The "Nerd Alert" Report...

Bored? Go watch a video of 7 bonafied nerds talking about their predictions for '09. What's going to be the next big thing in tech this year? Will Twitter take over the world? Will tech nerds ever get sick of seeing themselves on video? [Observer]

Saffron Asparagus Orzo: brwn c orzo/T butter/garlic; +.25t saffron&s+p/2.5c broth. Cvr@low9m; +2c asparagus3m. Fold+8T parmesan. Srv w parm. Confused? It's the Twitter Recipe site.  Maureen Evans has managed to convert dozens of recipes into 140 characters. [NYTimes]

I have strangely been craving a Butterfinger lately. I can't put my finger on it, but I think it might be my constant refresh of this site.  Read how the nerds are weighing in on two of their own. [The Awl]

The Oprah effect. When she picks a book to read, the effect on sales is legendary. She may have even had a hand in the election of our nation's first black president. But, this week, Oprah's influence-meter jumped to a whole new level. After the talk show host joined Twitter, there was a 43% jump in traffic. [USA Today]

San Francisco's mayor, Gavin Newsom, decided it was just about time to visit Facebook offices, the company that is single handedly keeping his city relevant. Obviously, there are photos of this momentus event. [Dave Morin]

Think you're an accomplished multitasker? This guy wrote an entire novel while commuting on the F train, entirely on his smartphone. 45 minutes each way can go a long way. [Gothamist]

AT&T was just as shitty at Coachella as it was at SXSW, making their iPhone app for the event almost useless. Sucks to be the programmers of that project. [Gizmodo]