Monday, October 06, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
The 2008 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
ingloriously stolen from io9.com:
Last night, the Annals of Improbable Research held its 18th annual Ig Nobel Prizes. The prizes are awarded for scientific and social achievements "that first make people laugh, then make people think." And this year’s winners include studies on puzzle-solving slime molds, the spermicidal capabilities of Coca-Cola, and the economics of ovulating strippers.
The prizes were awarded in a ceremony at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater in ten areas:
* Nutrition: Massimiliano Zampini and Clark Spence for demonstrating that, when the sound of eating a potato chip is modified, the eater believes the chip is fresher and crisper than it really is.
* Peace: The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity.
* Archeology: Astolfo G. Mello Araujo and Jose Carlos Marcelino for demonstrating how the actions of an armadillo may scramble the contents of an archeological dig site.
* Biology: Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert, and Michel Franc for discovering that fleas on a dog jump higher than fleas on a cat.
* Medicine: Dan Ariely for demonstrating the high-cost placebos are more effective than low-cost placebos.
* Cognitive Science: Toshiyuki Nakagaki, Hiroyasu Yamada, Ryo Kobayashi, Atsushi Tero, Akio Ishiguro, and Agota Toth for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles.
* Economics: Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur, and Brent Jordan for discovering that a lap dancer’s ovulatory cycle affects the tips she earns.
* Physics: Dorian Raymer and Douglas Smith for mathematically proving that a heap of hair or string will inevitably tangle itself into knots.
* Chemistry: Sharee A. Umpierre, Joseph A. Hill, and Deborah J. Anderson for demonstrating that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide, and Chuang-Ye Hong, C.C. Shieh, P. Wu, and B.N. Chiang for discovering that Coca-Cola is not an effective spermicide.
* Literature: David Sims for his study "You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations.”
The 2008 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
Last night, the Annals of Improbable Research held its 18th annual Ig Nobel Prizes. The prizes are awarded for scientific and social achievements "that first make people laugh, then make people think." And this year’s winners include studies on puzzle-solving slime molds, the spermicidal capabilities of Coca-Cola, and the economics of ovulating strippers.
The prizes were awarded in a ceremony at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater in ten areas:
* Nutrition: Massimiliano Zampini and Clark Spence for demonstrating that, when the sound of eating a potato chip is modified, the eater believes the chip is fresher and crisper than it really is.
* Peace: The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity.
* Archeology: Astolfo G. Mello Araujo and Jose Carlos Marcelino for demonstrating how the actions of an armadillo may scramble the contents of an archeological dig site.
* Biology: Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert, and Michel Franc for discovering that fleas on a dog jump higher than fleas on a cat.
* Medicine: Dan Ariely for demonstrating the high-cost placebos are more effective than low-cost placebos.
* Cognitive Science: Toshiyuki Nakagaki, Hiroyasu Yamada, Ryo Kobayashi, Atsushi Tero, Akio Ishiguro, and Agota Toth for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles.
* Economics: Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur, and Brent Jordan for discovering that a lap dancer’s ovulatory cycle affects the tips she earns.
* Physics: Dorian Raymer and Douglas Smith for mathematically proving that a heap of hair or string will inevitably tangle itself into knots.
* Chemistry: Sharee A. Umpierre, Joseph A. Hill, and Deborah J. Anderson for demonstrating that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide, and Chuang-Ye Hong, C.C. Shieh, P. Wu, and B.N. Chiang for discovering that Coca-Cola is not an effective spermicide.
* Literature: David Sims for his study "You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations.”
The 2008 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Debates - get rid of 'em
These debates are interesting, but it's mostly for show. I say we do away with the debates and worrying about how the candidates are saying things and switch to a Big Brother/Real World style situation. Take the last 4 months before the election, and put all 4 of them in the same house and force them to live together, give them topics/questions, but not shine a light on them and let them know when people are watching for their answers.
UPDATE: Make them prove their claims. if they dispute something the other one says "You voted for" "Obama didn't vote for" PROVE IT! cite your sources!
UPDATE: Make them prove their claims. if they dispute something the other one says "You voted for" "Obama didn't vote for" PROVE IT! cite your sources!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wait, what?!
Watch these...
Watch CBS Videos Online
and seriously try to convince me that she's qualified to be the second in line to be president of the united states of america. Seriously. She continues to boggle my mind every time I hear her open her mouth.
Watch CBS Videos Online
and seriously try to convince me that she's qualified to be the second in line to be president of the united states of america. Seriously. She continues to boggle my mind every time I hear her open her mouth.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I hope people protest this post
I had a really long post written up, but stupid clipmarks barfed on it. Anyways, read the story, and if it makes you go "What the fuck?! Why would they do that?!" then you and I are on the same page
 clipped from www.newsnet5.com
The Ponderosa restaurant shut down last week, after nearly a dozen other locations closed earlier this month. Dozens of North Olmsted employees were left without jobs and paychecks. Boukzam said he tried to sell some of the restaurants, but the deals fell through last week and he had to close several locations, including North Olmsted and Elyria.The workers held a protest demanding answers and their last paychecks from Boukzam. "I have five children and my husband doesn't have a job. We live on that paycheck, and now nothing," said former employee Chand Heer. "It makes me upset because I have a 5-month-old son and now I don't have a job," said former employee Arrianne Songer. "I had to ask people for money so I could pay my cell phone today," said former employee Peter Weber.
|
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
I may have to buy this book
I'm an admitted addict to the LOLcats. If I ever decide to get a kitten, I will more than likely name it Kitteh, and talk to it every day in lolcat language. I would probably also end up trying to take LOLcat pictures of Kitteh and add my own captions. I'm not sure if I should be scared that the LOLcat phenomenon has gotten itself so firmly rooted in my brain that I still to this day laugh at almost every LOLcat picture I see or if I shud jus haf lotz of lulz n be happiez for the kitteh's! yay kitteh's!!!
 clipped from icanhascheezburger.com
|
Monday, September 22, 2008
A trip through blog history..
I've been going through jennifer's blog lately, going back to her earliest posts. It's really interesting to look back on the things that at the time were significant, but now might not hold as much importance. and more interesting than that, finding the seemingly insignificant moments that ended up completely re-inventing the person she was and created the person that she is today. So I figured, why not go through my own blog and find some interesting moments that have happened. Join me :) *waves his hand in the air*
The Professional - June 2005 - This post is significant to me because of what I wrote in the body. That basically summarizes the relationship I had with Zak. I was also trying to make/keep him happy. I learned alot from my experiences with him, mostly about what kinds of people I do and don't want in my life.
TGIT - June 2005 - The apocalypse was basically somebody at work quitting. At this time, I couldn't handle changes like this. I would be wracked with anxiety. "How would we cope without so-and-so?? There's no way we'll be able to do what they did??" I had no clue what an apocalypse really was :)
life - August 2005 - This would be one of the first real tragedies since I started blogging. I still can to this day visualize myself the night of the fire. Standing in the cul-de-sac of their neighborhood, rain pouring down, firetrucks surrounding me, standing in inches of water, both from the rain and the firehoses, thunder crashing and lightning flashing, watching my sister's home and the majority of their belongings go up in smoke.
My Passion - August 2005 - 3 years later and I still don't have a passion. Not a good trend :)
Update in Four Parts - September 2005 - The significance of this post is the fact that my mom was in the psychiatric ward. This was one of those defining moments when you realize you're not a kid, and your parents aren't going to always be there to protect you from the world. My parents were my core, my rock, my foundation for so long, and this was one of the bigger cracks to that foundation.
Sick Day Post - October 2005 - heh. This is one of those times I really wish I had a time machine and could go back in time and change the past. But then I think that I wouldn't be the person I am today, had I not gone through the experiences with Kendra that I did. It's unfortunate that this was the beginning of the last 3-4 months of my father's life and I spent it getting myself wrapped up in a woman that didn't deserve my attention. C'est la vie. One of the biggest things I learned from Kendra was the fact that my biggest strength is also my biggest weakness. My willingness to make people happy can take on a life of its own if I'm not careful, and can lead me down the path where I put other people's happiness, health, and safety above my own.
Sunday Post - November 2005 - (editor's note: I was going to go through the whole blog in one post, but I've hit so many highlights in one year, that I'll break it up by year) The significance is this one is the work stuff. This was a period of time when I really had a problem with people saying I was wrong, or saying/doing things I thought were "stupid" I still have this problem, but I think I'm doing a little better in recognizing when it's rearing it's ugly head. But working at MIS has definitely given me the experience of working with difficult personalities. A big lesson I've learned that I need to focus more on is the fact that life will rarely go the way it should. Life is going to go the way it is, and we're going to just have to make the best out of it. We can't change people, unless they themselves want to change. And just because we think something's right in our head, doesn't necessarily MAKE us right.
I'm a mess - November 2005 - Man, you'd think I was hopped up on something the way I was acting back then. Love (or a convincing facsimile) can really fuck a guy up ;-)
Been a while - December 2005 - Things get hard with Kendra around here. Had I known what was in store for me the following month, I would've ended things much sooner.
Well, those are the highlights of 2005. Stay tuned for 2006, filled with the biggest tragedy I've suffered so far, plus hopefully a couple positive things mixed in for flavor :)
The Professional - June 2005 - This post is significant to me because of what I wrote in the body. That basically summarizes the relationship I had with Zak. I was also trying to make/keep him happy. I learned alot from my experiences with him, mostly about what kinds of people I do and don't want in my life.
TGIT - June 2005 - The apocalypse was basically somebody at work quitting. At this time, I couldn't handle changes like this. I would be wracked with anxiety. "How would we cope without so-and-so?? There's no way we'll be able to do what they did??" I had no clue what an apocalypse really was :)
life - August 2005 - This would be one of the first real tragedies since I started blogging. I still can to this day visualize myself the night of the fire. Standing in the cul-de-sac of their neighborhood, rain pouring down, firetrucks surrounding me, standing in inches of water, both from the rain and the firehoses, thunder crashing and lightning flashing, watching my sister's home and the majority of their belongings go up in smoke.
My Passion - August 2005 - 3 years later and I still don't have a passion. Not a good trend :)
Update in Four Parts - September 2005 - The significance of this post is the fact that my mom was in the psychiatric ward. This was one of those defining moments when you realize you're not a kid, and your parents aren't going to always be there to protect you from the world. My parents were my core, my rock, my foundation for so long, and this was one of the bigger cracks to that foundation.
Sick Day Post - October 2005 - heh. This is one of those times I really wish I had a time machine and could go back in time and change the past. But then I think that I wouldn't be the person I am today, had I not gone through the experiences with Kendra that I did. It's unfortunate that this was the beginning of the last 3-4 months of my father's life and I spent it getting myself wrapped up in a woman that didn't deserve my attention. C'est la vie. One of the biggest things I learned from Kendra was the fact that my biggest strength is also my biggest weakness. My willingness to make people happy can take on a life of its own if I'm not careful, and can lead me down the path where I put other people's happiness, health, and safety above my own.
Sunday Post - November 2005 - (editor's note: I was going to go through the whole blog in one post, but I've hit so many highlights in one year, that I'll break it up by year) The significance is this one is the work stuff. This was a period of time when I really had a problem with people saying I was wrong, or saying/doing things I thought were "stupid" I still have this problem, but I think I'm doing a little better in recognizing when it's rearing it's ugly head. But working at MIS has definitely given me the experience of working with difficult personalities. A big lesson I've learned that I need to focus more on is the fact that life will rarely go the way it should. Life is going to go the way it is, and we're going to just have to make the best out of it. We can't change people, unless they themselves want to change. And just because we think something's right in our head, doesn't necessarily MAKE us right.
I'm a mess - November 2005 - Man, you'd think I was hopped up on something the way I was acting back then. Love (or a convincing facsimile) can really fuck a guy up ;-)
Been a while - December 2005 - Things get hard with Kendra around here. Had I known what was in store for me the following month, I would've ended things much sooner.
Well, those are the highlights of 2005. Stay tuned for 2006, filled with the biggest tragedy I've suffered so far, plus hopefully a couple positive things mixed in for flavor :)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
painting parties, knickers, and monocles
where did this whole painting party concept come from? when did a difficult and time consuming chore become something that people want to force their friends to do with/for them? what's next? grass mowing party? deck building party? laundry party? Ho ho! those can be wild ones, especially if everyone's knickers end up intertwined with one another. Ho ho!! *puts his monocle back in his eye, since it fell out from his boisterous "Ho ho!" laughing*
Monday, September 15, 2008
sick day findings
I'm home sick today, so I'm randomly surfing the internet from bed in between naps and runs to the bathroom.
I found this bbc series called Look Around You. It's a send-off of 70s educational films.
I found this bbc series called Look Around You. It's a send-off of 70s educational films.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Random Thought of the Day
I'm the most at peace sitting in a house where I can hear other people doing something. I don't need to see them, or know what they're doing. I just need to be able to hear them. Knowing I'm not alone and that someone else is there with me, brings me peace and lets me relax....
which explains why I haven't really been all that peaceful or relaxed since I moved out on my own :-P
which explains why I haven't really been all that peaceful or relaxed since I moved out on my own :-P
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Fast Food Diatribe
me: how can wendy's advertise the baconator?
me: I just don't understand
g-door: LOLOL
g-door: why don't you understand it? LOL
me: how can that be legal??
me: it's so wrong
me: in any number of ways
g-door: LMAO
g-door: have you had one?
me: yet they can advertise it all they want
me: no, thakn god
me: I'd probably have a heart attack
g-door: it's not very good LOL
me: it doesn't look good with the fancy fake meat they use for the cmomercial
me: I can imagine the real "meat" can't look that good
g-door: yeah, it looks really nice in the picture....when you get it....it's all smashed LOL
me: so, cigarette ads have to be regulated, alcohol as well. but digusting horrible for you fast food can be shown any time of day LOL
me: you know, it's like when the whole biggie-size, supersize trend came about
me: and then people got pissed off
me: and then they just changed the names
me: and everybody forgot
g-door: ahuh LOL
me: oh, ok, it's a large size
me: that's fine
me: didn't they have an extra-biggie for a while there too?
me: I think they did
g-door: yeah, I think so
g-door: mmmmmmmmmmm extra biggie lol
me: ROFL
me: I remembner the drink was gigundous and I couldn't believe how many fries they gave you
g-door: LOL
g-door: it was a lot lol
me: it's like those damn mcdonald's commercials during the olympics!
g-door: LOLOLOL
me: I want to be like a random generic supposed olympic athlete! I'll eat a piece of fried chicken on a greasy biscuit for breakfast! like they do!!!
g-door: LO
g-door: ok door!!!!!
g-door: what sport do you want to do?
me: at this point I'd be perfect for anything that involves struggling to get out of a chair and ending up winded after taking a shower. oh and anything that involves the destruction of furniture/seating due to excess weight
me: I just don't understand
g-door: LOLOL
g-door: why don't you understand it? LOL
me: how can that be legal??
me: it's so wrong
me: in any number of ways
g-door: LMAO
g-door: have you had one?
me: yet they can advertise it all they want
me: no, thakn god
me: I'd probably have a heart attack
g-door: it's not very good LOL
me: it doesn't look good with the fancy fake meat they use for the cmomercial
me: I can imagine the real "meat" can't look that good
g-door: yeah, it looks really nice in the picture....when you get it....it's all smashed LOL
me: so, cigarette ads have to be regulated, alcohol as well. but digusting horrible for you fast food can be shown any time of day LOL
me: you know, it's like when the whole biggie-size, supersize trend came about
me: and then people got pissed off
me: and then they just changed the names
me: and everybody forgot
g-door: ahuh LOL
me: oh, ok, it's a large size
me: that's fine
me: didn't they have an extra-biggie for a while there too?
me: I think they did
g-door: yeah, I think so
g-door: mmmmmmmmmmm extra biggie lol
me: ROFL
me: I remembner the drink was gigundous and I couldn't believe how many fries they gave you
g-door: LOL
g-door: it was a lot lol
me: it's like those damn mcdonald's commercials during the olympics!
g-door: LOLOLOL
me: I want to be like a random generic supposed olympic athlete! I'll eat a piece of fried chicken on a greasy biscuit for breakfast! like they do!!!
g-door: LO
g-door: ok door!!!!!
g-door: what sport do you want to do?
me: at this point I'd be perfect for anything that involves struggling to get out of a chair and ending up winded after taking a shower. oh and anything that involves the destruction of furniture/seating due to excess weight
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Legend of Neil
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
