The Times has an interesting article about our technology-warped brains. Brrrraaaaaaaains. The best part are the interactive tests, one tests your focus, the other your ability to change tasks. Related posts It sounded hissy (3) Brain Eater (1)
Tagged Brain, distraction, focus, InternetWhile looking for an online Latin-English translator we discovered that there really isn’t a good one. Or many at all. This one, though it appears to be from 1995, worked the best. Maybe there’s a really good one you’ve come across? Otherwise, this is still a service that you can pay for on the Internet. [...]
Tagged dictionaries, language, latinBleah! Another thing to think about when unable to sleep at night. Stumbled upon while researching warm springs in Oregon. Related posts Terrible Tilly (1) Mossy writin’ (0) Hail (2) Cape Perpetua (1) Canyoneering down Eagle Creek (1)
Tagged ameoba, Brain, hot springs, nature, OregonI had a dream on Tuesday night in which someone explained to me that before records and wax cylinders, snakes were a choice recording medium. I don’t know how you’d use or play them back, maybe like a wire recorder? Anyhow I recall looking into a basket of snakes and each one was a different [...]
Tagged Brain, dreams, recording, snake, SoundI dreamed a song this morning, and just as my eyes opened I realized it was They Might Be Giants playing the song. Their distinctive sound and voices were playing this refrain: There’s a kaleidoscope on fire It’s indefensible the way these lenses tend to burn So my question is, is this a real song [...]
Tagged art, brains, dreams, Sound, TMBGI love this saying and have been using it more frequently in the last few months, or at least have more frequently noticed that I use it. And now I know where it comes from. lurch |lərtʃ| |ləːtʃ| noun (in phrase leave someone in the lurch) leave an associate or friend abruptly and without assistance [...]
Eddie Adcock, bluegrass banjo heavyweight, needed brain surgery and was allowed to play his banjo during the procedure to insure that nothing was done to hamper his ability to play. Here’s a video taken during the surgery (begins with an ad), and here’s a radio report about it (no ad). Related posts No related posts.
If I had gotten this inspiring rant, maybe I would have amounted to something. Come to think of it, I don’t know that I’ve ever been the target class for a good commencement address. Martin Scorsese was at my college graduation, picked up his honorary diploma, and sat down without a word to us. I [...]
Wiccans have a tough time sometimes. Take, for example, this 2005 lawsuit in Florida: The lower appellate court opinion reveals the Wiccan group was exempted from paying sales tax on copies of the Bible and Quran, but forced to pay sales tax on the Satanic Bible and the Witches Bible. (They lost, by the way.) [...]
Falindromes are fake palindromes. Like the kind I usually end up with when I try to write a palindrome. Related posts No related posts.
Here’s a nice optical illusion from the Australian Herald Sun. I wouldn’t read too far into the result, but it’s interesting. Actually, if you see it counter-clockwise, let me know, because I not only see it clockwise but am unable to see how it could be seen counter-clockwise. Is this a “trick” trick? And here’s [...]
First season of this excellent silly British science educational television show parody is available on YouTube. Music, voice-over, and appearance is spot-on for late 1970s-early 80s programs of this ilk. Just watch the opening credits with the BASIC programming, cheesy music, and that globe in the word “you” and you’ll get it pretty quick. Preposterous [...]
Googlegwork: research done on-line. Related posts No related posts.
Gazealot (ga-ZELL-ut) noun: one whose spiritual explorations hop about as quickly as fashion trends, but who, at any given time, is ultra-enthusiastic and insistent on the veracity of their current beliefs. Can also be applied to non-spiritual pursuits. etymology: gazelle and zealot, methinks. Related posts No related posts.
I don’t know how long this will last, but through some weird glitch at the Mirriam-Webster site, I was redirected to a nice text-only, no advert, no crapola search page. Some of the search fields don’t work (or I don’t know how to make them work, more likely), but check out the etymology field, for [...]
Nice graphical synopsis (flow charts) of how science and faith works. via BoingBoing. Related posts No related posts.
What they say: I’m sure it’s my fault. What is understood: It is his fault. What they mean: It is your fault. A helpful list “from a guide intended to help foreigners understand the idiosyncrasies of British English, found by a journalist for The Economist in 2004 on an office wall in the European Court [...]
Steven Levitt is an author and professor. Here “he goes inside an inner-city gang to examine economic principles at work in the real world” at a conference in 2004. Sorry about the BMW ads. via Kottke Related posts No related posts.