Episode XXIX: Odds & Ends

Do Not Ball In These Shoes

I am anticipating an approaching apparel crisis, unless someone can help me. You see, a few years ago I bought a pair of And1 street shoes, which were just the greatest shoes I have ever worn. A year or two later, I was fortunate enough to get an identical second pair to replace my aging first pair. Now, however, as I once again near shoe-replacement time, this particular shoe seems to have disappeared, both from internet and brick-and-mortar stores. So this is my request: if anyone happens to be shopping and they see a pair of shoes like the ones below (preferably in blue), please let me know immediately. I am looking for a size 9 ½. Thanks!

Trying To Ford the River, My Oxen Died

One day, on my usual trek to lab, I paused at a little rock monument and found that it was a marker for the Oregon Trail. Apparently the trail went right through what is now the university. Little did I know that almost every day I had been walking down a little piece of the Oregon Trail! I am in no way an expert on the Oregon Trail, but I do know that it was the greatest video-game ever back when I was in 5^th grade.

Everything You Know Is Wrong

One of the more interesting scientific articles I have read this year was a statistical analysis showing why Most Published Research Findings are False. In particular, “genetic association” studies (often publicized by the media), as well as “hot” fields where there are many groups working on the same project, are most likely to give false positives. Within the next couple of days, I happened to come across two different practical examples, the first being this article arguing that the influenza vaccine is not nearly as useful as commonly claimed, and the second this inflammatory claim that there is little-to-no scientific data supporting the idea that exercise helps you lose weight.