Life of a Katie...

i want to start a compost bin….any tips?

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:18:32 -0700

i want to start a compost bin….any tips?

meghanelizabeth: carmenmariah: (Anthony Burrill)

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:48:20 -0700

meghanelizabeth:

carmenmariah:

(Anthony Burrill)

SOOO GOOD!

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:41:24 -0700

SOOO GOOD!

That’s my kind of tooth fairy! I wish I had more teeth to...

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:33:58 -0700

That’s my kind of tooth fairy! I wish I had more teeth to loose!

Yosemite

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:32:17 -0700

Minus the previous post and my realizations about families, I had a decent day. Yosemite was beautiful as always and always makes me feel small in a big world which is humbling. Then, we went to Hetch Hetchy (Restore Hetch Hetchy!) which was cool too. I wish I had some pics but my camera is broky broke! Pictures wouldn’t do it justice anyways, you have to see it for yourself!

Things I Learned/Conclusions from Today's Family Trip

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:29:09 -0700

What I Learned:

1) i don’t think my famil really cares much about my opinions….since apparently i have one about everything

2) my sisters don’t really like my personality, or at least they hide it well since they talked so much crap to me today i just wanted to crawl in a hole

3) i don’t really like some aspects of myself…and i have ruined sisterly relations because of it

Conclusions:

1) me and my second sister will probably never get along because of me

2) i really just shouldn’t speak around my family…no one wants to hear it

3) families are difficult. Will it ever get better?????

Chinese foot binding

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:23:29 -0700

Chinese foot binding:

jermbob:

yourmonkeycalled:

ohmyfuckingjesusgod I did not know that’s what bound feet looked like. Old woman in China, still alive, who had her feet bound as a child. Don’t click. Really. Skip this one. It’s HORRIBLE.

I clicked on this…Terrible! It actually makes me angry! WOW!

omg really????? i almost don’t believe it.

Let the fun begin.

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:26:00 -0700

[time 6:15 am]
mom: katie, time to get up
[3 mins later]
[mom comes into room and turns on OVERHEAD LIGHT]
mom: have you seen your father's white tennis shoes???
me: no
mom: are they in your closet...i thought they were in your closet??
me: no!
mom: god, katie, your pissed off already...you're just like your father, you know that....pissed off from the very beginning, before we even leave.

family trip to yosemite tomorrow! should be interesting…

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:54:21 -0700

family trip to yosemite tomorrow! should be interesting…

goals/not goals

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:06:45 -0700

goals:

1) move to seattle

2) run a marathon (maybe i’ll work on being about to run a mile first though)

not goals:

1) get a job…hey, it’s been almost 4 mos/31 job apps with no luck. i think i’ll just be a bum now.

"A Christian, a Jew and Barack Obama are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Barack Obama says,..."

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:12:49 -0700

“A Christian, a Jew and Barack Obama are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Barack Obama says, “This joke isn’t going to work because there’s no Muslim in this boat.””

- Obama Releases List of Approved Jokes About Himself (via pgwp) (via catbird) (via onthechanggang) (via rore) (via peterwknox)

Why We Like New Stuff

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:11:07 -0700

dihard:

Our sense of adventure delivers the same rewards as does sex and food. In the ventral striatum of our brains, at least. That’s the part of the brain associated with rewarding behavior. A new study of novelty-related decision making in adults shows that our brains are hard-wired to prefer novelty and adventure. Thus, we’re suckers for good marketing.
The subjects of the study were shown 4 cards and were asked to choose one while their brains were scanned with a functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (fMRI). One of the four cards had a monetary reward. When the subject chose the money making card, his brain’s ventral striatum (or pleasure processor) lit up. New cards were introduced over time, and as they were, the subject chose the new cards instead of the known money-making card, which also ignited the ventral striatum. They chose novelty over known reward in expectation that the new card would give a higher reward. Novelty, thus, drives choice behavior, and may also release dopamine, the same hormone released when eating delicious food, and during sex and other pleasurable activities.

One researcher describes “I might have my own favorite choice of chocolate bar, but if I see a different bar repackaged, advertising its ‘new, improved flavour’, my search for novel experiences may encourage me to move away from my usual choice.”

The study concludes that this may be a downside because it “introduces the danger of being sold old wine in a new skin.” Marketers often exploit the consumer’s tendency to choose unfamiliar or novel products (think New Coke, or Starbucks’ new Pike’s Place Roast).

Another study shows the opposite, however, concluding the brain responds better to known brand names. In this study, twenty adult subjects were shown images of familiar and unfamiliar brands while brain activity was monitored with an fMRI. The results showed strong brands activated a network of cortical areas associated with emotions and rewards, and were processed with less effort than were unknown brands.

Thus, it’s important for a company that is creating a new product or logo to make it look new enough but still maintain the familiar brand association. Think Walmart’s new logo.

Brand New is a cool website that keeps track of and provides commentary on such changes. It’s interesting - check it out.

meghanelizabeth: “I’m Voting Republican, because sometimes the...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:16:57 -0700

meghanelizabeth:

“I’m Voting Republican, because sometimes the constitution is just one big inconvenient headache.”

awesome.

russlistofstuff: yikes!!! i love personifying objects in art!...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:07:36 -0700

russlistofstuff:

yikes!!!

i love personifying objects in art! poor little match guy

I really want to be the Orbitz gum girl. There is just something...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:08:18 -0700

I really want to be the Orbitz gum girl. There is just something so great about her.

for all the psych nerds out there! (via the rut)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:05:00 -0700

for all the psych nerds out there! (via the rut)

He is seriously in charge of our country? Like, for real? Noooo....

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:28:28 -0700

He is seriously in charge of our country? Like, for real? Noooo. Not possible.

Living at Home: The Positive Side

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:54:48 -0700

Living at home has been driving me insane. Seriously crazy.

BUT, oh the baked goods. Apple pie, nectarine pie, gingersnaps, cakes….my mother is a bake-aholic. and I need to go running asap!

Applying for jobs feels like writing fan letters to Brad Pitt.

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:47:17 -0700

keepinganotebook:

I know nothing will come of it other than an automatically generated email and a signed headshot if I’m lucky.

i know the feeling well.

peterwknox: NBC has the first of new The Office Webisodes up...

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:21:27 -0700

peterwknox:

NBC has the first of new The Office Webisodes up here. Watch.