Tom is Abroad

Sir Thomas Abroad

Roommate extraordinaire, Tom, has started his own blog detailing his adventures in Germany. He's a better writer than me, so you should read it.

The Name Game

So some of you might have seen the result of my vanity search below where I discovered a disturbing number of people with my name. I decided to find out theoretically just how many people with my name are out there using census data. But why stop there? So I made a table of various people I know to see how they rank. I had to leave off people who have hyphenated names, who go by shortened names that I don't know the original spelling, or whose last names I don't remember. Some names didn't appear on the census list, so I made a high estimate.

Name	People with Name
Stephen S	16,211
Stephanie J	9,668
Robert C	7,503
John F	2,928
Joseph H	1,006
Liz W	643
Heather C	553
Eric B	536
Tom N	371
Morgan B	334
Jared C	316
Lauren W	225
Helen C	198
Lizzy G	168
Rachel R	159
Carl S	<120
Jay F	102
Matt H	98
Darrell F	94
Chris W	62
Jenny C	<28
George K	<28
Celeste F	22
Nick H	16
Eric L	<16
Pat V	<12
Albert R	<9.4
Kate C	9.3
Kimberly B	6.9
Meredith H	3.9
Yvonne P	3.8
Kristen G	<3.3
Jenna I	1.8
Luke M	<1.2
Hadley R	<0.36
Lindis C	<0.12
Raya S	<0.03

I'm kind of wondering about the names at the bottom of the list. Does this mean that there's only a 3% chance that Raya exists?

Movie Time

The Promise

This movie looks really cool.

Who Has My Money?

Where's George?

Interesting site where you can enter a dollar bill's information and find out where it has been or to track where it ends up. I just entered 16 of the bills I have with me, unfortunately it might be a few months before they leave my possession.

Polymers to Replace Silicon

BBC

Chemists have invented a highly conductive polymer that could replace silicon in a number of electronic devices and allow for the creation of items that silicon is too rigged to be used for, such as electronic paper. The polymer can also be produced easily and cheaply. It still won't be able to replace silicon in supercomputers or other high-end technologies.

Strange Immigration Policies

Boston Globe

The Netherlands are requiring residence permit applicants to watch a film depicting Dutch liberal values. The film includes images of gay men kissing and topless women. This is to discourage Muslims from immigrating.

So Many People With My Name

So someone got me looking at this site for looking up for information on people, so I decided to do a search for myself or other people named Darrell Francis, but I'll take credit for everything they've done.

Listed in IMDB as being in the movie "The Mini". I played Manager Stan.
Got a hole in one at a golf course in Kansas.
Member of the North Dakota chapter of the APWA.
Pool manager of the second largest pool in California.
"Landscaper" at the University of Miami.
Dentist in Milwaukee.
City Superintendent of Almira, Washington.
Bass player in Louisana.
Attend the Choir Academy of Harlem.
Pallbearer in Missouri.
Humanist in Trinidad & Tabago?
Realtor in Ohio.
Went deer hitting in Wyoming.
Ordered Hentai (okay I didn't do this).
Very good at Pro Evolution Soccer for PS2.
Stole an Xbox.
Guide at Tejon Ranch.
Arrested for selling drugs.
Married in 1948 at a Catholic Church in Iowa.

Creepiest result, an article quoting a man named Darrell Francis who has a son named Jeremiah written by a lady with the last name Pinkney. For those that don't know, Jeremiah Pinkney Francis was my great great grandfather.

Now if that wasn't strange enough, here's a map detailing where every Darrell Francis I can find lives.

One (Maybe Two) of My Friends Got Arrested!

Times Dispatch

My friend Jacob (not the Jacob interviewed in the article) joined a protest tour called Soulforce Equality Ride. They are going to 18 universities that ban enrollment of homosexual students. At their first stop, Liberty University, they got arrested for trespassing. One of my other friends, Haven, is also in the group, but I don't know if she was arrested.

Close to Home

Blue NC

A blogger from North Carolina is accusing Elizabeth Dole of sending NRSC fundraising letters disguised as legal documents to coerce people into donating to the Republican Party. The letter states that the enclosed survey must be returned, however, all options for returning it request money. Hopefully most people will realize what it is and ignore it, but as the blogger states, it may be intimidating to the elderly.

Hotter Than Norway

Live Science

Scientist working with the Z-machine have produced plasma with a temperature exceeding 2 billion Kelvin. The best part, they have idea how they're doing it.

For those curious, this is the Z-Machine

You're Not Alone

Animals Have Problems Too

No news recently that I found intriguing enough to post. So I leave you with this rather cute site.