Oh what a world...

Creepy

For Christmas I received many gift cards for Barnes and Noble. My extended family, meaning well, figured that now that I'm a graduate student I need more books, but (understandably) weren't going to try to navigate the waters to pick the right ones.

So I decided to purchase a couple books that I "should" have in my infant library: Squier and Davis's Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (the first really good examination of mounds and the first Smithsonian publication) as well as Noble's Stone Age Spear and Arrow points of the Midcontinental and Eastern United States...pretty much the standard text to begin with projectile point identification. Anyhow the details of what I'm buying are immaterial.

Upon using my Barnes and Noble giftcard to purchase some books I noticed something upon reading the card no.

xxxxxx427198325 (I don't want you all using the last 10 bucks on it)

So a card, purchased from a random store, plucked from the rack, ended in my DOB and age (April 27, 1983...25 years old)...

I'm not really a conspiracy theorist or a numerologist, but that's just creepy...

Should I be scared? I know I recently went off on some scathing commentary on our former president, but how long had this conspiracy been in place to track my book purchases through the proxy of a gift from my grandparents?

Twist and Shout

I am scared and confused. I woke up this morning and apparently I'd been tossing and turning uncomfortably in my sleep. This is what my bed looked like.


This alone isn't that confusing. Sure it looks like a twisted cocoon or hammock that is really uncomfortable. My back can attest to how uncomfortable it was. But upon closer inspection check out my ipod...now it gets weird.



Okay, how the hell did I manage to twist the ipod around until it was backwards in its case? Is that even possible to do without using my fingers? Somehow by thrashing and twisting and turning and writhing I accomplished something wholly unnatural. I have removed my ipod from its clearly possessed case, and will not return it until my ipod, case, and house are all properly exorcised.

Maltese Nerd

Adam Savage might have just become my favorite nerd out there. Of course Mythbusters has been one of my favorite shows for a while...

This is what happens when nerddom goes uncured, and monetary success enables it. And it is amazing.



Hmm, why does youtube no longer fit in my blog? I may have to change my layout to accommodate or something...

SCIENCE!

I somehow think that this video would prove more educational than many of the ones that I was forced to watch in my chemistry class. I had to watch this one with some crazy old guy in a scooter thing...the way he spoke it sounded like he was in someway involved with the Manhattan Project, but he didn't quite seem THAT old...

Anyhow, they were laughably bad, just him scootering around his lab playing with some weird wind up toys explaining how they were analogues for something or other...

This wins though.



It's great the way the Hydrogen bonds in the correct position on the Carbon, and the way water and lead are dancing together throughout the video: c-c-c-c-c-c-COMBO!

Who throws a shoe?

Dubya ducks shoe

On the one hand I find it hilarious, the least of what I feel our oh-so-esteemed president deserves for the clusterfuck that is Iraq is a couple of shoes hurled in his general direction.

On the other, despite my general hatred and disgust with the man, I think he dealt with it pretty spot on.

"Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers.

"It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it."

I understand that this was probably intended with a bit more vitriol than the dirty bird here in the states (given the cultural ramifications of showing someone the sole of your shoe), but the general concept is true. The man flipped W the bird, so to speak. And you know, the guy probably deserves a slap on the wrist fine (public disorder kind of a deal), or at least in the U.S. I have no idea how the Iraqi government plans to deal with this...

But speaking as an American good on him. Good on W for acknowledging how the process of voicing dissent works without resorting to "with us or against us" rhetoric.

On the other hand fuck W for ramming through all of these midnight executive orders. Watering down the status of endangered species to the point of near meaninglessness? Power plants next to parks (although that has been removed from the agenda), etc. etc. I know every president goes on an orgy of signing orders, executive orders, and pardons at the end of a lame duck term. I also know that executive orders are totally constitutional, and most of the time are just the general workings of making the executive branch function (and on rare occasions can be extraordinary like executive order 8802 or 9981, or truly terrible like executive order 9066).

So there you have it: A rare kudos for W. Another in a long line of "fuck yous" directed at him as well. A laugh and tip of the cap the the bottom of a shoe. A praise of and swipe at FDR. Truman just got a tip of the cap, I'm not feeling balanced enough to go find something to yell at him about. Oh. I know. How about not having a middle name, just a middle letter. "S" Not S. It wasn't short for anything, just "S" So screw you Harry Truman and your two name one letter shenanigans.

Whoops

Oh dear.

That's trouble with a "T" and twelve zeros after it.


...and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool. With 12 "o's" in it. So I guess pooooooooooool.