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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The surprising links between anger and time perception

This explains a few things ...

Here's a test: let's say a meeting, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been moved forward two days. What is the new day of the meeting? If you think it's Friday, you imagine time as something you move through. If you think it's Monday, you think of time as something that passes by you. So what? Well, according to the British Psychological Society, "Friday" people have an angrier disposition, than "Monday" people. The researchers also found that "thinking about moving through time can induce anger."
The researchers presented students with a computer screen flat on a desk, facing the ceiling. On it were the days of the week, in a vertical line with Saturday at the top, then Friday, Thursday, all the way down to Sunday at the bottom, nearest the participant. Commands were given that either provoked thoughts about moving through time, away from the participant (e.g. a meeting has moved forward two days from Sunday to Wednesday - please highlight the new day on the screen), or thoughts about time moving towards the participant (e.g. a shift down the screen, towards the participant from Wednesday to Sunday). Participants primed to think about their movement through time subsequently rated themselves as feeling angrier than participants in the "time moving towards them" condition.

Judge sentences man to 6 months for yawning in court

200908121018 Illinois Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak sentenced Clifton Williams to 6 months in jail for yawning in court. Rozak's contempt order stated that Williams "raised his hands while at the same time making a loud yawning sound," which was both disrespectful and disruptive.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Rozak, one of 30 judges in the the 12th Judicial Circuit, personally issues over a third of the contempt charges and has thrown more people in jail for ringing cell phones than "any other judge in Will County in the last decade."

Science Review

"Quantum foam" – grainy bumps in the fabric of space-time – might explain why light from a distant galaxy arrived four minutes later than expected, offering clues about the real nature of gravity

Same-sex action helps thrush yeast thrive

Candida albicans cells can reproduce homosexually, which could help explain how the yeast develops resistance to treatment

Why the highest mountains are near the equator

The height of the snowline on a mountain plays a significant role in how tall it is likely to grow

Human Development News

Chimps and gorillas walk on their knuckles, but that doesn't mean our ancestors did, according to a new survey of ape wrist bones

Why humans can talk and chimps can't

A brain area crucial for language ballooned during human evolution

Science News

From BBC-Science:
Perseid (SPL)
Skygazers are observing a dazzling sky show, as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.

Parts of India are on track for severe water shortages. according to results from Nasa's gravity satellites.

A team of astronomers discover the first planet that orbits in the opposite direction to the spin of its star.
OTHER TOP STORIES

THE BIG PICTURE
Click to reveal

Judge to Microsoft: Stop Selling Word

Judge Leonard Davis, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, ruled Tuesday that Microsoft can no longer sell Microsoft Word in the United States due to patent infringement.

Full Story

Lyndon LaRouche Behind That Obama-as-Hiltler Sign?

Wing nut aggitators aren't the only ones likening Democrats to Nazis for supporting Obamacare.

As Josh Marshall notes, a group of LaRouche supporters joined the wing nut howlers who shouted down Representative McGovern last week in Massachusetts, reportedly comparing the congressman to Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele..

Full Story

White House criticizes swastika outside Georgia office

Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs says no issue being debated should or could be compared to the Holocaust.

Full Story

Georgia man convicted of aiding terror groups

A 23-year-old Georgia man was convicted Wednesday of aiding terrorist groups by sending videotapes of U.S. landmarks overseas and plotting to support "violent jihad" after a federal jury rejected his arguments that it was empty talk.

Georgia man convicted of aiding terror groups

Woman nabbed twice for DUI on same night in 2 cars

Police arrested a woman twice in one night in two different cars for driving drunk.

Woman nabbed twice for DUI on same night in 2 cars

Woman Lures Witness to His Death

It sounds like something out of a movie, but it's not. Tiffany Reaves, 30, is charged with luring a man to his death to prevent him from testifying against her boyfriend.

Mystery of missing cargo ship deepens

Mystery of missing cargo ship deepens

A Russian-crewed cargo ship vanishes without a trace in European waters, leaving officials mystified.

Mystery deepens

Also:

How to get paid to drive your car

How to get paid to drive your car

Some people are making as much as $900 a month just driving their regular cars.

How to get paid to drive your car

Also:

Girl's query at town hall raises questions

It takes a child to cut through the bullshit like a laser through butter ...
Girl's query at town hall raises questions

The latest stir over health care reform includes an 11-year-old girl's question at Obama's town hall meeting.

Girl's query at town hall raises questions

Also:

Obama's 'Dr. Death' strikes back

Obama's 'Dr. Death' strikes back

"I couldn't believe this was happening to me," says Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel of the harsh claims by health care reform opponents.

Obama's 'Dr. Death' strikes back

Mona Lisa still smiling after odd assault

Mona Lisa still smiling after odd assaultThe world's most famous painting survives a strange tea cup attack intact.

Mona Lisa still smiling

Also:

In an act of responsible journalism ...

The Los Angeles Times has published a pretty straightforward debunking in several of the more common Wing Nut lies on health care reform.

Maybe there is hope for the 'media' yet - you think?!

Anti-American militias regrouping across U.S.

The lunatic fringe is gathering ...

Anti-government militias regrouping across U.S.Economic stress and conspiracy theories fuel a jump in organized resistance.

Anti-American militias regrouping across U.S.

Also:

U.S. cities begin swine flu vaccine test

About 2,800 Americans are participating in experimental shots, as researchers are "working at breakneck speed" to get out a vaccine this fall.

8 U.S. cities begin swine flu vaccine test

Also:

The worst things to have for breakfast

The worst things to have for breakfastThe meal can help make — or break — your whole day.

The worst things to have for breakfast

Also:

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is

International Youth Day

and

Sewing Machine Day

as well as

Vinyl Record Day

Daily Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 12, the 224th day of 2009.

There are 141 days left in the year.

Today in History, August 12.

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Abijan, Abijan, Cote D'Ivoire
Gampaha, Gampaha, Sri Lanka
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

as well as

Ogdensburg, New York
San Mateo, California
Resaca, Georgia
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Hillsboro, Oregon
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Ruskin, Florida
Arvada, Colorado
Florence, Alabama
Scottsdale, Arizona
St. Louis, Missouri
Iowa City, Iowa
Twin Falls, Idaho

across the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Now here's a day you can live with.
Everyone will be acting solid, practical and responsible -- the way you go about things all the time.
This certainly could mean that you'll be moved to make a business decision, even the one you've been putting off for a while now.
If it feels right, go ahead.
If you're doubtful, you should still bring the papers to a seasoned professional before you sign anything at all.

Check, got it.