Obama sushi and Xbox homophobia

What the hell, Xbox? Xbox Live has a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy pertaining to sexual orientation. And that's just stupid. I mean, if you can't tell the truth about your avatar...okay, okay, fine. I'm NOT really blonde. Sorry, everyone. Geekologie told me about the Xbox Live Homophobia Scandal. Hey, I don't want to hang out with homophobic teen boys online anyway. (Unless they're homophobic because they're really gay as all get out. You just wait.)


In a more positive turn of events, a sushi chef out there has made some rather magical Obama maki. Oba-maki? OMG, I'm brilliant. This link is also from Geekologie: Obama Sushi (Oba-maki!).

I Totally Fell For It!

Read this article about a woman who has the courage to collect what the rest of us can only dream of collecting: tiny things! From childhood doll houses to ipod nanos, petit fours, and toy poodles, hell - there's a little of everything little in this woman's life.

I think this article from humor rag, The Onion, should win some kind of award: Area Woman Only Enjoys Miniature Versions of Things

Phd Interpretative Dance Contest - Scientists Only

So, if you are writing your doctoral dissertation, and you have always wanted to interpret your thesis through modern dance, well...you now have a venue for living out that weird quirk. And more power to you! There is now an annual competition for scientists to interpretively dance their dissertations. The prize is a subscription to Science(which they all probably have anyway, no?).

The 2009 Winner was Sue Lynn Lau, with her Phd entitled: "The role of vitamin D in beta cell function". This is a Phd out of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research / University of Sydney, Australia. You MUST watch with sound ON, absolutement.



Below we have another winner, Vince LiCata, with his dissertation, "Resolving Pathways of Functional Coupling in Human Hemoglobin Using Quantitative Low Temperature Isoelectric Focusing of Asymmetric Mutant Hybrids". This is a dissertation out of Johns Hopkins University. I enjoy their pseudo-tribal, psuedo-colonial dance interpretation very much!

Bear Sleeping Bag - I Need It

Forget money and peace of mind...just give me a bear faux-fur sleeping bag. Sooo cuddly. I can take pictures of my jackahuahua sleeping in the bear's mouth. Found this on Geekologie. Love the pictures. Sooo toothy! Hope there's a built-in foam pad so I won't feel the rocks under my spine when I'm camping. Designed by Eiko Ishizawa.

Like I would really go camping. With a bear sleeping bag! Hah. Sheepskin would be more like it. A sheepskin in bear's clothing. Obviously I go camping all the time.

End Of A Rainbow: Mystery Solved!

From Geekologie, picture taken by "Jason Erdkamp on his iPhone while traveling down Highway 241 in Orange County, California. Are the leprechauns in the back of that SUV?"

I'll never eat Lucky Charms again (and thank goodness for that). But, nifty picture!

Neodymium Magnetic POWER

I love those extra-strong little neodymium fridge magnets. I got crafty and made some attractive ones with photocopies of old postage stamps, too. But the bigger the magnets get, the harder they are to pull off the fridge...and then there's this guy I found on Geekologie. He...well, he lost his finger tip and his finger nail when two large neodymium magnets decided to fly together and make him a hand sandwich. If you're wondering, that's the guy's entire fingernail between the magnets pictured. Crazy.

Guy Loses Finger To Neodymium Magnets

Library Renaissance, says the NY Times Freakonomics blog

It's true - library circulation and attendance go way up during recessions. Not hard to see why. Libraries rock the free books, free movies, free music, and free internet. Also, they have job-search materials, sometimes even lectures. They even offer free tax assistance via volunteers trained by the IRS - Volunteer Income Tax Service (VITA).

Here's an article from the NY Times about the new popularity of libraries: Folks Are Flocking to the Library, a Cozy Place to Look for a Job, by Jim Carlton

From Overhead Everywhere, Feb 6 2009

I'm Afraid Library Regulations Dictate That I Must Give You a Wedgie

Librarian: Watcha doin'?
High school girl: Studying.
Librarian: Nerd.

Bellingham, Washington
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Why haven't I posted in a while?

Well, honestly, the state of the economy has made me lose my sense of humor. Just a bit. But Obama is putting me in a better mood. I might even laugh a little after tax season.

But for right now, I am enjoying this article from Neatorama, written by Ethan Trex: Money for (Practically) Nothing: 4 Very Big Paychecks for Very Little Work

Here's the Number 4 Paycheck, my favorite entry, in the excerpt below. Sounds kinda dreamy! I really like they joins a gym just to "break up the day" - hilarity!

4. Edward McSweegan

Edward-McS.jpgWhile he may not be as high profile or as well-paid as the other names on this list, McSweegan may have found the sweetest deal an average guy could find. In a coup ripped directly from one of George Costanza’s daydreams, McSweegan claimed that he did nothing for seven years while employed as a scientist at the National Institutes of Health. In 2003 McSweegan told the Washington Post that he hadn’t really been given any job responsibilities since 1996. Prior to that, he had been a researcher and program officer on Lyme disease, but he was removed from that position in 1995 for arguing with a sufferers’ support group. Although he had a title as director of the U.S.-Indo Vaccine Action Program and a list of nominal duties associated with that role, McSweegan claimed that he only carried out the tiniest of tasks like ordering coffee. In exchange, he received a salary in the neighborhood of $100,000.

When the NIH vehemently disputed McSweegan’s story that he simply went to work and did nothing all day, he maintained that he never received any assignments. McSweegan would show up, sit in his office, and read to kill time. He took up fiction writing to fill his workdays and published a pair of novels he allegedly wrote while at the office. He told CBS in an interview that he also joined a health club near work “just to sort of break up the day.”

The most amazing part of McSweegan’s story isn’t that he managed to stay employed through this seven-year period, but that he received positive performance reviews
from his superiors. He wryly explained to CBS, “I guess I’m good at doing nothing.”