Idealogian

Google

Now here's a funny one - search Google for "nobel peace prize winners overcoming adversity" and my site comes up first!

Last Supper

There's something eerie about reading the final meal requests of 310 Texas death row inmates. Lots of cheeseburgers, fried chicken and steak, but some that are slightly more interesting (for various reasons):

• One cup of hot tea (from tea bags) and six chocolate chip cookies
• Cool Whip and cherries
• Same meal that is served to all other offenders in the main dining room
• 1 bag of assorted Jolly Ranchers
• Chocolate birthday cake with "2/23/90" written on top, seven pink candles, one coconut, kiwi fruit juice, pineapple juice, one mango, grapes, lettuce, cottage cheese, peaches, one banana, one delicious apple, chef salad without meat and with thousand island dressing, fruit salad, cheese, and tomato slices
• 1 jar of dill pickles
• Justice, Equality, World Peace
• 1 apple, 1 orange, 1 banana, coconut, and peaches
• None. Last minute he decided to eat a hamburger at his Mother's request.
• Asked that final meal be provided to a homeless person
• God's saving grace, love, truth, peace and freedom
• Justice, Temperance, with Mercy
• Yogurt
• Lettuce and tomatoes
• Two boxes of frosted flakes and a pint of milk

Sort of thought-provoking, in a morbid way.

I have to wonder, though, about the three inmates who ordered diet soda.

Photo Album

My nephew just got his first real haircut, and I now have a duty, as his loyal uncle, to show you pictures - before, during and after.

My niece has decided to keep it long and curly.

Melody Medley

Let Them Sing It For You converts your typed-in text into a sound clip by stringing together bits and pieces of various songs.

More than just a fun distraction (and a great tool for "Name That Tune"), I think it could actually come in quite handy!

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Kurt Wenner creates incredible 3D street art (though I wonder what it all must look like from the other side, where the perspective would be entirely off).

I think it'd be almost appropriate to have a gateway to hell right in the middle of Times Square.

Finger Lickin' Good

Just in time for the holiday: Turkey & Gravy Soda. Unfortunately, it's already sold out.

Also from the same company, and still in stock: you can actually open up a big ol' can o'..., well, I'll let you see for yourself.

Reuven's Recipe corneR - Lentil Soup

After some complaints that my last recipe was maliciously unhealthy, I decided my next one would be for some hearty, healthy:

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried basil
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed or diced tomatoes
2 c. dry lentils
8 c. water
1/2 c. spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender.

2. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, oregano and basil; cook for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the lentils. (Make sure you've checked the lentils for "debris." I once tripled this recipe, got a little lazy, and found out the "hard" way that lentils sometimes contain rocks that very closely approximate the size, shape and color, though not the texture, of real lentils.)

4. Add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. (More for thicker soup; less for more watery soup. And don't forget to remove the bay leaf.)

5. When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it's slightly softened.

6. Stir in vinegar (I know it seems weird; trust me) and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Always a crowd pleaser, and great for the cold winter months. (Add some paprika for a nice "red, red pottage".)

Overkill

Received this morning:

From: Information Security
To: All [Employees]
Subject: Storing .MP3 and Other Media Files on [Firm] Computer Equipment

What has happened?

Since early 2002 various media industry groups, in particular the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), have been aggressively pursuing companies and individuals that have violated the copyright laws in music and other media. These prior actions have typically focused on issues where companies or individuals have overtly violated copyright in such materials i.e., by deliberate sharing. In recent cases, however, such actions have additionally focused on the mere presence of such material in corporate environments as being indicative of sharing whether or not this was the intent. Long before such industry groups' inquiries it was and remains the policy of the firm in all cases to respect the copyright of all materials.

How does this affect employees?

Storing, sharing, or any other means of loading, copying or distributing personally owned copyrighted material (e.g., music, video, etc.) on [firm] equipment is prohibited. Any such material must be deleted.

What happens next?

Support staff will scan the network and e-mail systems for evidence of inappropriate sharing or storing of such copyrighted material. These scans will be repeated on a regular basis. Employees will be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of copyright violation is discovered.

My response:

From: Reuven Weiser
To: Information Security

I have a question about the e-mail sent out today regarding storing of copyrighted material:

"Storing, sharing, or any other means of loading, copying or distributing personally owned copyrighted material (e.g., music, video, etc.) on [firm] equipment is prohibited. Any such material must be deleted."

Does that mean that if I have purchased a CD, I am not permitted to store a digital copy of it on my own hard drive at work? My understanding is that such an act would be perfectly within my legal rights, even according to the RIAA. Please clarify.

Thanks,
Reuven

Their reply:

From: Information Security
To: Reuven Weiser

Reuven,

Loading MP3's or any other personal media onto firm systems is prohibited. Although you own the CD's, your computer may act as a share point to distribute the material which we cannot easily control. Please delete the files. Your best bet is to use a standalone MP3 player not connected to the firm.

Please let me know if you have any further questions

Thanks
------

Obviously, they have a right to regulate the use of the equipment they purchase for us in any way they want to (though we are permitted to use our work computers for other forms of personal use - e-mail, web access, etc. And I already do use a standalone MP3 player). But it's still a bit unsettling to see that people have become so scared of the RIAA that they're banning practices that are perfectly legal and ethical in their own right.

Negotiating with Terrorists

This week's episode of "24" made significant reference to the United States government's policy to not negotiate with terrorists, regardless of the circumstances (for fear that, in responding to and rewarding the terrorists, the government will encourage further acts of terror). I was able to turn up this official reference, and it certainly seems to be a commonly assumed stance.

While I definitely understand the policy in general, shouldn't there be a little wiggle room here? Shouldn't it depend on the relative severity of the demands and the threats?

For example, what if Al Qaeda threatened to unleash smallpox in New York City, unless President Bush agreed to wear a gaudy, fluorescent-green tie to his next press conference?

What if they proved they had a nuclear bomb, and promised to hand it over if Vice President Cheney subjected himself to a brief but intense session of tickle torture?

Granted, once you start making any concessions, you have to decide where to draw the line. But I think we'd all agree that wherever that line may be, my examples have not crossed it.

The Bachelor

I've never watched ABC's "The Bachelor," nor would I ever consider doing so, but I do read the news, so I couldn't help but notice that this season's bachelor has made his choice - Californian Estella Gardinier.

I admit to being a tad curious as to what it takes to win such a "contest," so I went to ABC's site to find out just a bit more about her. Here are some choice excerpts:

Why would you want to try to find your husband on a TV show?
I wouldn't! However, have you seen Bob?

Why are you ready to get married now?
I'm starting to see wrinkles.

What are you most proud of?
My ability to walk fast while talking on a cell phone

Either she's making clever use of subtle, self-deprecating humor, or she's just about as shallow and vacuous as could possibly be imagined. Though I haven't seen the show, I'm inclined to doubt that it's the former.

By the way, is there anyone out there who has seen it and can tell us whether she can chew gum at the same time as well?

Disclaimer

My father pointed out that should anyone from work read my entry from last Wednesday, I might have a little bit of explaining to do. So I should probably take the time to note that many of the posts on this blog are fictional, or at least somewhat embellished for the sake of dramatic tension.

To the best of my knowledge, the U.N. has never passed a resolution regarding the Great Wall of China.

I've never read the Rikers Island Prisoner's Handbook.

And last Wednesday's meeting was not painfully boring.

While I'm at it, I'd also like to deny that this ever happened. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Irrational Exuberance

Women's rational thought goes out the window when shopping

German scientists say a woman's rational thought disappears when she goes shopping.

Researchers at the University of Munster in Germany said female shoppers simply lose the ability to think straight.

They measured the electrical activity in the part of the brain which deals with common sense and rational thought in female shoppers.

They discovered the part of the brain governing the emotions and pleasant feelings was in overdrive, says the Daily Record.

To be fair, though, their findings weren't limited to women:

The scientists also found men experience a similar loss of control when offered the chance to buy electrical gadgets, fast cars and computer games.

Which is the only rational explanation for why I just bought an iRiver iHP-120 (reviewed here as "the best hard drive portable on the market," beating out the iPod) when I already have a Nomad Jukebox 3. And let me say, it is sweet!

Spectacular Solar System

This "working model" of the solar system is a great example of the educational potential of computers. You just can't get the same sense of things from a poster or textbook.

While it doesn't seem to be 100% accurate (Earth's moon, for example, doesn't seem to actually be orbiting Earth), it's still somewhat awe-inspiring.

I also noticed that all orbits seem to be more or less on the same plane, except for that of Pluto. Google turned up some sites that confirm that, but none that I found explain why. Anyone know, or willing to do some more thorough research?

Underachiever

Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age

At age 25:

Orson Welles coscripted, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane.

By this age, Charles Chaplin had appeared in 35 films.

Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly alone across the Atlantic, thus winning a $25,000 prize.

French engineer Benoit Fourneyron invented the first waterwheel turbine.

Physician Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile. As he collapsed unconscious into the arms of his trainer, the loudspeaker announced, "The time was three..." The uproar of the fans drowned out the rest of the announcement.

Reminds me of a line I once heard from some comedian (referring to his own age):

It's quite humbling, and actually slightly depressing, to consider that by the time Mozart was my age, he was dead.

Escape from Conference Room B

Just came out of a painfully boring hour-and-a-half-long meeting.

Trying to plan an escape, I realized that, unfortunately, even gnawing off my own leg wouldn't have helped me get out. (Fortunately, I realized that before attempting to do so.)

A common wildlife escape tactic, playing dead, might have worked, as my co-workers probably would have sensed the awkwardness of the situation and left quietly. But it would have been difficult to explain my reappearance tomorrow, and certainly to claim my next paycheck.

I was left with no other option but to smile and nod (off).

Out of the Frying Pan...

Do-not-call list revives door-to-door sales

Now that the national do-not-call list makes it impossible to reach millions of potential customers, some marketing companies are returning to an old-fashioned alternative: door-to-door salespeople.

What evil have we unleashed upon society? I have enough trouble hanging up on a telemarketer. How am I ever going to close the door on some guy who's schlepped a vacuum cleaner to my front door?

Expectations

Expectations May Alter Outcomes Far More Than We Realize

"Expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy," says Robert Rosenthal, professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. "When teachers have been led to expect better intellectual performance from their students, they tend to get it. When coaches are led to expect better athletic performance from their athletes, they tend to get it. When behavioral researchers are led to expect a certain response from their research subjects, they tend to get it."

. . .

The power of expectations in the classroom is downright scary. In a typical experiment, elementary-school teachers were told that one group of kids had done extraordinarily well on a test that predicts intellectual "blooming," and so would make remarkable academic gains. The test seemed prescient: After a few months, the "bloomers" it identified had achieved statistically significant gains over the other students.

In reality, there was no such test. To the contrary: The kids the teachers thought were bloomers included students from every ability level as measured by a nonverbal intelligence test. So did the supposed nonbloomers. "The only difference was in the mind, and expectations, of the teacher," says Prof. Rosenthal. Yet those expectations produced clear academic differences.

Teachers said they viewed the bloomers as better adjusted, more affectionate and less in need of social approval. That leads to real differences in how teachers treated their students -- the covert communication. Teachers with high expectations for their students "teach [them] more and teach it more warmly," Prof. Rosenthal writes in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. And they "tend to give greater opportunities for responding and more differentiated feedback" to these students, rather than a pat, "That's great, Ben." The first two factors affect student performance the most.

Expectation effects are not confined to human expect-ees. In one set of studies, 12 experimenters were each given five rats. Six experimenters were told that their rats were of a genetic strain that learned like long-tailed geniuses; the other six were told that their rats were dolts. The experimenters then spent five days training their rats to run a maze.

From the first day, the rats identified as bright ran the maze better -- and kept getting better.

You can guess the punch line: all the rats belonged to the same strain. They differed only in the experimenters' expectations for them. In this case, the covert communication probably came from the way experimenters with "smart" rats acted: They felt more relaxed and enthusiastic as they worked with the rats, talked to them less (fewer outbursts of "you stupid rat!") and handled them more.

Thanks for the link, Dad!

Side note: I've decided that if I post only those items about which I presume to have some clever comment, I may miss out on some good stuff, so from now on, some links may be posted "as-is." Though I reserve the right to think up some clever comment a day later and post it then.

And indeed, five hours after the original posting:

Too bad this doesn't seem to work with computers. No matter how much I expect them to actually work, they always crash. Or perhaps I've just come to expect that.

Reuven's Recipe corneR - Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bars

A comment I made on a previous post gave me the idea of posting some recipes on the site. (Those who know me know that I am quite fond of baking - desserts in particular.) I'll start with what has come to be one of my specialties: Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bars. Easy, delicious and quite impressive-looking. I think the recipe originated with Nestles, though I can't find it there now. (There may be some copyright issues to consider as I post more, but I suppose I'll deal with that later.)

Without further ado:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup unsifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 12 oz. pkg. (2 cups) chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and sugar and beat until creamy.

3. Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Spread into a greased 13" by 9" baking pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

5. Put in oven for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and run knife through to marbleize.

6. Return to oven. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until dough in middle is beginning to slightly brown.

Let me know if you try it out - you won't regret it (unless you're highly allergic to peanuts and die a slow and painful death as soon as you open the peanut butter jar).

Update: This site states that posting recipes from somewhere else isn't a problem as long as I reword the instructions.

Google Deskbar

Google has come out with a very convenient tool - the Google Deskbar. It puts the power of Google (limited though it may be) in the bottom of your Windows screen. It's particularly useful for those of us who use browsers that aren't Internet Explorer and thus can't take advantage of the Google Toolbar, but considering its convenient placement and extra keyboard shortcuts, its probably worth a look from anybody.

Gender Genie

I am overwhelmingly male.

Slackers

5:30 PM. I waited eagerly with two co-workers for the elevator to arrive and start us on our respective journeys home. Eventually, the ding was heard and the doors opened. And out walked my manager's manager's manager, the Big Man on the Floor. We exchanged smiles, ours somewhat sheepish, and shuffled into the elevator.

After the doors had closed:

Co-Worker #1: Wow. That was bad timing.

Co-Worker #2 [only half-joking]: Do you think he keeps a list of all the slackers who leave "early?"
(The quotes are mine; around here, 5:30 really is early.)

Me: Why are we the slackers? He's the one who's only just getting in at 5:30!

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

New treatment works like 'liquid Drano for arteries'

Intravenous doses of a synthetic component of "good" cholesterol reduced artery disease in just six weeks in a small study with startlingly big implications for treating the nation's No. 1 killer.

"The concept is sort of liquid Drano for the coronary arteries," said Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist who led the study.

Sounds great.

But why settle for something that is simply like liquid Drano, when you can get something that actually is liquid Drano, at only $39.48 for a 12-pack? McDonald's could start offering Drano as a beverage option, to clear out all the damage done by that Big Mac you just ordered! ("You want clog remover with that?")

World Beard Championships - Update

Update to my earlier post: Wow! I wouldn't have stood a chance against this guy.

Then again, I'm not sure I'd want to.

But just in case, I can check out what I'm up against for the next competition at the National Beard Registry, which has a searchable database of all registered beards.

Fish Lips

Belgian saves fish with kiss of life

[Leo] Van Aert, 57, was hosting a party at his home near the Belgian port of Antwerp when his wife noticed the koi - a spotted Japanese carp - floating on the surface of the garden pond.

Van Aert said the 24-inch long fish was "acting funny," swimming and jumping frantically before stopping dead in the water.

He figured the koi had had a heart attack and took it out of the water to try to resuscitate it, giving it heart massages before joining lips with the fish.

"After 15 minutes, the fish started to move again so I put him in the pond...but when he fell over again I again applied mouth-to-mouth and heart massages," he said. "That's when the fish recovered."

I have four things to say about this:

1. Ugh!
2. Yuck!
3. Don't fish breathe through their gills anyway?
4. Blech!

Google

While there may be some who think Google is God, it's clearly a whole lot more fallible. I can understand that a search for "Is solitary confinement cruel and unusual punishment" brought one visitor to this post, and someone else reached this one by searching for "Finding Nemo Blanket," but the hit I got (from someone in Australia) for "China's Marriage etiquette" came from three unrelated posts.

60

I'm a big fan of the show 24, so I was very amused by Conan O'Brien's spin-off, 60. (Start from the bottom.) Can't say whether someone who doesn't watch the show would appreciate it as much, though.

Filmwise

Last week's answers are up.

This week I can get #1, #2 and #7. (Don't ask how I got that last one; I'm not sure myself.) Some of the others look familiar; any takers?

Intervention

When I was a kid, I used to wonder why the photographers for those nature shows never dropped the camera and came to the rescue of the poor zebra falling victim to the lion's chase. (This was long before I became a vegetarian.) A little maturity and some elementary-school biology taught me that that was the way things had to be; predator and prey are an important part of probably every ecosystem.

I'm still a little disturbed, however, by a story carried on CNN, ABC News and elsewhere. Well, it's not so much the story, which is horrible but not unusual, that first struck me. What caught my attention was CNN's photograph and caption:

An attorney is stunned after being shot, while the gunman walks away.

Photographs on other sites indicate that the event was captured on film from multiple angles, which means there were multiple film crews watching as a defenseless man tried to hide behind a tree and was shot several times, and as the gunman calmly walked away. It took a brave deputy to take him down:

David Katz, the reserve deputy, said Saturday he was around the corner when he heard five or six shots. The camera crews were all pointing at the man walking away and were whispering, "He's the shooter," Katz said.

"I took my jacket off, dropped my briefcase, turned around and figured that the only opportunity I would have is one chance to hit him hard and take him down to hopefully prevent him from shooting anyone else," Katz told NBC's "Today" show.

He said the man didn't say anything as he and some of the cameramen pinned him down.

So the crews did help, eventually. And granted, the guy did have a gun, which is a reasonably scary obstacle (though it doesn't seem to have actually sent anyone running for cover, so they couldn't have been all too scared). But as the shooter was walking away, couldn't someone have put down the camera and gone over to help the attorney? Apply some first aid? At least give him a tissue or something?! Or would that have compromised journalistic integrity by crossing the line between observer and observed?