Annals of Bad Science, Again

http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060629_money_happiness.html

A study found that men with incomes about $100,000/year spend less time watching TV than men with incomes below $20,000. They conclude that money does not cause happiness.

While it is an old saw that correlation is not causation, it's more interesting to catch cases where your independent and dependent variables are reversed. Isn't it far more reasonable to conclude that a higher incomes requires that you give up some of your leisure time? Given that this is an obvious fact?

A Wonderous Lightness of Being

I have given drafts of the thesis to my committee members.

I feel pretty durn good, I gotta say.

Thank You, Bad Science

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060626/ap_on_he_me/sexual_orientation

So, assuming that the article is accurate (which may not be the case), a study found that men with multiple older biological brothers were more likely to be homosexual. They also found that this did not apply to men with multiple older stepbrothers.

They then conclude that the effect must be biological, because the environment was the same.

Did they really just assume that families that have undergone divorce and remarriage are the same environment as families that stayed intact? (Yes, there are some divorces and remarriages that give multiple biological brothers, but that's going to be a minority.)

Samurai Physics

http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2006/6/15/4336

This is just geeky cool fun.

I Feel Special and Happy!

My advisor just walked from his office (admittedly, it's no ownly about 5 feet from mine) and said that I did a good job on something.

I'm dancing for joy here folks.

2 Wrong 4 Words

http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/18/usb-teddy-bear-holds-data-scares-children/

Just click the link. Unless you have kids in the room.

Examples of Great Timing

This week I am giving my thesis to my committee. What do you think I'm going to be doing today?

If you guessed moving into an office with less storage space and a smaller desk, you're right.

Except that I'm not, because someone's in the office.

I can only hope that I can bribe the informatics people into dropping my computer when they are moving it.

Huh? Revisited

I just turned it on Cartoon Network.

They had Rudolph and Goku teamed up in a claymation Christmas special. Rudolph was shooting lasers out of his nose. I'm scared for life.

Did I Need to Know This?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number

This article actually mentions incest among bees as ruining a mathematical proof.

No fair asking me if you needed to know this.

Set Your iPods

If you have that song from The Matrix: Revolutions that plays when Neo fights Agent Smith at the end, turn it on.

It's time to go meet with the committee member has told me that he won't be at my defense :-)

This Site Rocks!

www.cookingforengineers.com

It has, bar none, the absolute best format for recipies I have ever seen. In addition, today the featured gadget article is about the accuracy and precision of measuring cups and scales. It discusses linearity of springs.

What more could a geek want, except for a beautiful woman with an Italian accent to cook for?

(Found off of Lifehacker)

Huh?

So Steve Colbert just informed me that the Mavericks are in the finals.

This contradicts everything I've learned watching the sports scores as a kid. The Mavs...whoa.

Rebel Son

Right now, I'm going up against everything that my mom taught me.

I just threw away packing boxes. My entire childhood, I was taught to save my boxes.

And I broke free. I threw away the pyramid of packages that was taking up half of my living room. I have SPAAAACEEE!!!

Thus Is Life

I just got back from the ballet. Previously I would have taken off my suit and let Spartacus out to play. That won't happen again.

Somewhere midway through the second act it hit me why he had refused to leave his hammock the last couple of days--he couldn't. He might have been like that, unable to get to food or water, for days before I found him collapsed. I fed him treats, but that's not enough. It explains why he had lost so much weight. I should have noticed, not that that would have changed the ending.

I know I did the right thing, but I don't like it. I still feel like I've betrayed my friend.

I have a bottle of wine in my fridge. Years of country music have taught me that there is nothing I need at the bottom of it, but there is most certainly something useful.

Gotterratarung

I came home this morning to a very still, very quiet rat. I think he hurt is leg and couldn't get to food all day. I could do some for him, but I'm worried.

I very much think I will have an empty apartment soon. It's going to suck. Every aftertoon for the last few years he's been there, playing at my feet, chewing up my stuff, and being my pet. I don't know how, but somehow I think he knew when I was having a bad day. I remember him curling up by my face when I was crying after Anne left me, and I remember him just sitting on my lap when dad went to Iraq. Today he spent a long time sitting on my lap, trying to get the strength to eat a raisin. He finally did. He got water too. I've rearranged his cage, so that he can get to everything. Maybe he'll recover.

But I think that Spartacus will be in a better place soon.