|
|
|
November 16th, 2009
07:29 pm - Surprising Mathematical Result
I need your help. I once saw a graph and a corresponding explanation of a very unusual mathematical phenomenon. If I recall correctly, the idea is that is we take a measure of any quantifiable natural phenomenon, like daily temperature readings of a volcano over a ten year period, and then take the last digit of the readings and graph their frequency, the result will not be flat, but will in fact reveal that some numbers occur quite frequently while other numbers occur far less frequently. If I'm remembering right, this only holds for natural phenomena and not man-made phenomena.
Does anyone know what that effect is called or where I can find a discussion of it?
|
October 30th, 2009
07:22 pm - The Winner of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2009
Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the “Ellie May," a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests. David McKenzie
Federal Way, WA
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/amused.gif) giggly
|
October 27th, 2009
October 13th, 2009
10:59 am - Grad school, the gateway to Hell
There really are many dangerous threats to our young people. Grad school--some people will tolerate anything.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/whonky.gif) weird
|
September 30th, 2009
02:31 pm - What abstinence can do to your sense of humor...
Here is a blog post from the president of Harvard's Abstinence Club:
<b>Saturday, April 01, 2006
Rocky Horror: they aren't joking about the horror part
Current mood:miserable
Rocky Horror Picture Show's message is one of destruction and blatant disregard for God's purpose for our lives. While watching it, I felt that every scrap of purity within me flew away, leaving me completely empty and miserable. Although I ultimately left the movie "early", the majority of the film that I did see has actually stolen a piece of me. The extreme exploitation of standards and the totally immoral themes are enough to make any sane person think. However, no one seems to realize how corrupt it is, proving the moral degradation of our society. Walking into the door at my house, I started weeping tears mourning the ignorance and blasphemy of the world. Honestly, I cried because my innocence can never be fully handed back to me and I have no idea why I ever agreed to see something I knew would be harmful. The movie is really sickening and I challenge anyone who has ever seen it to contemplate entering the narrow path of righteousness instead of the wide path of sin.</b>
Classic. Love it.
Current Mood: amused
|
September 18th, 2009
August 27th, 2009
05:54 pm - Are you concerned that the Republican National Committee is a branch of the KKK?
Here is the latest RNC survey.
Some people have suggested that the Republican party advocates burning all books and killing teachers for sport. Does this concern you?
Are you worried that the Republican party excludes Jews from its membership?
Do you approve of the Republican party shooting dolphins, chimpanzees, and mixed-race babies during their conventions?
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/irked.gif) annoyed
|
July 12th, 2009
July 2nd, 2009
08:27 am - Let them eat cake: Cynthia Davis (Missouri) state representative
Cynthia Davis, state representative in Missouri, is a vile and dangerous person. This is one of the most disgusting displays of ignorance and contempt for children in poverty I have ever encountered. Stephen Colbert rightly outed her recently.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/ggrrr.gif) angry
|
June 13th, 2009
04:50 pm - Gobo, Mokey, Webley, Boober, Red
We're currently watching every episode of Fraggle Rock through Netflix. We love it. I dance around to the intro song every time it comes on.
Anyone remember that show?
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/lookleft.gif) chipper
|
June 12th, 2009
May 28th, 2009
10:26 am - another one-year
The budgetary paperwork has now been approved for another extension to my contract at the University of Rochester. So I've turned a one-year job into a three-year job on merit. That's a good feeling. I will have to teach an additional course in the Spring of 2010 in order to make the budget work, but that's really a consequence of university-wide cost-cutting tactics. Really I'm just overjoyed to continue working in Rochester at the U of R.
What would really be good is for this coming year to be my last as a year to year professor. I need a tenure-track job. The ideal case would be a tenure-track job right where I am. I'm open to suggestions on how to achieve that.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/happy.gif) jubilant
|
March 7th, 2009
10:34 am - Share the linguistic labor, please
The Illinois senate has decided to exercise legislative authority over the semantics of 'planet'. By official decree, Pluto is now a planet in Illinois.
Next stop, reclassifying the sun as a planet.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/shocked.gif) shocked
|
February 9th, 2009
11:23 am - Published!!!
My paper "Justification and the Right to Believe" has been accepted for publication by The Philosophical Quarterly.
This is a big deal. It shifts me from unpublished to published which is, in this job market (and especially in my AOS), the difference between being dead and being alive.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/bouncy.gif) giddy
|
January 12th, 2009
December 16th, 2008
07:48 pm - First Interview
I finally locked down my first interview. It's a really cool one.
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis Maryland
Oh yeah!
|
December 13th, 2008
November 27th, 2008
12:21 pm - Look at the pendulum and repeat after me...
This is an actual magazine cover. I nearly burst from laughter.
Current Mood: amused
|
October 7th, 2008
08:34 pm - People who died at John McCain's age (or younger).
Shel Silverstein
Hunter S. Thompson
Peter Jennings
Ingrid Bergman
Richard Feynman
Desi Arnaz
Stanley Kubrick
Johnny Cash
Kurt Godel
Susan Sontag
Isaac Asimov
Ferdinand Marcos
Gertrude Stein
and
John Wayne
That's right. John Fucking Wayne was dead when he was McCain's age.
|
October 5th, 2008
08:10 pm - yep yep yep yep yep
If you're thirty or older and watched Sesame Street as a kid, prepare to be transported.
Current Mood: amused
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
philosophyjeff's journal![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/loxocosmic/lumplings/cheerful.gif){kind=small}
cheerful