Of Gold and Silver

Mark Snyder had an interesting post that considers the intersection of baseball's Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award winners over the years.

Fun with Analyzing Homeric Speech

I enjoyed this writeup that analyzing the figures of speech of Homer Simpson. (Thanks to GeekPress for the link.)

Photos of Africa

My friend and colleague Basia recently made a trip to Africa, to follow the wildebeest migration. She has been posting some incredible photos of her trip -- a "Top 5" series thus far. Here are the links to each post... enjoy!

• Flamingos
• Got Blood?
• Fresh Kill
• Wildebeest Migration
• Leopard

Banned from the Internet?

This item from the CHE is bizarre:

After a college student was found harassing (indeed, threatening) a fellow student via e-mail, a judge ordered him to stay away from her and her friends. But the judge went a step further, telling the student that he is not allowed on the Internet at all...

Where to begin here? First, the easy criticism from practicality -- how will this ban on Internet usage be enforced? With even minimal technical savvy the kid will find his way onto the Internet -- or simply use the Internet via a friend's account/login/etc.

But aside from that issue, on the principle of the matter, this judge's decision is insane. The judge has clearly gone far beyond a just punishment for this individual, and is clearly thereby violating this person's rights. For one thing, email is just one part of the Internet. This would be like someone stalking someone else in the real world, say by driving by their house constantly and yelling nasty things or whatever. This judge would apparently not just put a restaining order on such a person requiring them to stay away from that house -- he would take away the stalkers driver's license altogether. Further, because driving is just one mode of transportation, he'd apparently bar the stalker from flying, taking trains, riding his bike, and so on.

Surely this aspect of the decision will be tossed out on appeal... I hope!

Arachnophobia, anyone?

A popular story in the news over the past few days has been the incredible spider web that has engulfed acres of land in North texas. Here is the typical story about it, from CNN. Then here is a larger version of the same photo shown at the CNN site. And I believe this YouTube video is of this same event, and so is this YouTube video.

More On Why God Won't Heal Amputees

I recently blogged on the very interesting question, that I had never really focused on before: "Why won't god heal amputees?". That is, why is it that when people pray for miracles to occur, it is always something like curing a disease, or receiving some money, or something like that? Why don't we ever see miracles in which the prayers of amputees have been answered? And to the extent people don't pray for amputees to have their limbs miraculously return (or grow new like a starfish can do), why not?

Well, tonight I discovered a website with the name WhyWon'tGodHealAmputees.com. There is some very interesting content here, including chapter five of the online book at this site. This page has lots of good material, including the following that gives other examples that are just as powerful as the example of amputees:

Amputees are not the only ones either. For example:

• If someone severs their spinal cord in an accident, that person is paralyzed for life. No amount of prayer is going to help.
• If someone is born with a congenital defect like a cleft palate, God will not repair it through prayer. Surgery is the only option.
• A genetic disease like Down Syndrome is the same way -- no amount of prayer is going to fix the problem.

Or what about this. What if we get down on our knees and pray to God in this way:

Dear God, almighty, all-powerful, all-loving creator of the universe, we pray to you to cure every case of cancer on this planet tonight. We pray in faith, knowing you will bless us as you describe in Matthew 7:7, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Mark 11:24, John 14:12-14, Matthew 18:19 and James 5:15-16. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Then I went further and checked out some of the videos from this same group at YouTube. Several are interesting, but this one is the most relevant here. It is called "10 Questions That Every Intelligent Christian Must Answer". The first of the 10 questions is why doesn't god heal amputees?, and then other key questions follow. The people who wrote the script for this video (and the others they produced) sure don't pull any punches!

The Scandal of Social Work Education

The National Association of Scholars released a study, The Scandal of Social Work Education, this week that is highly critical of social work education as being dominated by leftist ideology. No big surprise there, but it is nice to see the study be out there. See the NAS press release which summarizes the study's results. I found out about this via a news blog item at the CHE.

Government Enforced Diets are Coming

Do you think it a ridiculous idea that the US government might one day enforce healthy habits on us citizens? Things like determining everyone's healthy diet, disallowing smoking, and so on? Seem far-fetched? Maybe not... consider this ARI press release criticizing a proposal in Britain that would force Britons to:

to adopt a government-prescribed "healthy lifestyle" or else be denied certain medical treatments. Britons who improve their health by, for example, quitting smoking or losing weight would receive "Health Miles" that could be used to purchase vegetables or pay for gym memberships.

If this is an accurate characterization of the proposal, then it is quite striking. So, you overeat and become obese, or you spend years smoking, and rather than suffering the consequences fo your actions, you are forced by the government to change your behavior, and in exchange you will be rewarded with free food and other goodies, taken from others through taxation of course. I have to agree with Yaron Brook, to me this is a "reductio ad absurdum of nanny-state paternalism".

Any takers on bets on how long it will be before proposals like this are suggested in the USA? And any wagers on how long such proposals get approved?

Windows Home Server Website is Updated

Today Microsoft updated their website for the forthcoming Windows Home Server product due out this fall. They have different sections targetting different audiences (Home Users, Enthusiasts, etc.). Way back in January, when I first heard of WHS, I blogged at length about my excitement for this product's potential. I'm still just as interested in it today, and I look forward to getting a WHS machine later this year.

Hitting The Cutoff Man Series

Mark Snyders has recently started up an interesting series of postings called Hitting the Cutoff Man. He is analyzing various baseball statistical milestones -- like the well known 300 wins, 3000 hits, and 500 HRs -- to determine who the "cutoff men" are for inclusion in the Hall-of-Fame. This is an interesting way to approach the HOF question, and one I've not seen done before. He started with a discussion of Wins for pitchers, and then did Extra-Base Hits for hitters.

Top 25 from MXC

I used to watch MXC semi-regularly. That is the crazy Japanese physical-stunts show, where people often have some pretty bad falls. The version we get here in America is re-dubbed with narration of two guys with American voices, and much of their play-by-play is pretty funny -- on the show, sometimes their storylines about the contestants are even funnier than what the participants are doing. But the best are the falls... and here is a video with 25 of the all-time best.

Sports Bloopers

Here is a quick YouTube video of sports bloopers that I mostly hadn't seen before. The last one of course, who hasn't seen that? But the others were new for me... the pole-vaulting one is deceptive, until you see it the second time in slow motion.

An Amazing Fallingwater Animation

I've always been a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater. Several years ago we were in the Pittsburgh area and were able to tour it. Definitely worth a visit!

But if you can't make it anytime soon, here is a great 5-minute animation that gives you a virtual tour is really quite amazing. (Thanks to Neatorama for the link.)

FDA: Definitely not "First, Do No Harm"

A vital phrase for those in the medical profession, "First, do no harm", goes back to the ancient Greeks (though, contrary to popular belief, it is not found in the Hippocratic Oath).

The following paragraph from the Wikipedia entry for this phrase (Primum non nocere) does a nice job summarizing its importance:

It is one of the principal precepts all medical students are taught in medical school. It reminds a physician that he or she must consider the possible harm that any intervention might do. It is most often mentioned when debating use of an intervention with an obvious chance of harm but a less certain chance of benefit.

I mention this important precept in relation to the WashingtonPost story, Teen Suicides Up Sharply For First Time In Years. (Thanks to John Enright for the link.) And what is the speculated reason in this news story as to the likely cause (or the biggest reason) for this increase in teen suicides? The actions of the FDA.

How so? Well, remember several years ago when the FDA got wind of studies that indicated that some anti-depressant medications (e.g., SSRIs) could have increased rates of suicides in the young, especially during the first few weeks of taking the medications as the body and mind adjusted to them? Their reaction to this was to further regulate such medications, and do so in scare-tactic fashion, by forcing the companies producing them to put big black box suicide warnings on them, targeted at teenagers specifically.

So what happened? Well, surprise, surprise: use of such medications declined dramatically amongst teens. But it is exactly these medications that are credited with helping to reduce the rate of suicide for many years previous. I mean, the biggest cause of suicide is no doubt severe depression, right? And what do people take for depression? Anti-depressant medications. So scaring people away from the medication that will help them... real bright, FDA, real bright.

Did the FDA factor this inevitable outcome into their decision process? I suspect not, or at least not well enough. The FDA has a pattern of reflexively regulating drugs based on studies (particularly big noise-making ones) that show or suggest (more or less well) negative side-effects from taking those drugs. After all, history in the US has thus far shown that no one will get fired at the FDA, nor will budgets be slashed, when thousands or millions of people die because the latest life-saving drugs are held up by FDA rules, regulations, and bureaucracy. But failing to regulate something when there is a shred of evidence that some people might have a negative side-effect -- they can't let that happen!

And this is not something the FDA can simply tweak and get better at doing. The FDA, or any such regulating body, simply can't do a very good job of weighing the personal benefits of new drugs against the possible personal negative side-effects for those same people or others. The benefits are too personal: each individual would have a different value hierarchy, meaning for one person it might worth the increased risk of heart attack to be rid of some other ailment they have, but for someone else it would not. A drug that could save millions from one killer ailment, is held up because it might increase the risk of some other ailment for those same people or others. Rather than leave it alone, regulation keeps the drug from the people who need it and want it. By what moral right does the FDA do this, by what moral right do they get to make these value decisions?

In the current case of the teen-suicide warnings, did the FDA consider the externalities of this decision? Did they weigh the harm that such a policy would do against the supposed good it could do? At first glance, one might see nothing wrong with informing people about studies on a drug that indicate a greater statistical chance of suicide amongst a population. But in addition to the above points, there is a crucial difference that complicates this case that doesn't complicate other drug studies. Unlike medications that cure one ailment but might lead to increased heart-attack risk, here we are talking about suicide -- so free will comes into play. Even if full free-will is somewhat inhibited when severe depression develops, this greatly complicates any studies in this area (in a way that doesn't arise for studies on the pancreas), making studies and aggregate statistical analysis far more difficult.

All of that said, and while I'm no expert on this, as I have said before (see my posting on this) I am prima facie doubtful of the studies indicating increased suicide as an effect of using SSRIs or other anti-depressants. Often people start taking these medications after their first visit to a doctor for depression, and because they take a while to take effect, the depression can continue to get worse before the medications help the people help themselves and begin to get better. But this is not the fault of the medication! The person was likely going to keep trending downward for a while regardless, and if they had waited until they pretty bad off before seeing the doctor, well, they might be suicidal or nearly so already.

Further, a person might become increasingly depressed when they first start trying an SSRI and don't see immediate results -- especially if their doctor didn't impress on them how the drugs work (the time needed, etc.). They might conclude "This isn't even helping? So nothing will, and I can't bear it!". But again, this is not the fault of the medication!

Do the studies the FDA relied on to require the warning boxes for teens take into account all of these kinds of points? I wonder. I don't know either way, but I wonder.

What is obvious about the track record of SSRIs and other anti-depressants (from what I gather from this article and elsewhere) is that they have been a major factor in decreasing suicide rates. Until, that is, the FDA got involved, scared teens (and their doctors) away from the medications, and the rates apparently went sharply up again. Take away a major weapon in one's battle against depression, and surprise, surprise, more people will become increasingly depressed and commit suicide. That should have been obvious to FDA regulators, but apparently it wasn't.

Btw, I've written a few posts on the FDA here at Philosopher Stone. Check them out!

• August 11, 2007: The FDA Ranges from Annoying to Deadly
• August 11, 2007: A Possible Future: Prescription Drug Disaster
• July 5, 2007: On the Costs and Benefits of Health Care Regulation
• June 3, 2007: Walter Williams on the FDA
• May 3, 2007: Depressed About Anti-Depressant Warnings
• September 26, 2006: FDA Should Retire at Age 100
  

India and Ayn Rand

Lately I've been reading some interesting blog postings on the topic of Ayn Rand/Objectivism and the country of India. This started with a posting simply titled India by blogger Myrhaf. The comments to this posting are as interesting as the posting itself, and include comments from blogger Ergo Sum, an editor from India. I had recently been reading his blog anyway, so this coincidence led me to read several dozen of his recent posts, and also a few older ones specifically on his views of life in India (including his criticisms of many aspects of the country. Particularly interesting posts include:

• August 28, 2007: Indians and Ayn Rand
• August 15, 2007: The Contradictions of the Indian Constitution
• August 13, 2007: What Can India Be Proud Of?
• Sept. 16, 2006: Why is Ayn Rand Respected More in India?

Classic Humor, Part 16: Lawyer Q&A

Here is another in my series of classic humor bits from the Internet (here is Part 15), which I'm posting as I clean out my old Humor email box. This item dates back to 2001. These were said to be from a book called "Disorder in the Court".

Q: What is your date of birth? A: July fifteenth. Q: What year? A: Every year.

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact? A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? A: Yes. Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory? A: I forget. Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you? A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which. Q: How long has he lived with you? A: Forty-five years.

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning? A: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?' Q: And why did that upset you? A: My name is Susan.

Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult? A: We both do. Q: Voodoo? A: We do. Q: You do? A: Yes, voodoo.

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th? A: Yes. Q: And what were you doing at that time?

Q: She had three children, right? A: Yes. Q: How many were boys? A: None. Q: Were there any girls?

Q: How was your first marriage terminated? A: By death. Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

Q: Can you describe the individual? A: He was about medium height and had a beard. Q: Was this a male, or a female?

Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people? A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to? A: Oral.

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m. Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time? A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? A: No. Q: Did you check for blood pressure? A: No. Q: Did you check for breathing? A: No. Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? A: No. Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor? A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. Q: But could the patient have still been alive, never the less? A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practising law somewhere.

On Eco-Enslavement and Treadle-Pumps

Brendan O'Neill has written a very powerful piece on what he terms the "eco-enslavement" inherent in many of the carbon-offset schemes that so many rich folks in the West participate in. (Thanks to Robert Bidinotto for the link.) I highly recommend this article. I could quote many great parts from it, but instead I'll just give Mr. O'Neill's well-worded closing paragraph:

It is time to end this eco-enslavement, and put forward arguments for progress and equality across the globe. I would never pick up shit and use it to warm my home, or spend hours on a treadmill in order to raise water. Would you? Then why should we expect anyone else to do such things, especially in the name of making some rich snots feel better about themselves?

Praise for the Teaching Company from WSJ Opinion

Wilfred McClay, a professor from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, wrote a nice opinion piece for the WSJ singing the praises for The Teaching Company's products. Since I am a happy customer -- I have listened to over a dozen of their courses, on a wide range of subjects -- I like to see positive press for this company.

Early Punditry on the Iraq War

This is a nice collection of mostly Republicans early during the Iraq war mess. I think the worst one here is from Fred Barnes, because for our military it was obvious that winning the initial "war" was going to be the easy part, not the hard part. Jeez... (Thanks to Radley Balko for the link.)

Car Accidents and Cars that Should be Retired

Here are some impressive car and other vehicle accidents, and then here are some vehicles that its amazing are still functional.

Obviously the past few days I've been getting caught up on all the cool stuff that the Amazing Things blog provides. Check it out, as you might like some of the dozens of other entries more than the ones I've linked to here at my blog.

Lucky to be Alive!

Check out this YouTube video montage of near-disasters!

An Amazing Crystal Cave

See these photos of an amazing crystal cave in Mexico. I've been in many caves before, but they have all been of the standard stalagmite and stalactite variety, never one with impressive crystals like this.

How much did they feed these animals?

See this series of photos for some sadly obese pets. The photos made me laugh in amazement, but really these are sad to see. Yikes...

Unique Houses

See this series of photos of unique houses. Makes me wonder if they are also strange on the inside!

Transportation Marvels

Check out this series of photos of transportation marvels.

Most Dangerous Landing Fields

Check out this series of photos of some of the most dangerous landing fields. Yikes!

Why Don't Miracles Ever Grow New Limbs?

Recently blogger Ergo Sum posted some comments about Mother Teresa. In that post, he note the following observation that he came across on an atheist website:

If there're so many miraculous cures occuring even today, how is it that we never hear of an amputee growing out a new, fully developed, and healthy limb?

This is an important question! Anytime you hear about miracles or someone praying for a cure to an ailment, it is always something that can have any number of things happen to improve the situation, cure the disease, etc. Often the people getting the miracle cure are in third world countries with less high-tech science and medical care available. But not always of course. The point is that the thing prayed for, or the miracle delivered, is always for something internal in the body that people don't perceptually see the cause and effect relationship for (not without instruments, tests, etc.). So it just seems like: I prayed, and a week later I got better. Or the miracle-worker did some ritual, and a week later I felt better.

Well, if miracles can really happen, or if prayers are really effective, then why don't miracles ever grow back an arm or a leg, and why don't people pray for such things to happen? I think that is very telling: both about supposed miracle-workers, and for people who pray for something to happen in their lives.

Update on Granderson

Here is a followup on two baseball posts I made recently. As part of the 8th post I made in Baseball Lists series, I noted the five players who have had 20 HR, 20 Triples, and 20 Doubles all in one season. Curtis Granderson hit his 20th HR yesterday. Then more recently I posted on Curtis Granderson's season this year, focusing on his triples total, but also noting that he had already joined the group of players who have had 15 HR, 15 T, 15 D, and 15 stolen bases all in one season.

Well, Curtis hit his 20th HR yesterday. So he is now the 6th player to make the 20/20/20 HR/T/D club. Further, he has 19 SB this year, so with just one more he'll join only Willie Mays (1957) and oldtimer Frank "Wildfire" Schulte (1911) in the 20/20/20/20 club for HR/T/D/SB.

Here are the stats for the six in the first club:

• Curtis Granderson: 2007
  .297, 20 HR, 21 T, 36 D, 19 SB, 104 R, 67 RBI
  
• George Brett: 1979
  .329, 23 HR, 20 T, 42 D, 17 SB, 119 R, 107 RBI
  
• Willie Mays: 1957
  .333, 35 HR, 20 T, 26 D, 38 SB, 112 R, 97 RBI
  
• Jeff Heath: 1941
  .340, 24 HR, 20 T, 32 D, 18 SB, 89 R, 123 RBI
  
• Jim Bottomley: 1928
  .325, 31 HR, 20 T, 42 D, 10 SB, 123 R, 136 RBI
  
• Frank Schulte: 1911
  .300, 21 HR, 21 T, 30 D, 23 SB, 105 R, 107 RBI

I'll note that the 1979 season Brett had is very impressive, and he followed it up with his more famous 1980 season when he batted .390. That is a good two-year span!

Also, Jeff Heath only had a few good seasons in his career. The 1941 season above is one, and notice that he was just 2 SB short of making the 20/20/20/20 club. But in 1938, his first full season he also did quite well: .343, 21 HR, 18 T, 31 D, 104 R, 112 RBI, 3 SB. Although he didn't run much, he was just 2 triples shy of the 20/20/20 club that year.

Interestingly, Jimmy Rollins is also having an impressive season along these same lines. Could we have two members of the 20/20/20 and 20/20/20/20 clubs in the same season? He just needs 3 more triples:

• Jimmy Rollins: 2007
  .296, 25 HR, 17 T, 35 D, 28 SB, 120 R, 79 RBI

More on the Terrorism/Drug War Connection

Jacob Sullum wrote a nice column on the continuing connection between the Taliban and America's drug war policies, America's Taliban-Support Program. Nothing new for me here, except some updated numbers. But this is an important item to read if you are a supporter of the "drug war" policies in the USA.

Latest on Atlas Shrugged Movie Project

I was pleased to read this latest update on the Atlas Shrugged movie project. It sounds like the prior screenplay work that was done is not being wasted, and that Jolie is still on board -- I'm not a big fan of hers, but having a big name actress like that will surely help its box-office potential. I also must say that I didn't like the movie House and of Sand and Fog much at all, but hopefully that wasn't the fault of Perelman.

The Amazing Randi on YouTube

I was recently poking around YouTube and found the many great James Randi video clips where he debunks and shows to be frauds various supposed psychics and other mystics. Here are some worth seeing:

• James Randi exposes Uri Geller and Peter Popoff - I esp. love how Randi used radio equipment to expose the religious faith-healer Popoff as a fraud, and that Popoff then went into bankruptcy... alas, Popoff is back to his con-man ways, see below for the latest.
• James Randi exposes James Hydrick - this is classic... what a clown Hydrick looks like in his outfit, and then with his claims about why he can't perform during the test.
• James Randi explains Homeopathy - this stuff is such nonsense. So many believers in its effectiveness are so deluded. Placebo effect, anyone?
• James Randi on Astrology - short, but effective, refutation of astrology (as if it needs refuting, LOL)
• James Randi and a Medium - Randi manages to make some very important points in the Q&A in this one.
• Peter Popoff vs. James Randi 2007 - from Inside Edition. This covers his latest con, the Miracle Water nonsense. A great exposing of this criminal con-man! This one is the best of this group... if you just watch one of these, WATCH THIS ONE!

"Quotable"... or not?

Here is a funny blog, The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Some really funny examples given here, and the commentary on them is good too. And this blog seems to be getting an incredible number of submissions! (Thanks to GeekPress for the link.)

Genericized Brands or Trademarks

I recently tried to think of as many genericized brands/trademarks as I could (don't ask why, I forget now how it came up). It was an interesting exercise, and I was able to conjure up quite a few -- and after inquiring with some folks, I got a few more.

Having your brand or trademark become genericized is, of course, a double-edged sword. While it means your brand name is used all the more often in the languages in which it has been genericized, it also means it will be used to describe products from competitors, some of which might be substandard in various ways. At that point, a company's ability to differentiate their popular product or service is decreased. No doubt there has been plenty written about this phenomenon, by marketing experts or others, so I won't say anything more about it here (I suspect it gets covered, for instance, in the book Brand Aid).

Anyway, here is the list I came up with... the most obvious ones coming first:

• Kleenex
• Xerox
• Band Aid
• Q-tip
• Walkman
• Rollerblade
• Scotch tape
• Popsicle
• Post-It Note
• Velcro
• Listerine
• Frisbee
• Aspirin (coined by Bayer I think, trademarked in some countries)
• Tupperware

Then some that have been somewhat genericized in my opinion:

• Kodak -- was genericized in the past, when it was dominant in cameras
• Alka-Seltzer?
• Frigidaire in the past perhaps? I've heard people say this name as a generic term, in moments of nostalgia perhaps?
• Davenport -- I think that was once a brand name, or named for an inventor.
• Crisco?

I've read some articles in recent years about the name "Google" becoming genericized, and I've experienced that first hand as people say they will "google" something and then proceed to use Yahoo! or some other search site. I've also heard speculation that "iPod" might become genericized, but I don't think it has happened yet, as people who have non-iPod brand MP3 players tend to say that they have an "MP3 Player" not an "iPod".

And I'll also note that I've heard that in some countries "Coke" is genericized to mean any soda-pop beverage, or at least any dark-colored carbonated beverage. Is this true anywhere in the US? Or just other countries? To me, this is very strange. When folks sit in a restaurant and are asked what they'd like to drink, they say "a Coke", and the waitress then says "what flavor Coke? we have cola, root beer, or Dr. Pepper?" That would just seem very odd to me. For me, if I ask for a Coke at a restaurant, I expect to either get a Coke, or learn that they don't carry Coke, but do carry Pepsi. I don't expect to be asked if I want a root beer? And is this usage restricted to dark-colored beverages, or might one get a Sprite or ginger ale when they ask for a coke?

After some research, I found that besides "genericized brand", this type of word usage is one form of what is called a synecdoche (although the wikipedia entry for this seems to cover several different things, each of which could have its own term I would think, so I wonder if these are really all called "synecdoches").

Naturally, there is a Wikipedia entry for Genericization. And linked from there is a long list of such trademark names. I should have thought of a few included there, like chap stick, linoleum, thermos, and zipper. And if check it out, be sure to scroll down to see the much longer list of terms that are still trademarked but that might one day become so genericized that the trademarks would be difficult to enforce. And also interesting are the lists of genericized trademarks in languages other than English. And for a non-Wikipedia list, here is one for American terms.

River Tam Action Flick

This is a great comic for Firefly fans. (Thanks to Rational Jenn for the link.)

Cone of Uncertainty

Does anyone else get a laugh when they hear a weather-person use the phrase "cone of uncertainty" to describe a hurricane's range of potential paths? I looked Cone of Uncertainty up on Wikipedia, and -- no surprise -- they have an entry. It didn't mention its application in this weather context, but rather discussed what is claimed to be the phrase's earliest use in project management.

Why do I find this phrase humorous? For some reason whenever I hear it I imagine all sorts of weird things, such as a literal cone hat -- like a dunce cap -- that someone who lacks of confidence in debate or argument might be forced to wear by an aggressive teacher. Such a thing could be called the "Cone of Uncertainty". Or perhaps it could be a weapon in a role-playing game, that when used on an opponent renders them uncertain of what action to take next, thereby allowing you or a friendly to do some real damage. Cone of Uncertainty... it just sounds funny to me.

An Interesting Idea: Wikirage

A new site called Wikirage is very interesting. It provides a list of the entries in Wikipedia that are getting the most frequent edits over various periods of time (past hour, past 24 hours, past week, and so on). The lists generated are more-or-less a good way to get a sense of the very latest new-generating events, on the assumption that if something is an important news item it would generate a wikipedia change -- and likely many in a flurry, as wikipedians hurry to get as accurate an account of the event as possible.

At the Wikirage homepage the default list shows the 100 entries based on edits over the past day. Giving it a quick glance, there are many entries that are about major sports events from the past day, some political news from the past day, and so on. I suspect that this site will be a hit!

Bathroom Ideas

I found Joel Stein's opinion piece "The Impossible Dream" to be pretty funny. He had a grand plan to install a urinal in his home, and he describes his research into this idea. (Thanks to GeekPress for the link.)