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We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.
~ Gene Roddenberry
Dilbert on the Economic Crisis
Dilbert on the economic crisis - Brilliant! But I think the economic crisis is more like having a few sick cows along with some healthy cows, then grinding up all the cows into a big pile of hamburger and distributing the hamburger all over the world.
How do you know if the hamburger you received does not contain any of the sick cows?
You don't. Which is the problem with making hamburger this way (which we do, BTW), and with the "securitizing" of home mortgages.
Robert Kowalski - Heart Healthy Supplement Regimen
Found this in Robert Kowalski's website. Lists in detail the cholesterol fighter's current regimen of vitamin, mineral, and other supplements.
Average Playboy Playmate by Jason Salavon
Jason Salavon created a photo of the Average Playboy Playmate. As Salavon describes:
Unfortunately, the resulting image IS safe for work...
52 Stress Reducers
Reduce Stress - Long lists usually give me a headache, but not this one. Here's an excellent list of 52 stress reducing tips from the National Headache Foundation.
- Turn needs into preferences. Our basic physical needs translate into food, water, and keeping warm. Everything else is a preference. Don't get attached to preferences.
- Be prepared to wait. A paperback can make a wait in a post office line almost pleasant.
- Have a forgiving view of events and people. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world.
- Take a lunch break. Try to get away from your desk or work area in body and mind, even if it's just for 15 or 20 minutes.
Black Swan - by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Had Nassim Taleb been born in any other period, he would have certainly been put to death.
~ Carine Chichereau, co-translator of TBS.
Black Swan and Nassim Taleb - Listened to Nassim Taleb on KQED's Forum program, and the ideas about randomness and luck drove me to his recent book, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.
A read it once, then started over, this time going a bit slower, trying to commune with his counter-intuitive ideas and wonderfully illustrative thought experiments. This books is such a colorful pallet of ideas that somehow connect without falling into a grand theory or trite advice. Indeed, that's part of the Taleb's message in The Black Swan. That theories are contrived and can lead us to a false sense of security or doom. Skeptical empiricism reigns over theory, narrative, and other often misguided simplifications.
Cave Bookcase - Design by Sakura Adachi
Cave Bookcase by Sakura Adachi - I love this idea and image. It does look like a cave in a bookcase--not that it looks that comfortable, but it's a visually jarring image because the smooth curves interrupt the straight vertical and horizontal lines. Sakura Adachi has designed a winner cave bookcase...expensive...but a winner.
I Need Forgiveness
Forgiveness - As a former Catholic, I have experienced the sacrament of reconciliation. It begins with confessing your sins to a priest. After hearing your confession, the priest will usually offer some advice and penance. After that, the priest will declare you absolved or forgiven by God.
During my junior high and high school years, I was a fairly devout Catholic, and I found this reconciliation experience incredibly powerful. After confession, I had a clean slate and felt pure. What a marvelous feeling, especially for a guilty Catholic boy.
I remember a particularly powerful experience. During a high school retreat, we had the opportunity to ask forgiveness from any classmates we had sinned against. In essence, we asked forgiveness directly from those we'd wronged. WOW! I took this very seriously, and went up to a guy I had really hated...He was a big, strong, jock, and I really didn't like him...I can't remember why now...
Hack Windows XP Home To Windows XP Professional
Hack to Change Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional
Enable the features found in Windows XP Professional on your Windows XP Home Edition installation with this hack. It will allow you to turn your Windows XP Home CD into a Windows XP Professional CD.
Note: If your Windows XP CD does not contain Service Pack 2, you might want to Slipstream Your Windows XP CD first as you will not be able to upgrade an installation after using the CD.
Cholesterol Levels NOT Highly Correlated with Heart Disease
Cholesterol levels not highly correlated with heart disease - Recent study indicates that the two most commonly used risk algorithms (based primarily on blood cholesterol levels) correlate poorly with heart disease. Lead author Dr. Kevin M. Johnson says the risk profiles based on Framingham score or the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) are "weak discriminator of the overall atherosclerotic plaque burden and may lead to over- or undertreatment of patients."
Johnson points out that the Framingham risk estimate is derived from epidemiologic observations. As other studies have shown, Framingham predicts the risk of a coronary event only 60% to 65% of the time. "When you turn around and you try to use that kind of epidemiological data to make a clinical decision in the doctor's office, it falls apart....[T]here will be a lot of people who have a low Framingham risk who have a lot of atherosclerotic plaque, and a lot of people with high risk, by Framingham score, with no plaque,"
Sick Notes
Found this somewhere recently...I think by email. At first I just found it funny. But then I thought it was sad. Now I'm not sure how to take it.
These are real notes written by parents in a Tennessee school district...(spellings have been left intact.)
1. My son is under a doctor's care and should not take PE today. Please execute him.
2. Please exkuce lisa for being absent she was sick and i had her shot.
3. Dear school: please ecsc's john being absent on jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and also 33.
4. Please excuse gloria from jim today. She is administrating.
Relative's of War
This entry contains a sister's memories of stories her brother told of his experiences during WWII. Someone in the family transcribed her account into an email, and I've posted it here. With the Iraq war, I expect our family will have more such stories. Very sad. The horrors of war. I think I would have made a miserable soldier.
Alicia Witt Portrait
Alicia Witt - I found this stunning portrait of Alicia Witt on flickr. This photo has qualities of a painting. And her look into the camera is so alluring....I absolutely love it.
Turns out Witt was in the 1984 movie Dune. Witt (as Alicia Roanne Witt) played Alia Atreides, Paul's younger sister. Alicia Witt was only nine years-old at the time.
What Movie Rating Would You Give Your Life?
What Movie Rating Would You Give Your Life? - If you had to assign a movie rating to your life, what would it be? Is your life R rated? G rated? Do priests live G rated lives?...I guess some have NC-17 sins.
As recipes for life, the movie rating system takes on a whole new meaning...
Leona Lewis ~ I Got You ~ Lyrics ~ Dance Video
Totally love this song, and the dance performance by Melanie and Marko on So You Think You Can Dance.
Red Bull with Alcohol - Can It Kill You?
If you drink Red Bull with alcohol, can it kill you?
"Are My Testicles Black?"
Received from a relative...this had me cracking up for quite a while...enjoy!
A male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, still heavily sedated from a difficult four hour, surgical procedure. A young student nurse appears to give him a partial sponge bath.
"Nurse", he mumbles, from behind the mask. "Are my testicles black?"
Embarrassed, the young nurse replies "I don't know, Sir. I'm only here to wash your upper body and feet."
He struggles to ask again, "Nurse, are my testicles black?"
Concerned that he may elevate his vitals from worry about his testicles, she overcomes her embarrassment and sheepishly pulls back the covers.
She raises his gown, holds his penis in one hand and his testicles in the other, lifting and moving them around.
Then, she takes a close look and says, "There's nothing wrong with them, Sir!!"
The man pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at her and says very slowly,
"Thank you very much. That was wonderful. But listen very, very closely......
Missing Beauty
I received this from a dear friend by email...Enjoy!
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule....
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again...
Bush Butt Probed - Cheney in Charge
Condom Ads for Durex
Durex Condom Ads - Condom ads that are safe for work. Very clever.
Spielberg's Munich
Ayelet Zorer
Recently watched Steven Spielberg's Munich with Eric Bana. It's a long film, about 2 hrs. 45 min. Eric Bana was great, as were all the other actors, but I was particularly mesmerized by the woman who played Bana's wife, though she was in only a few scenes.
Turns out she's a very well respected Israeli actress. I get it. She was perfect, communicating the whole/soul of her character in seconds. Her name...well, she seems to go by a few. The movie credits her as Ayelet Zorer, but I've seen Zurer and variations of Ayelet too. Her middle name seems stable and is "July." Maybe it was because she was one of the few women who appeared in the film, but I found her performance right on, rich and textured. All in probably less than five or ten minutes of screen time.
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