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This Week in Numerology

Jim Hufford — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:01:44 +0000

According to a recent poll, 42% of Americans purportedly believe the Bill of Rights contains the provision, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” That’s funny because, you know, it’s actually from somewhere else.
The Federal Open Market Committee is about 42% unconstitutional.
And, of course, 42.
17 years after Bowers v. Hardwick, we got Lawrence v. Texas. 17 years after DADT, we got…not-DADT. That is, in both cases, 17 years elapsed between the codification of a reactionary anti-gay policy and the repeal of that policy.

Penetrating Observations: Holidays Edition

Jim Hufford — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:42:34 +0000

“The ideal gift is not something that the recipient can’t afford or didn’t know she wanted” (emphasis added). Rather, “A good gift is something that someone really wants but feels guilty buying for themselves.” (Via Mind Hacks.)
Eating turkey doesn’t make you sleepy.
State and local governments lose $7 billion in tax revenues as a result of Amazon’s policy of not charging sales taxes. Via Ezra Klein.
An ontological argument for the existence of Santa.
Sayonara, Rudolph: Electric eels can power the Christmas lights, and they exist.
Io, Saturnalia! (h/t Ilya Somin)

Note to Self

Jim Hufford — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:45:52 +0000

When carrying a real, live, 80-pound tortoise down a flight of stairs with someone a foot shorter than you are, it would probably be best that you go down the steps first.

Orangeman

Jim Hufford — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 11:09:55 +0000

Yesterday on Fresh Air, Todd Purdum of Vanity Fair described John Boehner, the presumptive Speaker of the House for the upcoming 112th Congress, as a throwback to another era and a real “colorful” character.

Not sure what Purdum was insinuating there, but you can read his recent piece on Boehner here.

Penetrating Observations: Grim Reaper Edition

Jim Hufford — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:18:43 +0000

Researchers using DNA analysis are “85% sure” they’ve identified the remains of Italian painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) in a small church in Tuscany. And it seems that Caravaggio, an artistic genius with homicidal tendencies, probably died from conditions exacerbated by lead poisoning resulting from heavy exposure through his paints. From the levels of lead in his bones, the exposure would have been enough to cause or contribute to his famous behavioral problems. Hat tip: Ed Yong.
Christopher Hitchens doesn’t drink nearly as much as we all think he does. But he’s still a tragically good example of the conclusion of this recent study: we humans are getting “better” at making decisions that may kill us.
Caffeine can kill you too…if you consume a whole lot of it at once. Calculate how much of your favorite beverage will kill you here. Via Mind Hacks.
Even salsa can kill you! Well, no, not really. But salsa-borne bacteria can make you sick, and you could potentially die from that. Anyway the CDC says outbreaks of food-borne illness from salsa and guacamole rose to 3.9% of all food-borne outbreaks in 2008, up from 1.5% in the late nineties. Via Food Politics.
Aeschylus (524–455 B.C.), Greek tragedian who orchestrated epic dramas of fates, furies, and the meaning of justice, apparently died from a cranial injury when an eagle dropped a turtle on the playwright’s bald head, probably mistaking it for a rock upon which to crack open the turtle’s shell. Via Mind Hacks.

Penetrating Observations

Jim Hufford — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:44:45 +0000

It turns out Darth Vader almost certainly does not satisfy the criteria for a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Woops.
Human failure to appreciate risk was at the heart of the financial crisis. But why weren’t bankers and regulators more risk-averse? Maybe they were eating too much.
Ezra Klein thinks chimpanzees are adorable. True, but they’re also mass murderers!
New research shows that memory performance is improved when walking, proving that The West Wing was a lot more realistic than you might have thought.

This Week in Confirming Things I Always Assumed Were True

Jim Hufford — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:03:29 +0000

Darth Vader satisfies the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder.
Multitasking degrades task performance and decreases performance efficiency. (Hat tip to Kevin Drum)
Statistical study confirms that life on earth has one common ancestor.
Binge drinking kills brain cells. Specifically, hippocampal stem cells responsible for churning out new neurons, thus potentially causing lasting impairment of brain function. At least, that’s true for adolescent monkeys. A reasonable bet says it’s true for adolescent humans, too. Via Ed Yong.