*Michelle's Mental Clutter*

Quote of the Day

"The power to command frequently causes failure to think.”

-Historian Barbara Tuchman (from The Week Newsletter, Nov. 11)

Clear your head: Make an anonymous wish!

"Sometimes a constant, nagging thought is the biggest roadblock to productivity. If you can’t clear your mind to make room for what you’re trying to get done, it’s difficult to make any progress. Maybe the catharsis of an anonymous wish is just what the doctor ordered..."

Clear your head: Make an anonymous wish - Lifehacker

Newsflash: "Rights for goldfish in Rome!"

Boing Boing: Rights for goldfish in Rome

Beautiful "Zen" Kitsch:
Shoney's Big Boy-Buddha!

(from the *wonderful*

Coleman Archives' Museum of Curious Cultural Artifacts)

(Thanks, Presurfer!)

Newsflash: "Lemur Species Named After John Cleese"

Lemur Species Named After John Cleese - Yahoo! News

Classic "Straight Dope"

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC - 12/19/1986

"Dear Cecil,

In medicine, what's the difference between an '-ectomy,' an'-ostomy,' and an '-otomy'? My wife believes they mean 'hack it off,' 'bite it off,' and 'pinch it till it drops off.' --J.W., Chicago

Cecil replies:

Very funny, J.W., and actually, not all that far off the mark. According to my Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, which for an old develike me is a constant garden of delights, an '-ectomy' is the cutting out of something, as in "tonsillectomy." In other words, hacking it off. This may be what accounts for the lingering squeamishness about another well-known operation, the vasectomy. (In reality, of course, only a tiny portion of the vas deferens is removed.)

[Editor's note: I've actually always wondered for men if knowing that it is really just the vas deferens really makes such a vast difference!]

An '- ostomy' (actually, '-stomy') means you cut a hole in it, or more precisely, furnish it with a mouth or outlet, as in"colostomy," wherein an opening cut into the colon creates an artificial anus. (Seems like a waste, considering how many real ones there are already.) Finally, there's '-otomy,' (or '-tomy'), which means to slice it up, i.e., an operation in which cutting is involved. Thus we can distinguish a lobectomy, in which a lobe, typically of the brain, is removed, from a lobotomy, in which they merely jab an ice pick in there and chop things up a bit."

For more, see:http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_425.html

Think gas is expensive? Actually, it's apparently pretty cheap!!

"Gasoline is Cheap" (from JibJab.com)

It's enough to make you feel much better about your gas-guzzler, huh? :-)

Yet more fun but useless quizzes...

Does your weblog own you?

12.5 %

My weblog owns 12.5 % of me.

(I'm not sure my hubby would buy this! Link from Dappled Things)

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few.

But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.

Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pickin' on Pink Floyd

Great!

Bluegrass ”Money”, from Pickin' on Pink Floyd: A Bluegrass Tribute. Plus, the complete Pickin' On Series...

(from grow-a-brain)

"The Physics of Cow Tipping"

Um... no jokes about the University of British Columbia, please! :-)

"Cow-tipping may be far more difficult than dumb jocks might lead you to believe. Zoologists from the University of British Columbia conducted a study on the physics of the activity." (Boing Boing: Physics of cow tipping)