Maybe they want to be our friends...

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/012635.html

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Some random stuff (to distract from Gravel)

Ok, I'm gonna post today. Since I seem to have transitioned from slashdot to metafilter as my primary `reading things to kill time' source, I'm going to run through some of the things I liked from the past couple of weeks. And then, some other stuff.



a) This is freaking sweet! I didn't know such things were allowed! Now, to work on these guys.
b) This is somewhat less sweet. Still good, though. Or bad? Anyway, weird (but with video). Would you like a certificate?
c) I enjoyed reading this article. Although the bird flu thing really felt just tacked on at the last minute.
d) I also enjoyed this one, although you'll probably find it a bit more dull....
e) This one is old, but amusing if you start all the way at the beginning. Also, this page isn't all that great, but the first comment is fantastic.
f) You probably know about this, but I think it's further evidence that animals used to be much more awesome than they are now. Another fine example: Glyptodon.
g) Stupid puns aside, did you know about this? Really? Anyway, as a Texan, I take great pride in my noble gasses.


Also, I can provide no evidence for this, but earlier today CNN had a `developing story' about mysterious `botnets' that can control computers. Yes, developing. Like that whole `internet' thing.

Oh, by the way, I joined facebook. I want attention. Gimmie.

And you know, we've all had days like this. Well, probably not, but we've all felt like it.

Finally, I wanted to mention something funny I once wrote for multiple reasons:
i) This post wasn't all that funny, in my opinion.
ii) I want our new readers to read it.
iii) It would appear that there's a livejournal page for anything.
iv) I think I have discovered a good source for single, nerdy men for anyone interested.
v) I like making lists.

Ok, I have to do math. And write an hour talk. And apply for more postdocs. And do more math. Bah!

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Gravel's got Huckabee beat

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Holiday movie goodness

I love Christmas movies! Last night, I watched Charlie Brown's Christmas and a Muppet's Christmas Carol. This evening, roommate Sarah and I started with Miracle on 34th Street (my favorite movie of all time), and now we're watching Holiday Inn, which was lovely until the disturbing black face musical number.

How bout y'all - what are you favorite Holiday movies?

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The blog is lonley =(

Where did all of the HONners go?

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Late night Internet goodness

I know we're all sleepy and fresh off vacation, but there's a wacky world of weirdness out there, people! HON readers deserve to know!

Most of these are admittedly stolen from fark and other news ags.


Reason 7,941 I'm glad I don't have children is right here - this thing CRAWLS IN FROM THE FOREST to sleep with their child. If you stare at the picture long enough, it's almost adorable and then...back to eeeew.

Who knew that North Korea could make me thankful for CRS? This this article sure did. If you get executed firing squad style for making a few phone calls, imagine what they'd do to you for blogging. And my man Kim Jong Il looks like he's at a concert. There's something Christopher Walkenesque to him. Except someone died. For making a few calls. Damn.

This is nothing new, but don't believe what you see.

In happier news, here's what to get Fodder for his wedding. We can all chip in. Especially if we're as smart as this woman.

Guten Nacht, mein freund.

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Short on Christmas ideas?

All of your holiday presents are coming from here.

For Ms. Dorki, the partier, we have radiation condoms. For That Guy, who always has a sweet tooth: delicious uranium ice cream. For Mathgimp and Joey, my scientists, the Atomic Energy Lab toy. For Ms. Smed, we have radium beauty cream. Data Nerdette's all in to eastern healing, so for her the radioactive health balls. I don't have any artist friends, but when I find them, they will recieve a radium paint kit.

Know the best part? These gifts are so good, I don't have to go shopping for you next year! Or ever again.

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Win for science?

Blah blah blah the political implications don't astound me. Even if skin stem cells can cure disease, we could cure more by opening up the embryonic line to federal funding as well. But, my scientists and science writers, is this
as big of a deal as it's portrayed to be? Enlighten me.

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Glorious insults...

This from Fodder, our absentee blogger (and roommate) who is too busy being engaged to give HON much love these days. He says: "These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still valued, before a great portion of the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words." Too fuckin right. Here's my favorite, and then the rest of after the jump.

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
-Paul Keating


The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my
husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy."
-Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
- Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about."
-Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great
pleasure."
-Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the
dictionary."
-William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
-Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading
it."
-Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know."
-Abraham Lincoln

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
-Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends"
-Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a
friend....if you have one."
-George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."
-Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
-Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
-Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others."
-Samuel Johnson

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure."
-Jack E. Leonard

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge."
-Thomas Brackett Reed

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination."
-Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music."
-Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
-Groucho Marx

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I'm voting republican

Finally, my vote will count for something in Texas.

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Quick Hello

I haven't had much to say lately - I'm done with CRS, wrapping up teaching, on a 10-day Thanksgiving break. Life is good, but surprisingly uneventful.

I'm almost done watching all of the West Wing, and the best quote of the series, I think, goes to Janeane Garofalo: "you're 23 years old with a shocking lack of facial hair. Do you really want to tell a grown woman how to drink?" I laughed for like an hour.

And, on my book kick, I would like to live here. Yay book towns!

That's all.
Love
me

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Math Gimp Look Alike!

Doesn't this guy on the right look like MathGamp?! He's from an Article about the flying spaghetti monster

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Quick note: XKCD Profiled in Wired

And the author is just as awesomely sentimental as you'd expect: here.

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Neat Book Sites

The holidays are a'comin, and books are the best presents ever. My friend Peter sent me this link a while ago, and I just got around to playing with it. You enter books you like, and it tells you what you should read next. It's pretty awesome. I tried a few different searches, and not only did books I had read and enjoyed come up based on what I put in, but also books and authors I've never heard of. For example, I put in The Time Traveler's Wife (which I love) and it recommended The Kite Runner, which I also loved, and a bunch of other books as well.

In other book related news, Powells has a neat service where they email you a bunch of different reviews as often as you want, and you can add books automatically to your wishlist. My wishlist is located here if you want to take a look =) For, you know, whatever reason =)

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Blogs heap love on my boyfriend

These floozy blogs can flatter Pete as much as they want, but they better keep their damn hands off him. These blog posts all relate to Pete's recent story on ABC news.

• This guy says, "It's an interesting article; well worth your time."
• This guy comments on Pete's really interesting bathroom wall pictures.
• This guy is a friend of Peter's, and I really like the entry about Pete's photography because he posted some bathroom wall pictures that weren't in the ABC story.
• This prestigious photojournalism blog gave Pete a shout out.

That's just a quick sweep of the coverage using the google blog function. Yay Pedro.

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Hilary Clinton's campaign = FEMA??

It's probably a problem that every time I read the US political news I throw up a little bit in my mouth. Deceitfulness is not confined to repugnant Republicans, sadly.

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Australia--Leader of Democracy

I just came across this today in the middle of some other work, but it's by far the coolest thing I've ever seen in politics. It could actually get me inspired to vote on a regular basis--like every five minutes. Australia has a fringe party called Senator Online. A human senator is run on the ticket, but then each of his or her votes is determined by Internet polling of every eligible voter in Australia. If something like this was launched in the US--and I mean explicitly, not just like Arnold following the polls in California--I think I'd quit everything else I was doing and donate all my money and time. If it incorporated text messaging for votes, I'd work a night job to donate more money.

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Would any of you ladies like to do some arts and crafts with me??

So artistically delicious!

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working link to previous post

this link should work: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/columnists/20071107_Jill_Porter___Hooker_Judge_is_not_denied__but_justice_is______.html let your outrage soar.

Type rest of the post here

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Wow. Just, Wow.

So, I recognize I haven't posted in a while. Shame on me. But this particular news story was so shocking that I felt the need to expose it. More than shocking, it's reprehensible.
The link:
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/columnists/20071107_Jill_Porter___Hooker_Judge_is_not_denied__but_justice_is______.html


I know I go to law school, and by this point, I should be desensitized to courts denying relief to people who clearly deserve it, and granting it to those who clearly don't. But it seems to me that our level of moral bankruptcy reaches new depths every damn day.

But instead of ranting about a country spinning out of control, I wanted to make an observation. The political and social pundits in 2000 and 2004 cited apathy as the reason that most young people fail to get involved. I agree. To a point. For those of us who follow the news obsessively (ahem, my co-authors), is it fair to characterize us as apathetic? Or are we just overwhelmed? On the other hand, is it fair for us to become so jaded, so quickly?

I started thinking about this after my glorious summer in DC. Mathgimp and Nuraido's porch was indeed a fabulous venue to spew our "pinko-commie-bleeding-heart-liberal" ravings. And at times, we need that. I know I couldn't survive without such spaces. But in the past few years, I realized that I can't do much more than complain about...well, everything.

I don't know where to start. Is there a place to start? I am so proud of all of you that do the work that you do -- it's clearly a testament to good works. I only wish that I could be that constructive. But in the end, is there any way that small chinks in the armor are going to become anything more than just that?

My apologies for absconding for a couple months and then dropping a post like this. But a ruling like this, from the "hallowed" halls of our courts just triggered something major.

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The world is a strange place

Another edition of weird shit that winds up online.... I'm not even sure what to think or how to feel about most of it. There are cows. There's sex. There's dead folk. It's kinda crazy.

First, a cow fell out of the sky in Washington State and crushed a mini van. People lived. Cow, not so much.

In Spain, there's a 95-year-old granny blogger. She sounds awesome. We now link to her blog here. Her header is: "My friends in Internet, today I am 95 years old. My name is Amelia and I was born in Muxía (A Coruña - Spain) on December the 23rd of 1911. Today it's my birthday and my grandson, who is very stingy, gave me a blog." I love it.

Also, most of you have probably heard about this, but there's an 8-limbed little girl in India who's about to be 4-limbed. Her village thinks she's a goddess. The doctors say her body ate her twin in the womb. (I thought of My Big Fat Greek Wedding...I'm a horrible, horrible person). Who knows? Maybe they're both right.

This is a little weird, but more ponderous. Short story: kids switched at birth, one is Saudi, one is Turkish. After four years, hospital realizes mistake. The parents are now going to trade kids so they get their birth child back. Once you have a four-year-old, who is a real little person with opinions and values and who can form sentences, wouldn't you want to keep the one you got? Unless your kid sucks. Then you just got a new lease on life.

In much stranger paternity news, an Israeli corpse is going to inseminate a stranger because a dead soldier's parents want grand kids.

My DC Rape Crisis Center coordinator sent out the final two articles, which just kinda piss me off. First, the stupid one, then the outrageous one. So, clearly HON is a sex-positive blog (look at Monday's posts to see just how sex-positive some of your authors are). For the most part, we're also self-proclaimed, say it loud and proud, feminists. The gist of this article: men want to have sex, women don't, women now feel empowered to say no, it's their fault relationships are being ruined.

Now, parts of the article make sense to me. People should have healthy sex lives in relationships. If both parties aren't GGG - Savage Love's "good, giving, and game" - Dan Savage you should get to look elsewhere. Maybe, maybe not. But the point is that Dan Savage, unlike the article above, puts the responsibility on both people to make - and keep - things interesting. Dr. Pam Spurr blames the feminists. Remember, feminism is what got most folks out of the missionary position, so maybe it hasn't been all bad for sex.

That being said, this article pisses me the fuck off. The ENTIRE POINT of feminism (well, feminism-as-I-see-it) is that sex can be a fun, creative act of negotiation, rather than a submissive act of procreation. Some folks (both men and women) very much like the candlelight blah blah blah thing, all the time. Some folks (both men and women) very much like the rip my clothes off blah blah blah thing, all the time. Most folks (both men and women) like a little of both. The notion that every woman is secretly waiting to be raped, and will be unsatisfied until that's fulfilled, is idiotic, dangerous, and misleading.

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Robots versus Babies

So this morning, as I'm getting ready for work, I hear an NPR story on toddlers and robots. The wonderful neuro-scientists, behavoralists and engineers at SONY are testing a 'bot and it's ability to socialize and be accepted by toddlers. But that's not where the story gets weird...

Turns out this story is a perennial thing on the news circuit. Through the power of the church of google, and while trying to dig up a media report on the Sony robots, I found a ton of press releases on the 'bots Sony is developing. The Sony version of the humanoid 'bot is the Qrio, and the "entertainment" 'bot, effectively a robot dog, is part of a group called AIBO.
Robo-SPOT is alive! And has voice recognition abilites!

And ....And Robo-SPOT understands English and Spanish!

And it turns out they've been running the machine-interaction lab with toddlers for a few years now, if this is the same lab (which I think it is....) Read all about how robots are teacher's little helpers: Robots attend UCSD nursery school in research study

Of course there are the detractors, namely child care providers. In a lovely and lo-tech site, the potential digital outsourcers are listed.
Daycare workers fear their jobs will be taken by robots....

Does this strike you as cool or creepy? Robots taking over? I can't really imagine playing hopscotch with Qrio but maybe I'm just too old school....

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Stewart possibly pays people to picket

There's some confusion, but it looks like Jon Stewart is paying his writers to participate in the writer's guild strike. As always, he's a badass.

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Who's a lefty?

You may not know this, but HON is overrun with left-handeders (I believe 9), Capricorns (I believe 5), and, the most special of all, left-handed Capricorns (I believe 4). I was of course delighted to see there is finally scientific support for our south paw superiority.

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Funny and very, very true

I thought of the lovely La C when I read this article. I giggled most of the way through it, because I think it's dead on, although I suspect the equally lovely Ms. Nerdette will disagree.

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Since we're callin people out...

Oh, the drinking will continue. Especially since our friend "That Guy" is a finalist for a Fulbright scholarship... kind of a big deal.

And, Sophie and John are engaged!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!!

The HON community is kickin' some ass right now! Keep it up!

Curing AIDS is nothing - we could do it next week =)

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Big Ups to the Clancinator

Because Kellie would never give herself "props" (can you tell I teach in PG County?) for kicking the living crap out of the GRE, I feel like somone needs to do it for her. She worked, and drank, her ass off studying for this damn thing, and all that booze paid off in the end. So Kellie, here's to you. You are an inspiration to us all. But now that the test is over we need to find something else to drive you crazy so that you don't sober up on us. Who's down for curing AIDS?

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You're not microblogging alone

Happy Monday morning, nerds and nerdettes!

So the next time someone says Web 2.0 technology is annoying, irrelevant, or silly, let them know... Twitter saves lives, people!

The story of how Twitter kept one unhappy nerd from flinging himself off a bridge, and how truly pervasive these new methods of communication have become -- after the jump.


Twitter is a microblogging site -- predating Facebook -- where people will post their "status", effectively what they're up to at the moment. Gmail chat and the plethora of instant messaging applications have a similar function.

I have to admit, originally I was skeptical. I mean, who the hell cares if I'm plucking my eyebrows, drinking a cup of coffee, or reacting to the score from last night's game?

Turns out, Twitter actually saved someone life --


"Mr. Starr, who was driving around near his hometown, wrote in Twitter’s characteristic staccato, stream-of-consciousness style about picking up some chicken wings and getting a new haircut. Then his postings took a darker turn.

At 6:02, he sent out a note about a nearby bridge: “Maybe I should jump from it?”

At 8:17, bemoaning his lack of close friends, he speculated about being the first “Twitter suicide.”

At 9:39, there was a final note: “Alright this is it. Parked my car. I wish everyone who ever was nice to me well. See you in the next life.”

Mr. Starr didn’t jump from the bridge, the Sunshine Skyway across Tampa Bay. The police found him asleep in his car the next morning. But the incident didn’t go unnoticed among Twitter users: Mr. Starr’s iPhone was jammed with text messages from people frantically trying to reach him. Some had alerted the local police."


Totally worth the read:
The Global Sympathetic Audience

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Fetish? Secret Obsession? Yes please...

Good morning my darling bloggers. Leave it up to your sweet sweet Dorki (you likeee the name changeee?) to begin our morning with a discussion about fetishes. On my way to work this morning, I found myself staring at a man next to me in traffic picking his nose like a wild animal. Clearly, I was loving every moment of it. I couldn't take my eyes off this man who seemed so at peace finger-deep in booger heaven. And at this moment I realized, my goodness, I am obsessed with boogers! I love the s#*t out of boogers(I'm trying to cut back on swearing)! I don't so much pick my own nose as I do other people's. What drives me even wilder than boogers themselves are the reactions I get when I dive at people's noses. No one sees it coming, it's awesome! My other fetish, I like to "accidentally" grab Nuraido's boobs. I pretty much do it every time I see her fine ars. And now, I'm noticing other perverts like me and their little fetishes. I have a new friend (we will call him "Elbows") who has a thing for, you guesses it, elbows! He basically plans his day according to how many elbow skins he can pinch and play with on perfect strangers. He's been seen frolicking the DMV and public bath houses. Ok, that's a lie, he is actually as uncreepy as Mathgimp. He just thinks elbow skins are fun to pull at, especially on old people because, and I quote him, "their skin stands up for hours!" Bravo to Elbows for his honesty. So my loves, I am humbly requesting your best, most foul, most intriguing fetish admissions and self incriminations. The blog is a safe space children, don't be afraid. GO ELBOWS!!!

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Blame the bloggers, protestors.

Sour grapes for President Bush. So his communication director thought it would be a good idea to blame MoveOn bloggers and CodePink protestors. What the hell was Dana Perino thinking?


So last night, Bush decided to go on the attack and blame all of our problems on the Far Left Wing of the the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy.

"When it comes to funding our troops, some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden and the requests of our commanders on the ground, and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and Code Pink protesters."

Um, yeah. My good friends at Think Progress have an insightful posting, and the footage. Also, the comments? Pretty funny.

Happy Friday, y'all.

xox,
Nerdette

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Weird Science Experiments. OMG.

From today's Guardian. Elephant on acid, dog head grafts and a seesaw to revive the dead. Holy mad scientists! Also, breaking: Scientific community rife with zen masters of the obvious.

Top 10 most bizarre experiments (with my comments, where warranted.)

Elephant receives massive dose of LSD to see if it induces temporary madness.
Conclusion: LSD is fatal to elephants
(this is making me snarf my coffee, and it's mean but funny. The idea of an elephant tripping balls is funny, but only in theory or far, far away behind glass.)

Aircraft passengers told they are about to die in crash make more mistakes in written test.
Conclusion: Extreme stress harms cognitive ability
(naaaaah, really? Suprised this didn't cause a heartattack.)

Two-headed dogs created by Soviet surgeon, above, but die within a month.
Conclusion: Tissue rejection makes animals incompatible
(Also, that plan for Cerberus is so totally not happening! Damn.)

Psychologist begins experiments on son to test if laughing is spontaneous when tickled.
Conclusion: Laughing is an innate response to tickling
(And Piaget doesn't know what hit him.)

A room of nail-biting boys is played a recording or spoken announcements to break the habit while they sleep.
Conclusion: Sleep learning is possible. Others prove otherwise.
(Or social embarrassment can also break nasty habits. Gross.)

To test if people can sleep through anything, volunteers have their eyes taped open and bright lights shone in their eyes.
Conclusion: The men dozed off in 12 minutes.
(Typical. Yawn.)

People asked to smell ammonia, put hands in a bucket of frogs and watch porn.
Conclusion: Disgust has no single expression.
(Personally, I find frogs kind of cute...)

Doctor rubs vomit from yellow fever patients into open wounds and drinks it.
Conclusion: Mistakenly claims it is not infectious
(Could have fooled me.)

Animal corpses placed on seesaw to restart circulation and bring them back to life.
Conclusion: Two animals survive with blindness and brain damage

Fake female turkey dismantled limb by limb to find minimum that a male will mate with.
Conclusion: Male turkeys aroused by a head on a stick, but not a headless body

See the full article here.

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