My siblings (and others) really enjoy the terrible game Cards Against Humanity (previously mentioned here). It looks like the manufacturers are releasing a Science pack (benefiting women's STEM education), and some of the cards are pretty entertaining.
KATE AND JAMES! This is a really cool documentation of how the Hubble telescope images are colored (and please note that the guy's name is Zolt, which apparently means 'life' in Hungarian). (Also, hat-tip/still shots here.)
My labmate Ryan linked this ESPN notice that Miller Park (home of the Milwaukee Brewers) are going to be featuring 'Nachos-on-a-stick' ("a stick of beef, loaded with refried beans, rolled in Doritos, and then deep fried and drizzled with sour cream and cheese") this upcoming season. It is noted that people might want to split it, but there are some who probably will eat the entire thing. Also mentioned are the Lambeau Field Brat'chos; " Sliced bratwurst, potato chips, sauerkraut, jalapenos, sour cream with beer cheese sauce are served up in a bucket". Hopefully, one would share those as well.
i seem to take a lot of headshots/portraits for friends to use on things like seminar announcements and passport/greencard pictures. While looking at the specifications for this the other day, it turns out that on the US passport site is a widget that lets you crop pictures to their specifications (go here, widget link on the lower right). That's pretty nifty.
Bryan linked this penny farthing bike race/festival the other day. Penny-farthings are those bicycles with a much larger front wheels, so called because " from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing" as based on the wikipedia article, and the front wheel is directly connected to the pedals. From the looks of things, there is a small step to help mount it. Moreover, it looks like some of the modern ones have a brake, and here is a youtube clip of a (modern) race. While that all looks like fun, i'll stick to my modern "safety" bike.
A few of us were watching westerns on television a few weeks ago, and an infomercial aired several times about coloring books for adults. There was a definite discussion about the purported 'stress alleviation' one might attain, as claimed, and about the popularity of such an item. Last week and much to our surprise, a NYTimes article featured these same coloring books. From the article; " Since its release in spring 2013, “Secret Garden” has sold more than 1.4 million copies in 22 languages. It shot to the top of Amazon’s best-seller list this month, overtaking books by authors like Harper Lee, Anthony Doerr and Paula Hawkins. Her follow-up, “Enchanted Forest,” which came out in February, is briskly selling through its first print run of nearly 226,000 copies. ". Huh.
SXSW happened, and happily, NPR provides amazing coverage for those of us not in attendance. Austin always has a happening musical scene, and i've been to concerts at several of the venues, particularly Stubbs (which is a remarkable mash-up of barbecue joint and concert venue, not to be confused with an Alaskan mayoral cat), so seeing footage filmed there has a very familiar feel. The Belgium artist/rapper Stromae (covered in this blog post) had a set there, and i was super curious to see what those present would make of a very fashionable dude rapping in French; looks like the crowd was receptive if not outright thrilled.
March Madness is nearly through (spilling into April for the final four), and the mens' UW-Madison Badger basketball team is doing very well. They are a generally decent and entertaining bunch of guys, but i think my favorite 'oh, this crazy kids' story has been the arc where Nigel Hayes (and teammates) has been fascinated by and challenging the stenographers present; here is a compiled list of his recent terms, and a recent UW article has suggested a few more, should he run out. Go, Badgers!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Thursday, March 19, 2015
auto-antonym, Bye Felicia, Alan Turing and running, Swedish Fish, hide-n-seek, cumin
Lots of stuff.
Directly after posting last, Kate B. was reading the post and kindly noted that 'factoid' is one of those words with two opposite meanings (a sort of auto-antonym); a common use of factoid is to mean a small bit of usually trivial information, and the other being an invented fact that has the illusion of truth. Another example of this as denoted by Kate is peruse; it can mean either to scan briefly, or to examine something very carefully. Look, the English language confuses everyone.
A few months ago, i was taking a shortcut through one of the undergrad areas in town, and someone had placed a mattress by the curb, spray painted in red the with the words "Bye Felicia". Because i was in a hurry and it was cold, i didn't take a picture, but i made up all sorts of stories in my head about why someone would spray paint that on a mattress to discard it (for instance, the mattress belonged to a ex-flatmate who moved on but left a mattress, or it was the name of someone with whom the painter had a particularly acrimonious breakup, or someone just named their old mattress... the list goes on for a while). Anyway, i was reading something online the other day that featured the same words in a dismissive fashion, which reminded me of the mattress, and googled it. It's a meme referencing a line from the movie Friday, turns out. i liked my elaborate stories WAY better.
Recently saw The Imitation Game, about the English mathematician and 'father of the computer' etc, Alan Turing. Something i didn't realize was that he was a highly competitive distance runner. As wikipedia notes, " While working at Bletchley, Turing, who was a talented long-distance runner, occasionally ran the 40 miles (64 km) to London when he was needed for high-level meetings,[54] and he was capable of world-class marathon standards.[55][56] Turing tried out for the 1948 British Olympic team, hampered by an injury. His tryout time for the marathon was only 11 minutes slower than British silver medalist Thomas Richards' Olympic race time of 2 hours 35 minutes. He was Walton Athletic Club's best runner, a fact discovered when he passed the group while running alone". The part about running to London for a meeting is my favorite.
It must be noted here, i've been really, really enjoying the excellent mock-horror podcast series Welcome To Night Vale, about the supernatural goings-on of a small desert town. Because there are only 60-something episodes at time of writing, i've been rationing them pretty carefully.
Speaking of rationing, i have very little discipline regarding the candy Swedish Fish, and usually can only stop eating them when the bag is empty.The original variety seem to be a completely artificial flavor that i can only describe by red; i googled around to see if anyone can historically pin a flavor to them with little success (and it should be noted that the assorted sort are listed on the website as "just like the red ones. only with more colors."). However, i did come across this Brief History of Swedish Fish article.
It was 'Pi Day' (3/14/2015, corresponding to 3.1415) last weekend, and here is an article about how many digits of pi one needs to memorize to be considered 'special' (more than 9, apparently - i've only got 5 memorized).
My brother and i used to play hide and go seek in the clothing departments of various chain stores (much to our mother's dismay); this article recently surfaced about IKEA banning games of hide and seek in stores after a group of 32000 signed up for a game on Facebook in the Netherlands and a woman arranged a game played by about 500 in Belgium. This is AMAZING.
This recent NPR article tracks the spice cumin (comino, as it appears in my spice cupboard:) ) through history, into various cultures. Something i don't know that i believe, but can offer no alternative is this, " In English, at least, cumin has a singular distinction – it is the only word that can be traced directly back to Sumerian, the first written language. So when we talk about cumin, we are harkening back to the Sumerian word gamun, first written in the cuneiform script more than 4,000 years ago.". Surely there's another word...?
What's remarkable to me is that this article about a person supposedly scanning their cat on the photocopy in Steenbock library made it to Time.com, despite being fake - the campus newspaper tracked down the picture on a 2008 website (and posted a correction that someone was just pranking the library). How is someone photocopying their cat worthy of national attention?
And in the spirit of faux personal statements/job descriptors (created using this bogus job description engine);
Directly after posting last, Kate B. was reading the post and kindly noted that 'factoid' is one of those words with two opposite meanings (a sort of auto-antonym); a common use of factoid is to mean a small bit of usually trivial information, and the other being an invented fact that has the illusion of truth. Another example of this as denoted by Kate is peruse; it can mean either to scan briefly, or to examine something very carefully. Look, the English language confuses everyone.
A few months ago, i was taking a shortcut through one of the undergrad areas in town, and someone had placed a mattress by the curb, spray painted in red the with the words "Bye Felicia". Because i was in a hurry and it was cold, i didn't take a picture, but i made up all sorts of stories in my head about why someone would spray paint that on a mattress to discard it (for instance, the mattress belonged to a ex-flatmate who moved on but left a mattress, or it was the name of someone with whom the painter had a particularly acrimonious breakup, or someone just named their old mattress... the list goes on for a while). Anyway, i was reading something online the other day that featured the same words in a dismissive fashion, which reminded me of the mattress, and googled it. It's a meme referencing a line from the movie Friday, turns out. i liked my elaborate stories WAY better.
Recently saw The Imitation Game, about the English mathematician and 'father of the computer' etc, Alan Turing. Something i didn't realize was that he was a highly competitive distance runner. As wikipedia notes, " While working at Bletchley, Turing, who was a talented long-distance runner, occasionally ran the 40 miles (64 km) to London when he was needed for high-level meetings,[54] and he was capable of world-class marathon standards.[55][56] Turing tried out for the 1948 British Olympic team, hampered by an injury. His tryout time for the marathon was only 11 minutes slower than British silver medalist Thomas Richards' Olympic race time of 2 hours 35 minutes. He was Walton Athletic Club's best runner, a fact discovered when he passed the group while running alone". The part about running to London for a meeting is my favorite.
It must be noted here, i've been really, really enjoying the excellent mock-horror podcast series Welcome To Night Vale, about the supernatural goings-on of a small desert town. Because there are only 60-something episodes at time of writing, i've been rationing them pretty carefully.
Speaking of rationing, i have very little discipline regarding the candy Swedish Fish, and usually can only stop eating them when the bag is empty.The original variety seem to be a completely artificial flavor that i can only describe by red; i googled around to see if anyone can historically pin a flavor to them with little success (and it should be noted that the assorted sort are listed on the website as "just like the red ones. only with more colors."). However, i did come across this Brief History of Swedish Fish article.
It was 'Pi Day' (3/14/2015, corresponding to 3.1415) last weekend, and here is an article about how many digits of pi one needs to memorize to be considered 'special' (more than 9, apparently - i've only got 5 memorized).
My brother and i used to play hide and go seek in the clothing departments of various chain stores (much to our mother's dismay); this article recently surfaced about IKEA banning games of hide and seek in stores after a group of 32000 signed up for a game on Facebook in the Netherlands and a woman arranged a game played by about 500 in Belgium. This is AMAZING.
This recent NPR article tracks the spice cumin (comino, as it appears in my spice cupboard:) ) through history, into various cultures. Something i don't know that i believe, but can offer no alternative is this, " In English, at least, cumin has a singular distinction – it is the only word that can be traced directly back to Sumerian, the first written language. So when we talk about cumin, we are harkening back to the Sumerian word gamun, first written in the cuneiform script more than 4,000 years ago.". Surely there's another word...?
What's remarkable to me is that this article about a person supposedly scanning their cat on the photocopy in Steenbock library made it to Time.com, despite being fake - the campus newspaper tracked down the picture on a 2008 website (and posted a correction that someone was just pranking the library). How is someone photocopying their cat worthy of national attention?
And in the spirit of faux personal statements/job descriptors (created using this bogus job description engine);
jess ardent is a resident pontificator who uses differential calculus to create unorthodox paradoxes of mansplaining in post-zombie invasion societies
Monday, March 9, 2015
viruses and music genre, Manx, moon temperatures, Hubble images, drinks, Mary Ward
A friend was walking through the lab and noticed some "legacy" (eg, belonging to previous generations of grad students) music cassette tapes, notably that of Black Sabbath, and somehow this evolved into a discussion of the tastes of present grad students (my own general preference for folk/americana) reconciled with the previous generations. This got spun into the similarities of Black Sabbath versus the Avett Brothers, and what viruses might be used to represent those. Would they share enough similarities that both might be positive sense RNA viruses? Is folk/americana positive sense RNA viruses and semi-metal negative sense RNA viruses? And would classical music be, like, DNA viruses? The discussion continues; feel free to weigh in.
People from the Isle of Man are referred to as 'Manx'. The 'Man' part probably refers to the fact that it's an island, rising up out of the sea, " The name is probably connected with the Welsh name of the island of Anglesey, Ynys Môn[14] and possibly with the Celtic root reflected in Welsh mynydd, Breton menez, and Scottish Gaelic monadh,[14] all of which mean "mountain" and probably derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *men-, "to tower" ", from wikipedia.
On a recent morning when the outside temperature was a single digit, we googled to determine if would be colder on the surface of the moon. The temperature of the moon surface when not facing the sun is minus 243 degrees F (though the poles can dip to minus 397 degrees F, and the coldest temperature ever recorded in the solar system was minus 413 degrees F in one of the norther craters), and 253 degrees F in full sun. We also learned that the Apollo moon landings occurred during the lunar 'dawn', so the surface wasn't super hot yet (and also, their suits were reflective and were not overly conducive to heat transfer). Okay, yeah, Wisconsin is not as cold as the moon can be.
Speaking of, it is the 25th anniversary of the Hubble telescope, and the Hubble folks are sponsoring a March Madness bracket type tournament whereby people can pick the best Hubble image by voting. This is pretty awesome.
NPR recently put up an article regarding the brewing of drinking tea ('Chemis-tea'), in which they account for all aspects of tea (selection, cup choice, brew time, additions, etc). Something i didn't consider was that, the thinner the porcelain, the less heat will leach away from your tea. They also link directions for the perfect cup by George Orwell (who gives 11 golden rules); also, " I maintain that one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones. ". Well stated.
Another thing i recently learned was that La Croix sparking water is a Wisconsin product, out of La Crosse (via this entertaining article); this is interesting, given that the most common local sparking beverage is Klarbrunn brand (out of Watertown, WI). Looking into the history of carbonated water, apparently English chemist and theologian Joseph Priestly (who is credited with discovering oxygen, due to his studies concerning air) came across carbonation; from wikipedia; "The air blanketing the fermenting beer—called 'fixed air'—was known to kill mice suspended in it. Priestley found water thus treated had a pleasant taste, and he offered it to friends as a cool, refreshing drink. In 1772, Priestley published a paper entitled Impregnating Water with Fixed Air in which he describes dripping "oil of vitriol" (sulfuric acid) onto chalk to produce carbon dioxide gas, and encouraging the gas to dissolve into an agitated bowl of water.[15] ". (i find it amusing how, despite killing mice, he went ahead and infused water with 'fixed' air, anyway, then drank it. i guess the beer was fine, so...) Another wikipedia mention: " In the United States, carbonated water was known as soda water until World War II, due to the sodium salts it contained. These were added as flavoring and acidity regulators with the intent of mimicking the taste of natural mineral water." Alright.
Enjoyed a beverage last weekend with the eye-catching name of "The Lion's Tail". Honestly, though, they had me at the listed ingredient of 'allspice dram'; which is combined with bourbon, lime, bitters and sugar. Interrogating the long-suffering bartender, he mentioned that it was probably just some single grain alcohol macerated with allspice berries, and that it was also called 'pimento dram'; apparently, allspice is more properly called pimento berries. For Bryan, here is an article called "DIY vs buy; should i make my own allspice dram". Also, apparently Google has launched a new cocktails platform that more easily describes what goes into each beverage (to a variety of responses).
The (documented) first person to die in an automobile accident was early scientist Mary Ward, who was expelled from a steam car and incurred a broken neck. She was well known for her microscopy drawings; her first publication garnered 8 reprints (!!), despite her initial limited self-publication.
This Onion article is something i occasionally worry about. Having clicked on that, i was linked over to this (serious) article titled "Why are creative women dismissed as 'quirky'?"
This is a rather striking/amusing take on body image. (i particularly like the advice about thighs.) Since we're on the topic of bodies, we'd discussed belly buttons a while back; in that they're basically scars; here's a somewhat graphic view of what one looks like once removed.
This is ridiculous. i don't even know what to say about that, other than a lot of things contain iron.
People from the Isle of Man are referred to as 'Manx'. The 'Man' part probably refers to the fact that it's an island, rising up out of the sea, " The name is probably connected with the Welsh name of the island of Anglesey, Ynys Môn[14] and possibly with the Celtic root reflected in Welsh mynydd, Breton menez, and Scottish Gaelic monadh,[14] all of which mean "mountain" and probably derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *men-, "to tower" ", from wikipedia.
On a recent morning when the outside temperature was a single digit, we googled to determine if would be colder on the surface of the moon. The temperature of the moon surface when not facing the sun is minus 243 degrees F (though the poles can dip to minus 397 degrees F, and the coldest temperature ever recorded in the solar system was minus 413 degrees F in one of the norther craters), and 253 degrees F in full sun. We also learned that the Apollo moon landings occurred during the lunar 'dawn', so the surface wasn't super hot yet (and also, their suits were reflective and were not overly conducive to heat transfer). Okay, yeah, Wisconsin is not as cold as the moon can be.
Speaking of, it is the 25th anniversary of the Hubble telescope, and the Hubble folks are sponsoring a March Madness bracket type tournament whereby people can pick the best Hubble image by voting. This is pretty awesome.
NPR recently put up an article regarding the brewing of drinking tea ('Chemis-tea'), in which they account for all aspects of tea (selection, cup choice, brew time, additions, etc). Something i didn't consider was that, the thinner the porcelain, the less heat will leach away from your tea. They also link directions for the perfect cup by George Orwell (who gives 11 golden rules); also, " I maintain that one strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones. ". Well stated.
Another thing i recently learned was that La Croix sparking water is a Wisconsin product, out of La Crosse (via this entertaining article); this is interesting, given that the most common local sparking beverage is Klarbrunn brand (out of Watertown, WI). Looking into the history of carbonated water, apparently English chemist and theologian Joseph Priestly (who is credited with discovering oxygen, due to his studies concerning air) came across carbonation; from wikipedia; "The air blanketing the fermenting beer—called 'fixed air'—was known to kill mice suspended in it. Priestley found water thus treated had a pleasant taste, and he offered it to friends as a cool, refreshing drink. In 1772, Priestley published a paper entitled Impregnating Water with Fixed Air in which he describes dripping "oil of vitriol" (sulfuric acid) onto chalk to produce carbon dioxide gas, and encouraging the gas to dissolve into an agitated bowl of water.[15] ". (i find it amusing how, despite killing mice, he went ahead and infused water with 'fixed' air, anyway, then drank it. i guess the beer was fine, so...) Another wikipedia mention: " In the United States, carbonated water was known as soda water until World War II, due to the sodium salts it contained. These were added as flavoring and acidity regulators with the intent of mimicking the taste of natural mineral water." Alright.
Enjoyed a beverage last weekend with the eye-catching name of "The Lion's Tail". Honestly, though, they had me at the listed ingredient of 'allspice dram'; which is combined with bourbon, lime, bitters and sugar. Interrogating the long-suffering bartender, he mentioned that it was probably just some single grain alcohol macerated with allspice berries, and that it was also called 'pimento dram'; apparently, allspice is more properly called pimento berries. For Bryan, here is an article called "DIY vs buy; should i make my own allspice dram". Also, apparently Google has launched a new cocktails platform that more easily describes what goes into each beverage (to a variety of responses).
The (documented) first person to die in an automobile accident was early scientist Mary Ward, who was expelled from a steam car and incurred a broken neck. She was well known for her microscopy drawings; her first publication garnered 8 reprints (!!), despite her initial limited self-publication.
This Onion article is something i occasionally worry about. Having clicked on that, i was linked over to this (serious) article titled "Why are creative women dismissed as 'quirky'?"
This is a rather striking/amusing take on body image. (i particularly like the advice about thighs.) Since we're on the topic of bodies, we'd discussed belly buttons a while back; in that they're basically scars; here's a somewhat graphic view of what one looks like once removed.
This is ridiculous. i don't even know what to say about that, other than a lot of things contain iron.
Friday, February 20, 2015
math terms, neckties, auto tunes, morton's toe, feral hogs
While walking across campus earlier this week, had a bit of a philosophical conversation that turned to, "what is the opposite of a sum?" Obviously, it's parts, but what are those called? Wikipedia to the rescue. For addition, the subjects to be added are called 'addends', 'terms' or summands', with the first addend sometimes/historically referred to as the 'augend'. In subtraction, the subjects to be subtracted are the 'subtrahends', which are taken from the 'minuend', to yield a 'difference'.
Here are, according to this website, at least 30 ways to tie a necktie. Some of them look a little too close for difference to me, and some of them call to mind ascots.
Jack and Leslie, i am compelled to call to your attention this music video of a German family in a car covering an LL Cool J song. And for Logan, we've discussed a theme song for (milk)shakes; another song by this guy is somewhat closer than others. Finally, honorable mention, because it's the first Friday of Lent.
Kelly AT and James, here's an article about taking astronomy pictures with a smartphone through a telescope.
Kate B (and everyone else), here are links regarding super cute squirrels; a photoshot of Russian squirrels having a photoshoot, and Canadian squirrels doing human things.
So i was comparing feet with a few female runner friends last night, and i was the only one in the group whose middle toe was longer than their big toe. See below. This is not terribly uncommon (mine is a kind genetic gift from my mother), but it's apparently officially called Morton's Toe though colloquial known as Greek's foot. From wikipedia, " In statuary and shoe fitting, a more-protuberant second toe has been called the Greek foot (as opposed to the Egyptian foot, where the great toe is longer). It was an idealized form in Greek sculpture, and this persisted as an aesthetic standard through Roman and Renaissance periods and later (the Statue of Liberty has toes of this proportion) ". Reference this for other 'foot types'. Hmm. To confirm the Statue of Liberty thing, here's a picture (and side tangent, here's an actually really interesting article regarding little known American facts). There have been attempts to attribute personality characteristics with toes; that associated with Morton's toe is that of leadership qualities. i don't know.
Bryan linked a video last night for a product called 'Boar Buster', a highly impressive trap for feral hogs. Though, i'm not sure that we actually have boars in the United States. Okay. However, feral hogs are certainly a huge problem in Texas. That brought about the conversation regarding feral v/s wild.
Bryan: can you go back to wild?
jess: the internet agrees with you
Here are, according to this website, at least 30 ways to tie a necktie. Some of them look a little too close for difference to me, and some of them call to mind ascots.
Jack and Leslie, i am compelled to call to your attention this music video of a German family in a car covering an LL Cool J song. And for Logan, we've discussed a theme song for (milk)shakes; another song by this guy is somewhat closer than others. Finally, honorable mention, because it's the first Friday of Lent.
Kelly AT and James, here's an article about taking astronomy pictures with a smartphone through a telescope.
Kate B (and everyone else), here are links regarding super cute squirrels; a photoshot of Russian squirrels having a photoshoot, and Canadian squirrels doing human things.
So i was comparing feet with a few female runner friends last night, and i was the only one in the group whose middle toe was longer than their big toe. See below. This is not terribly uncommon (mine is a kind genetic gift from my mother), but it's apparently officially called Morton's Toe though colloquial known as Greek's foot. From wikipedia, " In statuary and shoe fitting, a more-protuberant second toe has been called the Greek foot (as opposed to the Egyptian foot, where the great toe is longer). It was an idealized form in Greek sculpture, and this persisted as an aesthetic standard through Roman and Renaissance periods and later (the Statue of Liberty has toes of this proportion) ". Reference this for other 'foot types'. Hmm. To confirm the Statue of Liberty thing, here's a picture (and side tangent, here's an actually really interesting article regarding little known American facts). There have been attempts to attribute personality characteristics with toes; that associated with Morton's toe is that of leadership qualities. i don't know.
Bryan linked a video last night for a product called 'Boar Buster', a highly impressive trap for feral hogs. Though, i'm not sure that we actually have boars in the United States. Okay. However, feral hogs are certainly a huge problem in Texas. That brought about the conversation regarding feral v/s wild.
jess: (wonders about the distinction between feral and wild)
like, how long does a lineage of hogs have to be feral before being considered wild?
Bryan: can you go back to wild?
i think if it's a domesticated species it's always feral
jess: the internet agrees with you
so, the only 'wild hogs' we have left in the states are javelinas
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Chocolate NYTimes, barbies, trip the light fantastic, groundhog's day, dancing sharks, singular measles
i've always found it interesting how folks regard religious icons, so here is an article discussing a chocolate shop that produces chocolate religious statutes, and how a few devout respond. While i'm linking articles regarding chocolate from the NYTimes, here's one about folks who make their own bean-to-bar chocolate, and another about a Texan chocolatier who produces something that might be considered barbecued chocolate (he smokes the beans).
Here is a collection of some highly creative Barbie dolls. Although, i was walking through the dolls aisle at Target this Christmas, shopping for my goddaughter, and it seem like most of the dolls these days are just as alternative, illustrated by the popularity of the Monster High dolls.
The terrific semi-bluegrass band The Punch Brothers have just released a new album, and the last song on said album had a crowd-sourced chorus. This is actually pretty nifty, given that the song itself is kinda about how people currently use technology to filter their worlds and be connected. However, one of the opening lines paraphrases the term 'to trip the lights fantastic'. i was curious about that phrase's origin, and googled around. Turns out, the citation that comes up is a John Milton poem (masque) from 1645, and a line from Shakespear's tempest is also cited, " "Before you can say come, and goe, / And breathe twice; and cry, so, so: / Each one tripping on his Toe, / Will be here with mop, and mowe."". Whoa. Older origin than i thought. Also, the album cover is Belgium artist Rene Magritte's The Lovers II. i've seen it in multiple places recently, and had to track it down. He's better known for his work Son Of Man, and Golconda.
So, it was recently Groundhog Day, that strange day in the US where we attempt to predict whether the weather will take a turn for the warmer, or if, should the groundhog fail to see his shadow, we've got another 6 weeks of winter. Why? Turns out, it's a Pennslyvanian German thing, adapted from earlier European traditions involving a badger ("Wenn sich der Dachs zu Lichtmeß sonnt, so gehet er wieder auf vier Wochen in sein Loch. (If the badger is in the sun at Candlemas, he will have to go back into his hole for another four weeks.)", from the wikipedia article. Candlemas is the Christian feast day commemorating the day Jesus was presented at temple, and met by Simeon, who had been promised that he would see the Lord's Christ (there's more to that, for those interested; it's kinda a big Catholic deal). It's called Candlemas as it's traditionally the day where all the church candles for the year are blessed. Some folks tie it to the Gaelic holiday Imbolc, held on the same day. (Special thanks to Kate B for putting up with me going off on this to her.)
As a fairly ardent (though non-competitive) runner, i'm not sure how i feel about a one step race. Although, having clicked on that, the NYTimes was quick to recommend an article called "No, More Running Probably Isn't Bad For You". Also, There are different ways to lace one's running shoes, depending on what foot problem you might be having.
Today, my labmate linked a whatshouldwecallgradschool gif today, and the question at hand became, "really though, who was in those dancing sharks during the 2015 Superbowl Halftime show?" To the internet! As it would seem, those dancers were actually two of Katy Perry's usual back-up dancers, one of whom tweeted a picture of himself in the suit so there's a bit more evidence. It's nice that the dancers didn't have to learn a new dance, just don a shark suit that hinders both movement and visibility.
Levitation photography is when you take a picture of yourself or someone else not touching the ground. This can be done by jumping (obviously), but also via photoshop. It sounds pretty interesting, and i'm putting it here so i try it sometime.
i was part of a discussion about the plurality of the word 'measles' the other day. A friend made the argument that it's frequently treated in the plural, when it refers to the disease (which is singular). The entymology is clear; "infectious disease, early 14c., plural of Middle English masel, perhaps from Middle Dutch masel "blemish" (in plural "measles") or Middle Low German masele, from Proto-Germanic *mas- "spot, blemish" (cognates: Old High German masla "blood-blister," German Masern "measles"). There might have been an Old English cognate, but if so it has not been recorded. Form probably influenced by Middle English mesel "leprous" (late 13c.). ", from here. So, it's a singular word for symptoms (manifestions of infection?) that are plural.
Bryan: but the e-mail says "measles have made a strong comeback"
me: even though you should, given that HIV totally exists as a quasi-species
And finally, in honor of the upcoming holiday which commemorates the martyrdom of a Roman (or more than one; side tangent, don't try to convert Claudius to Christianity, it might end poorly) who may or may not be buried on the Via Flaminia, here is a somewhat risque article that starts with "i like my men like i like my..."
Here is a collection of some highly creative Barbie dolls. Although, i was walking through the dolls aisle at Target this Christmas, shopping for my goddaughter, and it seem like most of the dolls these days are just as alternative, illustrated by the popularity of the Monster High dolls.
The terrific semi-bluegrass band The Punch Brothers have just released a new album, and the last song on said album had a crowd-sourced chorus. This is actually pretty nifty, given that the song itself is kinda about how people currently use technology to filter their worlds and be connected. However, one of the opening lines paraphrases the term 'to trip the lights fantastic'. i was curious about that phrase's origin, and googled around. Turns out, the citation that comes up is a John Milton poem (masque) from 1645, and a line from Shakespear's tempest is also cited, " "Before you can say come, and goe, / And breathe twice; and cry, so, so: / Each one tripping on his Toe, / Will be here with mop, and mowe."". Whoa. Older origin than i thought. Also, the album cover is Belgium artist Rene Magritte's The Lovers II. i've seen it in multiple places recently, and had to track it down. He's better known for his work Son Of Man, and Golconda.
So, it was recently Groundhog Day, that strange day in the US where we attempt to predict whether the weather will take a turn for the warmer, or if, should the groundhog fail to see his shadow, we've got another 6 weeks of winter. Why? Turns out, it's a Pennslyvanian German thing, adapted from earlier European traditions involving a badger ("Wenn sich der Dachs zu Lichtmeß sonnt, so gehet er wieder auf vier Wochen in sein Loch. (If the badger is in the sun at Candlemas, he will have to go back into his hole for another four weeks.)", from the wikipedia article. Candlemas is the Christian feast day commemorating the day Jesus was presented at temple, and met by Simeon, who had been promised that he would see the Lord's Christ (there's more to that, for those interested; it's kinda a big Catholic deal). It's called Candlemas as it's traditionally the day where all the church candles for the year are blessed. Some folks tie it to the Gaelic holiday Imbolc, held on the same day. (Special thanks to Kate B for putting up with me going off on this to her.)
As a fairly ardent (though non-competitive) runner, i'm not sure how i feel about a one step race. Although, having clicked on that, the NYTimes was quick to recommend an article called "No, More Running Probably Isn't Bad For You". Also, There are different ways to lace one's running shoes, depending on what foot problem you might be having.
Today, my labmate linked a whatshouldwecallgradschool gif today, and the question at hand became, "really though, who was in those dancing sharks during the 2015 Superbowl Halftime show?" To the internet! As it would seem, those dancers were actually two of Katy Perry's usual back-up dancers, one of whom tweeted a picture of himself in the suit so there's a bit more evidence. It's nice that the dancers didn't have to learn a new dance, just don a shark suit that hinders both movement and visibility.
Levitation photography is when you take a picture of yourself or someone else not touching the ground. This can be done by jumping (obviously), but also via photoshop. It sounds pretty interesting, and i'm putting it here so i try it sometime.
i was part of a discussion about the plurality of the word 'measles' the other day. A friend made the argument that it's frequently treated in the plural, when it refers to the disease (which is singular). The entymology is clear; "infectious disease, early 14c., plural of Middle English masel, perhaps from Middle Dutch masel "blemish" (in plural "measles") or Middle Low German masele, from Proto-Germanic *mas- "spot, blemish" (cognates: Old High German masla "blood-blister," German Masern "measles"). There might have been an Old English cognate, but if so it has not been recorded. Form probably influenced by Middle English mesel "leprous" (late 13c.). ", from here. So, it's a singular word for symptoms (manifestions of infection?) that are plural.
Bryan: but the e-mail says "measles have made a strong comeback"
you wouldn't say "HIV have made a strong comeback"
me: even though you should, given that HIV totally exists as a quasi-species
and even though measles is pretty stable (thus, the excellent vaccine)
look, clearly they don't let scientists control grammar for diseases
And finally, in honor of the upcoming holiday which commemorates the martyrdom of a Roman (or more than one; side tangent, don't try to convert Claudius to Christianity, it might end poorly) who may or may not be buried on the Via Flaminia, here is a somewhat risque article that starts with "i like my men like i like my..."
Friday, January 30, 2015
beer miles, barkely marathons, engineers guide to cats, Marshawn Lynch, Princess Ukok
First and foremost; here's an article reporting that while the US thinks highly of American science achievements, they don't think much of STEM education, and prefer that we not actually use science (in the form of GMO food, etc). This is distressing.
Beer miles are a thing. They're usually 4 laps on a standard track, during which a beer is consumed at the start of every mile, and while they've always been an unofficial runner thing (though in undergrad, my brother and i used to do shots, not beer, and race around the block) there is actually an official beer mile time tracker (a guy finished one in under 5 minutes last year, drinking Budwieser). Outside Magazine covered the World Beer Mile races held in Austin in December last year. Anyway, here are some trail versions, given that, " the track-style beer mile favors fast little road runners and track guys, and that we should organize our own beer mile out on the trails for trail runners,” says John Burton, 41, of San Jose, California. “Then of course we started thinking, ‘what's the toughest, steepest, most gnarly trail around here?’” ". Fair enough. i'd totally be up for a shots-n-steeplechase.
i recently read a very well done article on the insanity that is the Barkley Marathons (5x20+ mile loops outside of the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Tennessee, unofficially the most difficult race). (Official wiki article here, and a NYTimes article here, for more info.)
i was hanging out with Kate and Jeremy on Wednesday. They've just adopted a cat, Janie, and were talking about discipline when Jeremy showed us the Engineer's Guide To Cats (corporal cuddling was the reference, around 4:35). There is also a version 2, as well as other highly creative videos featuring the same cast at the guy's youtube page.
Jeremy also referenced "Sad Etsy Boyfriends", a tumblr featuring pictures from Etsy where guys are clearly not thrilled to be modelling their girlfriends' wares. Thanks for the pop culture, Jeremy!!
The Superbowl is this upcoming weekend, and Seahawks' running back Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch is notorious for detesting media related events. He has been previously fined for skipping press conferences, so at a recent one, he apparently set a 5 minute timer on his cell phone, answered 29 questions with the same consecutive answer ("i'm just here so i don't get fined"), and when his time was up, announced "Finished!" and left. i can only be jealous that i can't apply this in daily life. SB Nation did a hilarious Lynch 'encyclopedia', link here.
Relatedly, Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Starlord (Chris Pratt) are engaging in sweet a Superbowl bet of epic proportions.
Here's an article with linked video about Danish archer Lars Andersen, who taught himself to hold his arrows in the same hand in which he holds his bow; this enables him fire arrows at a very rapid rate (3 arrows in 0.6 seconds, AND he hits what he's aiming at).
In brief, a taxidermist has recreated the face of Princess Ukok, a Siberian woman who died in 2500 years ago (either of breast cancer or a fall combined with breast cancer) on the Ukok plateau. She's also famous for her remarkable arm tattoos that resemble mythical deer.
The song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" played on the radio in lab today; it was released in 1988 by the Proclaimers. i did not realize that the group is fronted by twins (Charlie and Craig Reid). Wikipedia lists 53 entries for musician twins, though, but i didn't look up family bands (i'm sure that list is just ridiculously extensive).
Anhedonia is a condition which is " defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. exercise, hobbies, music, sexual activities or social interactions. "
Finally, this muti-tool bracelet just released by Leatherman is pretty nifty. i think i'd wear one as an anklet for sure (okay, once the prices come down).
Beer miles are a thing. They're usually 4 laps on a standard track, during which a beer is consumed at the start of every mile, and while they've always been an unofficial runner thing (though in undergrad, my brother and i used to do shots, not beer, and race around the block) there is actually an official beer mile time tracker (a guy finished one in under 5 minutes last year, drinking Budwieser). Outside Magazine covered the World Beer Mile races held in Austin in December last year. Anyway, here are some trail versions, given that, " the track-style beer mile favors fast little road runners and track guys, and that we should organize our own beer mile out on the trails for trail runners,” says John Burton, 41, of San Jose, California. “Then of course we started thinking, ‘what's the toughest, steepest, most gnarly trail around here?’” ". Fair enough. i'd totally be up for a shots-n-steeplechase.
i recently read a very well done article on the insanity that is the Barkley Marathons (5x20+ mile loops outside of the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Tennessee, unofficially the most difficult race). (Official wiki article here, and a NYTimes article here, for more info.)
i was hanging out with Kate and Jeremy on Wednesday. They've just adopted a cat, Janie, and were talking about discipline when Jeremy showed us the Engineer's Guide To Cats (corporal cuddling was the reference, around 4:35). There is also a version 2, as well as other highly creative videos featuring the same cast at the guy's youtube page.
Jeremy also referenced "Sad Etsy Boyfriends", a tumblr featuring pictures from Etsy where guys are clearly not thrilled to be modelling their girlfriends' wares. Thanks for the pop culture, Jeremy!!
The Superbowl is this upcoming weekend, and Seahawks' running back Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch is notorious for detesting media related events. He has been previously fined for skipping press conferences, so at a recent one, he apparently set a 5 minute timer on his cell phone, answered 29 questions with the same consecutive answer ("i'm just here so i don't get fined"), and when his time was up, announced "Finished!" and left. i can only be jealous that i can't apply this in daily life. SB Nation did a hilarious Lynch 'encyclopedia', link here.
Relatedly, Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Starlord (Chris Pratt) are engaging in sweet a Superbowl bet of epic proportions.
Here's an article with linked video about Danish archer Lars Andersen, who taught himself to hold his arrows in the same hand in which he holds his bow; this enables him fire arrows at a very rapid rate (3 arrows in 0.6 seconds, AND he hits what he's aiming at).
In brief, a taxidermist has recreated the face of Princess Ukok, a Siberian woman who died in 2500 years ago (either of breast cancer or a fall combined with breast cancer) on the Ukok plateau. She's also famous for her remarkable arm tattoos that resemble mythical deer.
The song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" played on the radio in lab today; it was released in 1988 by the Proclaimers. i did not realize that the group is fronted by twins (Charlie and Craig Reid). Wikipedia lists 53 entries for musician twins, though, but i didn't look up family bands (i'm sure that list is just ridiculously extensive).
Anhedonia is a condition which is " defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable, e.g. exercise, hobbies, music, sexual activities or social interactions. "
Finally, this muti-tool bracelet just released by Leatherman is pretty nifty. i think i'd wear one as an anklet for sure (okay, once the prices come down).
Friday, January 23, 2015
Michelle Pfeiffer references, PSB, gelatin etc, manspreading, chai and espresso
We tend to play the radio in lab, and i noticed that in two currently popular songs, Vance Joy's Riptide and Mark Ronson + Bruno Mars' severely swaggering Uptown Funk, the actress Michelle Pfeiffer is mentioned. Curious if there was some sort of common thread, i googled it and happily, someone had already put together an article. Vance Joy cited Ms. Pfeiffer's depiction of Catwoman as a inspiration, and Ronson + Mars drew inspiration from her Elvira Hancock of the movie Scarface. Alright, then.
Speaking of popular music, i've been a little stuck on Public Service Broadcasting, a group out of London who takes audio clips from public announcements and makes songs around them. Reference this pretty great music video about the cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin.
As linked by Kelly AT today, here's an incredibly amusing and sadly accurate satirical (Onion) article concerning why some moms won't vaccinate their kids.
Two weird bits of synchronity regard aspics. i was skpying with Jack and Leslie last week when the topic of weird savory jellos came up; having blogged about this before, i was able to cringe in unison with them. Aspics also were mentioned in conversing with Rup and Bryan, in the theme of 'loaves' apparently popular in some parts of Europe (which we somehow reached when i referred to pimento cheese). While revisiting the jello wikipedia page, i noticed that Areoplane Jelly is a brand of gelatin based in Australia, so named as it's origin start coincided with that of aviation. They used to have some interesting native flavors like " Lilly Pilly, Quandong and Midjinberry ".
Leslie, i mentioned that automatic cake decorating videos are strangely fascinating (and hat tip to Kate B for that).
Leslie brought up issues with the current early 20-something male crowd and their apparent inability to sit up straight and not spread their legs over more than two seats. (And i can vouch for this; the few times i have lately taken the bus, a guy next to me is taking up as much space as possible while i'm trying to avoid being imposed upon. Ugh.) Apparently 'manspreading' is an issue on NY Subways to the point of there being an actual ad campaign telling dudes to stop taking up so much space when they sit.
Side tangent, there was a viral video last year called 'Shrinking Woman' by Lily Myers, which describes women 'having been taught accommodation', and that goes alongside Amy Cuddy's study of 'power poses', and how poses might influence our thinking about ourselves as well as others' impressions of us. Anyway.
In other news, the not-American unit of measurement 'stone' is equal to just over 14 lbs. Apparently, when i say i want to eat my weight in a particular food (as i sometimes claim regarding desserts or bbq), i need to eat 9 stones-worth.
It came up in conversation the other day that there are 25 known taste receptors for bitter flavors. <3
In honor of the fast-approaching Indian Republic Day, i'm linking this aptly named 'best chai ever' recipe . It's seriously really good; i've been looking for decent chai for a while, and finally decided that the appropriate spice level is probably not going to be found in a commercial blend. For reference, i made this with PG Tips tea (the blogger is right, you need a strong, inexpensive tea to stand up to the spices), and have successfully made both cows' milk and almond milk versions.
While we're on the topic of hot beverages, my brother and sister-in-law very kindly gifted me with a moka pot/stove top espresso maker for Christmas. i'd linked an easily-found aluminum version to my brother. However, he's an engineer, and his thought process was that when aluminum explodes it creates shrapnel. He didn't want to be responsible for that, so he tracked down a nicer steel version (steel just gives way when under too much pressure, so there would only be burn damage). Thanks, Nate!
He requested pictures, and since i think this is a really cool process anyway, here are some pictures of my new coffee toy.
Also, weirdly, apparently the world's first webcam was designed to show if the coffee pot outside of the Trojan Room, a computer room at the University of Cambridge, had coffee, so folks could avoid getting up to see. Efficient. Also, kinda amazing.
Speaking of popular music, i've been a little stuck on Public Service Broadcasting, a group out of London who takes audio clips from public announcements and makes songs around them. Reference this pretty great music video about the cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin.
As linked by Kelly AT today, here's an incredibly amusing and sadly accurate satirical (Onion) article concerning why some moms won't vaccinate their kids.
Two weird bits of synchronity regard aspics. i was skpying with Jack and Leslie last week when the topic of weird savory jellos came up; having blogged about this before, i was able to cringe in unison with them. Aspics also were mentioned in conversing with Rup and Bryan, in the theme of 'loaves' apparently popular in some parts of Europe (which we somehow reached when i referred to pimento cheese). While revisiting the jello wikipedia page, i noticed that Areoplane Jelly is a brand of gelatin based in Australia, so named as it's origin start coincided with that of aviation. They used to have some interesting native flavors like " Lilly Pilly, Quandong and Midjinberry ".
Leslie, i mentioned that automatic cake decorating videos are strangely fascinating (and hat tip to Kate B for that).
Leslie brought up issues with the current early 20-something male crowd and their apparent inability to sit up straight and not spread their legs over more than two seats. (And i can vouch for this; the few times i have lately taken the bus, a guy next to me is taking up as much space as possible while i'm trying to avoid being imposed upon. Ugh.) Apparently 'manspreading' is an issue on NY Subways to the point of there being an actual ad campaign telling dudes to stop taking up so much space when they sit.
Side tangent, there was a viral video last year called 'Shrinking Woman' by Lily Myers, which describes women 'having been taught accommodation', and that goes alongside Amy Cuddy's study of 'power poses', and how poses might influence our thinking about ourselves as well as others' impressions of us. Anyway.
In other news, the not-American unit of measurement 'stone' is equal to just over 14 lbs. Apparently, when i say i want to eat my weight in a particular food (as i sometimes claim regarding desserts or bbq), i need to eat 9 stones-worth.
It came up in conversation the other day that there are 25 known taste receptors for bitter flavors. <3
In honor of the fast-approaching Indian Republic Day, i'm linking this aptly named 'best chai ever' recipe . It's seriously really good; i've been looking for decent chai for a while, and finally decided that the appropriate spice level is probably not going to be found in a commercial blend. For reference, i made this with PG Tips tea (the blogger is right, you need a strong, inexpensive tea to stand up to the spices), and have successfully made both cows' milk and almond milk versions.
While we're on the topic of hot beverages, my brother and sister-in-law very kindly gifted me with a moka pot/stove top espresso maker for Christmas. i'd linked an easily-found aluminum version to my brother. However, he's an engineer, and his thought process was that when aluminum explodes it creates shrapnel. He didn't want to be responsible for that, so he tracked down a nicer steel version (steel just gives way when under too much pressure, so there would only be burn damage). Thanks, Nate!
He requested pictures, and since i think this is a really cool process anyway, here are some pictures of my new coffee toy.
Also, weirdly, apparently the world's first webcam was designed to show if the coffee pot outside of the Trojan Room, a computer room at the University of Cambridge, had coffee, so folks could avoid getting up to see. Efficient. Also, kinda amazing.
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