bushwells | September 15, 2007I concede. As self-deprecatory as I can be, I am left in the dust, gasping and quivering, by the mighty Christopher Hitchens who aptly displays the gloriously superior sense of humor that is characteristic of the human male. I am humbled, Mr. Hitchens. My hat's off to you.
In the latest Vanity Fair, Hitchens writes about his experience at the spa of the Four Seasons Biltmore Resort in Santa Barbara, CA: On the Limits of Self-Improvement, Part I.
It's an entertaining - and funny - article on the micro-economy of self-improvement. Be sure to check out the slide show!
jfiore | September 14, 2007We're a couple weeks into the semester and the ever-popular subject of the cost of textbooks has raised its head. Along with my students, I often wonder why they shell out so much for these works. I think there are several things at play here, but first a little background: I've been teaching at the college level for over 25 years and I've written a few textbooks myself, for two different publishers: West and Delmar/Thomson Learning (including the ever-exciting Op Amps and Linear Integrated Circuits mentioned on the sidebar, complete with color-coordinated matching laboratory manual). The…
bushwells | September 14, 2007The deck plantings looked innocent enough. Trite flowers and greenery were stuffed into cheap plastic containers, crammed together like so many commuters in a suburban horticultural subway car. Those frilly purple dames though. If he could only get a closer gander at them. They were so coy. Were they as virtuous as they seemed? He buzzed in for a closer look.
Then it hit him. These were not chaste flowers. Not at all. These were turgid violet temptresses. He knew he was taking his chances. If he flew too close, he would be sucked into the gaping purple...gaaaah!
I'm not sure of…
bushwells | September 13, 2007...to reassure the Kevin-o-philes and the Kevin-o-phobes, for that matter, that the raucous young bonobo will be back on the blog in the future. Exactly when that will be is to be determined at this point, but he will be back!
In the meantime, I am sure that Jim "I-am-the-god-of-drums-and-circuits-worship-me-you-fools" Fiore will continue to keep you entertained, e.g., the comments in response to Kevin's A-kickin' the Fannie (or a'dyin' tryin') post. As a last resort, I, The World's Most Boring Woman, will offer my garbled, geriatric mutterings. You will note that I do no take on or seek…
bushwells | September 12, 2007James Lileks maintains one of my favorite high-kitsch entertainment time-sinks, namely The Institute of Official Cheer. Lileks has scanned all sorts of advertisements, comics, and cookbooks (sp. The Gallery of Regrettable Food) from the 30, 40s, 50s and 60s, and then has commented on them. Some of his text makes me smile. Some makes me laugh aloud, spraying my computer monitor in a Jackson Pollock-like motif using masticated food or coffee as the medium.
A science and technology related addition to the Institute is Compu-Promo. Here's an excerpt from the introduction:
The "Computer" photo…
bushwells | September 11, 2007Or when Maidenform just isn't enough.
LiveScience reports that Bras Don't Support Bouncing Breasts.
The science of brassiere design in this study refers to the biomechanics of breasts bouncing during exercise. For women with larger endowment, e.g., a pair of D-cup breasts weighing 15-23 pounds, the unrestrained movement has potential to damage the delicate supporting ligaments and inflict pain. Women may abandon active sports because of this.
Sports bras of the compression type only limit up-and-down movement of the breasts. The study revealed that during vigorous exercise, women's…
bushwells | September 10, 2007In anticipation of forking over multiple dead presidents, a healthy kidney and sacrificing a pair of white doves to enter the local googolplex cinema to see 3:10 to Yuma, I indulged in a Christian Bale-o-thon this weekend. Well, OK, two DVDs don't make a "-thon" but it's a little more focused than my typical viewing habits.
The two films I watched this past weekend were Reign of Fire and The Prestige. Both qualify as Mystery Science Theatre designates. In fact, Michael Nelson of the real MST 3000 has a Riff on Reign of Fire available for the low, low, LOW price of $2.99!
Some of the blurbs…
jfiore | September 9, 2007Sequences, whether it's the colors of the rainbow, the names of the planets, or ages of Earth's geologic past just scream for mnemonic devices such as acronym-sentences. Some of these can be quite entertaining in their own right, and even more entertaining if you make them up yourself. For example, beginning electrical engineering and technology students are faced with the task of memorizing the resistor color code. The code is used to denote the nominal value of resistors with a total of ten colors corresponding to the numerals 0 through 9:
0 Black
1 Brown
2 Red
3 Orange
4 Yellow
5 Green
6…
bushwells | September 4, 2007This deserves to be highlighted. Hat tip to Lorri Talley (see comments in Orb Weaver entry).
I give you...
The Mating Dance of the Jumping Spider!
"I have the best pedipalps of them all! The very best. With my little dance, I will hypnotize you into wanting them. Yes, my darling, wanting them!"
bushwells | September 4, 2007Since Labor Day weekend has passed, it's time to put away those white shoes and to take note of the late summer orb weaver spiders.
Orb Weaver spiders are members of the Araneidae family. These include the ubiquitous yellow and black garden spider and familiar genera such as Mangora spp. and Araneus spp. When my kids were little, they referred to the more common Araneidae as "Charlottes" after E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.
Chimp Refuge field observers, Dawn & Bobby, recently shared a photo of an Araneidae arachnid that has set up her shop behind their house:
This is a pretty spider to…
bushwells | September 1, 2007A new addition can be found in the sidebar. Yes, the Chimp Refuge has joined the OUT Campaign bandwagon. Click on the Scarlet Letter of Atheism, and you will be taken to the site for the campaign which includes a link to Richard Dawkins' introduction to the initiative.
Since it's a Saturday, and I'm in a frivolous frame of mind, I'll post some atheist-friendly graphics below the fold. They may be already known to many but there's nothing as comforting as friendly familiar faces. Pull up a chair, have a cup of coffee (the Official Beverage of the Devil and Atheists) and have a look.
(Hat…
jfiore | August 31, 2007It's amazing the things you trip over while cruising the 'net. Consider this site. There's some fun stuff here, some good stuff here, and some downright crazy stuff here. For example, go to this page. You'll find the following passage:
What are angels ? According to the Bible they are Gods messengers of light. But what are they really ?
If you look up the words angles and angels you will see they connect to one another. Light comes down to the earth on an angle because of the gravitational pull of celestial bodies it passes.
These angles of light are photons which scientifically are…
bushwells | August 31, 2007...Why Bathroom Sex is So Hot.
The Salon newsletter popped up in my gmail files within the past hour with the aforementioned article by James Hannaham. It's a pretty interesting essay on the allure of public restroom schwinging and whether or not such acts make a guy Teh Gay or Not Teh Gay, as Senator Larry Craig would claim.
From the article:
Imagining that closeted gay men are the only ones involved in bathroom sex is naive, since it assumes that homosexual acts are synonymous with homosexual identity, which is silly. One hardly needs to be reminded of the many hyper-masculine settings…
jfiore | August 25, 2007Runners have a tendency to track their workout times. This can be both misleading and dangerous if you don't figure in the effect of weather, a trap both newbies and experienced runners can fall into. Consider long runs.
Last week, I went down to the local canal trail for a long run. I ran 16 miles and comfortably averaged about 7:00 minute per mile pace. In fact, my first few miles were a bit easier and I had no problem running the last few in the upper 6's. It was mid 50's F, clear, and low humidity. A downright refreshing and pleasant run.
This morning, my training partner and I ran down…
bushwells | August 24, 2007So you've got your Harry Potter fandom, your Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom, your Pirates of the Caribbean fandom and your Star Trek fandom.* Isn't it about time for an Evolutionist/Rationalist fandom? Well, isn't it? Check out my answers to the meme** that's sweeping the fan-i-verse!
Note added in proof: The responses to this meme may readily be extended to any scientist-fandom, e.g., see comment #1. Have at it!
01. The first character I first fell in love with.
Charles Darwin. Sweeeeeet!
02. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now.
Thomas Huxley - Darwin's bulldog…
jfiore | August 23, 2007Regular readers of the refuge know that I've got a "thing" for audio and music, and that I've had some harsh comments regarding the poor quality audio that so many people tolerate these days in the name of convenience. But what of the other extreme? Who are the audiophile extremists? To what lengths will they go in their search for audio nirvana? Is 230,000 Euros enough, and what do they spend it on? Check out this short film of the Audiophile Club of Athens:
Film about Audiophile Club of AthensUploaded by skaloumbakas
Up front, I've got no problem with someone spending six figures on their…
bushwells | August 14, 2007The Teh finally hit the conservative pages of Scrip World Pharmaceutical News.
Wyeth's new antipsychotic receives FDA non-approvable letter after fatality
August 13, 2007
Scrip
The US FDA has issued a non-approvable letter for Wyeth/Solvay's new-generation atypical antipsychotic bifeprunox, which was under review for the acute treatment of schizophrenia and the maintenance of stable adult patients.
Wyeth's share price on teh New York Stock Exchange closed at $46.59, down by 6% on August 10th. (emphasis mine)
OK, it may just be a typo, but I'd like to think it's an oh-so-hip ironic reference…
jfiore | August 10, 2007...coneflower Echinacea purpurea. Double your pleasure, double your fun; two heads, as they say, are better than one:
This rascal popped up along the border of our driveway. It appears to be two stems that just didn't separate, with the heads sort of mashed up against each other. Upon closer inspection though, it is apparent that the backs of the flower heads are fused. Here is a better view from directly overhead:
In spite of what the Garden Guides link above says about "Seeds collected from the garden often do not come true", we have several clusters of these, all of which were propagated…
jfiore | August 9, 2007A 53 year old Colorado priest faces indecent exposure charges for jogging naked at a local track according to the AP. The priest, Robert Whipkey, claims that he sweats profusely while running, and as he was running in the very early morning prior to sunrise, he didn't think anyone would be around to notice.
Why does this sound like an old Monty Python skit? I can just see Terry Jones wearing nothing but the collar and shoes running away from a Bobby (Graham Chapman or John Cleese) who surprises him with a "What's all this then?"
jfiore | August 8, 2007"He won't hurt you". Check out this thread which popped up after a report of a child being killed in a pit bull attack. We can thank commenter scorp1101 for jumping right into it with the pit bulls are just fine and I know because I own one argument. The remainder of the thread is interesting for two reasons. First, a major theme among many posters seems to be that training (or lack thereof) is the root cause of problems, not something inherent in the breed. Second, it took until the second page of comments before someone said anything about the child who was killed. I guess there's nothing…