Punching kids Nov 21, 2007
There's this thing that's found in normal everyday martial arts places.  It's called BOB, or Body Opponent Bag. 
[Image: centurybob.jpg]
Instead of practicing your punching, kicking, elbowing, and kneeing on a bag (or a real person), you practice on a rubbery dummy that's about 6 feet tall.  It's good practice because most people, as it turns out, aren't cylindrical, so punching a bag isn't always very life-like. 

In martial arts places that also offer classes for kids, there's a similar thing called Bobby Bully. 
[Image: centurybobby.jpg]
It stands about 4 feet tall and has a mean face like a bully.  It teaches kids to punch other kids who look mean. 

An interesting thing happens at the kickboxing place I go to.  Our class is full of grown men and women, mostly in their early- to mid-twenties.  At the beginning of each class, we run around the mat in a circle to get our blood flowing.  Certain guys, as they run past the Bobby Bully, throw a punch or an elbow just for fun.  Since Bobby Bully is rubbery and relatively life-like, his neck bends at an impossible angle when he's punched hard enough.  Watching grown men punch a child-sized dummy is hard to explain.  If it's done with a serious face, these guys would look like sadistic criminals.  Done with a chuckle, it's harmless.  Either way, it helps us get ready to punch kids in real life.  And that's a skill everyone should have. #sports
Buoyancy Nov 21, 2007
This just in: 
Buoyant Force On Area Object Equal To Weight Of Water Displaced
An area object partially immersed in a liquid was buoyed upward Tuesday by a force equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by that object, witnesses at the scene reported. According to sources, opposing forces acted against gravity during the displacement. In addition, though the object reportedly seemed lighter, it only appeared weightless due to the fact that the density of the liquid surrounding it was only slightly greater than that of the object. As of press time, the object is still maintaining positive buoyancy.
Reminds me of this. #science
Coulrophobia (1) Nov 19, 2007
Coulrophobia:  An abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns.

Does anyone really not have coulrophobia?

(via Cynical C) #psychology
Preventer of information services (3) Nov 16, 2007
This guy works where I work. 
[Image: dilbert20071116.gif]
He just changed around our whole email system and broke our voicemail. 

I understand the purpose of IT people and know several of them personally.  However, this has been my official stance for quite some time now:  The reason IT people have jobs and get paychecks is because of the work done by people like me.  The work I do is the thing that actually earns money.  The work IT people do is to help me work better and more efficiently.  With that in mind, get out of my way and let me do my job, you bunch of geeks.  (This should bring angry comments from at least three people I know.  Bring it on, geeks.) #entertainment
Platypus (2) Nov 16, 2007
Not only does the platypus "have feet like a duck but it's furry," (remember that commercial from the 80s?) it also has venomous spurs on it's hind feet that inject predators (and possibly other male platypuses competing for the same mate) with poison strong enough to kill small animals and cause extreme pain to humans.  So the next time you're in Australia and come across one of these egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammals, don't pick it up. 

That's the most interesting new thing I've learned in quite some time. #nature
Road work time Nov 16, 2007
I have a simple suggestion for road work crews:  Don't start working until after 9am, and stop before 4pm.  I don't know if you're aware of this, but other people have jobs too.  And it turns out that these jobs are usually a non-zero distance from each person's home.  Hence the invention of the word "commute".  What might also come as a surprise is the fact that a lot of people work during the day, and more specifically sometime between the hours of 8am and 5pm.  So by digging up roads and closing others down, you're totally screwing up my entire life, you bunch of orange-clothed, asphalt-scented idiots. #travel
Male cheerleaders (2) Nov 10, 2007
Cheerleading is a girl thing.  It's always weird to see a person of one gender in a sport that's traditionally dominated by the other gender.  There aren't many male field hockey players.  There aren't many female football players. 

There aren't many male cheerleaders.  Well actually, there are, but they're mostly found in college football.  The thing with male cheerleaders that makes them different than other males in female-dominated sports is that they're gigantic and they're fearful.  You can't really sit around and make fun of them.  They can crush you.  All you can do is say, "Huh, there's a male cheerleader.  I don't understand him.  But I respect him." 

My question is this:  How does one decide to become a male cheerleader?  There must be some other motivation besides touching female cheerleaders' butts (though judging from the behavior of typical males, this can be argued).  Seriously, where do these people come from?  Are they football players who didn't make the team but still want to be close to the sport?  Are they gym rats who just enjoy lifting things?  I'd really like to know. #sports
Moral pharmacists (1) Nov 9, 2007
This just in: 
A federal judge has suspended controversial state rules requiring pharmacies to dispense so-called "Plan B" emergency contraceptives, saying the rules appear to unconstitutionally violate pharmacists' freedom of religion.
Forgetting any type of moral objection a person can have towards the morning after pill, abortion, when a life is actually a life, stem cell research, evolution, and any other medical/religious topic you can throw in there, I think it's an absolute travesty that a pharmacist can choose when and when not to fill a customer's prescription.  The system is broken. #health
Mafia fear (3) Nov 9, 2007
When I was about 7 or 8, I remember hearing my one sister say something to my other sister about the mafia.  I asked what the mafia was.  She answered that it's a group of people who commit organized crime.  I asked why the cops don't stop them.  She said it's because they own the cops. 

The mafia was my number one fear for the following few weeks. #psychology
Back roads driving (7) Nov 9, 2007
Normally, people who live in quiet neighborhoods don't like the people who drive like maniacs through their neighborhood.  They go under the speed limit, even if it's 25mph.  They let cops sit in their driveways and nab speeders.  They want to keep their quiet, safe neighborhood a quiet, safe neighborhood.  I agree with this ideal to an extent. 

The problem is that I rarely, if ever, drive my car with little to no destination in mind.  I'm always going somewhere.  In the morning, I go to work.  At night, I come home from work.  On Saturdays, I go to Home Depot.  On Wednesday and Thursday nights, I go to Bible studies.  The bottom line is that I'm always on my way to something, and I can't for the life of me come up with a reason to postpone my arrival.  I'm driving to get somewhere, not to enjoy the ride.  This may be disagreeable to some, but it's how I work.  This is especially the case when I'm coming home from something.  My goal is to just get home.  I want to go in my house, turn up the heat, eat some food, sit on the couch, and pet my cats.  I don't want to be driving behind some mom in a minivan thinking she's doing her civic duty by slowing other people down. 

So I somewhat apologize to all those people I pass on the roads near my house.  I understand what you're trying to do, but I just don't care.  I'm sure you'll get over it. #travel