I'm developing a Twitter complex and there's very little, it appears, that I can do to remedy the situation.
"So tell us Eleanor," Dr. T.W.Itter, Psychiatrist, DFS (dropped follower specialist) would ask if consulted about the complex, "how did this come about?"
At which point I would answer Dr. T.W.Itter, "well y'see doc - a while back I decided to sign up to Twitter as a means to communicate with others who share my interests, and to pubicize my blogs. I have a lot of blogs, y'know! Seven in all!" I would answer him.
"Ahhhhh - seven blogs, Dr. T.W. Itter would comment, while scribbling notes madly on his pad. "So why do you have so many, anyway? Most people have one...two at the most."
"I'm a person with varied interests," I would state matter-of-factly while explaining my rationale for seven blogs. "One to rant and rave and comment about life...another for my art...and so on. But can we get back to the reason for this consultation?"
"Refresh my memory - why are you here?" Dr. T.W. Itter would ask.
"I'm dropping Twitter followers again," I would explain forlornly. "One minute people are following me and suddenly, they start dropping me like flies sprayed with Raid."
"Hmmm...do you think it's something that there's something wrong with your tweets, possibly?" he would or could ask, which is a logical conclusion.
"I doubt it. I mean, I'm beginning to think that I'm - you know - well...boring. People are intrigued to see what I'm all about and once they do, they decide my tweets aren't interesting."
"Hmmmm....dropped followers. Yes. This appears to be a common complaint among Twitter-ers but there could be another explanation," he would suggeset helpfully. "It could be a technical glitch for this occurrence. Have you tried contacting Twitter?"
"Not yet - that has happened in the past. A Twitter technical bug reversed my followers and followees. Lost quite a few as a result of that," I would elaborate.
"There is also another possibility worth considering," Doc. T.W. Itter would offer. "As much as this hurts me to have to alert you of a practice observed by some people, I feel I must. Some people may follow you just so you will follow them back and then when you do - they drop you and your Twitter count. That will be umpteen dollars. Pay the nurse on your way out."
"But doctor," I would protest, "this is not a way to boost my confidence! "what should and could I do to change this upsetting situation?"
"How would I know. I'm a pyschiatrist - not a Twitter expert," he might comment. "By the way - do you follow me? I'm on Twitter too. If you follow me, I'll follow you. A follower is a follower is a follower."
Everybody's got an angle!
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Monday, December 12, 2011
Upon having cell-phone-itis...in the bathroom?
Just finished posting or sharing a complaint on Facebook and decided to carry it over here. Actually, it's more of a rant. Again. Perhaps I've shared this before but since it is happening with increasing frequency, it's noteworthy and mentionable. What is really upsetting - at least to me - is that this practice is becoming more and more frequent and socially acceptable. Frequently, I get the urge to yell out: "she's on the toilet! Call back!"
Today while meandering through a mall in late afternoon and after one too many coffees, had to use a public bathroom. So I close the door behind me and as I'm getting ready to sit down, I hear a voice in the stall beside me (are female separations called stalls one wonders?) talking away animatedly. Wasn't sure whether the voice was addressing me so I listened for a minute and then realized by the topic that the person was on her cell phone while - well - peeing. This led me to wonder whether the conversation was a continuation of one that began prior to using the washroom, or perhaps she was on a long distance call but I digress. Surely the call could have continued after she had completed what she set out to do. It also can't be very hygeinic to use a cell phone while doing...whatever.
As a matter of fact and interest, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London, conducted a study that revealed a lot about people doing...whatever and cell phone usage. Researchers analyzed 780 swab samples with 390 from cell phones and the people who used them in twelve cities in the U.K. Findings revealed that 16% of both hands and phones were contaminated with E. coli, potentially illness-causing bacteria that is fecal in origin. Think about that the next time you absolutely have to discuss...whatever.
Related to this, I'm also amazed how people aren't afflicted with neck problems given their propensity to stare downward at cell phones and texted messages while walking. It would be interesting to know whether health professionals are dealing with afflictions related to these practices. Anybody know?
Still, it's perplexing as to the need to be connected all the time. Not in the bathroom, okay? We really don't want to know.
Today while meandering through a mall in late afternoon and after one too many coffees, had to use a public bathroom. So I close the door behind me and as I'm getting ready to sit down, I hear a voice in the stall beside me (are female separations called stalls one wonders?) talking away animatedly. Wasn't sure whether the voice was addressing me so I listened for a minute and then realized by the topic that the person was on her cell phone while - well - peeing. This led me to wonder whether the conversation was a continuation of one that began prior to using the washroom, or perhaps she was on a long distance call but I digress. Surely the call could have continued after she had completed what she set out to do. It also can't be very hygeinic to use a cell phone while doing...whatever.
As a matter of fact and interest, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London, conducted a study that revealed a lot about people doing...whatever and cell phone usage. Researchers analyzed 780 swab samples with 390 from cell phones and the people who used them in twelve cities in the U.K. Findings revealed that 16% of both hands and phones were contaminated with E. coli, potentially illness-causing bacteria that is fecal in origin. Think about that the next time you absolutely have to discuss...whatever.
Related to this, I'm also amazed how people aren't afflicted with neck problems given their propensity to stare downward at cell phones and texted messages while walking. It would be interesting to know whether health professionals are dealing with afflictions related to these practices. Anybody know?
Still, it's perplexing as to the need to be connected all the time. Not in the bathroom, okay? We really don't want to know.
Friday, February 25, 2011
I was right - mobile (phone) etiquette deteriorating
Aha! I'm not the only one to complain about bad manners when using cell phones and other devices!
Recently, I shared my irritation - okay...ranted - about people using their cell phones and/or other communication devices where they shouldn't be, like movie theatres or bathrooms while urinating (absolutely true, by the way).
According to a new poll by computer innovation company Intel, 91% of U.S. adults questioned expressed the view that they have witnessed bad manners when and where using their communication devices. What's more, three quarters think mobile manners in general have decreased in the past year.
Uh-huh...
Of the 2,000 adults polled, most U.S. adults wishes people would practice better mobile etiquette and the lack of cellphone manners annoying. Me too. Twenty percent admitted to poor cell phone etiquette themselves.
Furthermore, almost 75% opined that the lack of mobile manners has created a new form of public rage and 65 percent admitted they became angry around people who misused mobile devices. Like when you're in a movie theatre trying to focus on the plot and story line and being subjected to the ringing of a cell phone. As an aside, this week a person carried on a minute (at least) conversation in a movie theatre before turning it off. I mean - c'mon - surely people can live without their damn cell phone for a couple of hours, or responding to a text message.
Using a phone while driving, talking on a cell phone loudly in a public place like a coffee shop where people really aren't interested in strangers social plans for the evening, and walking down the street while texting or talking on the phone were seen as most annoying. Uh-huh. Speaking of bad etiquette, a personal irritant is people who text during a one-on-one conversation or in a small group social occasion. The eyes of the person doing the texting are glued to the small hand-hand device screen. It's enough to give a person a complex. i.e. is the coversation boring. But I digress.
People reported seeing, on average five mobile offenses every day, according to the poll. Nearly a quarter said they had even seen someone using a laptop while driving, and one in five said they checked their mobile devices before getting out of bed in the morning. Checking devices while still in bed? Get a life people!
Next thing we'll hear about is an option for pet owners to communicate with their non-human friends, or maybe it's already on the market?
Recently, I shared my irritation - okay...ranted - about people using their cell phones and/or other communication devices where they shouldn't be, like movie theatres or bathrooms while urinating (absolutely true, by the way).
According to a new poll by computer innovation company Intel, 91% of U.S. adults questioned expressed the view that they have witnessed bad manners when and where using their communication devices. What's more, three quarters think mobile manners in general have decreased in the past year.
Uh-huh...
Of the 2,000 adults polled, most U.S. adults wishes people would practice better mobile etiquette and the lack of cellphone manners annoying. Me too. Twenty percent admitted to poor cell phone etiquette themselves.
Furthermore, almost 75% opined that the lack of mobile manners has created a new form of public rage and 65 percent admitted they became angry around people who misused mobile devices. Like when you're in a movie theatre trying to focus on the plot and story line and being subjected to the ringing of a cell phone. As an aside, this week a person carried on a minute (at least) conversation in a movie theatre before turning it off. I mean - c'mon - surely people can live without their damn cell phone for a couple of hours, or responding to a text message.
Using a phone while driving, talking on a cell phone loudly in a public place like a coffee shop where people really aren't interested in strangers social plans for the evening, and walking down the street while texting or talking on the phone were seen as most annoying. Uh-huh. Speaking of bad etiquette, a personal irritant is people who text during a one-on-one conversation or in a small group social occasion. The eyes of the person doing the texting are glued to the small hand-hand device screen. It's enough to give a person a complex. i.e. is the coversation boring. But I digress.
People reported seeing, on average five mobile offenses every day, according to the poll. Nearly a quarter said they had even seen someone using a laptop while driving, and one in five said they checked their mobile devices before getting out of bed in the morning. Checking devices while still in bed? Get a life people!
Next thing we'll hear about is an option for pet owners to communicate with their non-human friends, or maybe it's already on the market?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Twitter complex
"Twitter is a communication service that enables you to quickly send out short messages about what you are doing to a network of people."
(Wiki Answers.com)
Like many people around the world, I'm a twit. Let me clarify this statement: I'm actually a Tweeter who uses Twitter to update my status. Doesn't everyone or at least those with extra time on their hands who want to be socially relevant.
My official status in case anyone reading this is interested is 158 followers or people who find me interesting enough to want to keep up with my thoughts or impressions and related matter. In addition I'm following 179tweeters some of whom I'm genuinely interested and others because - well - they follow me so I feel it's only right that I follow them back. No insult intended, by the way. Kind of pathetic when you think about it.
There have been a few issues with Twitter, which have been brought to the attention of their techies, for example, they have reversed my followers and following count.
After searching the Twitter site extensively for an e-mail to make them aware of this error, I finally came accross a usable link. The first Twitter techie was helpful and made the necessary changes after a while to correct the reversal, however subsequent techies were indifferent to my plight. Their solution is to direct tweeters to their forum where everyone can complain about their various issues and there are lots and lots of issues.
The negative aspects to being a tweeter is that a follower can drop you at any time. In conducting my daily check-in a while back, I discovered to my chagrin that 3 people had dropped me for whatever reason. That's the thing: you just never know why a person stops following you! So you speculate that perhaps my tweets are boring, or perhaps it's a result of declining the offer to follow them... It's enough to give a person a tweeter complex! The challenge is to make an enticing statement within 140 bytes or extra words end up in the dastardly red letters minus sign.
There is some positive news. Last week a few more people were added to the followers column but how long they will stay is anyone's guess. I'm always betwixt and between tweeters.
Update: once again it appears that Twitter has not recognized a new follower today by not recognizing it in my numbers. ~ sigh ~
(Wiki Answers.com)
Like many people around the world, I'm a twit. Let me clarify this statement: I'm actually a Tweeter who uses Twitter to update my status. Doesn't everyone or at least those with extra time on their hands who want to be socially relevant.
My official status in case anyone reading this is interested is 158 followers or people who find me interesting enough to want to keep up with my thoughts or impressions and related matter. In addition I'm following 179tweeters some of whom I'm genuinely interested and others because - well - they follow me so I feel it's only right that I follow them back. No insult intended, by the way. Kind of pathetic when you think about it.
There have been a few issues with Twitter, which have been brought to the attention of their techies, for example, they have reversed my followers and following count.
After searching the Twitter site extensively for an e-mail to make them aware of this error, I finally came accross a usable link. The first Twitter techie was helpful and made the necessary changes after a while to correct the reversal, however subsequent techies were indifferent to my plight. Their solution is to direct tweeters to their forum where everyone can complain about their various issues and there are lots and lots of issues.
The negative aspects to being a tweeter is that a follower can drop you at any time. In conducting my daily check-in a while back, I discovered to my chagrin that 3 people had dropped me for whatever reason. That's the thing: you just never know why a person stops following you! So you speculate that perhaps my tweets are boring, or perhaps it's a result of declining the offer to follow them... It's enough to give a person a tweeter complex! The challenge is to make an enticing statement within 140 bytes or extra words end up in the dastardly red letters minus sign.
There is some positive news. Last week a few more people were added to the followers column but how long they will stay is anyone's guess. I'm always betwixt and between tweeters.
Update: once again it appears that Twitter has not recognized a new follower today by not recognizing it in my numbers. ~ sigh ~
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Aliens are among us - at least 20% of people believe
The topic of aliens - the interplanetary visitors kind - with friends and aquaintances tends to be a conversation ender. For the record I'm of the belief that given the enormity of our solar system, there have to be other life forms. Maybe not humans as we know them...perhaps they take the form of - I dunno - worms or ants or crows (crows are very smart so they could be one of "them") but I digress.
I'm not the only one to believe the existence of aliens since a Reuters Ipsos global survey of 23,000 adults in 22 countries reveal that more than 40% of people in India and China believe that aliens are here on planet earth disguised as humans (or ants...or...), while those least likely to believe this possibility live in Belgium, Sweden and Netherland (8%). However, the majority of people polled or 80% don't believe they're living amongst us.
A while back while discussing this topic with an aquaintance, she swore me to secrecy and shared her belief that she may have come accross an alien while shopping at the supermarket. The supermarket no less! Anyway, the reason for this belief is that this particular female's ('it' was in female form) skin was a definite shade of grey that sort-of glittered plus she had a protruding forehead. She didn't approach the woman/alien because, I mean, what would you say? 'Hi there - you look like an alien'?
The survey also disclosed that more men than women — 22 percent vs 17 percent — believe that alien beings are on earth. The majority of the believers are under 35 years of age.
Personally, I'm open to the possibility that aliens are amongst us. Just keep your eyes on the crows - they know.
I'm not the only one to believe the existence of aliens since a Reuters Ipsos global survey of 23,000 adults in 22 countries reveal that more than 40% of people in India and China believe that aliens are here on planet earth disguised as humans (or ants...or...), while those least likely to believe this possibility live in Belgium, Sweden and Netherland (8%). However, the majority of people polled or 80% don't believe they're living amongst us.
A while back while discussing this topic with an aquaintance, she swore me to secrecy and shared her belief that she may have come accross an alien while shopping at the supermarket. The supermarket no less! Anyway, the reason for this belief is that this particular female's ('it' was in female form) skin was a definite shade of grey that sort-of glittered plus she had a protruding forehead. She didn't approach the woman/alien because, I mean, what would you say? 'Hi there - you look like an alien'?
The survey also disclosed that more men than women — 22 percent vs 17 percent — believe that alien beings are on earth. The majority of the believers are under 35 years of age.
Personally, I'm open to the possibility that aliens are amongst us. Just keep your eyes on the crows - they know.
Friday, March 06, 2009
I'm twitter-ing and I'm not a bird!
Can't exactly recall the reason behind my decision but the other day I decided to Twitter. It's especially puzzling since I'm also a Facebook-er or should that be Facebook-ee? Seems that Twitter is the place to be now according to the people in the know i.e. friends, cyber aquaintances, media types.
Comparatively-speaking, there is no distinguishable differences in my eyes other than Twitter is relegated to a one sentence statement: "What Are You Doing?" That's it! Nothing else! On the other hand Facebook asks the same question of members but recognized "friends" can join and allowing for comments. For example:
"Eleanor is feeling blechy today."
Sympathetic accepted "friends" could, if they felt like it, jump in with co-commiserations like, "hope you feel better soon!" or "tough!" and then a dialogue could be initiated until the subject is exhausted.
According to Twitter's raison d'etre, "Twitter asks one question, "What are you doing?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web."
A word limitation of 140 characters is really asking a lot of a writer since we love to embrace words besides which, how could one properly express oneself in 140 characters? Then again there's the issue of how many people really want to know what anyone is doing at any given moment?
"I'm now loading the dishwasher," I could communicate to anyone who cares. Or "sitting in the dentist's office reading five year old magazines and waiting to have my yearly examination and my teeth cleaned." Wait a minute - is that more than 140 characters? See what I mean?
Somehow I now have John Mayer on my Twitter home page. Not that I'm objecting or anything because John is very easy on the eyes and I absolutely love his song, "Waiting On the World to Change." In addition I'm also subscribed to Wil Wheaton - remember him as Ensign Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which I still love btw - and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. Still, it is curious how these three were selected for me.
Be that as it may, I'm listed somewhere in the Twitter directory if you happen to seek me out. However, darned if I can come up with anybody who would want to know what I'm doing within 140 characters and therefore have not approached or listed any friends.
Yet.
However, I'm atwitter if anyone asks.
Comparatively-speaking, there is no distinguishable differences in my eyes other than Twitter is relegated to a one sentence statement: "What Are You Doing?" That's it! Nothing else! On the other hand Facebook asks the same question of members but recognized "friends" can join and allowing for comments. For example:
"Eleanor is feeling blechy today."
Sympathetic accepted "friends" could, if they felt like it, jump in with co-commiserations like, "hope you feel better soon!" or "tough!" and then a dialogue could be initiated until the subject is exhausted.
According to Twitter's raison d'etre, "Twitter asks one question, "What are you doing?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web."
A word limitation of 140 characters is really asking a lot of a writer since we love to embrace words besides which, how could one properly express oneself in 140 characters? Then again there's the issue of how many people really want to know what anyone is doing at any given moment?
"I'm now loading the dishwasher," I could communicate to anyone who cares. Or "sitting in the dentist's office reading five year old magazines and waiting to have my yearly examination and my teeth cleaned." Wait a minute - is that more than 140 characters? See what I mean?
Somehow I now have John Mayer on my Twitter home page. Not that I'm objecting or anything because John is very easy on the eyes and I absolutely love his song, "Waiting On the World to Change." In addition I'm also subscribed to Wil Wheaton - remember him as Ensign Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which I still love btw - and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. Still, it is curious how these three were selected for me.
Be that as it may, I'm listed somewhere in the Twitter directory if you happen to seek me out. However, darned if I can come up with anybody who would want to know what I'm doing within 140 characters and therefore have not approached or listed any friends.
Yet.
However, I'm atwitter if anyone asks.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Whoopee! The sounds of flatulence
I've frequently questioned some members of the scientific community in as far as their knack to acquire funding for - um - unusual experiments or studies. This one stinks - really!
An acoustics professor from the University of Salford is asking the public to rate the funniness of whoopee cushion sounds in order to advance human understanding of faux flatulence - and raise money for Comic Relief.
The professor, Trevor Cox, designed a website that features twenty whoopee cushion sounds. Each visitor hears six of these sounds, and is asked to grade them accord to the extent they make them laugh.
Okaaaaaay... Personally, I don't find flatulence amusing but then perhaps I'm in the minority.
I mean - c'mon - gimme a break! Like - who cares and more to the point, how much did the good professor receive for his study.
Here is the site the professor set up to listen to the sounds first-hand and if you feel so moved, vote: http://www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/831
Why anyone would be interested in studying this subject is also a good question.
An acoustics professor from the University of Salford is asking the public to rate the funniness of whoopee cushion sounds in order to advance human understanding of faux flatulence - and raise money for Comic Relief.
The professor, Trevor Cox, designed a website that features twenty whoopee cushion sounds. Each visitor hears six of these sounds, and is asked to grade them accord to the extent they make them laugh.
Okaaaaaay... Personally, I don't find flatulence amusing but then perhaps I'm in the minority.
I mean - c'mon - gimme a break! Like - who cares and more to the point, how much did the good professor receive for his study.
Here is the site the professor set up to listen to the sounds first-hand and if you feel so moved, vote: http://www.salford.ac.uk/news/details/831
Why anyone would be interested in studying this subject is also a good question.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Experts study the line up...as in queuing
There are all types of queuing or lining up but it's doubtful that people would assess it as enjoyable...or interesting. For many of us having to wait in a line, for example, at the supermarket or buying fast food, is not a pleasurable experience especially when interlopers attempt to squeeze in front. But I digress.
Unbeknownst to most of us, lining up is now a subject of a study by experts in the field of queuing psychology.
Say what? Yup. Actually, one wonders what type of background would be required to be a line-up-psychologist.
A study is currently being done focusing on the psychology of the reaction of your ordinary people to lining up...and waiting for whatever.
The director of the Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals at MIT, Richard Larson, believes that their findings may not always reduce wait times, but they can cut frustration and make people feel better . He should know having researched queuing psychology for more than twenty years.
Eliminating empty time, for example, makes waits seem shorter, Larson found in his research.
Visitors lining up for attractions at theme parks see this principle at work with queues that often use clever design and technology to make the line itself entertaining.
Read more about Larson's findings and theories here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/20/queuing.psychology/index.html
Personally, "line-jumpers" are the worst offenders but here's some basic queuing pschology 101:
- Occupied time feels shorter than unoccupied time
- People want to get started
- Anxiety makes waits seem longer
- Uncertain waits are longer than known, finite waits
Unexplained waits are longer than explained waits
- Unfair waits are longer than equitable waits
- The more valuable the service, the longer the customer will wait
- Solo waits feel longer than group waits
(Source: David H. Maister, "The Psychology of Waiting Lines")
Go figure that waiting in line is now considered a science!
Unbeknownst to most of us, lining up is now a subject of a study by experts in the field of queuing psychology.
Say what? Yup. Actually, one wonders what type of background would be required to be a line-up-psychologist.
A study is currently being done focusing on the psychology of the reaction of your ordinary people to lining up...and waiting for whatever.
The director of the Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals at MIT, Richard Larson, believes that their findings may not always reduce wait times, but they can cut frustration and make people feel better . He should know having researched queuing psychology for more than twenty years.
Eliminating empty time, for example, makes waits seem shorter, Larson found in his research.
Visitors lining up for attractions at theme parks see this principle at work with queues that often use clever design and technology to make the line itself entertaining.
Read more about Larson's findings and theories here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/20/queuing.psychology/index.html
Personally, "line-jumpers" are the worst offenders but here's some basic queuing pschology 101:
- Occupied time feels shorter than unoccupied time
- People want to get started
- Anxiety makes waits seem longer
- Uncertain waits are longer than known, finite waits
Unexplained waits are longer than explained waits
- Unfair waits are longer than equitable waits
- The more valuable the service, the longer the customer will wait
- Solo waits feel longer than group waits
(Source: David H. Maister, "The Psychology of Waiting Lines")
Go figure that waiting in line is now considered a science!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Zoo claims poo is gold
For most pet owners, pet feces more commonly known as pet poo, is a by-product of sharing their lives with non-humans. They poop. You scoop and then it's into the trash can, however, the Toronto Zoo has devised a plan whereby they are turning animal feces into fuel.
Talk about recycling.
The zoo currently shares its premises with 5,000 residents and it is proposing to erect a plant to convert animal and food waste into biogas using bacteria.
According to Wikipedia, Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas originates from biogenic material and is a type of biofuel. Now you know.
"These bacteria are going to have a feast on this stuff, this feces that would have gone to waste and put the methane straight up into the air, and they're going to produce more methane quickly that we can use to shove through a generator and produce electricity," said zoo curator David Ireland. "This stuff is gold."
Read the rest of the story here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/081115/canada/toronto_zoo_poo_1
What's more the the zoo believes it could produce enough fuel to cover its own needs as well as those of a few thousand homes. They estimate the cost of building a facility to convert the poo into fuel would be $13 million to building, it could (always that darn word!) make money back in 5 years selling the end result being electricity.
Energy produced from cow manure at an Ottawa Valley dairy farm won a $50,000 innovation award from the Ontario government last year.
So far there have been no news reports of studies concerning the conversion of cat or dog poo being converted into fuel. Now that would be innovative!
Talk about recycling.
The zoo currently shares its premises with 5,000 residents and it is proposing to erect a plant to convert animal and food waste into biogas using bacteria.
According to Wikipedia, Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas originates from biogenic material and is a type of biofuel. Now you know.
"These bacteria are going to have a feast on this stuff, this feces that would have gone to waste and put the methane straight up into the air, and they're going to produce more methane quickly that we can use to shove through a generator and produce electricity," said zoo curator David Ireland. "This stuff is gold."
Read the rest of the story here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/081115/canada/toronto_zoo_poo_1
What's more the the zoo believes it could produce enough fuel to cover its own needs as well as those of a few thousand homes. They estimate the cost of building a facility to convert the poo into fuel would be $13 million to building, it could (always that darn word!) make money back in 5 years selling the end result being electricity.
Energy produced from cow manure at an Ottawa Valley dairy farm won a $50,000 innovation award from the Ontario government last year.
So far there have been no news reports of studies concerning the conversion of cat or dog poo being converted into fuel. Now that would be innovative!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Hello? Anybody out there in space?
One wonders what aliens or non-human species living far (far) away in other galaxies (humming "Star Wars" theme) think about we humanoids of planet earth. Obviously, if they have the ability to study us from great distances, it would indicate a superior intelligence or at the very least they are far more advanced scientifically and technologically-speaking. Why they would be interested in us in the first place is another question worth pondering.
Being the curious earthlings that we are, we'd like to know who, if anybody, is "out there." To this end, messages were recently sent to a planet twenty light years from Earth in the hope that they will reach intelligent alien life. A giant radio-telescope in Ukraine transmitted 501 photos, drawings and text messages that usually track asteroids. The target is any planet deemed capable of supporting life.
Replies, which were compiled by Bebo, a social networking website, invited the network's 12 million users in the form of a competition, to send messages they would like extra-terrestrials to receive. Perhaps somebody - pure speculation on my part - sent the message: 'ET - phone home." Then again, maybe they didn't...
According to reports topics included the environment, politics, world peace, family relationships, Oprah (just kidding) and other stuff.
After being launched at 0600 GMT Bebo's mission commander Oli Madgett said the message "passed the Moon in 1.7 seconds, Mars in just four minutes and will leave our Solar System before breakfast tomorrow".
The beamed messages will be sent 120 trillion miles into space. Organisers hope the hi-tech package will reach its target - the planet Gliese 581C - in early 2029.
Rumor - strictly an unsubstantiated one - has it that when informed about the project, Sarah Palin said she can see Gliese 581C from her home in Alaska.
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7660449.stm
If you want to send your own message via Bebo, here is the coordinates:
http://www.bebo.com/Search2.jsp?SearchTerm=a%20message%20from%20earth
Being the curious earthlings that we are, we'd like to know who, if anybody, is "out there." To this end, messages were recently sent to a planet twenty light years from Earth in the hope that they will reach intelligent alien life. A giant radio-telescope in Ukraine transmitted 501 photos, drawings and text messages that usually track asteroids. The target is any planet deemed capable of supporting life.
Replies, which were compiled by Bebo, a social networking website, invited the network's 12 million users in the form of a competition, to send messages they would like extra-terrestrials to receive. Perhaps somebody - pure speculation on my part - sent the message: 'ET - phone home." Then again, maybe they didn't...
According to reports topics included the environment, politics, world peace, family relationships, Oprah (just kidding) and other stuff.
After being launched at 0600 GMT Bebo's mission commander Oli Madgett said the message "passed the Moon in 1.7 seconds, Mars in just four minutes and will leave our Solar System before breakfast tomorrow".
The beamed messages will be sent 120 trillion miles into space. Organisers hope the hi-tech package will reach its target - the planet Gliese 581C - in early 2029.
Rumor - strictly an unsubstantiated one - has it that when informed about the project, Sarah Palin said she can see Gliese 581C from her home in Alaska.
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7660449.stm
If you want to send your own message via Bebo, here is the coordinates:
http://www.bebo.com/Search2.jsp?SearchTerm=a%20message%20from%20earth
Sunday, September 21, 2008
"Facebook" - how many friends do YOU have?
By Eleanor Tylbor
In case anybody reading this is interested - I signed in/up/to Facebook. However, don't look for a photo because there isn't one posted for a few reasons:
a) no photo of me exists that has been doctored sufficiently to hide all my facial imperfections
b) I'm a very private person (true by the way) and prefer to remain a woman of mystery
c) even if I did have a decent photo among the others, I don't know how to post it with my profile
I signed up with Facebook because I'm nosey by nature and have to be a member of this group in order to keep abreast of all my aquaintances/enemies/etc. goings-on. There was a problem initially as to how much information I should provide and I decided to limit it. I mean, IMHO, there is no logical reason why anyone should want to know or should know my religion. Also, there is no logical reason why anyone should know about my political leanings.
So far I have approx. two dozen "friends." In order to get "friends" on Facebook, the person requesting the friendship has to receive permission from the potential "friend."
"Blah-blah added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know blah-blah in order for you to be friends on Facebook. To confirm this friend request, follow the link below..
The most ununusual request came from a virtual stranger who wanted to be my friend. Although his photo and name didn't ring a bell, I checked out his profile just in case we knew each other in earlier years but it was obvious we had never met. At least not in this world, anyway. So I refused his friendship and then worried I had hurt his feelings. I mean, what happens if he had no friends to speak of and reached out to me being a writer and a communicator, and I had rejected him! Oh the guilt of it all!
Through joining Facebook, I am now a member of a cooking group with the leader being a well-known cookbook author. Interested family members and close friends can surf on to my page and discover - well - nothing much to be candid.
There is a competitive element to Facebook in that it could become a competition as to the number of friends one has since the number of friends everyone has is posted for all Facebook members to view. I suppose in the end it's a kind of virtual voyeurism in that you can keep up with what Facebook-ers are doing at that particular moment, what's happening in their lives and all the latest news.
To think we had to depend on a humble telephone to do that for us not that many years ago! By the way - wanna be my friend?
In case anybody reading this is interested - I signed in/up/to Facebook. However, don't look for a photo because there isn't one posted for a few reasons:
a) no photo of me exists that has been doctored sufficiently to hide all my facial imperfections
b) I'm a very private person (true by the way) and prefer to remain a woman of mystery
c) even if I did have a decent photo among the others, I don't know how to post it with my profile
I signed up with Facebook because I'm nosey by nature and have to be a member of this group in order to keep abreast of all my aquaintances/enemies/etc. goings-on. There was a problem initially as to how much information I should provide and I decided to limit it. I mean, IMHO, there is no logical reason why anyone should want to know or should know my religion. Also, there is no logical reason why anyone should know about my political leanings.
So far I have approx. two dozen "friends." In order to get "friends" on Facebook, the person requesting the friendship has to receive permission from the potential "friend."
"Blah-blah added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know blah-blah in order for you to be friends on Facebook. To confirm this friend request, follow the link below..
The most ununusual request came from a virtual stranger who wanted to be my friend. Although his photo and name didn't ring a bell, I checked out his profile just in case we knew each other in earlier years but it was obvious we had never met. At least not in this world, anyway. So I refused his friendship and then worried I had hurt his feelings. I mean, what happens if he had no friends to speak of and reached out to me being a writer and a communicator, and I had rejected him! Oh the guilt of it all!
Through joining Facebook, I am now a member of a cooking group with the leader being a well-known cookbook author. Interested family members and close friends can surf on to my page and discover - well - nothing much to be candid.
There is a competitive element to Facebook in that it could become a competition as to the number of friends one has since the number of friends everyone has is posted for all Facebook members to view. I suppose in the end it's a kind of virtual voyeurism in that you can keep up with what Facebook-ers are doing at that particular moment, what's happening in their lives and all the latest news.
To think we had to depend on a humble telephone to do that for us not that many years ago! By the way - wanna be my friend?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The God Particle - it's not nice to play God
It is seen as the most ambitious and expensive civilian science experiment in history, based on the biggest machine that humanity has yet built. That statement in itself is scary for we mortals.
There is the fear among many that this experiment could/might/may create a black hole, which could tear the earth apart.
The concept behind the construction of the largest man-made machine ever is to recreate ‘The Big Bang’ by accelerating particles to near light speeds in opposite directions and forcing them to crash into each other. The Large Hadron Collider -- a $9 billion particle accelerator designed to simulate conditions of the Big Bang that created the physical Universe, was switched on at 0732 GMT to cheers and applause from experts gathered to witness the event.
The first phase got underway on Wednesday and what is most unnerving is that the end result is unknown. How many times have we read/heard about experiments that went awry in spite of good intentions and controlled conditions?
For the love of me (and the rest of the world), I cannot see any sense in attempting to discover or duplicate the origin of the universe when there is so much at stake. I'm referring to the chance that the experiment could become unstable and - poof! - we become matter again. Given the problems in the world today and the amount of people who are dying of starvation all over the globe, a better experiment would be to see how many people can be saved and how many stomachs can be filled.
Be scared. Be very scared.
Photos of Large Hadron Collider here:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/05/lhc-safety.html
There is the fear among many that this experiment could/might/may create a black hole, which could tear the earth apart.
The concept behind the construction of the largest man-made machine ever is to recreate ‘The Big Bang’ by accelerating particles to near light speeds in opposite directions and forcing them to crash into each other. The Large Hadron Collider -- a $9 billion particle accelerator designed to simulate conditions of the Big Bang that created the physical Universe, was switched on at 0732 GMT to cheers and applause from experts gathered to witness the event.
The first phase got underway on Wednesday and what is most unnerving is that the end result is unknown. How many times have we read/heard about experiments that went awry in spite of good intentions and controlled conditions?
For the love of me (and the rest of the world), I cannot see any sense in attempting to discover or duplicate the origin of the universe when there is so much at stake. I'm referring to the chance that the experiment could become unstable and - poof! - we become matter again. Given the problems in the world today and the amount of people who are dying of starvation all over the globe, a better experiment would be to see how many people can be saved and how many stomachs can be filled.
Be scared. Be very scared.
Photos of Large Hadron Collider here:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/05/lhc-safety.html
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Got some spare urine?
Most of us don't concern ourselves as to what happens to our urine once its deposited into the toilet bowl. We flush and forget about the end result. NASA, however, would like to share some and it's all in the name of science.
"A NASA contractor is seeking urine from space-program workers to test the toilets on the Orion space capsule.
Space program contractor Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking urine from workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of its work on the new Orion space capsule that eventually would take astronauts to the moon, according to an internal memo posted on the Web site Nasawatch.com. The need is voluminous: 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons. Even on weekends."
Seems that NASA itself collects urine samples from workers to help design better space toilets.
The Connecticut-based company building the Orion toilet needs the large volume of urine (about the daily output of 30 people) to work on urine acidity problems, said spokesman Leo Makowski.
The memo seeking daily contributions from July 21 to July 31 was not meant to go public, he said.
So I'm thinking here: since this has gone public and there are people reading this that might want to help out - in the name of scientific progress of course - one wonders how they would go about doing it...donating their urine. Would they say...fill up a cup, wrap it up in a box and send it by mail in care of NASA? A typical letter from a donator would probably include something to the effect:
Dear NASA and to whom-this-may-concern,
Please find my donation of one cup of urine to be used towards your on-going research. As a person interested in space-related issues, it's the least I can do.
Bon voyage,
I.M. Lazee
Chair Tester
Also, do "contributors" receive some type of acknowledgement:
"Dear DOF - Donator of Urine,
We would like to thank you for your generous gift of urine. Your contribution was instrumental on (insert date) whereby it was used for scientific research towards the pressing issue of what to do with stored urine on the moon. As an aside we always accept multiple donations if you feel so moved."
Yours truly,
I.C. Pee
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.urine.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
"A NASA contractor is seeking urine from space-program workers to test the toilets on the Orion space capsule.
Space program contractor Hamilton Sundstrand is seeking urine from workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, as part of its work on the new Orion space capsule that eventually would take astronauts to the moon, according to an internal memo posted on the Web site Nasawatch.com. The need is voluminous: 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons. Even on weekends."
Seems that NASA itself collects urine samples from workers to help design better space toilets.
The Connecticut-based company building the Orion toilet needs the large volume of urine (about the daily output of 30 people) to work on urine acidity problems, said spokesman Leo Makowski.
The memo seeking daily contributions from July 21 to July 31 was not meant to go public, he said.
So I'm thinking here: since this has gone public and there are people reading this that might want to help out - in the name of scientific progress of course - one wonders how they would go about doing it...donating their urine. Would they say...fill up a cup, wrap it up in a box and send it by mail in care of NASA? A typical letter from a donator would probably include something to the effect:
Dear NASA and to whom-this-may-concern,
Please find my donation of one cup of urine to be used towards your on-going research. As a person interested in space-related issues, it's the least I can do.
Bon voyage,
I.M. Lazee
Chair Tester
Also, do "contributors" receive some type of acknowledgement:
"Dear DOF - Donator of Urine,
We would like to thank you for your generous gift of urine. Your contribution was instrumental on (insert date) whereby it was used for scientific research towards the pressing issue of what to do with stored urine on the moon. As an aside we always accept multiple donations if you feel so moved."
Yours truly,
I.C. Pee
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.urine.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Sending it "snail mail" in the true sense of the word
The expression, "send it by snail-mail" has taken on a whole new meaning for Muriel, Austin and Cecil. In fact people using their mail delivery service just might have to wait for their package or mail to take weeks, maybe even months to arrive.
What makes this delivery service unique is that the trio are...snails. As in the gastropods that live in back yards. As in the real live thing(s).
These snails have been fitted with equipment to allow them to send e-mails on behalf of visitors to a website and it's all part of a "slow art" project called Real Snail Mail at Bournemouth University in the UK which will be showcased in Los Angeles in August.
Each snail is fitted with a tiny capsule which holds a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip. RFID allows objects to communicate over short distances.
Users of the service send a message via the Real Snail Mail website which is routed to the tank at the speed of light to await collection by a snail "agent".
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7458531.stm
BTW - to date the snails have managed to deliver 14 messages.
There's also a web site devoted to the system and perhaps the site coordinates says it all:
http://www.boredomresearch.net/rsm/
The Web site also provides background profiles for the trio:
Agent 001
Also known as Cecil
Hours of service: 978
Deliveries made: 4
Current status: Carrying message
Average delivery time: 3.26 days
Agent 002
Also known as Austin
Hours of service: 2493
Deliveries made: 10
Current status: Available
Average delivery time: 1.96 days
Agent 003
Also known as Muriel
Hours of service: 978
Deliveries made: 0
Current status: Available
Average delivery time: None as yet
Interesting that Agent 003 - Muriel - hasn't made any deliveries yet... Too slow...too shy... One can only speculate.
A snail-cam will be available during the trio's visit to Los Angeles while participating in the Slow Art Exhibition from August 11-15 here:
http://www.boredomresearch.net/rsm/snailcam.html
Don't expect any quick deliveries, though.
What makes this delivery service unique is that the trio are...snails. As in the gastropods that live in back yards. As in the real live thing(s).
These snails have been fitted with equipment to allow them to send e-mails on behalf of visitors to a website and it's all part of a "slow art" project called Real Snail Mail at Bournemouth University in the UK which will be showcased in Los Angeles in August.
Each snail is fitted with a tiny capsule which holds a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip. RFID allows objects to communicate over short distances.
Users of the service send a message via the Real Snail Mail website which is routed to the tank at the speed of light to await collection by a snail "agent".
Read the entire story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7458531.stm
BTW - to date the snails have managed to deliver 14 messages.
There's also a web site devoted to the system and perhaps the site coordinates says it all:
http://www.boredomresearch.net/rsm/
The Web site also provides background profiles for the trio:
Agent 001
Also known as Cecil
Hours of service: 978
Deliveries made: 4
Current status: Carrying message
Average delivery time: 3.26 days
Agent 002
Also known as Austin
Hours of service: 2493
Deliveries made: 10
Current status: Available
Average delivery time: 1.96 days
Agent 003
Also known as Muriel
Hours of service: 978
Deliveries made: 0
Current status: Available
Average delivery time: None as yet
Interesting that Agent 003 - Muriel - hasn't made any deliveries yet... Too slow...too shy... One can only speculate.
A snail-cam will be available during the trio's visit to Los Angeles while participating in the Slow Art Exhibition from August 11-15 here:
http://www.boredomresearch.net/rsm/snailcam.html
Don't expect any quick deliveries, though.
Friday, June 13, 2008
New Canadian law passed for illegal downloading of copyright material
Chances are that anybody working in the creative field will be happy with the news that Canada has passed a law to deal with downloading copyright material, the problem is how do the police and the legal field enforce said law?
"New legislation against downloading copyrighted material comes with one big problem. Nobody knows how fines could be doled out because nobody knows how violators could be caught, York Regional Police said yesterday. The current copyright law carries a maximum fine of $20,000 but has been geared towards nabbing commercial distributors and high-volume bootleggers."
http://money.canoe.ca/News/Economy/2008/06/13/5867376-sun.html
"The federal government has introduced a controversial bill it says balances the rights of copyright holders and consumers — but it opens millions of Canadians to huge lawsuits, prompting critics to warn it will create a "police state."
"We are confident we have developed the proper framework at this point in time," Minister of Industry Jim Prentice told a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. "This bill reflects a win-win approach."
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/12/tech-copyright.html
At present anyone caught disobeying the copyright law, which is focused on dealing with commercial distributors and bootleggers, can be fined $20,000. The new legislation will focus on
deterring individual downloaders and purchasers of scammed content.
When it's all said and done, however, the main question or issue is: how do you catch individual downloaders?
"New legislation against downloading copyrighted material comes with one big problem. Nobody knows how fines could be doled out because nobody knows how violators could be caught, York Regional Police said yesterday. The current copyright law carries a maximum fine of $20,000 but has been geared towards nabbing commercial distributors and high-volume bootleggers."
http://money.canoe.ca/News/Economy/2008/06/13/5867376-sun.html
"The federal government has introduced a controversial bill it says balances the rights of copyright holders and consumers — but it opens millions of Canadians to huge lawsuits, prompting critics to warn it will create a "police state."
"We are confident we have developed the proper framework at this point in time," Minister of Industry Jim Prentice told a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. "This bill reflects a win-win approach."
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/12/tech-copyright.html
At present anyone caught disobeying the copyright law, which is focused on dealing with commercial distributors and bootleggers, can be fined $20,000. The new legislation will focus on
deterring individual downloaders and purchasers of scammed content.
When it's all said and done, however, the main question or issue is: how do you catch individual downloaders?
Monday, December 10, 2007
FEELING CHILLY? TRY THE HEATED BRA!
Women living in cold climates or at least climates that experience winter for a good portion of the year, might welcome this new innovation or some would call it, gadget.
A leading lingerie company has joined Japan's fight against high fuel use, unveiling a heated bra for winter.
You read it right: a heated bra to keep your breasts nice and warm and cozy. Now how this fits into the big picture of fighting global warming is somewhat questionable.
The fluffy creation contains special pads filled with an eco-friendly gel that can be easily heated in a microwave oven or with a hot water bottle. The design also includes a furry boa designed to double as a winter scarf.
Lingerie giant Triumph unveiled the bra months after PM Junichiro Koizumi urged Japan's office workers to ditch ties to save on air conditioning.
Being padded, the new bra packs a little more bulk than most regular designs, but the Japanese arm of Triumph insisted the look was more chic than sheep.
Sheep?
"We hope this will not only help prevent global warming but also provide a little fashion chic to the office," the company said in a statement.
The bra, which comes only in white, also features a pendant shaped like a chili pepper dangling on its front.
Only in white? How unfashionable! And a chili pepper? The siginifigance one presumes is that the bra provides enough heat as when consuming a chili pepper. Or something similar... I dunno!
The boob warmer also comes with matching shorts but is not being offered for general sale and the two pieces are being promoted as a prototype product, the first step towards mass-producing eco-friendly clothing.
Japan's government is encouraging people not to set their domestic heating higher than 20C this winter, to reduce fuel consumption and conserve energy stocks.
During the summer, Mr Koizumi surprised Japan's traditionally well-dressed office workers by discarding his tie and urging his countrymen to do the same.
Just wondering how discarding a tie will help the environment. Perhaps it's a small effort to keep cool. Go know!
The drive to reduce air-conditioning use and thus greenhouse gas emissions was estimated to have saved enough power to supply 240,000 homes for a month.
Somehow and maybe it's just me but a bra that is heated in a microwave makes me a little nervous.
See a photo of the bra here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420820.stm
For some interesting and fun postings on a variety of subjects, drop by the:
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
A leading lingerie company has joined Japan's fight against high fuel use, unveiling a heated bra for winter.
You read it right: a heated bra to keep your breasts nice and warm and cozy. Now how this fits into the big picture of fighting global warming is somewhat questionable.
The fluffy creation contains special pads filled with an eco-friendly gel that can be easily heated in a microwave oven or with a hot water bottle. The design also includes a furry boa designed to double as a winter scarf.
Lingerie giant Triumph unveiled the bra months after PM Junichiro Koizumi urged Japan's office workers to ditch ties to save on air conditioning.
Being padded, the new bra packs a little more bulk than most regular designs, but the Japanese arm of Triumph insisted the look was more chic than sheep.
Sheep?
"We hope this will not only help prevent global warming but also provide a little fashion chic to the office," the company said in a statement.
The bra, which comes only in white, also features a pendant shaped like a chili pepper dangling on its front.
Only in white? How unfashionable! And a chili pepper? The siginifigance one presumes is that the bra provides enough heat as when consuming a chili pepper. Or something similar... I dunno!
The boob warmer also comes with matching shorts but is not being offered for general sale and the two pieces are being promoted as a prototype product, the first step towards mass-producing eco-friendly clothing.
Japan's government is encouraging people not to set their domestic heating higher than 20C this winter, to reduce fuel consumption and conserve energy stocks.
During the summer, Mr Koizumi surprised Japan's traditionally well-dressed office workers by discarding his tie and urging his countrymen to do the same.
Just wondering how discarding a tie will help the environment. Perhaps it's a small effort to keep cool. Go know!
The drive to reduce air-conditioning use and thus greenhouse gas emissions was estimated to have saved enough power to supply 240,000 homes for a month.
Somehow and maybe it's just me but a bra that is heated in a microwave makes me a little nervous.
See a photo of the bra here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420820.stm
For some interesting and fun postings on a variety of subjects, drop by the:
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Friday, October 05, 2007
AND THE WINNERS ARE (AMONG OTHER) HOW TO EXTRACT VANILLA FROM COW DUNG
It brings a tear to the eyes - at least the prize handed out to Mayu Yamamoto, from Japan, who developed a method to extract vanilla fragrance and flavoring from cow dung. This is something the world has been waiting for!
The prize is among other - how shall we say - unusual awards known as the Ig Nobel Prize handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research in their ongoing quest to “celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s interest in science, medicine and technology.”
O-kay. We'll drink to that. Actually, maybe not.
Among the other prize winners was a team at Quilmes National University in Argentina, who took home the honors in the aviation category for finding that - wait for it - hamsters given Viagra needed 50% less time to recover from a six-hour time zone change. This vital information should be of great interest to rodents that fly the friendly skies. I mean...really.
In the medical sphere, the prize for medicine went to radiologist Brian Witcombe at Gloucestershire Royal NHS foundation trust for his study of the vocational risks of sword swallowing Moreover, “sore throats - ’sword throats’ - occur when swallowers are learning, when performances are repeated frequently, or when odd-shaped or multiple swords are used,” he concluded. This conclusion is all the more interesting given the means in which they arrived at this. Who were the subjects and what were they given to partake in this experiment? Equally fascinating, are they still alive and what did they do with the leftover swords?
Juan Manuel Toro, Josep Trobalon and Núria Sebastián-Gallés, of Barcelona University, collected the linguistics Ig Nobel for showing that rats sometimes cannot tell the difference between a person speaking Japanese backwards and a person speaking Dutch backwards (but only sometimes!). Now this begs the question as to how the researchers actually found rats that understood Japanese AND Dutch and then determining if they could distinguish the difference when speaking Japanese and Dutch backwards/forwards... Oh who cares anyway!
Back state-side, the U.S. Air Force’s Wright Laboratory in Ohio took the peace prize for its 1994 research into a “gay bomb” that could deploy a chemical substance that would turn the enemy’s front lines into an orgy. Unlike most of the other winners, no one from the lab showed up for the presentation. Perhaps they were other-wise occupied one ponders?
The Biology honors went to Dr. Johanna van Bronswijk of the Netherlands for carrying out a census of all of the mites, insects, spiders, ferns and fungi that share our beds. No mention of numbers acquired in the mite research, which could be a good or bad sign. Then again there could have been duplication given their propensity to jump around. Was this research conducted world-wide or locally?
Now in as far as Economics go, here is something that has some merit or at least logic. Kuo Cheng Hsieh of Taiwan presumably patented a device that can catch bank robbers by dropping a net over them. Oh the inventiveness of this device!
Can't wait for next year's prizes. Got any ideas?
Writers & Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
The prize is among other - how shall we say - unusual awards known as the Ig Nobel Prize handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research in their ongoing quest to “celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s interest in science, medicine and technology.”
O-kay. We'll drink to that. Actually, maybe not.
Among the other prize winners was a team at Quilmes National University in Argentina, who took home the honors in the aviation category for finding that - wait for it - hamsters given Viagra needed 50% less time to recover from a six-hour time zone change. This vital information should be of great interest to rodents that fly the friendly skies. I mean...really.
In the medical sphere, the prize for medicine went to radiologist Brian Witcombe at Gloucestershire Royal NHS foundation trust for his study of the vocational risks of sword swallowing Moreover, “sore throats - ’sword throats’ - occur when swallowers are learning, when performances are repeated frequently, or when odd-shaped or multiple swords are used,” he concluded. This conclusion is all the more interesting given the means in which they arrived at this. Who were the subjects and what were they given to partake in this experiment? Equally fascinating, are they still alive and what did they do with the leftover swords?
Juan Manuel Toro, Josep Trobalon and Núria Sebastián-Gallés, of Barcelona University, collected the linguistics Ig Nobel for showing that rats sometimes cannot tell the difference between a person speaking Japanese backwards and a person speaking Dutch backwards (but only sometimes!). Now this begs the question as to how the researchers actually found rats that understood Japanese AND Dutch and then determining if they could distinguish the difference when speaking Japanese and Dutch backwards/forwards... Oh who cares anyway!
Back state-side, the U.S. Air Force’s Wright Laboratory in Ohio took the peace prize for its 1994 research into a “gay bomb” that could deploy a chemical substance that would turn the enemy’s front lines into an orgy. Unlike most of the other winners, no one from the lab showed up for the presentation. Perhaps they were other-wise occupied one ponders?
The Biology honors went to Dr. Johanna van Bronswijk of the Netherlands for carrying out a census of all of the mites, insects, spiders, ferns and fungi that share our beds. No mention of numbers acquired in the mite research, which could be a good or bad sign. Then again there could have been duplication given their propensity to jump around. Was this research conducted world-wide or locally?
Now in as far as Economics go, here is something that has some merit or at least logic. Kuo Cheng Hsieh of Taiwan presumably patented a device that can catch bank robbers by dropping a net over them. Oh the inventiveness of this device!
Can't wait for next year's prizes. Got any ideas?
Writers & Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
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