The Victim Complex of Public Speakers

We’ve got to provide an opportunity for them, instead of standing here unemployed yelling at somebody, to go out and get a job and work for a living!”

via Rick Santorum Squares Off with Occupy Movement – ABC News.

Why do politicians always assume hecklers are out of work? The hecklers, after all, are doing the same thing everyone else in the audience of a speech is doing; the only difference is that hecklers are also being clever/annoying/sophomoric/messy with glitter.

Santorum told the crowd that he respected hecklers’ “opportunity to be able to have a different point of view.” His supporters were not as generous, and they responded with chants of “Get a job!” Seconds later, Santorum displayed a politician’s gift for rhetorical nimbleness: “I understand their frustration, for three years they haven’t been able to find work.”

Related articles

• The Rick Santorum Rally in Tacoma Probably Could Have Gone Better (slog.thestranger.com)

‘Hey, You Kids! Don’t Put Your Lips On It!’

Here, humans can kiss virtual characters while playing games and receive physical kisses from their favorite virtual characters. Further, Kissenger can be integrated into modern communication devices to facilitate the interactive communication between natural and technologically mediated environments and enhance human tele-presence.

via KISSENGER: KISS Messenger Robot.

Just in case you were not feeling lonely enough on Valentine’s Day, I offer the very real possibility that your neighbor, you know the one, who plays so much [insert name of popular role-playing game here] that it is like he is married to the game, or something, might actually be married to the game.

Related articles

• Kissenger – The Long-Distance Kiss Messenger (odditycentral.com)
• Lovotics, an update on the science of human-robot love (extremetech.com)
• Kiss a robot, send a smooch (digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com)
• Express Affection By Smooching A Robopig (escapistmagazine.com)

See also:

“To date, there is no compelling evidence that any online dating matching algorithm actually works,” Finkel observes. “If dating sites want to claim that their matching algorithm is scientifically valid, they need to adhere to the standards of science, which is something they have uniformly failed to do. In fact, our report concludes that it is unlikely that their algorithms can work, even in principle, given the limitations of the sorts of matching procedures that these sites use.”

via Grading the online dating industry.

Turns Out It Did Not Add Up

We find a negative productivity effect on those mathematicians whose research overlapped with that of the Soviets. We also document an increased mobility rate to lower-quality institutions and out of active publishing and a reduced likelihood of producing “home run” papers. Although the total product of the pre-existing American mathematicians shrank, the Soviet contribution to American mathematics filled in the gap.

via The Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Productivity of American Mathematicians.

Beer Goes With Everything

Wine is often seen as the most romantic consort to Valentines Day sweets …Beer, on the other hand, brings a host of flavors that complement and contrast chocolate desserts.

via Drink Beer With Chocolate on Valentines Day | Serious Eats: Drinks.

Seriously. Beer goes with everything.