Looj May 12, 2009
The iRobot Looj is a gutter-cleaning robot from the same company that makes the Roomba.  Robots takin' ovah! #products
Free shipping May 12, 2009
It's weird how much of an incentive free shipping is.  I'll jump through hoops and sometimes pay more for a product, as long as the overall cost is less because of free shipping.  And what I recently discovered is that it works from a merchant's perspective as well.  I just sold something on eBay and selected the option that said I was willing to ship it for free.  Even though I didn't offer it for a great price, the product sold quickly, and I have a feeling free shipping made the difference.  It's funny because the shipping cost often isn't a significant percentage of the overall cost.  And that percentage decreases as the price of the object increases.  Of course, nothing is actually free, so the shipping cost is simply factored into the item's price.  But as consumers, we ignore this glaring fact, and we search for and readily purchase things that can be shipped for free. #business
Cats and squirt bottles May 12, 2009
Today's F Minus: 
[Image: fminus20090512.gif]
Seriously, a cat would rather bite its legs off and jump into a fire than get squirted with water. #nature
Drink pairings May 11, 2009
When deciding what type of wine to drink with a meal, there's often a last minute struggle to remember whether it's white or red that goes with seafood or beef, and whether the drink should be chilled or served at room temperature.  A similar thing happens with beer geeks.  My official opinion on the matter is that if you don't like the beverage under normal circumstances, you still won't like it even if it's served with the best food on earth.  I don't care that red wine goes well with strong cheeses or that ales go well with seafood.  I don't like red wine and I don't like ales, ergo I won't dislike them any less when paired with the right food. #food
Switch-pitcher (4) May 11, 2009
I have absolutely no interest in the sport of baseball, but this guy Pat Venditte from the Yankees' minor league team sounds pretty interesting.  He's a switch-pitcher. 
"The righty has a 90 mph fastball, a curve and a nice change. The lefty comes sidearm and has a murderous slider and a change.

When his son was 3, Dad noticed Pat threw balls with both hands. So he fed it. He had him throw footballs both ways, punt both ways, kick field goals both ways. Pat was homeschooled by his mom, Jan, who had him write both ways and eat both ways."
What a cool idea.  Definitely better than the forceful alternative of "just pick a side and move on". 

And in what might be the most obvious double entendre of the century, the writer of the article says, "And best of all, the kid can relieve himself!"  Surely there's a better way to write that sentence.  Perhaps, "And best of all, the kid can be his own relief pitcher!"  For shame. #sports
Odd Day (2) May 7, 2009
Today, May 7, 2009 (05/07/09) is an Odd Day, one of six dates per century made up of three consecutive odd numbers.  The six dates are:  01/03/05, 03/05/07, 05/07/09, 07/09/11, 09/11/13, 11/13/15.  Until July 9, 2011, may the geek be with you. #math
Sick pigs May 7, 2009
A few thoughts on swine flu: 
  1. It causes flu-like symptoms, and as with normal flu, the people who die from it are old and have weak immune systems.
  2. In the US, about 36,000 people die each year from the flu.  As of today, 2 people have died in the US from swine flu.
  3. It doesn't spread by eating pork.  It spreads from person to person.
  4. An epidemic is an outbreak of disease within a country's borders.  A pandemic crosses those borders.
  5. Northwestern University professor Dr. Dirk Brockmann:  "People have a very weird perception of large numbers.  If you have 2,000 cases of flu in a country of 300 million, most people think they're going to be one of the 2,000, not one of the 299,998,000."
  6. Hoffmann-La Roche, the company that makes the flu medicine Tamiflu, is probably doing pretty well right now, despite these tough economic times.  Buy, buy, buy!
#health
Udder Covers May 6, 2009
Udder Covers are specially made bib-like cloths that cover the business end of a mother nursing her child.  Funniest product name ever. 

But just because you cover it up doesn't mean we don't know what's going on under there, and it doesn't mean it's not weird that you're doing it in public.  I know you can do what you want and your baby is hungry, but still. #products
Information and details May 6, 2009
I realized two things about myself recently.  One is that I like information up front, details later.  This post talks about that.  I guess I've been trained my whole life to collect information and either store it or act on it in some way, so when information comes with unnecessary details and too much stuff up front, I get overloaded and I tune out.  It's not that I don't care about the details, it's just that I want the point of the story up front so I know what to do with the details. 

The second thing is similar but slightly different:  I don't care about the big picture; I focus on tasks.  When I receive information, if I can't use it or do something about it, I generally don't care about it and promptly forget it.  When there's news that some insurance company is being bailed out by the government, I don't really care because I can't do anything about it.  But when I hear news that there's a pandemic being spread via human-to-rabbit contact, it's at least somewhat important to me because I can do something about it. #psychology
Greeting cards May 5, 2009
I used to buy people gifts for their birthdays, though it never felt natural.  "What do you want for your birthday?  Nothing specific?  So you want me to think of something?"  Many gifts were either consumables or "gifts," i.e. junk from the display section of a store.  Once I started making money, I really questioned the point of giving gifts.  "Why should I ask you what you want and then buy it for you when you could much more easily buy it for yourself?  Why don't I just give you money?"  But money's not a gift.  Gifts have to be heartfelt and meaningful.  And that's why I stopped giving them.  The fact is, I'm not thoughtful enough to think of something a person would like but doesn't need.  And if I have to ask what they want, it means I'm probably not close enough to them to know the answer in the first place.  So as much as I dislike the practice, I still buy people greeting cards for their birthdays.  I never really want to, because it seems so meaningless to spend money on a piece of paper that says something in a way I wouldn't be able to say it.  It's like I'm paying someone to do it for me.  But greeting cards are a socially acceptable practice, so I engage in the activity to make people believe I'm not a sociopath. #sociology