You know those Salvador Dali surrealist melting clocks? Well, somebody’s done gone and invented a real-world version.
A design firm named Normal has come up with a digital clock that looks like it’s melting. The clock doesn’t actually change form (dang!), but it is soft to the touch. You can read more about it here (go to “Other Projects” and scroll down to the bottom of the list; you will need Flash to view this).
Now if somebody could come up with a real flexi-clock.
A while back I decided to copy other blogs by having a little “shameless promotion” in which I logged nice things folks were saying about me.
Steve Ray recently blogged some nice things about me. He also warned me that once I read them I’d probably blush beet red.
Sigh.
He was right.
The trouble with Steve is that he’s just TOO NICE a guy.
In our age in which people are marrying later and delaying having children, many women find themselves in the painful situation of feeling that their reproductive years are slipping away from them without having the children they want to have. Part of the problem is that how many reproductive years a woman has is uncertain. It varies from woman to woman.
The method involves measuring the size of the ovaries by ultrasound (they shrink as a woman approaches menopause).
The method does not work on women who are on the Pill, which prematurely shrinks the ovaries.
Unfortunately, if the method works, it will be used to push some women toward using illicit reproductive techniques, but for other women it will have the opposite effect. Those with more (rather than fewer) reproductive years will know that it is still worth trying to conceive naturally, and even those women who are committed to using moral means to conceive but have fewer reproductive years left will know to try to conceive sooner and more earnesly.
In our age in which people are marrying later and delaying having children, many women find themselves in the painful situation of feeling that their reproductive years are slipping away from them without having the children they want to have. Part of the problem is that how many reproductive years a woman has is uncertain. It varies from woman to woman.
The method involves measuring the size of the ovaries by ultrasound (they shrink as a woman approaches menopause).
The method does not work on women who are on the Pill, which prematurely shrinks the ovaries.
Unfortunately, if the method works, it will be used to push some women toward using illicit reproductive techniques, but for other women it will have the opposite effect. Those with more (rather than fewer) reproductive years will know that it is still worth trying to conceive naturally, and even those women who are committed to using moral means to conceive but have fewer reproductive years left will know to try to conceive sooner and more earnesly.
Sure, we all love the Google search engine. But have you ever wondered how Google is able to deliver such superaccurate results so quickly?
If you haven’t read the answer before, read it now!
In an ironic move, privacy expert Lauren Weinstein has exposed MTV’s private plans to do a fraudulent debate show whose purpose is to humiliate its guests.
Weinstein, who was invited on the show, did some checking before accepting. Here is what he found:
Not really a debate at all, the show is actually a program for Comedy Central (yes, an MTV/Viacom network) called “Crossballs” — and its sole purpose is the embarrassment and humiliation of the expert guests who are brought on expecting a legitimate discussion program.
Crossballs is a rigged “reality” show, where real guests, who have been kept in the dark about the show’s real format, are paired off against actors (playing the debate opponents) for the amusement of the live audience. The stories I read from persons recently on the show included descriptions of crude, sexually-oriented verbal attacks (and worse, like being handed various sexual “apparatus”) and concerns that their reputations would be ruined once the shows aired [source].
While we can all agree that this is a shameful abuse of the talk-show format, what I want to know is: How is this any different (except in degree) from regular news shows?
I’ve done enough TV interviews to know that guests are regularly set up by news organizations for purposes of humiliating them and ridiculing their points of view.
(WARNING: I found the Weinstein story through another site that only linked the relevant page, which I have linked, but I wouldn’t go poking around on the site unless you want to see lots of disturbing Iraq prisoner abuse photos elsewhere on it.)
A new study has revealed (not surprisingly) that different parts of the brain are involved in humor recognition and humor appreciation.
This is something we could have guessed from a number of things:
1. People often “get” a joke but don’t find it funny.
2. There are those stoic Hollywood types who hear a joke and respond with the monotone word “Funny,” not batting an eyelash or cracking a smile.
3. We often laugh more often and more heartily when in a group than we do when alone. When watching a comedy program or movie by ourselves, we often “get” and appreciate the humor, but don’t laugh as frquently or with as much gusto as when we see the same comedy in the presence of a group of people, whose laughter reinforces our own appreciation of the humor.
The study suggests that the humor-recognition module of the brain is located in the left hemisphere (connected more closely with rational thought), while the humor-appreciation module is located deeper in the brain (containing structures connected more closely with the emotions).
The study was done by showing people episodes of The Simpsons and Seinfeld and monitoring their brains for activity.
According to one of the researchers, “If some people don’t find The Simpsons funny, it’s premature to say that they have a defective frontal lobe.”
Must . . . resist . . . obvious . . . joke.
A new study has revealed (not surprisingly) that different parts of the brain are involved in humor recognition and humor appreciation.
This is something we could have guessed from a number of things:
1. People often “get” a joke but don’t find it funny.
2. There are those stoic Hollywood types who hear a joke and respond with the monotone word “Funny,” not batting an eyelash or cracking a smile.
3. We often laugh more often and more heartily when in a group than we do when alone. When watching a comedy program or movie by ourselves, we often “get” and appreciate the humor, but don’t laugh as frquently or with as much gusto as when we see the same comedy in the presence of a group of people, whose laughter reinforces our own appreciation of the humor.
The study suggests that the humor-recognition module of the brain is located in the left hemisphere (connected more closely with rational thought), while the humor-appreciation module is located deeper in the brain (containing structures connected more closely with the emotions).
The study was done by showing people episodes of The Simpsons and Seinfeld and monitoring their brains for activity.
According to one of the researchers, “If some people don’t find The Simpsons funny, it’s premature to say that they have a defective frontal lobe.”
Must . . . resist . . . obvious . . . joke.
A new report indicates that Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the highest churchman in the Anglican communion, has been invited to appear on animated TV show The Simpsons.
This is less surprising than one might think since the Anglican communion’s recent history resembles episodes of The Simpsons. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist. But I suspect many Anglicans would say the same thing.)
In other Simpsons news, plans are in the works for a Simpsons movie.
Also, the fourth season of The Simpsons is finally out on DVD.
A new report indicates that Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the highest churchman in the Anglican communion, has been invited to appear on animated TV show The Simpsons.
This is less surprising than one might think since the Anglican communion’s recent history resembles episodes of The Simpsons. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist. But I suspect many Anglicans would say the same thing.)
In other Simpsons news, plans are in the works for a Simpsons movie.
Also, the fourth season of The Simpsons is finally out on DVD.