Thoughts

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Ovulation cycles and their relation to lap-dance tips

The 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes have been given out.  For those of you that don’t know: the Ig Nobel Prize is given for research that is done in various areas on subjects that are somewhat irrelevant.  Past winners included the scientific testing of the ‘five-second rule’ and for ‘exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don’t get headaches.’

Some of this year’s winning topics include:

ECONOMICS PRIZE. Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur and Brent Jordan of the University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that a professional lap dancer’s ovulatory cycle affects her tip earnings.

PEACE PRIZE. The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity. 

BIOLOGY PRIZE. Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert,, and  Michel Franc of Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, France for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat.

You can read all about those prizes and more by going here.

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Ovulation cycles and their relation to lap-dance tips

The 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes have been given out.  For those of you that don’t know: the Ig Nobel Prize is given for research that is done in various areas on subjects that are somewhat irrelevant.  Past winners included the scientific testing of the ‘five-second rule’ and for ‘exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don’t get headaches.’

Some of this year’s winning topics include:

ECONOMICS PRIZE. Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur and Brent Jordan of the University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that a professional lap dancer’s ovulatory cycle affects her tip earnings.

PEACE PRIZE. The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity. 

BIOLOGY PRIZE. Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert,, and  Michel Franc of Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, France for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat.

You can read all about those prizes and more by going here.

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Have a child? That’s pre-first date info, not post.

I went out on a date last night.  I had a fantastic time.  The date lasted from 7:30pm until 2am.  On top of that, the girl lives two-hours north and we met in the middle, West Palm Beach, so it was an hour drive for me.  I normally don’t date girls outside of my local area, but I had a feeling about this one.  That feeling was right.

Today, we spent the day text messaging back and forth, even setting up plans for next weekend.  There was a lull in the messaging during the afternoon and around 7:30p, I received a text from her telling me that she just sent me an email on MySpace.  I thought that was a little weird and kind of felt like she was going to tell me that she wasn’t that interested.  So, I got home and fired up my Mac.  Here’s what the email said:

“I know I mentioned my psycho roomate and my black lab but I failed to tell you about my two tropical fish and my son. I thought you knew but you never asked last night so I am guessing that this is news to you. I don’t hide things about myself so I wanted to be up front.”

She wants to be upfront?  Really?  I had always thought that upfront means that you tell people something at the beginning, not after the fact.  Not only that, but I had ASKED her if she had kids in some earlier emails (that I’ve subsequently copied and pasted back to her in my reply) and she joked that she had multiple kids from multiple dads (she’s quite the jokester, hence why I liked her).  However, she never mentioned that she had a son. Not once.

I’m seething right now.  Understand, this is not a judgment on her having a child.  This is a judgment on her not telling me about it until AFTER we went out.  I liked her, I really did.  But, she lied to me.  What else is she hiding? 

The old saying of ‘lucky in life, unlucky in love’ was invented for me.  I love the life I lead, every part of it. I just can’t find anyone to share it with.  And, as it turns out, when I do, they take a dump on my face.

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How living in my condo has made me stupider

For those of you that don’t know, I moved into a new condo in April of this year.  When I say new, I mean both to me and that it was newly constructed. Called ‘The Radius‘, it is located in the heart of downtown Hollywood, right on Young’s Circle.

When I first saw it, after I moved in, and even to this day, I find this building to be incredible.  It is impeccably maintained, offers a wealth of services and amenities, and is pet friendly, so I was able to keep my dog, Penny.  For all of that, however, there is one fatal flaw.  One flaw that I am afraid is making me stupider.  The included internet service is horrendous. 

 

Common in large condominiums such as this, a contract was signed to a provider who offered the services of TV, internet and phone in one package.  The company that was contracted in this case, MDU Communications, provides DirecTV and internet to each unit in the building, whether you want it or not.  Due to this contract, no other provider can be brought in to service individual units, regardless if the owner wants them or not.

Now, to be completely honest, I couldn’t care less who the provider is.  I’m not a big TV watcher and the difference between DirecTV and Comcast Cable is negligible.  All I was really concerned with was the internet. As you can imagine, I’m a bit of a power user.  Previously, I lived in a building that was built in 1960 and serviced by Comcast.  The average download speeds in that apartment was around 3mbps. That’s three-million bits per second.  In the condo I now live in, which was built in 2006, my average download speed is 750kpbs.  that’s 750 thousand bits per second.  Millions. Thousands.  How big of a difference is that?  At 3mbps, a movie rental from Apple is ready to watch in less than two minutes.  At 750kbps, that same movie rental takes over an hour before it’s ready to watch.  As you can imagine, anything more than surfing basic websites and sending email (without attachments) is painful.

And here’s the part where it’s making me stupider.  I used to wake up in the morning and, instead of reading a newspaper, get my news from the internet.  I could watch video clips, listen to interviews, see pictures of the latest events all in a fast and efficient manner (and no ink on my fingers).   Now, watching a webpage slowly load is the most maddening sight in the world. Forget video clips.  After waiting five minutes for it to start playing, it goes for 30 seconds then stops for another minute while it buffers.  

It’s because of this that I go into work unprepared to discuss the issues of the world with my colleagues. I’m asked if I’ve seen this or what’s my opinion on that, but I can only shake my head and say I haven’t seen it or I don’t know about it. It’s sad.

It’s funny, you don’t realize how much you lean on a fast connection to the internet to enhance your daily life.  It’s where we bank, shop, book travel, learn, laugh and even fall in love.  Try living with out it for eight months.  You’ll find, like I did, that a big part of your life is missing.

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Best News of the Week – Obama 52%, McSame 43%

There’s a new poll out, taken by the Washington Post and ABC News.  In it, 52% of those polled support Barack Obama, while 43% support John McCain.  I would suggest reading it, but here’s a few key points:

“The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.”

“As a point of comparison, neither of the last two Democratic nominees –John F. Kerry in 2004 or Al Gore in 2000 — recorded support above 50 percent in a pre-election poll by the Post and ABC News.”

And this about Palin:

“…reaction to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, has cooled somewhat. Overall, her unfavorable rating has gone up by 10 points in the past two weeks, from 28 percent to 38 percent.”

Even more importantly:

“Independents, key swing voters, now break for Obama, 53 percent to 39 percent, reversing a small lead for McCain after the Republican convention.”

Finally, the crux of what this election is going to be about because guess what, it ain’t getting any better:

“In the new poll, voters once again gave Obama higher marks than McCain when it comes to dealing with the economy, 53 percent to 39 percent. Two weeks ago, Obama’s edge on the question was a narrow five points, his lowest of the campaign. Among independents, Obama’s advantage on the economy — now 21 points — is greater than at any point in the campaign.”

Again, read the article and, even more importantly (if you can), DONATE.  Everything helps and the minimum donation is $15.  I donate every week.  I think we need a change. Don’t you?