@Randem

I brought it up here and here, and then overtly raised the question here: why does it seem that the terror threats always seem to increase right before an election?

It appears that I now have my answer. The New Republic has an article up detailing the research of three psychologists who've discovered that behavior can be altered to favor one candidate over another when the voters' are encouraged (subconsciously, of course) of their mortality.

In their experiments, Solomon, Greenberg, and Pyszczynski make a good case that mortality reminders from September 11 enhanced Bush's popularity through November 2004. But, on the basis of their research, it is possible to draw even broader conclusions about U.S. politics after September 11. Mortality reminders not only enhanced the appeal of Bush's political style but also deepened and broadened the appeal of the conservative social positions that Republicans had been running on.

Scary stuff, man. Go read it. Understand what they're doing. Subconscious manipulation stops working once you're conscious of it.

Labels: national security, politics

This has to be just about the coolest watch I've ever seen.

I'm sure that's reflected in the $25k price tag.

Labels: wishlist

I've created a new recommended reading list, which consists of the books that have been most helpful to me growing as a person.

I've read a lot of books in order to find these. I hope we're all trying to learn and grow with every new day, and for my readers who are, I feel these books are excellent places to start.

Labels: books, reviews

I'm really enjoying the Skull-A-Day blog. The author posts a new image of a skull every day. They're all very creative and original. Today's skull was carved from an organic bell pepper.

Labels: fun

I just read this story about PRISM — an astroturf organization established by science publishers to discredit free open access journals — illegally using copyrighted materials on the very web site they created to promote locking up scientific knowledge for profit. Yes folks, they bandy all these moral arguments for maximizing copyright and protecting rights, and then in the very web site where they do this, they use copyrighted images pilfered from elsewhere.

I can't help thinking there needs to be a “hypocrite clause” in our law books. Any time someone is making an argument for something, and then current evidence is found to prove that they don't adhere to the principle for which they are arguing, their arguments should be thrown out.

If you're going to stand on morals, you have to be moral.

Labels: science

Google users familiar with iGoogle can relate to the frustration of having to choose from the seven themes available when customizing your iGoogle page.

Fortunately, Greg Bullock has made a solution available over at his website. He has created a custom iGoogle skins Google gadget for iGoogle users. The gadget includes many new, more attractive skins for iGoogle, and also allows you to create your own.

Naturally, I chose the steampunk theme.

Labels: steampunk, tech

The last bastions of hope in our defense against hijacking hijinks, the TSA, have proven once again that safety and security are not possible with bureaucracy.

In their latest caper, those wild-and-zany protectors of our freedom ran a passenger's bag through the security scanner and saw something that looked suspicious. The scanner operator waved over another TSA employee, who confirmed the suspiciousness of the item on the scanner. Lucy! You got some 'splainin to do! The passenger had brazenly tried to carry a container of pudding on board the airplane, and it would have worked, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids.

The crusaders of justice had prevailed, thwarting another evil attempt to carry a liquid onto an airplane. Freedom has been protected. Americans can sleep safely at night, confident that Bin Laden and his brood won't get past our defenses.

Later in the day, after his first flight and before his connecting flight, our passenger was rummaging through his bag in search of a pen, when he discovered he had inadvertently left a knife with a four-inch blade in his bag. One can only presume that possession of a stabby-stab knife of stabbing is not nearly as big a threat to our national security as a pudding. Maybe it's the calories.

Labels: national security, politics

I don't believe they had this when I lived in Florida.

That's a shame, too, because I'd have gone! What a great idea!

Labels: freaks, fun

Labels: fun

I stopped at the Apple store on Michigan Avenue on Saturday to have a look at all the newest stuff they've got out.

The new iMacs are beautiful, well-priced, and have enormous screens. I think I want one. And the Apple TV was something that didn't really wow me when I read about it online, but playing with one in the store made a big difference. I think I want one of those, too.

Somehow, in spite of all the iPhone hype, I managed to walk into the Apple store without the thought ever entering my mind. But upon entry, you're surrounded by demo models of iPhones, and after I'd played with everything else, I went ahead and played with an iPhone.

I love it! It's awesome. I'm going to see if The New AT&T (formerly known as Cingular) will be offering them, since my contract will be up for renewal in a few months. If I can wait and get it at a discounted rate for signing a new contract, I will. If not, I may just go buy one next week.

Labels: tech, wishlist

In spite of stop-and-start rain that tried to interrupt the show, Chicagoans came out en masse to watch.

The morning was cloudy but dry, and people were gathered along Lakeshore Dr. for miles, watching in awe. But when the rain came down, I was surprised to see that very few people gave up.

Most people, apparently accustomed to being in the city, had umbrellas in their backpacks, and they weren't about to let a little rain stop them from seeing the show. What a feeling, standing tall with my fellow Chicagoans in defiance of Mother Nature.

For me, the bi-planes and single-props make for nice filler, the bombers are okay, and I didn't even manage to see the water show, but the real meat and potatoes is the combat jets streaking through the city. The sound of an afterburner crashing down over your head at Mach 2 is incredible.

The best part of the whole show, however, isn't the planes. When you watch a jet flying at hundreds of miles per hour suddenly pull up and climb out of the atmosphere, yeah that's cool. But ten seconds later, a giant ripping noise hits you in the wake of the jet tearing open the sky.

When that sound goes through you your jaw drops in awe. As you turn and look around, you find you are surrounded by hundreds of similarly dropped jaws, all smiling in awe. THAT is the best part of the show.

Labels: chicago, fun, photography

I saw this in the street directly across from my cousin's house. The neighborhood kids had constructed a basketball hoop by removing the bottom from a milk crate and then attaching it to a piece of plywood.

They played on it for a week, until one over-zealous participant slam dunked the ball, ripping the crate down from the plywood backboard.

Labels: hack, sports

Holy cow. Why do they still allow these people to breed?



Okay, the author of this piece is out there, right now, polluting our gene pool... as are the idiots who were responsible for this person's education. This is your anti-abortion crowd: people who's family tree needs to be fed into a wood chipper!

I don't even have to get into any discussion over religion or atheism. This goes beyond that. This is about education. This is about breeding. This is about letting the weaker members of the species die off in order to make the species stronger as a whole. Someone get this wack-job some cyanide. Please.

Labels: rant, religion

As much as Barry Bonds sickens me, I'm glad he finally broke the record. Not because I'm happy for him, but because I finally don't have to hear about him any more. To quote Phil Rogers at ESPN.com,

After a 30-day stretch in which a .279 hitter on a last-place team has dominated the headlines in baseball — that is, from the time that Barry Bonds spent an hour in front of reporters on the eve of the All-Star Game until Tuesday night, after a home run that set out the jubilant celebration that extended from AT&T Park almost all the way to Alcatraz — the focus shifts back to simpler pursuits.

So it's official. Every facet of the great American pass time has been tainted. There is no sacred ground left. Now I just feel bad for the handful of decent men who tried to preserve the integrity of the sport — guys like Ken Griffey Jr., who is only 11 homers away from 600. His mark — heroic in my mind — will never hit the radar in a world dominated by the juice, the cream, and the clear.

Labels: baseball, sports

If this seems like a shameless attempt to get someone else to buy this for me, well, it is. I really want one of these clocks.

Labels: steampunk, wishlist

Labels: chicago, photography

Helmut Newton: Known for fashion and nudes illustrating themes of mass media, glamour, sex, and theater "I get inspired, in America, by a certain kind of sleaziness."

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Labels: fun, photography

The Barenaked Lads, enjoying their third year of success in Chicago, are going to hold a "Naked Night" in which the audience as well as the cast will be completely nude. Holy audience participation, Batman!

Yeah, I know it sounds cool at first but let me remind you, dear reader, that this is the theater crowd we're talking about. I'm sure you can count on being surrounded by hundreds of old, fat, wrinkly bodies with way too much hair growing out of way too many places — just like any nude beach.

Labels: chicago, fun, weird