Smaller Thoughts

ajamison: davereed: This made me literally LOL via...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:36:38 -0600

ajamison:

davereed:

This made me literally LOL

via terminally-incoherent: imgur.com

Heh OK, I laughed.

kevintwohy: Grandest. Canyon. Ever. Whoa…

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:01:37 -0600

kevintwohy:

Grandest. Canyon. Ever.

Whoa…

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Leak This is what 210,000 gallons per...

Wed, 12 May 2010 15:23:00 -0600

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Leak

This is what 210,000 gallons per day of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico looks like. Yikes.

(Hat tip to BusinessInsider)

A Study of Infographics (by me)

Thu, 06 May 2010 11:40:20 -0600

A Study of Infographics (by me):

You can click through to read my whole post (with pretty data pictures).

I wrote earlier about the increasingly visual nature of media and news in today’s society. The prior post focused mostly on photography, but there is another visual technique that has risen dramatically in prominence in recent years, particularly online - the infographic. Infographics aim to make complex data sets easy to digest and understand. An entire newspaper has risen to prominence due to the quality of its infographics. There are whole blogs dedicated to the subject. A good infographic can pack a lot of data into a small space and help the viewer to draw out a pattern or conclusion. However if the infographic is poorly or deceptively constructed, that conclusion may not be the same one you’d see if you examined the underlying data. While there are many great and useless infographics out there, I’d like to take a bit of time to focus on a couple deceptive ones.

ohserena:Remember the 90s? [PIC]

Sat, 01 May 2010 19:13:21 -0600

ohserena:Remember the 90s? [PIC]

thelos: FFFFOUND! | tumblr_l0z3o57qT31qzou68o1_1280.jpg...

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:42:31 -0600

thelos:

FFFFOUND! | tumblr_l0z3o57qT31qzou68o1_1280.jpg (586×459)

You’ve gotta be two different kinds of nerd to get this one.

iambal:beevee:iambal: EEEK! no no no nooooo! if you have any...

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:06:58 -0600

iambal:beevee:iambal:

EEEK!

no no no nooooo!

if you have any doubt, look back to this time last year when I posted my before and after pics.

Actually, this is true. If you want to add muscle, you do need to eat sufficient protein and calories. The only reason I’m not saying ‘add’ is that it depends on what your intake is in the first place. Seeing the new musculature is another story. If you want to have defined muscles, you also need to have lower body fat. I’ve seen very skinny people with defined muscles, but they’re not necessarily strong — it’s just that whatever muscles they have are visible because there’s no fat to cover them over.

But when guys are trying to get “big,” they usually do need to increase their caloric intake, especially of protein, because they are trying to literally add mass to their bodies.

but I don’t agree that you have to add massive calories to see definition or even add muscle. I think it is irresponsible to throw that out there as is. I lessened my calories and built muscles I had never seen on myself in the course of a year.

also, someone I know VERY well (cough) and is “big” by anyone’s definition, recently went on a very strict diet and upped his regular workouts and cut lots of fat and built a lot more muscle. and he absolutely did not increase his caloric intake- he lessened it.

BAL - you need to remember that “get muscular” is not necissarily the same thing as “lose weight”. For those of us (me definitely included) that are genetically predisposed to be stocky, yes, cutting some calories along with lifting is generally the answer.

But many people, believe it or not, have a lot of trouble putting on weight/muscle. For those people (and potentially this question asker), adding calories and protein is absolutely critical. My old roommate had to almost double is daily calorie intake to over 3000 once he started lifting in order to build muscle.

Some people have all the luck, heh.

michaelikesit: I love Poseidon’s trident.

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:48:01 -0600

michaelikesit:

I love Poseidon’s trident.

via www.snorgtees.com

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:28:03 -0600

via www.snorgtees.com

In related news, it appears muppetpants has returned to Tumblr. Welcome back dude.

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:42:55 -0600

thelos:thedailywhat: Steve Yun: “DJ Jesus”

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:36:57 -0600

thelos:thedailywhat:

Steve Yun: “DJ Jesus”

"If the relationship between money and well-being is complicated, the correspondence between personal..."

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:43:16 -0600

“If the relationship between money and well-being is complicated, the correspondence between personal relationships and happiness is not. The daily activities most associated with happiness are sex, socializing after work and having dinner with others. The daily activity most injurious to happiness is commuting. According to one study, joining a group that meets even just once a month produces the same happiness gain as doubling your income. According to another, being married produces a psychic gain equivalent to more than $100,000 a year.”

- David Brooks - The Sandra Bullock Trade - NYTimes.com

collegehumor: Video Game Bosses Lament: They’re starting to see...

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:14:14 -0600

collegehumor:

Video Game Bosses Lament: They’re starting to see a pattern… Digg it if you like it!

This is fantastic for all of us who’ve lost count of how many pixelated enemies we’ve bopped on the head.

"Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t."

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:25:02 -0600

“Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t.”

- Pete Seeger (via karri) (via rachell) (via quote-book)

This is an interesting diagram because it illustrates how...

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:21:00 -0600

This is an interesting diagram because it illustrates how objective information can be displayed in a manner that influences your perception of the data.

In the first three vote blocks, the dividing line between “Yay” and “Nay” is drawn in the middle of the “split” party, indicating there are party members on both sides of the debate. However, in the final vote block on Heathcare Reform, the creator of this diagram has specifically arranged the colors such that the Yay/Nay dividing line runs directly between the parties, with the dissenting Democrats hidden off to the right side. Thus, the Heathcare Reform vote appears more partisan and divisive than it actually was.

(diagram via shaunbwilson, from www.politicalmathblog.com)

Flickr Flow / Fernanda Viegas & Martin Wattenberg (click...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:58:53 -0600

Flickr Flow / Fernanda Viegas & Martin Wattenberg (click through for full color wheel)

“Using an algorithm developed for the WIRED Anniversary visualization, our software calculated the relative proportions of different colors seen in photos taken in each month of the year, and plotted them on a wheel. The image below is an early sketch from the piece. Summer is at the top, with time proceeding clockwise.”

ajamison:travismaybe: This is one very clever logo.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:07:10 -0700

ajamison:travismaybe:

This is one very clever logo.

The water utiity in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:00:22 -0700

The water utiity in Edmonton, EPCOR, published the most incredible graph of water consumption last week. By now you’ve probably heard that up to 80% of Canadians were watching last Sunday’s gold medal Olympic hockey game. So I guess it stands to reason that they’d all go pee between periods.

But still—the degree to which the water consumption matches with the key breaks in the hockey game is stunning.

Do You Know The Difference Between A Browser and a Search...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:04:35 -0700

Do You Know The Difference Between A Browser and a Search Engine?

Only 8% of the people surveyed in Times Square are able to distinguish between a browser and a search engine.

Unsolicited Analysis: Annie Hall

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:12:21 -0700

Unsolicited Analysis: Annie Hall:

The movie that beat the infinitely more important and influential Star Wars for best picture. Remember Annie Hall? No? Yup.

This “little guy, big guy” is nonsense. It’s crap. The Hurt Locker was made for 11 million dollars and made nearly 200MM dollars. The idea that this is some tiny film from nowhere “taking down” the best picture of 2009 is completely ludicrous.

For some reason, “sticking it” to Avatar became immensely popular, because it was big. In the spirit of populism, people rallied behind other films because they seemed to represent fiscal challengers to Avatar’s budget, which is the least relevant aspect of film-making. How is the trail being blazed here any different than The Blain Witch Project? Y Tu Mama Tambien? Pan’s Labyrinth? Little Miss Sunshine? There’s an “indie” darling every year, and the most cynical thing about it was that any non-Avatar winner would have been heaped with indie praise. You tell those big studios, Film X!

Here’s the thing. Paul Blart: Mall Cop still gets made no matter what a bunch of bought-and-paid-for Academics think. I can’t help but feel that when we’re watching Paul Blart: Mall Cop 3D next year, we’ll all be thinking of naked, blue people. That’s because what James Cameron did with Avatar was important, and groundbreaking, and infinitely more deserving than the achingly average liberal comfort food that won Best Picture this year.

Further into irrelevance with the Oscars, then, which will be rated highly specifically because of the attention on Avatar and the crowds of coastals who sneered every time it picked up an award. You’re all rather ridiculous, those of you who hate the “size” of such things. Paths are blazed by great, grinding machines, not solitary wanderers. It is fitting that 2009’s great “marvel” film will blaze the 3D trail in a similar manner to the film most like it. After all, what’s precedent worth if not followed?