Interesting Articles: Jan 10th-Feb 6th 2006

Science:
* Holding Loved One's Hand Can Calm Jittery Neurons (New York Times). Awwww. But they don't think about the causality issue: maybe those people that are so affected by such a touch are the ones that tend to get married?
* When Bad People Are Punished, Men Smile (but Women Don't) (New York Times). An interesting gender difference. Cause? Who knows.
* Bright Lights, Big Cancer (New York Times). In short, keeping a normal sleeping schedule (sleeping at night) helps fight cancer.

Technology:
* It May Look Authentic; Here's How to Tell It Isn't (New York Times). On the power of photoshop to manipulate science. It's disturbing that journals need to try to prevent this.
* 'No Messages on This Server,' and Other Lessons of Our Time (New York Times). On e-mail, a complementary piece to the article I previously posted. Here, the author seems to have mixed feelings but is trying to convince himself of the rightness of a particular side.

Humor:
* http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/business/31weird.html (New York Times). A few humorous anecdotes. The first two stories and the last one are the best.

Food:
* My Week as a Waiter (New York Times). The New York Times food critic learns how hard it is to be a waiter. Frankly, I'm surprised so many of these difficulties seemed surprising to him. Hadn't he thought about a waiter's life and how he's treated them in the past?
* What's cookin' at the White House? (CNN). Neat piece of reporting on how the current chef at the White House works and how cooking at the White House is different than cooking anywhere else.

Politics:
* If You Give a Congressman a Cookie (New York Times). Puts forth a thoughtful view about law and order and congressional rules in the legislature and how it effects congressional ethics.

Commentary on State of the Union addresses (in general):
* Song of Myself (New York Times). On the history of the State of the Union and its ego-focus.
* The State of the Union Is Unreal (New York Times). On the history of the State of the Union and its frequently misleading nature.