Step Brothers

Facebook

I have severed my ties to Facebook, and this video resonates very well with my reasons for ending that relationship. If you're really ambitious to find out the stupidity of Facebook and other virtual social network sites, then read the article "Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism" in the New Atlantis by Christine Rosen. It may make you think twice about your affiliation with those networks. Even better, the BBC shows that personal information can be stolen from Facebook users without their knowledge: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7376738.stm

"Stuff White People Like"

My wife received an email from a friend with a link to a hilarious blog: "Stuff White People Like." The list is very funny and probably offends a lot of people, but lighten up and laugh a little!

It appears that readers of that blog disagree on the definition of "white people," and assert that it should read "yuppies." Perhaps the latter is more accurate, but there is some segregation behind "white people" that seems to apply to the author's intent.

On another note, what does "natural-born" mean for determining if someone is eligible for the presidency? Does this mean that a Caesarean section "birth" makes you ineligible?

Stop Blaming the Teachers

A recent article in the NY Times, "Survey find teenagers ignorant on basic history and literature question," suggests that the No Child Left Behind act has led to schools to focus on reading and mathematics at the expense of history, literature, and other subjects. This is absurd for several reasons, but I'll focus on the main reason: obsession with individuality.

The current "culture" is defined by the individual not society. The NY Times article points to a survey that asked people about events relevant to American history/culture. I would speculate that the lack of correct responses by the 17 year olds surveyed is a consequence of the degradation of American culture. In particular, people do not mingle with people these days. Everyone is too busy watching this week's American Idol or some other TV program. If people want to make the younger generation aware of America's past, then spend time with them and turn off the TV. Go out and participate in the culture and stop the silent refereeing from your sofa.

The biggest problem with TV is the on-demand entertainment. It reinforces the idea that desires should be fulfilled immediately; there is no reason to wait for anything. Repeatedly, people complain that there are no good programs on TV to watch. What kind of statement is that? Why should you demand that a box plugged into the way should be a place of entertainment? The funny part is that people generally enjoy the company of other people, but very few seek out the company of others and stay home to catch the reruns of 24.

An interesting question comes to mind after this rant: Do you think you were designed to watch TV and interact with machines most of your life, or do you think you are better suited for human-to-human interaction? I'm writing this blog, and you are reading this blog. So, you might be taking part in the former (interacting with your computer) to achieve the later (human-to-human interaction). How satisfied are you with this impoverished form of human-to-human interaction? I expect very few people will even read this, so why have I bothered to write it?

Jaggies? Are you kidding me?

At least two times, I have heard Ph.D. bearing scientists refer to the jagged lines due to image digitization as "jaggies" in public. From a scientific standpoint, this word is ridiculous, and it sounds very childish. Luckily, it has not appeared in reviewed journal papers (to my knowledge), but its use is disconcerting. However, there is a Wikipedia entry for "jaggies" that claims the word originated in an Atari game with aliens called "Jaggis" due to the low resolution appearance of the aliens. Somehow this word has slipped into the parlance of the science community, where those who use it illuminate their verbal deficiencies.

Society worries about the rebellion against knowledge, which is certainly an admirable concern. Obviously, participants in an academic community do not demonstrate an admirable use of knowledge at the basic level of communication. It is funny how the complaints of society often point to the problem of communication among people, yet we offer various masquerades responsible for this fundamental problem. In particular, the education argument is really about communication: the refusal and/or inability of people to communicate. If we aspire to communicate with each other, then we are likely to prevent many of the "problems." Of course, that's a lot of work, so let's pass the problem onto those involved in the early childhood development. Obviously, we cannot blame the parents, because they have too much on their plate with work and all; let's make the teachers responsible. Yeah, that makes a ton of sense, especially since none of them are parents, too.

iTunes Gift Card...Now What

If you have ever gone with me to a store that sells CDs, then you know that hours will pass before I make a decision.   The worst is when I carry CDs around with the intent of buying them, and I leave the store empty-handed.  This dilemma is facing me now.  I have a gift card to iTunes, and I cannot decide what to purchase.

I have placed a poll to the right that might help make a decision.  Of course, this will do no good if very few people read this blog, which is likely the case.

ithaca medicine prices rise

Beer, the way to cope with dreary winters in Ithaca, will cost more at the first of the year. The cost of barley and hops has increased due to a sudden drop in supply. This means that six-packs of craft beer will rise about a dollar. It's not clear if this will affect the price of mass produced beer like Budweiser or Miller. There could be a slight change in their prices.

See the full article in Ithaca's own newspaper The Ithaca Journal.

Police Officer Calls 911 While High

In Rainbows

Reckoner (Radiohead from In Rainbows)

Reckoner
Can you take it with you
Disavow the pleasure

You were not to blame for
Bittersweet distractors
Dare not speak his name
Dedicated to all you
All your needs?

Because we separate
it ripples our reflections
Because we separate
it ripples our reflections

Reckoner

Dedicated to all you
All your needs?

"packt like sardines in a crushed tin box"

Often I arrive at the bus stop with many other people--a good indicator that this particular bus ride will be packed. The bus is inbound at my stop, and it happens to be the second stop. You'd expect the bus to be nearly empty. This is rarely the case for the morning commute, since this stop is convenient to two apartment complexes.

The other morning I apparently decided to take the bus to school along with most of my neighbors, so we took most of the seats on the bus. Closer to campus there is a similar stop with several apartment complexes near one bus stop. By this point on the route, all of the seats were taken, and a few riders were standing. We arrive at this stop, the bus driver asks the "standers" to make room for the next wave of "standers." If you are unfamiliar with public buses, the engine is in the back. That means that the floor in the back is higher than in the front, since the engine is back there, too. For whatever reason, people do not like to stand in the aisle at the back of the bus. As a result people crowd around the back door (which is just before the steps up to the back section of the bus). It's really amusing, because the ride is really no more enjoyable when you are standing, so standing in the back is no different than standing in the front. Nevertheless, a few idiots (keep in mind that most of these idiots are heading to class at an Ivy League school) refuse to move to the back of the bus to accommodate the bus's newest passengers which makes the ride miserable to everyone standing and humorous to us "sitters."

Corporate Persuasion

A recent study found that children preferred food packaged in McDonald's bag, regardless of the contents. For instance, carrots (a child's favorite food--ha!) presented in a McDonald's bag were accepted and eaten by children, but without the bag, children rejected the carrots. It seems that McDonald's has developed a positive image by eating its food--no surprise there. Their huge ad campaign always shows people enjoying their model sandwiches (How often have you had a Big Mac that even resembles the one in the commercial). Eventually, the thought of eating McDonald's is positive, and it makes their food appealing. What you should ask when you see a commercial for any food is the following: why does this company need to advertise its product? You might realize that it has something to do with the lack of a true need for that product. The company invests in making their product appealing, so you will buy it even if it isn't necessary to have it. Again, no big surprise, but rarely are these thoughts in mind when we watch commercials or search for food in the grocery store. These company's are catering to society's overwhelming concern of self-image--you should buy this product, because it will improve your self-image.

Another upset followed the release of Apple's new iPod Touch, which essentially is an iPhone without the phone and a few other applications. Cool idea, right? Sort of. While I like the idea of having a touch-screen iPod, the limited hard drive space (up to 16GB as compared with the iPod classic 160GB) is a disappointment. It seems the company probably chose to have a thinner iPod, so they sacrificed the hard drive capacity. However, a new partnership with Starbucks is particularly annoying. Now, Starbucks stores will broadcast its playlist to your iPod Touch via WiFi. You can instantly connect to iTunes with the WiFi card in the iPod Touch and purchase a song from that list. Apple has made it even easier (well, you have to initially cough up the $300 for the iPod Touch or $400 for the iPhone) to purchase from iTunes over WiFi. What's the benefit for Starbucks out of this partnership? Do you have to purchase a cup of coffee to see the playlist? Maybe iPod Touch owners will increase their frequency to Starbucks to see the new, hip playlist. There is something appealing about the aura of a coffee shop, but I am not sure you can capture that appeal by having the same playlist pumping into your ears.

"Schoolhouse Crock"

An article by Peter Schrag appeared in the September 2007 issue of Harper's Magazine titled "Schoolhouse Crock: Fifty Years of Blaming America's Educational System for Our Stupidity" (Note:  This link requires a subscription to read the article.).  Schrag's credentials did not accompany his article, but a note indicates that he has written two books regarding America's education system.  Thus, the claims offered by Schrag could result from observation rather than elaborate experimentation and investigation.  Nonetheless, his claims feel compatible with what has happened over the last 50 years.

Schrag points immediately to the Russian launch of Sputnik to begin his argument.  He posits that this event forced Americans to doubt their education system, which had publicly been deemed questionable in recent years.  The fear of another country possessing mental-superiority frightened Americans; to abate this fear it is concluded that the education system must be reformed to guarantee America's mental hegemony.  The essay follows the government's participation in the design and redesign of America's classrooms and observes the common feeling that the education system of the last generation saw much more success, yet Schrag reports that people have always questioned the template of the present-day education system.  

Schrag's essay centers on the premise of education reform as a means to resolve present-day obstacles, which unchecked or unnoticed will persist for future generations--or so we think.  He ends with a clever, succinct summary: "[p]erhaps it is time we thought of schools as places where our children might simply learn something--not just for our benefit, not for the nation's, but for their own."

An Analogy Lacking Thought

My wife watches Robin & Company on CNN-Headline News frequently in the morning, so I often receive a dose of what headlines CNN considers most important (or probably most interesting to viewers to captivate the audience). In any case, Robin was off today (a common occurrence, for some reason), and Christi covered "what's on tap" (their words, not mine) for the show. One story is about a Cadillac Escalade found stuck on a pedestrian bridge in Minneapolis. While the story itself sounds entertaining, the analogy offered by local resident Ryan Miller of Miller Towing provided even more amusement. He acknowledged the difficulty faced with the removing of the SUV from the bridge by saying its like "Trying to get 10 pounds through a 5 pound hole." I would ruin the humor in this statement by saying anything more, but fortunately the misplaced vehicle was removed from the bridge. "Trial and error, all you can do. Try, and if it fails, try again, that's what we did," said Miller.

Exposing Office Pet Peeves

An article appearing on The Ithaca Journal website referenced a blog addressing workplace pet peeves. The blog "Civility in the Workplace" seeks to disclose those rude behaviors that take place in the work environment. Even better, the blog does not restrain itself, for it remains true to its cause, identifying even those annoyances many of us refuse to acknowledge in fear of being, go figure, rude to our colleagues.

Naturally, email is a recurrent theme in the "Civility in the Workplace" blog, and there are several entries regarding email that probably should be read by email addicts (e.g. those of us who check our inbox within the first fifteen minutes of our day). Email is a convenience designed to expedite the transmission of information, intended as a surrogate to handwritten letters, yet the ease of composing, typing, and sending an email quickly led to the transmission of dilapidated information. Recipients must decrypt the meaning from poorly written messages (ah! a slip on my part--"messages" naturally replaced "letters"), which, of course, leads to incorrect interpretations. But, we do not have time to compose clear and concise emails; we must stay abreast of the "information" available in our own inbox or some pointless website (like this blog)! How many times have you struggled to understand the purpose of an email sent to you? It would be nice if people would adopt the practice of sending the email you wish to receive.

Bear Consumes Man at Beer Festival

A 23 year old Serbian man was found half-eaten in a bear cage at the Belgrade Zoo during the beer festival. The zoo director said "There's a good chance he was drunk or drugged. Only an idiot would jump into the bear cage." Check out CNN (here) for the rest of the article.

xkcd

Edison had a better solution than Westinghouse?

In the July 26, 2007 edition of The Economist is an article about alternatively fueled power plants. Wind power apparently is better suited to a DC power grid, rather than the current AC grid. In the late 19th century, the battle between Edison's direct current power lines and Westinghouse's alternating current lines. 

DC lines send electrons flying from the negative terminal to the positive terminal (thank Benjamin Franklin for this somewhat backwards intuition).  AC essentially flips the terminals back and forth, so electrons flow back and forth--this is where the 120Hz comes into play.  Westinghouse's AC lines won over Edison, because it was considered easier to transfer power over longer distances via AC.  However, the article in The Economist mentions that DC lines actually outperform AC lines in terms of how far power may be transfer.  In addition, the lines may be placed closer to the ground without power degradation.  It would interesting to see if DC lines actually replace the well-established AC lines in the coming years.

For all intensive purposes, your competitious behavior need not be so dramastic!

Three phrases/words that I have heard out of place in the last year: "for all intensive purposes," "competitious," and "dramastic."

The first, "for all intensive purposes," is supposed to be "for all intents and purposes." It's highly likely that people who say the wrong phrase have never actually read this phrase in a reliable text. The incorrect usage is at some level a consequence of someone else having either poor pronunciation skills or maybe listening skills. Nevertheless, this should not permit the propagation of a phrase that means nothing: "for all intensive purposes." What the hell is an "intensive purpose"? I mean, I know some purposes can be pretty intense, but c'mon!

Next on the list is "competitious." A friend of mine said this girl, on their first and last date, told him he was "too competitious." What?! Here's more bad news: if you search "competitous" on Google you find over 49,000 results!!! That means people are using this word. According to UrbanDictionary.com, "competitious" is a synonym for "competitive." The English language contains enough redundancy with numerous alternatives to many words. Why add more alternatives to such a complex language? Even worse, it seems that the uneducated people are the ones offering more words to a language they clearly do not understand.

Finally, we have "dramastic." My sister-in-law heard this from an Ulta cashier. Perhaps she uses shampoo that penetrates her soft skull. Once again, this word appears on UrbanDictionary.com as a blend of "drama" and "drastic." Now, we're adding words to compress the language. This tendency is probably a little more acceptable among scholars. However, "drastic drama" or the reverse does not really make much sense, so I doubt scholars would let this neologism continue without complaint. Interestingly, a new track by the Beastie Boys is called "Dramastically Different." That's the adverb form of "dramastic."

What should we take from this? Stop adding words to the English language! Just because Merriam-Webster shows no listing for some new phrase, that does not mean it will not show up. Continued usage increases the meaning of this word, and then we must add it to the dictionary. That way at least the rest of us will not be left in the dark, too! The other alternative is to make the dictionary required reading in grade school, but that will never happen.

If you're interested in common English error, take a look at Common Errors in English.

Funny or Die

If you haven't been to the website Funny or Die, then you have been missing out of some funny stuff. Will Ferrell has posted a few videos himself that include Andy McKay's (co-founder of Funny or Die) daughter, Pearl. Pearl debuted in "The Landlord"short film, and appeared again in "Good Cop, Bad Cop." Another film by Ferrell is "Third Date with Will Ferrell." Be sure to watch the out takes from "The Landlord" short film. The out takes might be funnier than the original, since Pearl is quite uncooperative. There is another film with Will Ferrell that was posted just a few days ago called "Will Ferrell is USC strength coach Chuck Berry." It's a little different, not exactly as funny as the other films.

Below is another video ranked high in terms of the number of viewers by Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone.

Menomena - Friend and Foe

The band Menomena is a trio from Portland with an interesting style. One of the members wrote a computer program called Digital Loop Recorder, which allows them to layer and loop short riffs to build a track. The results sound great. Although the drum tracks don't always seem to mix well with the other instruments (here, I mean mix in a production sense), this may be what the band intended. Among my favorite tracks are "Muscle'n Flo", "The Pelican", "Air Aid", and "Weird." This list is not intended to suggest that the latter part of the album is less amazing. I just haven't learned the names of those songs.

Below is the Sesame Street clip of Mah Na Mah Na (which is a song that originally appeared in a porno from the 1970s). Read more about Menomena on their Wikipedia entry here.