Bits and Pieces
jlynch | June 13, 2007Apparently "66 percent of U.S. drivers aged between 18 and 24 send text messages while driving and 93 percent talk on their cell phone behind the wheel. This compared to 16 percent of Americans cell phones owners overall texting behind the wheel and 77 percent talking on the phone while on the road" (source).
I never use my phone while driving, but I’m willing to perhaps understand people who use a headset. But texting? Texting? How dumb are people to think that’s a good idea?
jlynch | June 11, 2007So I was watching Adult Swim last night (Futurama x2 followed by The Family Guy) and they were running a cool visualization by Aaron Koblin of the air traffic over the US.
There is more at Koblin's site.
Now, I need to go and watch tonight’s episodes!
jlynch | June 11, 2007I’m having a rough day of it today. I’m a huge fan of The Sopranos but haven’t seen the last two episodes. Reason: my better half has been out of the country and I have taped them both to share with her when she returns on Wednesday. Problem is, it’s difficult to avoid online discussion of the last episode. Maybe I should retire from the Intertubes until Thursday!
jlynch | June 6, 2007
Tom Waits singing "The Piano Has Been Drinking" on Fernwood Tonight in 1977. Bonus points: Post-performance interview features the classic line "I’d rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy."
jlynch | May 30, 2007For you whippersnappers who grew up on what counts for rock these days, here's what real rock n' roll sounds like - Neil Young doing "Rockin in the Free World" in 2004. Bonus points: Bruce Springsteen lends a hand. Play it loud!
jlynch | May 24, 2007Rob mentions LOLcats (of which I am a fan - more here). I give you LOLpresidents.
jlynch | May 23, 2007I was wondering to myself what posts from 2006 still get significant views. After poking around in the statistics, here is what I found (in order of visits as of May 22nd): pictures of polar bears & mutant beasts from Maine, penis parasites from Grey's Anatomy, Ann Coulter as dashund (I was going to type "weiner dog" but ...), rainbows, shipwrecks that feature cannibalism, clouds, girls playing Tic-Tac-Toe, dumb Americans, and killer wasps. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what the public wants.
jlynch | May 7, 2007
Ah, makes you want to move to Alaska, doesn't it. (Courtesy of this Fark thread).
jlynch | May 3, 2007
As an ex-student of mine remarked, "It's as though Pakistan lost a highly radioactive family pet." All very weird. More details here.
[Tip O' The Hat to Bryant K.]
jlynch | April 26, 2007So I noticed that visits to the blog ramped up after 2100 EST tonight with traffic increasing ten-fold. And the reason? Grey's Anatomy mentioned this little blighter.
jlynch | April 25, 2007I'll admit to spending way too much time lurking at Fark.com. Today the site underwent a re-design and the punters aren't happy. The new layout is ugly (particularly on a wide screen), it loads slooooow, and Firfox extensions no longer work. People on this thread are complaining and things are being made worse by an idiot moderator ("Jeff") telling people - even paid subscribers - to essentially STFU. Pity. It was good while it lasted.
jlynch | April 13, 2007About the only thing I bother to make time to watch on the TV is The Sopranos which has just entered its final season of nine episodes. Here's what has happened in the previous seasons:
jlynch | March 13, 2007Mike Dunford responds to a pedophile ("Sam") that has appeared at Shelley's blog - an idiot who compares the treatment of pedophiles to the treatment of Jews and African-Americans and feels that "[p]edophilia needs no endorsement, it is a beautiful and natural part of the world's culture." Mike handled this in a more restrained manner than I ever could. "Sam" is entitled to spew this crap online - thats why we have a First Amendment. I just hope that he never puts his words into actions.
jlynch | March 8, 2007As it turns out, today is Myers' fiftieth birthday. Posting a squid would appear to be appropriate, and Dawkins raised the bar by writing him a poem. Being untalented, I'd rather link to one of my favorite posts by PZ, "The proper reverence due those who have gone before". Enjoy ... and happy birthday, Paul!
Oh, what the hell. Here's a cephalopod:
Got to see some of these live for the first time at the California Academy during the AAAS Science Journalist party.
jlynch | March 7, 2007
Apparently, an unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without "In God We Trust." Seems like a good development.
jlynch | March 4, 2007The New York Times is featuring a discussion of the evolution of religious belief. While the article is largely a discussion of Scott Atran's work, Dawkins, Dennett and Harris ("They have been portrayed as an unholy trinity of neo-atheists, promoting their secular world view with a fervor that seems almost evangelical") also get a
mention. The article also notes that 6 in 10 Americans believe in the devil and hell, 7 in 10 believe in angels, heaven and the existence of miracles and life after death, while 92% believe in a personal God.
Update: James and Razib both offer their thoughts on the…
jlynch | February 21, 2007A couple of quick comments on this article:
Arizona State University is among the nation's top offenders when it comes to students illegally downloading music, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
The organization has sent ASU more than 300 notices identifying students involved with the illegal activity...
ASU ranks among the country's 25 top university offenders regarding piracy.
This is not really surprising. ASU has an enrollment in the region on 60,000 students making it currently the second largest university in the country. 300 is probably a relatively small…