A fair and balanced compendium of spontaneous exclamations and excited utterances, with 22 entries on the front page.

And, now, Home of the YATSASS™ Reports

Yet Another True Story About Stupid Studies:

Friday, February 24, 2006


YATSASS: Depressed People May Take Drugs To Feel Better

Alright, that's not really fair. This study on Ecstasy (MDMA) use, did reveal a bit more than that, although really only a milligram or so:

Dutch researchers found that children who suffered from depression were more likely to go on to use the drug when they grew up to make them feel better.

The appearance later in life of emotional problems in these people might not therefore be primarily due to their use of ecstasy, but could reflect pre-existing conditions.

Duly citing other studies that are contradictory, without contradicting them (a YATSASS favorite methodology,) Dr. Anja Huizink, assistant professor at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam continued with her profound thought:

"Other studies claim that ecstasy leads to depression," Huizink told Reuters. "Sometimes that is the case. But perhaps it is more the case that individuals who already have an increased risk for depression are more likely to use ecstasy.

Here we go, out on that YATSASS limb again. Dr. Huizink, are you actually telling us that people who are depressed may seek out a drug that is said to help the body relax, reduce inhibitions, increase energy, and bring feelings of euphoria? Outrageously risky statement, isn't it? Perhaps you'd like to qualify that, and call for more studies (more YATSASS favorite methodology).

"Perhaps for individuals who did not display symptoms of depression and anxiety in childhood, using a lot of ecstasy may also cause depression. We are not saying that is not the case, but we need more studies," said Huizink.

Faneffentastick! She's completed the compulsories: A qualification on the finding, and a call for more studies, and...Oh!, yes!... I don't believe it isn't... she's thrown in a double negative! (Even the East German judge is going to have to give this a 9.9)

Next on the agenda? A study to see whether people who now have a hard time getting up in the morning used to drink coffee, and an interesting bit of investigation that may show that diet pills make you fat, since mostly fat people have taken them...

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Judge Phizzle ain't down wit da shizzle

Judge Lloyd Phillips must be one stodgy old dude. He'd rather let an obvious case of attempted child molestation go unprosecuted than to allow some street talk in his court room:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Prosecutors said they had to drop a case against a man accused of trying to accost an 11-year-old girl because a judge wouldn't allow testimony about a slang term involving R. Kelly.

So, we have a 30 year old guy in a car who cruises along side a a young girl. He rolls down his window and asks her how old she is, and she says "11." The guy actually askes her if shes has a boyfriend, and then, according to the witness, announced that "he was fixing to do an R. Kelly." When he pulled over and opened his car door, she ran away.

Good call judge, no doubt the man simply meant he was about to sing some dirty R&B.

For anyone else who hasn't read a newspaper, magazine or watched TV in the last 5 years, R. Kelly continues to fight charges that he had sex with a 14 year old girl, despite the existence of a fairly clear videotape showing otherwise.

Just how long must a new word be used before its meaning is allowed in court? When experts can be used to decipher mob conversations about birds and clocks, and tell the jury it was about drugs and murder, this decision is whack.

Oh, and we mean whack in a gangsta, not gangster, way.

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Friday, February 17, 2006


Our little boy hits the big time!

Security experts on Thursday identified a new computer worm that specifically targets Mac computers running OS X, a rarity since most worms target the broader base of PCs with Microsoft's Windows. Experts, however, consider the threat low.

High, Low, Inbetween? Doesn't matter! It's the thought that counts!

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Tuesday, February 14, 2006


Caption Contest?

This photo showed up in my Reuters Headlines yesterday, and the "Michael Chertoff discusses pre-Katrina blah blah blah..." seemed so, I don't know, blah. Now, no shooting fish in a barrel - captions that have to do with size of [name]'s manhood, brain, or amount of thought need not apply.
Michael Chertoff refutes Kanye West's allegation that George Bush does not care about Black people at all.
Next?
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Wednesday, February 01, 2006


Find Music You'll Love - Pandora

Anybody remember Firefly? It was a way cool project run by MIT back in the mid 90's during the first first Internet boom (not to be confused with any of the subsquent so-called first Internet booms.) Developed by Pattie Maes (who, as she skis, dives, is beautiful, and brilliant is the perfect woman), Firefly was a Software Agent that helped you find more of what you like. To briefly explain, you could type in Ramones and then Mozart and it would say Try Dave Edmunds or Kate Bush. You could type in The Grand Illusion, The Harder They Come and Eraserhead and it would return Go see Repo Man or Rude Boy.

Firefly was truly brilliant and truly creepy all at once. Its supposed mechanism was not looking at similarities in what you liked, but in looking for items in the lists of people who liked things you liked and suggesting things they listed that you had not. Like all good things on the Internet during the first, first boom, it was free and it went away.

Fast forward a dozen years, enter Pandora from the Music Genome Project. Similar idea, different methodology, awesome result. Pandora asks you to name a recording artist or composition. It then plays (yes, streaming high quality free music) songs with similar musical qualities. Real live musicians have catalogued almost half a million records on the basis of things like vocal harmony, rhythmic syncopation, acoustic rhythm piano, vocal centric aesthetics, mixed minor & major tonality... wtf?

Completely different methodology - although both methodologies are beyond the ken of mortals, but similar sublime result. I am hearing music that I have always loved, but have never heard! You just need to go and try it out. Create your own radio station that plays only what you like! My radio station WRAF, is a little too heavy on emotional female vocal-centric aesthetic, but I'll fix that in a couple minutes. Yeah, you keep telling Pandora what you like and don't like with a TIVO like thumbs system, or just type in more songs or artists that you like, and your personal station keeps getting better and better.

It feels good to rave. Go get your own while it's free and it's still here!
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© 2002-2008 Rob Falk, All Rights Reserved. All Wrongs Denied.
Your mileage won't vary; it will be less.
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