I've always wondered why...

This is the most coherent and concise explanation of why people are attracted to conspiracy theory I've found.  And I've always wondered why a more than expected percentage of people lean this direction.  Well here you go...

Why do people believe in highly improbable conspiracies? In previous columns I have provided partial answers, citing patternicity (the tendency to find meaningful patterns in random noise) and agenticity (the bent to believe the world is controlled by invisible intentional agents). Conspiracy theories connect the dots of random events into meaningful patterns and then infuse those patterns with intentional agency. Add to those propensities the confirmation bias (which seeks and finds confirmatory evidence for what we already believe) and the hindsight bias (which tailors after-the-fact explanations to what we already know happened), and we have the foundation for conspiratorial cognition.

Full article - Scientific American, Sept. '09

Almost Creepy...

A very cool gadget here - of course it would be in Germany.

Life is a highway

Yeah, thanks Mr. Cochrane. I drive so much my life is a highway. Specifically it's the 101, or as I like to call it, THE PUNISHER.

So, I've been going easy on the gas for a while (easy on the acceleration, to be more exact). I was averaging 29-30 mpg's before I started and now .... wait for it.... I'm up to 35 mpg's!

Hardly the 45 mpg's I was hoping for. But here are some stats, based just on deciding to drive easier:

Length since last post...45 days (boo!)
~ 50 miles/day = 2990 miles (did I mention I have a hefty commute....also boo)
Based on my average price of $3.30/gallon

Gas saved/45 days = 14.2 gallons
$ saved/45 days= $46.99

Gas saved/year = 115.5 gallons
$ saved/year = $381.11

I guess driving like a grandma pays off. Next steps:

1) Uber-inflate tires








2) Remove the front license plate cover (it's like an inverse parachute)












3) Remove the roof rack bars (weight*aerodynamics + don't use it anyway = why not?)

I'm sure those 3 combined will only save 6.113 drops of fuel over the course of the glaciers melting; but hey, it'll only take me a minute!

So screeny!!

Not at all as pleasing to the eye as today's funk, but I could make a case that it's equally as nerdy. Got me a copy of AutoCAD 2008 and 2008 MEP, and I'm off and running. Time will tell whether I am caught simply staring at the screen with a drooly mouth, or if I will actually get something built.

Isn't she lovely?

A cool website that shows the pattern of sunrise and sunset on this tilted sphere, pretty close to real time.

Very inspiring

I'm having a love affair with alternative energy ideas. What my wife doesn't know won't hurt her.

This one is particularly inspiring.

I want it all.....gimme more gimme more

This article gets me all nerdy-gitty. Who will donate the $1800 for my new 24" iMac? Just comment with your credit card #. I'm sure I'll be able to get you a tax right off somehow.....I'm a walking 501-c3.

Lightning Maker

Been playing with some more 3d Autocad. This pic is of an ozone generator (1 of 2) that we're installing at the water treatment plant. I'm nerding out on it. This piece of equipment creates ozone gas by basically shooting lightning through oxygen. Of course it's not really lightning. But it's fun to say "lightning maker".

Woah....

I want one?

Imagining the Tenth Dimension part 1 of 2

Okay, this kinda rocks. I'm not completely 'on board', though. And not just because of the big bang reference. I'm just not sure that we can take our easily understood 3 dimensions that are spatial, and add 4 and 5 so seemlessly, since the latter are sequential in nature. But I'm not Einstein, and he's the one that linked our space and time.

Imagining the Tenth Dimension part 2 of 2

If you're still around for part 2.... this is where it gets funky.

Ever feel a little....

t3chn0l0g1c4l ?


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