My soup

A Skeptic’s Guide to Biofreeze

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:13:16 GMT

If you’re of a skeptical mindset (that is, ready to question just about any claim you come across), then you are aware that the Internet is full of woo. Most of the time it’s easy to spot, but sometimes it is cleverly disguised. And quite often, even normal, [...]

opm fire alarm going off, standing outside now

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:37:00 GMT

opm fire alarm going off, standing outside now

What I’m Reading

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:02 GMT

I normally just paste individual links on Facebook, and I will probably continue to do that to some degree, but it’s not exactly a public way of sharing what I am reading, unless you happen to be one of my Facebook friends. So instead of doing that, I am going to try the same [...]

Berlin Wall was a good start, but there are less substantial and more signifi...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:30:25 GMT

Berlin Wall was a good start, but there are less substantial and more significant walls still standing.

To Rep. Gerry Connolly: Please vote for health insurance reform. www.barackob...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:31:15 GMT

To Rep. Gerry Connolly: Please vote for health insurance reform. www.barackobama.com/... #hc09 #VA #22015 #hcr

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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:32:23 GMT

Morning ride: gaggle of geese clustered on the lawn by the Washington Monumen...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:06 GMT

Morning ride: gaggle of geese clustered on the lawn by the Washington Monument; the sidewalks are starting clear up from the falling leaves.

UN NCRE interview results are out for IT. Looks like I passed the interview,...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:09:00 GMT

UN NCRE interview results are out for IT. Looks like I passed the interview, so now my name is on a roster. www.un.org/...

Rode with the US Capitol Police for a short distance this morning. They like...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:32:05 GMT

Rode with the US Capitol Police for a short distance this morning. They liked my folding bike.

#USAJOBS RFI in progress on FBO. We're looking for great ideas: www.fbo.gov/...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:28:37 GMT

#USAJOBS RFI in progress on FBO. We're looking for great ideas: www.fbo.gov/... Reply to RFI if your company can help! Closes Nov 20.

Awfully good of #Verizon to tell us beforehand that the online change we're a...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:40:54 GMT

Awfully good of #Verizon to tell us beforehand that the online change we're about to make would incur early termination fees. /sarcasm #fail

Picked up The IT Crowd on Netflix streaming. Awesome series, check it out if...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:58:45 GMT

Picked up The IT Crowd on Netflix streaming. Awesome series, check it out if you haven't seen it.

Bix Cruz: plagiarize much? (orig: online.wsj.com/... copy: bixcruz.wordpress....

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:16:19 GMT

Bix Cruz: plagiarize much? (orig: online.wsj.com/... copy: bixcruz.wordpress.com/... ) Nice copy and paste dude. The whole site is like that.

Hah! M$ totally scoops Google w/ #Bing's inclusion of tweets. @ajanhelendam: ...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:54:15 GMT

Hah! M$ totally scoops Google w/ #Bing's inclusion of tweets. @ajanhelendam: www.wired.com/... Google plays catch-up, will take months.

5 years later, 5 ways that Ubuntu has made Linux more human

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:45:23 GMT

Today is the fifth anniversary of the Ubuntu Linux distribution. To celebrate the past five years of brown, we decided to have a look at five ways that Ubuntu has helped make the open source Linux operating system more human.

http://digg.com/linux_unix/5_years_later_5_ways_that_Ubuntu_has_made_Linux_more_human

#wmata let me down twice this afternoon. First bus left the stop 2 minutes ea...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:20:34 GMT

#wmata let me down twice this afternoon. First bus left the stop 2 minutes early, 2nd bus didn't even slow down. I was standing right there!

Got flu shot. in 2 wks I will develop antibodies that will vastly decrease my...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:45:12 GMT

Got flu shot. in 2 wks I will develop antibodies that will vastly decrease my chances of getting seasonal flu. Next up H1N1.

UN NCRE Interview

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:35:34 GMT

On October 16, 2009, I sat for the United Nations National Competitive Recruiting Exam (UN NCRE) P2 Interview in New York City, USA. Since I am in Washington, DC, now, it was a 2 hour, 45 minute train ride up the east coast. I had to get up pretty early to get there with enough [...]

The Triumph of Plan B

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:16:41 GMT

When I moved to the Washington, DC, area a few months ago, I had a grand master plan on how I was going to get around: I would ride a bicycle as much as possible. This was a good plan, though for reasons that will probably become obvious soon, not well executed. I had a [...]

White House solicits "green" ideas from federal employees: www.whitehouse.gov...

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:27:10 GMT

White House solicits "green" ideas from federal employees: www.whitehouse.gov/...

It occurs to me that Gremlins could have been so much better than it was. Ma...

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:18:41 GMT

It occurs to me that Gremlins could have been so much better than it was. Maybe we can get a reboot?

Today's train highlights: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and NYC. Interest...

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:02:33 GMT

Today's train highlights: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, and NYC. Interesting what you can see from the tracks.

What Have You Done?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:23:28 GMT

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event in which bloggers all write on the same topic. This year’s topic is Global Climate Change. I know there were a number of approaches I could take with something like this, but instead of warning of the impending doom of our planet (a fate I am not wholly [...]

I've been a poor social networker lately.

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:00:51 GMT

I've been a poor social networker lately.

Pretty sad when taking an earlier train actually gets you to the office later...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:30:36 GMT

Pretty sad when taking an earlier train actually gets you to the office later. Thanks #wmata, 13B was very late today.

Created a GovLoop Group for PMF 2009: http://www.govloop.com/group/pmf2009 #p...

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:36:28 GMT

Created a GovLoop Group for PMF 2009: http://www.govloop.com/group/pmf2009 #pmf2k9

Top 5 artists this week

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Jacob Munk Nielsen – Falling leaves

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:19:35 GMT

http://www.last.fm/music/Jacob+Munk+Nielsen/_/Falling+leaves

TKW BAND – HELP ME

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:17:56 GMT

http://www.last.fm/music/TKW+BAND/_/HELP+ME

#pmf 2010 Presidential Management Fellows program opened today. aaronhelton.w...

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:05:00 GMT

#pmf 2010 Presidential Management Fellows program opened today. aaronhelton.wordpress.com/...

2010 PMF Program Opens Today

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:24:14 GMT

The 2010 Presidential Management Fellows program is accepting applications starting today, October 1, 2009. Applications will be accepted through midnight, October 15, 2009. The job announcement is on USAJOBS. For more information about the program and how to apply, check out my blog post, or go to the PMF web site. If you do apply, why not [...]

Turning the tide: a hands-on look at Google's Wave

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:02:31 GMT

Ars takes you inside of Google's bold vision for the future of Internet messaging with this hands-on look at Wave. Learn more about the experimental service, its underlying technology, and the opportunities that will provide for third-party developers.

http://digg.com/software/Turning_the_tide_a_hands_on_look_at_Google_s_Wave

By 2040 you will be able to upload your brain...

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:19:10 GMT

Should, by some terrible misfortune, Ray Kurzweil shuffle off his mortal coil tomorrow, the obituaries would record an inventor of rare and visionary talent. In 1976, he created the first machine capable of reading books to the blind, and less than a decade later he built the K250: the first music synthesizer to nigh-on perfectly duplicate the...

http://digg.com/general_sciences/By_2040_you_will_be_able_to_upload_your_brain

New comment on "Conflating Green And Anti-Vaccine" http://bt.io/FKU

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:43:02 GMT

New comment on "Conflating Green And Anti-Vaccine" http://bt.io/FKU

Human is a moving target; all forms are inherently transitional on a long eno...

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:04:41 GMT

Human is a moving target; all forms are inherently transitional on a long enough time scale.

The Onion: Melting Polar Ice Reveals Secret Arctic Lairs

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:59:04 GMT

Receding polar ice caps have revealed nearly 200 clandestine lairs once buried deep beneath hundreds of feet of Arctic ice..."In August alone we discovered 44 mad scientist laboratories, three highly classified military compounds, and seven reanimated and very confused cavemen."

http://digg.com/comedy/The_Onion_Melting_Polar_Ice_Reveals_Secret_Arctic_Lairs

Texas/Texas Tech on TV, A&M/Utah State on CBS Sports GameTracker.

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:21:11 GMT

Texas/Texas Tech on TV, A&M/Utah State on CBS Sports GameTracker.

"...yellow-bellied sapsuckers, I'm a better man than all of ye milksops put t...

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:06:12 GMT

"...yellow-bellied sapsuckers, I'm a better man than all of ye milksops put together." --Blackbeard #tlap en.wikipedia.org/...

PMF Rotational Opportunities #pmf2k9 : http://pipes.yahoo.com/aaronhelton/381...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:04:17 GMT

PMF Rotational Opportunities #pmf2k9 : http://pipes.yahoo.com/aaronhelton/381db2710da4b0dfcdba82e6383716de

Testing #pmf2k9 hash tag and search...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:44:56 GMT

Testing #pmf2k9 hash tag and search...