I'm not exactly a huge fan of electronic dance music, although I do dig the old stuff like Kraftwerk and YMO, and I'm not exactly not a fan of a lot of it. Twenty years ago, the band Underworld, which formed in 1980, had a hit song with Born Slippy, a 1995 single which was featured on the soundtrack of the film Trainspotting. While familiar with the song, I really didn't pursue any of Underworld's catalog, though the band has a new single out, and I'm really digging it. Here's I Exhale, which will be released as a single next month (WARNING: play the video, then switch to another browser tab so you don't get Pokémon seizures)
This song sounds so different from the band's previous work, it's almost as if someone told the singer to Mark E. Smith himself by 10% or so. Here's The Fall's 'pop tune', 1988's Hit the North for the sake of comparison:
I'm a big fan of the Fall, so I'm digging the Underworld now that the singer decided to 'Mark' it up.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Toasty
During the really rough cold snap we endured, one of our managers brought the members of the Rodent Abatement Team home so they could enjoy a nice, heated building. He brought them back this week, but last night was a bit of a cold snap, so I let them out of the building they are currently mousing and let them into the employees' lounge for a spell. They promptly made a beeline for the radiator cover they so love:
They had a nice chance to get all toasty warm... to get them back in their assigned area, I had to bribe them with some kibble. Well, kibble and a self-serve all-you-can-eat mouse buffet.
They had a nice chance to get all toasty warm... to get them back in their assigned area, I had to bribe them with some kibble. Well, kibble and a self-serve all-you-can-eat mouse buffet.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Giving the Game Away
Hapless Marco Rubio... every time he seems to be gaining traction, Donald Trump steps on his dick. I'd feel sorry for the guy if he weren't such a regressive asshole. Anyway, Rubio gives the game away in his latest criticism of Trump:
"He could become the nominee and we're not going to let that happen. There is no way we're going to allow the party of Reagan or the conservative movement to be taken over by a con man."
Marco, Marco, Marco, the conservative movement was taken over by con men from day one, with Reagan being the number one grifter of the entire movement. Why, here's the Gipper himself:
By painting the government as the problem, and running the government badly in order to prove that thesis, Reagan ushered in the current period of privatization, allowing a coterie of crooks and cronies to loot the treasury.
Being a redundancy robot, Rubio had to repeat his assertion:
"He's a con man. I think it's time to unmask him for what he is. He's trying to take over the conservative movement."
Marco, you're a con man yourself, dipping into your own party's till. Ted Cruz is also a con man, with a specifically religious spin to his grift. The entire conservative movement is nothing but one massive scam... Rick Perlstein wrote an essential essay on the nature of the grift. Marco Rubio isn't really concerned about a con man taking over the movement, he's just jealous because he's been upstaged by a more charismatic mountebank.
"He could become the nominee and we're not going to let that happen. There is no way we're going to allow the party of Reagan or the conservative movement to be taken over by a con man."
Marco, Marco, Marco, the conservative movement was taken over by con men from day one, with Reagan being the number one grifter of the entire movement. Why, here's the Gipper himself:
By painting the government as the problem, and running the government badly in order to prove that thesis, Reagan ushered in the current period of privatization, allowing a coterie of crooks and cronies to loot the treasury.
Being a redundancy robot, Rubio had to repeat his assertion:
"He's a con man. I think it's time to unmask him for what he is. He's trying to take over the conservative movement."
Marco, you're a con man yourself, dipping into your own party's till. Ted Cruz is also a con man, with a specifically religious spin to his grift. The entire conservative movement is nothing but one massive scam... Rick Perlstein wrote an essential essay on the nature of the grift. Marco Rubio isn't really concerned about a con man taking over the movement, he's just jealous because he's been upstaged by a more charismatic mountebank.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Missed By That Much
My standard line about my job is that it is very cushy, except when it's not. Last night was a combination of cushy and scary... lower New York State was on the verge of the storm which battered Virginia. We experienced winds speeds up to 50 mph (about 80 kph), accompanied by intermittent torrential rains. I usually spend a lot of time on the job outdoors (typically anywhere from one-quarter to two-thirds of my shift, depending on job duties and weather conditions), but while dangerous conditions prevail, I limit my exposure to harm. Last night, I only conducted two inspection tours of the property. So, it was a cushy night (I sat in my office drinking coffee and writing) with some scary episodes (I had limited exposure to some very inclement conditions).
All over the grounds, there were branches downed by the wind... then I came across this behemoth:
I'm not good at identifying trees by their bark, and the poor thing has been denuded of leaves for months, but I think it might have been a maple, judging from the bulk of the leaf litter. As you can see, it missed hitting one of our company vehicles, a pickup truck used by our grounds and maintenance staff, by a very small distance. If the tree had fallen at a slightly different angle, it would have smashed this truck and two company vans. As individuals, and as an organization, we were very lucky indeed.
I believe Don Adams has the best characterization of this sort of thing:
This tree fell down in a particularly nice section of the property, situated by a pretty wetland that teems with birdlife and a nice spot to take a break on the job with some friends. I wish I could remember what sort of tree this fallen behemoth had been, it seems a bit disrespectful not to remember.
All over the grounds, there were branches downed by the wind... then I came across this behemoth:
I'm not good at identifying trees by their bark, and the poor thing has been denuded of leaves for months, but I think it might have been a maple, judging from the bulk of the leaf litter. As you can see, it missed hitting one of our company vehicles, a pickup truck used by our grounds and maintenance staff, by a very small distance. If the tree had fallen at a slightly different angle, it would have smashed this truck and two company vans. As individuals, and as an organization, we were very lucky indeed.
I believe Don Adams has the best characterization of this sort of thing:
This tree fell down in a particularly nice section of the property, situated by a pretty wetland that teems with birdlife and a nice spot to take a break on the job with some friends. I wish I could remember what sort of tree this fallen behemoth had been, it seems a bit disrespectful not to remember.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Secret Science Club Post Lecture Recap: That's Amore!
Last night, I headed down to the beautiful Bell House for this month's Secret Science Club lecture, featuring biological anthropologist and love expert Dr Helen Fisher of the Rutgers University Anthropology Department Center for Human Evolutionary Studies and the Kinsey Institute. The title of the lecture was Lust Romance Attraction: The Drive to Love and Who We Choose.
Dr Fisher began her lecture by relating a conversation she had with an elder of a tribe of Papuan Highlanders who had three wives. She asked this individual how many wives he wanted and he answered, "None." While many societies are polygamous, only about 5-10% of individuals want many wives- most human adults form pair bonds. Dr Fisher recalled a statement attributed to Samuel Johnson, "Marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."
Dr Fisher was asked by the CEO of dating site Match.com, "Why do you fall in love with one person and not another?" Why are we drawn to each other? Is it chemistry, or more a matter of culture? For some people, love for one person can be overwhelming- Dr Fisher cited the Mayan ruler Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, who ruled over Tikal from 682-734. When Kalajuun Une' Mo', his young wife, died Jasaw Chan K'awiil I built a pyramid in her honor opposite his own pyramid tomb. The pyramids are aligned to the spring equinox so that 1,300 years after their construction, the love of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I and Kalajuun Une' Mo' touches.
Love is a powerful mind system, likened by the ancient Greeks to madness from the gods. Love, which is found in every society, has been the subject of countless myths, stories, operas, songs. Men tend to be more romantic than women... they usually want to move in together faster, and they are more likely to harm or kill others because of romantic passion. Love is a brain system like fear, disgust, or surprise. Dr Fisher likened love to a sleeping cat- it can wake up at any time. The brain system involved in love is the same for LGBTQ people as it is for heterosexual people.
Romantic love involves three neurotransmitter systems in the brain: dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Dr Fisher likened romantic love to an "intolerable neural itch". The sex drive is largely produced by testosterone. Attachment is driven by oxytocin and vasopressin.
Testosterone triggers the sex drive and stimulation of the genitals triggers the dopamine system. Dr Fisher joked that casual sex is not really casual, it can bring about feelings of attachment. The various systems aren't always working in concert- Dr Fisher likened their interaction to a 'committee meeting going on in your head'. Because of the varied interactions of these systems, humans are well built for pair bonding and adultery. We can leave bad relationships and hopefully form new ones. In seeking love and attachment, an individual has to balance intimacy versus autonomy.
The topic then shifted to the topic of romantic love and the traits associated with it. Oddly enough, as I'm typing this post up, this song started playing on the radi-adi-o (no joke). Romantic love involves attaching a special meaning to an individual, as George Bernard Shaw put it, "Love consists in overestimating the difference between one woman and another." In a romantic relationship, one tends to play up the qualities one likes in a partner while downplaying what one doesn't like. Romantic love involves intense energy- swings from euphoria to despair. Individuals feeling romantic love feel wobbly knees and butterflies in their stomachs. They wait for their lovers to call or otherwise contact them and generally feel emotional dependency. They engage in obsessive thinking- 'someone is camping in their head'. There is a craving for attention and for an emotional union. All of these feelings are connected to the dopamine system.
An MRI of an individual viewing a photograph of their loved one reveals that there is heightened activity in their ventral tegmental area, the brain's dopamine factory. The brain stem regulates the most primitive drives, thirst and hunger, and the hypothalamus regulates sex drive. Love is not really an emotion, love is a drive- the drive to win a mating partner. There are facial expressions that express anger or surprise, but none that express hunger or love. The love drive is more important than the sex drive. Romantic love can be likened to an addiction, it uses the same pathways in the brain.
Dr Fisher then had a short aside about rejection- if you've been rejected, can you let go? In one survey, 90% of college aged respondents indicated that they had both suffered rejection and had rejected others. Again, the ventral tegmental area is involved in the perception of rejection, which is similar to the craving suffered by an addict. Dr Fisher quipped, "Can Advil help?"
All animals have attraction systems but many animal species don't form pair bonds. Most birds form pair bonds but many mammals, including most primates, don't. Apes tend to be self-sufficient, but the hominids who took to the ground needed help from each other, with males taking on a larger parental role. At some stage in human evolution, a monogamy threshold was reached, which favored the evolution of brain circuitry for romantic love and attachment. While evolution of this new brain circuitry largely overturned promiscuity, it was not absolute by any means.
Dr Fisher then addressed the topic of attraction... Why him? Why her? Timing and proximity are big factors, as are socioeconomic and ethnic factors. Intelligence and looks and shared experiences are important, as are shared social values. Attraction involves the interaction of nature and nurture. Dr Fisher then digressed to talk about the differences in intimacy between men and women- women prefer face to face interaction while men prefer to sit side by side. While experiencing intimacy, one's L-dopa levels go up.
Most of the brain's systems are devoted to keeping the eyes seeing and the heart breathing. The four major brain systems devoted to more conscious behavior are the dopamine system, the serotonin system, the estrogen system, and the testosterone system. Dr Fisher detailed a study in which participants were asked to take a 56 page personality test in order to determine patters of nature, patterns of culture, patterns of personality, and patterns of mate choice. According to their answers, subjects were grouped into four categories, corresponding to the four behavioral brain systems.
Individuals who had high dopamine levels could be characterized as 'explorers'- they are curious, adventurous. They tend to make the most money and to lose the most money. They tend to be optimistic, enthusiastic, spontaneously generous, and creative. They are susceptible to boredom, can be reckless, they tend to be unreflective, and they can be opportunistic. They also tend to live in urban areas, where the action is, and they are attracted to other 'explorers'.
Individuals with high serotonin levels could be characterized as 'builders'- they are guardians, pillars of society, they tend to observe social norms. They tend to be cautious and modest and enjoy familiarity. They like orderliness and structure, are fact-oriented and literal... they tend to be concrete thinkers. They are usually modest and pragmatic. They like to belong and are usually calm and controlled. They believe in loyalty. They can also be close minded, controlling, and moralistic.
Individuals with high testosterone levels could be characterized as 'directors'. They tend to be analytical and rank-oriented. They tend to believe in dominance matching- an attack should be met with an attack. In confrontations, they loom in order to look big rather than crouching to look little. They tend to be emotionally contained or they block their emotions. They can be less empathetic- Dr Fisher noted that, evolutionarily speaking, men's jobs didn't require empathy- empathy doesn't help a hunter as it dispatches a baby gazelle.
Individuals with high estrogen levels could be characterized as 'negotiators', they also tend to have higher oxytocin levels. Women tend to have better connected brains than men do. Dr Fisher joked that, while there are more male geniuses than female geniuses, there are also more male idiots than females. Negotiators tend to be more intuitive and more empathetic- they are adept at reading postures, gestures, and tones of voice. They tend to be trusting, which often works against them when they trust the wrong person. If they trust the right person, then they can achieve metabolic savings- it's easier to function when you have a good partner. They tend to be introspective, finding meaning in everything. They tend to value harmony and have a high diplomatic intelligence. They can be scattered and indecisive, gullible, and overeager to please. They can also be backstabbing and unforgiving. They tend to have excellent memories.
Each individual is a combination of all four of these categories. Citing the case of Darwin, not only was he an explorer, but he was a connector- combining the dopamine and estrogen 'types'. Dr Fisher noted that all four types are needed for a functional social group- over millions of years of evolution, hominids tended to form bands of about twenty-five individuals, typically twelve juveniles and twelve to thirteen adults. If every individual in the group went after that unusual mushroom, the prospects of the band wouldn't be so great. In evolutionary matters, group selection is the key.
The lecture then shifted to a topic summed up by the question, can romantic love last? Long term romantic love involves activity in the ventral pallidum, a part of the brain involved in pain suppression and maintaining calm. Happy relationships involve positive allusions- focusing on what you like about your partner. Express empathy, overlook stress, and accentuate the positive. Introducing novelty into a relationship drives up dopamine levels. Touching, hugging, hand holding, and kissing raise oxytocin levels. Regular sex attaches the sex drive with the drive for romantic love. Expressing affection reduces cortisol levels in both partners.
The finale of the lecture involved the future of sex. Dr Fisher noted that the golden rule ("treat your partner as you want to be treated") should be superseded by the platinum rule: "Treat your partner as they want to be treated." When approaching a new relationship, you should ask yourself the following questions: Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who do I want others to think I am? What traits do I express? Dr Fisher noted that LGBTQ individuals do not differ from heterosexual individuals, people should just be categorized as normal. She stressed that dating apps do not change how we love, they only change how we court. We fall in love in the same way we have for millions of years, the algorithms just change how we meet. The one danger that these apps pose is cognitive overload- the more individuals we meet, the less we want particular individuals. We need more limited choices, we need to overlook certain things. Even looks stop counting after a while, so we need to think of reasons to say yes. There's a benefit to taking things slow, though, get to know individuals better.
A study of singles indicated that 50% of people have had one night stands or a 'friends with benefits' situation. While the press may characterize this 'hook up culture' as reckless, it's actually a cautious behavior. The main driver for this is the fear of divorce. People can try out partners on a 'pre-commitment' or 'commitment-lite' basis. Marriage isn't the beginning, but the end- and this attitude will probably lead to more happy marriages. There's an unquenchable, adaptive, primordial urge to love.
Oddly enough, while I asked a question in the Q&A, I totally forgot what my question was, and I didn't even drink that much beer. I blame an imbalance of neurotransmitters...
Dr Fisher features in a lot of videos, and it's hard to pick just one to express the topics covered in her lecture. Pick any one, pour yourself a libation, and soak in that secret science ambiance. Kudos to Dr Fisher, Margaret and Dorian, and the staff of the beautiful Bell House. Once again, the SSC served up a lovely, lovely lecture.
POSTSCRIPT: Finally remembered my question- it regarding 'gaming' the system by giving answers that the subject thought the questioner would ask. That elicited the bit about portraying yourself as you think the other person wishes you to be.
Dr Fisher began her lecture by relating a conversation she had with an elder of a tribe of Papuan Highlanders who had three wives. She asked this individual how many wives he wanted and he answered, "None." While many societies are polygamous, only about 5-10% of individuals want many wives- most human adults form pair bonds. Dr Fisher recalled a statement attributed to Samuel Johnson, "Marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."
Dr Fisher was asked by the CEO of dating site Match.com, "Why do you fall in love with one person and not another?" Why are we drawn to each other? Is it chemistry, or more a matter of culture? For some people, love for one person can be overwhelming- Dr Fisher cited the Mayan ruler Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, who ruled over Tikal from 682-734. When Kalajuun Une' Mo', his young wife, died Jasaw Chan K'awiil I built a pyramid in her honor opposite his own pyramid tomb. The pyramids are aligned to the spring equinox so that 1,300 years after their construction, the love of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I and Kalajuun Une' Mo' touches.
Love is a powerful mind system, likened by the ancient Greeks to madness from the gods. Love, which is found in every society, has been the subject of countless myths, stories, operas, songs. Men tend to be more romantic than women... they usually want to move in together faster, and they are more likely to harm or kill others because of romantic passion. Love is a brain system like fear, disgust, or surprise. Dr Fisher likened love to a sleeping cat- it can wake up at any time. The brain system involved in love is the same for LGBTQ people as it is for heterosexual people.
Romantic love involves three neurotransmitter systems in the brain: dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Dr Fisher likened romantic love to an "intolerable neural itch". The sex drive is largely produced by testosterone. Attachment is driven by oxytocin and vasopressin.
Testosterone triggers the sex drive and stimulation of the genitals triggers the dopamine system. Dr Fisher joked that casual sex is not really casual, it can bring about feelings of attachment. The various systems aren't always working in concert- Dr Fisher likened their interaction to a 'committee meeting going on in your head'. Because of the varied interactions of these systems, humans are well built for pair bonding and adultery. We can leave bad relationships and hopefully form new ones. In seeking love and attachment, an individual has to balance intimacy versus autonomy.
The topic then shifted to the topic of romantic love and the traits associated with it. Oddly enough, as I'm typing this post up, this song started playing on the radi-adi-o (no joke). Romantic love involves attaching a special meaning to an individual, as George Bernard Shaw put it, "Love consists in overestimating the difference between one woman and another." In a romantic relationship, one tends to play up the qualities one likes in a partner while downplaying what one doesn't like. Romantic love involves intense energy- swings from euphoria to despair. Individuals feeling romantic love feel wobbly knees and butterflies in their stomachs. They wait for their lovers to call or otherwise contact them and generally feel emotional dependency. They engage in obsessive thinking- 'someone is camping in their head'. There is a craving for attention and for an emotional union. All of these feelings are connected to the dopamine system.
An MRI of an individual viewing a photograph of their loved one reveals that there is heightened activity in their ventral tegmental area, the brain's dopamine factory. The brain stem regulates the most primitive drives, thirst and hunger, and the hypothalamus regulates sex drive. Love is not really an emotion, love is a drive- the drive to win a mating partner. There are facial expressions that express anger or surprise, but none that express hunger or love. The love drive is more important than the sex drive. Romantic love can be likened to an addiction, it uses the same pathways in the brain.
Dr Fisher then had a short aside about rejection- if you've been rejected, can you let go? In one survey, 90% of college aged respondents indicated that they had both suffered rejection and had rejected others. Again, the ventral tegmental area is involved in the perception of rejection, which is similar to the craving suffered by an addict. Dr Fisher quipped, "Can Advil help?"
All animals have attraction systems but many animal species don't form pair bonds. Most birds form pair bonds but many mammals, including most primates, don't. Apes tend to be self-sufficient, but the hominids who took to the ground needed help from each other, with males taking on a larger parental role. At some stage in human evolution, a monogamy threshold was reached, which favored the evolution of brain circuitry for romantic love and attachment. While evolution of this new brain circuitry largely overturned promiscuity, it was not absolute by any means.
Dr Fisher then addressed the topic of attraction... Why him? Why her? Timing and proximity are big factors, as are socioeconomic and ethnic factors. Intelligence and looks and shared experiences are important, as are shared social values. Attraction involves the interaction of nature and nurture. Dr Fisher then digressed to talk about the differences in intimacy between men and women- women prefer face to face interaction while men prefer to sit side by side. While experiencing intimacy, one's L-dopa levels go up.
Most of the brain's systems are devoted to keeping the eyes seeing and the heart breathing. The four major brain systems devoted to more conscious behavior are the dopamine system, the serotonin system, the estrogen system, and the testosterone system. Dr Fisher detailed a study in which participants were asked to take a 56 page personality test in order to determine patters of nature, patterns of culture, patterns of personality, and patterns of mate choice. According to their answers, subjects were grouped into four categories, corresponding to the four behavioral brain systems.
Individuals who had high dopamine levels could be characterized as 'explorers'- they are curious, adventurous. They tend to make the most money and to lose the most money. They tend to be optimistic, enthusiastic, spontaneously generous, and creative. They are susceptible to boredom, can be reckless, they tend to be unreflective, and they can be opportunistic. They also tend to live in urban areas, where the action is, and they are attracted to other 'explorers'.
Individuals with high serotonin levels could be characterized as 'builders'- they are guardians, pillars of society, they tend to observe social norms. They tend to be cautious and modest and enjoy familiarity. They like orderliness and structure, are fact-oriented and literal... they tend to be concrete thinkers. They are usually modest and pragmatic. They like to belong and are usually calm and controlled. They believe in loyalty. They can also be close minded, controlling, and moralistic.
Individuals with high testosterone levels could be characterized as 'directors'. They tend to be analytical and rank-oriented. They tend to believe in dominance matching- an attack should be met with an attack. In confrontations, they loom in order to look big rather than crouching to look little. They tend to be emotionally contained or they block their emotions. They can be less empathetic- Dr Fisher noted that, evolutionarily speaking, men's jobs didn't require empathy- empathy doesn't help a hunter as it dispatches a baby gazelle.
Individuals with high estrogen levels could be characterized as 'negotiators', they also tend to have higher oxytocin levels. Women tend to have better connected brains than men do. Dr Fisher joked that, while there are more male geniuses than female geniuses, there are also more male idiots than females. Negotiators tend to be more intuitive and more empathetic- they are adept at reading postures, gestures, and tones of voice. They tend to be trusting, which often works against them when they trust the wrong person. If they trust the right person, then they can achieve metabolic savings- it's easier to function when you have a good partner. They tend to be introspective, finding meaning in everything. They tend to value harmony and have a high diplomatic intelligence. They can be scattered and indecisive, gullible, and overeager to please. They can also be backstabbing and unforgiving. They tend to have excellent memories.
Each individual is a combination of all four of these categories. Citing the case of Darwin, not only was he an explorer, but he was a connector- combining the dopamine and estrogen 'types'. Dr Fisher noted that all four types are needed for a functional social group- over millions of years of evolution, hominids tended to form bands of about twenty-five individuals, typically twelve juveniles and twelve to thirteen adults. If every individual in the group went after that unusual mushroom, the prospects of the band wouldn't be so great. In evolutionary matters, group selection is the key.
The lecture then shifted to a topic summed up by the question, can romantic love last? Long term romantic love involves activity in the ventral pallidum, a part of the brain involved in pain suppression and maintaining calm. Happy relationships involve positive allusions- focusing on what you like about your partner. Express empathy, overlook stress, and accentuate the positive. Introducing novelty into a relationship drives up dopamine levels. Touching, hugging, hand holding, and kissing raise oxytocin levels. Regular sex attaches the sex drive with the drive for romantic love. Expressing affection reduces cortisol levels in both partners.
The finale of the lecture involved the future of sex. Dr Fisher noted that the golden rule ("treat your partner as you want to be treated") should be superseded by the platinum rule: "Treat your partner as they want to be treated." When approaching a new relationship, you should ask yourself the following questions: Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who do I want others to think I am? What traits do I express? Dr Fisher noted that LGBTQ individuals do not differ from heterosexual individuals, people should just be categorized as normal. She stressed that dating apps do not change how we love, they only change how we court. We fall in love in the same way we have for millions of years, the algorithms just change how we meet. The one danger that these apps pose is cognitive overload- the more individuals we meet, the less we want particular individuals. We need more limited choices, we need to overlook certain things. Even looks stop counting after a while, so we need to think of reasons to say yes. There's a benefit to taking things slow, though, get to know individuals better.
A study of singles indicated that 50% of people have had one night stands or a 'friends with benefits' situation. While the press may characterize this 'hook up culture' as reckless, it's actually a cautious behavior. The main driver for this is the fear of divorce. People can try out partners on a 'pre-commitment' or 'commitment-lite' basis. Marriage isn't the beginning, but the end- and this attitude will probably lead to more happy marriages. There's an unquenchable, adaptive, primordial urge to love.
Oddly enough, while I asked a question in the Q&A, I totally forgot what my question was, and I didn't even drink that much beer. I blame an imbalance of neurotransmitters...
Dr Fisher features in a lot of videos, and it's hard to pick just one to express the topics covered in her lecture. Pick any one, pour yourself a libation, and soak in that secret science ambiance. Kudos to Dr Fisher, Margaret and Dorian, and the staff of the beautiful Bell House. Once again, the SSC served up a lovely, lovely lecture.
POSTSCRIPT: Finally remembered my question- it regarding 'gaming' the system by giving answers that the subject thought the questioner would ask. That elicited the bit about portraying yourself as you think the other person wishes you to be.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Pluerotus Plunder?
Last December, I chanced upon a bounty of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sp.), and I've been inspecting dead and moribund trees for signs of these fall-to-early spring 'shrooms ever since. While I haven't found any mushrooms worth harvesting, I've found some promising growths to investigate in the near future:
The organization has a staff of talented carpenters- the sort of talented woodworkers who do fine work for our facilities and in their downtime crank out rustic benches on which our visitors can sit for a while:
After checking out the clever use of expansion wedges inserted into the end of the legs in order to fasten them firmly to the seat of the bench, look at that frilly off-white growth on the edge of the bench:
Looks promising to me... and we're supposed to have rain for the next couple of days.
The organization has a staff of talented carpenters- the sort of talented woodworkers who do fine work for our facilities and in their downtime crank out rustic benches on which our visitors can sit for a while:
After checking out the clever use of expansion wedges inserted into the end of the legs in order to fasten them firmly to the seat of the bench, look at that frilly off-white growth on the edge of the bench:
Looks promising to me... and we're supposed to have rain for the next couple of days.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Search Terms, WTF?
Every so often, I check my stats, and I never fail to marvel at some of the search terms that people have typed into their search engines before finding this place. This week, I've had a head scratcher and a knee slapper:
landangirl cont namber
philistin hotboobs
I have no idea what the first one could possibly mean, but the second one is hilarious. I totally call dibs on the band name 'Philistine Hotboobs'- unless, of course, the lead singer of philistin hotboobs was the one googling his or her band name. If so, please send me an mp3 of your first single, and I'll post it.
landangirl cont namber
philistin hotboobs
I have no idea what the first one could possibly mean, but the second one is hilarious. I totally call dibs on the band name 'Philistine Hotboobs'- unless, of course, the lead singer of philistin hotboobs was the one googling his or her band name. If so, please send me an mp3 of your first single, and I'll post it.
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