YEAH! (says lil' jon)

Bacardi 151 Congratulations! You're 134 proof, with specific scores in beer (80) , wine (66), and liquor (104).

All right. No more messing around. Your knowledge of alcohol is so high that you have drinking and getting plastered down to a science. Sure, you could get wasted drinking beer, but who needs all those trips to the bathroom? You head straight for the bar and pick up that which is most efficient.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 64% on proof You scored higher than 86% on beer index You scored higher than 76% on wine index You scored higher than 91% on liquor index

Link: The Alcohol Knowledge Test written by hoppersplit on Ok Cupid

I can see that. Eerie

Your Expression Number is 1

You have the skills to be a top executive or businessperson. But first you must develop your natural capacity to be a good leader. You are truly original - with a creative approach to life and a very sharp mind. You reach for the sky, and you have the potential to reach it. Assertive and straight forward, you have little need for supervision. You are self-confident, self-reliant, and courageous in your convictions. While you sometimes fear loneliness, you prefer to be left alone. A bit self centered, you may be hard to life with at times. You also have a strong dominant streak - which can push others away at times.

What's Your Expression Number?

The view from my window...Downtown Providence in it's snowy glory

Quick hand at Egyptian Rat Screw predicts long life

Longer Life, Reaction Time and IQ

According to the ancient Greeks, Zeus had 3 daughters who were known as the three Fates. One spun the thread of life, the second measured its length, and the third snipped it off. In our attempt to understand some of the rules of science, researchers have tried to offer a more plausible explanation for why some of us live longer than others. Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland have made a discovery even the Greeks couldn't have imagined - reaction time may be a core indicator of long life. They measured both the IQs and the reaction times of middle-aged subjects and conclude that both tests of mental ability were associated with life span, but reaction time was the stronger indicator.

These findings appear in Psychological Science, a journal of the American Psychological Society. This study builds upon earlier studies that show that individuals with lower IQs tend to die at younger ages than those with higher IQs. Investigators built upon this idea by adding what they define as a more fundamental measure of mental ability - efficiency in processing information. They believe that IQ tests might relate to physical health because people with higher IQs typically are more likely to be in occupations with safer environments. Reaction time is moderately related to IQ, but is a simpler assessment of the brain's information-processing ability - one that doesn't bear so much on other, possibly confounding factors like knowledge, education, or background.

They evaluted 412 male and 486 female 54- to 58-year-olds who took both an IQ test measuring their verbal and numeric cognitive abilities and a reaction-time test that measured how quickly they pressed a button after seeing a number on a screen. The researchers also recorded the participants' gender, employment, education, and smoking status. Over a 14 year period 185 participants died, and researchers compared their test results to see if the IQ or reaction-time responses predicted their mortality.

Results showed that those with higher IQ scores lived longer, a result consistent with other studies. The study also showed that characteristics significantly related to death included male gender and smoking. But they also found something new - faster reaction times seemed an even better predictor of long life than IQ.

There are different ways the results could be interpreted. Slow reaction times could reflect a degeneration of the brain, which in turn could reflect degenerating physical health (an obvious possible cause of earlier mortality). But in another study the IQs of 11-year-old subjects also were found to predict life span length, just as accurately as it did for the middle-aged participants in this 14-year study. Future studies of reaction times in younger-aged people may shed more light on the IQ-mortality connection.

An Update?

I haven't written anything here for a while, and for that I beg your pardon. I don't forsee much in the near future either though. This semester is going to be the hardest I'll ever have to endure, methinks.

I leave you something to read, however, from that place of all places, The Onion.

My Reclining Squirrel Kung Fu Stance Is Eminently Defeatable
By Quaking Rodent
Master of Losing at Kung Fu

---

Dare you face me? I should think so! Even the most craven cowards of our land shake with laughter at my challenge. The most feeble and infirm peasants shrug with indifference when I pass. Far and wide, my name is known, and no men feel the slightest quaver of fear when they look upon me! For I am the legendary Quaking Rodent, and my Reclining Squirrel stance is eminently defeatable!

Do not stand there looking at your shoes! Prepare to humiliate me! Face me with honor and make ready for the battle that you will win.

I will disgust you as I beg for mercy!

I have journeyed for almost a day, detouring several miles to avoid the frighteningly high bridge over the Yue Jiang river, so that I might challenge the one man in all of China who any girl-child could conquer! The elders told me there was no one worse at kung fu than you. "Ha!" I laughed in their faces. "My technique is infinitely inferior to any he may have learned!" After I apologized and begged the elders for their mercy, I made a vow. "I shall find this man you speak of, wherever he is napping. And, on the day I find him, I will be beaten to a bloody pulp!" Now I stand before you, and we will see who holds the title of Worst Kung Fu Master.

I am down here on the floor, coward! Prepare to beat me! All shall conquer practitioners of the notoriously ineffective Reclining Squirrel stance! You will destroy me!

Many years have I studied in anticipation of this day, laboring under the gentle tutelage of ancient master Breaking Reed, who taught me the Contemptible Way of the Reclining Squirrel. It was said of Breaking Reed that none had ever lost to him, so well trained was he in the arts of the squirrel stance. He remains to this day the only man I have ever defeated in battle. Yes, you heard me correctly—I killed my master! And on this day, you shall annihilate me and avenge his death.

Your superior kung fu shall wreak devastation upon my famous Squirrel-Covering-Nuts maneuver! Your fists will easily overcome my pathetic Skittering-To-Other-Side-Of-Tree defense! I will shatter in the face of your attack as I deploy the Blank-Staring-Face move! No matter how useless your technique, you shall be victorious. The Reclining Squirrel stance can only be defeated!

And, as you stand over me on the field of victory, my master Breaking Reed shall look down from the heavens and laugh with derision at my total annihilation at your hands! Ha ha ha ha, he will laugh!

My death is certain! Face your destiny and break me apart like a clod of dirt!

Nothing cannot defeat Quaking Rodent! The Slightly Twitching-Tail attack leaves no mark! The Relaxing-On-Branch kick has never caused my opponents the slightest bit of damage! And if that's not enough, then you will finish me with my signature move, the one it took me years to hone to perfection: The Bloated-With-Acorns-And-Too-Sleepy-To-Move defense!

Quit your sniveling! I have cowered in fear before hundreds of warriors. You have come face to face with the one man in all of China weaker, dumber, and lazier than yourself! Prepare for battle, Stunted Duckling! For you will live to see the sun rise tomorrow

Upon my return, this is what was awaiting me. I love the snow:-D

The Lesser of Two Evils

So now it comes down to this- sub- zero temperatures and the craziness of my house, or two feet of snow and classes and other engagments out the wazoo. At least I'm not alone in believing this is the WORST MONDAY EVER. It can only get better from here, then, right? Let us hope so.

Cuttlefish Reveal Secret to Getting Girl of Dreams

Dishonesty the Best Policy, Cuttlefish Study Concludes

	Image: R.T. HANLON

All is fair in love and war, but some animals take it to the extreme by temporarily turning themselves into something they're not. Findings published today in the journal Nature provide two new examples of how these mimics can get ahead. The mating scene for giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) is rife with fighting and deception. Small males often scoop their much larger counterparts by pretending to be female themselves, which allows the runts to get closer to females of reproductive age. "In the blink of an eye they can pull out of it and go back to being a male," observes lead author Roger Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. But although researchers had observed this behavior in the wild, it was unclear how successful the male mimics were at actually fertilizing females. Hanlon and his colleagues studied the creatures in their natural habitat and used DNA fingerprinting to analyze eggs and calculate the mimics' success rates. According to the report, the female impersonators fertilized female fish in 60 percent of their attempts, a success rate about twice that of honest male cuttlefish

http://www.newsisfree.com/iclick/i,68901859,1439,f/

You know you've lived in Finland too long when...

You know you’ve been in Finland too long, when...

1. You rummage through your plastic bag collection to see which ones you should keep to take to the store and which can be sacrificed to garbage.
2. It's acceptable to eat lunch at 11.00.
3. Your front door step is beginning to resemble a shoe shop.
4. You think it's normal that 22 year olds need fake ID
5. When a stranger on the street smiles at you, you assume that:
   a. he is drunk
   b. he is insane
   c. he is American
   d. he is all of the above
6. You don't think twice about putting the wet dishes away in the cupboard to dry.
7. A friend asks about your holiday plans and you answer "Oh, I'm going to Europe!" meaning any other Western European country outside Scandinavia.
8. You no longer scrunch up or fold your paper money. You always put your money in your wallet.
9. Silence is fun.
10. The reason you take the ferry to Stockholm is:
    a. duty free vodka
    b. duty free beer
    c. to party...no need to get off the boat in Stockholm;
    just turn around and do it again on the way back.
    d. all of the above
11. Your coffee consumption exceeds 6 cups a day and coffee is too weak if there is less than 10 scoops per pot.
12. You pass a grocery store and think "Wow, it is open, I had better go in an buy something!"
13. Your native language has seriously deteriorated; you begin to "eat medicine", "open the television", "close the lights off", and tell someone "you needn't to!" Expressions like "Don't panic" creep into your everyday language.
14. You associate pea soup with Thursday.
15. Your idea of unforgivable behaviour now includes walking across the street when the light is red and there is no WALK symbol, even though there are no cars in sight.
16. Your notion of streetlife is reduced to the few teenagers hanging out in front of Helsinki railway station on Friday nights.
17. Your bad mood becomes your good mood.
18. Sundays no longer seem dull with all the stores closed, and begin to feel restful instead.
19. "No comment" becomes a conversation strategy.
20. You finally stop asking your class "Are there any questions?"
21. The fact that all of the "v's" and the "w's" are together in the phone directory seems right.
22. Your old habit of being "fashionably late" is no longer acceptable. You are always on time.
23. Hugging is reserved for sexual foreplay.
24. You begin to understand Jussi Jyylanpaarvi's broadcast of the hockey game.
25. You refuse to wear a hat, even in -30 degree weather.
26. You hear loud-talking passengers on the train. You immediately assume:
    a. they are drunk
    b. they are Swedish-speaking
    c. they are American.
27. You give up on trying to find fat-free food and pile on the butter, cream and sugar.
28. You know how to fix herring in 105 different ways.
29. You eat herring in 105 ways.
30. You no longer look at sports pants as casual wear, but recognise them as semi-formal wear.
31. You can now reconstruct the missing letters on a building. For example MERI.........LIITTO OY.
32. You have undergone a transformation:
    a. you accept mustamakkara (Black-blood sausage) as food
    b. you accept alcohol as food
    c. you accept.
33. You understand why the Finnish language has no future tense.
34. You no longer have to search for the flushing mechanism on the toilet.
35. You no longer see any problem wearing white socks with loafers.
36. You no longer correct people who say MAC Donald's.
37. You just love Jaffa.
38. You've come to expect Sunday morning sidewalk vomit dodging.
39. You know that "I got a new boyfriend." means "I got laid last night."
40. The next day when they say "We broke up." you know it means " He didn't call."
41. You know that "religious holiday" means "let's get pissed."
42. You enjoy salmiakki.
43. You know that "mens public bathroom" is another phrase for sidewalk.
44. You know that more than three channels means cable.
45. You get all the Swedish jokes.
46. When you're hungry you can peel a boiled potato like lightning.
47. You've become lactose intolerant.
48. You accept that 80 degrees C in a sauna is chilly, but 20 degrees C outside is freaking hot.
49. You don't think twice about wearing sandals indoors and Wellington's outside.
50. You stand in a bus if you can't find a vacant pair of seats.
51. Finland winning a medal at the world hockey championships is less important than beating Tre Kronor.
52. You pass the point of spending more than 50% of your salary on phone calls and alcohol.
53. The only couple talking in a tram or a bus always seems to annoy you.
54. You refuse to cross a totally empty street until there is a green light.
55. You are immediately suspicious when somebody starts talking to you in the street.
56. You no longer have a problem accepting money from someone bumming a cigarette.
57. You seriously consider visiting the sauna more than three times a week.
58. You're training for Vasaloppet.
59. YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE LIVE ANYWHERE BUT IN FINLAND!!!!

You know you're from Ohio when....

You Know You're From Ohio When...

You don't think of Florida first when someone mentions Miami. You snicker when someone's from Tiffin, because you think of the State Hospital. You think Pro football teams are supposed to wear orange! You've heard of 3.2% beer. Schools close for the state basketball tournament. You're proud of your state fair, but would rather go to Cedar Point. You live less than 30 miles from some college or university. You know what a buckeye really is, and have a recipe for candy ones. "Toward the lake" means "north" and "toward the river" means "south." You've heard of the Great Nickel Beer Night Riot. You know if other Ohioians are from southern or northern Ohio as soon as they open their mouths. You root for a college team though you've never taken a class there. You can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, and Tuscarawas You always visit more than two amusement parks in one summer. You know that Serpent Mounds were not made by snakes. You know what game they're playing when the Mud Hens take on the Clippers. Vacation" means spending a day at Cedar Point or King's Island. Down south to you means Kentucky. You thought that the Michael Stanley Band was the most popular band in the country. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Ohio.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here



More cool things for your blog at
Blogthings

A Warning to Mother Nature

Dear Ma'am;

I know on multiple occasions I would have been delighted that you graced the landscape around me with mounds upon mounds of your clean, fluffy whiteness. This time, however, there's a bit of a problem. Accordingly, let me break it down for you.

I WILL be in Providence Monday evening as planned. Once there, I will revel in the blanketed world. Unitl I am there, however, I strongly advise that you cease and desist any action that may further impede my on time arrival. It's in your best interest to do so, and I ask that for your own benefit you heed my advisory. I have CCed Jack Frost, your employee, so that he too is aware of this matter.

That is all.

/J

PS- oh, and by the way, I just LOVE what you've done with your sky. A better reflection of father sea has never been seen!

Juopo

Right this moment....


What Kind of Drunk Are You?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

Yee-Haw

How I Spent my Winter Break..... I think the robe and the straw hat are so HOT right now.

My Type of Intelligence...

I don't know why I put these in here, but they're worth a good laugh sometimes anyway.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Clippings- 14 Jan

The EU Needs a great compromise. Where is Ben Franklin when you need him? Although it makes you think- is the two-house system employed in our congress effective enough to warrant our reccomending it to a body such as the EU?

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=600670

Brussels delivers blow to EU referendum hopes

By Stephen Castle in Brussels

14 January 2005

Tony Blair's battle to win a referendum on the European constitution suffered a setback yesterday when the European Commission said the document might have to be revised within the next decade.

The comments from Jose Manuel Barroso, the EC President, undermine one of Downing Street's central arguments: that the constitution will finalise the relationship between the UK and the EU.

At issue is the question of the voting system in the constitution which is based on the populations of member states. Projections show Turkey will be the EU's most populous county within decades, so giving it greater decision-making weight than Germany, the UK or France.

In the French daily, Le Figaro, Mr Barroso sought to reassure French opinion by trying to separate the constitution from the question of Turkish membership. He said: "If there is a need to change the rules later we will do it. But that is not the issue today." His spokeswoman, Francoise Le Bail, added: "When the time comes to change the constitution we will discuss it but the time has not come."

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"Eau de Paris." Is there a market for Parisiene tap water in Paris? The government is trying to convince you that there is.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=600264

Even teachers can't put stickers in our textbooks. The judge said that would be unconstitutional. Guess it just goes to show what happens when you get all uppity.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/13/evolution.textbooks.ruling/index.html