The Four Corporations of the Apocalypse
I’m amazed by large corporations. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because the larger companies get, the more fiercely they seem to push for their right to be the largest company, especially when they have to muscle out some other company for top spot. I find it amusing, interesting, and frightening all at the same time.
Due to the insane technological advances we’ve been making in the past decade, along with help from the glorious, glorious internet, we’ve been able to witness the birth of mega corporations that are able to grow to tremendous sizes and pretty much envelop everything they touch. And when they decide to merge, we’re all in trouble.
Oh come on, you know which ones I mean…
Microsoft (area of dominance: computing)
Not only does Microsoft (in my opinion, at least) pretty much own the computing sector with their PCs, they’ve also got quite a monopoly on software (Microsoft Office, anyone?), plus Internet Explorer, Zune, Windows Media, Windows Live (including Hotmail and Messenger), and the Xbox 360.
It’s probably the weakest of the four corporate giants as I see them, but it’s still got a pretty strong hold on things when you think about it. Hell, I typed this out in Microsoft Word and uploaded it in IE*. I guess the reason it seems weak is because it’s not expanding at the rate of the other corporations I’ve listed.
Speaking of expansion…
Apple (area of dominance: portable media)
Remember that time where Apple only made those dorky computers? Haha, yeah. Nostalgia. Now there are IPHONES EVERYWHERE. Perhaps you read my blog about my adventure in the Apple store. If not, go read it, slacker! here’s the summary: people are psycho for Apple products. The company is rapidly gaining ground in the portable media sector.
– Music.
– Phones.
– Phones that also play music.
– Wi-Fi access in small electronics.
– Wi-Fi access in small electronics that also act as phones and play music
– Whatever the hell the iPad is.
– But wait! A newer version of the Wi-Fi/phone/music thing!
You get the idea.
Apple has pretty much taken over the “check out this electronic doohickey I’m carrying!” area, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing up. Pair this with the grip it’s got on the music sales industry via iTunes and you’re looking at one powerful company.
Facebook (area of dominance: personal information)
The king of personal information, Facebook as it stands right now is quite frightening. It’s not Big Brother we have to worry about, but each other, now that we’re able to pretty much list everything down to our genetic code on a social networking site. The worst part about it is how addicting it is. I’m not ashamed (though I probably should be) that I went through a freaky little withdrawal stage when I shut down my Facebook account for a few months back in May (April? Whenever), and was pretty much fully hooked on it again when I came back. Despite all the privacy issues Facebook’s having right now, I don’t think the number of people using the site will decrease by any significant amount anytime soon, thus leaving those of us in Facebook Land a good population in which to search and stalk.
Google (area of dominance: general information)
Last but certainly not least is Google. Google is terrifying.
Google will own the world in approximately seven more years.
In a decade, “Googling” will no longer just be a word for “searching via google.com” but will be a euphemism for all sorts of other things (possibly dirty things). In twenty years, we’ll have street views of Alpha Centauri.
Can you tell this company frightens me?
I guess if you name your company after something as big as a googol, you’re pretty much destined to be of the mindset to want to expand as much as possible. Their getting their hands on YouTube was the final “oh crap!” moment for me, now I’m just waiting for the blue, red, yellow and green takeover. Or should I say takeooooooooooooover.
Paranoia? Perhaps. But I’m waiting for the day Google decides to merge with Apple, they conquer Facebook, and Microsoft decides to join in just because. Then we’re screwed.
*Anyone who gives me browser choice crap is invited to come over and count the number of times Firefox crashes when I use it. That browser and I don’t get along, I like IE best, shut the hell up.
Today’s song: Protection (Sirius Mo Radio Edit) by Ben Mono
Blog #1,592: A Survey
Because sometimes you just have to do a survey.
Will you be dating in six months?
Doubtful.
Who is the last person to send you a message on text?
Translink (I’d texted to get the bus time)
Are you jealous of anyone right now?
Nah.
Hold hands with anyone last night?
Pfft.
What will you be doing tomorrow?
Going to campus, doing research all day, trying to keep my soul from self-destructing…you know, the usual.
Why did you last cry?
I pissed myself off.
When will your next kiss take place?
That’s an excellent question.
You have to get a facial piercing, what do you get?
Nose ring! I’ve wanted one for awhile.
When was the last time someone of the opposite sex gave you a hug?
Um…July?
Is anything wrong?
Yes.
Could you cry right now?
Nah. I’m watching Ocean’s 11 and Annabelle’s in my lap.
Are you someone who worries too often?
I think there was one day back in high school where I remember being worry-free.
Who was the last person you took a picture with?
July, with Matt, Maggie, and Rebeca. CAUSE WE’RE AWESOME!
Was yesterday better than today?
Yeah.
What’s the very first thing you do when you wake up?
Turn the alarm off.
Do you ever think about stuff and start crying?
Haha, do you know me?
Do you judge people you don’t know?
I certainly try not to.
Are you happy with the way things are going?
No.
Where did you go in a car last?
To Safeway in the Oakridge mall.
Are you open about your feelings, or closed off?
It depends on the day/feeling.
Who was the last person you were in a car with besides family?
Sean and Megan.
Have you ever felt replaced?
Yeah, a few times.
Should you be doing something else right now?
Nope. It’s scheduled down time now.
How were you feeling last night?
So-so.
Are you different from how you were a year ago?
Hahaha, oh yes.
If the person you fell hardest for died today, how would you feel?
That would be pretty horrible; I don’t really know how I’d handle that.
Do you like your life as of now?
Bah.
Is there a person of the opposite sex who means a lot to you?
Several.
Do you wish someone would call or text you right now?
It’s probably too late for anyone to do so, if they even wanted to.
Do you like surprises?
Sure.
When was the last time you laughed hard?
Yesterday. I stumbled upon Uncyclopedia’s Vancouver article. Read it, it’s GREAT.
Who was the last person you laid in a bed with?
Hahaha, that’s a private matter.
Who made you smile today?
The guy at the rec center mouthing along to Bad Romance.
What made you sad today?
Me.
What keeps you up at night?
See above.
What did you do yesterday?
Research, went to Multivariate Analysis, rode the bus, read, wrote, made an R tutorial video and subsequently lost my voice.
Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?
Sean?
Have you heard a song that reminds you of someone today?
Not today.
Do you hate the last girl you had a conversation with?
My mom? Hahaha, no.
When is your birthday?
February 2nd.
Last person you held hands with, do they mean anything to you?
I haven’t held hands with someone in a long time.
Does it take a lot for you to cry?
Nope.
Name five things that are next to you.
Water bottle, Xbox controller, journal, pen, comb, headphones.
Are you shy?
Socially anxious is a better phrase for it.
Are you listening to music right now?
Nope, TV.
Do you have any weird inside jokes?
Hahaha, my life is a weird inside joke.
What is the last thing someone bought you?
Groceries.
Who was the last person you talked to last night in person before bed?
Uh…my office mate?
Have you made a mistake this past week?
Indeed.
What were you doing at 4am this morning?
Probably having weird dreams.
What’s something that can always make you feel better?
Sleepyhead.
Do you have both a loud side and a quiet side?
YES (that was the loud side).
Are you a stressed out person?
Hahahahahahaha.
I’ll bet you miss someone right now?
I miss a lot of someones right now.
Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?
Doubt it.
Who is the last person you high-fived?
Matt?
Do you remember your dreams?
Sometimes.
Is it okay if you kiss people when you are single?
Sure?
Would you date someone right now if they asked you?
Depends on who would ask me.
Are your parents over the age of 40?
Indeed.
Are you easily amused?
Oh god yes.
Does the last person who put their arm around you mean anything to you?
Yes.
Do you miss your past?
Parts of it.
Were you single on your last birthday?
Yep. Back to the old standard.
Do you think you’re wasting your time on the person you like?
Oh, that’s a complicated question.
Do you have a reason to smile right now?
Sorta.
How are you feeling?
Sick-ish.
Is there something you’re not looking forward to?
The next year.
What is your favorite thing to shop for?
Trinkets.
Do you usually listen to your parents?
Yup.
Ever dyed your hair?
Twice.
Would you rather own a snake or a rabbit?
Rabbit.
What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you had?
Water.
Do you tell your parents everything?
Nope.
How many hours did you sleep last night?
Five?
Today’s song: Breathless by The Corrs
I don’t care that I’m 22 years old, I think Adventure Time is genius.
Back when I was in Moscow over the summer I found this show while channel surfing through the 300+ channels my dad has. I kept watching because the art/humor style was similar to that ofTom Deslongchamp (who is super awesome), but I kept watching because it’s freaking amazing.
Why? Well for one, they did this:
(if you don’t get it, go here)
Here’s one of the episodes, ‘cause it’s just fantastic.
Yay. :D
Today’s song: Runaway by The Corrs
Every Time You Misinterpret a Confidence Interval, God Kills a Statistician
HI AGAIN!
So I’m liking WordPress. I’m liking it enough that I’ve started an entirely new blog dedicated to R. It’s right here. It, unlike this one, will actually kind of look professional and will not consist of my daily ramblings. Rather, it will contain info on using R as well as little tricks, ’cause we all know R can be a pain sometimes.
OH YEAH, I also found an old high school project of mine that revolved around quite a nice little dataset. My “statistics” back then were horrendous, so I’m thinking I might re-do the whole thing and post it up here. Plus my graphs were made in Excel and look terrible. That has to be remedied.
WOO SHORT BLOGS! School starts tomorrow, I’m stressed, deal with it.
Oh, iTunes. iTunes, iTunes, iTunes…
Welcome to another installation of “companies that randomly change their logos and make themselves look dumb.” Today our guest will be Apple—specifically, iTunes.
For whatever the hell reason, Apple decided to entirely re-do their iTunes feel, as well as the logo.
Clicky clicky to enlarge.
Now there’s practically NO color so the whole thing looks like an inactive window (you know, when you have a window open but you’re using a different one, and the colors in the inactive one are dulled in most color schemes). And then there’s Ping, which…well, I’m still not entirely sure what its purpose is.
Then there’s this:
I suppose the CD is that out-of-date now, but still. The blue notes on CD thing was a very signature logo. To go from that to something that has very little similarities to past designs seems…odd. But I suppose “hey, let’s change things up for no reason!” is the style nowadays. Sorry, but this kind of stuff really bugs me.
I really don’t understand it, but what’re you gonna do, eh?
Today’s song: Tiny Face by Tipper
Oh look, more crappy art
Click for zoom. Alternate title: Claudia Can’t Draw but Does it Anyway.
Alternate alternate title: Claudia Needs to Install Flash so She can Annoy You with That Instead
These will get more interesting soon, I promise.
Today’s song: The Last Day On Earth by Kate Miller-Heidke
Feh.
I need help, but I’m too afraid to get it.
Also, it’s just my luck to move my blogs and then have nothing interesting to talk about.
Today’s song: Highland Cathedral by The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Vancouver, you’re silly
I live by a bunch of cemeteries. At the entrance of each one is posted this sign. Yeah, seriously.
Apparently, the story behind these signs involves the long-lived problem of people letting their dogs roam around unleashed, particularly in cemeteries. The problem started to escalate back in the 90s, so cemetery officials felt they had to do something about it, as dogs freely roaming about in cemeteries were bound to cause problems.
The husband of one of the management staff, after a rough run-in with a pissy dog owner, recalled that a close town had erected “camel crossing” signs in areas that were prone to speeding traffic. These humorous signs were effective in reducing traffic speed, so they attempted to apply the same logic to the “no unleashed dogs in the cemeteries” rule enforcement with these signs.
Cool idea, but if I were an elephant I would be holding a huge grudge against unleashed dogs for their causing me not to be allowed in cemeteries.
And I would never forget it, either.
[insert elephant graveyard joke here]
Today’s song: Take It Off by Ke$ha
The Inaugural Blog
Well hi there ladies and gents, and welcome to my first blog on WordPress. All past blogs have been uploaded from my old MySpace blog (except for the private ones…they didn’t automatically transfer, so I’ll have to do them individually, which will take some time).
Some things are different, of course–this blog’s theme is not nearly as ostentatious as my old one, and the default font for my blogs is no longer Times New Roman at 10 point font, but what’re you gonna do, eh? I needed a format change, anyway. I also apologize for all the broken pics/links/YouTube videos/what-have-yous in the older blogs. They’re, well, old. Haha.
So yeah! Pretty snazzy. Oh and here, for anyone interested: MySpace profile
Those of you who are new to this particular blog…have fun!
Yay!
Today’s song: My Own Way to Rock by Burton Cummings
August’s Music Review
Look, another month gone. Song review time!
Graph of genres:
Mean song length: 4:44
There were NO five-stars this month!
Today’s song: Give Into Me by Takida
What’s a pirate’s favorite statistical package? R!
Oh check this shit, a survey I hadn’t stolen from Maggie yet (I don’ t think).
So where’s your guy?
I don’t have a guy.
Who was the last person you had a conversation with on the phone?
My mom.
Has anyone said they love you in the last week?
Not anyone who isn’t related to me.
Could you go the rest of your life without doing any drugs?
Yeah, sure.
Have you faced any of your fears lately?
Yes.
Who did you last snuggle up against?
My cat?
Who was the last person to comfort you as you cried?
I got yelled at the last time I cried in front of people.
Do you have to plug your nose while swimming under water?
Nope.
Are you feeling cuddly?
No. Go away.
Do you know anyone who committed suicide?
Probably.
Have you lost any close family member to cancer?
Yes.
Is it ever too late to apologize?
Only according to One Republic.
Which friend are you most similar to?
Probably Nick.
Have you kissed anyone whose name starts with a M?
Way back when.
Think back to June. Who did you like?
Same person as always.
Have you ever kissed a blonde haired, blue eyed person?
Nope. :(
Camping with a ton of friends or hotel with a few friends?
Hotels are damn fun.
If you were being chased by an alligator, what would you do?
Probably wonder why I’m being chased by an alligator.
Who can make you feel better in a difficult situation?
Sean.
Is your #2 single?
Practically none of my friends are single anymore.
Is there someone you wouldn’t mind kissing right now?
Sure.
Do you think your ex will ever want to be with you again?
Doubtful.
Has anyone told you they don’t ever wanna lose you?
Nope.
Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?
Yeah, I have several.
What’s on that way top shelf or in the very far back of your closet?
Clothes.
How do you feel about girls smoking?
Who cares?
Where would you rather live, England or Australia? Why?
England, just ‘cause I’m not a big Australia fan.
When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
“You suck at life.”
Do you fall for people easily?
No.
What do you do when you have a bad day?
Things that are not good for my health.
What is something silly you’ve kept for sentimental reasons?
My sanity.
If you are sitting on the porch and see an ant, do you squash it?
Live and let live.
Have you slept next to the last person you kissed?
No.
Do you want someone dead?
Nope.
Do you ever wonder what your ex is up to?
I wonder what all the people in my past are up to.
Do you believe that there are certain circumstances where cheating is ok?
Nope.
If your last ex said they hated you, you say?
“Join the club.”
What would be the first thing you would do with 100,000 dollars?
I’d try to do something that benefits others with it, I think.
Would you rather go to Africa or Paris for two weeks?
Paris.
What does your toothbrush look like?
It’s manly.
If you clone yourself and kill your clone, is it considered suicide?
It’s considered sci-fi.
Is your crush banging someone else?
Yes, actually.
Are you addicted to cigarettes?
I’m addicted to a lot of things, but not cigarettes.
Do you know anyone named holly?
HOLLY CARP! Dude, I totally forgot about her…
Have you ever kissed someone who was drunk?
Haha, did you know my last boyfriend?
Who’s car were you in last?
My mom’s.
Today’s song: Against All Odds by Aking
Apple stores are goddamn scary
Now I’m all for interactive electronics stores. If I’m allowed to fondle your merchandise before buying, I’m 60% more likely to buy and 100% more likely to fondle.
But holy lord. If your name is Steve Jobs and you’ve crapped out dozens of things that play music, come in pretty colors, have touch screens, and allow handheld access to the internet, you must realize that there will be no building large enough to house the throngs of people who swarm to shove iPhones (or, for the ladies, iPads) down their pants in Wi-Fi ecstasy.
Seriously.
I went to the Apple store in the Oakridge Mall this afternoon ‘cause old Nano finally died. The sheer amount of nerdy Mac people in there was frightening enough, but when I saw one lady trying to teach her young daughter how to say “app” and some dude purchasing four Macbook Pros, I just wanted to sprint to the back counter, get my Nano, and sprint the hell back out of there. Not to mention the people who were talking on their iPhones while playing with the iPad displays.
I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or start picking out baby names that start with the lower case letter “i.” But hey, I got a new Nano. It’s yellow, because the 5th generation yellow looks astounding whereas the 5th generation orange looks too brown for my taste.
Today’s song: Don’t Turn the Lights On by Chromeo
Hyperness is next to godliness. Why do you think He only needed seven days?
A few days ago I blogged about what a pain MySpace is with regards to letting me actually post my blogs more than once a fortnight (if I’m lucky) and was wondering about possible exporting tools.
Well, I found one.
Yes, you have to download it, and no, I haven’t actually tested to see if it actually works as an exporter, but when I ran the program I actually saw it go through all my old blogs (that’s 1,571 blogs) and when I opened the raw file in Word, all of them actually showed up. So I’m hopeful.
Now I have to decide between WordPress and Blogger. I like WordPress ‘cause it looks like you can comment without having a profile there; I like Blogger because it looks more customizable from what I can tell. However, I dislike WordPress because, as someone who probably needs quite a bit of storage space, I’ll probably have to pay for the premium account. I dislike Blogger because it’s owned by Google, and I don’t know how I feel about selling my soul just yet.
But yeah. Planned export scheduled for September 1st; if it works, my blogging shall be moved there for all subsequent years.
Hooray!
Today’s song: All About Us by t.A.T.u.
You can’t spell “analysis” without “anal”
R: $0.00
Tinn-R: $0.00
Stats classes that taught me how to use R: $900.00
Grad school: $2,700.00/semester
Packs of gum to chew when nervous: $30.00
Amount of money I could have earned working in the time I’ve spent on this one figure manipulation (BC minimum wage style): $400.00
Figuring it out finally and, for once, not getting bitched out by my anyone: Priceless
There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s banging your head against a brick wall until epiphany happens.
Today’s song: Palladio by Karl Jenkins
Screw you, MySpace.
I’m getting sick of MySpace serving me with divorce papers every time I try to post my blogs, so I’ve been giving some serious thought as to where I would like to restart blogging. I don’t mean “start from this point forward,” though; I would like to be able to export my MySpace blogs to said new site (Blogger, WordPress, wherever the hell) so that they’re all in the same place, ‘cause I’m anal like that.
However, this seems to be an issue. MySpace is also very clingy, as it does not want to give up its RSS feed to anybody. The closest I’ve been able to get to exporting was with WordPress, but that would involve having to export only 10 blogs at a time, so HOLY GOD NO, but that’s the best I’ve gotten so far. Maybe I’m not looking in the right place.
So if any of you happen to know of a blogging site that allows for mass importing of MySpace blogs, please let me know.
WOO!
Today’s song: Kelly Watch the Stars by AIR
Zoomzoomzoomazoomazoom
So because I’m scared of the solar flares*, I’ve decided that I shall take on the task, over the next few weeks/months/whatever, of printing my blog archive. All 1,243 pages of it. Why? Reasons:
1. Solar flares. You just never know.
2. Computer crashes. You just never know.
3. Having a hard copy of long documents is always a good idea.
4. It’s fun.
5. It’ll give me an excuse to buy a giant binder.
6. At the end of it all it’s going to weigh about 15 pounds, which will make a good weapon against anyone who breaks into my apartment.
Maybe I’ll plan it out so that I can have everything printed by May 1, 2011 (with statistical projections as to how many pages total I’ll have then, of course), which would leave me with a blog archive of the past 5 years of my life.
Scary? Yes.
Get the printer ready.
Today’s song: Circles by Soul Coughing
*We’re due for massive solar output in 2011-2012 that may possibly wipe out all satellite communication and god knows what else technology-wise for a half a decade or so. It’s just got me paranoid, shut up.
Oh look, PayPal wants me to fill out a survey
Yes, I’m still bitching about this.
So I got this email today from PayPal:
We understand that your PayPal account may have been temporarily limited due to questions or concerns by our Account Review team. Thank you very much for your cooperation during this process. We are pleased that your account has now been reinstated.
LIES!
As part of PayPal’s Commitment to excellence, we would like to ask you to take just a few minutes to answer questions about PayPal’s account limitation process.
Oh PayPal, don’t do this to yourself.
To respond to our survey, please click on the web address below. If that does not work, please cut and paste the entire web address into the address field of your browser.
Ugh. Fine.
Question 1: Would you recommend PayPal to your friends/family as a way to send money electronically?
No.
Your required items needed for account verification are those that are prone to frequent expiry (e.g., address, phone number, etc.). It is made exceedingly and excessively difficult to try and change your verification information without having to verify your identity with even more items that one may or may not have. I understand this, of course, as you are a company that deals with thousands of people sending millions of dollars over the internet. However, when one’s account is seemingly randomly limited, these verification processes cause more problems than they probably prevent.
Question 2: Thinking about your experience, from the time PayPal informed you that your account was limited to the time all limitations on your account were removed, how satisfied were you with PayPal’s account limitation process?
Very dissatisfied.
Then there was a checklist, on which I checked the following:
> PayPal requested information that I cannot provide
> PayPal requested too much information
> The account limitation prevented me from completing pending business
> I do not understand why my account was limited
> The account limitation process took too long to resolve
Question 3: How likely are you to use PayPal in the future?
Unlikely.
Question 4: What one thing could PayPal have done to improve your experience with the account limitation process?
I certainly would have liked to know why my account was limited. However, more importantly, I would have liked to have been able to verify my account without having to go through the frustration of realizing that almost all verification options you provided for me involved proofs that I no longer have. I don’t live at that address anymore, I don’t have that cell phone number, and I don’t have a credit card. Luckily, I had failed to cancel my old bank account over the summer, so I was still able to verify with my debit card.
Question 5: Did this issue cause you a financial loss?
NA – issue still unresolved.
The manner in which I was informed that my account was being limited was professional.
Strongly disagree.
I was informed about the status of my case.
Strongly disagree.
I understood what was needed to resolve the limitation.
Agree.
My account limitation was reviewed in a timely manner.
Disagree.
I was treated like a valued customer.
Disagree.
The amount of information I was required to provide PayPal was reasonable.
Strongly disagree.
The number of times I had to contact PayPal Customer Support in order to resolve this matter was reasonable.
Neither agree nor disagree (there’s nothing I hate more than having to call people about my problems).
I received adequate information explaining why my account was limited.
Strongly disagree.
The responses I received in regard to my account limitation were friendly.
Neither agree nor disagree (I heard nothing from them).
The steps required to have my account limitation reviewed were easy to understand.
Agree.
Based on this experience, I feel that PayPal is a safer, more reliable payment method.
Agree (it sure prevented me from breaking into my own account).
Question 6: Please use this space to provide us with any other comments that may improve our services.
Being a PayPal customer for nearly five years and using it primarily to pay/receive money via eBay, I was surprised after completing a sale to find out that my account was limited. Not only did this prevent me from seeing proof that the buyer had paid (aside from eBay’s confirmation, though you’d probably agree that being able to see the money registering as existing in my PayPal account is much more concrete evidence of their paying), but it also prevented me from transferring said money to the person for whom I sold the item, as well as (and more seriously) prevented me from paying my eBay seller’s fee, causing them to send me several angry emails threatening to suspend my eBay account.
The fact that my only communication from you regarding this matter consisted of “your account is limited” with no other information explaining why or when this happened makes me very wary of doing any future business with you, and the fact that you fail to provide any account verification steps that don’t require some things that, generally, are transient enough in peoples’ lives that they change perhaps every 4 or so years (phone number, address, etc.) is yet another reason why I’ll probably not use your services again for quite a long time.
Of course, all of this could have been avoided had you provided me with either an email stating that my account had been limited before I had begun a $500 transaction over eBay or provided me with a verification technique that I could have confirmed over the phone or made it possible to update my address/phone number without your having hang-ups about the fact that I’m now living in Canada. As I stated, I’ve been a PayPal account holder for nearly 5 years, thus my great surprise at finding my account limited seemingly out of the blue. I don’t appreciate the unprofessional way that this limitation was handled, and I will definitely be taking my business elsewhere for the time being.
At this point I was reaching the 2,000 character limit, so I quit bitching and sent off the survey. I hope they actually read it.
Buttfaces.
Today’s song: The Universe is Laughing by The Guggenheim Grotto
This Week’s Science Blog: Oh, the Humanity! Oh Wait, That was Hydrogen.
Firstly, I had no idea that there was a U.S. National Helium Reserve (and that it was in Arizona. At least that state’s good for something). Secondly, this reserve may not be around that much longer, as we’ve been squandering helium for so long that scientists (and helium reservoir researchers, assuming such people exist) fear that we may run out soon.
Yup. Like cheap crack, helium’s been being sold for way too cheap, causing it to be wasted. Which is kind of funny, considering the primary consumption of helium comes in the form of MRI scanners, rockets, and spacecraft, things that members of the general public usually don’t try to build in their backyard (unless I’m missing something). This means that the squandering must be occurring on a much higher level of business (damn you, NASA and party clowns!).
Anyway, helium on earth is formed from the decay of terrestrial rock and as a byproduct of nuclear fusion, though the latter is in such small quantities that it’s pointless to think of it as a helium source. So unless we plan on bringing the sun over for a visit any time soon, the stockpiles of this noble gas are going to be depleted. And I guess the U.S. still has the monopoly on helium (I say “still” because the same monopoly is why the Germans used hydrogen in the Hindenburg), so we’ll probably have to say goodbye to element #2 in the near future, seeing how the U.S. usually deals with these kinds of things.
Solution: stockpile those helium tanks used to fill party balloons. Or kill clowns. Or both.
Today’s song: Disgusting by Miranda Cosgrove
Claudia Can’t Think of a Title: The Title
God, my brain’s been doing some weird crap lately. I’d like to call some of it déjà vu, but I don’t think that’s what it is. It’s like I get in this weird headspace and the rest of reality kind of pulls away.
That’s not it either, but it’s closer.
I think I’m losing my mind. Just for the record.
Beh.
Today’s song: Yours by Dan Black
Hey look
Random crap.
> My CV is the third link displayed on Google when you search “Claudia M. Mahler.” Like anybody’s going to search that, but still…
> My iPod bit it, but I live less than 10 blocks from an actual Apple store, so I shall trek there to see what’s what in the world of pretty music machines.
> Carrots are the most fantastic thing ever.
> For whatever reason, revamping my “Top Favorites” song list makes me ridiculously happy.
> I finally got the courage to check my calculus grade, and I didn’t totally bomb it like I thought I had (seriously…it shouldn’t have been possible to get the grade I got when I had a full-blown panic attack during the final). It drags my “over all universities GPA” down to a 3.96 though, which blows heavy metal chunks, but what can you do? Apparently that’s still summa cum laude pretty much everywhere but the U of I (but I don’t go there anymore, so who cares). Also, it takes a special kind of idiot to do worse in calculus the second time they take it than the first. I seriously should be shot. But I guess I didn’t have the panic attack issue back then.
> I can’t buy any more books; my bookshelves look perfect the way they’re arranged now.
> My blood pressure is still consistently that of a dead person’s, despite my dumping several tablespoons of salt into the water I boil for my pasta. Aside from chugging shakers of salt like Red Bulls, I’m not sure what else I should do. I don’t eat a lot of things that lend themselves to “hey! Put salt on me!”
> I really want some Red Bull now.
> This list is somewhat positive, but now I’m getting really down for whatever reason, so I’ll stop.
Today’s song: Spaceship by Puddle of Mudd
Golb
DUDE I just found out that I have rare fingerprints (I guess technically we all do, but that’s not what I mean).
I have one radial loop and nine arches (tented and plain). I always thought whorls were the rarest, but that’s probably because I don’t have any. I also envy the people with whorls, ‘cause they’re the coolest pattern, I think.
OKAY THAT’S ALL!
Today’s song: U Smile (Ambient) by Justin Bieber & Shamantis (yeah, you know it had to happen)
This Week’s Science Blog: Extraverts are Nosy
Social science counts for these, but only sometimes.
I found this study today in which they concluded that extraverts have higher activity in their brains when smelling pleasant odors than those who do not self-report being extraverts.
Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to get images of participants’ brains (particularly the regional cerebral blood flow, or rCBF) as they were exposed to pleasant and unpleasant olfactory stimuli. Following this, participants completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the results of which the researchers examined to see which participants were self-reported extraverts and which were not. The goal of the study was to see if there was an association between extraversion and rCBF, mainly because many psychologists feel that extraversion as it is currently defined is not the best way to describe exactly what it entails, as previous studies have shown that it more fundamentally represents a trait related to a bio-behavioral approach system that controls motivation.
So the study showed what they were looking for—higher extraversion scores were associated with greater activation in the amygdale and occipital cortex when exposed to pleasant odors. The authors also stated that the difference between how extraverts and introverts respond to such stimuli may also suggest that depression may be associated with decreased activation in certain parts of the brain (like the amygdale) when exposed to certain stimuli, since extraversion is negatively correlated with depression and other depressive disorders (I find this connection a bit fuzzy, but okay, sure).
And, you know, self-reported scores are always a little bit iffy, but whatev. I thought it was an interesting study.
Today’s song: Heather (Radio Edit) by Samin
Do physical comedians suffer from post-dramatic jest disorder?
Today was one of those “I have not the mental energy to pretend to be happy/get to the bus/care/get out of bed” days. It was just…ugh, it was a bad day.
But then I went to cracked.com and read these and I was freaking laughing for about half an hour.
So if you have a bad day today (or any other day), be sure to check these out.
That is all, I’m going to go curl up and die somewhere.
Today’s song: Remind Me (Someone Else’s Radio Remix) by Royksopp
Oh holy freaking CRAP
This blog features Justin Bieber. Why? Because as one commenter said, “[I] didn’t know it was possible to make Justin Bieber sound like Sigur Ros.”
This is honestly one of the best ambient Enya-esque songs I’ve ever heard, and the fact that it has been created by super-slowing a teenage pop-star’s voice is pretty damn fantastic. I laughed for like the first five minutes of this, but then I was drawn in.
Just listen to it. Go on, do it. Are you freaking out yet? Is your mind on a LETHARGIC BIEBER DRUG TRIP?!
Me too.
I may have to download this.
Today’s song: Kites by Geographer (another eargasmic song)
The First Floor of Koerner Library is the Scariest Place on the Planet
So for the first time today, I went down to the first floor of Koerner Library (the entrance is on the third floor and the majority of the books I ever check out are on the fourth and fifth floors). But thanks to the desire to read Dr. Zhivago, I had to go down instead of up this afternoon.
And this is all I have to say: that is the creepiest motherfucking floor of any library I’ve ever been in.
Libraries are usually, to me, quite comforting things—they inspire one to write, they inspire one to read. They’re fun to get lost in and wander around until you find the obscure little corners full of shelves of authors’ works that sit largely unread by the general public (the structural equation modeling section, anyone?). In short, they’re motivating, quiet, wonderful things that serve to quench intellectual wanderlust.
The first floor of Koerner was none of these. I just wanted to sprint to Pasternak’s little corner, snatch up my book, and get the hell out. There was no one down there, however, save maybe two people. So ignoring the not-so-subtle drone of the building air intake wall (which you shall see), I took a short little video of the place.
The creepy vibe on the video doesn’t even reach 10% of the level it is in real life. Seriously. It was scary as hell down there. That humming you hear when I’m close to the vent is much louder in real life, too, and permeates throughout the whole floor at a level my camera mic can apparently not pick up. Check it out:
Oh yeah, and those wheel things on the sides of the shelves swing the shelves outward so people can get to the journals inside. The second time I’m zooming in on the vid is where a wheel is turning, but you can’t see it, unfortunately.
Gah.
Today’s song: Show Me Love by Robyn
Eigenblogger 