Personal
Respectful Insolence
Category archives for Personal
I knew it!
Posted by Orac on July 21, 2007 This one seems to be making the rounds among blogs that I frequent. Given that it’s Saturday, when I usually don’t post anything that requires serious writing, it’s a perfect day to let the sheep in me have free reign and follow the flock, taking this test: Your Score: Robot You are 100% Rational, 0%…
On the creeping of the years and vision
Posted by Orac on July 9, 2007 Last week, I was forced to face the fact that I’m definitely, solidly, undeniably now middle-aged. Oh, I could delude myself before and say that I’m “mature” and even pretend to some extent that the slow deterioration that time causes biological organisms doesn’t apply to me. I could even dismiss the increasing creakiness in my…
The 4th of July
Posted by Orac on July 4, 2007 Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! For more serious ruminations about the 4th by yours truly, check out posts I’ve done on the topic before: Fourth of July thoughts One last fourth of July thought In the meantime, I’ll be rounding on my partners’ patients all morning, as I drew the 4th…
Condolences to Lindsay Beyerstein
Posted by Orac on June 27, 2007 Please take a moment to head over to Majikthise and pay your respects to Lindsay, whose father, Barry L. Beyerstein, died yesterday. Dr. Beyerstein was a prominent skeptic and very active in the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He also served as chair of the Society of B. C. Skeptics, not to mention being a member…
This rating sounds about right
Posted by Orac on June 23, 2007 This one’s been floating around ScienceBlogs and the blogosphere in general; so I thought, what the hell? (Oh, wait, did my use of the word “hell” affect my rating?) In any case, this sounds about right: Mingle2 – Online Dating You’ll be happy to know that I don’t really plan on trying to “evolve” to…
Gasoline sticker shock in Chicago
Posted by Orac on June 6, 2007 I’m back from the ASCO Meeting in Chicago. As promised, I’ll try to post some photos tomorrow to give you a sense of just how monumentally huge this meeting is. I probably won’t have time to blog about the clinical science presented until Friday or next week, but we’ll see. In the meantime, let me…
Do I really look that young? Do I?
Posted by Orac on June 3, 2007 I haven’t yet mentioned it, but since Friday evening I’ve been in Chicago for the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. (If anyone happens to be attending the meeting and is interested in a meetup, let me know. My time’s pretty well booked until I leave on Tuesday afternoon, but we might be able to…
I knew I should have read the abstract book for ASCO
Posted by Orac on May 20, 2007 Abel Pharmboy shows why I shouldn’t have left my American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) proceedings abstract sit on my desk unread for a week. Damn. Talk about blowing an opportunity. Of course, given that I don’t own any pharmaceutical stocks (making me a rather poor “tool of big pharma” indeed), it doesn’t matter.
Ah, that’s better!
Posted by Orac on May 13, 2007 This week has been a bit of a rough and depressing week on the old blog, with the news that Battlestar Galactica will probably be entering its last season,the appearance of annoying conspiracy theorists in new posts and trolls in old posts, really irritating technical difficulties the ScienceBlogs site, and the need to debunk two…
A question on mobile phones
Posted by Orac on April 29, 2007 I don’t often do this, but every so often I come across a question that I need help deciding. What’s the use of having a moderately popular blog (alas, 3,000 visits a day do not constitute an “immensely popular” blog) if I can’t sometimes use it for my own nefarious purposes, right? The question is…
The face of terror
Posted by Orac on April 22, 2007 There is a monster living in our house. Black and sleek, with nasty, pointy, teeth, it lurks, waiting to deal out death and carnage. Indeed, evidence of its implacable thirst for death was left for me when I returned from Los Angeles late Wednesday night, perhaps left in tribute. Behold, the face of death!
Nighttime, March 15, 2007, Washington, DC
Posted by Orac on March 26, 2007 In case you wondered, yes, ScienceBlogs is just a big cabal, and, as evidence, I present the following photo from a week and a half ago, when I managed to meet, drink, and conspire to take over the science blogosphere at the Toledo Lounge in Washington, D.C. with Tara Smith of Aetiology, Evil Monkey of…
How bad can it get in my hometown?
Posted by Orac on March 25, 2007 Having been born in Detroit and raised both in the city and one of its suburbs, news like this distresses me: DETROIT (Reuters) – With bidding stalled on some of the least desirable residences in Detroit’s collapsing housing market, even the fast-talking auctioneer was feeling the stress. “Folks, the ground underneath the house goes with…
Down the rabbit-hole, or just how stupid do they think I am?
Posted by Orac on January 4, 2007 You know, like the namesake of my nom de blog, I’m not immune to a little vanity. Indeed, I daresay that no human is. What differs among humans are two things: the level of vanity and what we’re vain about. Given that I don’t have all that much in the looks department going on, it’s…
A death in the family
Posted by Orac on December 28, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Happy Holidays!
Posted by Orac on December 25, 2006 I’d just like to take this time to wish everyone out there Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hannukah, and all the rest. And our blog mascot wants to show he’s in the spirit as well: Here’s hoping you’re having fun with family and friends!
Dr. Dr. Stupid (a.k.a. Orac)
Posted by Orac on December 5, 2006 As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not perfect. I know, I know, given the (usually) tasty (usually) Respectful Insolence™ dished out nearly every day here, that’s a hard thing to believe, but it’s true. In fact, occasionally I even do something that is so unbelievably, incredibly, outrageously boneheaded that there’s only one…
What accent?
Posted by Orac on November 12, 2006 Lots of other bloggers seem to be taking this one; so what the heck? It’s surprisingly accurate for a silly Internet quiz. And, yes, it is pop, not soda. No matter how long I’m stranded here on the East Coast, it will always be pop! What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland…
Veterans’ Day 2006
Posted by Orac on November 11, 2006 In the U.S., today is Veterans’ Day; elsewhere it’s Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, marking 88 years since the truce that ended World War I. Whatever you’re doing, please take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices our men and women in arms have made throughout history to protect our nation. Regardless of your views…
It’s just that sort of day
Posted by Orac on September 30, 2006 Today is just the kind of day when these lyrics speak to me: And you run, you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking Racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way, but you’re older Shorter of breath and one day closer to…
I was robbed!
Posted by Orac on September 19, 2006 Janet has posted the final results of the Nerd-off, and, contrary to what he deserves, Orac did not come in first place. I was robbed! Come on, how could the Dalek cookie jar sitting on the shelf in my office not have guaranteed my ultimate triumph over all in the realm of nerdiness?
Shortsighted, not curious, and proud of it!
Posted by Orac on August 29, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
Vacation purity contaminated
Posted by Orac on August 27, 2006 While I am on vacation, I’m reprinting a number of “Classic Insolence” posts to keep the blog active while I’m gone. (It also has the salutory effect of allowing me to move some of my favorite posts from the old blog over to the new blog, and I’m guessing that quite a few of my…
It’s official
Posted by Orac on July 1, 2006 As of midnight last night, it’s official…
Getting to know the newbies (a.k.a. the “pi” meme)
Posted by Orac on June 11, 2006 Janet started it. John and Mike picked it up. Afarensis used it to avoid working on a post. John and Bora quickly chimed in as well. Well, given that it’s a Sunday and that I usually don’t do any heavy duty science or medicine posts on Saturdays and Sundays, it looked like a perfectly good…