Visualize …
Two really interesting data visualizations.
Visualization of the U.S. President’s State of the Union speeches. It shows two word frequency graphs for the State of the Union speeches, education level of the speech and total word count.
We Feel Fine – a visualization of the feelings of bloggers at certain points in time for the last few years. This one is a java applet and takes a long time to load. The interface isn’t terribly efficient or intuitive, nor does it really mean anything since the data is poorly categorized but it is fun.
- Author: timbu
- Published: May 30th, 2006
- Category: Words & Language
- Comments: Comments Off
ESL
I’m a sucker for unscientific polls.
|
Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 65% General American English |
| 20% Upper Midwestern |
| 10% Yankee |
| 0% Dixie |
| 0% Midwestern |
- Author: timbu
- Published: May 26th, 2006
- Category: Food & Drink
- Comments: 1
New use for Blender
Sometimes I miss advances in medicine.
Doctor’s in Duluth performed and wrote up their finding on the topic of “stool transplants” in 2003. They used a household blender to prepare the “organ” for transplant. I hope it was a disposable blender.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
” … A second concern is the esthetics of this process.”
John G. Bartlett, M.D., posted 04-15-2003
More links if you don’t believe me.
[Link coutesy of Metroblogging Twin Cities]
- Author: timbu
- Published: May 25th, 2006
- Category: Science Fiction
- Comments: Comments Off
Towel Day
A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical
value – you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you – daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.
Post your towel picture to the flickr towel day group.
value – you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you – daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.
- Author: timbu
- Published: May 24th, 2006
- Category: Uncategorized
- Comments: 2
Aurora
Plastinates
I went to see the “Body Worlds” exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota last night. It’s one of those things I can’t fully explain, but it’s really worth seeing. I could give you a blow by blow description but I think it would take away from the experience for you.
The exhibit really confronts one with the reality that all our love & desire, reason & intellect, wit & humor springing up and out of these complicated little “machines” will turn into dust & wormfood (or plastic in this case).
“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me; no, nor woman neither, though, by your smiling, you seem to say so.”
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare
For those of you who heard my questions before seeing the exhibit … yes, there are genitals. They weren’t jarring in the way I expected them to be.
Dancing Barista
The Roseville Caribou on Lexington is becoming some sort of strange nexus for me. A week ago I saw one of the barista’s at church. Last Saturday, at the swing dance at the Anoka airport, I ran into another. She happens to be living with one of the couples that we went dancing with. I think there is a cosmic message in this for me — I should be tipping better.
- Author: timbu
- Published: May 19th, 2006
- Category: Generalities
- Comments: Comments Off
Walking on Water
Check out the overview of devices intended to let you walk on water. The only device that looks like it would work is the “boy in the bubble” one. I’m afraid that if I tried the “boy in the bubble” one I would be swept out to sea — who wants to teach water polo to sharks?
- Author: timbu
- Published: May 17th, 2006
- Category: Uncategorized
- Comments: Comments Off
Pillow Fight Club Minneapolis
At this very moment, I’m so happy I would wag my tail if I were a dog.
Pillow Fight Club is finally coming to Minneapolis May 20th.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept, check out Pillow Fight Club photos on Flickr or the Pillow Fight Club entry on wikipedia.
I’ll see you there! There is nothing you have to do that is more important than a pillow fight.
[Link courtesy of Metroblogging Minneapolis]