i kind of think this is pretty perfect....i adore the layered jewelry w/ a hint of turquoise and i need that china....hope y'all had a fabulous memorial weekend.  we just rolled into town and my house is a disaster so i am pulling myself off of the computer so i can unpack (it's real hard though)!*images courtesy of ruffles and pleats, the pie and the apron life, suziebee&nb...

What's the deal with workshops?

One of my students recently asked me about workshops: what are they, how are they different from conferences, and is it a worth attending them?When it comes to workshops there is huge variation across and within CS subfields, but I'll try to answer generally.ScaleOne might define workshops as conferences on a smaller scale. They usually last anywhere from half a day to several days. They are usually single-track (i.e., only one thing is happening...

TOP TIPS FOR SIGNING YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT

We come across lots of up and coming sports talents looking for advice about signing contracts.Christian Edwards, Partner and Sports Law expert at JCP Solicitors, a leading law firm based in Swansea, gives Sport Wales a few insights into what an up and coming sportsperson should be aware of when signing on the dotted line...Many professional sports contracts are based on certain standard terms set...

And so it begins*

Remember I blogged a few months ago about RSA getting hacked? We are now seeing the first major repercussions of this - Lockheed Martin's attack last week is assumed to be due to this.According to AP, "Lockheed Martin said in a statement that it detected the May 21 attack 'almost immediately' and took countermeasures. As a result, 'our systems remain secure; no customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised.'"Color me unconvinced.To...

we have a 30 day stretch that is absolutely crazy...warren and i look at each other and say "what were we thinking"...starting may 15th it begins...it goes anniversary, taylor's b'day, my b'day, and then walker's...and also packed in there is mother's day and father's day....and this year we added a dance recital.  so if i have been a little off it's b/c i have been going....and we still have...

Letting papers go

Awhile back, a colleague and I wrote a paper and submitted it to a journal. The first round of reviews came back, and one reviewer told us our work was fatally flawed.We went through a few rounds of back-and-forth with the editor, all the while repeating that Reviewer #7* was mistaken because of such-and-such reason.Recently my colleague and I were examining our resubmission. My colleague drew a picture to clarify something, and I stopped dead in...

Kit Heath's New Retail Furniture!

Kit Heath Roll Out Stunning Retail Furniture! Kit Heath is rolling out a stunning range of Retail Furniture and in little over 2 months has secured ten store locations and has significant interest from many other retailers.The Kit Heath in store retail concept has been created to deliver an unrivalled experience in jewellery presentation and communication.As a further means to support the retailer...

Food Reward: a Dominant Factor in Obesity, Part IV

What is Food Reward?After reading comments on my recent posts, I realized I need to do a better job of defining the term "food reward".  I'm going to take a moment to do that here.  Reward is a psychology term with a specific definition: "a process that reinforces behavior" (1).  Rewarding food is not the same thing as food that tastes good, although they often occur together.  Read more...

i'm so excited that it is summer and tay is out of school for a little while.  i look forward to a more laid back day...hanging in our pj's a little longer is the best!!  now if someone would magically put a pool in our back yard it would be perfect!! *images courtesy of because i'm addicted, lauren stern design, black eiffel, citified, pinter...

Why movie-playing software has a "repeat" button

Short shameful confession: I had more fun than I can possibly tell you when I drew that last comic. Not only is it fun to create comics visually, but Comic Life makes these adorable sound effects when you resize images, delete them, increase the font sizes, etc.My readers who are software designers - you seriously need to make more programs have cute sound effects. Can you imagine how much more joyful...

Wales will host the Celtic Tri Nations Championships for the first time this weekend. Swimmers from Wales, Scotland and Ireland will go head to head at Wales National Pool, Swansea.  Georgia Davies clinches bronze in Delhi Catherine Shearer, Senior Sports Psychologist at Sport Wales, explains why the event will assist our next generation of swimmers on the road to the 2014 Commonwealth...

Why is Watson a 'he'?

So there was an article recently about how Watson was moving beyond jeopardy and going into medicine.Throughout the article, Watson is referred to with male pronouns. Personally, I always refer to computers as, 'it'. To do otherwise is just feels strange to me. It would be like giving my lettuce gender. "My, he's very crispy tonight."What I found even more strange about the article was how Watson was going to beat "his competitor", another diagnosis...

Healthy Skeptic Podcast

Chris Kresser has just posted our recent interview/discussion on his blog The Healthy Skeptic.  You can listen to it on Chris's blog here.  The discussion mostly centered around body fat and food reward.  I also answered a few reader questions.  Here are some highlights:How does the food reward system work? Why did it evolve?Why do certain flavors we don’t initially like become appealing over time?How does industrially processed...

i started working in design back in college.  i got a part time job (that eventually became a full time job) here.  at MDI i met the best group of girls.  there were 5 of us that worked together for years.  we had the best time....i miss those girlies...they taught me so much about interior design.  one of those girls was jenny keenan.  i remember returning from my honeymoon...

What it feels like to be me

Today on Scientopia I write about what it feels like to be me.(As an aside, I must admit I feel very uncomfortable labeling a post in this manner. There's something very teenage diary about it. But it seemed the most appropriate. If I titled it, "What it feels like to be a female computer scientist", it would be as though I were representing all female computer scientists... which would be extremely ironic considering the post's conten...

Fast Food, Weight Gain and Insulin Resistance

CarbSane just posted an interesting new study that fits in nicely with what we're discussing here.  It's part of the US Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which is a long-term observational study that is publishing many interesting findings.  The new study is titled "Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis" (1).  The results speak for themselves,...

A Tryst by Typo

One of my email accounts is spelled in a very similar way to another person's, so sometimes I get their mail. We share a name. (Let's say it's "Ada").   A few weeks ago, I got a letter that looked something like this:Hey Dr. Ada,   I know its prolly not appropriate to be writing this, but I cant wait to see u nekkid, covered in chocolate. Happy Easter, SamMy first thought was, "OMG! Did I have a student named Sam? What the...

Kit Heath talk about the increase in silver price

Kit Heath talk about the increase in silver price The 1980's saw an increase in the price of silver to $50 an ounce, what the industry retailers and consumers want to is; will it happen again?It looks like it might..... As is well documented the price of silver has risen significantly over the last 12 months. It was just $18 this time last year and at the end of 2010 was “only” $28 an ounce....

see y'all next week...

Food Reward: a Dominant Factor in Obesity, Part III

Low-Fat Diets In 2000, the International Journal of Obesity published a nice review article of low-fat diet trials.  It included data from 16 controlled trials lasting from 2-12 months and enrolling 1,910 participants (1).  What sets this review apart is it only covered studies that did not include instructions to restrict calorie intake (ad libitum diets).  On average, low-fat dieters reduced their fat intake from 37.7 to 27.5 percent...

CEIC 2011

Hello Readers,Thanks to everyone who came to my session at CEIC 2011, I hope you enjoyed it. Here are my slides: link that I used in my presentation. I'll have the code up soon for everyone to download. I'll be making one post per exchange version so I can explain the procedur...

She said, he read (and he read, and he read..)

Several times in the recent past I have written an email to a single person asking them a question. They replied to my question, but in their reply they carbon copied (cc'd) several other people. In one instance the cc'd person was relevant. In another instance the cc'd people were most definitely not relevant, and I was surprised to find the responder write, "We discussed your question and decided..."I understand people are trying to be helpful,...

Clarifications About Carbohydrate and Insulin

My statements about carbohydrate and insulin in the previous post seem to have kicked up some dust!  Some people are even suggesting I've gone low-fat!  I'm going to take this opportunity to be more specific about my positions.I do not think that post-meal insulin spikes contribute to obesity, and they may even oppose it. Elevated fasting insulin is a separate issue-- that's a marker of insulin resistance.  It's important not to confuse...

today is taylor's first dance recital.  yesterday was dress rehearsal and i was that mom that got teary eyed watching my daughter dance.  dance was a huge part of my childhood...i danced for 16 yrs and my parents attended countless recitals and performances. it feels really special being on the other side watching taylor do the same thing. *i wish i was creative enough to have a ballerina...

And our survey says…This week, we’re sending out the School Sport Survey to every single school and college in Wales. This is like the census of school sport!We’ll not only be asking teachers to complete the survey but primary and secondary schoolchildren too.In our latest blogpost, Rachel Hughes, Research Manager at Sport Wales, gives us 8 reasons why the school sport survey is important...

Taking a risk for someone else

I read this article last night, and it brought tears to my eyes. It's about James Zwerg, a white college student who was part of a group of non-violent civil rights activists (the Freedom Riders) who rode an integrated bus though the deep south in 1961. They did this to prove a point - travel facilities on the interstates in the South were just as segregated and racist as they ever were despite the Supreme Court's rulings, and it was time for...

Sejarah Lingerie

The "lingerie" pertama?Ketika kita berpikir tentang lingerie seksi, kita berpikir cahaya, bahan tipis, biasanya tembus, tersampir memuja atas tubuh perempuan, yang mencakup hanya cukup untuk merangsang laki-laki mudah dipengaruhi. Tapi jauh sebelum Kristus, di pulau Kreta, di Laut Mediterania, perempuan sangat berani. Gagasan mereka lingerie adalah korset korset bertulang, dirancang bukan untuk dukungan, tetapi untuk menggoda pria, dengan mendorong...