heh

My cousin pointed me out to the following site, which is funny:
The Elements, by Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer is a funny man.

New poll!

Old results:

Which is the best nickname / last name combination for Adam?

Choice	Percent	Votes
"Big" Wang	21%	10
"Extraordinary" Wang	2%	1
"Ten-gallon" Wang	19%	9
"Ubiquitous" Wang	4%	2
"Somnambulant" Wang	4%	2
"Death-defying" Wang	6%	3
"Gilded" Wang	26%	12
"Glorious" Wang	17%	8

Poor trees, indeed.

From Meredith: I think I would cry if I hit a turtle on the road...

Yet you didn't shed a tear for that poor fiddler crab which you so inhumanely ate...alive!

My comments/opinions

Thank you both for offering such insightful commentary. I find that I actually agree with both of you to some extent. Let me add a few things of my own.

First, in regard to Felix's post about Greenpeace, I must say that PETA is very, very similar in their underhanded, illegal tactics. I read that for a while they sent to scientists who performed research on animals envelopes with razor blades under the top seal, so if a person opened it with his/her fingers, they would be very badly cut (no one was actually cut, but at least 80 such letters were sent out). Also, PETA has been known to break into research centers and "free" the animals from their cages, ruining years' worth of research for scientists.

On a somewhat tangential note, I remember seeing at the annual veterinary open house at A&M a poster that featured a picture of animal protestors and read something like: "Thanks to animal testing, they have seven more years to protest." It said underneath that results from animal experimentation had added on average 7 years to people's lives.

I worry that it makes people (not you guys, just people in general) think all vegetarians are maniacal like that...
No, I don't think it does, especially with all the new "go vegetarian" dieting trends. However, since that is purely a matter of personal opinion, using derogatory terms about those who eat meat bely the single-mindedness that is present in such organizations as PETA.

I'm against killing animals or doing things to harm them unnecessarily (I cry when I hit turtles on the road ... of course that may just be because I'm pathetic)
It's not because you're pathetic. Wanton waste/death makes me sad too. Of course, if there is a good purpose behind death of animals (i.e. food, clothing, etc.) then it's acceptable to kill them. On the other hand, running over squirrels (or even looking at roadkill) doesn't make me happy either.

Finally, I would like to conclude that I like animals. To eat for dinner!!!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha....ha....errrrr.... sorry. Just kidding, by the way. :-) Well, in one sense. I do like to eat some dead, cooked meat, but I like some live animals too. :-)

Wacko herbivores... :-)

In regard to Laurel's post below this one about GoVeg.com:

First, note carefully that GoVeg.com is owned by PETA, whose members (and administrators) can be as absolutely crazy / bad-crazy as people can get.

Next, this is the most hilarious rationalization (taken from Laurel's article, which you absolutely must read first):

"The average farm is a factory farm with over a million individuals under one roof: chickens and pigs who live their whole lives inside in cages so small they can't turn around. Chickens live about 8 to 10 in a cage the size of a file drawer. That's where they spend their existence, and I know that people who learn about these things are not willing to accept [them]," she said. "And that's why I changed my name."

Funny .sig

I browse a lot of forums in my plentiful spare time, and people who post often have some type of signature (sig, .sig, whatever). Here's one that I thought was especially funny (but then again, people have always said I have an odd sense of humor [and sometimes even a lack thereof]):

I have uncovered the very fabric of the universe -- it appears to be a kind of gingham tweed with a cross cable stitch.

Sweet Home Alaloser

After coming back from an awesome game of ultimate, I arrived just in time to see my parents and sister watching the credits of Sweet Home Alabama the movie. Remember how Michael said he watched the movie and waited for the song to play and when it came on it was a bad version? It was a horrible version! It stank! It was some namby-pamby sissy version. And it was ultra-lame. Even my dad (who is not too musically inclined) agreed after hearing the real Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's the version of which they played part in the movie ConAir, if you pay attention to details. If you disagree with me and say that the version of Sweet Home Alabama they played in Sweet Home Alabama is better than the real one, then you're oh so very, very wrong!!! Impossibly wrong!!! Nice to get that out of my system, anyhow.

By the way, I'm listening to the second movement of Rachmaninov's second symphony, which is awesome. Like the real Sweet Home Alabama.

Laurel, if by "everyone" you mean Meredith, then the answer is that she is visiting her uncle.

I got your post card today, thank you so very much. I was disappointed it wasn't signed "Love, Laurel" or "Hugs and Kisses, Laurel" or the like. Nice salutation though. :-) Seriously, it was kind of you.

Also, I got my AP scores in the mail today. If the Calc AB subscore counts as a separate test, then I am a AP National Scholar. Otherwise, no. I can't say I care much, as it doesn't matter at all. :-)

Crazy mice!

This article referenced by Slashdot is really interesting. Apparently, it looks like some of the mice used in psychological tests may actually be psychotic! It's worth a read. Well, the first three paragraphs are, anyways. The rest is worth a skim.

More fast-food nonsense

Adam's post reminded me of a sign that was posted above the ordering counter in a Taco Bell in Waco:

"BRAILLE MENUS AVAILABLE"

'nuff said.

Too bad it wasn't rated "Arrrr!"

I saw Pirates of the Caribbean today. It was a lot cooler than I expected (and cooler than the title and trailers made it out to be). Surprisingly, it didn't seem like a Disney movie at all. The last Disney movie I watched that was rated PG-13 was The Tuxedo, which was really bad even though Jackie Chan was in it: tt struck me as being exactly like those stupid, low-budget, mass-produced kids-doing-cool-things-and-beating-up-horribly-stupid-bad-guys-and-parents movies. But Pirates wasn't like that at all. It was pretty funny, had decent action scenes, decent special effects, and a pretty good plot (the Black Pearl really isn't a black pearl, to my delight). So that's it, really. It's worth seeing, if you ask me, which is a total reversion of what I had thought before I watched it.

One more thing. Disney is making another theme-park-ride-based movie, The Haunted Mansion. I hope the trend stops before they reach "A Small World" (shudder).