24 5 / 2013
Another unexpected movie sequels
Jeremy Renner in…
1. The Hurt Locker
2. The Bourne Legacy
3. The Avengers
The Hawkeye Trilogy
23 5 / 2013
Why the President is not discussing this major domestic accomplishment is beyond me.
23 5 / 2013
"
“To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy … The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! …
We all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there,”
"
23 5 / 2013
Falling birth rates? Blame TV.
Who knew TV could be such a force for social justice.
The same goes for India. Back in 1968, biologist Paul Ehrlich famously warned about a coming population explosion in India that would lead to mass famine and catastrophe. Yet today, India’s fertility rate (2.5) is only slightly higher than the United States’ (2.1). In India’s southern states, the birthrate is actually below replacement level, meaning that the next generation will be smaller than the current one. So what happened? Lewis examines a number of hypotheses, from rising incomes to growing female literacy. Those are all moderately correlated with the decline in birthrates and could help explain the shift. But, curiously enough, nothing seems to match up with the trends as neatly as the growth in TV ownership and media exposure:This isn’t as bizarre as it seems. A 2009 paper (pdf) by Robert Jensen and Emily Oster found that the introduction of cable television “is associated with significant decreases in the reported acceptability of domestic violence towards women and son preference, as well as increases in women’s autonomy and decreases in fertility.” It’s far from certain that television alone is driving these changes, but the evidence is suggestive.
23 5 / 2013
Sorry I haven’t updated this in a while. I was updating at work, but I’m trying to keep a low profile these days and doing most lunch internetting on my phone. And then when I’m at home, there’s other things I want/need to do.
I hope to be a bit better (I’ve built up a nice backlog), but not sure when I can do that. :-/
14 5 / 2013
Amusing writing in the Wikipedia Entry on Lightning
Sample 1:
Because human beings are terrestrial and most of their possessions are on the Earth, where lightning can damage or destroy them, [Cloud to Ground] lightning is the most studied and best understood of the three types.
Sample 2:
In a process not well understood, a channel of ionized air, called a leader, is initiated from a negatively charged region in the thundercloud.
The ionic channels proceed, in their respective directions, in a number of successive spurts, similar to two kids hopping randomly in opposite directions.
Don’t know why, but I find these amusing. Also, no comments on how I should be working right now. I’m learning.
05 5 / 2013
A list of cool sounding names, phrases, concepts and things
I collect this kind of stuff. Here’s a list I made on post it notes during my gradschool days. It’s just interesting things I heard of/thought of and wanted to remember:
- The revolution of 1800
- The mixdown
- In fighting monsters, we have become one
- I came here to lay Caesar out, not to hip you to him
- I’ve got health & strength, I’ll steal the rest
- If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?
- Hubble Kaliedoscope
- RLC
- Leyden Jar
- Sak Vide Pa Kanpe
- Sometimes you gotta run before you walk
- Rocinante
- Just lights and clockwork
- The savage pageant of history (original to me? can’t find in google)
- All wars are crimes
- Jodrell Bank
- Reutersvard Triangle
- Moire Effect
- Zugzwang
- Mercator Projection
- Guard Impacts
- Dead cat bounce
- Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny
- Origami Nukes (original?)
- Tequila Mockingbird
- FMNH PR 2081
- Wardencylffe
- The New Physics
- Capillary Action
- Casimir Force
- Ace of the Adriatic
- The Age of Seaplanes
- Maginot Line
- The Purple Shall Govern
- Mise En Place
- Ichthys
- Phantom of the Soap Opera
- Rumsfeld’s Snowflakes
- In Medias Res
- Good music will ruin you (original phrasing?)
- Sins of a Solar Empire (one of the coolest titles I’ve ever heard)
- Boom de yada (one of my favorite things on the internet)
- Wait in the tall grass
- Kittinger’s 3rd Jump
- Psychobilly freakout
- The eagle & the apple
- Impact Winter
- Full Sprectrum Warrior
- Blue CD-R
Some of these were kept strictly because I think they’d make good song names. :P
