Category Archives: Style

August 1, 2010 · 11:02 am

Chapter 9: Black Cord Fever | My Southern Gothic Life

I have a new post up on the other blog, MySouthernGothicLife.com.

Here is an excerpt and link to the full post:

I know people today think that you come out of the womb with your cell phone already in your hands so you can call your mother and tell her you’ve been born.

However, there was a time when everyone did not have cell phones.

There was a time when there was only one phone in the house.  And it stayed there.

It had a long black or white cord that tied it to the wall.  You had to go to it and talk where it was, no matter who else was around.

Of course back in those long ago days, we believed in the quaint concept of privacy, so people would normally give you your space.  We also actually had secrets and hid things from our parents.  Our parents were even known to keep secrets from each other as well as from us.  All, alas is gone with the winds of change…

It was a primitive time, but we managed to survive.

Click here to read the full post : Chapter 9: Black Cord Fever | My Southern Gothic Life.

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Filed under My Journey, Social Commentary, Style, The South

July 31, 2010 · 3:43 pm

Intelligence: The Evolution of Night Owls | Psychology Today

Now I know why I keep the hours I keep!

I just saw this article thanks to John over at Americablog.  Here is an excerpt and the link to the full article.

IQs and Zs

Night owls are smarter than other people, and now we may know why. The modern world contains many features our slow-to-evolve brains still find unfamiliar—cars, TVs, hot dogs on a stick. But the world has always thrown new stuff at us, and brighter humans may adapt more ably.

Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at The London School of Economics and Political Science, argues that, while we have specialized mental modules for navigation, social interaction, and other age-old tasks, general intelligence is its own module handling only evolutionarily novel circumstances. And he has data showing that people with higher IQs are more likely to have values and preferences that just didn’t make sense for our ancestors to embrace. One of those is staying up late.

A previous study found that evening people are smarter than morning people. In a new paper, Kanazawa replicates the finding and provides a theoretical grounding. Because the nocturnal lifestyle allowed by electricity didn’t exist 10,000 years ago, we must now rely on general intelligence to override our early-to-bed instincts. So those with more of it stay up later. How much later? See below.

and:

Night Lights

Bedtimes and wake-up times for Americans in their 20s by IQ.

Very Dull (IQ < 75)

Weekday: 11:41 P.M.-7:20 A.M.

Weekend: 12:35 A.M.-10:09 A.M.

Normal (90 < IQ < 110)

Weekday: 12:10 A.M.-7:32 A.M.

Weekend: 1:13 A.M.-10:14 A.M.

Very Bright (IQ > 125)

Weekday: 12:29 A.M.-7:52 A.M.

Weekend: 1:44 A.M.-11:07 A.M.

via Intelligence: The Evolution of Night Owls | Psychology Today.

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July 29, 2010 · 11:14 pm

Your Flip-Flops Might Land You in the ER* – Lemondrop.com

I’ve been saying these things are the personification of evil!

You may think you’re doing your feet a favor by slipping on a pair of flip-flops, but it turns out the ubiquitous summer sandals are more perilous than they appear.

In the U.K. alone, the National Health Service spends the equivalent of $62 million a year treating injuries, falls and long-term problems caused by the footwear, with over 200,000 people going to seeking medical treatment as a result of wearing the shoes.

via Your Flip-Flops Might Land You in the ER* – Lemondrop.com.

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Filed under Entertainment, Social Commentary, Style