Now THAT'S a good article

I stumbled across a journal article in Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, a pretty well-respected journal, called "When the Red Sox Shocked the Yankees: comparing negative and positive memories." Here's the abstract:

The present study examined whether positive or negative valence affects the amount of detail remembered about a public event, and whether positive or negative valence alters other memory characteristics (consistency, vividness, and confidence). Memory for the final game of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees 2004 American League playoff series was assessed in individuals who found the event highly positive, highly negative, or neutral (i.e., Red Sox fans, Yankees fans, and fans of neither team). Valence did not affect the number of personal details recalled, but it did affect memory consistency (greatest for the negative-event group) and memory overconfidence (apparent only in the positive-event group). These results indicate that positive events can be remembered with the same types of distortions that have been shown previously for negative events. Moreover, it appears that, in comparison with negative valence, positive valence sometimes can be associated with decreased memory consistency and increased memory overconfidence.

Not surprisingly, a couple of researchers from BC and Harvard wrote it.

Wii will rock you

Wii the people...
Wii shall overcome...
Wii don't need no education...
Wii are the world...
Wii are the children...

So many possible post titles, so little time.

I got my first taste of the Wii the other night. It's pretty great. I'm a little slow on the uptake with some of this stuff, so forgive me if I'm just reiterating things that everyone already knows.

First of all, we were playing it on a widescreen HD screen, which would make anything better. I got to create my character, complete with big red poofy hair and glasses. I played baseball and golf, and when you play baseball all the other characters who have already been created are playing with you in the field. It's a nice feature. And unlike other game systems, you're not just pushing buttons. Your actual movements determine where the pitch goes, what type of pitch it will be, how fast you'll swing the bat, how hard you'll swing the golf club. It requires some semblance of skill. It really hit home playing the golf game. You've got to swing the controller just right or you're in the water. It was my first time, so considering that I think I did ok. I held my own for the first few holes, but started falling behind after that. It really does make you nervous when you're standing over a putt and you have to hit it just right in order for it to go in. I'm curious to try some of their other games.

The cable guy

Been waiting for the cable guy all afternoon. This reminds me that I hate that time right after you move, when you spend multiple days just sitting around waiting for Guys: the Telephone Guy, the Cable Guy, the Water Guy. You name it, there's a Guy for it. Always Guys, too. Never a Cable Girl, or a Phone Girl, at least not in my experience.

We didn't move, though. We are joining the 20th century and getting a DVR installed. In order for this to work, we also need digital cable. So the Cable Guy (whenever he arrives) is going to hopefully accomplish both of those things this afternoon. The primary reason for the DVR is b/c Kia just started a telecourse, in which she watches history lectures on TV and then answers questions and takes quizzes and stuff. Sounds easy enough. The one glitch in the plan is that these lectures are broadcast at 7am on Sunday mornings. Yeah, not so much. So the DVR was (or will be) acquired.

Secondarily, however, it will certainly come in useful. I haven't begun to think of all the useless TV I'll now be able to record and save, only to not watch it later. Oh the possibilities!

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UPDATE: Cable Guy arrived at 7:30. Cable Guy did NOT have DVR. Cable Guy was, apparently, misinformed about the nature of the job. Cable Guy will return between 8:30-9am tomorrow morning. And the saga continues...

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2nd UPDATE: It's now 10am. The Cable Guy just called. He said he'd be here in 5-10 minutes...