just Five Bucks for a Louis C.K. HBO Special Without DRM
9. Giving Those Secret Space Telescopes You've Got Lying Around to NASA
You know how you will occasionally donate some old clothes to Goodwill, passing them along to someone who can put them to better use? Well, that's what the National Reconnaissance Office did with a pair of space telescopes earlier this year. Except since they're the National Reconnaissance Office, they didn't have jackets lying around, but a couple of space telescopes that had been in mothballs. Realizing that their reconnaissance capabilities were quite fine without them, they bequeathed the scopes to NASA in what has to be the best regifting of all time.
Read More: Giving Those Secret Space Telescopes You've Got Lying Around to NASA
10. Joss Whedon's New S.H.I.E.L.D. Show
After the mixed reviews garnered by Dollhouse and the network drama that has plagued his other programs, you could be forgiven for thinking that it might be a while before Joss Whedon returned to helm a new TV show. Turns out, all Whedon had to do for a blank check on TV was helm the biggest blockbuster of 2012, The Avengers . That got him signed on not only as director for the inevitable sequel to that film in a few years, but also to take point on ABC's upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. series, envisioned as a super-powered crime drama set in the Marvel U. We couldn't be more excited even if this meant the return of Clark Gregg. Oh, it does? We take it back -- more excited now.
Read More: Joss Whedon's New S.H.I.E.L.D. Show
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