I’ve been having a lot of fun reading “How to Fossilize Your Hamster“[1], an entertaining and enlightening collection of quirky science questions and experiments one can do to observe the the principles. It’s very conversationally written with abundant humor. For example, in answering the best way to get ketchup out of the bottle, where they detail seven methods to “exploit the thixotropic nature of ketchup,” they begin with: “WHAT DO I NEED? ...

I was going through Statistics Hacks and came across Benford’s Law, which states that in naturally occurring numerical data, the distribution of the first, non-zero significant digit follows a logarithmic probability distribution described as: P(D1 = d) = log10 (1 + 1/d) In other words, first number is much more likely going to be a 1 than it is a 9. The pretty graph to the right shows the likely occurrence of the first digit. It’s counter-intuitive, as one would assume the digits would be uniformly distributed. However, it’s been observed in a variety of areas like multiples of numbers2, blackbody radiation, physical constants, area of rivers, population and New York Times front pages[9]. ...

In anticipation of my physical, and partly to assuage fears that the post-big four-oh one would entail uncomfortable things, I sleuthed around for things on what to expect, thinking. Clearly I’ve been watching too many episodes of House. The American Academy of Family Physicians1 has six classifications for their recommendations of common “clinical preventive services:” SR – Strongly recommended: there’s a net gain, it’s cost effective. Vaccines top the list: MMR[4] (despite the anti-vaccination lunacy), tetanus booster, and diptheria/pertussis. Blood pressure is always/easily checked. Since I’m over 35, they want to check lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides). Anticipating this, I fasted prior to the appointment. It’s logistically unfortunate they don’t do the tests and process the results before the doctor visit, because I would like the option of asking what the numbers mean. R – Recommended: moderate benefit or moderate evidence. There were a lot of these. Rather than sifting through the conditionals (e.g., “for women over 65 years of age”), it was easier to consult the male[2]- or female[2]-specific charts. NR – No recommendation: there are only four of these in the 15 page list. The only one I’d heard of was screening for chlamydia in pregnant women over 26 years old. RA – Recommended against. I wasn’t entirely surprised they recommend against taking beta-carotene supplements. However, one that did turn my head was the recommendation against routine screening for testicular cancer[6], especially with the Lance Armstrong awareness campaigns[5]. I – Insufficient evidence to make a recommendation either way. This was one area I was surprised: prostate[7] and skin cancer[8] screening fall into this category. HB – Healthy behavior that’s desirable, but a physician’s advice and counseling might not effective. For example, physical activity is recognized as beneficial. Like the physical I had a few years go, this was easy: ...

Last week, I read a story about 143 million pounds of beef products from California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Company being retroactively recalled to February 1, 2006. Questions that came to mind: Does beef keep for two years? I’d always worked from the conventional cooking wisdom that meat could be stored for up to two months in the freezer. The charts 2,7 suggests this is true for ground beef. Steaks and roasts can be kept for 6 – 12 months. Still, that’s a year shy of the retroactive recall date. Only canned beef products have a 2-5 year shelf-life7. Conclusion: most of the beef has already been consumed. Perhaps this is done for shock effect or litigation purposes? ...

[](http://www.basicinstructions.net) Scott Meyer’s [Basic Instructions](http://www.basicinstructions.net/) Elizabeth poses two questions: What would you tell your younger self? It was initially tempting to inventory specific sources of pain and failure and undo those. However, the more I thought about it, the more I believe these were learning experiences that helped me later in life. For example, signing a contract with Bally’s was a costly mistake (especially trying to get out of it in 1990), but I’m more acutely aware of ways salespeople may take creative liberties with reality. I have walked away if the person was overtly lying or seemed shady. ...

1Q 2007: Traveled to: Reno, Trondheim, San Diego. Ride: RACMOD with John, Claire and David. Did the polar bear plunge. Blizzard. Turned forty (my “permanent record” didn’t come back to haunt me, though it occasionally taunts me). Finished knitting my scarf. Pleased that Woodstock has joined and is enjoying 43things. 2Q 2007: Traveled to: Pendleton and Portland. Rides: Century Ride of the Centuries, Wenatchee Apple Century Finally bought a new bike. My KitchenAid broke, was fixed, then was tricked out. Assisted in a science project. Enjoyed an afternoon with Kiri. Met Scout and Jarrett. 3Q 2007: Traveled to: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Atlanta, Tucson and Phoenix. Rides: RAPSODY, Tour de Whidbey ...

The high-level observations for today: “Invited” speakers tend to be better than those that are… not invited. I do not have enough data on quality of uninvited talks, but I see an opportunity for a great practical joke. If the invited speaker isn’t working, you can either wait it out or go to the alternate bloc of presentations. (You do have one, don’t you?) Or, tour the Poster Hall. Nearly half of today’s presenters were confounded in some way by the remote control. It seems people think “right click” means “forward one slide,” not “select some stupid menu that I’ll need help exiting.“ I woke up from a weird dream that involved being approached by a panhandler of the worst kind: ...

While rummaging through my study looking for an old tax return, I found my second grade report card. My handwriting still “Needs improvement.” The fourth and fifth grade report cards were more interesting because they were in a Q&A format, no letter grades assigned. Apparently I didn’t like the approach to Spanish instruction taken by the school system, but I did enjoy Faust.

Costco called last night to let me know the tires I ordered were in — not that I expected to wait long for a set of all-weather radials compatible a 2002 Subaru, especially in this neck of the woods. I drove today, anticipating I’d be able to escape work early and have them mounted. On the way in, I saw a cyclist, his blinkie was barely visible. Issaquah-Pine Lake is a terrible stretch of road to drive on. Biking is even worse because of the disappearing shoulder. I made a deliberate effort to give him sufficient berth. As I eased back into the normal lane position, I saw the cars in front of me were making sudden stops. I did my Fred Flinstone, feeling the pulse of the anti-lock system working its magic. Even with well-worn tires, the car held steady, and I stopped in time. ...

While I was driving around Tucson, I was struck by how differently the traffic lights sequenced. (Phoenix didn’t seem to have the noticeable differences.) Consider this intersection of Some Boulevard and No Way: Some Boulevard is the moderately-trafficked arterial going left-right. In this intersection, left turns have to yield to oncoming traffic. The pedestrian crosswalk is better marked. Were it busier, the traffic signal at point (1) would have a red left turn arrow (indicating no turn is permitted). It might also have a dedicated right-turn lane. Currently, the pedestrian crossing signal at point (3) indicates it is safe for pedestrians to cross No Way.Starting with a green light (1) and active pedestrian signal (3), the traffic sequence here might typically be as follows. ...