The Twitter Snowball Effect, the Zodiac and NPR

MSNBC ^ | 1/14/2011 | M. Alex Johnson

[Sprite518]

Regardless how you feel about astrology itself, it's easy to demonstrate that the "news" is bunkum — a textbook product of what I call the Twitter Snowball Effect.

[Sprite518]

For the people that freaked out about the reports of this new astrology sign... It was B.S.

The irony of a B.S. report about B.S. belief is so thick... you could cut it with a knife. Imagine that?

[Apple Pan Dowdy]

OMG ... this new “tool” in the hands of the left could be really dangerous. Just set a rumor going on twitter till it becomes as good as “fact”. It won’t matter that it is found to be untrue weeks later... the damage will already be done.

[aruanan]

Regardless how you feel about astrology itself, it's easy to demonstrate that the "news" is bunkum — a textbook product of what I call the Twitter Snowball Effect.

The houses of the zodiac are about 1.5 houses away from where they were back when they were fixed in tradition in the form they are used now. This is due to precession of the equinox. It's not news. It's been known for a long, long time.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Recently in trying to contact my electric company to ask a question, using Twitter seems their method of contacting them. I had to sign up on Twitter and agree to their terms and conditions in order to use it. Their terms and conditions seemed so convoluted, basically as I understood them I was granting the right to Twitter to do whatever they pleased with my information and what I said, that I aborted the whole thing. Any comments on that?

Secondly, it dawned on me I could probably get better information on FR than I could from my electric company. Here is what I was going to ask them:

I drink a lot of instant coffee everyday and I have wondered which is cheaper, electricity wise - Running the hot water for about twenty feet from a 20 gallon tank until it is as hot as it is going to get and then microwaving it for 40 seconds, or micro waving cold water for 2 minutes using a 1,000 watt microwave? Anyone know?

[RoseyT]

I don’t have any numbers for you but I would think using the hot water would cost more. You’re using X amount from the water heater, which gets replaced by cold water, which then reduces the temp of the water in the heater, so the heater kicks in to heat all 20 gallons plus the cost of the water you let go down the drain. Ping me if someone gives you numbers though, please. :)

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Thanks for the attempt. I had not considered the reheating issue nor do I know the temperature at which the water is kept. Whether the amount of water I run each time would actually kick it on I don’t know.

I will try to find a more appropriate thread and get back to you when I get an answer I consider reliable.