The brain is amazing

I finally bumped into this again and put it here so it wouldn't get lost.

Check this out...

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg, the phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tought slpeling was ipmorantt! if tihs ha been petsod bfore, i dnot crae!

Cell phones and airplanes

I recently got thinking about how airlines ask passengers to turn off communication devices during takeoffs and landings.

Think about this. Is it because they emit UHF radio waves which might interfere with the airplane electronics? Yes. But here's the thing - so do all the cell phones, laptops, wireless hotspots, GPS, etc which people are using IN the airport or on the ground right below the airplane in question!

All of those those UHF radio waves are bombarding the airplane during takeoff and landing as well.

Did anybody think of that?

I don't really get it.

BigDog

Everyone interested in technology needs to watch the video below. It shows the incredible work done by a company called Boston Dynamics. They've created a robot with 4 legs and incredible intelligence.

Having taken a course in artificial intelligence in university, I have a great appreciation for the work these people have done to get this far.

Under the bus?

"He threw me under the bus!"

I find it really strange how this term is so popular these days. I hear it everywhere.

Where did it come from? Why is it a bus? Why not a truck or a train or even a car?

Wierd.

Fineliner trickery

I recently purchased some Polit Fileliner pens. Well, I guess they're actually very finely tipped markers. You know, the kind that eventually dry out.

Today I noticed that although the caps snap on tighly, there are 2 holes in the top of the each cap. They're also somewhat hidden which makes me think it's company trickery.

What would be the purpose of letting air in and out of the cap?

To dry them out more quickly so they sell more of them!

Fineliner trickery.

360/180

I saw a weight loss ad on TV today that boasted something to the effect of:

"you will get amazing results, your life will take a 360 degree turn!".

Somebody failed geometry.

Guitar Hero

I think Guitar Hero is killing the average persons respect for what it takes to play a musical instrument.

If you're good at Guitar Hero, you're not good at "playing guitar" or even "making music", you're good at matching colors and pressing buttons. Translate those skills to an actual guitar and you basically get nothing.

My only hope is that the game might actually inspire some people to pick up and learn how to play a real guitar. But that would take time and patience. Why would anyone want to do that when they can "play" Smoke On The Water as easy as 1-2-3 with Guitar Hero!

I guess Guitar Hero is to musicianship as McDonalds is to the culinary arts.

There's a great South Park episode anyone who feels the same way should watch called "Guitar Queer-o"

Fall/Autumn?

Why is Fall also referred to as Autumn?

Is there another word for Winter, Spring, or Summer?

Wider stance?

Ford advertizes the new F150 truck as having more stability since they've moved the shocks outside the frame (instead of inside). In fact they claim that it has "a wider stance".

But they didn't move the wheels.

How can it have a wider stance if they didn't move the wheels?

Sonic boom

When a vehicle exceeds the speed of sound, a sonic boom is produced. I wonder if the person *inside* the vehicle also hears the sonic boom?

Flushing

If water flushes counter clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere, what happens at the equator?

Breathable contact lenses?

How can a contact lens be touted as not only breathable, but "so brathable, that they are approved for overnight wear"? When you're asleep, aren't your eyes closed?

Walk-In Clinics

I went to a Walk-In Medical Clinic today for the first time in many years. I was very suprised to find that they were "all booked up". Isn't the sole purpose of a "Walk-In" to look after people as they come in (even if they have to wait)? If they are taking appointments, then it's just a doctor's office. Grr.

Pet names

I always find it strange when people give their pets names like Sara, David, and Kevin.

Even stranger is those same people then turn around and name their children things like Brady, Zack, and Cody.

PC gone too far

Ok as far as I'm concerned, this politically correctness thing has officially gone too far.

I just heard that there is a school (or school board) somewhere that has banned halloween costumes for kids because witch costumes offend the Wicca religion.

They offend real witches.

Shrinkage

Is it just me? I have t-shirts that started out "L" Large and are now rediculousy small. Why do some Large 100% cotton t-shirts srink so much more than others? I guess different types of cotton or different types of weaves shrink more than others.

Why can't there be standards so that Large is Large no matter who makes it? This is a pet peeve of mine. Every time I buy something I figure I only have about a 70% chance of wearing it after I wash it.

Water Cooler Refill

We have a water cooler where I work - as most places of employment do. Usually when an individual empties it's last contents they remove the empty jug and replace it with a full one.

What I find very strange is that I can go weeks without being the one with the job of refilling it. But then there are weeks where it feels like I'm the only one refilling it (almost every other day or so).

There must be some kind of huge formula that determines my probability of being the refiller at any given time. I wonder what that formula would look like? I'd like to see it.

Maybe a statistics major would like this idea for a thesis topic. There you go.

Smart Little Birds

I walk through the same parking lot every day to and from my car. I've often seen little birds flying around and landing on and near the front ends of cars. They seem to be doing this every day and I could never figure it out...

Until today. I finally saw one bird jump up onto a car grill and pluck off a nice juicy dead bug! So these little birds are using car grills as a food source - wow.

Smart little birds.

Hockey Timeclock

Why is it that only at the end of hockey games when the score is close that they consider adding time to the clock after a whistle. If the scorekeeper screwed up that stoppage in play, then chances are he screwed up many other stoppages in play. Right?

Radio and Sounds

I think sounds like sirens, honking horns, or anything else that normally alerts drivers should be illegal to put into radio commercials.

It's not too common, but when I hear sounds like that on the radio it freaks me out for a second (ok maybe my radio is too loud). But really, it could lead to accidents if some idiot hammered the brakes when a siren sounded on the radio.

Binary

There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

Realist

I am a realist.

A realist is an optimist with experience.

Staples

"Did you find everything you were looking for today?"

That is what they ask everybody at the Staples checkout desk. I've seen other stores ask the same thing as well.

If I didn't find everything I was looking for yet, why would I be standing in front of a checkout desk waiting to pay and leave the store?

I don't understand.

Golf

Golf. What a ridiculous sport. Why do I play it? I have no idea. Little tiny balls and sticks in a bag and lots of walking. All it takes is one crappy round to turn you off. But then again, all it takes is one birdie and you're back.

We who play golf are sick individuals.

Main Entry: mas·och·ism
Pronunciation: 'ma-s&-"ki-z&m, 'ma-z&- also 'mA-
Function: noun
1 : pleasure in being repeatedly humiliated and abused by sticks and balls : a taste for golf
- mas·och·ist /-kist/ noun
- mas·och·is·tic /"ma-s&-'kis-tik, "ma-z&- also "mA-/ adjective
- mas·och·is·ti·cal·ly /-'kis-ti-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Gym Towels

I don't get it. At the gym they have spray bottles and towels to wipe down the equipment when you are done with it. Sure the spray must be clean - probably some diluted anti-bacterial spray - but how about those towels? They are already damp with other people's sweaty post-wipe goo, so you're basically spraying on some nice anti-bacterial cleaner then wiping a dirty towel all over the spray. I think the result is an equally dirty (if not more dirty) surface left for the next person to mash themselves up against.

Progress

I love this quote...

"Less and less effort is spent on fixing original design flaws; more and more is spent on fixing flaws introduced by earlier fixes," wrote Brooks. "As time passes, the system becomes less and less well-ordered. Sooner or later the fixing ceases to gain any ground. Each forward step is matched by a backward one. Although in principle usable forever, the system has worn out as a base for progress."

- Frederick P. Brooks

Illusion

OOOOOoooo freaky! This is the best optical illusion I've ever seen.

Illusion