50 beans | weightless coffee?

Pretty cool video on how astronauts drink coffee in space:

relishing in pain

What the heck is wrong with people? Do you notice that sometimes people take pleasure in the misfortune of others? Are people hard-wired this way? Is it something that we're brought up with?

I know this sounds awfully cynical, but think about it. Remember when you were a kid, watching cartoons and all that stuff? Think back...Yogi Bear, Coyote and Roadrunner, Sylvester and Speedy Gonzales...the funniest moments where when Yogi failed to get a basket, or coyote blew himself up or fell off a cliff, or when Sylvester gets smoked trying to chase Speedy.

Even on TV these days, we see that the funniest plotlines are when the main character is failing miserably or about to fail. Take Frasier for example. In that show, for seven seasons Niles has been madly in love with Daphne, but has seen missed-opportunities and epic failures come in the way of asking her out. In Cheers, the recurring Bar Wars between Cheers and Gary's Old Towne Tavern has Cheers losing or screwing themselves up each time. Why is that?

Frustration is funnier than victory. It wouldn't be funny if Yogi got the basket right off the bat, or if Coyote and Sylvester ate their respective counterparts. The entertainment is built upon their knack for failure and ensuing frustration. Is that twisted that we find this funny? I supposed now that we've somewhat established that people are kinda screwed up, is it something we can change? I'm definitely not saying I have the solution, I'm just posing the question. Please let me know what you think.

youth group kid's question

So a few weeks ago I went on a camping trip with the youth group from church, and one of the kids asked the most random question: do you think we spend too much money funding NASA and wouldn't that money be put to better use elsewhere such as feeding people here in our country? I looked at Paul and Gideon, the two that were with me at the time and we had no clue where the question came from. I tried to explain why we fund NASA and why it's important to our national priorities, and ended up pontificating for a good 15 minutes on how research that doesn't produce fruit now may be incredibly important one day, and we shouldn't let funding decide which issues get the most attention. After that, she was more confused than when she asked the question, and I looked more confused than her. So that got me to thinking, is it really worth it? Of course it is; and after some research and number crunching I finally have the backup.

The common misconception is that we spend a lot of money on NASA. True, the budget for NASA is $16.143 Billion (as of 2007); however please take that into perspective. The national budget that year was $2.784 trillion, which means NASA funding accounted for 0.58% of the national budget. Wow that's a whopper. We spend $1.581 trillion on social services in 2007 (the budgets for the Department of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Agriculture, and Labor). For every $1 we spend on NASA, we spend $98 on social services. If we cut social programs by 1% we could double the budget for NASA. Of course, the amount we spend on social services is really even more than the $1.581 trillion since that's only FEDERAL spending. If we were to add together the state and local governments' spending on social services, we could very nearly double that amount. Now I think it's fair to assume that state and local gov'ts aren't spending money on space exploration right?

Many people, including the youth group kid, believe that we should solve our problems here on earth before we try to conquer space. The reality of it is, even if we increased social services budget by 1% (the reality is, it could very well be less than the 1% when state and local govt spending is taken into account), do you really think that 1% will make a difference? Honestly, it's a drop in a bucket.

When we look at the benefits of space exploration, keep in mind the intangibles, the things that we gain that cannot be quantified. Space travel is inspirational, not only for children, but for adults as well. There is currently various forms of research done aboard the International Space Station as well as on all Shuttle missions. We haven't fully grasped the benefits of what space research has garnered, but that doesn't mean we should give it up. And at $17 billion a year, or 0.58% of the Federal budget, that's a steal.

the guy on the other team's sidelines

Today, a stalwart of the Democratic Party, Ted Kennedy, passed away. As a Republican, I've noticed quite a few of my colleagues and friends make certain comments, not all of which are flattering toward his passing. I would like to point out that regardless of political affiliation, please remember that this man did serve his country for almost half a century, through the civil rights movement, the cold war, as well as various other major events that helped shape the country today. We can remember and honor a man for his service without necessarily having to subscribe to his politics.

j d booty

Today, in a move that pulled the spotlight from Michael Vick and placed it squarely upon himself, Brett Farve signed with the Vikings. Sudden every sports blog and beat writer is frantically typing up op-ed pieces and status reports. The one thing i'm noticing is...what about John David Booty? When Farve signed, Booty became the 4th string quarterback on a team with (realistically) room for only 3 qb's. To make matters worse for Booty, Farve jacked his number. Booty, who has been #4 since he's been with the Vikings, didn't really even have a say in the matter. Wouldn't that suck to show up to to practice one day only to find out your number has been taken...oh and you might get dropped now too. Probably not the best day that guy's had...

ipods, cellphones, and social disconnect...

I must say...when I first saw this, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Apparently the person who is wearing this laptop privacy sweater sees the need for privacy while working on her laptop in a public space. The creator of this sweater actually knitted this as a fun commentary on how attached we are to our technology.

Our dependence on our technology seems increasingly evident. We often times view technology as a way to bring people closer together. We've all heard the term global village, in reference to the fact that with the technology and communication advances we have these days, people can communicate as easily through phone, email, skype, twitter, etc as they can in person. The problem is, as we rely on these technological advances, it seems as though we're removing ourselves from the actual day-to-day human interactions necessary for social development and retreat to a world of virtual interactions.

I notice, everytime I'm on a bus, or waiting in line at the DMV, that people have their ipods on and are in their own little worlds. A few years ago, when I was a freshman and ipods weren't as popular (I know...i'm old), people spoke to each other on the bus. Random strangers sitting across from each other would randomly stike up conversations about the weather, that book that they're reading, or some other small talk to while away the time. These days people are in the same situations, on the bus or waiting in line, yet those white earbuds function as a social do not disturb sign. It seems like the human interactions we're used to on a daily basis have diminished in the last few years as we rely more heavily on our tech to get us by our day.

We seemingly retreat into our own little world as we use our ipod/cellphone/laptop. Sometimes this manifests itself into something more concrete, and even potentially dangerous. A study by the Transportation Institute at Virginia Tech released last month concluded that texting while driving increases your risk of an accident by 2,300%. In otherwords, you're 23 times as likely to get into an accident while texting, which is one of the primary reasons 14 states (including CA) have passed driving and texting bans. Texting creates a very real distraction that puts you, as MSNBC calls it, the moron setting. Texting is causing an increasing number of people to hurt themselves by walking into or tripping over obstacles. A few weeks ago, 15-year-old Alexa Longueira fell into an open manhole while texting and walking down the street in Staten Island.

The more we focus on being connected through technology, the more distant we get from people. Instead of calling or emailing someone, try meeting with them in person. The next time you're on the bus, instead of plugging in your headphones or going on the phone, try stiking up a conversation with someone. You never know where that may lead.

from where i sit: views on everything and nothing

A study recently release show that on average, 1,200 laptops are lost each week at LAX. These can range from being stolen, to left at the terminal, but the majority of laptops are lost at security checkpoints, where people remove the laptops out of their bags and apparently forget to put them back. I guess my question is, wouldn't you realize that your laptop bag is surprisingly lighter now that there's no PC in there?


I still remember my first cellphone, an Ericsson flip phone I got when I started high school. as I recall, that was about the time when all my friends started getting cellphones too, as kids needed to call their folks after clubs, sports practices, etc were over. A survey of kids in the UK show that roughly half of all kids between ages 5 and 9 now have mobile phones. I can understand giving your kid a phone when they reach high school, but half of all 5-9 yr. olds? Most 5 yr. olds I know can't even spell cellphone, let alone know how to use one. It seems like childhood experiences are increasingly punctuated by technology these days.


European discount airline Ryanair is in talks with Boeing to install standing room spots on their fleet of airplanes in order to pack more people onto their flights. These "seats" will be similar to barstools with seatbelts. At some point you gotta wonder if they're not just better off stacking people tight enough so that there wouldn't even be a need for seatbelts. I guess in that situation people can also double as shock absorbers.


Russian football fans who are travelling to Wales next month for the World Cup qualifier have been urged to drink Welsh whisky to ward off H1N1, says the head of the country's supporter association (VOB). I wasn't aware that whisky could prevent this disease. Perhaps for Russians whisky is their Robitussin.