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So Much Candy Data, Seriously

As promised, here is the candy hierarchy data for 2017. (Released Oct 25th @1:45pm PST. Will provide updated xlsx file on Oct 31st as well) . xlsx | csv | txt (d&t) | surveyQ pdf | n=2460 If you tag your work with #candyhierarchy2017 or #statscandy, I’ll do my best to aggregate efforts here (and also possibly at BoingBoing for a round up piece). Note that traditionally, we’ve plotted a figure based on a “Net Feelies” metric (=#JOY-#DESPAIR). We also have additional meta data affiliated with demographics, and some questions that link to other potential datasets (see actual survey for…

How To Fly

“The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss” With these words, Douglas Adams helpfully explained concept of flying in his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But the ground is really big, and, as the Tick so sagely noted, “Gravity is a harsh mistress.” So herein contained is my handy-dandy explanation of how you can impress your friends and family by throwing yourself at the ground and missing: Step one, throw yourself at the ground. Luckily, this is really easy thanks to gravity, which will pull you down to the ground at an acceleration…

A Serious Game on Gender Inequity and the Health Arena

It doesn’t take long to scan today’s headlines, and note the troubling incidents of #metoo, or hear word of research disparities that could potentially lead to life threatening outcomes for women. The reality is that even with the slow march of progress, there is still significant inequities in how the genders are treated in the health arena, if not society in general. This applies to both the medical research specifically (do treatments work better for men generally?), as well as the challenges that many women face in their career trajectories (how does gender affect careers?). Patriarchy, in a word, is…

Reductive Genome Evolution of Obligate Symbiont Midichloria humanum: Implications of Gene Loss

(Click on the front page image to download the full article) Abstract: We sequenced and analyzed the genome of the Midichloria humanum, a ubiquitous intracellular symbiont, in 34 human subjects covering a range of population sizes from 1,000 to over 14,000 midichlorians per human cell. Midichlorians mediate the relationship between their human hosts and the Force, which confers exceptional physical and cognitive abilities on hosts with per-cell midichlorian populations (‘midichlorian count,’ mdc) larger than 10,000. Although, quantitatively, the genome of M. humanum is more extensively degraded than those of closely related Rickettsia species, midichlorians retained many intact genes involved in…

Ghosts Are Everywhere

Large, emerald mountains materialize through the haze as our ferry approaches Tokashiki. The landscape is a contrast to the flat terrain and the bustle of Okinawa. The ride becomes rough as we get closer, but the bumps are no problem. I’m on boats regularly for work. I can handle waves. Due to lack of sleep, I barely made the ferry on time, boarding at exactly nine in the morning. The boat departed seconds later. A similar event happened yesterday when I nearly missed my flight from Kyushu to the Ryukyu Islands. The doors of the plane closed two minutes after…

My Apologies for Predicting Our Current Dystopia

Dear Thesis Committee Members, Thank you for your feedback on my latest draft. I was a little confused by your criticism that my dystopian sci-fi screenplay read as too accurate and the subsequent questions insinuating my possible membership in a clandestine deep state conspiracy. When I started writing a satire of late-stage capitalism involving a global pandemic, it was with the honest intention of crafting a creative piece. I did not have insider information (no, I am not a secret epidemiologist), and I did not have a pipeline of information from any corporation that would benefit from our current crisis.…

Sacrifice

Trace thumb along gut. Ignore the ammonia odour of sacrifices past. Aim for the triangular target. Squeak. A bead of urine emerges. Hold faith, the church of reason, the sake of humanity. Prepare for fixation: Splay spine against styrofoam board paper towel lined. For the sake of humane tap paws for reflex. Pin apart palms. Affix feet. Snip pelt, tweeze. Clip membranes, ribs. Through buck-toothed gasps the thoracic cage deflates. Saline cleanses        next to godliness. Fluid billows, a sunset damp on paper. Demystify        heart hype hope. Waste not, want – need another heart.

SPOKEN IN STARDUST: MEMORIES ADRIFT ACROSS AN OCEAN OF TIME

Cast of Characters: Emma: an inquisitive teen-aged daughter Father: a neuroscientist with a love of theatre and the arts, Emma’s dad Mother: a neurologist who loves to garden and grow flowers, Emma’s mom David: a kind, sensitive nine year old boy who adores his sister, Emma Mr. Jiang: protagonist of the play Remember Me, Alzheimer’s patient Ms. Yun: first love of Mr. Jiang, separated during Chinese Civil War Mrs. Jiang: sympathetic and supportive wife of Mr. Jiang Nurse: caregiver to Mr. Jiang at the hospital in Taiwan – – – OPENING SCENE: VANCOUVER 2005 Setting: Friday family night in the…