Helmets, flashing lights, and soy

[da]

Two pieces of interesting bike research, and one nutjob:

Seen via a comment elsewhere via signsoflife: http://community.livejournal.com/bikes/182986.html points to research showing that flashing bike lights may draw people's eyes to them, causing car drivers to steer involuntarily into them. What a pain. Googling "the moth effect" suggests there's evidence that it affects different people differently, and I'm on the fence about switching my tail-light to solid-red instead of flashing. Needs more research.

Another bike-related bit, a researcher at the University of Bath has found that bicyclists who wear helmets are crowded by cars, more so than bare-headed bicyclists. That's what we get for looking more competent.

Speaking of competence, via The Journal of Improbable Research, "proof" that soy is making kids gay. I can't follow his leap from isoflavones to super-strong estrogen, but maybe that's what makes him a NUTJOB.

Comments

[kraig.livejournal.com]

Soy is becoming increasingly used in societies, esp. North America. (I base that on a SWAG.)

People are increasingly coming out of the closet. (I also base that on a SWAG.)

QED. Consuming soy makes you gay.

Now I read the article, and his proof isn't much more conclusive than mine.

Think there's a career for me in jumping to conclusions?

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

...and, of course, everyone knows that Asia has been predominantly gay since the soybean was first cultivated.

You could get a career in baiting scientists.

[kraig.livejournal.com]

sweet!

Think I could get funding?

Maybe it only works when it's cultivated in North America.

[thingo.livejournal.com]

You're close. Actually, you've proven that being gay makes you consume more soy.

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

flydi would fail you both...

[kraig.livejournal.com]

That's ok, I'm interested in notoriety, not marks.

One of my current co-workers, upon meeting me for the first time, said "Oh, YOU'RE *that Mike* from uw.general. I always thought you were, umm... well... bigger."

I want that, only worldwide.

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

ha ha ha.

Guessing: Adrian?

[kraig.livejournal.com]

Yes.

(Necroposting!)

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

It's allliiiiivvvvve... Threads from the graaaavvvvve..

That was so long ago that I'd forgotten what I was laughing about. But you're excused, as it was a fine thread to go back to.

How are those monkeys coming? Trained for the faculty meetings yet?

[kraig.livejournal.com]

They keep running away to get MBAs. Just smart enough to be dangerous, I tells ya. :)

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

Oh good; at least they're likely to stay out of both of our way, then. ;)

[kraig.livejournal.com]

Watch out, they're hiring a new VP Public Relations, and guess what the last one had... :)

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

You could just eat more...

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

SWAG?

[kraig.livejournal.com]

It's a technical term.

It means Scientific Wild-Assed Guess.

[dawn-guy.livejournal.com]

I expect both the numbers and the monkeys you pull out of your butt would be exceptionally well behaved.

[kraig.livejournal.com]

au contraire, I hope that any monkeys that come out of my butt are exceptionally poorly behaved feces-flinging wankers.

Then I'll turn them loose at a faculty meeting, and we can allow people to place bets on which species starts behaving poorly first, like cow-patty bingo, university gets half... hmm.

If you'll excuse me, I have to call ODAA with a new fundraising idea.