http://www.solidgeekery.com Science, technology, pop culture and other general geekiness. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:09:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I know I haven't written in awhile, I've been busy. But that's what happens to graduate students, especially ones who realize that they can't milk their stipend for all eternity. Write a dissertation before I go? Was that part of the deal? Sigh. Even graduate students need a little humor in their lives, ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/28/im-not-lazy-i-swear/ http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/25/maybe-the-coolest-robot-ever/ contrive; realistic; expansive Let us pretend that the subject of persuasion is love. Curious of whether there is a majority preference for how love is articulated.  Would it be more welcoming if delivered with flowers, poetry, and chocolates?  Or with bravado and importance?  Or as a challenge to your current mode of ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/23/method-of-persuasion/ Note to self, don't make tired or tempting purchases because something is on sale. Like today I ended up buying something that was primarily for erectile dysfunction and another for easing menopausal symptoms. But I did try them! So far, the one for erectile dysfunction, Muira Puama liquid extract, ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/21/my-experience-with-herbal-supplements/ I've been doing a lot of reading lately on violence in video games and how it affects people who play them. I found this interesting video capture of an interview on G4 (Tech TV) with the authors of a new book on video game violence and children. The interesting point ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/17/violence-in-video-games/ I love my XM radio. It has single-handedly quelled my testy demeanor during the aggravating 1/2 hour trek around monstrous potholes and through clouds of apoptotic-inducing truck emissions on my way to school. Lately, however, my XM has become quite nefarious. Temperamental. Traitorous. Why? It has started picking up signals from other cars, leaving ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/09/xm-nation-you-are-driving-me-crazy/ I found this article on hand-held lie detectors being used by the US military. Statements about the accuracy of the device varied depending on whether inconclusive results were counted in the statistics. When inconclusive results were counted, the accuracy was around 70%, but when only positive and negative ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/09/hand-held-lie-detector/ To continue my series of anime reviews, I thought I'd talk about my favorite comedy of all time.  Hare+Guu has been a favorite of mine for several years due to its fast pace and crazy characters.  One word of warning about this show though is that the people talk fast.  ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/04/02/the-jungle-was-always-nice-then-came-guu/ Relationship, love, and chemistry do not need to be all present when you have a lover.  Today, I am opining on what makes and breaks the lover's bond. Forming a relationship requires very little.  Two people with mutual agreement to be together will have a relationship.  The basis for the agreement ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/03/24/part-i-in-the-series-of-dialogue-on-matters-of-relationships/ A friend was recently complaining about a colleague's overuse of large words, saying that it rendered his sentences to a nearly incomprehensible level. The verbal killjoy then proceeded to state that the only reason this person used big, scary words was to make himself look (and feel) intelligent. I took a ... http://www.solidgeekery.com/2008/03/20/verbophobia-whos-afraid-of-a-big-bad-word/