tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58179632012-02-16T10:00:52.949-08:00Fair and Balanced BlogificationStuff that catches my attention, including rugby, current events, links, and other important information.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.comBlogger2571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-13176949245013401732009-10-23T13:41:00.000-07:002009-10-23T14:07:58.275-07:00Lawrence Lessig is kind of a hero to me. He's working to change congress by shining a light on the influence of money on legislation. His approach seems to be to find obvious examples where a reasonable person would conclude the trade of campaign money for legislation and then raise money to run an ad campaign in the politician's district with convincing evidence that the politician in questionBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-20780234966343650492009-03-30T10:55:00.000-07:002009-03-30T11:41:29.369-07:00A "pro-test" is apparently a protest in favor of biomedical research. On April 22nd, 2009 at 11:30, scientists, students and patients are being invited to one such protest at UCLA. More information is available at the UCLA pro-test website.
UCLA scientists have been the targets of a campaign of violence aimed at ending animal research. UCLA has an official statement that summarizes the Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-23476187680769051022009-02-24T00:45:00.001-08:002009-02-24T00:45:38.183-08:00I have modernized! I may or may not stick with the new look.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-4214014439641524292009-02-23T14:09:00.000-08:002009-02-23T16:01:18.880-08:00My brother-in-law,Robert is illustrating a series of books about dinosaurs. One of the images shows that a particular dino is about the length of two cars. Here's the image in question:The car on the right is based on my car, and the driver is me! The one on the left is my sister driving Robert's car. As a lover of dinosaurs, it's really exciting to imagine driving on the highway with some Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-30118073350614315862009-01-23T19:50:00.000-08:002009-03-17T11:33:04.670-07:00We just had an earthquake, which, being in California isn't that big a deal, except the epicenter was maybe 6 miles from our place. Here's the USGS link. (Edit: the link broke. I guess the USGS site only keeps info about quakes up for a short time.)
It wasn't huge, but being so close made it feel a lot more intense.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-18440534015615589202008-12-18T17:09:00.000-08:002008-12-18T17:11:01.566-08:00I guess UPS filmed a commercial in the driveway of the building in which I work this morning. Apparently it will air on ESPN prior to and during the upcoming NASCAR season. That basically makes me famous, right?Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-24895406507875327812008-12-14T13:40:00.000-08:002008-12-14T13:48:52.395-08:00I wrote this up elsewhere, but I figure I'd better get as much exposure as possible if my career as a food critic is going to take off. So without further ado, my review of uWink at Hollywood and Highland center.
Nikki and I went to uWink in Hollywood to meet some friends for a birthday celebration. Being our friends, they were about an hour late, so we had ample time to hang out at the bar andBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-61098388367988604262008-11-20T18:07:00.000-08:002008-11-20T18:34:01.774-08:00I believe I've posted about the definite article before (it's "the"). I encounter its misuse in scientific texts written by non-native English speakers (understandably, as English is unusual in its use of the definite article). I've been asked to make comments on a text that seems to be using this word inappropriately, but I have trouble articulating why it is wrong, and how to correct this Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-75446779767070747392008-11-05T15:57:00.000-08:002008-11-05T15:59:20.449-08:00At long last, two of my favorite publications in head to head competition!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-65850508845749829082008-11-02T12:57:00.000-08:002008-11-02T13:01:23.910-08:00Due to the time change, my birthday this year lasts 25 hours. Longest. birthday. ever!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-34618631444408138702008-10-11T12:24:00.000-07:002008-10-11T12:55:02.139-07:00The report on Gov. Palin's involvement with the disciplinary action against Mike Wooten is out. You can check it out courtesy of CNN [pdf]. The first finding of the report is that Palin abused her power by violating the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. The text of mentioned act is available from the great state of Alaska here [pdf].
There are no criminal penalties for violating this Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-71459887978692215462008-09-16T19:29:00.000-07:002008-09-16T19:30:15.194-07:00The photographer at our wedding has blogged us.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-22382097350484300252008-09-16T11:11:00.000-07:002008-09-16T11:13:24.834-07:00Thanks to Sum-yan for pointing out this artist who does paintings of the kinds of things neuroscientists spend a lot time looking at.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-72715665485948863862008-07-19T18:06:00.000-07:002008-08-16T13:41:13.103-07:00Seriously, though, you probably already knew about:
I guess it's only available for free streaming for the next 30 hours or so. Thereafter you pays your money and you takes your chance.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-61413383795542212712008-07-12T10:57:00.000-07:002008-07-12T11:09:26.134-07:00
Yeah, I'm a little surprised myself.
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-41497922522155188322008-07-07T11:48:00.000-07:002008-07-07T12:13:38.089-07:00I got a new car. It's the Honda Fit Sport. It's red. I'll take some photos of it later, but for now I want to record the tale of my buying experience.
My credit union has a service where they negotiate prices for all kinds of cars with dealers throughout the country. For some reason, Airport Marina Honda was being coy about offering me the pre-negotiated price. It was weird. So I hemmed andBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-67741007795716333162008-06-05T10:44:00.000-07:002008-06-05T11:09:59.409-07:00Last night I ran into an old acquaintance of mine, the actor formerly known as Elizabeth. She waved me into the restaurant where she was sitting. I popped in to say hello. She introduced me to her dining companion, Yeardley Smith. That's right, I shook hands with the voice of Lisa Simpson.
If IMDB is to be believed, the two are working together on a project, "Waiting for Ophelia".Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-81903560118341300482008-01-10T10:14:00.000-08:002008-01-10T10:18:42.881-08:00Okay, we all heard about Hillary's sudden outbreak of emotion in a coffee shop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. What you don't know is that it's also my sister's favorite place to go for breakfast. I guess they have excellent cinnamon buns, although they've never moved my sister to tears. She wasn't present, though, at that fateful moment.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-18006419235174668422008-01-03T12:46:00.000-08:002008-01-03T12:50:44.510-08:00
My grandfather, James Taylor, died on December 13th. Here's his obituary. We'll miss you, grandpa.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-42924196577490702182007-12-05T14:04:00.000-08:002007-12-05T14:33:19.726-08:00
So I get really upset by unsafe driving, and the inevitable consequence of unsafe driving, traffic accidents. If it were possible for you to drive dangerously but for everyone else to be safe, then that would be a personal choice I'd be willing to let you make. One might claim that good defensive driving will inure someone from the consequences of another driver's unsafe choices. Keep safe Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-77357628249443862812007-11-20T09:40:00.001-08:002007-11-20T09:44:52.747-08:00Ok, so here are a couple of fun LA moments from my life:
I was going out for breakfast with a couple people on Sunday two weeks ago, but for some reason traffic on Fairfax was moving super slow. It turns out the road was closed and everyone was being diverted. We went up a side-street paralleling Fairfax. As we stopped at a stop sign, I looked over toward Fairfax and saw a giant elephant justBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-27131060737921400472007-10-11T17:12:00.000-07:002007-10-11T17:13:28.311-07:00Google whack: cromulent minuend.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-85046255029790532372007-10-09T23:15:00.000-07:002007-10-09T23:20:38.593-07:00So I've got my ubuntu server up and running. So far it's just acting as a file (samba) and print (cups) server for my local network. I got brave, though, and poked through my firewall/router to let ssh traffic through. I registered at no-ip.com and I think I have their ip updater client running, so now I can ssh to benvis.no-ip.org and poke around my files from an offsite computer.
I was Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-60490488264762085592007-10-05T16:21:00.000-07:002007-10-05T16:24:10.277-07:00There you have it, folks. Proof positive that spam is evil.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-39744125315399172092007-09-26T16:35:00.000-07:002007-09-26T16:37:42.534-07:00I was involved in the production of this video which was presented at the USC Neuroscience Graduate Program 2007 retreat.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-11314084483382270142007-08-20T22:38:00.000-07:002007-08-20T23:22:01.080-07:00Through no real fault of my own, I am now the owner of an iPod Nano.
Maybe it's because I'm a control freak, or maybe I'm just a bad person, but I don't really like software that Just worksTM. I want to be directing software to work, not watching it just kind of do its own thing. As such, iTunes and me don't get along. A brief googling (they hate it when you do that) turned up no real advice.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-8849702505088614522007-08-01T15:56:00.000-07:002007-08-01T15:57:52.511-07:00I'm in Galway, Ireland. I've been doing a lot of driving (on the left!) lately, but soon we're off to the Aran Islands, where there'll be no driving for me.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-86415759263041593472007-07-23T16:45:00.000-07:002007-07-23T16:47:23.734-07:00I'm leaving for Ireland (the republic thereof, to be specific) tomorrow. I'll be back in two weeks. Leave me a comment and I'll drink an Irish Stout just for you!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-73694127110988906742007-06-08T18:32:00.000-07:002007-06-08T18:51:41.782-07:00So, Brik Wars sounds like a whole lot of fun. Or at least it sounds like a whole lot of attempt to recapture happy moments from childhood. Either way, it makes me want to go out and buy LEGO stuff. Man, now I just need to get my old lego collection out of my Mom's attic. She'd probably appreciate that. And if this doesn't look like fun to you, then you're probably not half the nerd I thoughtBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-62004415630744930082007-05-07T13:44:00.000-07:002007-05-07T14:07:02.185-07:00I haven't been posting about Cal Rugby mostly because I'm no longer in the area. I tried to go to the UCLA tournament, but I'm kind of stupid so I showed up about 10 minutes after the tournament was over. I can, however, offer a brief summary of the season.
Cal took the national championship in a finals match against BYU with a final of 37-7. Cal took the 'Rugby World Cup' (awarded to the Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839181562583560983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-66939664406556025592007-04-24T20:13:00.000-07:002007-04-24T20:18:05.639-07:00Do you love to knulla? The owner of this particular automobile probably does.
I saw that outside a burger joint in Santa Monica. Camera phone + bluetooth laptop = win!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-3439578848127853022007-04-17T17:24:00.000-07:002007-04-17T17:25:54.346-07:00A hipster walks into a bar...Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-23564371360217946852007-04-12T13:34:00.000-07:002007-05-06T16:15:44.888-07:00From Slaughterhouse-Five, Or The Children's Crusade : A Duty-dance with Death
The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-45665972242218206742007-03-20T02:16:00.000-07:002007-03-20T02:19:01.789-07:00This game reminded me of the oldschool game called Harmony. Good times.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-62855268709358826192007-03-15T10:22:00.000-07:002007-03-15T10:28:44.359-07:00I was going to post about Senator Chuck Schumer (D New York) and his imaginary middle-class friends, the Baileys. I got sidetracked, though, by the New Yorker caption contest.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-91315797818148357642007-03-13T20:41:00.000-07:002007-03-13T21:24:11.698-07:00Are you bothered by the radical liberal slant of the media? Or maybe a better question is: are you bothered by the radical liberal slant of people on the internet? People in general? The Bible itself? Well, now there's a place for you to write stuff: behold, Conservapedia. Note most of the touted 4,500 articles are a sentence or less in length and contain no citations (so there's plenty for Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-11425518522879798592007-03-10T21:24:00.000-08:002007-03-11T15:47:56.603-07:00As part of the general effort to recruit new students, we had a graduate student research symposium today. After the symposium, we took the recruits on a photo scavenger hunt. It started on USC central campus, but then we hopped on the train up to hollywood and took wacky pictures. I mention this only as a vehicle to brag about my second celebrity siting. In front of the Kodak theater were Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-26120825267097730062007-03-05T23:26:00.000-08:002007-03-05T23:50:56.033-08:00So thanks to Samay and a few other people, I was inspired to head over to LACMA (that's LA County Museum of Art) to check out an exhibit of Magritte and Magritte-inspired work. There was a pretty long line to get tickets (at seventeen bucks for students, 20 for general), and an even longer line to actually get in. this was at, oh, about 1:40 pm. Take note of that time before you click the next Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-46034663690895567982007-03-04T15:50:00.000-08:002007-03-04T15:52:09.769-08:00So I got a Nintendo Wii a few weeks ago. I have, in addition to wii sports, the newest Zelda game, plus two gamecube games. I'm posting about it now because I got it hooked up to these here internets and now have a ravenous hunger for friend codes. I don't even know what that means, really, but it grips me.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-562568055330948362007-02-26T22:54:00.000-08:002007-02-26T22:59:31.700-08:00Remember, if your clothes catch on fire, Stop, Drop and Roll. Like a cookie monster. Unless you're in hell. I've heard it doesn't work there.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-19639150229986627622007-01-24T15:58:00.000-08:002007-01-26T17:02:37.409-08:00Witness my new-found prowess with photoshop and illustrator! Behold: my gorgeous poster.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-10379901201104828702007-01-20T11:09:00.000-08:002007-01-20T11:16:34.217-08:00Ok, here's the photo of the disasterous failure of the glass martini shaker.
And here are the dire results.
PS Thanks for the image shack idea, Ken. Also, from my initial observations, the bartender does pour into the pint glass first. This is consistent with my hypothesis, although it doesn't rule out many other hypotheses.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-70052508339764284152007-01-09T22:48:00.000-08:002007-01-09T22:51:13.998-08:00Google image labeler is a lot of fun, and it's right up my alley. Try to cooperate with an anonymous stranger on the internet. Also, "accretion" seems to be a popular choice.
And yes, I'm aware I'm voluntarily spending my free time enriching google share-holders. On the other hand, I just noticed I own like, 2% of one share of google.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1351239428629425592007-01-01T12:22:00.000-08:002007-01-01T12:27:07.681-08:00Bed Bath and Beyond sells a very pretty etched glass martini set. Features include 4 uniquely styled martini glasses, glass olive toothpicks, and a glass shaker that explodes the first time you use it.
That's right. It shattered in my hand, producing minor lacerations in three places on my fingers. It wasn't serious, but it was kind of a downer on new year's eve. I'd stay away from this one.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-57012839442494661992006-12-31T11:46:00.000-08:002006-12-31T11:52:36.870-08:00And a happy New Year.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1167026937334770092006-12-24T22:08:00.000-08:002006-12-24T22:08:57.336-08:00Merry Christmas to all!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1166483441272616382006-12-18T15:04:00.000-08:002006-12-18T15:11:32.136-08:00
Ok, so I'm at a bit of a loss here, and I'm calling to the ether for help.
My grandmother loves to play bejeweled. I want to give her another game for Christmas so she has some options. Can anyone recommend something?
Here's what makes bejeweled good for Grandma: large, colorful graphics (she doesn't see too well), no time limits, works by default, simple game play, flashy noisy rewards for Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1164243004126556702006-11-22T16:47:00.000-08:002006-11-22T16:50:04.140-08:00Ok, so:
No Points Name Hp [max]
1 3941946 Bentomere-Wiz-Elf-Mal-Cha ascended to demigod-hood. 283 [284]
I beat nethack. I only cheated a little. Nethack is aggravating and tough to learn, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty fun. It's free and more than 20 years old: Nethack.org. You'll also want: Nethack spoilersBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1162486978114623522006-11-02T09:02:00.000-08:002006-11-02T09:02:58.116-08:00Happy birthday to me.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1161310181995703922006-10-19T19:00:00.000-07:002006-10-19T19:09:42.006-07:00
This happened on Tuesday. He's in the class I had on Monday. He was acting weird in class on Monday. He interrupted lecture to deliver a rant on how the medical community shouldn't tell him how many hours of sleep he needs (I should mention the lecture was related to sleep research). Also, before class he explained to one of my classmates how most grad students are incompetent and their Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1159341586239517222006-09-27T00:16:00.000-07:002006-09-27T00:19:46.253-07:00Tonight I went to a Snow Patrol concert (they do the "If I just lay here" song). Rufus Wainwright's sister opened, and then Augustana played ("I think I'll go to Boston"). It was pretty fun. One member of my party pointed out that Zach Braff was in the crowd. I think she saw Mandy Moore with him, but all I saw was some girl next to him. It's LA. It would be weird if the girl next to him *Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1157225940829461252006-09-02T12:37:00.000-07:002006-09-02T12:39:41.143-07:00Go go college football. I'm still rooting for the Bears, but now I can be happy about USC winning, too.
In other news, I think I'm going to be working for at least a couple months with a professor named Norberto Grzywacz. Yeah. Everyone just calls him Norberto.
Also, can anyone convince me to join this myspace craze? Frankly, it scares me.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1154983833844422162006-08-07T13:49:00.000-07:002006-08-07T13:50:33.856-07:00It seems I've become an Angelino. I'm as shocked as you are. Contact me for updated address and phone number stuff, if you want. I'll probably get around to sending out some kind of mass email or something. Also, come visit.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1151087842747821832006-06-23T11:35:00.000-07:002006-06-23T11:37:22.760-07:00How do you feel? We feel fine. I feel happy when I find something on the web that does something I had never thought of.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1147893199170234852006-05-17T12:11:00.000-07:002006-05-17T12:13:19.180-07:00Also: The results of the Best Visual Illusion Contest. May also serve as a benchmark for a "can your browser display pretty much any junk format thrown at it?" contest.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1147891372645013972006-05-17T11:27:00.000-07:002006-05-17T11:42:52.720-07:00And now I share with you, the intertrons, a quote I particularly enjoyed: "Ivan is properly disdainful of the directionless hedonism of the average, unfocussed American teen-ager, but directionless hedonism and lack of focus are powerful forces, and you never know." (from "Title IX Babies", by David Owen in the May 15, 2006 New Yorker).Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1145642150568994512006-04-21T10:55:00.000-07:002006-04-21T10:55:50.586-07:00Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1143912654637322512006-04-01T09:30:00.000-08:002006-04-01T09:30:54.650-08:00A confession: I just accidentally cut myself. With my toenail.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1138303352888452912006-01-26T10:26:00.000-08:002006-01-26T11:38:37.283-08:00Rugby update:
Cal won their first match of the season by landslide. Last weekend was the Pac-10 tournament. Cal also won that, but Washington State gave them a run for their money with an early lead. Cal came back to win 27-6.
The next home game is this weekend: Saturday the 28th 1:00 pm against UC Davis. I hope the weather is better for this one. Gooo Bears!
Also, some of you may know this Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1138171727950545742006-01-24T22:47:00.000-08:002006-01-24T22:48:47.960-08:00Here is how to Restore the Show Desktop Icon in Windows XP. It works; I had to do it.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1136926621419324542006-01-10T12:49:00.000-08:002006-01-10T13:04:30.446-08:00
Cal Rugby starts up this weekend. On Witter field at 1:00 pm, Cal takes on Humboldt State. HSU's team should be pretty good. They are in division II, but they lost out on the division II championship by a mere two points. After the HSU game, Cal's second side takes on Maritime Academy.
The Pac-10 rugby tournament is next weekend at UCLA. I may try to head down to check it out. Contact meBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1135665875015261712005-12-26T22:43:00.000-08:002005-12-26T22:44:35.026-08:00I have found that exaptation triumvirate is a google whack. yay for me!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1135540008139994862005-12-25T11:43:00.000-08:002005-12-25T11:46:48.156-08:00We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (with associated good tidings to you and your kin)Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1135194308884464582005-12-21T11:44:00.000-08:002005-12-21T11:46:03.903-08:00'Cause I know you love that Chronic
les of Narnia.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1134371219754688892005-12-11T23:04:00.000-08:002005-12-11T23:06:59.763-08:00It's almost time for Christmas in the Balroom 2005, or XB2k5. I'm in it. It will be fun. Linkage to more information.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1131837905483865122005-11-12T15:22:00.000-08:002005-11-12T15:58:39.353-08:00It's bad enough going up against number 1. Going up against number 1 and a self-defeating qb, well, that bird's not going to fly. The last five minutes, though, made me wonder about Levy. He played with some authority, and he showed some promise. Of course that fumble (and that almost fumble) didn't look good, but maybe we'll see him at the Big Game.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1131127315136409462005-11-04T09:59:00.000-08:002005-11-04T10:04:21.760-08:00
Since approximately half of the readership here is in to David Lynch, I thought you might be interested. David Lynch is coming to Berkeley on Sunday to talk about consciousness and meditation, or some such hippy nonsense. Anyway, he'll be doing an EEG demonstration to show the brainwaves of someone doing transcendental meditation. I'm into EEG as well as hippy nonsense, so I may end up going.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1130730309359321182005-10-30T19:44:00.000-08:002005-10-30T19:45:09.370-08:00Believe your noodly master, honBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1130521941183487602005-10-28T10:48:00.000-07:002005-10-28T10:52:21.196-07:00Being in power means there's always someone to take the fall.
The article mentions, though, that Cheney is still "under investigation and in legal jeopardy." We'll see where that goes in, what, another two years?Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1130048540682175972005-10-22T23:18:00.000-07:002005-10-22T23:22:20.696-07:00And what a game it was! Cal 42, WSU 38. It was a cliffhanger to the very end. Our defense really stepped up in the fourth quarter, and the offense did it's job. It's true: the fourth quarter's ours.
They did show off some of our weaknesses. WSU found a mismatch in our pass coverage, and they made scoring on us look easy in the third quarter. Their running game was more successful than I Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1129937838449516232005-10-21T16:36:00.000-07:002005-10-21T16:37:18.456-07:00I just scored two free tickets to the Cal vs WSU game tomorrow. They're in the donor's section right next to the student section. Goooo Bears!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1129652624852735262005-10-18T09:14:00.000-07:002005-10-18T09:23:44.860-07:00R.I.P Yvonne De Ridder Files 1908(?) to 2005.
*
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1129418845124118982005-10-15T16:24:00.000-07:002005-10-15T16:27:39.530-07:00I wanted to believe we really were a great team this season, but I couldn't help but feel that we were a pretty good team getting lucky. I still have hope, but really I'm just hoping for more good luck. I don't see Ayoob making much progress, and we're just being worn down by injury after injury.
Well, at least we can still enjoy demolishing Stanford when the time comes, and anything can hapen Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1129163483003501702005-10-12T17:29:00.000-07:002005-10-12T17:31:23.006-07:00In case you were wondering, and I know you were, here is the answer to what exactly constitutes civilization.
Now that I'm sure you're wondering, I'm posting this so anyone hearing me say "x is civilization" can understand the depth of my dedication to "x"Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1128990803796497902005-10-10T17:30:00.000-07:002005-10-10T17:33:23.803-07:00
Riddle me this.
I am trying to come up with a riddle based on the following notion: The better an arbitrator is, the less arbitrary his decisions are. Any help?
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1128725410738089532005-10-07T15:47:00.000-07:002005-10-07T15:50:10.746-07:00
Here's my quote for the ages: Functionally organized visual cortex is a concept of post-Ford construction, and it is unlikely to arise in a biological system.
I don't have any evidence for my claim. The only thing I can indicate (and this sort of thing never proves anything) is a lack of evidence for a functionally organized visual cortex.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1128019480973044652005-09-29T11:41:00.000-07:002005-09-29T11:44:40.976-07:00So this morning I stop by a campus cafe and grab an Odwalla drink. The sign says Odwalla Juice: $2.69. I grab one and head to the checkout. The lady says, "$3.49" and I say, "oh! I thought it was $2.69." She indicates the sign below the one I saw indicating Odwalla Smoothies are, in fact, $3.49. She looks at me and says,
"That's not juice. That's nutrition, baby!"Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1124490493969697462005-08-19T15:27:00.000-07:002005-08-19T15:28:13.976-07:00I've spent a lot of time in the magnet. Fortunately, none of these things have happened to me. [NY Times, reg required]Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1124303928138133032005-08-17T11:37:00.000-07:002005-08-17T11:38:48.146-07:00Photos upcoming. I am not dead. That is all.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1122190723678322282005-07-24T00:36:00.000-07:002005-07-24T00:38:44.193-07:00
Here's the deal: I'm supposed to be in Costa Rica, but I'm in Berkeley instead. Our flight out of oakland to phoenix was delayed to the point that, if we took the flight, we would miss our flight out of phoenix to costa rica. The nice lady at America West's ticketing counter booked us on a Taca airline flight out of San Francisco to Costa Rica. It was a red-eye.
So they put us on a shuttle Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1122056203054921282005-07-22T11:13:00.000-07:002005-07-22T11:16:43.060-07:00I'm leaving for Costa Rica tomorrow morning. I'm very excited. The
forecast looks a little dreary, but that's what I get for going to the tropics in the rainy season. I'll be sure to post some pictures when I get back. Don't go crazy while I'm gone!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1121885881290848462005-07-20T10:55:00.000-07:002005-07-20T11:58:01.370-07:00So my boss had me helping him with a presentation he was working on. He wanted to use a frame from a Pogo cartoon (by Walt Kelly, for those who care) in one of his slides. He has some trouble interfacing with the intertron, so he asked me to help him find it. Apparently he had found what he was looking for by using google image search with the term pogo. I did exactly that, and to my horror, Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1121462204328706402005-07-15T14:15:00.000-07:002005-07-15T14:16:44.336-07:00An article (by a findlaw writer) on CNN about the legal precedent that may apply to the Karl Rove identity leak case.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1121207027177444472005-07-12T15:20:00.000-07:002005-07-12T15:23:47.183-07:00If manhattan can do it, so can you!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1120864212704844932005-07-08T16:04:00.000-07:002005-07-08T16:10:12.713-07:00Ok, ok. I know. You're sick of me posting stuff from Penny Arcade. Well, I simply had to share with you a quote from today's newspost. For the most part, said post is similar to (albeit self-consciously) the impotent whining of a kid who can't play with his toy. The last bit, however, manages to turn into an acute sort of distopian consumerist manifesto:
"We purport to be angry, but it is Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1120160700127868922005-06-30T12:40:00.000-07:002005-06-30T12:45:00.133-07:00If you haven't heard of Project Gutenberg, I sugest you check it out. It's a huge resource of both free and public domain books, digitized for your electronic consumption. It's also a great resource for when you want to know how many times Shakespeare uses the word 'tup' in Othello, for instance. Just search over the whole text.
Anyway, it seems that in order to speed the digitizing of these Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1119894982777685592005-06-27T10:54:00.000-07:002005-06-27T10:56:22.786-07:00I'm working on an online GRE prep course. It gives a question, then provides feedback. I got a tough one right, and here's what it said to me: "Wow! The light of a thousand suns is no brighter than you." Kind of effusive, if you ask me. Anyway, the prep is free to UC Berkeley people (and maybe others). Check it out.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1119652961935846752005-06-24T15:41:00.000-07:002005-06-24T15:42:41.943-07:00My life is full of boxes. Some of the boxes contain memories. Mostly, they contain old phone bills and other junk.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1119550413711636292005-06-23T11:06:00.000-07:002005-06-23T11:13:33.716-07:00How fast can you clickred? My best time in two tries is 74 seconds. It is supposed to be a demonstration that twitch gamers are better at tracking multiple objects than non-gamers.
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1119032254979923922005-06-17T11:16:00.000-07:002005-06-17T11:17:34.990-07:00I don't remember if I ever posted this, so here you go: Penny Arcade remixed by japanese school children.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1118341237601569742005-06-09T11:19:00.000-07:002005-06-09T11:20:37.606-07:00You're in Cuba and you want to get to the US. How would you do it? These folks took a taxi cab.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1118254607498873652005-06-08T11:16:00.000-07:002005-06-08T11:16:47.503-07:00Pretty Pictures make me happy.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1117219446574246002005-05-27T11:34:00.000-07:002005-05-27T17:30:56.026-07:00
Today's Penny Arcade post spoke to me in a way things on the Itarwebs rarely do. The sentence about his refrigerator magnets? Brilliant. The entire post drips with expression. Well, the first sentence in the last paragraph drips with ichor from the typographic morass from which it was dredged. Some random punctuation got stuck in there on the way up. Overall, though, I feel that grammar Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1116957515691525432005-05-24T10:51:00.000-07:002005-05-24T10:59:52.580-07:00Things that suck:
My cold-that-won't-go-away is back with a vengeance.
My car with only 40k miles on the odometer failed its smog check this morning.
The hard-drive on my computer at work died and I'm still trying to get the data back.
On top of my general laziness, my cold plus an unusually busy schedule mean my apartment is an absolute sty. gross.
Things that rock:
I'm learning how to use Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1115761630845831022005-05-10T14:42:00.000-07:002005-05-10T14:47:10.953-07:00
My lack of updates has been fuelled by the failure of my commenting system and my bussiness with the Berkeley Opera. Here's a review of our opening night performance. The reviewer is a UC Berkeley alum, and as such was over-kind to the UC Alumni Choir (of which I am a member).
Instead of sets and such, Berkeley Opera hired some artist to put together some video that was projected on screens Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1114211671932296712005-04-22T16:13:00.000-07:002005-04-22T16:14:31.933-07:00How to write a lab notebookDisclaimer: This link is not intended to be entertaining or even interesting to anyone not looking to learn the basics of keeping a lab notebook.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1113874077131276722005-04-18T18:22:00.000-07:002005-04-18T18:27:57.133-07:00
I should have read about quick-release bicycle wheels.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1112815217545320402005-04-06T12:19:00.000-07:002005-04-06T12:20:17.546-07:00Be advised that blind people can still hear.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1112746568397083482005-04-05T16:51:00.000-07:002005-04-05T17:16:19.010-07:00
What do you call it? I call it "the city". It seems the hippest kids call it "tha 'Sco". The (only very slightly) less hip call it "Frisco". Some feel this isn't the right thing to do. And among those, at least one owns a
laundromat.
Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5817963.post-1112211220530495362005-03-30T11:22:00.000-08:002005-03-30T11:33:40.533-08:00
Wired has a great article about some high-school kids in Arizona who won an undewater engineering contest.
One difficulty they ran into was a leak in their electronics component housing. It was a small leak, so rather than try to fix it, they went for absorption. What absorbs the best? Tampons!
When Luis lowered Stinky into the water for their run, Lorenzo prayed to the Virgin Mary. He Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966124134000395795noreply@blogger.com0