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Monthly Archives: November 2007

The Necklace for Me

The Necklace for Me - not that I would actually wear it, since (as per discussions) Men are not allowed to wear necklaces. [thx, gg]

Dr. Drug Rep

Dr. Drug Rep - a really interesting, reflective piece on the thorny ethics of hawking pharmaceuticals from a psychiatrist who stopped doing it.
If I gave talks to primary-care doctors about Effexor, I reasoned, I would be doing nothing unethical. It was a perfectly effective treatment option, with some data to suggest advantages over its competitors. […]

Bourbon’s Shot at the Big Time

Bourbon’s Shot at the Big Time - after talking up rye last year around this time, the Times is now tasting some bourbon. Some of my favorites are on here, and I’m happy to see that “Maker’s Mark did not come close” to making their list.

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, Fun…

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, Fun… Fibonacci Poetry!

The Smokey Peaty One

The Smokey Peaty One
Originally uploaded by bigphil.

This almost made me buy scotch. But not really.

Silhouettes of People at the American Museum of Natural History

Silhouettes of People at the American Museum of Natural History - great photographs from Joseph O. Holmes
Street photography is my passion — a wild mix of technical skill and social engineering, with every component changing and evolving second by second. The amnh series, shot over a period of six weeks in New York’s American Museum […]

Umberto Eco Interview

Umberto Eco Interview
I am wondering if you read Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci Code,” which some critics see as the pop version of your “Name of the Rose.”
I was obliged to read it because everybody was asking me about it. My answer is that Dan Brown is one of the characters in my novel, “Foucault’s Pendulum,” […]

Carved Crayons

Carved Crayons [thx, v]

Your Astrological Sign is Not What You Think

Your Astrological Sign is Not What You Think - or, “everything you know is wrong”. Or, “Yay science!”

Talk to the Newsroom - Reader Questions and Answers

Talk to the Newsroom - Reader Questions and Answers - a NYT editor wrestles with grammar questions and accusations with style. I love just how crotchety so many of the questions sound.

Looking Like Turkey Day

Looking Like Turkey Day

American Gladiators Returns!

American Gladiators Returns! - With Hulk Hogan as host! It’s my childhood, resurrected. [thx tim]

Lap Dancing for Science

Lap Dancing for Science - the paper: “Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers: economic evidence for human estrus?” The gist - lap dancers make significantly more money in tips during certain parts of their menstrual cycle; dancers on the pill don’t.
As I said to the friend (”they have really lovely p-values […]

Rap Math and Charts

Rap Math and Charts - complete with links to the represented songs

The Nerd Handbook

The Nerd Handbook - This isn’t 100% me (reasonable minds may disagree), but it’s close on several points.

Is it Christmas?

Is it Christmas?

The Last Starfighter

The Last Starfighter - this is so geektastic. Some nerds wrote a working version of the game from The Last Starfighter, a game that never actually existed in real life. You can download and play it.

Jimmy Carter: He will slay your cat

Jimmy Carter: He will slay your cat - “Lamentably, I killed your cat while trying just to sting it.”

Fancy Man Enjoys Tea

Fancy Man Enjoys Tea
Jason Baumer, a fancy little gent who is apparently too good to enjoy a regular cup of coffee, drank a cup of tea Sunday . . . . The 29-year-old web designer prepared and consumed his precious tea, which is imported from some la-di-da foreign country, at about 10:30 a.m with the […]

I would score 100% on this test.