tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64036212026-03-12T03:53:01.093-04:00Articulatory LoopBecause learning is good, and remembering is better.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comBlogger1617125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-3136480464396723242010-07-09T11:18:00.003-04:002010-07-09T11:30:13.886-04:00Playlist.Sometimes, all that's needed to inspire productivity is the right soundtrack. I present to you my getting-shit-done-montage playlist, July 2010:1. Sexy Sushi - A bien regarder; Rachida (3:16)2. Deastro - Parallelogram (Courtesy Of Ghostly International) (2:55)3. Vitalic - See The Sea (Red) (4:05)4. Jónsi - Animal Arithmetic (3:23)5. BanjoLasse - Det susar i Sääwn Pt. II (2:18)6. Giardini Di MiròMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-57660647199725548952009-04-21T08:32:00.006-04:002009-04-21T08:52:12.233-04:00Making it for Ourselves"Energy independence" is a big buzzword these days, what with calls left and right for alternatives to extracted fossil carbon to fuel our ever-expanding consumptions. Investments into 'biofuels' - basically, corn or sugar cane ethanol - have been disastrous for the environment and economy, respectively exploding food prices and clear-cutting rain forests.Some California researchers have teamed Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-72755474174822068722009-04-03T17:53:00.007-04:002009-04-03T18:35:41.161-04:00Oral Sex Could be Deadly (So Could Robots)So I guess it's been a while...having a job I don't spend all day bored at really does cut in to blogging time (not to mention reading-cool-science time). But, today I ran across some science that's just so cool I have to write it down, lest I forget forever. That's why I started this blog anyways, innit?Starting with the bad news. It seems that HPV, that sexually transmitted infection most Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-63728752349829822572008-12-23T18:29:00.001-05:002008-12-23T18:29:01.176-05:002008 in Less Than 80 Minutes2008 was a really good year, musically speaking, for me. One album really kicked my ass all year - when "Made in the Dark" came out in February, I knew immediately that it was gonna be my annual favorite. So that competition was over pretty much before it started, even if the likes of Ladytron, Vampire Weekend, and Los Campesinos! gave Hot Chip a good run. Picking top ten albums of the year isMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-33545709541497831592008-12-16T06:22:00.002-05:002008-12-16T06:24:23.842-05:00RNA Sugar Found on ExoplanetIt's cool that scientists have found this molecule *out there.* However, it just serves to yet again emphasize what I view as the biggest stupidity in our 'search' for extraterrestrial life: that it has to look exactly like terrestrial life (in this case molecularly, if not outwardly). RNA is necessary for life here (and life that works how we work, however little we understand that at all), Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-73896863873128895262008-12-12T08:42:00.003-05:002008-12-12T09:00:14.580-05:00Fuel for the FireI'm a bad blogger, this I know. But without coffee, I'd be probably even worse. Unless of course said lack also led to unemployment (it might), in which case I'd have time to blog again.So, coffee fuels my brain - why not also my car? Researchers at the University of Nevada have found that they can extract 100 percent of the oil from spent coffee grounds and turn it into biodiesel. The Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-59486938893269391552008-09-19T07:38:00.002-04:002008-09-19T07:48:04.217-04:00Mood and IntelligenceUK researchers have vindicated Oscar the Grouch. They found that children who are made to be happy and cheerful all the time are in fact not as clever as ones who are made sad. Or, at least, they perform more poorly on cognitive tests.The researchers played pre-teens either Mozart's joyous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or the sadder Adagietto by Mahler, and made six-and-seven-year-olds watch a Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-64109902801274906532008-08-13T18:13:00.002-04:002008-08-13T18:15:14.078-04:00Mystery Worm 1We found this gorgeous guy in my friend's front yard...it was about 4" long and 1 in circumference. It didn't show much interest in eating grass or leaves. Didn't seem to dig either, but he high-tailed it as soon as we let him. Moved pretty quick, for a caterpillar (?). Anyone know what it might be, or become?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-41520480718926152722008-08-04T08:47:00.000-04:002008-08-04T08:47:00.959-04:00Possibly The Stupidest Thing Said This Election(well, this week anyway)The Wall Street Journal seems to think that Senator Obama is too fit to be President. For those of you who have managed to not die of irony, what they say is that, because Americans are so famously obese, they may have trouble thinking of such a sveltie as One Of Them. This I guess must be code for the WSJ being a bit racist, frankly, because it's such an utterly inane Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-17301811970742256152008-08-01T06:32:00.004-04:002008-08-02T13:10:02.594-04:00Eat and Drink and Grow (Plus: Mom was Wrong!)My mom always insisted that we drink fruit juice instead of soda. Research suggests that, except for 100% orange and grapefruit juice, drinking fruit drinks or juices are at least as big a diabetes risk as soda. The grapefruit exception may have to do with this, but the orange juice, well, who knows. Still, the message is clear: drink water or unsweetened coffee/tea. Mostly tea.Speaking of Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-36029651649888074272008-07-28T08:06:00.002-04:002008-07-28T08:06:00.946-04:00Bad Parenting: Underage Sex and ADHD EditionAnalysis of survey data from American teens suggests that overbearing parents may actually be encouraging their kids towards underage sex'n'drugs'n'rock'n'roll (Journal of Adolescent Health 43(2), 2008). Even though it's a retrospective, secondary analysis, this is an interesting result, not least because it fits with my own casual observations.Many parents also tend to keep the TV on when theirMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-42777324694927169892008-07-08T18:46:00.003-04:002008-07-08T19:09:22.585-04:00Exciting for SomeAnyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of schadenfreude, and also of making fun of vegetarians. Not vegetarians generally, no, but the stereotypical American Vegetarian, who insists on (a) making a scene whenever someone consumes a food product deemed Unethical by said AV, (b) demanding that hosts of dinner parties, etc., make huge accommodations (usually without warning prior to AV's arrival) Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-89352760281901348232008-06-24T17:38:00.002-04:002008-06-24T17:39:14.071-04:00New BabySo I am now really a proper Atlantan: I own a car. This is pretty scary, but also really cool. The thing is, the car needs a name. I am currently leaning towards Jolene based on the Dolly song of the same name, which was in my head the day I picked it up. I also did some anagraming of things like "My Red Prius" and "Barcelona Red" (the color) and such, which came up with a few hilarious Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-36620117424548210102008-04-30T09:07:00.002-04:002008-04-30T09:08:41.652-04:00Drinking Dulls Threat Response If only I'd read this story before Saturday. I at least might have drank less and been more aware that the possibly lycanthropic girl who made my ear all pretty like this was not just playing around. Oh well. For the record, I'm on Augmentin, Cipro, and Vicodin, and the swelling has finally gone down.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-31435651003693084632008-04-22T10:31:00.004-04:002008-04-22T10:37:52.286-04:00Success! ... and the drugs fueling it...So I finally finished my thesis. That means that, assuming I bother to turn in my last couple of final exams, in a few weeks I will officially have my MPH! Go me.Now I just have to rewrite the whole thing and clean it up and publish it. Which would be a great deal easier if I didn't need to sleep. Apparently, many other scientists feel the same way, and have been taking all kinds of yummy Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-74032316077939633182008-04-05T20:01:00.003-04:002008-04-05T20:15:21.400-04:00Top YawnAs a food geek, I have been watching Bravo's Top Chef with ... eternal optimism. The entire concept of the show guarantees disappointment, I think, because ultimately the viewer can't taste the food. With Project Runway, you can see the clothes and at least make some kind of judgment on their relative merits; not so on Top Chef. Iron Chef manages to be more interesting, I find, because it at Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-63705219474578979252008-04-03T08:50:00.003-04:002008-04-03T08:59:42.707-04:00The Best News I'll Have All WeekTwo things today... First and foremost, I learned that I will most likely not be unemployed come graduation - I have an offer from the CDC. Which is awesome. It's in Atlanta, which I was hoping to avoid, but ultimately liking what I spend 8-12+ hours a day doing is my top priority. So yay me!And for all three people in the universe for whom my employment status is not thrilling news, it Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-66823380675193439502008-03-31T08:29:00.002-04:002008-03-31T08:44:00.301-04:00LoudmouthWhen I was a kid, my teachers were not, generally, of soft-spoken temperament. John Eaton Elementary, while nestled in one of DCs tonier areas and enjoying all the benefits that entailed, was still a DC school and more importantly, still an ELEMENTARY school. Kids are loud, there's noise outside, and the building creaks. Teachers had many different ways to rise above the din of imprisoned Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-9342988229566521942008-03-18T19:15:00.006-04:002008-03-18T21:21:42.286-04:00Arthur C Clarke Has DiedLegendary scientist and science-fiction writer Arthur C Clarke died today, aged 90 years. Clarke was one of my absolute favorite writers, and had an immense influence on my becoming a scientist myself."Childhood's End" is my favorite of his novels, and since to pick favorites amongst his short works is essentially impossible, I'll name "The Star" and "The Nine Billion Names of God" as the two Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-12109391382152587502008-03-03T07:17:00.002-05:002008-03-03T07:38:03.291-05:00Spanking, Frogs, and Skatepark WeightlossType II diabetes is a fast-growing health problem - as peoples' increasingly sedentary and BigMac-filled lifestyles balloon waistlines, the Beetis is close behind. Some keys to stemming that tide may come from interesting places: researchers have found that the South American shrinking frog produces a protein - pseudin-2 - the synthetic of which, it seems, stimulates insulin secretion and Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-38928698330993923682008-02-27T16:48:00.002-05:002008-02-27T17:03:42.006-05:00Symptoms of Not KnowingA CDC study found that the vast majority of Americans (75%) don't know the signs of a heart attack, and only a few of those who do would know how to respond. Since heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the US, it's important to know the signs: - Chest pain (usually squeezing or pressure) - Pain in neck, shoulder, or jaw, arms or back - Shortness of breath - Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-74047062923134283782008-02-18T18:53:00.002-05:002008-02-18T18:57:04.614-05:00Do. Want!If you feel like making me very happy, buy me one three of these. Pleeeeze!Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-81061398166825002862008-02-16T08:40:00.003-05:002008-02-16T08:52:08.107-05:00Another Helpful Guide......For guys looking vapid gold diggers. CNN.com has a feature on what cars, allegedly, a guy should drive to impress the ladies. The contestants are the Nissan 350Z Roadster (a 'he-man' ride but no good for commuting), the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder ( practical but too girly looking), Audi TT Roadster (crap engine), Porsche Cayman (a Porsche that allegedly gets 23 MPG), and the ultimate gold Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-71419975129894456672008-02-14T09:50:00.002-05:002008-02-14T09:53:14.044-05:00Eat More Bears I found this on the Emory campus. I'm fairly certain that its creators - as far as I can tell the pep squad for the undergraduate womens' basketball team, i.e., 19-year-old girls - have no idea the wider implications of this slogan.Lucky for them, bears do not generally take much interest in young girls.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403621.post-71777679643964814552008-02-11T19:06:00.000-05:002008-02-11T19:18:56.122-05:00Overtech'edI'm beginning to be in the market for a number of new electronic toys, and am dismayed with the options. First of all, my entirely awesome IAudio X5 is passing its third birthday and needs an heir. Oh, how heartily I have laughed at iPod users who've replaced their (admittedly shinier) gizmos twice or more in this period, not to mention being locked in to the infernal iTunes platform and Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06842663992025384172noreply@blogger.com