Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
keys to my...
password sharing: for teens, access to online accounts is a sign of love
rip and i used to tell each other our passwords. and yeah, sometimes one of us would "get in trouble". eventually tho, we stopped updating each other, tho i think more because we both change our passwords pretty often and not because we were hiding stuff from each other.
for other stuff tho we're pretty open. since we both use drive-thru atms we have given each other our atm pins (tho i never remember his). and i think if i asked for his other passwords he'd probably tell me. tho he'd probably ask why and i don't think he'd be too happy if i said "in order to spy on you."
anyway, i don't have a problem with telling him my passwords but i don't think he needs to know them. if he told me he wanted them so he could "check in on me" i wouldn't tell him, and i'd probably become very paranoid and make him turn around every time i typed it in.
i think at a certain point you need to just trust someone. if he really wanted to hide something from me, he would find a way, regardless of how much i tried to spy on him. so why bother spying?
rip and i used to tell each other our passwords. and yeah, sometimes one of us would "get in trouble". eventually tho, we stopped updating each other, tho i think more because we both change our passwords pretty often and not because we were hiding stuff from each other.
for other stuff tho we're pretty open. since we both use drive-thru atms we have given each other our atm pins (tho i never remember his). and i think if i asked for his other passwords he'd probably tell me. tho he'd probably ask why and i don't think he'd be too happy if i said "in order to spy on you."
anyway, i don't have a problem with telling him my passwords but i don't think he needs to know them. if he told me he wanted them so he could "check in on me" i wouldn't tell him, and i'd probably become very paranoid and make him turn around every time i typed it in.
i think at a certain point you need to just trust someone. if he really wanted to hide something from me, he would find a way, regardless of how much i tried to spy on him. so why bother spying?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
the r word
why the word "rape" should never be used casually
rip also uses this word casually (usually in the context of playing video games). which, obviously, bothers me.
i've never been raped. though i do know someone who was raped. it wasn't a violent thing with a stranger, it was the common way women get raped, by someone she knew and trusted. on a bed, not in a dark alleyway. the incident made me angry, but beyond that, i don't think it actually affected me very much.
in the last year, i've watched a couple movies that had violent rape scenes: the last house on the left and the girl with the dragon tattoo. i had a really bad reaction during the first movie and i was unable to finish the movie, which was okay since it was a dvd and it didn't seem like it was going to be a great movie anyway. i watched the girl with the dragon tattoo in movie theaters and started crying. not really sure why?
anyway, i just wanted to remind you that 1 out of every 6 american women are victims of rape or attempted rape. i'm sure you know more than six women. you're probably pretty close to more than six women. and more than just females, 3% of males are also rape victims. and even beyond the direct victims of rape there are all the others who are affected. friends, family, everyone.
so the next time you're about to casually use the word rape, think about what it really means.
to learn some more horrifying but important information about rape, go here.
rip also uses this word casually (usually in the context of playing video games). which, obviously, bothers me.
i've never been raped. though i do know someone who was raped. it wasn't a violent thing with a stranger, it was the common way women get raped, by someone she knew and trusted. on a bed, not in a dark alleyway. the incident made me angry, but beyond that, i don't think it actually affected me very much.
in the last year, i've watched a couple movies that had violent rape scenes: the last house on the left and the girl with the dragon tattoo. i had a really bad reaction during the first movie and i was unable to finish the movie, which was okay since it was a dvd and it didn't seem like it was going to be a great movie anyway. i watched the girl with the dragon tattoo in movie theaters and started crying. not really sure why?
anyway, i just wanted to remind you that 1 out of every 6 american women are victims of rape or attempted rape. i'm sure you know more than six women. you're probably pretty close to more than six women. and more than just females, 3% of males are also rape victims. and even beyond the direct victims of rape there are all the others who are affected. friends, family, everyone.
so the next time you're about to casually use the word rape, think about what it really means.
to learn some more horrifying but important information about rape, go here.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
float
january 1st's astronomy picture of the day!
"At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II was farther out than anyone had ever been before."
Sunday, January 15, 2012
ctrl
why don't we teach kids how to use ctrl f?
"...many schools don't mandate knowing how to use a computer, word processing and database software, and internet research tools. Yet those just might be the most important skills they can learn.
"...90% of people don't know that they can use CTRL or Command+F to find a word in a document or web page... And if kids don't learn how to do this type of thing in school, where will they build the skills?
"Part of the problem is that teachers don't always have their own electronic literacy skills to pass on to students... But even with an electronically literate teacher, the reality is that schools, particularly in low income areas, still lack updated technology."
it's weird cause i know many (tho definitely not all) of the basic keyboard shortcuts (ctrl z, x, c, v, f, s, p), but where did i learn these? certainly not from school! i wonder if i just picked these ones up since they're actually labeled on my keyboard. which would also explain why i don't know any of the other shortcuts (anything to do with alt).
i agree that school should teach us more useful skills, but i wonder if we place an unfair burden on our teachers. ...tho i remember being required to take several computer classes, and if they're still mandating those classes they should also spend some time on shortcuts. it shouldn't take nine months to teach home row, after all.
"...many schools don't mandate knowing how to use a computer, word processing and database software, and internet research tools. Yet those just might be the most important skills they can learn.
"...90% of people don't know that they can use CTRL or Command+F to find a word in a document or web page... And if kids don't learn how to do this type of thing in school, where will they build the skills?
"Part of the problem is that teachers don't always have their own electronic literacy skills to pass on to students... But even with an electronically literate teacher, the reality is that schools, particularly in low income areas, still lack updated technology."
it's weird cause i know many (tho definitely not all) of the basic keyboard shortcuts (ctrl z, x, c, v, f, s, p), but where did i learn these? certainly not from school! i wonder if i just picked these ones up since they're actually labeled on my keyboard. which would also explain why i don't know any of the other shortcuts (anything to do with alt).
i agree that school should teach us more useful skills, but i wonder if we place an unfair burden on our teachers. ...tho i remember being required to take several computer classes, and if they're still mandating those classes they should also spend some time on shortcuts. it shouldn't take nine months to teach home row, after all.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
blog schedule
besides the last post, i actually haven't blogged in a few months. all the posts you seen have been saved up and blogger has been auto-publishing them on the date i set up waaaay in advance (which, let me just say, is an awesome function!).
anyway, fyi, i'll probably be posting less since i've kind of run out of things to say. tho hopefully it'll be at least once a week.
anyway, fyi, i'll probably be posting less since i've kind of run out of things to say. tho hopefully it'll be at least once a week.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
self-control
sacred salubriousness: why religious belief is not the only path to a healthier life
why is there a "strong correlation between religiosity and lower mortality"?
"religious people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, such as visiting dentists and wearing seat belts, and are less likely to smoke, drink, take recreational drugs and engage in risky sex. Why? Religion provides a tight social network that reinforces positive behaviors and punishes negative habits and leads to greater self-regulation for goal achievement and self-control over negative temptations... Religions offer the ultimate delay of gratification strategy (eternal life), and the authors cite research showing that 'religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers.'"
"The underlying mechanisms of setting goals and monitoring one’s progress, however, can be tapped by anyone, religious or not... In his lab Baumeister has demonstrated that self-control can be increased with practice of resisting temptation, but you have to pace yourself because, like a muscle, self-control can become depleted after excessive effort. Finally, the authors note, “Religion also improves the monitoring of behavior, another of the central steps of self-control. Religious people tend to feel that someone important is watching them.” For believers, that monitor may be God or other members of their religion; for nonbelievers, it can be family, friends and colleagues."
what i'd like to know is what's so great about living so long anyway? though i suppose the assumption is that you'll be healthy. and if you can have quality and quantify that would be even better.
why is there a "strong correlation between religiosity and lower mortality"?
"religious people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, such as visiting dentists and wearing seat belts, and are less likely to smoke, drink, take recreational drugs and engage in risky sex. Why? Religion provides a tight social network that reinforces positive behaviors and punishes negative habits and leads to greater self-regulation for goal achievement and self-control over negative temptations... Religions offer the ultimate delay of gratification strategy (eternal life), and the authors cite research showing that 'religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers.'"
"The underlying mechanisms of setting goals and monitoring one’s progress, however, can be tapped by anyone, religious or not... In his lab Baumeister has demonstrated that self-control can be increased with practice of resisting temptation, but you have to pace yourself because, like a muscle, self-control can become depleted after excessive effort. Finally, the authors note, “Religion also improves the monitoring of behavior, another of the central steps of self-control. Religious people tend to feel that someone important is watching them.” For believers, that monitor may be God or other members of their religion; for nonbelievers, it can be family, friends and colleagues."
what i'd like to know is what's so great about living so long anyway? though i suppose the assumption is that you'll be healthy. and if you can have quality and quantify that would be even better.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
new year's resolution
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| source |
i'm doing this for a few reasons: 1. i should eat less meat anyway (livestock is bad for the environment) 2. i should really eat less red meat (for health reasons) 3. cows are really not great for the environment: a. they take up lots of room b. they eat too much c. they make lots of poo d. they make lots of methane!
btw, i know that cow burps don't nearly make as much methane as the media has led us to believe. but every little bit helps no?
btw, for a vaguely related article, read this one about how a chef is turning a non-native crab into food. i think this is such a fabulous idea! 'when i grow up' i'm totally getting into the locavore movement. well... more into it, anyway.
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