Eye Contact Ideas
According to this
page, “[p]eople who are squinting are trying to say that they need
more time or information before making a decision.” Heh. Based on that, I
must do a lot of squinting.
posted at: 15:33 |
path: /living |
link
Vitamin B-12
Dan and I were having a conversation the other day about nutrients and I
mentioned that there was a type of nutrient that can’t be synthesized by
the human body and is only found in animal sources (meat, milk, eggs). I
couldn’t remember what it was, though. It turns out it’s B-12. Here’s a page with lots of
interesting information on it. In particular, it says that B12 can be
re-absorbed by the body, so it takes a long time to become deficient in
it, if you start out with enough of it in your system. With respect to
what happens if you don’t have enough, B12 causes anemia, because red
blood cells can’t develop properly without it. Apparently 1/2 a pint of
milk or several slices of cheese or two eggs suffice to meet the
recommended daily requirement of B-12. There are other, less appealing
sources of B-12, but I’ll let those interested in discovering them read
the article for themselves,
posted at: 13:02 |
path: /living |
link
Phylums
Phylums seem to be a useful level at which to consider organisms.
Here’s
a site that lists a bunch of phylums. I’ve had some success at matching
them up with what is going on at the
Systema Naturae 2000 website, although SN200 seems to be more prone
to chucking in the more unusual, detailed and debated parts of the
taxonomy. It’s probably more up to date but it’s also more confusing.
posted at: 09:28 |
path: /school |
link
Taxonomy Debate
Did I say clear? Well- I knew it wasn’t that simple, but it seems that
there is more debate about the higher levels of classification than I
thought. What’s more, it looks like people aren’t just debating these
levels of classification but going on to use the different proposed
versions when
making their classifications. This, to me, makes things quite confusing.
This page does seem
to give a good overview, with reference to more than one of the competing
versions of the taxonomy.
posted at: 20:27 |
path: /school |
link
Starting at the top- Biota
Here’s a
site that is similar to the plant taxonomy site I found. You can start at
the top of the organism classification system- Biota- and get more and
more detailed. Cool.
posted at: 18:32 |
path: /school |
link
On to fish
Okay- I have some more knowledge about ant classification now. Next up,
fish
classification.
posted at: 18:28 |
path: /school |
link
Hymenoptera
The insect order I am most interested in is the order Hymenoptera-
bees, wasps and ants. Here’s an interesting quote, from a section of
the page just linked to that discusses why Hymenoptera are very important
to humans:
“Thirdly and perhaps most importantly many Hymenoptera, though not the Ants are pollinators of most of our crop plants, both those we eat ourselves and those we use to feed our livestock. Because they work for free it is impossible to estimate their economic importance but it easily amounts to Billions of pounds every year. It is humbling to realise that if all the Hymenopterans were to suddenly dissappear from this earth among the numerous changes would be the collapse of human society.”
So- thanks for being around, Hymenoptera!
posted at: 15:59 |
path: /school |
link
The world of bugs
I was having a conversation the other day about how interesting ants are.
But, during the conversation, I realized I actually had few concrete facts
at my finger tips about ant behaviour. What’s more, I had no idea what
ants were actually called, scientifically. Not so good when you are trying
to be a ‘scientist’. So
here’s a cool
site on insect taxonomy. I love taxonomies. They make everything feel so
clear and systematic.
posted at: 15:51 |
path: /school |
link
Transactional Analysis and Information
A while back I posted some information in my blog about Transactional
Analysis. Today I came across another
essay on
Transactional Analysis which I found particularly interesting because it
talks about it in the context of information transfer. In particular, it
discusses the need for human beings to be exposed to meaningful stimuli.
posted at: 12:51 |
path: /living |
link
Blocking Felt
Here’s
how to take a piece of felt and block it so that it conforms to a hat
shape.
posted at: 11:26 |
path: /living |
link
More on felting
Here’s
the Feltmaker’s List FAQ, including a much sought after article on
3D Feltmaking.
posted at: 00:53 |
path: /living |
link
Felting Boots
I recently learned how to make felt. It is very easy, although some
exertion is required. I’ve always had a soft spot for felt. I like the
fact that it is all homogeneous and can’t ever unravel, and also that it
is
thick and warm. I have also discovered that I like the fact that making
felt involves no coordination whatsoever- just a whole lot of mashing.
Yay! So
here’s some
information on how to make some felt boots.
posted at: 00:43 |
path: /living |
link
Overcoming Writer’s Block
I’m giving a writing workshop tomorrow evening, and I want to discuss ways
to
overcome writers block when you are trying to do essay assignments.
Here
are some nice tips that look at different reasons why you might be
experiencing writer’s block and how to overcome each type of writer’s
block. Actually, these ideas should come in handy for me as well!
posted at: 10:45 |
path: /work |
link
More on Step Dancing
Here’s an article
on the origins of Scottish step dancing, with a discussion of some of the
types of dances.
posted at: 22:53 |
path: /living |
link
Step dancing
I recently had the pleasure of going to a Natalie MacMaster concert and
saw her do some impressive step dancing. I think step dancing looks like a
lot of fun, because I like percussion, and dancing, and step dancing is
percussion plus dancing. Woohoo! But I’ve been having a hard time finding
step dancing classes in Ottawa. I did manage to find
this list of
teachers, but most of them don’t have websites. Also, I would prefer to
learn the Cape Breton or Quebec style, rather than the Ottawa Valley
style, since I like the low legs and still upper torso aspect of those two
types of step dancing.
This article
explains the different types, and also explains the different types of
dances- jig, reel, etc.
posted at: 22:37 |
path: /living |
link
Using a furoshiki
Here’s some instructions on how to wrap a present using a furoshiki.
Here’s
another link.
posted at: 15:28 |
path: /living |
link
Using fabric as gift wrap
Environmental concerns aside, I never know where to store the left over
gift wrap I have from presents, until another present wrapping opportunity
comes along. I like the idea of wrapping gifts in fabric, but it seems
like there might have to be some special techniques.
Here’s a bit
about it, on a site that discusses how to marble fabric. The Japanese name
for a cloth used to wrap a gift is
furoshiki.
posted at: 15:22 |
path: /living |
link
Non-Verbal Communication
This
About.com article has some links to some interesting non-verbal
communication resources.
posted at: 21:42 |
path: /living |
link
Food Pessimism. Grrr. Argh.
This is a ‘me being whiny and ranty and gloomy’ entry, so feel free to
skip it.
I was doing some research on mold today and unintentionally came across a bunch of links on mycotoxins in food. I was already aware of this in the back of my brain, with respect to peanuts, but I avoided learning more about it because it sounded like another food related can of worms. Unfortunately, today my sanity defenses were apparently down, and I gave in and read about mycotoxins.
Frankly, the whole thing has me feeling very grumpy. Why? Because you really can’t win with the food research people. Really. No winning. In (yet another) example of this, you have the pesticide=bad people on the one hand saying “Pesticides are carcinogens! Buy Organic!” and on the other hand you have the mold=bad people saying “Mycotoxins are carcinogens! Whatever you do, don’t buy organic!”. Oh yeah, and don’t eat corn or nuts or wheat while you’re at it.
Awww. Common guys! Give us a break.
Grrrr. Argh.
posted at: 17:25 |
path: /living |
link
Melanie Klein and Object Relations Theory
A friend of mine (hi Barb) is interested in psychoanalysis and she sent me
another link on the topic. Her favourite psychoanalyst- and
recent object of study- is someone called Melanie Klein. This site
gives some information on her theories, and also gives a nice sense of the
wild
and wooly nature of psychoanalytic theories in general. It’s heady stuff.
This
site discusses object relations theory more generally, and also
has a short bio on Klein, containing this amusing quote:
“Karen Horney placed her children in psychoanalysis with Klein to assist
their growth and concluded that it did no good. Her daughters were
confused and puzzled. Klein was always talking about penis envy and such
things. Later Klein moved away from Freud.”
posted at: 13:38 |
path: /living |
link
Pennsic Dish Racks
Colin and I were using the internet recently to learn about our dish rack
options. We had a problem with our old one where the drip tray would get
gross and
slimy, so Colin suggested we look for a new design. During the search, we
came across
this site discussing
food sanitation during big SCA gatherings. Not surprisingly, they
recommend a *wooden* dish rack.
posted at: 21:29 |
path: /living |
link
Psychotherapy
People- namely, me- sometimes bandy about psychotherapeutic terms like ‘ego’,
‘neurotic’ and ‘projection’. We know that these terms can come in handy
sometimes, for descriptive purposes (“I have an ego the size of a planet
and I’m still a neurotic mess”) but I do get curious about their origins.
I know that a lot of them come from the mysterious practice of
psychoanalysis- but what the heck is that? I’m more familiar with
cognitive-behaviour therapy, which doesn’t seem to go in for those terms.
All of this got me wondering about terminology and therapy.
So first off, it appears that the general term for all of these sorts of therapy is ‘psychotherapy’- so there is a field of psychotherapy, just like there is a field of physiotherapy. And, there are a number of different types of psychotherapy, with each type having subtypes, all of which are supported by various psychological theories.
As this site notes, psychonalysis is a particular type of psychotherapy. To be confusing, according to the site there’s also a watered down version of psychoanalysis called psychoanalytic psychotherapy, or psychodynamic psychotherapy. Based on the description of psychoanalysis given by that last site, it doesn’t sound too appealing to me. I wouldn’t like the part where I was supposed to talk and talk and talk and the therapist would just occassionaly say mmhm and I see and go on, and that’s it. I’m sure this reveals something about me that a psychoanalyst would like to interpret.
At the same time,
psychoanalysis is where we get some of those fascinating words like ego
and
transference,
which is also refered to as projection. According to
this
site there are more types of tranference and countertransference
than you can shake a stick at.
posted at: 14:05 |
path: /living |
link
How Clean Is Your House?
Now there’s a stressful question. I try to do what is important to me,
but occasionally I have fits, at which point I like to read
hard
ass house cleaning articles that go in to great detail about how to
clean your house. I’m sticking with my toilet brush though. I’m not that
dedicated.
posted at: 17:08 |
path: /living |
link
Convolution Kernels
So now there’s convolution kernels. Possibly solving two problems at
once, I found
this
site that discusses convolution kernels in the context of image
processing. Hopefully this will help me to understand some contexts in
which kernels could be used to model aggregates.
posted at: 18:04 |
path: /school |
link
More on kernels
That’s weird. A different google search gave me a different wikipedia
article with
more information
on kernels.
posted at: 17:57 |
path: /school |
link
Kernels
During my paper reading, I keep coming across formulas that involve a
‘kernel’, which seems to be some type of function generated from another
function. I hadn’t encountered the term kernel until I started reading
these papers, so I don’t really know what it is or even what area of math
it is from.
Here’s
a discussion on kernels from wikipedia, which is only marginally
understandable by
me. I still have no idea how a kernel relates to animal aggregate models.
An
example would help.
posted at: 17:51 |
path: /school |
link
Fiber Optic Scope
Colin has been doing some home improvement that involves figuring out
where the wires in the house run. It has been a challenging task, because
it’s been hard to follow their twists and turns through the wall. I
suggested that he needed one of those cool spy scopes… er… I mean fiber
optic cameras that you can use for construction.
Here’s
one that is just a teeny bit on the expensive side. But I still want it.
For construction.
posted at: 14:52 |
path: /living |
link
Understanding Assignments
Here
are
some tips on how understand university assignments.
posted at: 19:42 |
path: /work |
link
All material copyrighted by Jen Schellinck. All rights reserved.