Diamond in the Rough

SPORTS / OLYMPICS

Weather Pattern Clears Pollution Scare

By GINA KOLATA

Published: August 14, 2008

Despite concerns about pollution affecting performances, it turns out that very little is known about whether there is such an effect and, if so, how much.
link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/sports/olympics/14pollution.html

Run of the mill times article...

Boring paragraph

Boring paragraph...due to lucky weather patterns, pollution is not a problem at all in Beijing, just hype.

Blah blah blah, nothing newsworthy.

Wait for it:

"The World Anti-Doping Agency, which is supporting Rundell’s Viagra research, is considering banning it as a performance-enhancer"

That's a direct quote, from about halfway down the article. Viagra--a performance-enhancer. In other news, the sky is still blue and you do, in fact, still have to pay taxes.

Apples, Carl Sagan, and the 4th Dimension (Day 2)

If there was ever someone to explain the 4th dimension in an easy to understand manner it would be Carl Sagan. Utilizing a red delcious apple, a knife, and some pieces of paper, Sagan represents a world that we can't fully comprehend in our minds and our left with ideas, conjecture, and hypercubes.

Dear D.C. Cabbies (again)

As you may or may not recall, I think the taxi system in Washington, D.C. is a complete and total disaster. And one cog in this clusterfuck machine is, of course, the cab drivers themselves. I feel like they (the cabbies) don't understand exactly how the meters (or the meter system) works, and therefore they make it run a lot worse.

Example #1: Stopping at every light that looks like it might turn yellow sort of soon. Maybe. One plus of the zone system was that when you got in a cab, you got to your destination fast. Because they understood that more fares = more money. For some reason, with the time and distance meters cab drivers think the paradigm has changed. It hasn't.

Every time a cab driver picks up a fare, that's $4.00. The flag drop costs $3.00, and the gas surcharge is another $1. When you stop at the light, its 25 cents a minute. Using logic, one might think that the goal is to get to your destination as quick as possible to get another easy $4.00. Cab driver logic dictates otherwise.

Example #2: Inching forward at that red light you just stopped at. As far as I can remember, this never happened under the zone system. I don't really know why it happens now. For one, it wears out the brakes faster, and the transmission for that matter. For another, being a passenger, it's really annoying and provides a disincentive to tip well.

The only cab driver logic I can think of to justify this is that if the wheels are rolling, then it's increased distance on the meter. Here's the thing: it's not. The meter only calculates distance when the car is going 10 m.p.h or faster (hence why NYC cabbies drive so fast) so it's really not doing anything. Except annoying the shit out of me.

So in summation, cab drivers, please stop sucking so bad, because in the end you're only hurting yourselves.

10 videos in 10 days - 1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4
monsters walking across the floor
I love counting, counting to the number 4

Feist on yesterday's episode of Sesame Street

It's The Economy, Stupid

Stanley Bing, Fortune's resident last page columnist, has a new column out regarding the state of our economy. The gist of his argument is, and I'm paraphrasing, life on earth has always been tough, so we might as well spend more money now, because, why not? You can read the more thorough version here.

Apparently, the root of our economic trouble is the fact that CNBC has a 24 hour news scroll and bloggers are the 21st century version of malcontents. It's not like the country's top lending institutions have been just completely screwing the little guy. It's not like car companies have resisted mile-per-gallon improvements for years, and when oil prices suddenly shoot up because of increased worldwide demand, the American driver takes a bath. No, it's clearly the fault of the news media, and the consumer who watches it. It's never big business's fault.

Well, as Stan pointed out, it could be worse. We could be living with the threat of nuclear war with the Soviets. We could be living during the time of the Crusades. Tell that to someone who could be only days away from losing his/her house or job. You can console their homelessness with the fact that at least they won't have to go to the Middle East and try and take back Jerusalem.

Comrade Bing suggests ignorance. Only watch 45 minutes of news a day. Don't read blogs. Take a soma holiday. This is exactly the type of thought process that got us into our current financial situation in the first place.

Just one more thing before I sign off here, Stanley says that "Three-quarters of our economy is built upon our willingness to part with our money in exchange for goods and services." What I'm still trying to figure out is, what's the other quarter based on?

So, "Get out there every goddamn weekend and pump as much money as you can back into the economy." Too bad it's money that you probably don't have to begin with.

Dude, you're getting a dell

Oh so emo...

No matter where you are in the world, it seems that every high school naturally segments itself into clicks and groups. Your jocks, your geeks, band kids, track stars, and of course emo.

According to a recent article by The Guardian, "Emo kids were described as teenagers who wear black, have facial piercings and black hair with fringes that "cover half the face." Certainily infringing their apathy onto others with those loose fringes.

Well Russia thinks so apparently...A new Russian law could make being an emo kid illegal. The law would regulate emo websites and ban emo and goth dress style in schools and government buildings. I hardly think throwing some teenagers in the goulag is going to brighten up Russia. How does Russia not identify with the bleakness of emo anyway; Russia is not exactly a cornucopia of colors, bright spirits, and enthusiasm. Russia, embrace your emoness; your joie de vive is your lack thereof.

Until then...

To all emo kids,

Watch your back.

-Russia

The Most Adorable Thing I've Seen All Week

The Boys and the Subway is the story of two boys who are obsessed with the NYC Subway system. I think I like it so much because it reminds me of my childhood. Because it's genuinely one of the most innocent, adorable things I've ever seen.

On the lighter side, my wallet is still missing in lower Manhattan and I've got a bunch of stitches what was my 'good' foot.

But seriously, so adorable.