Eclectic Living
There's a popular equation about internet trolling called the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory (GIFT): I like the sentiment of this theory, but I think it's missing a wee little detail. You see, before Al Gore invented the internet* there were these things called bathroom stalls, and that's where trolls used to find release (sometimes literally)... Continue Reading →
It's well known that humans have had a huge impact on the world's biodiversity, with some suggesting that we have precipitated the sixth major extinction event in the Earth's history. This may also be the worst sin perpetrated in Earth's history. And it will only be accelerated and perpetuated via climate change. Shitty job, us. A lesser known... Continue Reading →
Ah, it has been a long time since I've had occasion to write a post. I'm still plugging away on the fun but time-consuming 125-year-old house remodel - almost done with the interior, and it's rented beginning in March. We're already well into 2016, yet I feel like the year has barely begun. There are so many... Continue Reading →
We've spent a fair amount of time (too much?) discussing the plight of lab mice, so it's time to give the lab rat its due. Rats are amazing little critters, and they have a lot to tell us about ourselves, especially if we subject them to torturous trials and tribulations. In a recent study, rats... Continue Reading →
I like me some Dutch people. I lived in Holland for half a year back in the '90s for a "study" abroad during college. Mostly I just drank beer and played soccer and ate Chinese food with my Dutch roommate Huub ("Wil je chinees" he would ask me: "Do you want to Chinese?" I always... Continue Reading →
Do you wax nostalgic about the days when we were a primordial ooze floating in the ancient ocean? Me, too. But how did that ooze come together to start forming beings that could reproduce themselves? No one's quite sure how those first complex molecules, like RNA, formed. Was it magic? Abracadabra, let there be life! Well,... Continue Reading →
"I think we have reason to believe that the mind is equipped with a battery of emotions, drives, and faculties for reasoning and communicating, and that they have a common logic across cultures, are difficult to erase or redesign from scratch, were shaped by natural selection acting over the course of human evolution, and owe... Continue Reading →
"War, unh, Good god, y'all, What is it good for?" Well, apparently we have an answer to that question now. War is good for getting more cows, which is of course good for getting more women, which is essential to maxing out how many babies you sire. And from a woman's perspective, hooking up with... Continue Reading →
“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them - the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” -Immanuel Kant Have you ever been awestruck? It's a truly palpable feeling, hence the bolt-of-lightning idiom often associated with it. Awe is often accompanied... Continue Reading →
I think of memories as a continuous complex chemical cycle in which neurons relay information from an event to one another. Over time, the cycle fades, sometimes disappearing completely. When we recall an event, new neural connections are made, and the cycle is refreshed, but details may be missing or have even changed - what... Continue Reading →
Poppa's Cottage 