Letter Never Sent Tell me when to go.

From this interesting program, The Naked Face, at The Connection: “The face not only displays emotions, but generates them as well.” [sic]

Apparently Movable Type has a vulnerability that has turned my webhost into a spam machine. I noticed some bounce back emails from email addresses that don’t exist on the letterneversent.com domain and this vulnerability bulletin would explain that. Download the fix for it there too.

From National Geographic:

Partners of capuchins who made the swap either received the same reward (a cucumber slice), or a better reward (a grape, a more desirable food), for the same amount of work or, in some cases, for performing no work at all.

Brosnan said the response to the unequal treatment was astonishing: Capuchins who witnessed unfair treatment and failed to benefit from it often refused to conduct future exchanges with human researchers, would not eat the cucumbers they received for their labors, and in some cases, hurled food rewards at human researchers.

Those actions were significant. They confirmed that not only did capuchins expect fair treatment, but that the human desire for equity has an evolutionary basis.

I sleep on my side and back. What does that mean? Study: Sleeping Position Reveals Personality Traits:

Crouched in the fetal position is the most popular sleep pattern and favored by 51 percent of women, according to the results of the study he conducted for a large hotel group.

Fetal sleepers tend to be shy and sensitive while people who assume the soldier position, flat on their back with arms at their sides, are quiet and reserved.

Sleeping on one’s side with legs outstretched and arms down in what Idzikowski refers to as the log, indicates a social, easy-going personality. But if the arms are outstretched in the yearner position, the person tends to be more suspicious.

The freefall, flat on the tummy with the hands at the sides of the head, is the most unusual position. Only 6.5 percent of people prefer it and they are usually brash and gregarious.

Unassuming, good listeners usually adopt the starfish position — on the back with outstretched arms and legs.

CNN Money: How’s your cell service rate?: See how the different networks stack up for quality of service. I still get shitty reception at my house.

Here’s a photo of some bioenginoodled mice. They glow greenish blue. There are also glowing fish and glowing rabbits, most likely coming soon to a petstore or AllMart near you.

I’m not sure how I should feel about this. On the one hand, I rather like the idea of biological monstrosities like cute glowing fish or cows that squirt chocolate milk, but then on the other hand I don’t want to be trying to rid my rose bushes of the super-intelligent rats or dealing with sharks that can talk. I have a full plate as it is dealing with ordinary creatures, like ants (damn them) and mosquitoes (double damn them).

After all this making of ‘designer pets’, what if people get the big idea to start noodling with human beings? Wouldn’t most parents simply try to have the most attractive, intelligent, and fit genetically engineered children? Wouldn’t that just make it boring to be attractive? Maybe those in the shallow end of the gene pool are necessary so people appreciate intelligence, health, and vigor, so why mess with it? Although, no one wants to be ugly or stupid, so maybe that’s not fair. Maybe people should just not judge other people on whether they’re ugly or stupid, but that’s almost certainly unrealistic.

1. Many Women May Ovulate More Than Once a Month, Study Says
2. Marriage ‘tames’ geniuses, criminals:
   Kanazawa suggests “a single psychological mechanism” is responsible for this: the competitive edge among young men to fight for glory and gain the attention of women. That craving drives the all-important male hormone, testosterone. After a man settles down, the testosterone level falls, as does his creative output, Kanazawa theorises.
3. Wired article on machinima

The only thing is, if this guy can do it couldn’t someone else? I wonder if the other governments of the world are studying this and making their own maps. I’m sure the US has probably done something like this with other countries.

Handsome men have the best sperm:

researchers showed that men with the healthiest, fastest sperm were rated as the most facially attractive by women.

The characteristics of a person’s face have long been regarded as an indicator of health. But this is the first direct evidence to suggest a man’s reproductive quality correlates with his facial characteristics, say the authors.

Maria Sancho-Navarro, a team member at the University of Valencia, Spain, said that symmetrical faces were rated as more attractive by the women. And other studies have shown that people with more symmetrical features are less likely to suffer ill health.

1. Hormones Linked to Dementia in Women:
   Women who take hormones for years run a higher risk of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia, according to yet another startling study that turns upside down what doctors have long believed about supplements.
2. Seeing Islam as ‘Evil’ Faith, Evangelicals Seek Converts:
   “Here in the Koran, it says slay them, slay the infidels!” said the teacher, who said he did not want to be identified because being a missionary to Muslims put his life at risk. “In the Bible there are no words from Jesus saying we should kill innocent people.”

   God’s invitation to the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites to the last man is an obvious example of how this argument against Islam is ludicrous. In fact, it only points out the dangers associated with religious zealotry of any flavor.

3. An American road map will lead nowhere:
   So how is Sharon going to handle Bush’s road map? He will envelop it in kind words while simultaneously slowing it down with reservations. He will try to hold out until the 2004 American presidential elections, trusting that the Palestinians will deliver the final death blow to the plan with their insane and self-defeating terrorism. Sharon is counting on Bush not to repeat the mistake of his father, who, while campaigning for a second term, took on the state of Israel and its loyal American Jews, and subsequently lost his job.