Experian-Simmons released some survey data in December that looked at the relative popularity of major television shows for three different political groups: liberal Democrats; conservative Republicans; and middle-of-the-road voters. Each show was given…
Much Ado About Coughin’
Whether you know it as whooping cough or the 100 days’ cough, pertussis — a bacterial infection that causes severe coughing fits — is no fun. According to Wikipedia, it affects nearly…
Visualizing English Word Origins
I have been reading a book on the development of the English language recently and I’ve become fascinated with the idea of word etymology — the study of words and their origins….
Geographic References in Local Business Names
This little exercise came about after I read an article on the old Northwest Territory in the U.S., which basically consisted of all the land west of Pennsylvania, northwest of the Ohio River, and…
What ‘The Office’ Gets Wrong About the Office
I start a new job next week and so I’ve been working on documenting all of my old tasks and projects in preparation for the transition. As I was going through old e-mails, I…
Thick as a [LEGO] Brick
A few weeks ago, Samuel Arbesman wrote an article in Wired touching on the mathematical properties inherent in LEGO structures. In it, he discussed the results of a 10-year old study of natural and human-made…
Wisconsin Voters Banished to NULL Island
The top headline in my local paper this morning was “Glitch puts some Wisconsin voters in Africa” … an interesting thing to ponder over a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal Squares. I suppose this problem…