'Kiss Of The Rainy Day' is actually a painting of a family member!
How she became immortalized on T-shirts and key chains is through Zazzle.com, which was introduced to me by good Twitter friend @JimGoodrich a few years ago. It's a very cool site that allows you to customize your own products using your very own images, and let others customize things for themselves, using your images. Awesome site IMHO.
The List6 new scientific findings about Facebook users
Why Friday mornings are the best time for posting updates, and five other recent conclusions from the emerging field of "Facebook studies"
posted on September 22, 2010, at 3:35 PM
More important than using the bathroom? Photo: CC BY: Richard Hopkins SEE ALL 34 PHOTOS
With Facebook now claiming 500 million members, it's no surprise that the world's largest social-networking site has become a hot new field for research in the social sciences, says Helen A.S. Popkin at MSNBC. What have we learned? Here's a look at six notable findings:
1. Heavy user? You might be narcissistic
A study from York University in Canada found that the people who frequently update their Facebook pages most frequently tend to be narcissistic — or struggling with low self-esteem. The "more posts = more narcissism" conclusion reinforces a 2008 study from the University of Georgia. Both studies found that narcissists use Facebook for self-promotion; the York one notes that conceited females focus on glamorous, posed photos while males tend to brag in the "About Me" section. Just what we need, says MSNBC's Popkin: Another study showing "Facebook users are jerks."2. If you want to make a splash, post photos on Friday morning
Among the hordes of "friends" everyone has on Facebook, getting noticed can be hit-or-miss. For more hit and less miss, says social media marketing firm Virtrue, post a photo (not video) before noon on Friday. The specifics: Photos get clicked on 22 percent more than video posts, and 54 more than text-only posts; anything posted before noon gets 65 percent more clicks than afternoon updates; and Fridays are the best, and weekends the worst, for getting attention. However, "if you don’t like this data," notes Peter Kafka at All Things D, "you can always find another set of numbers that may suit you a bit better."3. Facebookers love to project
Cornell researchers found that users have a tendency to assume that all their online acquiantances share their views. In the study, Facebookers gave their views on a series of hot-button political issues, then guessed what their friends think; their friends did the same. "Result?" says David Berreby at Big Think. "People way overestimate the extent to which their friends agree with them."4. Lots of logging in = Lower grades
Dutch psychologist Paul Kirschner discovered that college students who check Facebook while studying do substantially worse in school. Looking at 219 U.S. college students, Kirschner found that the Facebook checkers had an average GPA of 3.06, while non-checkers had a 3.82 GPA. Older studies reported strikingly similar drops. It's hardly a shock, says Nikki Gloudeman in Mother Jones. "Stalking ex-boyfriends online totally cuts into study time."5. Status updates are more urgent than going to the bathroom
A study from Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research looked at the social media habits of women age 18 to 34, and the results were a little disturbing: 34 percent said they check Facebook first thing upon waking up, before coffee, before going to the bathroom; 39 percent self-identify as full-on Facebook "addicts"; 49 percent think it's fine to hack a boyfriend's account to check on him; and 89 percent say you shouldn't post anything you wouldn't want your parents to see. Um, doesn't that last one seem kind of "contradictory to the 42 percent that think it’s fine to post pictures of themselves drunk?" says Ben Parr at Mashable.6. In spite of it all, Facebook may be making you happier
The British Computer Society apparently shattered one myth — that too much time spent social networking makes people feel isolated and out of touch with the real world. Instead, BCS found, using Facebook has a "statistically significant, positive impact on life satisfaction." The jump in happiness was greatest among low-income people, women, and less-educated users. So much for the online "'loner' stereotype," says researcher Paul Flatters.Get more from The Week! Click here to get 4 FREE issues!
A 'little disturbing'?
Sept. 22, 2010: For the first time in almost 20 years, northern autumn is beginning on the night of a full Moon. The coincidence sets the stage for a "Super Harvest Moon" and a must-see sky show to mark the change of seasons.
The action begins at sunset on Sept 22nd, the last day of northern summer. As the sun sinks in the west, bringing the season to a close, the full Harvest Moon will rise in the east, heralding the start of fall. The two sources of light will mix together to create a kind of 360-degree, summer-autumn twilight glow that is only seen on rare occasions.
Just look at the 'twilight glow'!
Keep an eye on the Moon as it creeps above the eastern skyline. The golden orb may appear strangely inflated. This is the Moon illusion at work. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, a low-hanging Moon appears much wider than it really is. A Harvest Moon inflated by the moon illusion is simply gorgeous. The view improves as the night wears on.
Northern summer changes to fall on Sept. 22nd at 11:09 pm EDT. At that precise moment, called the autumnal equinox, the Harvest Moon can be found soaring high overhead with the planet Jupiter right beside it. The two brightest objects in the night sky will be in spectacular conjunction to mark the change in seasons.
Full moon and Jupiter hanging in the night sky September 22, 2010.
Usually, the Harvest Moon arrives a few days to weeks before or after the beginning of fall. It's close, but not a perfect match. The Harvest Moon of 2010, however, reaches maximum illumination a mere six hours after the equinox. This has led some astronomers to call it the "Harvestest Moon" or a "Super Harvest Moon." There hasn't been a comparable coincidence since Sept 23, 1991, when the difference was about 10 hours, and it won't happen again until the year 2029.
A Super Harvest Moon, a rare twilight glow, a midnight conjunction—rarely does autumn begin with such celestial fanfare.
Enjoy the show!
Photo's by me.
Info via Nasa @ http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/22sep_harvestmoon/
This was originally posted on my blog on 7/18/10. I decided to use Posterous to share it again, even though it will re-post to the blog site, because it's such an unbelievable EVP capture.
Via @joerogan on Twitter... this video is mind blowing. The human brain can't process fast enough to see what's happening clearly, let alone control it and make these split mili-second decisions! Awesome viewing!!! Thanks for sharing, Joe!
He likes flying circles around his cage and perch area... I think he's practicing his take off and landing skills.
And he comes running across the cage to eat from my hand held seed now... he's getting closer and closer every day!
He's not ready to hop on a finger yet, but I'm working with him and got him eating out of my hand.... literally. His name was originally Blue Dude, but we've fancied it up a bit and call him Mr. BD. How cute is he???
