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Middle of the week is over.
Feb. 16th, 2006 12:02 amToday was an interesting sort of thought-filled day - got dragged into playing a game as a demonstration of things, and ended up being some part of the tactical command for the eventually winning side - it was a great discussion about games, information, and the ways that we learn though them, by experience, rather than formulas. Very enlightening, and with very little on the talking part. Mission accomplished.
Space-y sort of news - the idea behind the space elevator may be getting closer than we think - there were some partially-successful tests of robots and carbon-nanotube strings up in the air, seeing if the robots could climb up and down the cable.
Also, an anti-youth weapon has been developed in the UK. The device purports to use frequencies that only young teens and children can hear, so that they're driven off from loitering around in front of shops. Nevermind that kids don't usually have hanging-out places as it is... you see this and you wonder whether or not kids really are the precious resource everyone says they are, with how hard everyone is trying to make sure that kids don't actually have any place to do anything. (And then they wonder why the kids sit inside all day when they aren't at school or organized, regimented sport.)
You know, that whole bottled water thing seemed to be a fad for me when it started. In fact, it's still stayed that way, as I recall, but it keeps staying on. Well, such a nice habit may not be very good for the environment at all in bottle manufacturing as well as other such things.
Out of left field, a theory that perhaps the push to reduce smoking is related to alien abductions and xenocannibalism by them, or Aliens Don't Like to Eat People That Smoke. I'm honestly not sure what to make of this page, other than it's making the claim that nicotine will help with memory and other health functions. In that respect, it's not too different than alcohol is good for you claims, which may or may not be substantiated. It's an expensive change in the diet if you're going for purer liquor and such, but if a shot a day helps keep the doctor away, then having a drink with dinner might be just fine.
I'm also stumped as to how and whether such a device as the magical shelf that these people are hawking works. If it does work, I wonder how. If it doesn't, well, Photoshop is your friend or something. There's supposedly some equations in a link from the bottom of the page, so math persons can probably have a hack at it and see whether it all checks out.
And as a final cap, an interesting paper about something that you may very well be totally intimate with - what happens when you have too many choices among desirable things? The process of choosing may be more entertaining, but it may also be more frustrating. Too many options may almost be as bad as too few.
Ah, well. Tomorrow, more class, more sport, and more worry that the paper I have is really too small to be effective, even though it stands at a might three pages, relatively single-spaced. Tomorrow, though, I have to get on the ball about the other paper, that's due next Thursday. Luckily, it really doesn't involve much for observation and then a reasonably short paper talking about the things that I should be able to determine from doing the observations. No panic, really - just going to ask the instructor a logistical question at the class tomorrow and then go do the thing I need to go do. No major problems at all. Surprisingly enough.
Space-y sort of news - the idea behind the space elevator may be getting closer than we think - there were some partially-successful tests of robots and carbon-nanotube strings up in the air, seeing if the robots could climb up and down the cable.
Also, an anti-youth weapon has been developed in the UK. The device purports to use frequencies that only young teens and children can hear, so that they're driven off from loitering around in front of shops. Nevermind that kids don't usually have hanging-out places as it is... you see this and you wonder whether or not kids really are the precious resource everyone says they are, with how hard everyone is trying to make sure that kids don't actually have any place to do anything. (And then they wonder why the kids sit inside all day when they aren't at school or organized, regimented sport.)
You know, that whole bottled water thing seemed to be a fad for me when it started. In fact, it's still stayed that way, as I recall, but it keeps staying on. Well, such a nice habit may not be very good for the environment at all in bottle manufacturing as well as other such things.
Out of left field, a theory that perhaps the push to reduce smoking is related to alien abductions and xenocannibalism by them, or Aliens Don't Like to Eat People That Smoke. I'm honestly not sure what to make of this page, other than it's making the claim that nicotine will help with memory and other health functions. In that respect, it's not too different than alcohol is good for you claims, which may or may not be substantiated. It's an expensive change in the diet if you're going for purer liquor and such, but if a shot a day helps keep the doctor away, then having a drink with dinner might be just fine.
I'm also stumped as to how and whether such a device as the magical shelf that these people are hawking works. If it does work, I wonder how. If it doesn't, well, Photoshop is your friend or something. There's supposedly some equations in a link from the bottom of the page, so math persons can probably have a hack at it and see whether it all checks out.
And as a final cap, an interesting paper about something that you may very well be totally intimate with - what happens when you have too many choices among desirable things? The process of choosing may be more entertaining, but it may also be more frustrating. Too many options may almost be as bad as too few.
Ah, well. Tomorrow, more class, more sport, and more worry that the paper I have is really too small to be effective, even though it stands at a might three pages, relatively single-spaced. Tomorrow, though, I have to get on the ball about the other paper, that's due next Thursday. Luckily, it really doesn't involve much for observation and then a reasonably short paper talking about the things that I should be able to determine from doing the observations. No panic, really - just going to ask the instructor a logistical question at the class tomorrow and then go do the thing I need to go do. No major problems at all. Surprisingly enough.
