The Wonders of Statistics

Tonight I was checking out Yahoo news like I usually do. Maybe later I'll blog about the changing face of media. But I came across an article on the main page linking suicide rates to shortness at birth. The actual article can be found here if you want to peruse it. What the article seems to be claiming is that males who are born shorter then the average length were more then twice as likely to commit suicide, especially by a violent means. They also said that weight at birth also seems to be a factor. Now I am going to stop right there... The problem is that it's not a controlled study and there is no ethical way to test cause and effect. So what they are not telling you is that there could be other extraneous factors that are also contributing. Take for instance the fact that babies who are born prematurely are more at risk for health issues and a number of other things. It is also a possiblity that shorter males tend to be teased more. I can't say for sure on that one... but in youth and adolescence being different then your peer group is not a good thing and can lead to being ostrasized. Really you can make stats say whatever you want them to. It's all about what agenda you are pushing. My only real point is that we do not live in a vacuum and there will always be extraneous variables that will impact the results. Secondly, whenever you see statistics question what they are really saying... and if they can really make that claim.

Update on Azrael

I know I just blogged about this... but that was a post that had been in my head for a while. Azrael seems to be eating more the last couple of days. :) I can rest a little easier now it seems. And he is still as happy as ever. Yesterday he decided I made a fantastic pillow. It was already my bedtime and I just wanted to go to bed. But he decided to stretch out across me and looked so cute doing it. How could I resist that? It was especially cute when he started dreaming. But then something got his attention outside and woke him up. Good news for me since I wanted to go to bed.

He's Healthy, Right?

This picture was taken the other day. I thought it was cute that he was holding my hand. Sorry but the cell phone doesn't take the best pictures. They're decent... but nothing special. Any ways when Suzanne and Dave came down over Christmas I was asked if he was losing weight. Now I had been wondering that before but it really hadn't been noticeable. So I weighed him and sure enough he was losing weight. Then, me being me, I started to panic. After all none of my cats ever seem to live past the age of 3 (as an update he just turned 4... Happy Birthday Azrael) plus he had never really lost weight before. Now when Tigger was sick I knew it. For one, he ran away from home. Then when we got him back he didn't eat and pretty well didn't move. I knew something was seriously wrong there. But with Azrael aside from the fact he wasn't eating as much he seemed to be perfectly healthy. He was still as loveable as ever, still playing with his bear, and still grooming himself. He was as playful and active as ever. Not that he ever really was active. His coat still looks healthy and his eyes are bright and shiny. So then I realized that Iams had changed their formula in the cat food. So maybe he doesn't care about his teeth and the new dental formula. I tried the old stuff and while he definitely preferred that he still didn't seem to be eating all that much. I tried wet cat food. He preferred the Iams. I tried kitten food. He preferred his adult food. Maybe he is just adjusting to me being back to work and me working midnights. Cats don't exactly like change. or maybe he is healthy and I am just being over-concerned. Right now he is wagging his tail at me. Azrael is still happy so I guess that is what is important.

Numerology & 2008

Normally I wouldn't even be commenting but seeing L. Bo's post got me thinking. Or more like stealing content from other people's pages. I call 2007 the year of change... 2008 I saw as about new beginnings.... starting over. Apparently numerology agrees with me. I don't put a whole lot of stock in it... but the new beginnings did stay with me. Right along with L. Bo's math. *lol*

In order to work out what number year you'll be on in 2008 you need to start your workings out with 2008 itself.

2 +0+0+8= 10

10 reduces to the single digit of 1.

Then all you have to do is add up the day and month of your birthday and add those numbers to the 1 from 2008.

For example if your birthday is 25th February this is how you work out what year you'll be on in 2008:-

2 + 5+ 2+1= 10

10 as we know reduces to the single digit of 1.

Therefore your 2008 numerology forecast would be a 1 year.

Work out your own year, your partners, friends and colleagues etc. to find out how the New Year will affect you all.

As with all metaphysical subjects; exciting as it may sound that someone else can tell you your future, you do still have free will.

What follows is a keyword for each of the 9 years that people will find themselves on, plus a list of Do's and Don'ts to consider.

Everyone has come back to this earth plane in order to learn the lessons that we didn't learn the last time we were here. And learn those lessons we will, but it's always easier to swim upriver than against it. That is what the Do's and Don'ts are all about; basically, how to make the journey easier.

Now discover your numerology forecast for 2008

1 YEAR

KEYWORDS: New beginnings, initiatives.
DO: Be Positive. Act alone. Use your intuition and make long term plans.
DON'T: Give up too easily. Enter into any business partnerships. Be moody or hang onto the past.

2 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Balance in all things, relationships.
DO: Be co-operative. Save money. Be patient and follow through with whatever you started last year.
DON'T: Start anything new. Be alone. Overspend or be aggressive.

3 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Expansion, creativity.
DO: Re-decorate. Socialise. Advertise and promote whatever you do.
DON'T: Make substantial changes. Start anything new. Lock yourself away or scatter your energies.

4 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Order, work.
DO: Be ready for hard work. Be orderly and methodical. Deal with all details. Make a budget and stick to it.
DON'T: Be lazy. Waste money. Rely on others. Complain.

5 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Go with the flow, self-promotion.
DO: Think things through. Keep an open mind. Accept all invitations. Expect the unexpected.
DON'T: Break any laws. Fight change. Over-indulge! Overspend.

6 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Love, home.
DO: Be responsible. Adjust to changes in the home. Take advice from friends. Be generous and loving.
DON'T: Give unwanted advice. Find fault. Be stubborn. Be selfish.

7 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Waiting, health.
DO: Rest. Research new ideas. Get away from it all. Correct past mistakes.
DON'T: Force any issues. Be impatient. Chase after money. Try and make progress.

8 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Karmic, money.
DO: Be money conscious. Do all the 'big' things yourself! Push on with new plans. Be modest.
DON'T: Be dishonest. Waste money. Invest after June. Be arrogant.

9 YEAR

KEYWORDS: Completion, emotion.
DO: Finish things off. Get rid of anything no longer required. Try and be unemotional. Make plans for next year.
DON'T: Be over-emotional. Delude yourself. Feel sorry for yourself. Over-react!

Pretty Cat Still MIA

Since I said I would update when I had my copy of Leopard I figured I should mention that I still don't have it. Well sort-of. My second copy now seems to be MIA as well. I figured it would have been here at the end of last week. So now I am going to be checking with the superintendant to make sure that he doesn't have it and then am thinking about calling Apple yet again. Seems to be the ongoing debate of how long (and how many calls) it takes to get it.

Now I did say sort-of there. The other day I was getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. My neighbour was standing there with a package in her hand. Seems that she was coming in the building when the DHL guy was there. So he told her that she would do and got her to sign for it. Then he asked where my apartment was and she made the mistake of saying that she lived next door. So rather then deliver it he just gave it to her. She came over several times to deliver it but I was either asleep or not home. I guess the DHL guy really did think he was Santa and could hand it out to whoever wanted it. Since I didn't sign for it I am still demanding my copy from Apple. And I plan on calling DHL to complain about it since they are not supposed to hand it out to just anyone.

Pretty soon I think that my entire apartment will have their very own copy of Leopard. All I want is for the DHL guy to deliver it to me. I'd even be satisfied with the superintendant. So the count is 3 calls in... 1 delivery to my neighbour... 1 copy still MIA.

CLARIFICATION: My neighbour really did deliver me the copy she received. But I am turning this into a game (or maybe a sport) and calling Apple to have another copy sent out... right up until DHL actually delivers a copy to me. Besides I had already called Apple for my second copy (that also disappeared) before my neighbour showed up here.

The End is Near

The end just might be near... at least as far as the high-definition format war goes. Warner announced the other day that they were going blu... Blu-ray that is. Right now I am glad that I didn't buy an HD DVD player for Boxing Day like I was thinking of. After all that leaves Universal and Paramount as the ONLY HD supporters... Everyone else (Disney, Sony, Fox, Warner) all support Blu-ray. I hear the death knell already....

Oh to Live in Japan

I saw in the news the other day that a firm in Japan is offering a pet allowance of $9/month to all pet owners. Seems they really are part of the family. Now if only they would do that here as well. While it may not completely pay for Azrael's food it would certainly help out. Supposedly, another company there even offers bereavement days for the loss of a pet. Wonder if they get paid for that.

DHL's Holiday Spirit

So after 2 weeks without my copy of Leopard arriving in the mail I was starting to wonder. I was promised express shipping from Apple which generally takes less then 2 weeks. I would've called them sooner but it was Christmas and all so I figured that it might take more time.

At the two week mark I decided it was time to call them and get another copy sent out. So I called at 9:05 a.m. But then I got a message telling me that I had called outside of normal business hours. Say what? It was now 9:05... What's going on? I kept calling thinking that there was a problem with their phone systems.

Now I should interrupt this to say that a friend of mine was also checking into the status for me. So at 9:30 in the morning I got an email with the shipping information from DHL. It was supposedly delivered on December 20th. Hmm... that's interesting since it sure as hell wasn't in my nice, little hands. I head downstairs to the super's office to make sure that it wasn't hiding there anywhere... even though he's good about calling me and had already told me to pick up 2 other packages. Nope, nothing there. Then I look up the tracking information. The signature looks like it says Robert. No one in the office with that name. So I figure that either the DHL guy saw Apple and decided to scoop it... or he took on the role of Santa Claus and just randomly handed it out to someone. After all I have heard there is no local DHL office so he would've had to drive here. And who wants to do that? Spread the holiday cheer.... give out free stuff....

Any ways... my friend also reminded me that they were only open from 10:00 to 6:00 since it was New Years Eve. Now why couldn't the voice message when you call in be changed to reflect that? Makes me wonder how many people called after they closed and then kept trying since it was before the normal 9:00 p.m. close. So I called back at 10:00 and was on a nice long mute hold... repeatedly. Spent most of the call on a mute hold (for those that have never worked in a call center it means that they press the mute button so you hear nothing at all... instead of a hold where you get music... you are not supposed to use mute as a hold) and after 20 minutes they had sent out a new disk to me and told me there was a problem processing the original order. I am guessing that there were problems with sending out the fulfilments for new disks. But, in my case, I already know that it was processed, shipped, and delivered.... just not to me.

Hopefully by the end of the week I have my nice new cat (don't worry Azrael I still love you) and will be busy installing it. Good thing I wasn't in a rush for it. I still have to finish backing everything up. Now if only Shapeshifter was compatible with it. Just checked... still not compatible. :( But I think that everything else I use is.... If not well I might be going back to the other pretty cat I have... in Tiger. Will update when I get my new package. I love mail...