Most of the time, the lottery is a stealth tax on those who won't do math, but last Wednesday, it was a good investment. The sum of the cash value of each prize, divided by the odds of winning it, reached $2.53 on a $2 (26%), $3.03 on a $3 PowerPlay ticket (1%). Yes, PowerPlay is the lottery for people who really won't do math; the better strategy ( Read more... )

A sure sign the student body is returning to normal here at Virginia Tech: random Asian student playing a first-person shooter in the computer lab yesterday.

Clint's macho cop character in Blood Work: ... saw the killer at an ATM machine (sic)....

I shall hold him accountable for the downfall of English.

Ever wonder what was so special about the Land of Milk and Honey? After all, if I were looking for a paradisiacal new home, it might well be the Land of Salmon and Berries, but that wouldn't be the same at all. The neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine are made in the brain from the amino acids tryptophan and phenylalanine (via tyrosine), ( Read more... )

Ah, once again, I am vindicated: I've been saying NSAIDS are decent anti-inflammatories but don't do squat for pain outside of the placebo effect, and now, the only clown with an MD to disagree with me "regrets" that he faked 21 studies that suggested otherwise. I'm not too dignified to take my "Ha-Ha ( Read more... )

and who thought this was a good replacement?

...on the scope of curses ( Read more... )

Look, something SCIENCE! did actually worked: an order of magnitude decrease in the average lead blood level between 1976 and 2002 [0.71 to 0.07 μmol/L (14.6 to 1.5 μg/dL ( Read more... )

I am on a quest of text. Has Gaza been pounded on a solid lead or by solid lead?
Ahh, Freddie, where is Radio when I need it?

Edit: The Telegraph translates it as "Cast Lead" so I suppose we're going with the short vowel and less certainty in their information.

"Interesting observations ... were obtained by transplantations from allergic donors to non-allergic recipients. Bone marrow is able to transfer all allergic manifestations, while lung transplantation transfers only asthma." And nobody wants my allergies ;-) It actually makes me wonder about the gallons of blood the Red Cross has harvested from ( Read more... )