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Colors, Geek, Personal

I Have Super Mutant Powers

Dec 29. 2006

...or so I think. I had written before that I have a gift of seeing color. I always saw colors others couldn't...but I just brushed it off as one of those weird, quirky things about me. Now I've discovered that there may be a scientific explanation: I may be a tetrachromat. A what-a-mat? A genetic mutation that allows some women (sorry guys, girls only) to see 100 million colors as opposed to the normal 1 million. Here is the full article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Some women may see 100 million colors, thanks to their genes Wednesday, September 13, 2006 By Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Susan Hogan can't be sure, but it wouldn't surprise her if she turned out to be a tetrachromat. A tetrachromat is a woman who can see four distinct ranges...

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Geek in Heels
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Funny, Personal

Jenny vs. Destiny

Dec 20. 2006

Is this a deep, thought-provoking, "where is my life going" entry? No. Destiny is a person's name. Keep reading - it gets interesting. Ever since I switched my cell phone number two months ago, I've been receiving numerous calls for someone named Destiny. I had just figured that my new number must be a recycled number, and that the calls will eventually stop. But they never stopped. Sometimes I would receive up to 5 calls a day asking for Destiny. Several times these calls came in the middle of the night. And they were all from men. I should have suspected something. But I never would've guessed...

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Geek in Heels
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Art/Design, Music

Music as Visual Art

Dec 17. 2006

Are you a musician? Do you play a musical instrument? Do you know how to read music? If any of these questions pertains to you, you might be interested in a composer named George Crumb. Crumb is famous for distorting his scores in shapes indicative of the mood he's trying to set. Case in point, the spiral-shaped score for "Spiral Galaxy: Aquarius": Try playing THAT. I wish I had a piano handy. A few more examples of his scores can be viewed here. (And if you can read Japanese, maybe you can tell me what the site says.) Reading about Crumb reminded me of one of my favorite painters, Wassily Kandinsky. Considered to be one of the fathers of abstract expressionism, Kandinsky was fascinated with the emotional response evoked...

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Geek in Heels
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Art/Design, Marketing/Advertising

Olympic Mascots

Dec 11. 2006

Here are the mascots of the 2008 Olympics, which is being held in Beijing: The "Five Friendlies" represent the largest number of mascots since the practice began in 1972. You can find out more about them at http://en.beijing2008.com/37/03/column211990337.shtml. The website includes a history of the Olympic mascot(s), and immediately my eyes were drawn to Hodori, the mascot of the 1988 Seoul Games: I don't think I'm being biased in believing that he's the most charismatic, attractive, and well-designed of the 9 featured in the "Olympic Mascots of the past Olympiad" section. Which do you think is the best? Looking at Hodori brought back fond memories. Hodori was everywhere right before I came to the US (my family immigrated in spring 1988). Thus, my fondest and most vivid memories of my former...

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Geek in Heels
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Career, Personal

Corporate Slavedom

Dec 05. 2006

Yesterday I read an article which was linked on Slashdot. It caught my attention because I’m still in the process of paving a career path. In the midst of researching and reading up on the myriad of options that are available for recent grads who are still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives, I have come across several articles of this nature. This segment in particular struck me: Years ago if you put in long hours and worked hard for a company, you were rewarded with gradual promotions, longer vacations, medical insurance, and a healthy retirement plan. Most people expected to work 20 years or more at one company. Today to get ahead and save for a reasonable retirement, workers often must hop from...

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Geek in Heels
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