Another word for synonym?: I played with the Visual Thesaurus again today. It's a really fun tool. I wish it had a better vocabulary or link structure behind it, though - I got to the word "induction" and there were no words related to proof techniques related to it. [Thanks ABM!]
Do you know art when you see it?: The Gallery of CSS Descramblers has gotten a lot of press (and legal threats) for distributing code that lets you descramble DVDs, but it remains a nice tweak about the boundaries between copyright and patent law when it comes to computer code. I must say the haiku version is my favorite; it's not a translation, so copyright probably isn't violated. And it's not just the code - it's got some cute commentary in there too. [via RRE]
Wanted: LEGO Darth Vader: If it's out there, this probably the place to find it - the "unofficial" Ebay of LEGO. Cheaper than new, collectors items, LEGO products described in the enthusiastic words of obsessive fans. I can loose a lot of time browsing here. [via PCJM]
Ringo Star sings my theme song?: You can enter a date here and find out the #1 song in the US (or the UK) on that day. Try your birthday and learn your "theme song"? [via PCJM]
Watching The Lone Gunmen: I knew it would be bad when I saw Chris Carter on Conan and he said it was a comedy with drama. *sigh* In the time it took to write that sentence, we had one of them fall on his face in the mud and the introduction of another conspiracist, Jimmy, who was killed in Three of a Kind on the X-Files but appears to have come back to life. Oh no - now their cookie has been compromised!
Damn - they are so in over their heads. Why don't they just call Mulder and get him to fix things? He's not the government! He's not the FBI! He's Mulder!
Simpson's Quote of the Week: "And I gave that guy directions even though I didn't know the way -- because that's the kind of guy I am this week." --Homer
Don't Park that Chair There!: A Pittsburgh paper covers the phenomenon of "parking chairs", something that's spread from reserving the space you shoveled out in the winter to claiming a year-round spot in front of your house in some of our neighborhoods. An exploration of this odd phenomenon from a sociological perspective, the article has some fun interviews with those who are for and against the practice. [via Alt-log]
Crunch: Snicker's is running my current favorite ad. Seriously, they could make a side profit selling those things...
Better Living Through Multiple Choice: I just came across another set of buyer's guides - "Active Buyer's Guides" - that look amazingly similar to the mySimon Interactive Buyers Guides. These are great for electronics or computer accessories that have tons of features, some of which you care about and others of which you don't. They are less good for things like teas, where you may have trouble expressing your preferences ("Do you prefer a herbaceous, pungent tea, or a vegetal, smooth tea?") or charcoal grills, where there are so few parameters you find yourself answer questions about prefered grill colors.
The most fun, though, are the "lifestyle" guides. Let them help you choose:
- Date Ideas: "How desirable are the following types of attire for your date: bathing suit, casual, clothing not required, costume, formal, gothic/all black, and looking good?" Even better, once you get a suggestion, they'll let you know whether it's an appropriate type of date during which to break up with your significant other!
- Horror Movies: Should the blood trickle, flow, or spurt?
Weekly Simpsons Quote: "I've got it - it's in the bag..." -- Homer
morning rainbows
HOW do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Music soothes the savage beast, and poetry soothes the grumpy: Take a short poll, and get back a poem that will put you in a good mood. My repsonses indicated that I would be cheered up by the above poem. It's a nice classic, and I do like romantic era poetry. [via PCJM]
Virtual Green Thumb: Real roses die disappointingly quickly, but they are so pretty, I can't help loving them. If you combine practical with geeky, I guess you get this little program which puts a vase of rosebuds on your desktop. Over the course of a couple of hours, you can watch the roses bloom. They also have a desktop Christmas tree you can try out. [via PCJM]
Visitor's clothing carries spores harmful to some in hospitals: Textiles researchers find that spores which are fatal to patients with impaired immune systems are easily carried on and released from visitor clothing, particularly cotton. This is an area of research I wouldn't have even thought existed. Happily, they come up with suggestions on how to give visitors effective clothing-covers rather than discouraging visitor contact with patients.
Take that!: I've been playing The Sims for a couple of months now, but I learned last night that not only can you make them flirt with each other and kiss and such, you can make them fight and attack each other. New realms of possibility open up...
If you're a Sims enthusiast, definitely go to the The Sims website and download some of the game extensions. The wall lamps are very useful since they leave floor space open for other objects.
I think I've already lost you
I think you're already gone
I think I'm finally scared now
You think I'm weak - I think you're wrong
I think you're already leaving
Feels like your hand is on the door
I thought this place was an empire
Now I'm relaxed - I can't be sure
I think you're so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think I'm scared - I think too much
I know this is wrong it's a problem I'm dealing
-- "If You're Gone", Matchbox 20
.037...
melt-off
All Spaceflight, All The Time: Disappointed at how quickly network TV and even CNN tuned away from the shuttle launch and back to the non-events of the day? NASA Television broadcasts realtime data 24 hours a day. Yes, this is the same quality broadcast as comes with your basic cable service.
In case you're following this stuff...: So, a couple of years ago now, we had the MIT report on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT. Beyond the general increase in attention to this issue, the report directly brought about the MIT Gender Equity Project and last week's Presidents Workshop on Gender Equity in Academic Science and Engineering. But the Independent Women's Forum has just issued a report, Confession Without Guilt?: M.I.T. Jumped the Gun to Avoid a Sex-Discrimination Controversy, But Shot Itself in the Foot, claiming that the MIT report did not have sufficient evidence to conclude that women faculty were being discriminated against.
A couple of quick responses to the IWF report:
- MIT is repeatedly criticized for not making the data of the study public, but much of that data is confidential, such as salaries and interview responses.
- The report points out a correlation between women's smaller labs and salaries, and their lower productivity, but they cannot say where the causation is - did men and women start out with equivalent resources?
- The report doesn't seriously address the question of whether their evaluation metrics biased. It ignores the major claim of the MIT report that the discrimination is largely subtle but persistent, and hence more receptive to measurement through interviews and observation than through traditional metrics of success.
Weekly Simpsons Quote: "Get out of here and take your Sakajuewia dollars with you!"
a midnight rainbow
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