Saturday, December 23, 2006

happy holidays


Seconds after this photo was taken they started screaming and batting at each other, which is how Siamese cats "play." For more information see my previous post on "play time."

They are such calming creatures.

(Oh and those hats are, obviously, not real. Like they would sit still with those hats on their heads! The best I would be able to do would be to take pictures of them trying to disembowel the santa hats . . . maybe next year.)

play time

The players:
  • Felix, male, seal point, age 1.5, 13 lbs
  • Mina, female, chocolate point, age 15.5, 7 lbs
1. detente:
They have shared the space for naps. They awake and avoid eye contact.

2. making the first move:
He begins with a fake stretch -- one paw almost touching her.

3. the ploy:
His stretching moves him into a position that says: "I'm a goofball, I''m bored, and I'm now going to start bugging you." He has succeeded in provoking her. (It doesn't take much.) She raises herself and her tail begins to flip.

4. The game is afoot.
He starts to grasp at her flipping tail. If he is allowed to continue he will ultimately try to bite it. (She would do the same and he is much more playful and gentle than she is.)

5. game over:
She puts an immediate stop to his shenanigans with a sharp loud scream. She turns to bop him but because he immediately backs off she just jumps off the chair and runs away.

He usually looks very confused after these altercations.

Friday, December 08, 2006

mulled pomegranate cider recipe

home economics : food science division


Click on image above to view larger version.

Click on image below to purchase matching mug and other items.


+ shameless commerce coursework -- business school

Sunday, December 03, 2006

it's based on science

Finally (finally!) there is a solution to the problem that has plagued mankind for years.

How many times have you said to yourself, "I want to save the world, but I need to find something that is easy to do, convenient, and, most of all, it should be enjoyable, because otherwise, what is the point?"

Well mark your calendar, because the date for you to save the world and enjoy doing it is drawing near.

THE EVENT: Global Orgasm
WHO? All Men and Women, you and everyone you know.
WHERE? Everywhere in the world, but especially in countries with weapons of mass destruction.
WHEN? Winter Solstice Day - Friday, December 22nd, At the time of your choosing, in the place of your choosing and with as much privacy as you choose.
WHY? To effect positive change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy a Synchronized Global Orgasm. There are two more US fleets heading for the Persian Gulf with anti-submarine equipment that can only be for use against Iran, so the time to change Earth's energy is NOW!


(Note: I wish I had the comedic writing skills to create such hoo0ha but the above text is from the website of the organization, and yes it is a bone fide organization.)

It is worse than you think. It comes from some nut-job at Princeton and claims to be based on science. Naturally it has a professionally developed website. You can make your donation there.

Friday, September 08, 2006

the dunning-kruger effect

"He who knows best knows how little he knows." -- Thomas Jefferson.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Incompetent people systematically overestimate their abilities and believe that they know more than others who are far more competent.

The term is named after Justin Kruger and David Dunning whose Cornell University study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (December 1999): "The Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing Ones Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments." Their work follows from the research of others, such as W. I. Miller who observed that "it is one of the essential features of incompetence that the person so afflicted is incapable of knowing that he is incompetent" (1993).

under construction

This isn't fully running yet.