Author: Menzonius

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The gender identity disorder of “Buzz”; the Honey Nut Cheerio bee

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During the latest episode of the widely acclaimed sitcom “The Big Bang Theory”—episode 12, “The Egg Salad Equivalency”—we observe “Rajeesh Koothrappali” complaining that “not one breakfast cereal mascot is a girl” and “it’s a total breakfast sausage fest”. During his rant he also lists pretty much every known breakfast cereal mascot , but then ends this itemization with “… the Honey Nut Cheerio bee, I believe his name is ‘Buzz’.”

Now, as a biologist I feel it is my duty to point out that the organism depicted on the Honey Nut Cheerio cereal box is in fact clearly not a male “drone” bee, but a female bee (albeit highly anthropomorphized—bees do not possess tooth enamel in their mouthparts, for example). I am certain of this because you can clearly see a stinger on Buzz and only female bees possess such a stinger, since it is actually a modified part of the female reproductive system—a so-called ovipositor.

We are thus left with the conclusion that Buzz is in fact the unfortunate sufferer of a gender identity disorder. And that—but for one exception—Raj has a good point. 😉

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A review of “Looper”

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First of all, the movie begins with the statement that 30 years from the year 2044 (the year in which the protagonist lives) it will be impossible to dispose of a body and it is actually more convenient to use a space-time teleportation machine to send a victim back to a precise location at a precise time 30 years into the past and then have an assassin wait there, shoot the victim and dispose of the body. Well, excuse me all over the place if I think this is one of the most ridiculous plots I have ever come across in a movie. And the rest of the movie fares no better.

At some point during this movie, for example, we observe Bruce Willis sitting in a diner as he says the following to his younger-self, sitting across the table—“I don’t wanna talk about time-travel shit”. And that one sentence—I am absolutely positive—was included in the movie to resolve all the problems the audience might come up with regarding temporal paradoxes and inconsistencies in the storyline. Well, I’m sorry but that’s just lame.

Almost nothing redeems this movie. It is way too long because it includes a lot of scenes that should have been trashed in the editing room, the story is totally unbelievable, the setting of the movie sucks ass (a future where they have freakin’ hovering rocket motorcycles and the (rich) protagonist chooses to drives a crappy 1990’s mazda mx-3?—yeah right, very likely) and the acting is mediocre at best. The only thing this movie has going for it is a small surprising twist almost at the end of the movie. But I can assure you it’s only a minor twist and does not redeem the movie in the least.

I found watching this movie to be a waste of my time. Avoid it.

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Best public toilet in Forum building of Wageningen University

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As I am a student at Wageningen University, I find that I am often expected to spend a considerable amount of time during the day on the university’s campus. Now there may not be anything wrong with that, in and of itself. However, the oftentimes irregular and therefore unpredictable nature of my—shall we say—“bodily functions”, necessitate that there be adequate facilities present on site where I may perform a stool evacuation. Or—as an American might put it—to “take a dump” on “the crapper”.

As everyone who has read my blog—or has been personally acquainted with me for any considerable length of time—knows, I have certain requirements for the public facilities in which such activities and subsequent ablutions may take place. And also that when I have information pertaining to the properties and location of aforementioned facilities, I share it with the world. I’m hopelessly altruistic like that. And that’s where this blog comes in again. For I have discovered that if one must go to the lavatory in the Forum building on the campus of the University of Wageningen, one of the best places to do so is on the eighth floor at the end of the hallway that is to the left when exiting the elevator.

There, on the eighth floor, you will find a main entrance to the gentlemen’s lavatories. Upon entering this door, you are faced with a choice of two water closets; One on the left and one on the right. And—contrary to every other toilet in the Forum building—each is a in fact a self-contained mini-bathroom.

The ceramic sanitation fixture is often very clean, particularly before lunch hour. The toilet paper is from Tork, there is no roll of paper but instead you will find a dispenser of individual tissues. The quality of the paper is intermediate; not the worst out there, yet certainly not the best either. There is a decent coat hanger, though installing an extra peg for bags and backpacks might have been wise. Alas, there is no mirror—a shameful oversight. You will however find that you have your very own washing basin and paper towels inside. The washing basin has a water tap with a timer that controls the duration of water flow from the tap. I dislike these systems, as I find the water is often cut off too quickly and I then have to press the button again and again to keep it flowing. I often give such taps one last press before leaving the bathroom, without using the water for anything. Just to spite whomever decided to install these horribly calibrated things.

In summary: an acceptable basic toilet, nothing special. Virtually guaranteed to be clean enough, when used before the “after-lunch” rush hour. Recommended if you have to “go” in the Forum building.