retrospectacle | December 6, 2006At the urging of others in the science blogging community (and rightly so!), we've been asked to highlight the situation of the tragic Tripoli 6 (or Benghazi 6) and the new developments going on. A bit of a recap though, for those not familiar with who they are.
The Benghazi Six consists of five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian physician, who are involved in an ongoing trial in Libya regarding whether or not they deliberately infected hundreds of children with the HIV virus. Based on the confessions of the six, extracted under horrendous torture, they were all convicted and sentenced to…
retrospectacle | December 6, 2006Now I'm not a fan of Jeb Bush by any means. But compared to Georgie Porgie, he's gotta look like the golden son to George Bush, Sr. And thats saying something.
Evidenced by a recent emotional speech given by the elder George Bush, in which he broke down to tears when talking about being proud of Jeb. Yes, just Jeb. No mention of George. Although, he did mention, in that same speech, his burgeoning friendship with Bill Clinton. I wonder how George Jr. feels about that? :P
retrospectacle | December 6, 2006I like MySpace, it brought me over from Friendster and now I use it almost exclusively. I've found old friends, new friends, and also a nasty virus which hijacked my profile last week and used my name to post a bunch of crapola ads on the Message Boards. I wondered what the heck happened, how did someone get my login info to post something under my name, and at 3am no less? Now, I have an answer and its a bit scary.
(Continued under the fold!)
According to PC World:
The social networking site MySpace.com is under what one computer security analyst calls an "amazingly virulent" attack caused…
retrospectacle | December 5, 2006Not the greatest litmus test, but kinda fun and interesting. I'm more conservative than I thought. I was sure I'd get "Raving Atheist Baby-Eating Level Liberal"........
Your Political Profile:
Overall: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal
Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?
retrospectacle | December 5, 2006My oh my oh my, parrots really are the cause of so much human suffering aren't they? I couldn't wait to post this until Friday Grey Matters, well, because Irene Pepperberg's interview will be featured this week (a long time coming, but we finally had a little chat Sunday night). So stay tuned for that, good stuff from an exceptionally smart and kind person.
Anyway, back to parrot-induced bank robberies:
A Murfreesboro [Tennessee] man told authorities he robbed MidSouth Bank on East College Street Monday because he "lost his job, tried for another and didn't get it, and his dog ate his parrot…
retrospectacle | December 5, 2006 Remember that scene in 'Karate Kid' when Daniel-San walked in on Mr. Miyagi trying to catch a fly with a pair of chopsticks? In response to Daniel-San asking what the heck he was doing, Mr. Miyagi replied cryptically, "He who catch fly with chopstick can do anything." (Or something like that.) Oh, Mr. Miyagi's wise wise words have proven true in yet another instance.
Reported in this week's Economist (hat tip Bob Abu for the scan), is fascinating story of science meets serendipity. A Chinese woman was admitted to Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, with a chopstick in her brain (!)---…
retrospectacle | December 4, 2006This generation of students will graduate with more student loans and debt than any previous to it (adjusted for inflation, of course). Rising school costs, living costs in college towns, and credit card debt may all be to blame. I came across a state-by-state interactive map over at USA Today, which breaks down the average debt accrued by students graduating from public and private universities.
Something I thought was strange: Iowa's private university grad debt is lower than its public grad debt. Wonder why....
Anyway, if you want to know a bit more, go here.
retrospectacle | December 3, 2006First, watch this:
I saw that on Yahoo last night and thought it would be kinda fun to try to figure out how it was done. Here's my guess. So, first of all, it seems that there are 5 toothpicks, broken in half (but not completely in half). The wood has been compressed due to the bending of the toothpick. Dropping the water on the toothpicks causes the wood fibers to expand as it takes up the moisture. Soon the bent toothpicks are pressing against their neighbors, which pushes them outward forming the star. Seem right?
retrospectacle | December 2, 2006This sounds eerily similar to another kind of 'forced identification'..........
When radio host Jerry Klein suggested that all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shape tattoo or a distinctive arm band, the phone lines jammed instantly.
The first caller to the station in Washington said that Klein must be "off his rocker." The second congratulated him and added: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their forehead but you ship them out of this country ... they are here to kill us."
Another said that tattoos, armbands and other identifying markers such as…
retrospectacle | December 1, 2006So, some Dutch psychologists have released the results of a study that indicates living in urban areas raises the risk of suffering from bulimia, but not anorexia.
They found women in cities were five times more likely to have the binge-and-purge illness than those who live in villages and hamlets but that there was no difference in anorexia rates.
Bulimia is also more secretive than anorexia because people are ashamed of their behavior. They try to avoid telling other people about it," said Van Son.
"The reason for the association is speculative," she said.
It seems rather obvious to me why…
retrospectacle | December 1, 2006
Move over Judas Priest! Make way for HateBeak!
HateBeak is a ParrotMetal band with, you guessed it!, a African Grey as the lead "vocalist."
From HATEBEAK's site:
Face-crushing guitars, head-pounding drums, bass so low you'll vacate your bowels, and vocals so scorching, so extreme they simply can't be human! They're not. This death metal outfit with a parrot for a singer trashes the pathetic birdfeeder you call the metal underground!
That's correct, a parrot for a singer, savaging you with feathers of razored steel! This is not Jimmy Buffet's parrot - be warned! Try as one might, they will…
retrospectacle | November 30, 2006Instead of firing US officials who speak their mind regarding US foreign policy, why not listen?
A senior State Department analyst, Kendall Myers, made several informal statements in an academic forum that might cost him his job. What were the oh-so-offensive quotes?
The Times quoted Myers, a foreign research analyst in the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, as saying the transatlantic relationship was "totally one-sided" and Britain's self-appointed role as a bridge between America and Europe was "disappearing before our eyes."
"We typically ignore them and take no notice…
retrospectacle | November 29, 2006I absolutely loved Aronofsky's work. Not that there's so much of it, only "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" plus some student works. But I've heard mixed things about his most recent movie "The Fountain."
So: Have you seen it? And, if so, what did you think?
I'm trying to decide if/when to go see it, so be honest!
retrospectacle | November 29, 2006According to CNN, the guards who roughed up a Florida teenager at a military-style bootcamp, who later died, will be charged in his death. This incident, which took place around Pensacola, was a huge scandal for Florida which resulted in the resignation of Florida's top law officer and the end of state-run bootcamp.
Apparently what happened was Martin Lee Anderson, 14 years old, felt ill and refused to continue exercising. After being roughed up by the guards (which was caught on videotape) for over 30 minutes, he passed out. To try to revive him, they used ammonia capsules (aka smelling…
retrospectacle | November 28, 2006
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Midland
"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do…
retrospectacle | November 28, 2006Thanks to Mustafa Mond, FCD for bringing this to my attention. The notorious peace wreath (reported on below) which was garnering a $25/day fine from the owner's homeowner association will stay put. According to the committee chairman, who was backpedaling so fast that it made it hard to hear him, the threatened fine was a "misunderstanding." Also, the owner of the wreath, Lisa Jensen, said that hundreds of strangers offered to pay the fine for her to keep up the wreath!
The story had a happy ending after all.
retrospectacle | November 27, 2006November is Native American History Month, and while walking down the corridors of the UM Hospital this morning, I spied a flier with some disturbing statistics. I had known that Native Americans suffered a large disparity in health, as compared to the rest of America, but check this out:
- American Indians and Alaskan Natives have the 2nd highest infant mortality rate in the nation and the highest rate of SIDS
- The death rate among American Indians ages 15-24 are also higher than those of white persons in the same age group
- American Indians and Alaskan Natives are five times more likely…
retrospectacle | November 27, 2006
No? Me either. But the owner is getting fined $25/day until they take it down. Some hogwash about hating troops and loving the Debil.
Its sad when peace and tolerance have become un-American.
retrospectacle | November 27, 2006You've all heard the old adage "Money can't buy happiness." But honestly, money can buy a Ferrari, and when was the last time you saw someone in a Ferrari who wasn't smiling? Now, I'm surely not saying that money is everything. Its not by a long shot. However, we live in a material world, and we are all material girls............or so says psychologist Dr. Ed Diener of the University of Illinois and economist Andrew Oswald. However, the effect of money on happiness seems to be small, and only effective up to a certain income level. While people who make $150,000 are consistently more happy…