No really.

“Looking at faces is quite mentally demanding,” Dr Doherty-Sneddon told the BBC News website.

“We get useful information from the face when listening to someone, but human faces are very stimulating and all this takes processing.

“So when we are trying to concentrate and process something else that’s mentally demanding, it’s unhelpful to look at faces.”

I do this, and often struggle to convince people that I am focused on what they’re saying. And now I know I’m just embracing my inner eight year old.

On a related note, I also stare at people’s mouths when they’re talking. On more than one occasion I’ve been asked if I’m partially deaf.

There was a quote (“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate”) from Henry J Tillman on my Google home page this morning. Intrigued, I decided to look up why Mr Tillman might be considered a quotable sort. After extensive research it appears that, googly speaking, he doesn’t exist. The problem is that searching for his name just pulls back quotes he is alleged to have made.

Trying to be clever, I searched for his name while excluding the word ‘quotes’; still no luck. Even cleverer, I thought, was to search for his name plus the word ‘born’. Still no luck. Any suggestions? (And no, he’s not a boxer).

The Christian Science Monitor has a story about new approaches to dealing with homelessness. A worthy read in its own right, but I wanted to highlight an unintended moment of humor. The story is written by Amanda Paulson, using Paul Paulos as its first human interest, a guy named Paul as it’s last character, and is based on work done in St Paul. And now commented on by me.

Just watched Stone Phillips on the Colbert Report. Is it possible to be any more manly than Stone Phillips? I mean, “Stone”, come on.

You know what’s sad? I’m a geek, of sorts, certainly with nerdish tendencies. The latest, probably final, Star Wars movie has just been released on DVD. I in no rush to see it, let alone buy it. That would be sad enough, but what is worse is that I can’t even remember if I’ve seen the previous installment. And I can’t say I much care.

In contrast, apparently Serenity comes out on December 20th. Cause for much moist anticipation in our house, I can tell you.