BAcksliders - gritty blues-rock band from Dallas

Nude Through Window - Edward Weston

Steve Jobs on problem-solving

I'm not a big Jobsophile.  I have a lot of respect for him, but I've never felt he was walking on water, like some people seem to think.  I do like this quote I recently came across, however.

"Well, since you asked ..."

First Rule:

"I Heart Dita"

by Jose Contra LaLey

Oh no - not the herbal sex!

 

smbc-comics 

Good Customer Service - Three Stars

Good advice:

Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, Ironman 2

Don't

Mess

With

Her

Just in for Summer!

In this devastating Texas heat, why wear a full-weight corset when you have an alternative!?

And only $7 a dozen!

Just as I feared ...

The Big Sleep - Marlowe at the Acme Bookstore

 

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, played by Bogart, 

chats up the clerk, played by Dorothy Malone, 

to get information about a pornographer posing 

as a rare bookseller across the street.

She likes his game, he likes her looks.

It starts to rain.  

He produces a bottle of rye whiskey, saying he could 

go outside and get wet waiting in the rain for his mark, 

but "I'd a lot rather get wet in here."

She evidently agrees, as she then locks the door, 

pulls the shade, and lets down her hair.

Fade out to whatever dalliance amuses you most - 

fade in to Marlowe walking out the door, the clerk 

behind him coyly inviting him to return on whatever 

pretense he likes.

Vettriano II - Decadent

"Games of Power"

Vettriano I - Elegant

"Dance Me to the End of Love"

old time marketing

 

... before they figured out how to be subtle about sexism ...

Men and the Finger

Not the middle finger.  The index finger - specifically in relation to the ring finger.

A recent study by Korean researchers (South, of course, the only thing the North studies is how to be even crazier) suggests a link between penis size and the size ratio between the index and ring finger on a man’s right hand.  Several previous studies have shown that the relative lengths of those fingers are influenced by prenatal exposure to testosterone and estrogen, and the Korean researchers reasoned that penis length might also be influenced by the two hormones.  (Sure makes sense to me, but then, I‘m not a scientist.  I only play one in my imagination.)

So – among 144 subjects, two teams (one focusing on the fingers, the other on the penii), a significant correlation was found.  The lower the differential between the two fingers, the more the penis is likely to be of more than average length.

Additional “significant data” on relative finger length:
•    In women, the two fingers are generally the same length;
•    In men, the index finger is generally shorter;
•    Lesbians tend to have a finger ratio more similar to men than to straight women;
•    Gay and straight men show little differentiation, unless they have several older brothers, in which case not only was the ratio likely to be smaller, but the men were more likely to be gay;
•    Men who have lower ratios have more symmetrical faces, and thereby generally viewed as more attractive;
•    Men whose index fingers are longer than their ring fingers have been found to be about a third less likely to develop prostate cancer.  [Considering how the prostate is tested, there has to be a good joke about finger length and prostates in there somewhere.  Clearly, I haven't had enough caffeine this morning to catch it.]

Another Horst P Horst - Round the Clock

Round the Clock, Horst P Horst

the classics never die

Mainblocher Corset, Horst P Horst, 1939

math is good

... speaking of laws and good ideas ...

Laws, theories, and damn good ideas.

My sister:    “… come on.  Scientists don't know – evolution is just a theory!”

Me:        “That’s right!  It’s just a theory – like gravity!!”

My wife:    <ahem> “Gravity is a law.”

Me:          "Yes ..."

So – which of us is right here?   (Hint – it’s my blog.  Ergo …. )

Astute reader:    “You are right, o blogger.”

Me:         “True – and they can be as right as they want to be when they have their own damn blogs.”

So – let’s start dissecting this.  First, with gravity.  Is it a law or a theory?

Yes.

Think  theoretical and applied.  Applied = law.  Theoretical = theory.  (guess you saw that second one coming.)

What gravity does is applied/law.  Things fall.  Over and over again.  Only mystics have been observed to levitate, and then only by themselves and their cats.  Objects are attracted to one another based on their mass.  All the time.  No comment as regards attraction between people.  Just going to let it lie.

How gravity functions – still a lot of theory there, the last time I read “Gravity for Dummies”.  Exact mechanisms, and how variants mitigate that gravitational pull – theoretical.

So is gravity a theory or a law?

No.

It’s both.

Evolution.  Is it a theory or a law?

That evolution on some scale occurs is fact/law.  We can observe it in adaptive mechanisms in wildlife, including body shapes and characteristics, we can observe it in the presence of vestigial organs in the body, etc.  We can observe what happens as nutrition and medicine improve, environments change, and different racial groups intermingle.  We observe it in viruses and bacteria adapting to hostile environments and finding ways to thrive.   It. Is. Fact.

That we are still learning about the history of long term evolution processes is true.  That our understanding of evolution itself is evolving is also a true statement.  Evolution is a complex process that we can’t package and explain with a single equation.  There are inconsistencies in the data, and even paradoxes to work through, which takes time.  There's much discussion and debate among scientists, so it’s fair that lay people, and that includes evolution-antagonists, debate evolutionary theory.  But it’s also only fair to engage the debate at the current point, challenging currently held theories.  Unfortunately, some people find it safer to challenge evolution by shooting holes in Darwin’s nascent theories.

It’s easier to take pot shots at something that is version 1.0 than version 11.8.  It’s a little like arguing the superiority of Macs and PCs, but basing your opposition to PCs on your complaints about DOS 2.0, rather than Windows 7.  It’s also easier when you are willing to lie to yourself, or to other people, about what the data at hand is actually saying.  We’ve probably all done that at times, though.  People are fallible, and we can get maniacally defensive about something we have an emotional interest in, particularly something that *might* seem to touch on issues “better left to religion.”  This is how jihads, crusades, and other holy wars happen.  But don’t expect a blathering rant about the evils of religion.  I’m very comfortable with my own toolbox – letting science tackle issues of how and when, and letting religion handle matters of why.  I have a hammer and a screwdriver.  More importantly, I can tell the difference between a nail and a screw.

One last comment before either you or I fall asleep.  Not that I was wrong, but on points, my wife wins.  Yes, gravity is law.  Yes, gravity is theory.  But the fact is that the fact of gravity is more significant than the theory of it is.

And at the end of the day, both gravity and evolution aren't just theories and laws - they're both damn good ideas.  I personally intend to keep evolving AND to not drift off into space while doing so.

Hate it when that happens.

passion never goes out of style

 

from Ephemera's Drawer

Ask Techie:

Dear Techie - 

I have a geek, and have been darn well having a dickens of a time getting him to go outside.  He sees that big yellow ball heating up the Earth and races back inside before his pale skin crisps up.  Night time isn't much better.  He insists on wearing his night-vision goggles, and ends up tripping over things right in front of his feet.  Next thing I know, he's back in the basement playing with his joystick.

What's a mother to do!?

Regards,

Mothergeek

Mothergeek -

Thanks for the question.  The shift these days seems to be on teaching geeks that things normally found safely indoors in climate-controlled, and population-controlled, spaces can actually also happen out in the world, amongst random organic elements like plants, wind, and even other people!

An example of an event based on this thinking is OutdoorTrek.

"Outdoors - not just for wild animals, germs, and Rennies any more!"

Something to ponder ...

(and by ponder I mean, NOT actually allow the idea in your head)

... what if we had evolved opposable big toes rather than opposable thumbs?

Depression-era google

"When men were men, women were women, and searches were searches!"

Tarantino to write and direct The Shadow?

According to reports, Quentin Tarantino has begun re-writes on a script for 20th Century Fox, which may bring The Shadow back to theaters.
Tarantino is in line to direct as well, with Sam Raimi currently penciled in to produce.
Reports are it's currently a low priority for the studio, but the current superhero bubble may bode well for its chances.

M. W. Kaluta, 1976

SLUTWALK SAN DIEGO: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work!...

SLUTWALK SAN DIEGO: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work!...: "One of our fellow SlutWalks dug up this handy list: A Comprehensive Guide to Preventing Assault! 1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks i..."

Morning, Beaver's Bend, Oklahoma

vintage silk stockings

pinup: Original Sin

by Kelly X

Helmut Newton: subtle, yet sensual

soap, soup ... po-tay-to, po-tah-to ... right?

... you mean they're not the same?

once upon a conversation

[discussing co-workers]

Friend:  I wish she'd give me one of her hummers.

Me: 'One of her hummers?'  I always wanted a hummer from her, too, but I didn't know they were legendary.

Friend:  ... she keeps little toy hummers at her desk, and I always play with them when I stop by.

Me:  Ohhhhhhhh ... yeah ... didn't know that ...

from out of the past

Just happened across this - a picture of my elementary school, Parkview, in Pueblo, Colorado.

This first floor corner room was my first grade (69-70) classroom, Mrs. Samuelson's.  She was the second of many outstanding teachers I had through the years.

The doors on the far left opened into an alcove connected to the main hallway, and were most notable for being the place that Johnny H. would go to hide every time he had a crying fit - which was often.  That was 40+ years ago, and my first thought when I saw this photo.  I hope he's got that worked out now.

... and now, the extended forecast ...

Today's Forecast for the North Texas area

What happened to the ships that took miners to the California Gold Rush?

Many were just abandoned - and became part of landfill for an expanded waterfront.

Good news for today: Weather

It's 108°F outside (42°C for the rest of the planet, which has already made the metric conversion).

Because our humidity is very low (17%), and other factors only explained by a very complex formula I'm not going to track down and reproduce here because nobody wants to see it anyway, it only feels like ...

<drum roll>

107°F

... and the crowd is going mad with joy, ripping their clothes off ...
... because it's still insanely hot.  Joy?
Actually, looking closer, it appears to be heat stroke.

"Simplify, simplify, simplify" - Thoreau

(from www.smbc-comics.com)

Similar to my attitude about safety labels.

Why do we need three tags on an extension cord to let us know that there's risk of shock?

Why do we need plastic bags with warnings about them not being flotation devices?

Why do we need tubes of Preparation H that warn us about it not being for consumption?

What we NEED are labels that say "Don't be an idiot while using this product. Doing so voids any warranty and our legal liability."

Simple as that.

What if the largest U.S. states had the biggest populations?