Passing thoughts
jstemwedel | March 17, 2006Eszter Hargittai at Crooked Timber points out another silly online quiz: Web 2.0 or Star Wars character?
So of course, I had to take it.
Out of 43 possible points, I scored a 32 -- a mere point below Eszter's 33 -- leading to the diagnosis:
As your doctor, I recommend moving out of your parents' basement.
The thing is, I've not even seen 2 of the 6 Star Wars movies, and my Web 2.0 cred is even worse.
I suspect I'm just a good test-taker. (And, of course, I'm hopeful that one of my ScienceBlogs brethren or sistern will out-geek me on this one!)
jstemwedel | March 11, 2006GrrlScientist, trendsetter that she is, took the Simpsons Personality Quiz. Thought I, "Gee, that looks like fun."
I totally didn't see this coming:
You Are Barney
You could have been an intellectual leader...
Instead, your whole life is an homage to beer
You will be remembered for: your beautiful singing voice and your burps
Your life philosophy: "There's nothing like beer to give you that inflated sense of self-esteem."
The Simpsons Personality Test
Maybe Springfield just doesn't have enough people like me to allow the construction of an accurate test. However, in Shelbyville…
jstemwedel | March 9, 2006Overheard walking back from class:
Challenge yourself; major in Biology!
Why do you want to do a social science?
What kind of challenge do you suppose we're talking about here? And how does this reflect an undergraduate's understanding of the different scientific endeavors?
jstemwedel | March 6, 2006I had a bit of an epiphany this weekend about economics. More accurately, I had an epiphany about why it is that economics rubs me the wrong way as often as it does.
Let me get the disclaimer out of the way up front: I'm not bugged by all economists. I'm probably not bothered by all economic theory or claims flowing from it. Heck, there's a good chance, in the village of ScienceBlogs, that I am the village idiot as far as economics goes, and that what bothers me is misuse of economics rather than economics itself.
That said, I am still bothered.
What prompted my epiphany was an article in…
jstemwedel | March 4, 2006... or as some of my fellow ScienceBlogs bloggers are. Nay, it would appear I would be slightly more at home on Babylon 5 (although it required a tie-breaker to make that determination).
I trust the good folks at the Seed Spaceshipyards will find a way to make a craft that will suit all of us (including other outliers like Orac and Chad).
You scored as Babylon 5 (Babylon 5). The universe is erupting into war and your government picks the wrong side. How much worse could things get? It doesn't matter, because no matter what you have your friends and you'll do the right thing. In the end…
jstemwedel | February 25, 2006I don't know how we're doing closing the digital divide between rich and poor, but it looks like the divide between humans and cats is getting narrower.
I'm pretty sure the moment when every cat has a webpage of his or her own is one of the early signs of the apocalypse.
jstemwedel | February 21, 2006Sign on the door of the San Francisco Zoo's "Insect Zoo" building:
No food, drink, gum, or smoking in the Insect Zoo.
No smoking I understand (an indoor space in a part of the zoo aimed at children -- and it's California). I'm less certain about the gum (but no one wants to step in it).
Why no food or drink?
Are they worried it will attract bugs?