the lovers

One of my hobbies is collecting tarot decks. Not out of any sense of their having any sort of divinatory power (quite the opposite), but as fascinating examples of the myriad approaches to creating art within an existing structural framework. Unfortunately, most of the tarot web resources have traditionally been dedicated to the more woo-woo aspects, but a couple of years ago Adam McLean, a well-know collector in Scotland, started a forum focusing specifically on collecting tarot as art. I immediately joined, and some months later was banned from the forum, the only time in over 20 years online I have ever been banned - but that's another story. (I was eventually invited back.)

Anyway, the point of all this is that the forum members organize a yearly (so far) collaborative tarot deck. I missed the first one because of my exile, but rather blithely signed up for a card for this year's deck. Of course, when I signed up in February the July due date seemed so far away. Now, not so much. So this weekend has been pretty much entirely dedicated to this:

(As always, click on the image for a larger version.)

scary movie

(via Skull Swap)

"presidential post-acquittal detention power"

Jesus fucking christ.

I go away for a couple of days, and look what happens.

(painting by feroze13)

on the road again

Descending into the southland for a few days. Back later in the week.

"health-care industry spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying"

From today's Washington Post:

The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.
...

Nearly half of the insiders previously worked for the key committees and lawmakers, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), debating whether to adopt a public insurance option opposed by major industry groups. At least 10 others have been members of Congress, such as former House majority leaders Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), both of whom represent a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm.

The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records.

But I'm sure we're going to get a great plan. Those lawmakers would never let a measly $1.4 million dollars a day outweigh their responsibility to their constituents.

Right?

"i saw it with my own eyes!"

Take a close look at the color pattern below:

What you most probably see are spirals of three colors: green, blue and an orangish magenta. Looking closer, you'll notice that there are narrow bands of orange running though the pattern (that's why the magenta spirals look orangish). So, four colors total?

Wrong.

There are only three colors in the pattern.

"How can that be?" you might reasonably ask.

And the answer is that what appear to be green and blue spirals are actually the same color.

"No fucking way!" you might reasonably reply.

Well, my friend, fucking way.

If you want to confirm this for yourself, open the image in Photoshop or other image editor. You'll see that both the apparent green and blue colors are exactly the same (RGB values of 0, 255, 150). A detailed explanation of how this illusion works can be found on Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy Blog. The source of the image itself is Akiyoshi Kitaoka's endlessly amazing optical illusion web site. Another astonishing Kitaoka illusion, too big to fit here, can be seen at this link.

Pretty cool, huh? But, in addition to just sharing something seriously cool, I want to make the same point Phil does. You can't necessarily believe your eyes. And by extension, you can't necessarily trust your other senses either. Our brains can be fooled. Easily. So when someone tells you about how they heard their guardian angel talking to them, saw Bigfoot, Jesus, or a big-eyed grey alien, spoke to a dead relative though a medium, or just know vaccines cause autism because their "mommy sense" tells them so, don't be reluctant to call bullshit. Personal anecdotes are not proof. That's what the scientific method is for. It's why Richard Feynman so famously stated that "Science is what we have learned about how to keep from fooling ourselves."

happy 4th

Everything great about America, wrapped up in one stunning photograph.

(via Awkward Family Photos)

"news"

Honestly, is any comment really necessary?

(via Bravo Sierra Whiskey)

ceci n'est pas un chien avec une pipe

(via flickr)

quote of the day

From Neil deGrasse Tyson:

"Science is basically an inoculation against charlatans."

And it seems like fewer and fewer people in the USA are getting the vaccine.