Saturday, August 16, 2008

Do you know the #1 song the day you were born?

Kind of a neat site. You can click the month your were born then the date and the years will come up.


http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

Careful at the Next Irregulars Gathering: Researchers Show "Beer Goggles" Are Real

Yep, it is true that alcohol enhances the attractiveness of those around you. And it doesn't take much...only the alcohol in about 1 and a half beers increases attractiveness of others about 10%.

Even more surprising, it happens across gender and orientations. Straight guys find other guys more attractive and the same for women. The results were published in the Journal of Alcohol and Alcoholism.

So be careful out there or nine months after the next blogger meetup there may be some little Irregulars!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Are you smart or stupid?


This is crazy...

When it says you only have 8 seconds to answer the question ...they aren't kidding. Re-taking the test mixes up the questions so you can't gain anything there.


Smart or Stupid

Friday's Lost Video

In honor of daughter Wacko dancing at Irish Fest tonight with the Trinity Irish Dancers , I thought I would put up a little heard U2 song that was on the Wide Awake in America 4 song EP called "The Three Sunrises". This was to be on the Unforgettable Fire album, but because it sounded so different, and Edge's guitar had some scratchy distortion to it, they left it off. To bad, this is one of my fav U2 songs. They never did a video, but some youtuber made a cool slideshow to it. Enjoy!


New Super

Just got an email from an inside source at RUSD. Dr Shaw is hired. Terms to be announced.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Can ya help a chic out??


Here is a clickable link:

http://main.diabetes.org/goto/heathergeyer

Thank you for your time!!!!!

Heather

MIDWEST STREET RYDERS RACINE WI SHOOT......

Content Advisory: (im)Mature Language



I found a link to this in the Journal Times' comments. Can you spot the locations? One is 12th and Washington. Island Park is also in there. As is Pershing Park, where I saw some of this being filmed last year. Dozens of cars and people descended on the area behind Gateway Technical College and tore it up. Of course, my first thought was to call the police, but the RPD has all but beaten that instinct out of me. I've stopped pestering them with annoying calls about crime in the city. I just walked away, shaking my head....

Have you seen this car? I have, many times throughout the city.

The video is a year old, about the age that most of the people in it act.

This is what happens in my neighborhood, Mayor Becker. They're so brazen that they film it and post it for nationwide viewing, because they know that absolutely nothing will be done about it. Party on!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Monday Night Humor

Pick Me Pick Me

Name Game Movie Trivia Quiz

Answers are now in the comments.

Rules: No fair looking these up online or anywhere else. You either know, or don't.

In what movie did the following names play a pivitol role? BTW, I'm starting you out with a real tough one.

1. Arch Stanton

2. Richard Blaine

3. Nathan Brittles

4. Carl Denham

5. "Squire" Will Danaher

Idiot Tax II, the follow up

It amazes me how these guys always "come to Jesus" once they realize they're in trouble.


http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/11/2008-08-11_latenight_spiderman_i_climbed_ranks_of_s.html

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

IFL - Irregular Football League

Allrighty then boys and girls, lets see what happens. I set up a fantasy football league for all interested. Weather you have done this before, or not, lets have some fun... it's easy and it's free. The only thing you need is a yahoo ID. Click on the link below, and get yourself set up.

The League Name is Irregular Football League
But you need to sign up with the league ID: 407124
The Password is Becker

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/signup

Be sure to join under Football '08, not Football Plus '08

Hope to see you all in training camp!

Stu (da Commish)

Hale-Bopp For President

And I am getting media attention!


What Grinds Your Gears?

Okay, I'll give a shot to posting here. Be nice :)

What type of things do people do that make you made, but not for a good reason?

1) People from the North Chicago Suburbs (Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, etc)
2) People who stand on the left side of an escalator.
3) People that say hello to a friend with a kiss on the cheek.
4) Just about anyone I meet between the hours of 6AM and 9PM.

Just kidding on the last one. But really, what minor annoyances get you in a bad mood in a disproportionate amount for the actual problem?

Monday, August 11, 2008

Kiss My Math!

Danica McKellar probably sticks in your mind as the young actress who played Winnie in the Wonder Years. Of course she grew up, went to college and still does some acting.

While at UCLA, she majored in math. Now she has started writing math books targeted at girls. Her second book, Kiss My Math was just released. This books is a follow up to her bestseller (bestseller? Yeah, a math book!) Math Doesn't Suck.

I just listened to the interview with her on NPRs Science Friday (she was on last year discussing her first book). Both interviews are available free to listen online (just click the links).

I haven't read either of the books yet, but she is trying to make math less intimidating, focusing on girls (but she tells some funny stories about boys who have used her books as well). These two books are middle school math/pre-algebra based. I think reading them would be as muchof an education into that age of girls as it is math!

I know some of you have daughers about that age and these books might be worth checking out if she is having math anxiety. They are designed as textbook supplements so could be just the ticket.

Oh, and I have to agree with one of the callers to Science Friday...smart chicks are hot!

RIP Issac Hays

Issac was a baaad mutha!
I hope they played this song as he entered the pearly gates.
St. Peter says "Welcome Brother Isaac."
Isaac says "Right on!"


Are you ready for some (fantasy) Football?

Anyone interested in a JTI Fantasy Football league? I would be willing to be the commissioner and run the league. If we get ten people that want to play we'll set this thing in motion. If you have never played, but want to, its easy and fun. I'm looking forward to 'ballin irregular style.....

Public School Teacher Arrested

A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a problem for us," the Attorney General said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns,' but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'There are 3 sides to every triangle.'"

Never Trust A Woman

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Perseids Prominently Peaking

Yep, that time of year again. The Perseid meteor shower will peak early Tuesday morning, August 12th. The Perseids are one of the best meteor showers of the year (and the other one, the Geminids, are in December and most people think August nights are more comfortable to be outside than December nights!)

Meteors are best viewed under a dark sky away from the city, but brighter meteors do show up through city lights. They also are best viewed in the early morning before dawn. That's when Earth rotates and you are on the side plowing into all the meteors so you will see a lot more. This year, the Moon sets at about 1:18am in Racine, and that is just about the same time the rate will start picking up.

The best way to observe meteors in simply a nice lawn chair or blanket, lay down, and look up. These best place to look is near the constellation Perseus shown in the Sky and Telescope star map below.
The best bet is to find the familiar "w" of Cassiopea and look just slightly clockwise of it (imagine a big circle that passes through Cassiopea and the Big Dipper).

Simply lay back and look up. No telescope or even binoculars needed. Meteors move quickly and you don't know where the next one will appear, so you want to scan as much of the sky as you can. If you are lucky enough to catch a very bright meteor, you might see a smoke trail. If you see a smoke trail, then might be a good time to pick up the binoculars and watch the smoke trail disaapate.

Sometime people claim to hear hissing or crackling sounds associated with bright meteors. These sounds are not well understood. They cannot come directly from the meteor since sound travels so much faster than light, you would see the meteor and hear the sound later (just like you hear thunder after you see the lightning). An (unproven but plausible) idea is that the meteor gives off radio waves and some metal obect nearby is acting as an antenna and speaker, converting the radio waves to sound. Enough people have heard this phenomena, called electrophonic meteor sounds, that we are pretty sure you are not crazy if you hear one!

Meteor showers are usually associated with a comet. For the Perseids, it is comet Swift-Tuttle. When a comet nears the Sun, it heats up and lots of little bits break off. These little bits form the comets tail and they keep orbiting the Sun just like the comet does. Once a year, we pass the orbit of the comet and all these little bits (most the size of a grain of sand) are the meteors we see. Some meteor showers have a very narror debris area and Earth crosses them in a day or two. The Perseids are a very wide debris trail and it takes the Earth a couple of weeks to fully cross the debris trail. You will see qutie a few Perseids for the next several nights, but Tuesday morning is when we hit the most dense part of the debris trail.

The Perseids are not as much fun to watch down south. When I lived in Florida, warm humid nights and mosquitos dampened the fun. In Arizona we are in the rainy season now and the probability of clear weather is not that good (many observatories here shut down this time of year for annual maintenance.) That's why I like the Geminids in December...it's not too cold her and much better chances of clear weather. Still, I might go out here Tuesday morning if its clear (at least there aren't many mosquitos here!)

I THINK I BEAT HALE-BOPP TO THIS ONE!

It's that time of year again folk were the night sky will be streaking with meteors. The weather looks good for the upcoming week to get an eyefull. Our resident star gazer hopefully will fill us in with the details. So grab the soap and towel and go out and enjoy a good shower!

Oh NO! Monday is coming, let's get out of here!!

Hey guys,
I got a great rate on the bus if we picked it
up this weekend, let's get out of town
while we still can.
Who's ready for a road trip??
Maybe we'll find DZ on the way too,
that would be cool!
Who's coming??
Where do you want to go??
Who's bringing the munchies??