TWSB: Who Let the Dogs Out? Boston Dynamics, Apparently
OH GOD THEY’RE BACK. And with their scariest rendition of “dog” robots yet.
Bigger.
Stronger.
Quieter.
Ready to STOMP YOUR SOUL!
“When fully developed the system will carry 400 lbs of payload on 20-mile missions in rough terrain. […] AlphaDog is designed to be over 10x quieter than BigDog.”
Every time those guys push or kick it I expected ROBOT RETALIATION! Then I saw it right itself and I felt the need to run. Fast.
Here’s an article that expresses a similar degree of “OMFGWE’REALLGOINGTODIE” as me.
30-Day Meme – Day 1: Your favorite song.
Hahaha, I think we all know my answer to this one. Sleepyhead, by Passion Pit, is what I take to be the epitome of musical awesomeness. Here are the reasons I like it:
1. It’s short. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been a fan of shorter songs over longer ones. Sleepyhead clocks in at just under three minutes. I think I tend to like shorter songs because they’re harder for me to get sick of.
2. Good tempo + good beat. Any song with a steady, unwavering time signature is always a winner for me. I don’t like songs that have a great momentum going on and then break things down by either losing the back beat, slowing down, or having the singer stop their singing to rap/talk/go to the bathroom. Sleepyhead stays the same through its duration. That makes me happy.
3. That FREAKING CHORUS. I admit that I didn’t automatically like Sleepyhead when I first downloaded it as an iTunes freebie back in February of 2009. I remember my first listen through and thinking “okay, this song has a nice beat, but there’s nothing too special about it.” Then it hit 1:21 and I fell in love with the chorus. I still love the chorus. I NEED the chorus. I would make sweet, sweet love 24/7 to the chorus.
I would also make sweet, sweet love to the following remixes, which heavily utilize warping the chorus into new and fantastically shocking eargasm-giving sex toys: Cillo, Jazzsteppa, Neo Tokyo.
Haha, okay, I’m done.
Of course someone’s always pushing the envelope. Otherwise it’s just stationery.
Stuff:
a. One can gauge my level of depression by how much of a disaster my apartment is. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being “life rules!” and 10 being “just let me curl up in a corner and die,” my apartment will remain immaculate from 1 to 9. At 10, you’ll be lucky to be able to see the floor.
b. Claudia + stringed instruments = disaster.
c. I need to update my CV.
d. Hume is a sex pot, but still not on Leibniz’ level.
e. I’m slowly going through all my old blogs and fixing the format so that it’s uniform throughout and replacing all the old broken pictures. The Great WordPress Migration screwed things up a bit. Tweaking things is fun.
f. This reminds me of my first year of college when I found it during finals week, haha.
Oh internet…
Where would we be without you?
Frivolity, thy name is YouTube.
Sorry these have been kinda crappy lately; not much going on until classes start.
Also, happy birthday, Matt!
TWSB: Death By Jupiter
Kind of a cop-out science blog entry, but what’re you going to do, eh? I haven’t had much time to actually research science articles.
Haha, Jupiter would eat us alive. Comments from others:
“Glad I’m not the only one that found Jupiter fucking terrifying.”
“if jupiter was that close we should all shit our pants in terror every morning”
“That was damn scary, the idea that if we were that close we would be sucked into Jupiter almost made me shit bricks.”
“Jupiter actually made my heart jump a bit.”
“Jupiter shows up- HOLY FUCK.”
“In Soviet Jupiter, Earth orbits you”
Zomg.
So…Toy Story 3.
I don’t know how many of you guys have seen it yet, but if you haven’t, I strongly recommend it. I really, really appreciate Pixar’s ability to keep the toys’ personalities and characters consistent across all three Toy Story movies, something that had to be difficult considering the fact that the trilogy spans 15 years.
I was expecting to be bawling my eyes out by the end of the movie. I wasn’t, surprisingly. To me, the ending was predictable, but in a totally good way. But there was one scene near the end that had me absolutely sobbing (I don’t know if this counts as a “spoiler” in any way; don’t watch if you haven’t seen the movie and want nothing revealed):
The fact that I had to pause the movie and remind myself that these are DIGITALLY ANIMATED TOYS AND ARE NOT ACTUALLY REAL LIVING BEINGS says something very strong about how well done the whole series is.
So yeah. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Toy Story 3. It’s not as funny as the original or the sequel, but that’s a good thing, I think. A perfect ending to the story.
I love how Windows gets overly defensive when you try and move the location of the calculator
If you ever get the chance to watch Food, Inc., do it. Though it’ll probably make you not want to eat anything ever again. I watched it this afternoon and was subsequently terrified of my pasta. I’m assuming Canadian farming and food industry policies aren’t much different than the ones in the US.
Also, as I was searching related YouTube clips, I came across this one:
Interesting content, eh?
That’s not what caught my attention, though. It was the particular quote at 1:20—“…so Keys did what any dedicated researcher would do: he threw out the data that didn’t fit and published his results.”
Yes, I know the narrator of the documentary says that with a kind of tongue-in-cheek intention, but it bothers me that atrocious “data cleaning” techniques like the one utilized by Keys have become so exposed in the media that this type of behavior is what is now expected when dealing with obtaining and reporting results in scientific literature. “Don’t trust that statistic, it’s probably made up.”
Lies, damn lies, and statistics, right?
Wrong! Statistics isn’t a deceitful, evil field. People who misuse stats give the profession its horrible reputation, not the methods themselves.
Maybe that’s what I’ll study for my philosophy MA…ethics in statistical research and reporting.
How awesome would that be?
TWSB: Portals, Portals, Everywhere and Not a Cake to Eat
Matt, This Week’s Science Blog is for you, ‘cause I know you really dig Portal.
Here on the Steam forums is a list of Portal physics answers (warning: not devoid of childish internet arguing and name-calling).
I like the crushing one (the second scenario). This stuff makes me want to play around with Garry’s Mod.
Speaking of Garry’s Mod…
Just a little tidbit of the internet to lighten your day. My day’s pretty much sucked, at least, so I hope yours is going better.
The Brave Dr. Freeman Goes to Xen
List of things that don’t mix:
Oil + water
Water + potassium
Bleach + ammonia
Wine + emotions
Scientology + common sense
And finally…
Half-Life + The Brave Little Toaster
Seriously, guys…weirdest dream I’ve ever had. There were headcrabs, there were talking blankets. At some point a vacuum consumed a bullsquid.
Life and the unconscious realm are weird.
Edit: holy Jesus:
Most accurate representation of that movie EVER.
Tonight, I bring you…THE INTERNET!
One of the worst songs to have stuck in your head when you’re trying to figure out the reasons behind the graph I showed you yesterday.
The Sun Run! I was totally there…somewhere, haha.
Did anyone else ever watch this cartoon when they were kids? My dad recorded the episodes onto blank tapes so I could watch them over and
over again.
This is pretty much everything that’s wrong with Facebook. Well, not everything, but a big portion of it.
Woosh!
This Week’s Science Blog: The Fast and the Fourier
http://www.sixtysymbols.com/index.html
Why I haven’t featured this as a TWSB yet, I don’t know.
But it’s happening now, so be happy!
Those frequenters of YouTube out in my readership (all two of you!) have probably come across one of the videos from the Sixty Symbols gang.
Run out of the University of Nottingham, the scientists behind Sixty Symbols seek to explain some of the coolest symbols used in physics and astronomy. They’ve got more than sixty symbols total right now because they’re working on a second set, so that’s even cooler.
Some of my favorites include:
– Planck Length
– Summation
– Star Classification
– Large Numbers
– Lambda (eigenvalues!!)
– Brazil Nut Effect
– Imaginary Numbers
– Kelvin (Kelvin needs more love in the temperature world)
Woo, science!
BBQ!
OH YEAH, I totally forgot to mention this yesterday: I found a place up here that’s freakishly similar to Moscow’s Mongolian BBQ. Not too surprising given the eclectic mosh of cultures in Vancouver, but still. I was excited.
It’s called the Great Han Mongolian BBQ, and within it has the same idea as Moscow’s BBQ. Find a seat, get a bowl, accumulate veggies, meat, noodles, and sauce, and let the chef cook it on the round hot grill.
The noodles are totally different and have a weird texture, but they’re actually really good.
Anyway. Just a recommendation of a place to acquire tasty BBQ if you’re ever in Vancouver.
Also, some nostalgia for you all:
I distinctly remember exchanging many an unintelligible “Aaron Burr!” with my friends in elementary school after we’d all seen this commercial. Fun times.
Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa transit system
The original Half-Life is, in my opinion, entirely underrated. I’m of the purist camp that says that the original is vastly superior to Half-Life 2 or even the earlier iterations of Blue Shift, Opposing Force, and Team Fortress Classic.
I mean hell—you get to be GORDON FREEMAN. I love Gordon Freeman. And the crowbar.
Fun fact: obviously, Half-Life is named after, well, the half-life of something. But the two other early iterations of the game are also named after scientific things. Opposing Force is named after Newton’s third law of motion; Blue Shift is named after the blueshift, a decrease in wavelength, opposite of a redshift. Snazzy, eh?
And for those poor souls who have yet to see this:
Apologies for the relatively crappy blog posts. My life has been a nightmare for the past few months and I’m basically just waiting for this phase of things to be over in a month and a half or so. Things will get better, I promise.
At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
TWSB: Shut Up, Sun Chips!
Those of you who dig SunChips have probably been aware for quite some time of the “issues” regarding their somewhat new compostable bag. Mainly, the fact that it’s ridiculously loud.
If you’re not—and hell, even if you are—check out this video and subsequent article on Gizmodo extolling the decibel assault the bag pumps out onto your eardrums. I love the fact that there’s a Facebook group about this.
Anyway, earlier this year PepsiCo (SunChips’ parent company) responded to the issue, creating a quieter yet still completely compostable bag. Check it out (and the science behind it):
Rock on to Mr. Rodgers and PepsiCo for making the effort to keep people buying the more eco-friendly packaging. My only question is this: why aren’t they implementing this echo-technology for all their chip packaging, not just SunChips?
BEWARE THE IDES OF MA—oh it’s April.
What in the hell happened to March? Last year it dragged on for about the length of the Jurassic period.
Anyway, here’s a bit of awesome for you: Census Bureau blog. Perhaps the best site on the whole intarwebs. I’m sorry I’m such a stats geek, I know no one else cares, but it’s my blog and MY BLOG LIKES STATS.
Speaking of my blog, my 5 year anniversary is coming up in exactly a month. Expect—guess what?—stats.
Yayzorz.
What was I going to say today?
Oh yeah. This is pretty great:
March-endizing
It’s graph time! I know nobody gives a crap, but it’s fun.
Genres graph:
Mean song length: 3:51
The Five Star
Baby I’m Yours (feat. Irfane) by Breakbot
Also this because it’s fantastic:
And this because I TOTALLY CALLED IT in my NaNo last year.
What I wrote:
“Twenty years ago Google Face was practically brand new, just coming out of beta and gaining users at an incredibly fast speed. I guess that’s what happens when you practically release a Google Maps version for people […] Google Face not only tracks faces but also attaches to them an individual’s personal information, such as their date of birth, their parents’ names, their social security number, things like that.”
What the article says:
“Google is working on a mobile application that would allow users to snap pictures of people’s faces in order to access their personal information […] Google’s Profiles product includes a user’s name, phone number and e-mail address. Google has not said what personal data might be displayed once a person is identified by its facial-recognition system.”
The future is terrifying. This is exactly why I’m afraid of Google.
Out of Africa (fresh shipment of Africa due in tomorrow)
Neeeeeew header! I’m not sure if I like it, though. I can’t tell if it goes well with the background/color scheme of my blog overall or if there’s something slightly off about it.
Meh.
I’m not feeling too great today, so instead of a science blog you get this:
I may have already posted this in the past but what’re you gonna do, eh? It’s funny. And we all remember Tiddy Bear.
And this one, too.
FFFFFFFFFFF
Oh goodness, this is fantastic. Crank that volume.
And happy birthday to Aaron!
Be still and know that I am DOG
Woah, dudes. Woah, woah, woah.
Awesome Breakbot song combined with ridiculously trippy music video? Life is good.
That is all.
Valentine’s Day Solar Flare Massacre
OH SHIT SOLAR FLARE TIME GUYS.
(Edit: The article posted in here was published tomorrow; I just included it because apparently a lot of people are a day behind on this)
http://www.universetoday.com/83392/sun-erupts-with-enormous-x2-solar-flare/
Yesterday the sun decided to wish the universe a belated “happy Valentine’s Day!” by throwing out one of the largest solar flares since 2006 (the year I graduated high school!).
I think our awesome star is starting to rev up for its solar symphony that’s coming up in the next two years. Better make good use of that Blackberry/iPhone/3G network while it’s still in operation; even this single flare is expected to cause minor issues over the next few days.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
Today was fiiiiine.
Kinda stressed, but more excited. Details at 11.
Such states of optimum balance between bliss and the desire to actually work on my research are rare; I will leave you with some internet debris to chew on instead.
If my love is your drug, GET TO REHAB
This is actually pretty fantastic.
I like how Canada needs to be explained.
Blog #[some really big number]
Haha, this is awesome.
It also led to about five hours on Wikipedia and miscellaneous other sites reading about Uranus. Uranus is my favorite planet.
Also there’s this little illustration, which I love ever so much because Uranus is on his side:
ALSO, Apollo 13 has to have one of the best soundtracks ever.
Okay, that’s all. Slow day.
If an emerald falls in a forest and is observed after time t, is it grue?
I hardly know what Minecraft is, but this song makes me very happy.
Anyway, because I’m ridiculously busy this week, here’s a mindless survey of mindlessness and joy.
Because it’s my blog and I want to.
Who have you inboxed in the last 24hours?
What the hell does “inboxed” mean? That sounds like some horrible frat hazing ritual. Like waterboarding, but with texting.
What do you think of the person you like?
HOT AS FUCK. I cuss because I mean it.
Do you hate anyone right now?
Nah.
Person you trust the most?
My mom, mainly ‘cause I don’t really trust anyone.
Last thing you sent in your text?
I was asking Kate where we were meeting for studying.
Do you think your funny?
I think I’m damn hilarious, but only to me.
Do you like more than one person?
I like a pair of gentlemen.
What’s the thing that you regret the most?
UBC, HOLY FREAKING CRAPSPASM
Do you prefer guys/girls to tell you the truth about how they feel about you or do you wanna find out from someone else?
Whatever keeps the drama to a minimum.
What do you hate the most?
Dr. Phil’s socks.
Seriously, I don’t know. I don’t hate anything.
Favourite number?
Eleven.
Nike or Addias?
Asics, mofos!
You are thinkin’ of a person right now aren’t you, who is it?
GET OUT OF MY HEAD
Who do you like?
Leibniz. Duh.
What do you like in a guy/girl?
Not being a jackass, not being a freaky cling—aside from that, it doesn’t matter.
List 15 facts about you. GO!
1. I don’t belong in this time period.
2. I have a violent name (the “claw” in Claudia and the “maul” in Mahler).
3. I know way too many things about the internet.
4. I’m not a big movie fan because I can practically have them memorized after watching them once or twice, and thus don’t see a big thrill in watching them again.
5. I’m more than halfway through my damn book list. Finally.
6. I still have nine more facts to go!
7. Muse held a concert up here back in April and I kick myself still for not going.
8. I have unhealthy relationships with pretty much everything.
9. I used to sing the Frosted Flakes “Hey Tony!” song incessantly. There are hours of video of this phenomenon.
10. I am very good at rewriting song lyrics on the spot. I think this is due to my mom playing a lot of Weird Al when I was a kid.
11. I wouldn’t mind being a pastry chef.
12. I also wouldn’t mind working on a fishing boat, though I’m sure that opinion would change if I were to experience it.
13. I was afraid of the letter “v” when I was a kid. Don’t even ask. I still don’t like words that start with that letter.
14. I can’t wait to see my Moscow friends!
15. I can’t wait to get the hell out of this MA program!
What makes you laugh?
Humorous things.
In 10 years what do you think you’ll be doing?
Ideally? Teaching “philosophy of statistics classes” with a side job at the Census Bureau. Most likely? With the way I operate, I’ll probably still be in school getting my nth degree.
How many times have you cried over the past week?
A metric crap-ton.
What did you do last night?
Freaked out.
Was last night good? Why?
See above.
What was the last thing you ate today?
Uh…Fritos?
Who is like a brother to you?
Aneel and I had a very brother-sister relationship there for awhile. Dork.
Someone who helped you out a lot?
My mom.
Are you mad at someone right now?
Nah.
Who was the last person you wanted to punch in the face, did you?
Hahahaha, this question scares me.
Are you single? If so, what happened to your last relationship?
Yes; I moved out of the country, he didn’t
Do you still like your ex?
All three of them, yes.
Love anyone at the moment?
Leibniz.
Do you care if people drink?
Nah.
How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?
Three. And a half. Ish.
What’s your background?
Who wants to know?
How tall are you?
GO TO HELL
Done answering questions?
CLAUDIA WANT MORE! CAPS LOCK ENGAGED!
Today’s song: The General Specific by Band of Horses
Miscellaneous Crap from Across the Internet
God, I love Fallout.
This is the fun you can have with the Sims. It’s fantastic. “What is it with these people constantly trying to molest John McCain?”
This is a triumph. Since I’ll be back in Moscow at the end of finals/for a few days after, I suggest we have a post-semester party in my basement and make these.
And pictures:
Woo!
Today’s song: Perfect Day by Susan Boyle
