This is the kind of thing that keeps me going every day. 
(via Neatorama) #nature

I recently signed up for an unlimited data plan with Cingular.  The verdict is still out on that, but one thing I've noticed is that sidebar position, or more accurately content position, is quite important for websites.  Websites with sidebars on the left (and unnecessary content at the top) are difficult to navigate through to get to the actual content of the site.  But sidebars on the right are usually easily formatted by a mobile browser's "Optimized" mode, which places all the sidebar contents at the end.  This is an important thing if you want your website's content to be easily accessible by people with mobile devices.  Or you can use something like a mobile browser plugin to detect a mobile device and format the content accordingly. #technology

The X-ray business is a funny one.  Whether you're getting some pictures of your teeth or a CAT scan of some internal organs, the thought of safety is sometimes laughable.  I understand that the amount and strength of the radiation entering your body isn't enough to kill you or cause any major damage.  But if that's true, why are there so many safety precautions? 

For instance, I find it at least slightly odd that the person administering the X-ray leaves the room during the test.  They say it's for safety because they don't want any spare X-rays bouncing off the walls, shooting into their brains, and melting their souls.  What about the person on the receiving end of the focused beam of radiation?  Isn't anyone concerned about that person?  Shouldn't they be wearing some sort of tinfoil hat or something? 

The other funny thing is when the dentist lays a heavy sheet of metal across your chest right before you get an X-ray.  For guys, the dentist positions the vest so it covers the "vitals" ... eh em.  This is a noble idea and I applaud it greatly, but my main concern during an X-ray is the fact that the gun-shaped instrument is pointed right at my skull.  I agree that having a healthy reproductive system is essential for having healthy babies, but what about a properly functioning brain?  Sure my equipment still works, but now I'm too stupid to use it. #health

I just enabled Mark's Subscribe to Comments plugin, which puts a checkbox in the comment form, enabling you to opt-in to receive comments to the specified post via email. #technology

I've had a few different email addresses over the past several years, and as a result of my anal retentiveness, I'm compelled to at least occasionally check each address in the off chance that someone from one of my former lives has emailed me and I have the desire to communicate with them.  If I think about it, this has happened approximately zero times in my lifetime, leading to the obvious question of why I continue doing it.  That question can't be answered, so I must continue doing it. 

With the advent of Gmail, all my email from every one of my former addresses can be forwarded and stored indefinitely, without the slightest fear of overfilling my storage space.  But each email addresses carries with it a certain amount of spam.  Emailing forwarding doesn't think about spam vs. not spam, so I get about 5 times the amount of spam I should be getting. 

Every once in a while, I look through my spam folder to see if anything got filtered that shouldn't have gotten filtered.  As I'm glancing at hundreds of emails, I usually start thinking about how futile my efforts are.  Would it really be so bad if I didn't get somebody's email?  When I find ones that accidentally got filtered, I usually conclude that life could've easily gone on as normal if I hadn't received that email.  Email is known to be a fairly unreliable method of communication, what with spam filters, unreliable and misunderstood computers, and restrictive corporate email policies.  So most email communication is conducted with the forethought of "If I really need to contact him, I'll just call him." 

But despite my conclusion that it's a complete waste of time, I still do it occasionally.  Anal retentiveness wins again. #technology

Sometimes I just have too much on my plate, and it has the effect of making me completely unproductive.  Not unproductive like "I wish I could get more than 3 things done today", but more like "I wish I could get a single thing done today".  And it's not like I have any lofty goals or anything like that.  I just want to check out a few websites and do a few little meaningless things.  But because of the shear number and complication of those things, I end up doing nothing at all.  This is definitely a problem. 

Update (2007-01-23 3:08pm):  Maybe I am task-oriented.  All these things on my to-do list don't necessarily stress me out.  It's the fact that I'm not completing any of them.  It's not that I'm not trying.  I try something and get nowhere, so I move on to something else.  In the course of an entire day, I don't complete any single task; I merely chip away at a part of each one.  And it's sorta killing me. #psychology

According to Slate, "meat was the most shoplifted item in America's grocery stores in 2005".  Wow.  Recent changes in laws affecting where certain over-the-counter medicines can be kept has led to a decline in pill shoplifting and a subsequent increase (percentage-wise) in meatlifting.  This is the most fascinating new thing I've learned in a long time.  (via Kottke) #business

Brainwave entrainment, or brainwave synchronization, is a method of applying a periodic aural or visual stimulus in order to convince one's brainwaves to operate at a desired frequency.  This can be especially useful for tricking your brain into waking up or sleeping.  Anabubula has an example sound file that's meant to be a "coffee replacement" for waking up in the morning.  Somewhere around minute 17 or 18, my heart almost popped out of my chest. #science

I would define crunchies as those unidentifiable crunchy amalgamations of sugar and other good things found atop coffee cakes, certain pies, and other various delicious food items.  I would estimate that about 15% of my life is spent in search of these wonderful things.  I had an apple crisp at Mama's in Hackettstown on Saturday, and it was one of the top 10 experiences of my life.  Every time I go into a convenience store, I go straight to the Drake's/Entenmann's section and drool over all the crunchy-laden products.  Whenever I go to the supermarket, I have a hard time deciding between having low cholesterol and eating an entire Entenmann's Ultimate Crumb Cake.  I think I have a problem. #food

I've been thinking about creating a "notes" section of my site that'll consist of simple, not-well-thought-out one-liners, similar to "asides" seen elsewhere.  These won't show up on the front page, similar to the site updates. #technology