Notes from the Third Dot

Almost posted the same recipe

2008-03-09T21:57:00.001-04:00

haha
It's been so long i almost posted the same szechuan shrimp recipe! Ah well- check out the recipe below - I was about to post it again!
B

Calories in a Pound

2008-02-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

Hi folks!

Any idea how many calories are in a pound? I should just google it but I've been thinking about running machines and whether the "calories burned" are inflated. Anyone know? It just seems nuts that you could burn 400 calories in less than an hour - I don't see how that's accurate. And I think I've heard that the estimates are inflated.

:)
B.

A Half Marathon

2008-02-04T16:00:00.001-05:00

Hi Folks!

Have any of you run a half marathon or some type of long distance? Any tips for how to do it? I'm considering joining my sister for this half marathon in Chicago:
aidsmarathon.com

I've also been reading up on running and apparently if you add one mile a week to your workout you can drop 5 pounds in a few months - that is nutso!

Anyhow - let me know if you want to join me in my running endeavors - I might be able to do a half if other people want to do it to (and live close by).
:)
B.bee

We're back!

2007-09-11T00:15:00.000-04:00

Hello folks! It's been forever! Hope everyone is ok!
:)
B.

Relay for Life!

2007-06-30T12:59:00.001-04:00

Hi folks!

Every year, over 1.3 million are diagnosed with cancer for the first time. This is a staggering statistic, and we can do something to help the fight against cancer. Please join me in signing up for the Relay for Life, hosted by the American Cancer Society, or you can make a donation at this site:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=191860&supid=181551125

The Healthy Third Dot...

2007-06-24T22:20:00.001-04:00

Ok folks! I'm on a food kick (can you tell)? So listen, Dorene has some tips for low fat recipes:

Turns out you can make any boxed cake low fat by mixing it with a diet soda (and nothing else)! Crazy huh? Apparently it turns out well and you can do diet cherry Coke with chocolate cake, diet orange soda with yellow cake, etc.!

You can also add one can of pumpkin mix to brownies and they turn out gooey and not tasting like pumpkin! And this makes them low fat somehow!

Crazy, no? If you end up trying it let me know how it turns out! I'm quite curious.
B.

Tilapia with Lemon and Capers

2007-06-24T13:51:00.001-04:00

Hi folks! Here is a modified tilapia recipe from allrecipes.com. With the new modifications I would rate it at a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

INGREDIENTS
4 tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
pepper to taste
capers to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.
Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, capers and pepper.
Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 10-12 minutes.

Szechwan Shrimp Recipe!

2007-06-24T13:37:00.000-04:00

This one is from allrecipes.com. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, only because my mom made this recipe a little bit better. Adding ketchup sounds gross, but it gives it a nice kick. In fact, add extra ketchup to improve the taste!

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened.

Dubious Research...

2007-06-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

So for obvious reasons, I am choosing to poke holes in the NYTimes article my oldest sister F. sent me (see previous post). Here's what I sent to her. Feel free to add to or to disagree. Though if you choose to disagree we'll all know you're one of those Firstborn Kids.

1) Though they are trying to declare a 3 point difference as important, a 3 point difference is not necessarily larger than the confidence intervals associated with IQ scores (though I don't think they are specifying whether they refer to full scale IQ or subtests). Thus, though there may be a statistically significant difference between oldest/younger kids, statistical significance does not equal meaningful significance

2) This study's population was a Norwegian birth cohort, and all evidence points to the fact that Asians as a whole have IQs that are very different from those of Anglo-Saxons. So, I would need to see evidence that these results are found among Asians too- especially since they think it's a nurture, not nature finding.

3) Though they have an impressive amount of data, this is only one study.

4) Even though this study may find that on average, older siblings have a higher IQ, trends and averages in the population do not necessarily apply to individual families - i.e. it doesn't mean that this is necessarily true in our family.

Hehe, not bad eh? Ah, active debates are so fun. I'll let you guys know if I get a rebuttal of the rebuttal.
B.

Birth Order and IQ

2007-06-21T23:58:00.000-04:00

So my older sister F. sent my little sister K. and I this article from the NY Times. haha. I emailed a rebuttal, which I will post later.

:)
B.

June 21, 2007 Study Says Eldest Children Have Higher I.Q.s
By BENEDICT CAREY
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/benedict_carey/index.html?inline=nyt-per>

The eldest children in families tend to develop slightly higher I.Q.s than their younger siblings, researchers are reporting, based on a large studythat could effectively settle more than a half-century of scientific debateabout the relationship between I.Q. and birth order. The difference in I.Q. between siblings was a result of family dynamics, notbiological factors like changes in gestation caused by repeated pregnancies,the study found. Researchers have long had evidence that first-borns tend to be more dutifuland cautious than their siblings, early in life and later, but previousstudies focusing on I.Q. differences were not conclusive. In particular,analyses that were large enough to detect small differences in scores couldnot control for the vast differences in the way that children in separatefamilies were raised. The new findings, which is to appear in the journal Science on Friday, arebased on detailed records from 241,310 Norwegians, including some 64,000pairs of brothers, allowing the researchers to carefully compare scoreswithin families, as well as between families. The study found that eldestchildren scored about three points higher on I.Q. tests than their closestsibling. The difference was an average, meaning that it showed up in mostfamilies, but not all of them. Three points on an I.Q. test, experts said, amount to a slight edge thatcould be meaningful for someone teetering between an A and a B, forinstance, or even possibly between admission to an elite liberal-artscollege and the state university, some experts said. They said the resultsare likely prompt more intensive study into the family dynamics behind suchdifferences. "I consider this study the most important publication to come out in thisfield in 70 years; it's a dream come true," said Frank J. Sulloway, apsychologist at the Institute of Personality and Social Research at theUniversity of California<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_california/index.html?inline=nyt-org> in Berkeley. Dr. Sulloway, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, added, "Therewas some room for doubt about this effect before, but that room has now beeneliminated."Joseph Lee Rodgers, a psychologist at the University of Oklahoma<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_oklahoma/index.html?inline=nyt-org> and a longtime skeptic of thebirth-order effect, disagreed, arguing that the new analysis was notconclusive. "Past research included hundreds of reported birth ordereffects" that were not legitimate, he wrote in an e-mail message. "I'm notsure whether the patterns in the Science article are real or not; moredescription of methodology is required."In the study, Norwegian epidemiologists analyzed data on birth order, healthstatus and I.Q. scores of 241,310 18- and 19-year-old men born from 1967 to1976, using military records. After correcting for factors known to affectscores, including parents' education level, birth weight and family size,the researchers found that eldest children scored an average of 103.2, about3 percent higher than second children and 4 percent higher than thethird-born children. The scientists then looked at I.Q. scores in 63,951 pairs of brothers andfound the same results. Differences in household environments did notexplain elder siblings' higher scores. Because gender has little effect on I.Q. scores, the results almostcertainly apply to females as well, said Dr. Petter Kristensen, anepidemiologist at the University of Oslo and the lead author of the study.His co-author was Dr. Tor Bjerkedal, an epidemiologist at the NorwegianArmed Forces Medical Services.To test whether the difference could be caused by biological factors, theresearchers examined the scores of young men who had become the eldest inthe household after an older sibling had died. Their scores came out thesame, on average, as those of biological first-borns."This is quite firm evidence that the biological explanation is not true,"Dr. Kristensen said in a telephone interview.Social scientists have proposed several theories to explain how birth ordermight affect I.Q. scores. First-borns have their parents' undividedattention as infants, and even if that attention is later divided evenlywith a sibling or more, it means that over time they will have morecumulative adult attention, in theory enriching their vocabulary andreasoning abilities. But this argument does not explain a consistent finding in children under12: among these youngsters, later-born siblings actually tend to outscorethe eldest on I.Q. tests. Researchers theorize that this precociousness mayreflect how new children alter the family's overall intellectual resourcepool. Adding a young child may, in a sense, dumb down the family's overallintellectual environment, as far as an older sibling is concerned; yet theyounger sibling benefits from the maturity of both the parents and the olderbrother or sister. This dynamic may quickly cancel and reverse the olderchild's head start with mom and dad.Still, the question remains: How do the elders sneak back to the head of theclass?One possibility, proposed by the psychologist Robert Zajonc, is that oldersiblings consolidate and organize their knowledge in their natural roles astutors to junior. These lessons, in short, could benefit the teacher morethan the student. Another potential explanation concerns how individual siblings find a nichein the family. Some studies find that both the older and younger siblingstend to describe the first-born as more disciplined, responsible, a betterstudent. Studies suggest - and parents know from experience - that todistinguish themselves, younger siblings often develop other skills, likesocial charm, a good curveball, mastery of the electric bass, acting skills."Like Darwin's finches, they are eking out alternative ways of deriving themaximum benefit out of the environment and not directly competing for thesame resources as the eldest," Dr. Sulloway said. "They are developingdiverse interests and expertise that the I.Q. tests do not measure."This kind of experimentation might explain evidence that younger siblingsoften live more adventurous lives than eldest siblings. They are more likelyto participate in dangerous sports than eldest children and more likely totravel to exotic places, studies find. They tend to be less conventional ingeneral than first-borns, and some of the most provocative and influentialfigures in science spent their childhoods in the shadow of an older brotheror sister (or two or three or four).Charles Darwin, author of the revolutionary "Origin of Species," was thefifth of six children. Nicolaus Copernicus, the Polish astronomer whodetermined that the Sun, not the Earth, was the center of the planetarysystem, grew up the youngest of four. René Descartes, the youngest of three,was a key figure in the scientific revolution of the 16th century. First-borns have won more Nobel Prizes<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/nobel_prizes/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> in science than younger siblings, but often byadvancing current understanding, rather than overturning it, Dr. Sullowayargued. "It's the difference between every-year or every-decade creativityand every-century creativity," he said, "between creativity and radicalinnovation."

A Gold Star Goes To....

2007-06-16T20:31:00.001-04:00

...Dorene!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations for correctly identifying this week's quote! Very good! Phew! And yes, the next Harry Potter book comes out soon! And I believe there will be some more Cho action in the next movie. Ah, the boys with glasses always love the Asians.

:)
B.

Fortuitous Bad Luck

2007-06-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

Hi beezies!

Have you ever had a streak of bad luck that turned out to be a good thing after all? I was in Jackson Hole last week when my plane was grounded by bad weather in Denver, my connecting city. We were going to be grounded for "at least" seven hours and "probably way more". This meant that I would definitely miss my morning meeting. I called G, who had dropped me off earlier, thinking that he could pick me up and I'd stay in Jackson one more night. He didn't answer his phone, so I waited an hour to see if he might get the message, but there was no answer. This streak of bad luck turned out to be fortuitous because just when I had completely given up (being completely demoralized) and was getting ready to go hail a cab, the flight lady came on the intercom and said, "It's a miracle. Denver has cleared up!" And there I was, all set to go! I even got back in time for my morning meeting.

Along the same line of thought on fortuitous bad luck: I got a free three week trial at Netflix! I had started a free two week trial, but was going out of town so had to cancel it early. Boo, right? What a waste of a free trial. But it turns out, if you cancel early, they give you two additional free weeks! Woohoo!

Ok, now here's a trivia quote in keeping with the theme. Please name the exact book that this quote comes from:

"Search the skies if you must, Minister, but now I think I'll have a nice cup of tea, or a large brandy. Oh, and executioner, your services are no longer required. Thank you."

Good luck! Or perhaps bad luck to you, this week!
B.bee

New Yellowstone

2007-06-07T23:41:00.000-04:00

Yellowstone!

2007-06-07T21:47:00.000-04:00

Gosh Wyoming has to be one of the prettiest states ever. Check it out!

Christy stops in!

2007-06-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

Hi folks!

As you can see, Christy was in town! How fun!

Banana Pudding, A Winner!

2007-05-02T21:03:00.000-04:00

This is from allrecipes.com and has been super popular. B-Sting even gave me an evening buzzzzz about it, so you know it must be good! Enjoy!

:)
B.

8 ounces sour cream
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups whole milk
1 (16 ounce) package vanilla wafer cookies
4 bananas, peeled and sliced

DIRECTIONS
In large bowl combine sour cream, whipped topping, pudding mix and milk. Stir well. In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other glass serving dish, put a layer of cookies, then a layer of pudding mixture, then a layer of bananas. Repeat until all ingredients are used. Refrigerate until serving.

Birthdays!

2007-04-28T22:39:00.000-04:00

Hi folks - so many bdays this week!!!!! :) ~B.

Belated Paris Pics!

2007-04-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks!

Some belated Paris pics!

Cheesecake Brownies

2007-04-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

This is a good snack recipe - very quick and easy! It's from allrecipes.com:

original recipe yield:1 - 9x13 inch pan
PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
20 Min
READY IN
45 Min
PHOTO BY: SECONAWAY21
US
METRIC
SERVINGS About scaling and conversions
INGREDIENTS
1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
DIRECTIONS
Prepare the brownie mix as directed by manufacturer. Preheat oven to temperature indicated on box. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
Spread the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth. Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter. Swirl together using a knife or skewer.
Bake according to manufacturer's instructions. Brownies will be done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then cut into bars and serve.

The Kickball Social...

2007-04-01T23:09:00.001-04:00

Hi Folks!

There was a kickball social this weekend - quite a bit o fun in case you missed it. SRCD really cut into our attendance rates - alas!

Anyhow - enjoy the pics!

Peanut time....

2007-03-22T23:58:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness, was Russ not the cutest peanut ever or what! No reason for this picture this week, just thought it was cute.

But seriously, what do you do if you don't have any cute baby pictures? Do you share them with your significant other? Or do you have to hide them like a dirty secret? Because couldn't ugly baby pics be a huge turnoff, even if you're cute now? For example, let's say your Sig Other sees an ugly baby pic - won't they think - ew, I shouldn't use that DNA to procreate - it's too much of a risk! And if you were an ugly baby, do your parents have any idea that you were ugly? Are they going to break out the pics whenever S.O.'s come over? And if so, will you have to explain to them why they shouldn't?

Hmmm...I just don't know. Maybe you can sub in other people's baby pics and pretend that they're yours - I mean the internet has so much stuff floating around on it! It'd be especially easy if you were a minority (insert mildly offensive racialist joke here).

Haha. Talk to you peanuts later!

P.S. OOh, if you have any baby pics - please send them in to the 3rd Dotters!

Crazy Leprechaun on the Loose...

2007-03-18T20:07:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks-

There is a crazy leprechaun on the loose - beware! He likes to hang out at the Playwright, seriously, steer clear. Anywho - it was St. Pat's day the other day, and it was a v. good time all around. There wasn't any green beer where we were stationed, but they did close off the side street and they set up a cute little tent! There was also this nice thing called an Irish car bomb - which involves some sort of shot and I think a dark beer - I'm not quite sure. (But it's pictured above so if you know what's in it please fill me in!) :)

All the best,

A Terrible Line....

2007-03-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

Hi folks!

So I'm sitting in the bar with Lisa B. and Nicole and this black guy and an Asian guy walk over to us (hahahha - what, can't they date outside their races? sheesh!). Anyways, the Asian guy asks Nicole, "So, how do I join these Psych Outs?" Ha! Our legions of fans are growing! Many thanks to Janna, Xime, Tricia & Ginny for stopping by!

Later chickies and dudes - let me know if you want a pain au chocolat, I've had quite a few requests already. (They'll most likely get a miniature Eiffel Tower.)

Love,

Psyched out!!!

2007-03-02T23:52:00.000-05:00

Hi folks!

Guess what! We won! 4-3, us!!!! And you'll also never guess what - I scored a run! Woohoo!

Late Your Face was big talk - but in the end, they couldn't stand up to us - check out our pics!

Researching While We Sleep

2007-03-02T00:23:00.000-05:00

We've got a new motto here at the hive, and it goes like this:

"Researching while we sleep."

Cause now that we've got an online study up, people are filling out our questionnaires while we sleep. In fact, people are filling out the study while we're in class, tooling around, reading up on celebrities, etc. It's insane - we got 31 people our first day up! (Let us know if you want the link to it - I'm not posting it here cause I need to ask Stinger if that's kosher)

This is (almost) better than blogging! From now on, it's all about online research! Woot!

I'm off to bed now (and lots o research will be going on while I'm asleep)!

:)
B.

P.S. Other new quotes of the week:
"So are you scalar or are you seeing someone?"
--MB

"I'd like to defend this summer."
"Jesus Christ!"
--Cort & B.bee (or something like that - the words elude me now)

...Sexy's been broughten...

2007-02-28T22:26:00.000-05:00

Woohoo!!! Look at JT and us!!!

...And We're Back!!!!

2007-02-28T08:35:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks!

We've ended our boycott of all things blog related. Check out these good looking kickballers and kickballer friends!

DISABLED!!!

2007-02-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

Hello bees!!!!!!!!!

You'll never guess what - our ads have been disabled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drats!

I guess we weren't allowed to publicly encourage you to click (Please see "For Just One Click a Day"). Alas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was written on page 342 of their advertising agreement. Boo!

But I think it's google's secret way of getting us to advertise for them without needing to pay us! Notice that they didn't disable us until we hit the $111.47 mark!!!!

This is just another instance of the man keeping us down! This reminds me of Verizon's scheme to keep from having to send you a reimbursement check - I've talked to several people (well, 2 - including me -haha) who said that Verizon failed to offer a rebate check due to a made up "invalidation of terms" like saying that they "couldn't read my handwriting" on the rebate thingymabob - um, hello, I was a middle school teacher! Handwriting doesn't get any clearer than mine!

Anyhow, I'm boycotting google from now on - well at least for the next 8 hours (cause really, how does one live without googling stuff - that would just be absurd). I encourage you all to boycott them as well.

But no worries beezies! We'll find some more advertisers, and circumvent the Google Machine! Unfortunately, in order to find advertisers I'm gonna have to google it - which means I've gotta wait 8 hours.

:)

Love,
B.

Cort's Bday (aka Debauchery Central)!!!

2007-02-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

Hallo beezies!

It was Cort's bday the other night - and we'd all like to give a nice big shout out to the Beacher's who braved traffic and went without dinner to make it! Woohoo! And also to all the other folks who came out and brought lovely desserts (please stop by the Flipse kitchen and have some of the desserts)!

Here are some new rules that have been enacted for Taboo:

1. Office-mates can't be on the same team (yeah Stinger! We killed it!)!

2. Apparently, you can't say that something is a ______ _______er, though it is important to note that that was clearly an excellent clue!

See ya'll later!

Woah, New Quotes!

2007-02-02T08:51:00.000-05:00

"You look really different without your cell phone attached to your face."

--Fab's morning coffee man

"It sucks that you're my soul mate, no offense."

--Me to Fabs

Quote O' The Day...

2007-01-31T15:58:00.000-05:00

"Guys in psychology always seem a little bit gay because they're gentle."

-- B-Sting

Animal Style...

2007-01-30T19:28:00.000-05:00

Hi beezies!

Listen to this! Turns out that In & Out Burger (see above pic) has special, secret "off the menu" items! Cho says you can give certain code words and get super-secret burgers back! Woohoo!

My favorite story about that goes like this: Cho's floormate his freshman year at Harvard (haha) talked incessantly about In & Out. Cho, being a clueless midwesterner, had never heard of this West Coast phenom. However, he did key in on the fact that it was possible to get burgers prepared in a secret 'Animal Style' way. So, on his first trip out to Cali, he hopped up to an In & Out. Not seeing 'Animal Style' on the menu, he quickly lost confidence. Though he knew it was supposed to be a secret, he got worried that his floormate was playing a cruel joke on him. Nevertheless, he stepped up to the counter, and said, "Um, can I get a Double Double, um, ...animal style?" He waited in fear, a little afraid that the counterboy would throw him out for his indecent proposal, but nope - he got lucky and got a mustardy burger!!!!!!!

Here's some of their super secret buzz words, just so you'll be in the know. Cho forgot to tell us until it was too late!

Animal Style (I think they fry mustard into the bun)

Protein Style (no bun)

P.S. Just Wiki'd it! Turns out there's a huge secret menu!!

X by Y
X meat patties and Y slices of cheese (for example, a 3 by 3 or a 2 by 4)
Double Meat
Two meat patties without cheese.
Triple Meat
Three meat patties without cheese.
Flying Dutchman
Two meat patties, two slices of melted cheese and nothing else.
Veggie Burger (Wish Burger)
A burger without the meat and cheese.
Grilled Cheese
Two slices of melted cheese, tomato, lettuce and spread on a bun, with no meat.
Extra Everything
Adds extra spread, tomato, lettuce, and onions (regular or grilled).
Fries "Light"
Almost raw fries that are cooked for less time.
Fries "Well"
Fries that are cooked longer to be extra crisp.
Cheese Fries
Fries with two slices of melted cheese placed on top.
Animal Style Fries
Fries with cheese, spread, and grilled onions.
Neapolitan Shake
All three shake flavors (strawberry, vanilla and chocolate) combined in one shake.

Quote o' Today

2007-01-30T11:08:00.000-05:00

In the grand old tradition of the Fourth Dots, here's a quote of the day:

"I can't guarantee you'll have a good time, but I can guarantee you'll gain weight."

--E-licious regarding my trip to Paris!

Hahah. He's such a hoot.

:)
B.

Mold = Good

2007-01-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

Hi beezies!

Cho dog and I checked out Prime 112 today. I highly recommend everyone go and check it out (preferably after getting a job in finance). I may have to talk lab-B. into going to Prime 112 over Barton G.! Listen to this, they have "dry aged" steaks, which C. dog says means that they leave meat out so that it gets super moldy. Then they scrape off the mold and somehow that makes the steaks really tender (which actually they were)! Sounds gross but tasted great! Huh, probably should've taken a pic. (And p.s. the guy who took the picture was having trouble, that's why I'm blinking.)

Next time folks!

B.bee

Running the Bases...

2007-01-27T10:36:00.000-05:00

So was talking to Ian about how long you should make someone you're dating run the bases. People are pretty conflicted about this. Dor says Cosmo says 4 dates, B. Dawg says 3 dates. Ian says depends on what you want but 1 date is really not that interesting. Hahahhaha. How funny!

(And we really don't shy away from any topic at the Hive folks!)

B.bee

Plus Two More!

2007-01-25T09:03:00.001-05:00

Two more entries folks, thanks to Russ!

PhDevils (since we're all getting PhD's)
PhDemons

hahhaha
B.

A Late Entry!!!!!!!!

2007-01-25T00:19:00.000-05:00

So Russ suggested we use the team name:

The Psych Outs

Hahahah. I love it. And he gets paid to be funny folks, so that ought to count for something.

B.

Kickball for the Masses...

2007-01-23T23:11:00.000-05:00

Hiya Drones!

So it turns out you can play Kickball right out here in the Grove! How unbelievably exciting! Us psycho nerds are going to form a team - and all we need is a name! Here's what I've got so far, let me know if you have any strong opinions:

The Nutballers
The Dia-ball-icals
Ballemia (that may be in bad taste, and actually it's hard to spell it so people get it)
The Type II Errors
The Superegos
The Two Tailed Tests
The Null Hypotheses
The Regressions (towards the mean hahahha)

Huh, this is getting dorkier and dorkier. I'm going to stop (for now).
:)
B.

Just One Click a Day...

2007-01-20T23:55:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks!

You know, for just one click a day, you can send a small Asian girl and a not-so small Canadian to graduate school. Imagine, you can bring them running water, hot food, even a few books every year.

And for the small price of one click a day, you'll get to see pictures, hear their stories from the trenches, watch them grow and learn. Remember folks, for just one click a day - you keep law school and other more well paid professions away. You are helping child-trackers fulfill their dreams!

Love,

Sally Struthers

The B's

The Christians

And that old guy with a beard

To pay or not to pay...

2007-01-19T16:42:00.000-05:00

Ah, to pay or not to pay - that is the age-old dating question! You know the moment, the check comes after a first date, who makes a reach for it? I think the answer is pretty clear cut for a first date - whomever asked the other out ought to dive for the check. But what happens on dates two, three, four, and thereafter?

People get pretty heated about this issue. But I haven't heard any definitive arguments for either side. Anyone out there have one? Or a good fake-reach for the check "Let me get it no really. Oh you want to pay? Ok!" story?

B.bee

OOOh! Sent in by a Reader!

2007-01-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hi folks! Check out what Heather sent us! (http://opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009531)

Please let us know what you think!!!!
B.

Intelligence in the Classroom Half of all children are below average, and teachers can do only so much for them. BY CHARLES MURRAY Tuesday, January 16, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

Education is becoming the preferred method for diagnosing and attacking a wide range problems in American life. The No Child Left Behind Act is one prominent example. Another is the recent volley of articles that blame rising income inequality on the increasing economic premium for advanced education. Crime, drugs, extramarital births, unemployment--you name the problem, and I will show you a stack of claims that education is to blame, or at least implicated.
One word is missing from these discussions: intelligence. Hardly anyone will admit it, but education's role in causing or solving any problem cannot be evaluated without considering the underlying intellectual ability of the people being educated. Today and over the next two days, I will put the case for three simple truths about the mediating role of intelligence that should bear on the way we think about education and the nation's future.
Today's simple truth: Half of all children are below average in intelligence. We do not live in Lake Wobegon.

Our ability to improve the academic accomplishment of students in the lower half of the distribution of intelligence is severely limited. It is a matter of ceilings. Suppose a girl in the 99th percentile of intelligence, corresponding to an IQ of 135, is getting a C in English. She is underachieving, and someone who sets out to raise her performance might be able to get a spectacular result. Now suppose the boy sitting behind her is getting a D, but his IQ is a bit below 100, at the 49th percentile.
We can hope to raise his grade. But teaching him more vocabulary words or drilling him on the parts of speech will not open up new vistas for him. It is not within his power to learn to follow an exposition written beyond a limited level of complexity, any more than it is within my power to follow a proof in the American Journal of Mathematics. In both cases, the problem is not that we have not been taught enough, but that we are not smart enough.
Now take the girl sitting across the aisle who is getting an F. She is at the 20th percentile of intelligence, which means she has an IQ of 88. If the grading is honest, it may not be possible to do more than give her an E for effort. Even if she is taught to read every bit as well as her intelligence permits, she still will be able to comprehend only simple written material. It is a good thing that she becomes functionally literate, and it will have an effect on the range of jobs she can hold. But still she will be confined to jobs that require minimal reading skills. She is just not smart enough to do more than that.
How about raising intelligence? It would be nice if we knew how, but we do not. It has been shown that some intensive interventions temporarily raise IQ scores by amounts ranging up to seven or eight points. Investigated psychometrically, these increases are a mix of test effects and increases in the underlying general factor of intellectual ability--"g." In any case, the increases fade to insignificance within a few years after the intervention. Richard Herrnstein and I reviewed the technical literature on this topic in "The Bell Curve" (1994), and studies since then have told the same story.
There is no reason to believe that raising intelligence significantly and permanently is a current policy option, no matter how much money we are willing to spend. Nor can we look for much help from the Flynn Effect, the rise in IQ scores that has been observed internationally for several decades. Only a portion of that rise represents an increase in g, and recent studies indicate that the rise has stopped in advanced nations.
Some say that the public schools are so awful that there is huge room for improvement in academic performance just by improving education. There are two problems with that position. The first is that the numbers used to indict the public schools are missing a crucial component. For example, in the 2005 round of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 36% of all fourth-graders were below the NAEP's "basic achievement" score in reading. It sounds like a terrible record. But we know from the mathematics of the normal distribution that 36% of fourth-graders also have IQs lower than 95.
What IQ is necessary to give a child a reasonable chance to meet the NAEP's basic achievement score? Remarkably, it appears that no one has tried to answer that question. We only know for sure that if the bar for basic achievement is meaningfully defined, some substantial proportion of students will be unable to meet it no matter how well they are taught. As it happens, the NAEP's definition of basic achievement is said to be on the tough side. That substantial proportion of fourth-graders who cannot reasonably be expected to meet it could well be close to 36%.
The second problem with the argument that education can be vastly improved is the false assumption that educators already know how to educate everyone and that they just need to try harder--the assumption that prompted No Child Left Behind. We have never known how to educate everyone. The widely held image of a golden age of American education when teachers brooked no nonsense and all the children learned their three Rs is a myth. If we confine the discussion to children in the lower half of the intelligence distribution (education of the gifted is another story), the overall trend of the 20th century was one of slow, hard-won improvement. A detailed review of this evidence, never challenged with data, was also part of "The Bell Curve."
This is not to say that American public schools cannot be improved. Many of them, especially in large cities, are dreadful. But even the best schools under the best conditions cannot repeal the limits on achievement set by limits on intelligence.

To say that even a perfect education system is not going to make much difference in the performance of children in the lower half of the distribution understandably grates. But the easy retorts do not work. It's no use coming up with the example of a child who was getting Ds in school, met an inspiring teacher, and went on to become an astrophysicist. That is an underachievement story, not the story of someone at the 49th percentile of intelligence. It's no use to cite the differences in test scores between public schools and private ones--for students in the bottom half of the distribution, the differences are real but modest. It's no use to say that IQ scores can be wrong. I am not talking about scores on specific tests, but about a student's underlying intellectual ability, g, whether or not it has been measured with a test. And it's no use to say that there's no such thing as g.
While concepts such as "emotional intelligence" and "multiple intelligences" have their uses, a century of psychometric evidence has been augmented over the last decade by a growing body of neuroscientific evidence. Like it or not, g exists, is grounded in the architecture and neural functioning of the brain, and is the raw material for academic performance. If you do not have a lot of g when you enter kindergarten, you are never going to have a lot of it. No change in the educational system will change that hard fact.
That says nothing about the quality of the lives that should be open to everyone across the range of ability. I am among the most emphatic of those who think that the importance of IQ in living a good life is vastly overrated. My point is just this: It is true that many social and economic problems are disproportionately found among people with little education, but the culprit for their educational deficit is often low intelligence. Refusing to come to grips with that reality has produced policies that have been ineffectual at best and damaging at worst.
Mr. Murray is the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. This is the first in a three-part series, concluding on Thursday.

From Bad to Worse Folks! You better come packing some heat...

2007-01-11T01:34:00.000-05:00

Why hello bee-ettes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plane food has gone from bad to worse! Check out the above pic's upper right hand corner - now are those mango slices or some ungodly cheese slices! One gold star to whomever gets the right answer! (For kicks I threw in a pic of F pretending to eat one.) I never thought it would happen, but I actually miss the plane food they used to have. Remember when they'd give you greasy pizza or ravioli? Now they hand out $5 boxes of prepackaged saturated fat. Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mongoose needs to eat and this new plane food is not appreciated!

Maybe we all need to start bringing in our own lunches. Sister Bee says some magazine suggested that we all bring baguettes drizzled with olive oil and basalmic vinaigrette and add in some slices of fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato. Sounds lovely! But who has the time? Here are some quick fixes instead:

1) Instant noodles in a cup. Ask for hot water on the plane (when they start serving tea).

2) Bag o peanuts. Since they don't hand them out anymore. Who finds pretzels satisfying anyways!!!!!!

3) Huh, that's all I've got folks!!! Looks like you'll have to try and scarf down some food in the airport waiting areas and pray that your flight doesn't get grounded by technical difficulties (the kind where they won't let you back off the plane)!

Happy travels home folks!

B.bee

Spinach Dip Recipe

2007-01-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

So MB has the best Spinach Dip - she says the recipe is from TGIFridays - so I looked up the recipe.

Here it goes! Enjoy!

1 pk frozen spinach
1 can artichokes
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup parmesan
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 clove crushed garlic

Drain spinach and mix everything together. Heat in oven at 350 degrees and heat for 40 minutes.

Haven't talked to some of you in a while! Hope you are all ok!
Love,
B.
P.S. We're up to $80!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!

Psych Student's Recipe for Love!

2006-12-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

(Based on the class of famed social psychologist E. Tory Higgins!)

Well here you have it folks! In keeping with our food theme: a recipe for a failproof love potion! Psychologists have studied social interactions for a very long time. Based on their work, here's a sure-fire way to get people to fall madly in love with you.

1. Start with a ton of proximity. Research shows that proximity is the greatest aphrodisiac. The greatest predictor of whether people will end up falling in love is how close they live to each other. We're not telling you to stalk down Jessica Simpson and set up a tent on her lawn. That's just creepy. But let's say you got a part in a movie with her- that would be a great first start!!

2. Get them artificially aroused! We're not saying you should show them a bootleg copy of a Night in Paris. Sublety counts folks! Order them a cup of coffee or take them on a hike. This will heighten their internal arousal. As they become aroused, they may think that this heightened arousal has something to do with you - forgetting that it's all about the exercise and the caffeine. In other words, misattribution is your new best friend!

3. Throw in tons of romantic atmosphere vibes. Again, misattribution is your best friend! A romantic setting will put your date in a romantic mood. You, being trained by psych students, will of course know to be in the right place at the right time. Your date's romantic mood may be misattributed to you!

Hmm, that's all we've got for now folks, but let us know how it works out!

:)
B.

Food and Travel....

2006-12-21T02:48:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks!

So it occurred to me that perhaps our blog needs a bit of a theme. After much deliberation, I've decided on food and travel. Excellent!

Here goes our first themed post! So, the NY Times has an article up on their front page and it's all about pancakes. I'm putting up their recommended recipe, mostly because it looks easy to make (they have a video of the writer making the pancakes). Anyhow, this dude makes it a point to say that pancakes are the fastest food to make in the kitchen and only the laziest bum on earth would make pancakes from a mix. Which I guess makes me one of the laziest people on earth because that's the only way I've ever had them (except in Alaska and at restaurants). As a side note, had some chocolate chip and peanut butter pancakes with Russ this week and may I say they were excellent! Ok, here goes the recipe:

1 c flour
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 c milk
1 egg

Lightly whisk together the batter. Take care not to overmix! Heat up a skillet on med-high heat. Butter pan generously. Pour pancake onto the skillet. Flip when the pancake seems to bubble a bit at the edges. The other side should take less time to cook through. Serve with real maple syrup and enjoy!

Much love to you all and happy holidays!
B.

P.S. I like pancakes best with bananas, in case I ever go out to one of your houses!

Classes are OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-12-13T12:08:00.000-05:00

Hooray! Classes are over for us over at the Psych Dept.!

Now we can all take time out to get over the colds we've been harboring for the last couple of weeks!

So tons of good news these past couple of weeks, here are the highlights:
1. B-Sting is a GENIUS*! He's gotten a bazillion internship interviews and is already rocking them!!!
2. LB is a GENIUS! She has gotten a bazillion internship interviews as well and is getting ready to blow people away in the month of January!
3. N-dog is a GENIUS! He proposed his Master's just this week! And all while nursing a killer killer cold.
4. Fabs is a GENIUS! He is being flown out to the ATL!!!
5. MB is a GENIUS! She just had another paper accepted! As second author no less!!!!!
6. Nikki B is a GENIUS! She just submitted a first-authored poster to APA AND is practically finished w/ her Master's! (Um, am I spelling Master's right? Sheesh! I don't know!)
7. Dor is a GENIUS! She is almost finished with yet another semester of law school all while working full time!
8. Caille is a GENIUS! Say hello to Ms. MBA!!!!!
9. Ocean is a GENIUS! She has managed a full-on semester of clients, practicum, SEM, all while taking time to bake and write thank-you notes!
10. RS is a GENIUS! She is defending her Master's!!!!!!
*Assessment of Genius-level IQs were done in an unsupervised manner. For more accurate and technically legal results please see K.G.!

Woohoo! What great news and so many Genii! hahaha

:)
B.Bee

T's Bday at Benihana!

2006-12-08T12:24:00.001-05:00

Hi Beelovers!

It was T's bday the other night and we went out to celebrate after our stats final! What a nice celebration - especially after 3 hours of testing....!

:)
B.bee

Hanukkamas 2006 Pictures!

2006-12-03T22:18:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a great looking psych department! We should stick these pictures up on the department web page to lure in new applicants! (Toot Toot!)

Haha!

And one gold star to Leland for having the most correct answers to the Secret Santa/Hanukkah Harry logic puzzle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And another to Nathaniel for giving us the answer (almost- we still had to look for the answer - haha) to the question about printing pics online!!!

Happy holidays folks!

B.bee

Drats!!!!!!!

2006-11-22T00:06:00.000-05:00

Alas! The parking gods did not agree with my argument about the ticket. I had to pay the fine. Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!

But here's some good news - I have somehow managed to get $400 in rewards from B______ (no free advertising here folks! haha). Thus I have a new camera and can now take my own pictures! The two pictures above show us before ordering at the C__________ and the second picture is one of our plates after we ate.

New Trivia:
Of all the online photo sites, which has the cheapest rates for printing regular pictures?

:)
B.bee

Bbbq pics!

2006-11-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Some pictures from our bbq on the beach!

2 SD's below the mean - but getting more action than the rest of us.....

2006-11-19T00:55:00.000-05:00

So MB is under the impression that in the movie I am Sam Michelle Pfeiffer and Sam get it on. She says three friends told her that this scene was in the movie when it was in theaters, but was cut out of the movie once it hit video stores.

Folks, is this fact or fiction? Have her three friends pulled the wool over her eyes for the last four years? Please post your comments. The person who best clarifies the issues gets a gold star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And back to Sam and the action- sheesh! Clearly grad school was the wrong way to go (you know you were thinking it)!

:)
B.bee

Ode to Parking

2006-11-13T22:30:00.000-05:00

Hello folks!

Stinger and I have been traversing the globe so we have neglected to post as of late. Speaking of traveling, can we talk about parking for a second (the stuff you do once you get to where you meant to go)?

I've been thinking about parking a lot lately due to a parking ticket that I received over at school. Ok, if we're being 100% honest it's the second parking ticket I've received at school (well, really the third). ANYWAYS, the point is that I've been robbed. I was parking in a real space that clearly says on the space "Parking, Parking". So I've spent the last 25 minutes composing a small essay to the Ticket Appeals Committee, and I hope they grant my appeal! So now I'm tired so I think I'm going to just post my little appeal here on the web to get the word out that this space is really and truly a valid parking space!!!

:)
B.bee
P.S. Unfortunately, no real winners to the trivia question- the magazine with the highest circulation in the US is AARP- The Magazine. Nathaniel was EXTREMELY close but unfortunately Modern Maturity is the former name of the AARP magazine (it was discontinued in 2003). As Vanessa would say, "Close but no banana." Alas! Thanks for all the good guesses folks!

And now, the appeal!

I am resubmitting this appeal. I submitted the appeal a month ago on October 12, 2006 but the results have not yet been posted on the appeal website. Today, on November 13, 2006, I called the Parking & Transportation Office at ______ to discover what had happened to my appeal. They said that my appeal could be resubmitted.
I received a parking ticket for parking in a space that "was not a space" on the Second Floor of the F____ parking lot on the side of the parking lot facing _____. The parking spot that I had parked in is located near the middle of the floor on the inside of the building. The parking space is demarcated by two white lines along the side. I am appealing this ticket because I legitimately believed that I parked in a valid parking space for the following reasons:
1. For all intents and purposes, the parking space appears to be a valid space. It is demarcated by two white lines. The space in between the white lines clearly says "Parking" on the space twice. Being of sound judgment, I believed that this parking space was a space due to its appearance.
2. I also believed this space to be a valid parking space because it functions the way a valid parking space should. A car easily fits into this space: it fits between the white lines and does not go over the end of the white line. I drive a very small car that fits into the space and still has room to spare. Further, the space is the same width as all of the other valid spaces around it.
3. I believed this space to be a valid parking space because other students told me that it was a valid space. I have asked several students who park in the Flipse parking lot as to their opinion of whether this was a space. They have agreed that this is a legitimate space.
4. I also believed this to be a valid space because of my past experience with this space. I received a ticket for parking in this same space once before. When I appealed the ticket, I was granted the appeal. The committee agreed with my appeal that this was a valid space that did not warrant ticketing. Due to this decision, I truly believed that this was a valid parking space. Thus, I parked in this space again.
5. I believed this to be a real parking space. I would not have chosen to park in an invalid space. I have paid for a parking permit for the entire year. This permit entitles me to parking in any of the available spaces in any discount parking lot. I honestly would not have chosen to park in an invalid space when there are so many parking spaces available in the F____ parking lot. I would not have chosen to park in an invalid space that I would be ticketed for.
I parked in this space because I truly believed that it was a valid and acceptable parking space. I apologize to the committee for any inconvenience this ticketing appeal may cause you.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Best,
B.

Democrats Seize Control of House!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-11-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

Oh it's the best day ever!!!!!!!!!!

Look at the feature article on the NYT home page!
Democrats Seize Control of House; Senate Hangs on Virginia and Montana

Take that Bush!

~b.bee

It's Heather's Bday!

2006-11-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness! Another birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!!

(And to everyone out there- please answer the trivia question!)

Hooray! Another Birthday!

2006-11-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hooray! It's Nicole Z's Bday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We wanted to put up a picture of Nicole but we only have an outdated one so we'll have to refrain this time!

:)
New Trivia Question!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What magazine has the largest circulation in the U.S.? (This one's from Dorene!)

Talk to you all soon! Don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!!!!!!
B.bee

HAPPY BIRTHDAY B-STING!

2006-11-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

IT'S THE B-STING'S BDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY B-STING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you're sitting at home, wondering how you can wish the Stinger a very Happy Birthday - perhaps it might be a good time to click around and send the B-Sting some cold hard cash!?!

...or you could call him!

Women Suck at Driving? Can't Find their Way out of a Box? Maybe we're just smarter than you....

2006-11-03T09:26:00.000-05:00

Olivia was correct! It's actually the link in Cort's watch that's missing! Congrats Olivia! Your IQ has gone up about 3 points in our estimation (95% confidence interval 1-5 points). To all the rest- good try - it was difficult!

Ok, in Assessment class yesterday, Ketty et al. noted that men are better than women at visuospatial reasoning. They cited some questionable evidence (and did not point to peer reviewed journal articles) and also offered some anecdotal evidence. While this may all be very very true, we here at the Hive are pondering the question - is it true that women suck at finding their way around town?

We think it may be socialization - perhaps no one asks women to do certain tasks, like building a birdhouse, putting up cabinets. All of these tasks require the use of visuospatial reasoning. If you never use these skills, how good could your visuospatial reasoning be?

Or maybe women are better than men at these tasks, but we're just too smart to admit that we could do them too. Yes, we could read a map and figure out how to get from here to Orlando. But wouldn't it be so much better to let YOU figure it out while we ride shotgun, listening to Justin as YOU drive us there? Same with the cabinets: "Oh goodness, aren't you just the smartest man ever for figuring out how to pick out those cabinets at Home Depot, bringing them home, and figuring out how to measure the wall and put up those cabinets all by yourself with no help at all from little old me?"

Hahha. Any great insights out there about gender and visuospatial reasoning?
:)
B.B.

A Gold Star! And a new question!

2006-11-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

One gold star goes to Nathaniel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very well done!!!! Phew! That was a tough one!

...and here's a new picture completion for all of you who had trouble with the last one (yes, it was quite difficult - but did you guys notice how many more hits we got when we put up half-nekkid Ethan!)!!! Anyhow, in this picture completion task, you don't get to see the original pic (unless you're MB, Cort, or Leland). Instead, tell us what's missing or not quite right! This one's pretty tough too so we'll give you a hint: "What're they wearing!?"!

The Hardest Trivia Question Yet!

2006-10-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Back by popular demand! A new trivia question! One gold star to anyone who can complete this Picture Completion Task! Name what's different between these two pictures of Ethan!!!!!!!!!!

We know what you're thinking: is this an IQ test? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love ya'll-

The Bee

Today's thought: PUBLISHING, ACNE, WRINKLE CREAM

2006-10-30T12:58:00.000-05:00

Publishing books! Have you ever thought about it... Betty and I are thinking about it! Oh to publish books... when I first started undergrad I was thinking about doing a study on the problems young people face, like acne, premature wrinkles, etc. But, alas, I am left thinking about PUBLISHING, not ACNE and WRINKLE CREAMS!

Ha, ha! The Bumblebee and I are so sneaky.

So You Want to Be a Writer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-29T22:19:00.000-05:00

Hi Drones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know we here at the Hive keep harping about the google ads, but it's fascinating! Stinger and I are making money just sitting around watching movies and studying!!!!!!!! We're up to $17.77!!! So today I picked the brain of a very cute venture capitalist who is into new tech (and no Dorene, he's not a Republican). Anyways, turns out there are certain "niches" in advertising that pay really really well (and we have to give big shout out to Nathan D because he called that one from a mile away)!!!

Anyways, it turns out that lots of people want to be writers and google advertisers pay lots o' money to put up ads about self-publishing! Who knew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we figured we'd have a nice discussion about books and self-publishing! But we know ya'll are super busy so I'm just going to give you some highlights!

Tips for Writing and Publishing Your Own Book:
1. It's all in the title folks! Titles sell books, period. (Um, hello- Devil Wears Prada anyone? Or He's Just not that Into You?)
2. Nothing's New! Remember that and don't get frustrated if you feel like someone did a similar story. You've got a unique point of view!
3. Choose what type of publisher you want. You can always go with a big publishing house- or you can try self-publishing. My friend Steve H published a book with The Writer's Collective, and they look really professional. If you decide to self publish, you can keep more of the profits if the book does well. Anyone out there read Eragon? The kid self-published the book and now it's a big motion picture!!!!
4. Practice! So you have a stats test, wouldn't writing on a blog or finishing a chapter in your book be more fun? We think so!
5. Get Feedback. Eventually, other people need to read your book, so why not start now?

That's all folks! Thanks for reading!!!!!!!!!!
~B.Bee

UPDATES!

2006-10-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Worker Bees!

Dave M. sent me an update on the prostitution/pornography debate! Here are the first two lines from the article -

Why doesn't the creation of an adult video run afoul of laws against pimping and prostitution?
It can. But not in California :-)

Here's the link:
http://www.rame.net/faq/part11.html#xtocid21967

OOOOH!!!! Interesting, no? Ah, you learn so much when you have a blog!

Here are the bzzzzzzzzzz words for the day:
mesothelioma
heirloom/antique diamonds

We're trying to come up with the words that advertisers on google will pay the most for! According to their business model, people who advertise through google bid the amount of money that they're willing to pay for ads. People will pay more for words that they think will bring them big business. So law firms will pay for mesothelioma because when people are searching for mesothelioma, they're going to find out that it's some type of deadly cancer most likely caused by your place of work (a shipyard for instance). Then, right next to that terrible information, you're going to see an advertisement for a lawyer who's gonna help you sue the crap out of the Republican Lords of Commerce who keep the people down!

So we've reasoned that heirloom/antique diamonds might be a word people would pay for too- I mean if you're searching for heirloom diamonds you're most likely wanting to buy them - and shell out money for them!

If you think of any other good words, let us know! B-Sting and I are cornering the market on psychology and bee product ad words. Ocean's taking baking and spa products, and you don't even want to know what Nikki B's taking! I can't remember what N-Dawg's taking but I'm sure it's good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catch ya later Drones! Have a great Sunday! And don't forget to turn back your clocks!!!
~B.Bee

DO IT! SO FUNNY!

2006-10-27T11:34:00.000-04:00

OMG - Click on the Bee Removal ad on the left side of our page - it's HILARIOUS!!!!!!!

Dontcha Wish Your City Was Hot Like Ours....

2006-10-27T10:54:00.000-04:00

Hi Drones!

If your city was hot like ours, you could be taking spur of the moment cruises like E.Z.! Things I like about Miami this week:

1. I am currently drinking a Peanut Butter Smoothie. It's just that hot here - I can drink cold drinks at the end of October! Woohoo!
2. I plan to have dinner at an outdoor cafe tonight!
3. I was looking for a skirt the other day, and I couldn't find it. You know why? It was packed up with my winter clothes- which are pretty much in permanent storage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray!

In other news, we've made $3.46!!!!! Amazing! Thanks for your support! M.C. pointed out that mesothelioma was the highest-paid word at one point, so I'm trying to get ads about mesothelioma. I think they choose your ads based on the words in your blog, so mesothelioma, mesothelioma, mesothelioma! (Sheesh- I hope I spelled that right!)

Keep on working worker bees!
~B.Bee

Oh Goodness!

2006-10-26T16:17:00.000-04:00

Hello to all of our Fans!

B-Sting and I just realized that drones are the bees that are sex slaves to the Queen! Woah! From now on, we may still call you Drones but now we know what they are!

In other news, two gold stars for the week! Cortney was totally on the money with the Pensieve - hooray! (And please post if you have any news about J.K. Rowling and the Hogwarts franchise.) Many thanks to Leland as well for the fantabulous answer to B-Sting's difficult question! He had us stumped over at the Hive!

Catch you later Drones!
Bumblebee

P.S. Don't forget to support our sponsers - grad students need to eat! :)
P.P.S. Please check out Ocean's blog! www.theoceanwaves.blogspot.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pop Quiz!

2006-10-25T12:15:00.000-04:00

Hi Drones,

B-Sting here. Triva time has arrived early - a surprise triva "pop quiz" if you will.

What are the first 13 words in the Charles in Charge Theme song?

Go - Fly Drones! Do your bee dance!

B-Sting

And the winner is....

2006-10-24T22:35:00.000-04:00

Unbelievable! No one knows the answer to last week's trivia question! It's an unsolved mystery - we here at the Hive are going to need to write in to get our question added to the files over at The Best of Unsolved Mysteries!

But good news this week- B-Sting and I are on our way to being millionaires! We've made 80 cents so far with this blog, pats on the back all around and thank you to all of those out there supporting our sponsors (ahem! Mary Beth! ahem!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND NEW TRIVIA!!

Ok, what Harry Potter stone utensil (used by Dumbledore) is this blog named after?

Happy hunting for answers!

Peace out Drones!
Bumblebee

What's in a word?

2006-10-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

Trivia Time!
Today's trivia relates to today's theme! Ok, on Sex and the City, what is the made-up new phrase that Charlotte and her gay-straight boyfriend come up with?

We here at the Beehive have been thinking about words lately. Aren't they the strangest thing? It's weird how even very concrete words are just relative - for example, the word "tall" seems pretty straightforward. But it's actually a complex word. Here in America it means someone who's probably around 6' or up (if you're a guy) and maybe for girls "tall" would mean that you're around 5'9" or up. But in Taiwan, "tall" means someone who's 5'6" or up (boy or girl, hahaha). At some point, you can make any word mean anything - it's all about culture and how people interpret the words within their social context. On Sex & the City, they made up all kinds of words and phrases - that people started to use! (Razzmopolitan, the gay-straight man, the modelizer, etc.)

Have you guys come up with any cool new words or phrases lately? Please post them so we can enjoy them! :)

~Bumblebee

P.S. For example, my friend Vanessa always says "Close but no banana" which you've got to admit is mildly amusing. She also says "That sucks moist wet panties" but I don't think she made that up. It's still really gross though!

The Pensive Bumblebee Ponders....

2006-10-18T21:28:00.000-04:00

Fabio and I have a question:

How is it possible for pornography to be legal but prostitution to be illegal?

Hello to our lawyer friends? Please let us know the answer....

Two Gold Stars Today!

2006-10-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

Many congratulations to MB & Tanya - our Gold Star Champions today! As MB correctly stated, Eric said that he does not believe in diagnoses. And Tanya hit the nail on the head when she said LB Season 2 for "quesa-dil-las". Go Tanya and MB!

2006-10-17T16:35:00.000-04:00

Hi Bee Lovers,

While I should be doing internship applications, my officemate (the beautiful Bettina - aka Bumblebee) and I have a blog! Join the fun!

B-Sting

Psych Students - CRAZY? In school to diagnose themselves? You be the judge....

2006-10-17T15:16:00.000-04:00

How do you know if you're a Nutball? (Check out the above for a visual image of what to look for.)*

Here's a Diagnostic Test to see whether or not you are an Official Nutball:

1. When you read the above statement, did you automatically ask yourself, "Wait, is this a normed test? How is it standardized? There are so many administration issues here!"?

2. Do you print documents double-sided so that you'll be able to carry more articles?

3. Have you switched from a 1" ring binder to a 3" ring binder so that you can obsessively organize your articles and notes in the order in which they were received?

4. Do you have to carry an ID to class because your class gets out so late that you have to SWIPE back into the building?

5. Do you use phrases like "positive reinforcement", "emotionally dysregulated", and "statistically significant" in regular life?

6. Have you had a serious discussion about your favorite printer settings and the collation/finishing tabs?

7. Do you only see the sun when you're walking up the stairs to class and/or the clinic?

8. Have you tried to diagnose your friends and/or secretly slip intelligence test questions into your conversations?

9. Are you highly amused by the fact that the Psych softball team is called "The Bonferroni's"?

10. Did you start a blog so that you wouldn't have to work on stats?

Count the number of times you said "yes" to the above questions.

<5>5-8 Again, not a nutball. But you're definitely a nerd.

8+ You are an official nutball! Congratulations - that probably means you're in Grad School!

(And if you're sitting there trying to figure out what type of assessment this was, you are a Nutball by default- regardless of the rest of your answers!)

~Bumblebee

P.S. *Many thanks to Joelle for her help in organizing the ideas behind this post! For example, she came up with the absolutely brilliant idea to post pics of the nutballs we're talking about! As Nathan says, "Observe, observe, observe." I think we should ask her to do a guest- blog post, please comment as to your opinion on Joelle guest-blogging!
P.P.S. Check out Harley's blog: http://jewbiquitous.blogspot.com/

The First Gold Star! And another question!

2006-10-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

Dorene is correct! Yemen for one gold star! She's a smartie - check out her live journal:
http://englertdk.livejournal.com/

But beware, she quotes herself in it. And doesn't always use peer-reviewed journal articles!

Ok, question two:
Name the show and season: "I love quesa-dil-las."

And for the psych students - who said this: "I don't believe in giving diagnoses."

~The Bumblebee

Hi guys!

2006-10-17T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to our blog! We are competing with another third dot blog that runs trivia contests but doesn't allow people to engage in research. Our blog is not like that- research away! Use that google bar! First to post the correct answer gets a gold star!

Here's our first question:
On Friends, what country does Chandler tell Janice he's moving to so he won't have to dump her?

~The Bumblebee
P.S. Look at my cute niece and cousin!
P.P.S. Look! The Competition! http://mentalhug.blogspot.com/