Quarter Life Kid

Cogito ergo sum, maybe, but not Cogito ergo sunt.

2006-08-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

Which is to say, many think that given the vastness of the universe, there must be other forms of life (ala Drake's Equation). But the fact we exist is totally insufficient to assume any other life exists. It's like winning the Powerball lottery and then assuming a bunch of other people must have won it, too. Think about that.

Meta Idea of the Day: The Voice Mail

2006-07-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Next time you call a buddy on his/her cell and go into voicemail, leave a message that makes it sound like your buddy has just called you and went into your voice mail. This should give your buddy an overwhelming urge to leave a message despite the fact that he/she is in his/her own voice mail.

Here's how it works:

You: Call buddy -- RING RING RING -- no answer. Goes into voicemail.
Buddy: "Hi, you've reached [buddy]. Leave a message and I'll call you back." BEEP.
You: "Hi, you've reached [you]! Sorry I missed your call, but leave me a message, and I'll get right back to you!" Mimic beeping noise.. "BEEP"
Buddy: Listens to your voicemail. Meta confusion -- has an overwhemling urge to leave a message.

Three days after Zidane lost it

2006-07-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

the world's armchair psychologists have already grown tired of asking simply "why'd he do it." Inquiring Minds are peering deep into Zidane's psyche... and it's not pretty.

The Mirror takes us Inside the Tormented Mind of Zinedine Zidane and finds "a man of contrasts" who is "quiet and reserved off the pitch." But -- look in your browser address bar -- the paper's real diagnosis is embedded in the article's URL, which includes the text: "crazzy-name--crazzy-guy."

The BBC, meanwhile, has done its own psychoanalysis and concludes Zidane is a flawed genius, noting that "Sunday was still a final reminder of the human frailty of a player who so often looked like he was from another planet." What now?

But leave it to the amateur shrinks at Fox to tell us what they really think in an article titled Zidane a 'psychological' mess.