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Shampoobra

Shampoobra's Journal
Shampoobra's Journal
June 23, 2014

A Sound You Can't Unhear (And What It Says About Your Brain)

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/sounds-you-cant-unhear/373036/

Alexis C. Madrigal
Jun 19 2014

Just listen to this radio clip. It's only takes 50 seconds for the Franklin Institute's chief bioscientist, Jayatri Das, to demonstrate something fundamental about your brain.

She starts with a clip that's been digitally altered to sound like jibberish. On first listen, to my ears, it was entirely meaningless. Next, Das plays the original, unaltered clip: a woman's voice saying... (OP note: spoiler removed) Then we hear the jibberish clip again, and woven inside what had sounded like nonsense, we hear... (OP note: spoiler removed)

The point is: When our brains know what to expect to hear, they do, even if, in reality, it is impossible. Not one person could decipher that clip without knowing what they were hearing, but with the prompt, it's impossible not to hear the message in the jibberish.

...

Hearing, itself, is thinking. Which makes it subject to the machinations of the rest of the brain, which are constantly priming the ears about what they should be expecting.

(more at link)
June 22, 2014

"If Black People Said The Stuff White People Say"

"Wait a minute - you don't listen to Taylor Swift? Girl, I am like whiter than you."

"Was it hard to grow up in the suburbs? It must have been really boring, with no police activity or anything."

"Your skin is so pale. Can I touch it?"

http://digg.com/video/if-black-people-said-the-stuff-white-people-say

June 21, 2014

"You're missing the vagician" - The Best Way To Teach Your Daughter Not To Lie

Every kid wishes they were older, and that's fine. But don't lie to your mom about getting your first period.

http://digg.com/video/the-best-way-to-teach-your-daughter-not-to-lie

June 4, 2014

"No Thanks" ... best Homeland Security checkpoint refusals ever

This is probably a repost, since the video is dated Oct 27, 2013.

But I hadn't seen it until today, and I had no idea these checkpoints were voluntary. (I wonder, though, if these types of refusals still work if the driver is not recording the DHS officer.)

January 13, 2014

NFL Pot Bowl 2014



Edited to shorten thread title
January 13, 2014

Is it too early to hope...? NFL Pot Bowl 2014

[IMG][/IMG]

January 10, 2014

Apparently, DU's Shankapotomus isn't the only one who wants to know who "Charlie" is (bridge emails)

Yesterday, Shankapotomus asked: Who is "Charlie" in the bridge scandal emails?

Shankapotomus
Thu Jan 9, 2014, 08:34 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024303912

Who is "Charlie" in the bridge scandal emails?

Anyone know?

Could that be code for Christie or is there some other player in this I haven't heard about?

The email transcripts can be viewed here:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/chris-christie-bridge-traffic-jam-emails

The "Charlie" reference is near the bottom of page 20.

If "Charlie" is Christie this is evidence he knew and approved.

The Mother Jones link Shankapotomus provided contains 22 pages of emails. I looked at page 20 yesterday, and saw the Charlie reference. Page 20 was black print on white background, as with all the other pages.

Today I went back again, because I was developing a possible Charlie* connection. This time, the section with the Charlie reference has been highlighted in yellow. It appears someone at Mother Jones is interested in Charlie, too.

[IMG][/IMG]

*My possible "Charlie connection" was Charles "Ken" Zisa, who years ago lost a bitter recount battle by one vote to Loretta Weinberg. Yesterday, Rachel Maddow suggested a possible Weinberg connection to the bridge closures, asking whether she might have been the target instead of Ft. Lee's Mayor. But it's a long shot, and someone who knows a lot more about New Jersey politics is going to figure this out much faster than I ever could.

EDITED TO ADD: I didn't know so many were already focusing on the Charlie connection when I first posted this. For example: Please proceed, governor.
January 8, 2014

This Brilliant Anti-Speeding Ad Will Give You The Chills

This Brilliant Anti-Speeding Ad Will Give You The Chills (VIDEO)
January 8, 2014
Posted by: Samuel Warde
http://samuel-warde.com/2014/01/brilliant-anti-speeding-ad-from-new-zealand/



The New Zealand Transport Agency has released this brilliant anti-speeding public service announcement for television that takes a spine-tingling approach to the subject.

After citing fatality statistics for speed-related crashes, the agency notes that "Most road users recognize the risks of driving at speed and support police enforcement of the speed limit. But these statistics show that drivers don't always practice this when driving: speed is still a contributing factor in 20% of all fatal and serious injury crashes on New Zealand roads."

The agency goes on to write about their approach stating, in part:

"This campaign aims to re-frame the way that people look at their speed when they're driving. A person may be a good driver but they can't deny that people do make mistakes – after all, to err is only human. And in life, mistakes are made often. We usually get to learn from our mistakes; but not when driving – the road is an exception. Even the smallest of mistakes on the road can cost us our life, or someone else's."
December 21, 2013

Hate Twitter?

I received an email today with the subject line, "Linda sent you an invitation" and the message, "Linda has invited you to join Twitter!" with a link under that, reading: "Accept invitation."

I only know one Linda, so I sent her this text:

"I'm waiting diligently for the day Twitter ceases to exist, so I never have to hear the words Twitter or tweet again. I have a deep, abiding faith in this future."

(Just my way of saying, "No, thank you.&quot

Linda's reply text:

"it's especially bad for twitter illiterates like me who on their first investigation of the media accidentally checks a box that sends emails to everyone they know requesting they join and discover the blunder only when they see it in their husbands in box and realize it's just too late to do anything about it."


I was already not a big fan of Twitter, but I wouldn't have thought they would stoop that low.

November 8, 2013

KOMO News: Seattle entrepreneur testing the law with his pot delivery service (recreational MJ)

I gave this a try today. More details below the KOMO News (Seattle) story about the recreational marijuana delivery service operating legally in King County:

Seattle entrepreneur testing the law with his pot delivery service

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Seattle-entrepreneur-testing-the-law-with-his-pot-delivery-service-227006441.html

"We provide a service that delivers legal marijuana to the average, everyday Washington citizen," Evan said. The founder of the Winterlife Co-Op, Evan said he's operating the first delivery service in the state for recreational pot users. He advertises on Craigslist and markets heavily on Twitter. He claims he has hundreds of customers who want more privacy and like the convenience of getting their pot delivered.

...

Evan and his partners are willing to push the boundaries of the new law and believe the same voters who legalized recreational pot want the right to have it delivered to them, no matter what the state says. "I would challenge them on that," Evan said. "I would be happy to challenge them."

Evan said he gets his marijuana from legal sources and doesn't actually charge customers for the product. Instead, he charges for his delivery services. It's a gray area that's also used in the medical pot market. He also said his company doesn't provide services to minors or out of state.

Seattle police say Evan's business would be a very low priority issue for them.

More at the link:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Seattle-entrepreneur-testing-the-law-with-his-pot-delivery-service-227006441.html


I've lived long enough to know that when an online advertisement includes the words, "no bullshit," it's always, always, always bullshit.

by Shampoobra

So when I saw those words on Winterlife Co-op's Craigslist ad this morning, knowing that "no bullshit" always equals bullshit, I didn't get my hopes up too high.

Okay, so there's this one first time. I admit it. One time, ever, a guy wrote "no bullshit" on a web ad, and it was true. That time was today.

I don't live in King County, and it was a long, boring, windy and rainy drive, and it sucked having to do that in my old car, and people were driving like Washingtonians, but it was totally worth it. If I lived in the Seattle area, they would have delivered it to my house. Instead, we agreed on a meeting place within Winterlife's delivery area, and the transaction was made in just a little more than the time it took me to drive there.

Keep in mind, this was with nothing more than a Washington State driver's license to prove I'm a resident and 21 years of age or older. I didn't need a medical marijuana card.

EDITED TO ADD: The recreational pot stores won't open in this state for another 6 months or more.

I got the Indica I wanted (from a wide selection of various strains), and was able to discover for the first time whether or not I like edibles. He had a great selection of those, and it turns out, I'm big fan of the edibles. Who could have guessed.

The representative I met with could have, by all appearances, fit into any job type. I used profanity a few times (bad habit), but he never did. It wasn't like doing a drug deal. He could have been an office worker or a machinist or a school teacher, and strikes me as someone I would feel comfortable having in my house. One of the unfortunate facts of pot prohibition was that we often found ourselves meeting with people we didn't necessarily trust, but this experience was as normal as any other retail transaction.

I still can't get over how easy the whole thing was. The guy I met with is one of four, and each serves a separate Seattle area. He was going to send me to the person who does the downtown area, but I'd rather eat glass than try to drive in downtown Seattle traffic. So he had no problem meeting me at a location just off Interstate 5. When I arrived in the Seattle area and called him to revise my ETA, he answered on the first ring.

Quick, smooth, professional, trustworthy ... and no bullshit.

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