Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Books that make you dumb?
Ever read a book (required or otherwise) and upon finishing it thought to yourself, "Wow. That was terrible. I totally feel dumber after reading that."? I know I have. Well, like any good scientist, I decided to see how well my personal experience matches reality. How might one do this?
Well, some guy went and figured out how. Seemingly having nothing better to do, he went and downloaded the the ten most frequently listed favourite books form all American colleges & universities he could find on FaceBook and the average SAT scores of those schools then plotted the average SAT each book, here.
While correlation does not equal causation, the results are still amusing. He also did the same thing for music.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Walking the cat?
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| From Edmund |
When my friend Jennifer called earlier this afternoon and asked if I wanted to go to the mall, I jumped at the chance because I had been practicing from my MCSE certs since about 7:00am — my poor eyes were going buggy!
At the mall, we stopping at the pet store since Jenn had just gotten a hamster for their kids a couple of weeks ago. I finally got a new collar for Edmund, my cat. Edmund has long since grow out of the collar he came with as a kitten, a little over 2 years ago, and the only time I tried to get hi a new one, it was too small. That actually surprised me, because is not a big cat.
Anyways, Jenn found this nice–sized leash which snaps open with about a pound less force than what Edmund weighs. That way, if (when) he escapes again, if the collar gets caught on something his struggling with snap it open and he won't choke himself. And that's a good thing.
I also got a H–type harness for Edmund and a leash so that I can take him for a walk now and again. First I took him out out into the apartment hall, but he seemed sorta nervous and maybe even a little scared out there. He crouched down, crawled around on his belly and wouldn't leave the door. As soon as I opened it he ran straight back into my apartment. I thought maybe he'd prefer to go outside, so I bundled up and took Edmund out on to my patio. Once a gain he crouched down and crawled along on his tummy. He didn't stay right next to the patio doors, but neither did he want to go off the concrete pad that is my patio — about half a metre away. I even picked him up a couple of times and carried him down to the road, but both times he ran right back to the patio.
I did some web–surfing, and apparently rather than taking him outside right away, I should have gotten Edmund used to the harness somewhat more slowly. First let him wear just the harness for an hour or so every day for a few days, giving him a treat each time I put it on him. Then attach the leash and follow him around inside with it slack. Then a few days of just sitting out on the patio until he finally gets the urge to go exploring.
I'd never expect a cat to behave like a dog (heaven forfend!), but I had thought that Edmund would have been ecstatic at the thought of going Outside. After all, if he's not sleeping in my lap, on the back of my chair propped against my shoulders or laying beside me on the bed, he's sitting at the patio doors wondering what this invisible substance is that prevents his escape.
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Monday, 7 January 2008
Socialism rocks, dude! :-)
| What political ideology do you have? Your Result: Democratic Socialist You are the standard European socialist who believes that the government should spend large amounts of money on social welfare programs. You also believe that these social welfare programs are mandated by the people who vote in your ideal democratic government | |
| Libertarian | |
| Anarchist | |
| Communist | |
| Fascist | |
| Authoritarian Capitalist | |
| What political ideology do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
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