SNIFFY
Holy crap!
“Sensonics, Inc. provides the medical, scientific and industrial communities with the best smell and taste tests for assessing chemosensory function.”
Shwing!
I’d love to try their Sniff Magnitude Test to see if anything’s actually registering and I just can’t tell, but there’s no way I can drop $6,000 on…well, anything right now, haha. I’d also like to see what the TR-06 Rion Electrogustometer is all about. I know my nose is shot…how screwy is my taste?
Run for your life, it’s a survey!
1. Food
I love broccoli. Like, seriously. Way more than is probably healthy.
I hate it when I have multiple different food items on a plate and they touch.
My guilty secret is something that I’m not going to tell! Haha.
2. Apparel
I love unusual clothing, both physical shape-wise and color.
I hate pants that are labeled “small” or “petite” but still go like seven inches past my ankles. Guess what, clothes manufacturers? The majority of people buying “petite”? We’re also pretty short.
My guilty secret is enjoying dressing in all black when go exercise.
3. Books
I love Lolita. So much. Mr. Vladimir Nabokov seduces the English language to the point where it bends to his every whim.
I hate when people say they hate a book because they’d been “forced” to read in high school. Any book you’re forced to read you’re bound to hate, I think. People should give those high school books a second chance (people who despise The Great Gatsby because they were forced to read it in high school: I’m looking at you!).
My guilty secret is that I’d totally reread the entire Babysitter’s Club series if I had the books. I freaking loved those.
4. Songs
I love songs for their beat/rhythm, almost never for their lyrics. A song can have the weirdest/most nonsensical/stupidest lyrics ever…if it has a fantastic beat, I’ll love it.
I hate people who judge others based on their musical tastes. We’ve been over this, but I’m saying it again.
My guilty secret is nothing! Music is music.
5. Movie
I love incredibly unscientific disaster movies. They’re awesome. Volcano, Dante’s Peak, Armageddon, Atomic Train (which I can’t find ANYWHERE. WHY has this movie not gotten Academy Awards?).
I hate “going to the movies” as a date idea. Seriously? Unless you’re planning it as a super long and semi-public make out session, could there be a worse choice for a date?
My guilty secret is getting overly upset when people misquote movies. I don’t like them in general and I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them, but movies that I’ve seen have their audio automatically downloaded to my brain for future reference.
6. TV Shows
I love Metalocalypse. It’s like the dumbest show ever, but I think that’s what makes it so good. It doesn’t seem like the type of show I’d watch because it’s really not. I caught the end of one episode on Adult Swim way back when and thought it was super dumb, but then another ep came on and I was like, “the level of hyperbole achieved in parodying serious metal culture in this show is fantastic. I love it.”
I hate all those new shows that seem to all be slightly different variations of one another. I can’t even name specific ones because they all are the same damn show.
My guilty secret is The Biggest Loser. It’s an interesting concept for a TV show and, despite all the controversy surrounding the gameplay/tactics/health risks/etc., I think it’s a good motivator for a number of people.
7. Celebrity Crush
I love Leibniz. He’s as close to a “celebrity” as we’re going to get for me. I don’t have a crush on any celebrity that’s alive.
I hate how obsessed we are with celebrities’ lives. Oooh, Brad and Angelina finally became a single unit? WHO CARES? Go read a book.
My guilty secret is enjoying the fancy-shmancy dresses all the celeb ladies wear to stuff like the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
8. Music
I love music that is hardwired to certain memories. Like this song. And this one. Even though I have no idea where I’d heard it before we played it in high school band, it is very, very familiar to me.
I hate music that doesn’t have a good chorus, rhythm, or hook. I don’t care how meaningful the lyrics are…if I can’t get into the groove, I can’t enjoy the song.
My guilty secret is pretending to actually be a rock star when playing Rock Band. Oh come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t done it, too.
9. Sports Team
I love the Olympics. That’s about as close to a “sports team” as you’ll get from me.
I hate the fact that professional athletes get paid such exorbitant amounts.
My guilty secret is enjoying playing group sports. I don’t like watching stuff like basketball and football, but throw me on a team (like in P.E.) or let us play rollerblade hockey and I’ll get into it more than anyone would guess.
It’s that time again…
HI FOOLS!
So in a little less than a month I’ll be hitting yet another blogging milestone: SIX YEARS!
While years four and five were full of fun stats, pics, analyses, Wordles and the like, I think year six will have even more.
I’m going to go through each and every blog so that I can have data from every single day (not just every month, like I had done for last year). There are a few things I’d like to examine:
1. Do I have a statistically higher wordcount on any particular day(s)?
2. Using the Gunning Fog Index as a gauge, how does my blog readability change over the course of the last six years?
3. Have I been adding more images to my blog posts overall as time has progressed?
4. Do my blogs change in terms of length/complexity/readability based on the time of the year?
5. And a bunch of stuff I can’t remember now.
WOO DATA!
Canada’s Common Cents
(HA, get it?)
So it turns out Canada’s smarter than us and is going to start phasing out their penny. According to Time, the Canadian government released its 2012 budget without any money allotted for penny creation. Which is a smart thing to do, seeing as how a single Canadian penny costs 1.6 cents to produce (a US penny costs even more—2.4 cents).
Canada is slated to stop producing pennies this month, and while products will still be charged to the cent when debit or credit cards are used, the government is suggesting that retailers round their prices to the nearest nickel (which could have interesting consequences…imagine the guides that’ll pop up telling people what things are cheaper to buy using debit/credit and which are cheaper using cash).
Anyway, I thought this was pretty interesting news. It makes me think about Canada’s switch from paper $1 and $2 to coin versions. Are the coins cheaper to produce than the bills? Also, were the bills called loonies and toonies, or is that just the coins? I don’t remember if the bills had loons on them. SO MANY QUESTIONS, CANADA, JEEZ.
w00t
Oh yes.
This is an amazing song.
Lyrics:
Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck; some nights, I call it a draw
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they’d just fall off
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I’m still not sure what I stand for
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know anymore…
This is it, boys, this is war – what are we waiting for?
Why don’t we break the rules already?
I was never one to believe the hype – save that for the black and white
I try twice as hard and I’m half as liked, but here they come again to jack my style
And that’s alright; I found a martyr in my bed tonight
She stops my bones from wondering just who I am, who I am, who I am
Oh, who am I? Oh, who am I?
Some nights, I wish that this all would end
Cause I could use some friends for a change
And some nights, I’m scared you’ll forget me again
Some nights, I always win
I always win
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I still don’t know what I stand for
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights, I don’t know…
So this is it? I sold my soul for this?
Washed my hands of that for this?
I miss my mom and dad for this?
No. When I see stars, when I see stars, that’s all they are
When I hear songs, they sound like a swan, so come on
Oh, come on. Oh, come on.
That is it, guys, that is all – five minutes in and I’m bored again
Ten years of this, I’m not sure if anybody understands
This is not one for the folks back home; I’m sorry to leave, mom, I had to go
Who the fuck wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?
My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she called “love”
But when I look into my nephew’s eyes…
Man, you wouldn’t believe the most amazing things that can come from…
Some terrible nights.
The other night, you wouldn’t believe the dream I just had about you and me
I called you up, but we’d both agree
It’s for the best you didn’t listen
It’s for the best we get our distance…
Yes, I bolded the ones pertinent to me right now. Yes, I know that makes me a tween. Bite me.
You can also get a minor in Meme Studies
Hey universe!
HEY UNIVERSE!
I had this dream last night in which I was recruited by some random university to write a textbook about memes on the internet. So I did (in the dream), and it was the most fantastic freaking textbook ever.
So now I’m waiting until the study of the internet becomes a legitimate major (Web Studies or Tube Navigation or LOL Degree or something…I’m liking LOL Degree) so that I can make my textbook. Hell, I might do it regardless.
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na…BLOG MAN!
I know I’ve mentioned this on here before at least once, but I’m going to mention it again because it still pisses me off and I keep hearing it more and more nowadays.
Judging others by their musical tastes makes you look dumb.
Almost everywhere you go, especially on the internet, you’ll hear people judge one another based upon their musical tastes.
On YouTube:
On Facebook:
And on Failblog as well.
All I have to say is this: who freaking cares?
Music is subjective, people. It’s a form of art, like paintings or sculpture or pieces of lit. I don’t hear people going around berating each other because one dude likes Hemingway and some other dude likes Stephen King (okay, maybe with some of my friends I hear that, but it’s not nearly as common as “OMG u leik justn beeber ur a horable prsn go die in a fyre!!!111one!”).
Is it because music is just so exposed? It’s everywhere? Or is it because it’s something that everyone likes? I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone who’s said they didn’t like music. Everyone likes music. Maybe it’s just something that’s so personal and so tied in with who you are that it’s easy to get overly defensive about it and kind of polarize music into “good” and “bad”.
But still, people…think about how stupid it is to judge others based on what conglomeration of sounds they prefer over others.
Unless they don’t like Sleepyhead. Then you can give them crap. ;)
To SC:
I never told you why I did what I did to you. I guess that makes me a coward. But it also makes you in the dark about certain things, which I think is a good thing both for you and for the other(s) involved. In the short time I knew you, I’ve seen you too close to violence to trust telling you everything, even now.
I will say two things regarding what I did:
1) while it may not have been an appropriate way of doing what needed to be done, it got the job done (forgive me for putting it that way) and for that I’m glad I did it. I knew things wouldn’t have worked out. I think somewhere down in your unconscious mind, you did too.
2) at the same time, it was a petty, impulsive, short-sighted, juvenile thing to do to another human being. I know it may mean nothing to you, but I can assure you that I’ve been experiencing full-swing karmic backlash pretty much constantly since that day/night/week/whatever you want to call it. I still hope, though, that everyone who’s ever done what I did experiences that same karmic backlash. We deserve it.
Every once and awhile I really miss you. I miss how comfortable around each other we were. I miss knowing that when you came over I didn’t have to suffer through hours of pre-meeting anxiety like I do with everyone else outside my immediate family (and sometimes WITH my immediate family).
But I treated you badly. I argued with you on purpose. I pushed you away and hated you when you clung to me even after I’d yell and scream and cry and run. I didn’t want to accept the fact that someone wanted to get close to me, I guess. I don’t really know. I think I actually knew it wouldn’t work from the very beginning. Which is stupid, of course, because I shunned all my friends when they were so quick to point out to me that what we were getting into probably wasn’t a good idea.
Stupid, stupid Claudia.
But I suppose the past is the past. I still miss you, but things are better this way. And I’m not sure why this poorly-veiled blog-letter is happening today. Didn’t have much to say otherwise and you were on my mind.
Which happens sometimes.
Because I still miss you.
2012, stop trying to be 2011.
Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But this year’s still kind of sucky.
This week in particular has been one long string of bad news. I know you’re all probably sick of me complaining here, but I need someplace to vent before I start stabbing peoples. You all know how I like plans, right? Well so far this year it’s been very, very tricky to make any sort of concrete plans. That’s very difficult for me.
On a positive note, I (accidentally) sliced the hell out of my ankle with my razor while I was shaving my legs and didn’t even really bleed. Vitamin K, people. It makes you a god.
That is all.
Pretty Fly for a WiFi
Hey guys! Want to see a pretty?
I have GIMP, a free Photoshop-esque program, installed on Big Compy. One of the things GIMP can do is make a customizable fractal out of a picture.
I thought this one of my most recent drawing was pretty awesome.
The United States of Craigslist (Part II)
Ahoy, readers!
As I was falling asleep last night I thought up another (dinky) analysis I could run on the Craigslist data.
Question of interest: what state(s) had the highest proportion of Craigslist personal ads compared to their total population? Easy little analysis, I know, but it’s a fun thing to look at.
So here we go!
This map shows a gradient from white to deep purple. States that are whiter have a lower proportion of Craigslist ads with respect to the total state population. States that are a deeper purple, therefore, have a HIGHER proportion of Craigslist ads with respect to the total state population.
The three states with the lowest proportion of Craigslist ads:
Mississippi (0.019%)
West Virginia (0.021%)
Iowa (0.023%)
The three states with the highest proportion of Craigslist ads:
Washington, D.C. (1.055%)
Nevada (0.18%)
Hawaii (0.167%)
And yes, I realize Alaska and Hawaii aren’t on this map (and weren’t on the original US of Craigslist post either). Sorry about that. I’d remedy that, but it’s late and I want to go read some fanfic before I go to sleep. Hawaii’s the same color as Nevada; Alaska’s the same color as Illinois.
Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, GET OUT OF MY HEAD
I WILL finish this damn thing!
3501. Is ‘no glove, no love’ your STRICT policy?
If there were ever to be ‘love’, yes.
3502. What is the best Epic movie (examples of epics: ben-her, gone with the wind, last temptation of christ)?
Tremors. Tremors totally counts.
3503. Finish the sentance.
Hey, Hey we’re the: guys in the diamond
People say we: paint the stars
But we’re too busy: drawing a bath
The time to hesitate is: later
You’re too: existential for those pants
It’s a nice day to: lighten the stairs
3504. Have you ever had ‘missing time’?
Huh?
3505. Have you ever sent an electronic greeting?
Like an e-card? Maaaaaaybe…I can’t remember.
3507. Are you more likely to download porn or disney movies?
Why does Rule 34 spring to my mind?
3508. What is it with people?
God, who freaking knows.
3509. Do you eat too much sugar?
I do, unfortunately.
3510. Imagine you have a band. Let’s name your band.
Adjective: Inconsequential
Animal(plural): Lizards
Your band name is (adjective) (animals) Under Glass!
Inconsequential Lizards Under Glass!
Could be better?
Probably.
Let’s try again.
Adjective:
Octogenarian
Noun (plural): Stencils
Your band is (adjective) (nouns) With Puppets
Octogenarian Stencils with Puppets
3511. Are you desperate but not serious?
I’m seriously desperate. Desperately serious?
3512. Was there a time when you were younger and it took less to get you excited?
I’m perpetually three years old when it comes to my ability to become excited about stuff.
3513. Remember learning to write in elementary school?
Indeed I do.
We spend 2 years learning to print..then they throw that out the window and teach kids cursive. Why?
Because we’re dumb. I actually remember learning to write cursive more than learning print.
If cursive is so important and easy to read then why aren’t books printed in cursive?
Because books aren’t dumb.
Why aren’t cursive computer fonts more popular?
I think cursive looks ugly, personally.
Why do buisness forms always say ‘please print’?
Because who can read crazy cursive, anyway?
Schools are so preoccupied with teaching kids the complicated but traditional skill of cursive writing that more emphasis is put on that than on teaching kids how to clearly express their ideas through writing. I move that cursive writing become a jr. high school elective instead of a grammer school priority. Who’s with me?
Damn straight!
3514. Can you think of anything else (besides cursive writing) that is unhelpful, or unuseful, yet traditional and unquestioned? What?
Back in elementary school I always thought the amount of emphasis the teachers put on estimation (in math) was a little excessive.
3515. Name one female celebrity who you would guess wears size ___ clothing:
0?
Paris Hilton? Haha, I have no idea.
5?
Scarlet Johannsen? Not even sure how her last name is spelled. Totally not a celebrity person.
12?
Kate Winslet?
16?
Queen Latifah?
20?
That one lady on that really popular show. I can’t think of her name or the name of that show, but maybe you know what I’m talking about.
3516. Have you ever been to a place where the restrooms were named in a clever way rather than just saying men’s and woman’s? I’ve seen Hens and Roosters, Bart and Lisa, Dudes and Babes…what have you seen?
Possibly, but I can’t remember.
3517. What is the ‘message’ or ‘point behind’:
Fight Club?
Donnie Darko?
AI?
Minority Report?
Solaris?
A Walk to Remember?
You’ve Got Mail?
I haven’t seen a single one of these movies.
3518. have you seen, and what are your thoughts about these movies:
Drumline?
The Hot Chick?
Maid in Manhattan?
Star Trek: Nemesis?
About Schmidt?
Evelyn?
The Guys?
Intacto?
The Jimmy Show?
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers?
Gangs of New York?
Two Weeks Notice?
The Wild Thornberrys Movie?
Smokers Only?
Treasure Planet?
The Santa Clause 2?
I’ve never seen a single one of these movies either, haha.
3520. What is:
Insanity?
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (or so says Einstein)
Normal?
Not me. Or any of my friends.
Fahrenheit?
A strange little temperature scale.
3521. Tell us about yourself in the third person for a bit:
Claudia is a strange being who likes statistics way too much.
3522. If someone breaks a law, should they be punished if they did not know it was a law?
It depends, I think. If the law is an obscure one that really isn’t promoted as a law/upheld strictly, then I think they should be let off. More serious laws, however…
3523. If it’s so much easier to learn languages when we are very young (and it is, something to do with the developing brain) why do they wait until jr high and high school to teach them?
Because our education system is screwed.
3524. Name a band you sort of like:
Muse
You are wearing that band’s t-shirt in a store. SUDDENLY some guy you don’t know comes up to you and goes, “Hey! You like (insert name of the band here)??!!”This is obviously a really stupid question because if you didn’t like them you wouldn’t be wearing the t-shirt. Your witty reply is:
I’d probably just say “yeah, I do.” Questions like that aren’t worth snarkiness in my opinion.
3525. If you were organizing cd’s in a music store what section would you put each of the following in (don’t forget the ‘bargain bin’ section!):
Blink182
Pop
Depech Mode
Electronic
Weezer
Alt.
Led Zeppelin
Rock? (I’ve actually never listened to Led Zeppelin)
The Doors
Rock
Avril Lavigne
Pop
Nelly
Pop
Manfred Mann
I have no idea
Iggy Pop
Alt.
Pink Floyd
Alt.
Guns N Roses
Rock
Shakira
Pop
Britney Spears
Pop
Tool
Alt metal
Ozzy Osbourne
Rock
Madonna
Pop
The Rolling Stones
Rock
The Beatles
Rock
Motley Crue
Metal?
Bon Jovi
Rock
3526. Does coffee stimulate your mind or body more?
I don’t like coffee.
3527. Can you do ‘six degrees of seperation’ to anyone famous?
Me myself? I seriously doubt it.
3528. What’s the oddest thing in your home?
Me.
3529. Do you find it odd when people who are not handicapped use the handicapped stall:
in the bathroom?
Not if the other two (or three or whatever) stalls are already taken.
in the parking lot?
The parking space? I don’t see that as odd, I see that as obnoxious. Other people need that space, yo.
3530. Do you sometimes find yourself talking to yourself?
HAHA. All the time.
Do you answer yourself back?
No one else ever does.
3531. In your head do you call yourself ‘I’ or ‘you’ or both?
Both.
3532. What is the best excuse for why you haven’t done your homework?
No excuses! Homework must be completed!
3533. Someone tells you ‘well there are black people, and then there are n*ggers’. What do you think?
I’d probably stop talking to them at that point.
3534. Does culture shape behavior or does behavior shape culture?
Both!
3536. What is social loafing?
Isn’t that when, in a group setting, people tend to slack off on their responsibilities with the thought that the rest of the group will pick up the slack?
What is groupthink?
When the desire for harmony/decision-making in a group drives people to agree with one another more readily.
3537. I have an idea. let’s change the english language by making the words fewer, shorter and more concise. What do ya think?
Indubitably! Wait…
3539. Here’s the scenerio…your little eight year old brother is hangin out in the house when you come in..and catch him watching the playboy channel! What do you do/say?
“When did I get a little brother?!”
He says, “Why can’t I watch this?” What is your response?
“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, IMPOSTER!”
Why do you respond that way?
Spontaneous little brothers are scary.
3540. Who REALLY has a higher sex drive, girls or guys?
Depends on age.
How can you tell?
Female sex drive is maximum later in life compared to males, right?
3541. are you usually carefree?
Nope.
3542. Do you generally prefer reading to meeting people?
Yes.
3543. Do you often long for excitement?
In my own way, yes.
3544. Are you mostly quiet when you are with others?
Depends if they are my close friends or not. Close friends = histrionics. Everyone else = silence.
3545. Do you often do things spur of the moment?
I plan. Everything. Always.
3546. Are you slow an unhurried in the way you move?
HAHAHA no. Rush time.
3547. Would you do almost anything for a dare?
Surprisingly yes.
3548. Do you hate being in a crowd who plays jokes on one another?
You mean like pranks? I hate pranks.
3549. Do you enjoy wild parties?
Depends. Is there nudity?
3550. Have you ever paid for something priced more than $5.00 in only change?
I don’t think so.
3551. Is rascism still a big part of our culture?
Parts of it.
3553. How many famous people cxan you name who committed sucicide?
I’m drawing a blank right now.
3554. Do you have OCD?
Nope.
3555. Are you more anxious or relaxed?
Anxiety is my middle name, yo.
Insecure or secure?
Insecure is my other middle name.
Sociable or withdrawn?
Withdrawn.
Original or conventional?
A good mixture of both.
3556. Are you more emotional or calm?
Hmm…depends.
self pitying or content?
Haha, self-pitying.
Fun loving or sober?
Sober.
Imaginative or down to earth?
Imaginative.
3557. Are you more Friendly or aloof?
Aloof.
adventurous or cautious?
Adventurous.
Broad or narrow when it comes to interests?
Broad.
Receptive or closed to new ideas?
Receptive.
3558. Are you more good natured or irratble?
Irritable.
soft hearted or ruthless?
MANLY!
well organized or disorganized?
Well-organized.
Dependable or undependable?
Dependable.
3559. Are you more courteous or rude?
Courteous
sympathetic or tough minded?
Tough-minded.
hardworking or lazy?
Hardworking.
ambitious or easy going?
Ambitious.
Anxiety Inscurity Emotionalism and Self Pity are traits of a neurotic personality.
I’m pretty neurotic, then.
Sociable, fun loving, friendly and adventurous are traits of an extraverted personality.
Already knew I wasn’t extraverted.
Orignality, imaginative, broad interests, and receptive are traits of an Open personality.
I’m about half/half on this one.
Good natured, soft hearted, courteous, and sympathetic are traits of an agreeable personality.
Meh.
Well organized, dependable, hardworking and ambitious are traits of a conscientious personality.
Yay conscientiousness!
3560. Do men and woman have little or a lot in common?
I think there’s more in common than we like to admit.
3561. Do you feel like any of the teachers you’ve ever had have REALLY cared about educating you to think for yourself?
Most of my music teachers, yes.
Do you tend to try harder if they DO care?
Sure do.
3562. Have you ever been stereotyped?
Most likely.
As what?
A weirdo.
3563. Have you ever been dsicriminated against?
Maybe.
For what?
Who knows?
3564. How often is your school and/or job closed due to weather?
It hasn’t been yet, at least since I’ve been there.
3565. Who do you know that you believe does not masturbate?
Me?
3566. Does a cloned human being have a soul?
No.
Why or why not?
Because souls don’t exist.
3567. Finish the sentence: As the world turns..I only have one concern…that:
I’ll still have data.
3569. Have you read any biographies?
Yup.
Whose?
I read Einstein’s a long time ago. I’ve read a LOT about Leibniz.
3570. What are you obsessed with?
HAHA. Statistics. Philosophy. Leibniz. Internet.
3572. Do you crack your:
knuckes?
Yes.
neck?
No.
back?
No.
other?
My toes every once and awhile.
3573. Of the following powers which 2 would you pick for yourself? The ability to fly, breathe under water, turn invincible, change into animals, freeze and restart time, never gain weight unless you want to, heal people with your touch, have orgasms that last for an hour
The ability to fly, the ability to freeze and restart time (which, in my opinion, allows me at least one other of these powers)
3574. Do you chew your penciles and pens?
Pencils, yes. The caps of pens, yes.
3575. Can you tell the exact point where your back ends and your butt begins?
Hahahahaha.
3576. When you are bored do you picture everyone eround you naked?
I do that normally, yo.
3577. What are some great holiday gift ideas for
guys: pants
girls: more pants
3578. Who looks better naked, men or woman?
Men.
3579. Do you sit in chairs or fall into them?
[insert gif of Peter Griffin forgetting how to sit down]
3580. Has anyone ever:
screamed your name during sex?
Haha, seriously doubt it.
moaned your name during sex?
See above.
3581. Hershey’s kisses: mint, almond, hugs, plain. other?
Almond!
3582. What’s the best slurpee flavor?
I’ve never had a Slurpee.
3583. What are five movies that you think someone would have to be living under a rock in iceland to not have seen?
I wouldn’t know, ‘cause given the number of movies I haven’t seen, I might as well have been living under a rock in Iceland.
3584. Of these words, which ones are funny:
beets?
cumquat?
pit?
Piss-capades?
fuzzy?
Piss-capades is pretty great.
What are some other funny words?
BOOBIES!
3585. Do you give good massages?
So people tell me.
3586. What songs have been ‘stuck’ in your head?
Nothing recently, actually.
3587. What don’t most people know about your job?
That I have one? Hahaha. Maybe that it helps people directly.
3588. Is there anything you won’t say unless someone else says it first?
“I love you” to anyone outside my family.
3589. Do you need a little Christmas?
Not in March.
3590. Fake or real tree?
Real!
3591. Is your refrigerator running?
Yes.
You know what to do.
Not a damn thing!
3592. How can you explain when there are few words you can choose?
Draw a picture for 1,000 times the verbal power!!!
3593. Who can it be now?
Huh?
3594. Where HAS Joe Dimaggio gone?
I don’t know.
3595. How often do you get headaches?
Not very often, actually. Migraines even less frequently.
3596. Have you ever woen fake eyelashes?
Nope.
3597. What could you spend 24 hours in a row doing?
I’m not telling.
3598. Is it Friday yet?
We’re getting there.
3599. Do you remember There was a time (ahaha) when people on the street were walking hand in hand in hand?/
Elementary school?
3600. Do you talk to inanimate objects?
Yes.
Do you try to get them to answer you?
They speak for themselves.
Have they ever answered you?
See above.
For once, I am *legitimately* upset.
Well, hell.
Just got some pretty crappy news from one of my best friends ever.
Not their fault, of course, but still pretty crappy, considering…well, a lot of things.
Blughrsfhrhgehrhghhh.
Sadness is so much worse when it’s coming from outside your own self-misery, eh?
(Haha, wow, emo)
Blog #Lots
HI!
In one of my great treks across the vast Tubes I came upon a meme-ish little thingy. Rather than do one of these per day for a month like I did sometime last year with something (haha, vagueness…I can’t remember what it was/what month in which I did it), I think I’ll put the list here and link to the future blogs in which I address the topics.
What topics, you ask?
THESE!
1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your parents.
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now.
6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have.
14. Describe 5 strengths you have.
15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?
19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.
24. Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What is your love language?
29. What do you think people misunderstand most about you?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.
Some of these I’ve already dealt with in other blogs, but I’ll do them again for the sake of…um…I’ll just do them again.
‘Ta!
.gif of the magi
.gif party!
The 1st gif in your folder is how you feel right now:
The 7th gif in your folder is how you felt this morning:
The 30th gif in your folder is how you will feel ten minutes from now:
The 25th gif in your folder is how you will feel 10 days from now:
The 12th gif in your folder is how you will live 10 years from now:
The 3rd gif in your folder is how the same sex sees you:
The 20th gif in your folder is how the opposite sex sees you:
(hahahahaha)
The 2nd gif in your folder is what you will dream about tonight:
The 15th gif in your folder is what your parents thought when you were born:
The 21st gif is how you act in school:
The 13th gif in your folder is how you will act at your wedding:
The last gif in your folder is how people will feel at your funeral:
Hilarity.
Weekly Wiki: Wilhelm Scream
HA, I remember the article that I was going to feature here a couple weeks ago!
If you’ve ever watched a movie or TV, you’ve probably been privy to the Wilhelm scream, a stock sound effect first used in 1951 and has since been audible in over 225 movies and TV shows (often as an in-joke).
The scream was first heard in the 1950s movie Distant Drums and gained popularity after George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino began to slide it into almost every movie they made (yes, including Star Wars). The fact that the scream is publically available has caused it to propagate throughout online media created by amateur film/media makers.
Compilation!
Happy birthday, grandpa, we miss you!
DUDES UI FALL SCHEDULE TIME!
Here’s what I’d take. Clicky clicky.
Purely hypothetical, of course…or IS it?!
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!
Flume
Sucky, sucky, sucky day. Do not wish to speak of it.
So in other news, has anybody ever noticed how average Idaho is at pretty much everything (but potatoes and lentils)? Aside from being one of the most right-wing-insane states, in almost every other way in which states are ranked/measured, Idaho almost always lands very close to the middle. Obviously there are exceptions, though. Did you know that Idaho has the third highest percentage of resident population under the age of 18? And that the state is 5th in geothermal power generation?
And for something totally unrelated: I forgot how badass the soundtrack to Princess Mononoke was.
Professor Plum did it in the Bedroom with the French Maid
It’s crappy drawing time! Click to enlarge.
Weekly Wiki: Generations
It’s Weekly Wiki time! See guys? It’s been like three weeks and I haven’t missed one yet. I give myself a banana sticker.
This week I’m featuring Wikipedia’s information about the different generations!
Here is the list:
Lost Generation (born 1883 – 1900)
The Lost Generation refers to those mainly brought up in the era of WWI; specifically, the young men and women who were pulled out of their normal lives to go and fight. It is said that the label originated with Gertrude Stein who remarked that young men of that generation were too old to train to be skilled workman and therefore were “lost.”
Greatest Generation (born 1914 – 1924)
What a title, huh? The term was coined by Tom Brokaw to describe those individuals who muscled through the Great Depression, fought in WWII, and aided in the material contribution to the war effort. Says Wiki: “He [Brokaw] argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. When they came back they rebuilt America into a superpower.”
Silent Generation (born 1925 – 1945)
Describing those individuals born during the Great Depression and WWII, this generation was substantially smaller than either the Greatest or the Baby Boom generations. This allowed people born in this timeframe more job opportunities (less competition) and thus resulted in great scientific and technological innovations used in the late 20th century.
Baby Boom Generation (born 1946 – 1964)
Everyone knows the Boomers! Post WWII, the US population jumped up as soldiers returned home and decided that it was the time to have a family. The article also features what is perhaps the greatest analogy ever: The baby boom has been described variously as…”the pig in the python.” By the sheer force of its numbers, the boomers were a demographic bulge which remodeled society as it passed through it.
Generation X (born early 1960s – early 1980s)
Perhaps the most recognizable generation in terms of name, Generation Xers were named such in order to signify their relative lack of identity and uncertainty regarding the future when compared to their parents and grandparents. According to Wiki: “The US Census Bureau cites Generation X as highly educated, statistically holding the highest education levels when looking at current age groups.”
Generation Y (born early 1970s – 1990 or so)
This generation (which includes me and probably most of my readers/stalkers/random passers-by) is unique in the sense that they didn’t grow up with technology surrounding them like Gen Z did, but also were young enough once technology began to permeate everyday life that they were able to acclimate to using it rather quickly/swiftly. Though my mom did this, too, and she’s a Boomer.
Generation Z (born early 1990s – present)
These dudes are typically children of Gen X-ers and are obviously a very wired generation—internet, cellphones, obnoxious social media Facebook and the like. According to Wiki: “a marked difference between Generation Y and Generation Z is that members of the former remember life before the takeoff of mass technology, while the latter have been born completely within it.”
More info on Wiki. Go check it out!
In This Blog: I Unzip My Genes
On February 1st I sent a tube of my spit through the mail with the goal to have my genetics explored via the services offered by 23andMe. Today I got an email saying that my results were complete! And now we shall commence with examining the results.
23andMe, for those of you who don’t know, is a DNA testing service that provides customers an insight into their DNA. Pay for a kit, receive it, spit into the special tube, and send it back and within 6 – 8 weeks, you’ll receive an online report detailing 118 disease risks, 55 traits, 20 drug responses, and 44 carrier statuses.
Knowing a bit about the general health characteristics of my family, I had a few conjectures regarding what I thought the results would show in terms of disease risk:
What I thought would be higher risk than average – diabetes (it’s on both sides of my family), Alzheimer’s (also on both sides of my family), kidney stones and gout (my dad’s had both of these), and possibly high blood pressure (my dad has this, my mom’s had it intermittently)
What I thought would be lower risk than average – the cancers (there’s not a lot of any specific type or much cancer at all in my family) and coronary heart disease (NONE of this in the family).
I also had some guesses as to what some of my trait results would be:
I’m guessing my bitter taste perception is poor due to my extreme liking of broccoli and Brussels sprouts and the like.
If my anosmia is genetic, I’m guessing I’ll lack the genetic component responsible for detecting isovaleric acid, a sweaty-type smell.
I’m also guessing that I’ll show up as sensitive to at least a few of the drugs they examine, as I’ve had major reactions to pretty much every drug I’ve ever been on.
So those were my conjectures. Want to see what my DNA really says? Let’s break it down by category.
Disease Risk
Pretty much every single one of my major* results surprised me. I have almost double the average risk for—wait for it—gallstones. I also have elevated risk for macular degeneration, glaucoma, restless leg syndrome, and primary biliary cirrhosis.
Even more interesting to me are my decreased risk diseases. Alzheimer’s and diabetes, the two major issues in my family? Genetically, I’m at decreased risk for both of them (I’m at nearly half the average genetic risk for Alzheimer’s). The two ailments of my father, gout and kidney stones, are two other diseases for which I’m at decreased risk. I’m also at low risk for rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, lupus (sorry, House), and endometriosis.
A few things for which I have average risk: obesity, coronary heart disease (interesting…), chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation.
Traits
Now we come to what, in my opinion, was the really fun stuff to look at. Here are a few that surprised me/were pretty interesting.
As I expected, I have “about an 80% chance of not being able to taste certain bitter flavors.” This makes me “taste blind” to the bitterness of foods of the cabbage family.
I am “likely tolerant” of lactose, which makes sense. I’ve never had a problem with dairy, even when I used to drink at least a glass of milk a day.
According to one marker for intelligence, my IQ performance should be about 3 points higher than average.
I am a “likely sprinter,” which means that I’ve got one gene that is turned on in a type of muscle fiber used for power-based sports (a fast-twitch muscle fiber). I’ve never worked out with sprints (I’ve always run long distances)…perhaps I should give it a try.
I AM sensitive to isovaleric acid, the sweaty-type odor. Perhaps my anosmia is physical/structural and not genetic? Obviously this one marker isn’t responsible for all olfaction, but still.
I have typical sensitivity to pain.
I am at slightly higher odds of developing tuberculosis if I were to be exposed to it.
Drug Response
DRUGGGS! This whole category surprised me. Of the 20 drug responses they test for, the only drug for which I showed increased sensitivity to was Warfarin, a blood thinner.
What am I missing…oh yeah, the carrier statuses. Of the 44 tested for, I don’t carry any of the diseases/deficiencies.
So what does all this mean, then? It probably won’t be bad genes that kill me, so I’ll either have to slog through to old age or dive in front of a bus.
Woo!
*23andMe denotes “elevated risk” and “reduced risk” as cases where an individual’s risk due to genetics is 20% or more above average for the disease or 20% or more below the average for the disease, respectively.
United States of Craigslist
Sweet Jesus crackers, it’s data time!
Over the past month I’ve been collecting data off of Craigslist; specifically, data from the Craigslist personals. This is mainly because statistics is my crack I like to flex my analytical muscles as often as possible and I’ve been in a data drought for far too long.
Anyway, enough blabbering. ONWARDS!
Data: Craigslist Personals from all 415 individual Craigslist listings* within the United States, divided into the four main categories:
WFW: women seeking women
WFM: women seeking men
MFW: men seeking women
MFM: men seeking men
The data were collected over a 13-day span (March 1 through March 13). I recorded the number of personals under each listing that were posted within the last 15 days of whatever day in the 13-day span on which I was doing the collecting. So keep in mind there might have been some post-Valentine’s Day angst-driven posts for some of the listings.
Results of interest:
1. (via extrapolation) Approximately how many Craigslist personal ads (in the United States) are posted yearly?
2. (via correlation) How highly correlated are the number of ads per state and the population of the state? In other words, do more populous states have more personal ads?
3. (via graphs) Where in the United States do homosexual personal ads (WFW, MFM) outnumber heterosexual personal ads (WFM, MFW), and vice-versa?
4. (via way-too-meticulous-digging-through-individual-listings) Are there any individual listings that can be considered “unnecessary” due to lack of posts? Are there any individual listings that should be further divided due to way too many posts?
Cool? Cool.
Let’s do this!
1. Approximately how many Craigslist personal ads in the United States are posted yearly?
Within 15 days, there were a total of 297,141 personals posted. That’s almost .01% of the US population.
Assuming there’s a fairly uniform number of personals being posted year-round, that would be a total of 7,230,431 ads per year (about 2.3% of the US population). That’s a lot of Criagslistin’.
2. Do more populous states tend to have more personal ads?
This’ll probably end up as a “duh,” but it’s worth checking out. Maybe EVERYONE in Wyoming is posting because they can’t find one another, while everyone in Cali is shying away from personals because they’re so sick of being around people.
Food for thought.
Anyway.
Here’s a quick little graph just to give you the idea of the range we’re talking about here.
State with the fewest number of ads: North Dakota (201 ads in 15 days)
State with the most number of ads: California (46,016 ads in 15 days)
To check if there’s a correlation between state population and number of ads, I ranked the states by the number of ads and also by the population, then ran a Spearman rank correlation on the two rankings (non-parametric statistics FTW).
rsp = .837
That’s a pretty high correlation, I don’t care who you are. So yes, the higher a state’s population, the more ads they are likely to have on Craigslist. Durh.
3. Where in the United States do homosexual personal ads (WFW, MFM) outnumber heterosexual personal ads (WFM, MFW), and vice-versa?
This was an interesting one that didn’t quite turn out as I expected. For one, there were more ads in the MFM section than any of the other three sections for pretty much every single listing. This brought the total of the homosexual ads well above the total of heterosexual ads for most listings. That alone was surprising to me.
What’s even more surprising, though, is the pattern of homosexual- and heterosexual-dominated ads by state. Here’s a map that breaks the states down by the ratio of homosexual ads to heterosexual ads.
In order to make keying this thing easier, I centered the ratios at zero, where zero indicates a ratio of 1:1, negative values indicate a ratio of more than one heterosexual posting for every homosexual posting, and positive values indicate a ratio of more than one homosexual posting for every heterosexual posting. I color-coded the map by creating six intervals on either side of zero, with each interval increasingly more imbalanced (fewer/more homosexual postings per heterosexual posting). Therefore, the more intense the colors get, the more imbalanced that state is in terms of the ratio of homosexual to heterosexual postings. I’m dumb and lost the original ratios, but they ranged from .292:1 (.292 homosexual posts for every heterosexual post; South Dakota) to 3:1 (3 homosexual posts for every heterosexual post; Washington, D.C.). States that have more homosexual ads are a deeper red; states that have more heterosexual ads are a deeper blue. States that have a near 1:1 ratio are white.
Can any of you dudes see any sort of demographic that this pattern follows? I was thinking that maybe the ratios followed the red/blue states, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. I also thought that maybe it would vary by general geographic region, but that doesn’t appear to be the case either (except for the Northwest, which is pretty “neutral” overall). Interesting stuff.
4. Are there any individual listings that can be considered “unnecessary” due to lack of posts? Are there any individual listings that should be further divided due to way too many posts?
This wasn’t as tedious as I thought it’d be…just basically involved going back through the data for the individual listings to see if there were any that had HUGE amounts of ads or any that had virtually none.
Some points of interest:
The average number of ads posted per listing was exactly 716.
Pierre, SD had only three ads posted.
New York City had 23,122.
WFW had the fewest ads overall (7,923 for the whole country), while MFM had the most (191,753).
Cool stuff, eh?
*when I say “listing” I mean things like “Pullman/Moscow” under Washington’s state or “Rockford” under Illinois…all the individual cities/towns/regions. When I say “personal” or “personal ad” I mean things like “Good Man Wanted” under Tippecanoe’s WFW section or “SEXCAPADES” under Boulder’s MFM.
Pi Day!
I had to. I’m so sorry.
Pi Day (sung to the tune of Rebecca Black’s Friday)
March 14th, waking up in the morning
Something’s goin’ down, but I can’t tell what
Gotta pack my bag, gotta go to class
Takin’ a glance at the calendar
Lookin’ at the date, gettin’ all excited
Gotta go get my math homework
Gotta do my trig, Gotta do geometry
Seeing circles on the page
Circumferences are all the rage
e, phi, zeta, K,
Which constant should I use?
It’s Pi Day, Pi Day
Gotta get down on Pi Day
Everybody’s lookin’ out for the area, area
Pi Day, Pi Day
Doin’ math on Pi Day
Everybody’s solvin’ problems for the area
Algebra, algebra (yeah)
Calculus, calculus (yeah)
Math, math, math, math
Lookin’ forward to the answer
1:59 is the time we wait for
Gotta celebrate, best day of the year
Math, math, think about math
Think circumference
I got this, you got this
You’ve got your T-I-eight-four
Just type it, calculate it
Now you know it
Seeing circles on the page
Diameters are all the rage
e, phi, zeta, K,
Which constant should I use?
It’s Pi Day, Pi Day
Gotta get down on Pi Day
Everybody’s lookin’ out for the area, area
Pi Day, Pi Day
Doin’ math on Pi Day
Everybody’s solvin’ problems for the area
Algebra, algebra (yeah)
Calculus, calculus (yeah)
Math, math, math, math
Lookin’ forward to the answer
Yesterday was boring, boring
But today is Pi Day, Pi Day
We-we-we so excited
We so excited
We gonna do some math today
Tomorrow it’s over
But July 22nd’s soon
I don’t want this party to end
3.14159
So useful of a number
Transcendental
I’m addin’, solvin’
See spheres, find volumes
Wit’ my pi up on my side
In my free time I do some geometry
Pi r squared, r squared, wanna cheer
Check my date, it’s Pi Day, it’s a great day
We gonna do math, c’mon, c’mon, y’all
It’s Pi Day, Pi Day
Gotta get down on Pi Day
Everybody’s lookin’ out for the area, area
Pi Day, Pi Day
Doin’ math on Pi Day
Everybody’s solvin’ problems for the area
Algebra, algebra (yeah)
Calculus, calculus (yeah)
Math, math, math, math
Lookin’ forward to the answer
It’s Pi Day, Pi Day
Gotta get down on Pi Day
Everybody’s solvin’ problems for the area
Pi Day, Pi Day
Doin’ math on Pi Day
Everybody’s solvin’ problems for the area
Algebra, algebra (yeah)
Calculus, calculus (yeah)
Math, math, math, math
Everybody’s solvin’ problems for the area
Difficult to do because HORRIBLE SONG. Pi deserves better, so here’s my other math-related parody.
Zazz
DUDES, did anybody else ever watch these?
YouTube is single-handedly making me relive my childhood. Freaking awesome.
Eigenblogger 