I'm a sucker for accordions

Anyone know of the group The Animators?

I recently ran into this video of theirs, and I was oddly captivated. Kinda reminiscent of Radiohead - but with an accordion. I'm curious if anyone else has listened to their stuff. Should I buy an album, or were they only moderately good?

Wow, now we're getting serious

So, as some of my readers may know, my girlfriend and I have been dating for a couple of years now. Much of this time has been long distance, and we've spent quite a ridiculous amount of cell phone minutes (all thankfully free, as we have the same carrier).

Recently, we realized that we both (a) need new phones, (b) are almost done with our mandatory 2-year plans, and (c) might save some money by purchasing a 'family' plan. Amusingly, though, we've both been a little bit nervous about going ahead with this. After all, sharing a cell plan is commitment.

I find it interesting how the world's standards of relationship status have changed so quickly. Are you dating on facebook? Do you share passwords? How often do you text each other? But sharing a cell plan... well, that's practically marriage.

We actually don't know if it's worth it monetarily to do so, but I just find it amusing that the idea gave us so much pause.

My fame precedes me

I'm finally back from studying from my oral qualifiers, and I'll inaugurate resumed blogging with a guest column over at To Whom It May Concern, one of the most amusing blogs I read.

Enjoy! And now when you read my blog, you'll be reading from a PhD Candidate instead of a mere PhD student. Can't you tell the difference?

Just call me Jack Bauer

Have you ever had a dream that was incredibly detailed and recurrent? I've had one off and on for some time... it comes when I least expect it, leaves me incredibly confused as to the details and logic thereof, and every time I have the strongest feeling of deja vu.

What bothers me, though, is that I haven't a clue about whether this dream actually is one that repeats itself, or whether I just think so. The details of the dream fade with wakefulness, and leave me wondering if I just imagined everything.

Well, that, and that I spend the entire dream trying to save the world from some horrible but unspecified calamity. That's pretty weird for someone who spends his life as a student researcher, not an action hero.

*scratches head* Makes you wonder about memory and perception. If I think something has happened before, does that mean that I'm remembering it, or my brain is just playing tricks on me? Confusing. So, a challenge: has anyone run across any credible research (anything from cognitive science to neurology to engineering) that can actually prove whether we are remembering things or just thinking we're remembering them? I imagine it's possible, at least with some sort of fMRI... but I don't know. I recall that deja vu has been attributed to one part of the brain, but is this also tied into recall?

Hmm. Things like this make me curious.

They almost had me fooled. Actually, no, they didn't.

I posted a few months back about my opinions on Israeli 'confidence building measures' toward the PA in the light of its intransigence, continued support of terrorism, etc... and the utter illogicality of rewarding Palestinian misbehavior with further concessions. These included $100 million in withheld tax revenue that Israel transferred to Abbas a few months ago, despite the presence of a terrorist group in charge of the PA government and little knowledge of how it would be spent other than vague 'humanitarian' arguments.

Now Ha'aretz reports that it went to pay the salaries of terrorists.

Hamas: Our forces paid from tax revenue transferred by Israel
By Reuters

A Hamas source said Tuesday that part of the $100 million in tax revenues transferred by Israel to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas went to pay security services, including members of a Hamas-led force.

"The [Hamas] Executive Force was a part of the security services which received part of their salaries, just like the other forces," the source said.

During his meeting with Abbas on Sunday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked him to account for how the revenues had been spent.

Israel opposed using the money to pay salaries, particularly to members of Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, government officials said.
...
"This flies in the face on what was agreed upon," said an Israeli government official.

Under U.S. pressure, Israel transferred the $100 million to Abbas's office in January.

Israeli officials said at the time that the money would be earmarked for humanitarian needs and programs to strengthen Abbas's guard, and not to pay salaries.
...
Western powers have also frozen direct aid to the Hamas-led government, conditioning a resumption of funds on recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and an agreement to abide by previous peace deals. Hamas has rejected these terms.

I rest my case.

Comic books are for dorks

Webcomics, on the other hand...*

So, you have a friend who's always raving about how awesome the comic(s) she reads are. Maybe she makes obscure jokes that have her cracking up while everyone else is just kind of smiling and nodding? Have no fear, wiggin is here to give you recommendations of the all-time best webcomics out there. I'm not going to give you a list of every one I read, just the ones that are consistently worthwhile. You, too, can make hilarious obscure jokes that leave your compatriots in the dark.

In no particular order, because they're all so awesome (WARNING: most of these include naughty words. Put more precisely, they are incredibly crude. If you are easily offended (which, given that you read my blog, isn't bloody likely), get off the internet and read something wholesome):

XKCD

This guy, with pencil-drawn stick figures, is more amusing than a barrelful of monkeys being delivered to Martha Stewart's door. (I need to work on my analogies.) In fact, he is so good to have caused the capitulation of another amazing webcomic out of sheer admiration. The author is a physicist who used to work for NASA, and now makes crude drawings and math jokes for a living.

What draws me most to his work is that he's so unabashedly a dork yet at the same time amazingly clever with minimal illustration and text. His mouse-over text for each comic are always worth the look.

A selection of his best work:
Pi Equals, Angular Momentum, Pillow Talk, Kepler, Valentine Heart (I thought about trying this on my girlfriend; a story for another time), Science (look up the COBE mission and this year's Nobel in Physics if you don't get it), and more. The archives are so full of goodness. I can't recommend this comic enough.

Penny Arcade

This is a comic that XKCD is in awe of (albeit kinda creepily). It is the Godfather of comics, garnering hideous amounts of traffic every day, and probably the most successful financially. It's a gaming comic, so many of the jokes go over my head (though if you read through Tycho's news post, you'll get an idea of what they're getting at)... nonetheless, it's beyond hilarious. They've gotten a lot more sophisticated over the years, both in terms of artwork and writing... but it's still worth it to go through the archives.

Best PA comic ever? This one. You can't buy that kind of humor.

Something Positive

This comic is beyond wrong. It takes 'evil sense of humor' to new levels. The Devil probably takes notes from Randy's comic. Nonetheless, it is funny beyond belief. Downsides are a somewhat erratic (though fairly regular) update schedule, and the fact that to get half of the plot, you need to start at the beginning. Then again, given this kind of beginning, who could resist reading the rest?

Toothpaste For Dinner

You know what I said about XKCD and stick figures? Well, at least he tries to draw. TFD has the worst 'artwork' I have ever seen... but he manages to pack a nice punch into his single-panel strips. Because he has a strict daily schedule, some of his jokes are less than worth it... but there are enough gems like this one to keep me coming back.

Questionable Content

This, like SP, is unusual to my tastes, as it actually has a plot, and is remarkably drama-ish. Nonetheless, the jokes are great: just this past Valentine's Day, he had a comic on necrophilia and having sex with comatose ICU patients. Now that's romance. This comic would be of particular interest to any people who are into music (particularly of the indie variety), but it's worth it for everyone. If nothing else, the protagonist has a violent and amoral pet robot; what could be better? Rarely does the drama interfere with the jokes. I can't really choose one 'representative' strip that makes it awesome, but feel free to post your own favorites.

Bunny

This is the comic that I previously said has capitulated to XKCD, which shows his excellent taste, if nothing else. The comics are generally fairly esoteric, and about a third of the time, I don't spend the time to get the jokes... but when I do know what he's talking about, it's definitely worth it. One of my favorites is buried deep in his archies: Giant Moon Laser. Give it a look!

A Softer World

I've been saving this for a strong finish. A Softer World is incredibly clever. It's a collaboration between a photographer and a writer; each comic is three panels of photographs with pseudo-types words overlaid. The humor is generally summed up in the third panel, at sharp contrast to the pictures or the previous wording. The mouseovers are an important bit to read, too.

Best comic? This one. Best T-shirt? "When I play doctor, I play to win."

So there you have it. The all-time best comics I've read. Any other suggestions are welcome, but if it's famous I probably read it or have tried it. Happy reading!

* Yes, yes, I know, comic books are the new cool thing, and 'graphic novels' are art, blah blah blah. I just never found them worthwhile. Nonetheless, I'm aware that perfectly cool people read comic books. I mean, some of my best friends read comic books. Heh.

Death tolls, civil wars, and stability

I apologize for my relative lack of posting in the last month; I've got quite a number of ideas that should be posted over the next few weeks, time permitting.

I'd like to discuss the ongoing civil war between Fatah and Hamas, occurring mainly in the Gaza Strip. For the last month, I've been following the stories about Fatah-Hamas ceasefires that last for hours, about endless unity government talks that go nowhere, and about the general escalation of violence between the two sides: kidnappings, assassinations, ambushes, overrunning enemy posts, weapons buildup, etc. It is clear to me that no amount of Egyptian mediation or Israeli restraint is going to settle these issues; Fatah and Hamas are going to keep duking it out in the absence of a serious external threat (Israel has wisely refrained from Gaza operations). One of the two will eventually establish a sort of control (though a bloody one), and that will be that. Hamas has greater strength in Gaza (and is being bankrolled much more effectively by Iran), but Fatah has overall numbers, the aura of Western legitimacy, etc.

What struck me, though, was that the world doesn't seem to care much about Palestinian casualties when they're doing it to themselves. Oh, the papers mention it, but over twenty people were just killed (including 4bona fide kids) in about 36 hours, just days after the beginning of a 'cease fire' (clearly, they are using the Palestinian definition of a cease fire). In the past year, 660 Palestinians died due to Israeli action (roughly; the figures are somewhat disputed). That means for ALL of the territories, this averages to less than two fatalities per day.

These fatalities are reported on endlessly and with a great deal of fanfare - and justifiably so, that's a fairly high level of 'background' violence, even including the Gaza offensive after the Shalit abduction in June. Yet when the Palestinians are killing each other at a rate five times that (and the last 36 hours is hardly unique; every time the cease fire fails, violence like this breaks out), it seems like most of the world doesn't care. (I find the contrast striking, though, as Israeli weapons and training are far more sophisticated than Palestinian ones. It suggests that Israeli violence against Palestinians is highly restrained and focused, despite the unfortunate levels of unwanted casualties.)

To be honest, I understand - I don't really care, either. I find this troubling. Yes, I understand that both Fatah and Hamas are full of nasty pieces of work, and I'd prefer they be killing each other (and that it's them killing their own civilians, and not us) rather than aiming at Israel. Yet I still find it troubling. Don't the residents of Gaza deserve some peace and quiet? When they support terrorist attacks on Israel, they will unfortunately bear some of the burden for the response. But this is just ridiculous.

Does this violence somehow presage what a new Palestinian state will look like? Let's
imagine that Israel does pull out most of the West Bank and establishes a land swap/etc. for the rest. They'll remove their control of the Palestinian borders, and recognize Palestinian sovereignty. Does this mean that Palestinian suffering will end?

I think not. I think the state will fall apart in internecine strife between religious and nationalist elements; I think this will eventually lead to the nuts (ie Islamic Jihad, parts of Hamas, etc.) being able to successfully carry out terrorist attacks on Israel, necessitating a Palestinian-Israeli war (rather than an internal conflict, which has been the case until now).

So, for this post, I challenge you to suggest how to establish Palestinian stability and peace. Let's ignore the issue of Israeli security for now; assuming that is assured, how can the Palestinians make a government that will make their lives better?

I'm at a loss on this one.

Haikus for the researcher

the lab is empty
machines humming quietly
today I can work

negative results
they say the data is right
fuck you too, liars

Come up with your own!