Polite Dissent

Exhausted after preparing the Strange #2 medical review last night (anatomy was always my worst class), I’m just going to post some interesting link blogging today.

Thursday Blog-o-bits:

• For all you (other) eBay fanatics, here is a link to Weird Al’s eBay song [ed. note: link is long gone now], including audio and lyrics. Comic books are not referenced, but Shatner and Alf are. Courtesy of AMCGLTD.com
• The Latin Motto Page. If you ever need something to look especially impressive, just add a latin motto. This site lists several dozen mottos, including the ever popular Moritori te salutamus (”We who are about to die salute you”). Don’t laugh. I’ve used this page to fancy up various school projects and short stories over the years.
• Lorem Ipsum. This page gives a history of the use of “lorem ipsum…” as the standard dummy text of typesetters starting in the 16th century. It’s still used today as dummy texts in various background shots, illustrations, etc. Also included is a Lorem Ipsum generator:
  

  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas sollicitudin. Vestibulum laoreet eros id felis. Donec risus purus, elementum a, pulvinar ut, sodales et, sem. Etiam purus. Pellentesque eu dolor. Ut sed sem. Aliquam sed dui ac metus rhoncus sagittis. Nullam nec turpis fringilla dolor blandit fringilla. Aliquam vehicula. Duis feugiat mollis ante. Curabitur tristique elementum nunc. Nunc sed orci. Nam id metus. Ut porttitor, mi sed ultricies aliquet, nisl mi elementum libero, in imperdiet odio turpis ac ligula. Fusce leo. Ut consequat urna ac tellus. Donec non diam. Maecenas ac leo.

• Logical Fallacies. Want to look smart when arguing? Want to put some hot-shot in their place? Well then this site is the perfect place for you. It lists the most common (OK, even uncommon) logical fallacies (including Slippery Slope, Ad Hominem , Hasty Generalization and Straw Man) and tells you how to recognize and rebut them.
• Odds of Dying. This educational site lists the odds of dying a variety of deaths, such as dying in a streetcar accident (1 in 95,031,271), drowning (1 in 690,300), dying from a dog bite (1 in 11,403,753), dying due to a bee sting (1 in 6,630,089), and legal execution (1 in 4,525,299).