Hey! Well it was a good year.

What are talking about, Laura? You were stoned. You probably don't even remember it. Duuuuude!

I was supposed to go to a family BBQ today but it was canceled. On one hand, now I can defeat a few piles of dirty laundry. On the other hand, I was counting on someone else feeding me today.

Freaky optical illusions involving perception of color: [link]

Our perception of colour is strongly affected by the surrounding colours.

...

Illusion 3 is by far and away the most incredible effect I've ever seen. I've analysed the RGB descriptions and the colours are identical...I just can't make myself believe what I'm seeing.

Part of me suspects a trick, as these involve Shockwave. I dunno. But it fits with the fact that a lump of coal in sunlight reflects more light (and thus should be "whiter") than a white piece of paper in typical indoor lighting. Our eyes and brains adjust our perceptions to fit what makes sense in the given light.

I find the craziness about the new GTA to be funny. The game already contains craploads of violence, sex with hookers, theft, organized crime, gangsta rap and Debi Mazar. But somehow a little nudity - that makes it suddenly totally indecent.

Insect sting pain index: [link]

Various biting/stinging insects, ranked by how much pain each produces.

I came in to work today in teh hopes of catching some co-workers in a foreign country, but alas, I got here to late and they are gone for the day.

It is loverly outside.

Hey Jesse, why not just put your A/C on fan and blow in the nice 72 degree outside air? cheaper than a/c.

My A/C doesn't have a "fan" setting. I put it on low, though.

Anyone looking for a house in Ohio? This one's not much to look at, but they say it's got central air.

[link]

Fire ants only rank 1.2 out of 4? Wow. I've never been stung by any of the others on the list, but--wow. I guess part of what made the bites so bad is that you don't get just one fire ant sting. Or is it bite? Or both? I forget.

And the blisters last.

And continue to hurt for days.

I do not like fire ants.

Huh. I think I was stung by a pepsis wasp (tarantula hawk) when I was stationed in Tennessee. All I know is that the bugger flew in the open window, landed on my leg and zapped me but good. It hurt like the devil and I had to pull the car off the road and stop while I just gritted my teeth in pain. I couldn't drive for about 5 minutes afterward, but then it quit hurting pretty soon after. Just itched like the dickens for a couple days afterward.

Is anyone else having trouble with thesuperficial.com? ita turned me on to it and now I'm hooked. However, I can't seem to make the thing load anymore. I have to force quit out of my browser every time. I need my gossip, people!

BTW, I'm running Safari 1.3 on OS X (10.3.9).