The best-studied technique of all is the foot in the door. The panhandler who stops to ask you the time before asking you to spare a buck is employing the technique. In contrast to the door in the face, the foot in the door starts by making a very small, easy-to-accomplish request, and then follows up with the real request.

I hate this so much. It actually makes me suspicious of every single person who talks to me on the bus. I am just waiting for them to ask me for something.

The audio to that story is pretty funny -- Shankar Vedantam goes, "studies are good and everything, but you know what's better? Anecdotes!" so then he tries it.

I have a ten-year-old mattress, and when I started having trouble sleeping a few years ago, I got a memory-foam topper at Target. $150 and and immense improvement in the quality of my sleep.

Flea, try a topper out for a while--it's cheaper than a whole new mattress. I won't go back to life without one.

Only available for a limited time, order soon: [link] (one of those talking about a NSFW thing, not showing it, and the language is pretty tame--but if you boss walks up behind you and asks "what does that do?" you probably won't want to tell him or her).

I did not sleep well last night and in a bit of the chicen and egg conundrum, the rise in depression and sleep issues, which one started it all? Regardless, not only am I not falling asleep, I cannot bring myself to get out of bed and do anything useful either, Jut lie there mind racing higgelty piggelty from one stupid thing to another.

I rear eneded someone in a parking lot this morning. no damage to their carm, but their trailor hitch busted the bumper on MY MOM'S CAR that I am borrowing while mine gets some repairs. UGH. I think I will take it to a dealership at lunch or afterwork and just get a quote and then write her a check. epic fail.

Oh! I do have to say--my sister wrote that email very well.

Subject: Uncle N is fine
Body: But he had heart failure yesterday or today, I guess.

My mother is running out of brothers, she can't afford to lose him. Plus, you know, he's Uncle N. But he had the good sense to have heart failure around two doctors (his kids), so he got diagnosed and taken care of right away.

Yes, that is the best way to write that sort of email.

2 dogs that were stolen from their owners are returned 5 years later.

The series picks up with Dracula arriving in London, posing as an American entrepreneur. Dracula's front? He pretends to want to bring modern science to the Victorian society, but his real intentions are revenge on the people who wronged him centuries ago. However, it's not all rage and death because Dracula falls in love with a woman who appears to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.

I am cautiously excited about this. Dracula posing as an American? And the reincarnation plot AGAIN? I'm not thrilled about those. But it's got vampires AND going to be quasi-Victorian, so I'm shallow and will watch it.

If a British newspaper report is correct (and, oh, how we hope it is), Mary Poppins and Lord Voldemort will clash in a tense battle scene during Friday's Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics.

Finally, an explanation for Bert's accent!

I can just imagine the brainstorming session. "That show Revenge did pretty well and vampires are hot right now. How can we combine them?"