Heijoshin

8:50pm: Science!
Now that they've thoroughly bombarded the Antarctic to get pictures of mountains buried beneath the ice, I'm sure we can expect whatever Great Old Ones and/or their servants that are living down there to arise and shroud the world in darkness any time now.

Some scientists think life might have developed more than once, which seems like a pretty reasonable thing to think. I'm just happy to see that this isn't totally rejected out of hand.

The Economist posted what I found to be a pretty disappointing review of some research on the psychology of power. They way they presented the research doesn't make it sound anywhere near definitive, and it just becomes another piece of propaganda to explain Why Things Need To Stay The Way They Already Are. But that's also the Economist's job, so...

Water is pretty cool and also complicated.

Look, give it up: nothing lasts forever, so stop hanging on to all that shit you don't need.

A draft of the new DSM will be revealed soon. That should get a bunch of people's panties in a bunch. I'm too lazy to find out how much of this has been funded by pharmaceutical companies or what sort of representation they have on the committee, and I'm also scared of what I might find. Oh well - insurance won't pay for any of it, anyway, right?

Abstinence-only sex ed programs can work, provided they're actually good sex ed and not just Christian propaganda. The people who fire back at the folks saying that this study doesn't validate all the bad programs that were in place pretty clearly don't address the concerns, only bothering to mention the "marriage" part. Oh, well.

As usual, I just steal all of this from American Scientist's Science in the News Weekly.

11:04am: "I'm the microphone master, he's the super beat maker. We get def as the others get faker."

1:05am: A civilized, decent world
http://www.daisyowl.com/comic/2010-01-31

10:54am: Why I lack "ambition"
They may as well have titled this one "Inauthenticity is your key to success":
http://www.primermagazine.com/2008/earn/9-ways-to-shoot-past-people-on-the-corporate-ladder

The discrepancies between the megacorporate culture and my heart create a lot of cognitive dissonance for me.

11:02pm: The best in anti-vandalism technology
http://www.daisyowl.com/comic/2010-01-18

9:48pm: Hey, pfrank!
Somebody disagrees with your hierarchy, I think:
http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product_Code=WN-WIZARDPUNCH&Category_Code=WN

6:54pm: Something I've been working on a lot lately is remembering that there is no One Right Way. Maybe other people don't have problems with this, but for me, it's a real source of trouble. I tend to get locked into a single perspective, methodology, or discipline, and try to assume that it's going to work best in every situation.

As you can imagine, this doesn't work out so hot. Never do anything always. Like the spirits keep telling me, stay open and responsive. Seems like good advice.

7:54pm: A little bit of science
Neanderthals were bad ass. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8448660.stm Don't let anyone tell you different.

Magnetic north is on the move: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091224-north-pole-magnetic-russia-earth-core.html

1:58pm: Yeeeah

3:03pm: Mental Health and Culture Exportation
darthsunshine linked to this awesome article on the exportation of US cultural attitudes regarding mental health, and how that's maybe not always so awesome.

6:38pm: Grah!
After going tanning for the first time in advance of flying to Mexico on Wednesday, I am fucking ITCHY ALL OVER! AAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!

11:38pm: This is not the only place this happens.
http://www.thebadchemicals.com/?p=154

10:38pm: Around the block, you know?
I can now claim that I've made an entire trip around the sun without having any sort of tobacco. This isn't the first time I've done it, but it's the first time in a while. Definitely no regrets. The question is how much further I'll choose to go.

1:52pm: New year, new monkeys


Let's just be grateful I didn't go with the New Monkees.

11:55am: Oh, man!
http://nedroidcomics.livejournal.com/267656.html

I want free internet pizza!

11:06pm: Littlewood's Law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littlewood's_law

Expect the miraculous. Just make sure you understand what miracles are...

5:08pm: Yeeeaahh....
Time to ignore damnportlanders for the rest of the night...

Oh, my Minnesota people, you would not believe how they get over some flurries out here...

9:19pm: Science!
Reblogging from the American Scientist's Science in the News Weekly...

Sort of a follow up to something I posted a few days ago, there is a lot of research going on regarding the microbes that share our bodies. This piece sounds more dismissive of the "hygiene hypothesis," though characterizing its adherents as suggesting that kids should eat dirt seems extreme. However, I'm glad to hear that there is so much effort being put into understanding the tiny beasties with whom we live.

A newly found shroud in Jerusalem casts further doubt on the legitimacy of the Shroud of Turin. While I can't say I'm surprised the the finding didn't support the Shroud of Turin's case, the thing that always makes me chuckle a bit is the assumption of a historical Jesus Christ.

While it is by no means conclusive, some testing in the Tower Soudan mine may have turned up some evidence of dark matter. It's uncertain, for sure, but it seems like the best immediate evidence to date and a reason to keep looking.

MIT is busy trying to improve bicycle wheels. Me, I like them the way they are, but as a means to helping get more people out of cars and onto bikes, I'm a fan of these sorts of developments.

There is so much freaking data that traditional methods of dealing with it just don't work anymore. Honestly, I'm sort of surprised it took this long to reach this point. I just hope that the collaborative spirit of scientific exploration wins out over the greedy spirit of top secret R&D.

12:58pm: Science!
Been awhile... As usual, I'm just reblogging American Scientist's Science in the News Weekly.

Over-sanitized environments probably lead to less healthy people. I've been arguing that for quite some time, as did George Carlin. The immune system needs practice! The interesting thing here, though, is that they're tying the "hygiene hypothesis" to chronic inflammation, which is a pretty serious issue.

Perhaps a silver lining to extensive deforestation, there is evidence of sedentary cultures in the Amazon basin. What this makes me wonder is whether or not that area had been such dense forest when those cultures (or maybe just "that culture") thrived.

12:14pm: Mindfulness
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/the-neuroscience-mindfulness

Neurological basis for mindfulness and, thus, a non-mystic argument and description of mindfulness. Thanks to darthsunshine for the link!

2:42pm: Meatcase
http://succeedblog.org/post/289308389/sausage-case-succeed

12:09am: Frankenstein
http://www.idiotcomics.com/050.html

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone turn this into an icon.

10:30pm: :-)

9:04am: For real
I totally just ate it on the tracks at Lovejoy and 21st on my way back from breakfast. I'm not really hurt - just a little road rash on my knee (didn't even tear my jeans) and a sore elbow, but I was reminded pretty strongly of why I like to wear gloves.

11:36pm: #326
http://creebobby.com/maltspeare.html

Limerick for the ages...