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sbyrne
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "sbyrne" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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05:48 pm
[Link] | My absentee ballot arrived today. (Actually, they may have made a mistake in sending me the full absentee ballot; I thought overseas voters could only vote in national elections. I'm mailing it in anyway.) I remember a Daily Show interview with Ralph Nader, where he mentioned that NJ was one of the easiest states to get on the ballot. Well, I wouldn't want the rest of you to miss out on the All Day Breakfast political party. There are no fewer than ten presidential candidates on the NJ ballot (three from Socialist-themed parties).
Most notable is Jeffrey Boss, who is running both for president under the "Vote Here" party and for Senate under the "Boss for Senate" party. ("Boss for Senate" just reminds me that I wish Bruce Springsteen was running. Seriously. The NJ Democrats had to pull Lautenberg out of retirement because they couldn't find anyone better. They're all corrupt.) Boss's website is an entertaining read (especially "Attempts on my Life"), yet some of his positions are more reasonable than others I've heard from mainstream political candidates.
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07:48 pm
[Link] |
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
Yesterday, I realized that my consumer confidence is inversely correlated to how well McCain is doing in the polls.
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04:55 pm
[Link] | As I was leaving my apartment this morning, my neighbors stepped out and asked me to turn on their TV for them. Explaining their request took awhile, especially as English isn't their native language, but they said since they're Jewish and it's Saturday, they're not allowed to "touch electricity".
"So you're allowed to watch TV, just not turn it on?" "Yes."
As politely as I could, I picked up their remote, turned on the TV, changed to the desired channel, and turned up the volume for them. "So every Saturday you have to get someone?" "Yeah." They were sheepishly embarrassed about needing to ask.
I completely understand abstaining from electricity for a day, but this seems ridiculously beside the point. And I feel slightly miffed that if it's so terrible for them to use the remote, why is it okay to implore me to sin instead? Then again, I'm glad I could help. (I'm also jealous, since their TV is nicer than mine.) I wonder if they'll have to wait until sundown before they can change the channel or turn it off.
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06:45 pm
[Link] | What do Led Zeppelin, an X Factor winner*, David Beckham, a bus, umbrellas, and a hedgerow have in common?
*analogous to American Idol
(I wanted to link to the answer, but I'll have to blame NBC instead. Their preposterous delay wouldn't be so bad if they hadn't also blocked all internet video content.)
Edit: So far, I can only find the opening animation to the London Olympic handover performance.
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09:22 pm
[Link] | http://www.photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/
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05:31 pm
[Link] | Physicists spooked by faster-than-light information transfer.
Quantum weirdness even stranger than previously thought.
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06:54 pm
[Link] | From our department's manager: Following the thefts of 5 or 6 liquid nitrogen pressure vessels from Hammersmith Campus I have bought a chain and lock so the vessel can be secured to the railing on the ramp outside.
For our liquid nitrogen deliveries, we need to bring the dewars outside to be refilled. Apparently, several of these have been stolen, presumably for their scrap metal value. These are the big, man-size dewar tanks! What the hell! The BBC has two recent reports of other liquid nitrogen dewar thefts, from Somerset and Edinburgh
Googling for "liquid nitrogen uk" produces the following dubious advice:
The first thing to know about this is that you can't buy convenient small containers of liquid nitrogen off the shelf in shops and store them at home. It doesn't work like that.
So, to get some liquid nitrogen, it's best to get some flasks and to look for places that already have huge quantities of liquid nitrogen being stored. The sorts of places that have liquid nitrogen are: hospitals, physics labs, mortuaries, strawberry freezing factories, cryonics facilities, and anywhere that's using superconducting magnets.
When you arrive at the place and ask nicely if they might spare some liquid nitrogen, your chances of being granted your request tend to be improved by:
1. Your reasons for requiring some liquid nitrogen.
2. The size of your flasks (bigger = better).
3. Your demonstrated safety-conscious knowledge.
4. Charm.
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11:04 pm
[Link] |
Sticker Shock
A new gourmet specialty foods store recently opened in the local mall. In addition to selling artisanal cheeses, meats, jams, and chocolates, they were also selling Oreos (chocolate flavoured sandwich biscuits) -- only Oreos, no other Nabisco or similar products. Furthermore, they were selling a regular 14 oz pack of Oreos for £5.25 (~$10.50). Double Stuf were £5.75 (~11.50). It's not as if the British revere Oreos as a delicacy, but they have been in short supply lately. I never expected to see a store scalping Oreos though.
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08:30 pm
[Link] | PhDComics pointed me towards JK Rowling's awesome Harvard Commencement Address. (I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but I've seen all the movies.) The graduates didn't seem to like it, but I never had any love for Harvard undergrads anyway.
"So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale."
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12:37 pm
[Link] | For a break from lamenting our declining currency, I submit the Eurovision Song Contest Basically, each European country does a song performance, and people from other countries call in to vote for their favorite. I haven't watched any of the performances, but from the clips I've seen, they are all laughably lame. (Ireland's entry involved a puppet turkey.) So at least America's coolness supremacy remains secure.
The quality of the performances is irrelevant anyway, since the countries always vote for the ones closest to them (i.e. Scandinavia votes for the other Scandinavian countries, the Baltic states stick together, etc.) It sort of irked me that Croatia and Serbia voted for Bosnia as their favorite, because the whole reason why they are separate countries is that they couldn't get along. We (the US) went to a lot of trouble to split them up! Russia won the contest, because all of the former Soviet countries (that wanted independence from Russia) voted for it. Ugh, whatever, I don't understand Europe.
Edit: It turns out that the Irish turkey puppet was submitted as a cynical joke, which therefore makes it cool.
Current Mood: still sans passport
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07:27 pm
[Link] | Oh how I hate April Fool's Day. I totally fell for this this morning. In my defense, I only had a quick glance of the more believable perspectives in the corner of my mirror as I was rushing to get ready for work.
Weirder discoveries happen all the time. Yesterday, I read a paper that blood stem cells respond to a circadian rhythm. (Here's the news summary.) What's a poor scientist to do?
Also, here are some cute videos of a rat using tools (Supporting Information movies).
Edit: Replaced crap BBC link with a YouTube one.
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07:02 pm
[Link] | As part of the nerve-wracking process of applying to extend my visa, I went to the passport photo place of the stars. Although, I can't imagine Angelina Jolie, Mick Jagger, or the Beatles climbing the two narrow urine-smelling flights of stairs to the small plain office with what must be the original signs from the 50's. The celebrities all look mussed, imperfect, and real -- like you see in those "Before they were famous" shows. For some reason, my eyebrows photographed really dark; I look like Groucho.
Also, while my original student visa cost $162, to apply for an extension requires a non-refundable £295 ($600) fee. And that's by mail. To do it in person costs £500.
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09:09 pm
[Link] | Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
Post them here for everyone to guess.
Italicize it when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
1. "I feel like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewie, and she's Ben Kenobi, and we're in that fucked-up bar!" Dogma - handofluke
2. "The man-poet who banged France's dark lady of philosophy. The parking lot crusader of truth... who turned his back on his other like a cold-blooded gangsta." I Heart Huckabee's
3. "'Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center.' Sounds charming."
"That's only a part of the island. There's a very, very nice beach. Terns nest there. There's beautiful... " Silence of the Lambs - arolfe
4. "Teddy, I think it's time for you to go to bed."
"I beg your pardon. Who are you?"
"I'm Woodrow Wilson. Go to bed!" Arsenic and Old Lace - wystel
5. "It's all right, that's in every contract. That's what they call a sanity clause." "You can't fool me! There ain't no Sanity Claus!" A Night at the Opera - kcr
6. "Bonjour, mesdames et monsiuers. Yesterday we have learned the correct way how to boil water. Today we will learn the correct way how to crack an egg. Voila! An egg. Now, an egg is not a stone; it is not made of wood, it is a living thing. It has a heart. So when we crack it, we must not torment it. We must be merciful and execute it quickly, like with the guillotine." Sabrina - deeb1384
7. "There once was a young woman from Ealing, / Who had a particular feeling. / She lay on her back, / And opened her crack, / And pissed all over the ceiling." Bridget Jones's Diary - wystel
8. "I might never have liked you. Point of fact, I despise you. But that doesn't suggest I don't respect you. Dying in our sleep is a luxury our kind is rarely afforded. My gift to you." Kill Bill Vol. 1 - ashwolf
9. "That's right, sir, you are the only person authorized to do so. And although I, uh, hate to judge before all the facts are in, it's beginning to look like, uh, General Ripper exceeded his authority." Dr. Strangelove - topologist
10. [In California] "It's so clean out here."
"That's because they don't throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows." Annie Hall
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07:39 pm
[Link] | In Sicko, when Michael Moore wants to see what a British hospital is like, he goes to the Hammersmith Hospital (around 53 min. in). I wonder why he chose this one. It's always weird to see a familiar place on TV; they look so much better with professional lighting.
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06:20 pm
[Link] | What's scary is that this wasn't some discount third-world airline, it was BA.
I take an average of one trans-Atlantic flight every two months.
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01:42 pm
[Link] | The Daily Show Supplement
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08:21 pm
[Link] | A Giuliani commercial aired among today's Sunday morning political shows. It's so exciting that New Jersey is no longer having its presidential primary last! And the commercial was off a Philadelphia TV channel too, so it's not just NYC spillover. I am thoroughly sick of Iowa. New Hampshire is still okay.
Also new this year, Abroad is getting delegates in the Democratic National Primary. Abroad has 11 votes compared to NJ's 127. (Guam gets 8 votes!?! What the hell?! 6 million Americans overseas and <200,000 in Guam.) Abroad voting is the same week as Super-Duper Tuesday. Democrats Abroad United Kingdom will hold a 'voting centre' in:
London Town Hall Meeting: Feb. 5 (Tues), 7-10pm Hmm, which would be better?
Happy New Year!
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09:13 pm
[Link] | Unique orca hunting technique documented
"Some Antarctic orcas use the cunning tactic of regularly hunting in packs and making waves to wash seals off floating ice, researchers have confirmed.
The behaviour was first seen in 1979, but at the time it was considered a one-time moment of orca ingenuity. Now, Ingrid Visser of the Orca Research Trust in New Zealand and her colleagues report on six further observations of the animals using group hunting behaviour to divide ice floes, push them into open water, and create waves to wash animals off them into their waiting jaws. The behaviour has been seen only along the Antarctic Peninsula and nowhere else in the world, they note, including other icy orca habitats in the Arctic and Antarctic. The report is published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, and a recent video of the behaviour is available on YouTube (with the key moment happening 2 minutes 40 seconds into the tape)."
And in case you haven't yet seen Underwater Bipedal Locomotion by Octopuses in Disguise, it's here.
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06:05 pm
[Link] | DH told me that the author of her favorite food blog, Chocolate and Zucchini, was coming to London as part of a book tour. The Books for Cooks bookstore that hosted the event has a kitchen where they often test recipes, and at this event they served several recipes from the book.
( Read more... )
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12:35 pm
[Link] | This year's Nobel prize in Medicine was awarded for developing knockout mouse technology.
The figure at the bottom is an excellent general description of what I've basically been doing since January 2004.
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