mepedia 3: August 22, 2007
A few tidbits I picked up yesterday:
* Finished an article in the August 20, 2007, issue of The New Yorker about Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. The author, someone with the condition, describes its symptoms, which include “early precocity, a great ability to maintain masses of information, a lack of ability to mix with groups in age-appropriate ways, ignorance of or indifference to social norms, high intelligence, and difficulty with transitions, married to a preternatural ability to concentrate on the minutia of the task at hand.” Wow.
I read the article, well, because I try to read as much of the magazine as I have time for, but also on the specific recommendation of a coworker, who suggested another coworker had the condition. Ha!
* Late one night at work recently, I approached a third coworker for some small talk before the end of the shift. He’s an avid wikipeder, and had up on his monitor the “Platypus” entry. “Did you know they can sting with their tails?” he asked me. Apparently, these aquatic mammals have a venomous spur in their hind feet that can hurt people pretty badly. I remember a few years ago when I watch Sir David Attenborough’s Life on Earth series.
* Talked last night with my parents, who just returned from their first trip to Alaska. They saw Mt. McKinley, commonly known to be the highest point in all of North America, at 20,320 feet above sea level. What I learned is that to most Alaskans, the mountain is known simply as “Denali.” As in the SUV. As in the national park. Good to know.
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August 25th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I think you’ve misquoted me. I remember saying something more along the lines of “Did you know platypus’ are poisonous/venomous?” Everybody knows they use their tails to build damns. No, wait, that’s beavers. Huh, beavers, ha. It’s no big deal, but I’d expect a big city newspaper copyeditor to get his facts straight. Haha, I kid, I really do. I couldn’t remember the name of your blog, so I’ve been googling your name, cause, even though, yeah, sure on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I’ve got plenty of other things to do, but, for some reason, I don’t feel like leaving my house, or the computer for that matter, so I just keep looking for different content to read, and then I thought, let’s see what’s on that I guy I work with’s blog. I found it through your linkedin profile, do you know how many of you there are on there, too? Lots. Anyway, speaking of style and grammar and such, we weren’t speaking of that? anyway, dove into Chicago a bit today, pretty interesting stuff. I know, I am a loser that has done nothing but read all day. And you know what else? My contact from the Guardian set me up with another guy who’s supposed to drop off a trade mag for me to read and give back by tomorrow. I should actually give this guy a call. OK dude, just checking in, how’s the parents treating ya?
August 28th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
rnagle is right. To be fair, he never insinuated that the platypi sting with their tails. that’d be too … superhero/villain of them.
no, his quote was something more along the lines of “Did you know platypus’ are poisonous/venomous?” as he has indicated. i stand corrected.
August 28th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Thank you for that. You are a scholar and a gentlelman. ish.