Men with high-pitched voices finish last.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Barry tones beat Blunt's vocals

Here's a sad story for the nice guys with less than masculine voices who are willing to put in some hard time. Evolution is the game of life where only the fittest survive. Those who spread more of their healthy seed around win. That's how it goes. Now it turns out women are attracted to different types of voices during different parts of her monthly cycle. When she's fertile, she likes the masculine man - the one all the testosterone. When she's not fertile, she's more attracted to the man a more feminine voice. They're the men who are more likely to stick around when the going gets tough.
Speaking in a broad evolutionary sense, guys who don't have masculine voices totally get the short end of the stick. We women have an innate biological urge to mate with guys who have husky voices. They're the ones who tend to have the most robust genes. As a result, they're the ones who will most likely give us the healthiest babies. What about the men who have more feminine voices than their huskier counterparts? What's in it for them? A woman who's attracted to his voice only when she's hovering around her monthly visitor that comes right after that good ole' glory time we know as PMS. 'Tis a sad story indeed.

Blond minorities have more fun!

Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun - Sunday Times - Times Online

Here's a case where my hindsight is 20/20. Of course blonds are a minority. We only came to be because of a genetic mutation. You've seen those documentaries on the Discovery Channel of the cave people going about their business. Do you ever remember them having blond hair? No! Of course, not! That's because we were just on the verge of becoming a minority back then.
As for blonds having more fun, well... Dirty blond is my natural color. With that said, I've been every shade under the sun. Red. Brown. Orangy blond. Platinum blond. I can't really say that any one of those colors was more fun than the other. Fun is a state of mind. Although I can say that being blond and visiting Mediterranean countries does get me a whole lot more attention - not that that's always a good thing.
Being blond isn't always a great thing. Unfortunately, even though when I look around today I see many more coffee color shades, I still can't mark myself as a visible minority even though I am in the minority with my blond hair and blue eyes. Don't get me wrong, I understand the historical and present reasons why. Heck - I'm all for a coffee colored world. My opinion? More shades is always better than a lowly few. But let's dump that stupid saying of blonds having more fun because that's not always the case.

Cyber attackers distribute destructive wealth evenly.

CBS News | Infection Targets Apple's Mac | February 17, 2006?17:34:38

Let me just start of by saying how much I hate people who get a kick out of releasing any type of cyber virus, worm, or spyware. You guys suck!!! Now that I've got that out of my system, I'm going to say something that will make me very unpopular with Mac computer users. It's about time you cyber attackers go after your targets with a bit more fairness!!! I am a PC user who's had to deal with more than my fair share of attacks. Time and time again, I've heard from Mac owners about how I should protect myself and buy a Mac. Hey!! I like my PC, okay??? If there's no way to get rid of you stupid cyber attackers, then might I ask you to distribute your destruction evenly? I'm tired of being a target just because I use a PC. Of course, I'd rather all those idiot cyber attackers fall off the face of the earth... but alas! The earth is round, not flat. It looks like we might be stuck with them, at least for now...

Your intuition is real. Use it!

Why you should go with your gut

Somebody told me once that if I was having problems with a certain question on an exam or midterm that I should leave it blank and come back to it later. It turns out that someone was right. When we face complicated problems that stump us, this study out of Holland suggests that it's best to take in all the variables then ignore the problem for a while. That way you don't have a chance to get all mentally worked up about not being able to solve it. When you revisit it later, you'll know the answer. It's a matter of looking for answers to complicated questions in your gut rather than in your head. Don't bother trying this for simple problems though. It won't work as well because we're equipped to deal with simple problems rationally by thinking things through. We've got enough conscious brain power to do that, but it's a different story if the problem is complicated. That's when it's time to rely on your unconscious brain - your gut.
Heck - just knowing this would have saved me a lot of time with my ex-boyfriend. I kept thinking of how things could work out, he's such an amazing guy after all. Instead, I ignored my gut that told me it wouldn't. Knowledge is power. Now I know this in my conscious and my unconscious brain.

Thank goodness our ancestors ate meat!

?Brain food? may have made us smarter - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com

We've got big brains. Why? We have our meat-eating ancestors to thank for that. Before you vegetarians get upset about what I'm saying, you should know that I am strictly speaking of the ancient past. Your brain is as big as ours, of course, but it's only because your great-great-great-great-great-great-etc.. grandparents had a healthy diet of fishes and frogs. Don't take my word for it though. That's what scientists from the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec say. They're scientists after all! That means what this is stamped in gold, right? Okay... There's no way to tell for absolutely sure, but they do suggest that everyone who doesn't eat shore-based foods every now and then might be putting themselves at risk. Caviar anyone? ;)

Wake up Bush, Harper!

CBS News | A Global Warning | February 19, 2006?20:04:56

How many times do scientists need to come out with more data before politicians actually do something about it? This is no case of a little boy crying wolf. The wolf is real and its breath is getting hotter and hotter because of our dependence on fossil fuels. Politicians and their fear of running our economies into the ground are taking us down a path of no return. Our planet is at stake. Scientists just discovered that Greenland's glaciers are melting three times faster now than they were ten years ago. The more this stuff melts, the more water and land will be exposed to absorb even more solar heat. The warmer it gets, the more the ice will melt. And so on. And so on. This is a vicious cycle that we need to get out off of now! I'd like to call on our politicians to think about their legacy. Do they want to be forever known as leaders who let the planet go down a path of destruction? Or do they want to go down in history as the leaders who acted to save our planet? They're our elected leaders. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Stephen Harper really need to hear what you think.

The Magic of Marijuana

'Obesity' pill shows promise

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This story isn't really about the magic of marijuana. It's just a spin-off. If it weren't for researchers taking note the fact that marijuana gives people the munchies, then they probably wouldn't have realized that blocking those receptors could have the opposite effect. None of this would have happened if people still completely thought of marijuana as a demon drug. It always has been and always will be a medicinal herb. The fact that the general culture (U.S. administration aside) is becoming more open to looking at the possibilities of manipulating the natural cannabinoid system is definitely a move in the right direction.

If only I could tickle myself...

Why can't you tickle yourself!

If I could only tickle myself, my life would be totally different on this Valentine's Day. Heck - I would even declare myself a wholehearted independent woman! In so many ways, I am a complete woman already. I am financially independent. Emotionally independent. I can even satisfy myself and look after myself in a procreational way, if I want. The only thing that I cannot do on my own is tickling myself. Dammit! It's that light touch I miss... that sense of surprise that makes me giggle. Here's an idea for an invention - a feather that brushes against someone randomly. Who would ever need a romantic partner with one of those around? Maybe I could start a trend and declare myself the Solitairy State of Sonya!

Blame your friends for your crap music

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: "Hit" Songs Unpredictable, Thanks to Peer Pressure

Thank goodness experience brings wisdom to follow your own tastes. I'll admit it, I used to listen to any song that made the top 40 when I was a kid. Then my older brother went through a heavy metal stage, so I did too. In university I hooked up with the Greatful Dead crowd. Post university was the electronic music scene. As I've grown older, the fact that there's good and bad music in all of these genres has become more and more apparant. Now I know what I like. And I know what I don't like. I don't care what anyone says, there is such thing as cool polka!!!

Superhuman? It's not just about genetics.

LiveScience.com - Superhumans Could Challenge Ordinary Folks

The next big evolutionary wave can come from two fronts - external modification of your genetics or yourself. Scientists have been working on ways to make humans more robust for ages. They've also been exploring the potential of the mind for quite some time now too. To quote the Dalai Lama from an interview I did with him a while ago, "When it comes to the science of the mind, western science is very, very young. Like kindergarden." There is so much untapped potential in our minds. They know it. Western science is just starting to dig into this fact. We can bring on our own evolution by exploring our minds and clearing the crap that clutters our hidden potential.

Head trauma for the Man in the Moon

SPACE.com -- The Origins Of The Man In The Moon

This story is incredible. Not that I've ever believed in the Man in the Moon, but let's go with the analogy anyway. Scientists from Ohio University discovered the reason why the Man has these features is because on freakin' massive rock knocked him in the back of the head. In fact, he was hit so hard from behind that he's been living with a bulge on his face ever since because of the shockwave that rock sent through his skull. That's not all. When that happened, it messed things up so badly that all of the layers in his head were disrupted. Imagine it. Hit in the back of the head, the brain shifts towards the front of the face, and then some blood in the skin breaks through and floods some craters on the front. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we can see the Man in the Moon today.

Expect the worst? It's your hell...

news @ nature.com�-�Is it best to expect the worst?�-�Psychologists test long-held theory of emotional cushioning.

My father always used to tell me to not get my hopes up for things because I might be disappointed. I disagreed with him then and I disagree with him now. Luckily though, he did teach me the virtue of having my glass half full rather than half empty. I took that advice to heart and ignored the cautions about not getting my hopes up. Being an optimist is a choice. I choose half full. Sure I get disappointed ever now and then, but the difference is - I don't let it define my state of being. Religious people put their faith in God to get them through tough times. It's the same kind of thing. In tough times, I look for the silver lining. It's always there, although I admit it's really hard to find sometimes. But it's always there. I used to simplify my spiritual leanings by saying that my faith was in the power of "positive attitude." Here is a study that shows you create your own hell with a negative disposition... a hell for yourself.

Mmm... Printing bacon...

LiveScience.com - Don't Bring Home the Bacon, Print It

Sure.. Maybe one day these scientists will be able to print bacon. Maybe. Here's the real question. Will it still produce the irresistible aroma that bacon does when cooked? Sure if it looks like bacon, has the properties of bacon, it should smell like bacon too, right? That remains to be seen. I'm all for more bacon in this world. Heck - two of my former vegetarian friends reverted back into omnivores because they succumbed to the smell of bacon. Bacon is a good thing.

Sense of smell sucks lying down

ScienceDaily: Researchers Find That Sense Of Smell Is Dependent On Body Position

Who needs a sense of smell, really, when you're in bed. In an evolutionary sense, if you're already lying down with someone - you're more than likely to get lucky. A sense of smell would be a waste of energy because at that point, you're almost a sure thing. Whereas if you're flirting with someone, you're probably not lying down - yet. Then it would be a good idea to get a decent whiff of this person so you can better decide whether or not he or she is worthy of a potential gene swap with you. Evolution rocks!

Here's one for the No Duh file.

Candy temptation

I wonder how much money these researchers got to come up with this totally unremarkable conclusion? Heck - all they had to do was give me a few bucks and I could have told them what every woman knows.... If there's chocolate in plain site in front of me, it's going down. Whereas if it's hidden and not tempting me with its cocoa goodness, then of course my willpower would step in. Simple. simple.

Let's Dump Pluto!!!

SPACE.com -- Study Confirms '10th Planet' Indeed Larger than Pluto

Let's start a revolution! Rip up all your old textbooks... Start an on-line petition and let's dump Pluto! It'll just make life a whole lot easier. Who's to say they won't keep finding other planet-like bodies at the end of our solar system? It took them long enough to find Xena. Now it threatens to bump Pluto out of our list of known planets in this solar system just because it's a bit bigger than Pluto. What is a planet anyway? Xena does have its own moon - a little feisty satellite known as Gabrielle.

We can make do with 8 planets. Who needs to be inclusionary? Everyone let's break out an on-line petition and start emailing the International Astronomical Union. Give them a piece of your mind! Either get your act together, break down what a planet is supposed to be, or dump Pluto and every other small body that's discovered from here on in.

Kick ass science blog!!!

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