More Firefly/Serenityswag than you can shake a six-shooter at. I can definitely see going for some of this stuff. (via Doyce, natch)…
More Firefly/Serenityswag than you can shake a six-shooter at. I can definitely see going for some of this stuff.
(via Doyce, natch)
So if you can’t teach Intelligent Design in a public school’s science class, can you teach it in a philosophy class? Especially if you make it an elective? Well, I…
So if you can’t teach Intelligent Design in a public school’s science class, can you teach it in a philosophy class? Especially if you make it an elective?
Well, I suppose you could, looking at the philosophical or even metaphysical considerations behind intelligent design, its implications, the coherency of its thinking, etc. You could examine what folks who believe in ID actually believe in, sure. You might even look at related areas, or discuss creation myths. But, as with any school course, one would have it oriented toward teaching and description.
That would probably be okay.
Holding a course that says ID is true, you better believe it, kids! smacks of religious proselytization, if you ask me. Not that the fine school trustees at Frazier Mountain High School in Lebec, California. Which is why they’re getting sued.
In their suit, the parents said the syllabus originally listed 24 videos to be shown to students, with 23 “produced or distributed by religious organizations and assume a pro-creationist, anti-evolution stance.” They said the syllabus listed two evolution experts who would speak to the class. One was a local parent and scientist who said he had already refused the speaking invitation and was now suing the district; the other was Francis H. C. Crick, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, who died in 2004.
A course description distributed to students and parents said, “This class will take a close look at evolution as a theory and will discuss the scientific, biological and biblical aspects that suggest why Darwin’s philosophy is not rock solid.”
Um. That sounds like advocacy to me. Religious advocacy. And, um, teaching ID as science, no matter what category the class is, itself, listed. Never mind that science used to be called “natural philosophy.”
And that, frankly, is off limits, guys.
The school principal referred inquiries to the superintendent, John W. Wright, who was in Washington and did not respond to an interview request. But Mr. Wright said in a letter on Jan. 6 in response to a complaint from Americans United, “Our legal advisers have pointed out that they are unaware of any court or California statute which has forbidden public schools to explore cultural phenomena, including history, religion or creation myths.”
Exploring cultural phenomena? Go for it. Sounds fun.
Advocating religious viewpoints and exploring (from a pre-determined negative position) the scientific basis for evolution? I’ll bet you we can find something in the courts and statues of California that don’t let you do that.
Got home last night with no incident. Didn’t make it to LAX in time to standby onto the 6 p.m. flight, but that gave me a chance to do a…
Got home last night with no incident. Didn’t make it to LAX in time to standby onto the 6 p.m. flight, but that gave me a chance to do a lot of work-work without the annoyance of connectivity.
No problem for DHIMOM at check-in. Lines were light. They’re expanding the Terminal 7 security area, which will be nice.
I was approached by a very nice English gent while I was pounding away on my notebook in the restaurant who asked if he could recharge his iPod off of my USB port. I agreed (after all the usual paranoid thoughts), and he bought me a soda (sans ice).
I was tempted (when prompted by iTunes, which eventually noticed the iPod hanging there) to overwrite his music library with some stuff from my collection, but I restrained myself.
Managed to “Premiere” my way to a free Economy Plus seat at the front, just behind the First Class bulkhead. That gave me plenty of leg room and quick egress, but made balancing my notebook and papers a bit tricker on those crazy little tables. That and the glasses (First Class style) of wine they kept plying me with for free, which was odd but also nice.
Made it home, found Margie still playing CoH, chatted about stuff, unwound, and went to bed.
Last travel for a bit. I hope.
It is probably a sign of something or another that the increase to the First Class rate of 2 cents (to, I believe, $0.39) passed unnoticed until someone reminded me….
It is probably a sign of something or another that the increase to the First Class rate of 2 cents (to, I believe, $0.39) passed unnoticed until someone reminded me.
I actually send mail once a month or less (with the exception of Christmas Cards); everything else is handled electronically. No doubt some future generation will find the “postage stamp” as quaint a concept as, oh, the Pony Express. The only thing of note about the postage increase is:
1. What an annoying number.
2. Can’t use this year’s leftover Christmas stamps next year.
3. Hmm. I think I still have some 22-centers I can double up to mail stuff with.
I couldn’t find the office door key in my briefcase when I was looking for it last night. Coming into the office early, I was concerned about getting in. When…
I couldn’t find the office door key in my briefcase when I was looking for it last night. Coming into the office early, I was concerned about getting in.
When I put on my suit this morning, I discovered it was still in the pocket from the last visit I’d used it. Huzzah.
Of course, I also left my power brick for my notebook back in the hotel room, but you can only have so many good things happen for you at once, right?
Guess whose travel agent didn’t use his travel profile (the one with his middle initial) to make his reservations? Yes, it was time, once again, for DHIMMOM to make his…
Guess whose travel agent didn’t use his travel profile (the one with his middle initial) to make his reservations?
Yes, it was time, once again, for DHIMMOM to make his appearance. I knew I was in trouble as soon as the little self-serve check-in kiosk told to talk to a real, live person. Interestingly enough, there was a whole set of “secondary check-in” podiums, manned with three or four people, with a moderately long line in front of them.
Standard drill. She took my drivers license; called the TSA Mother Ship; read the number, my birthdate, my middle name; and got permission for me to sneak on board. Annoying. Not as annoying as then having her feed me the standard line about making a reservation with my middle name (as I told her multiple times our company travel agent usually does; she also didn’t make the reservation with my frequent flier number, either).
It would have been amusing if I hadn’t had a phonecon I had to hop onto. Fortunately, one way or the other, I couldn’t do so, since our conference calling service evidently went through the Sprint lines that were down from this afternoon’s West Coast outage.
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I have probably written this before somewhere, but since it bugged me (again) today: If your e-mail — esp. your business e-mail — has an automatic sig line, please don’t…
I have probably written this before somewhere, but since it bugged me (again) today:
If your e-mail — esp. your business e-mail — has an automatic sig line, please don’t include the sign-off in it. Getting something at the bottom of the e-mail that says, “Regards, Joe Smith,” when it’s clear that the word “Regards” goes out on every single e-mail whether it’s to the CEO, me, or a complaint to some spammer, makes the whole sentiment utterly useless.
Just put your name. Add a personalized sign-off if it really is personalized, not if it’s auto-appended.
The good news is that my slew of morning phonecons have magically dissolved, like mist in the sunlight. The bad news is that it’s because a critical participant in a…
The good news is that my slew of morning phonecons have magically dissolved, like mist in the sunlight.
The bad news is that it’s because a critical participant in a couple of them isn’t in the office, and another one of them got scheduled on top of another major phonecon/meeting I have tomorrow. And I still have more than enough to fill in the vacuum of those phonecons.
Long week ahead.
UPDATE: On the bright side, one of my staff thanked me for teaching them the phrase mea culpa, so at least I accomplished something worthwhile last week. 🙂
UPDATE 2: It never rains but it pours. Just discovered that two of my “problem child” projects are going to be highlighted in a project review for the CIO on Friday. Joy.
And Ginger found my Treo wireless headset. In California. In the dryer.
Oh, did I mention the sinus/ear infection I seem to be battling?
Quoth the BBC … Not for the first time in recent months, elements on the Republican Party’s religious wing are causing it embarrassment. In this case, it’s (once again) Pat…
Not for the first time in recent months, elements on the Republican Party’s religious wing are causing it embarrassment.
In this case, it’s (once again) Pat Robertson, who, while noting that Ariel Sharon is quite a nice fellow, blamed his recent cerebral hemorrhage on his plans to split the Holy Land by pulling Israel back from Gaza and West Bank.
“You read the Bible: This is my land, and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he’s going to carve it up and give it away, God says no, this is mine.”
Yikes. Y’know, if God were really going to take that big an interest over who was doing stuff with the Holy Land, I’d expect to see a wave of cerebral hemorrhages sweep across the freakin’ area (and points in all directions, as far as that goes). To single out Sharon seems more than a bit arbitrary. (For that matter, it seems a bit late, since the Gaza withdrawal was a few months ago, or early, since the West Bank barrier is incomplete.)
I don’t know why I spend so much time kvetching about Pat Robertson, except to paraphrase the Beeb and say, “Not for the first time in recent months, elements of American Christianity’s political wing are causing it embarrassment” …
A pleasant afternoon at the park. UPDATE: We took Kitten to the park between CoH bouts. Fun on the swings and in the jungle gyms and also with soccer ball…
A pleasant afternoon at the park.
UPDATE: We took Kitten to the park between CoH bouts. Fun on the swings and in the jungle gyms and also with soccer ball — I seriously want to get her enrolled in soccer come the springtime.
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Somehow, I don’t recall the folks hanging around the IBM 4331 we had at the college (or the successor 4341, or, for that matter, around any of our 3278 terminals)…
Somehow, I don’t recall the folks hanging around the IBM 4331 we had at the college (or the successor 4341, or, for that matter, around any of our 3278 terminals) looking like this. I recall a lot more denim and t-shirts, in fact.
(I also don’t recall the 4331 being a “minicomputer,” along the lines of the VAX or DEC-10. We always referred to it as the “mainframe,” though that might also have been wishful thinking.)
Another Yellow Hat installment. this post enabled by airblogging.com. The weird horizontal line was an artifact of the phone….
Another Yellow Hat installment.
this post enabled by airblogging.com. The weird horizontal line was an artifact of the phone.
While there have historically been religious sects that openly incorporated sexual activity as part of their religious activities, Southern Baptists aren’t usually considered among that number. Which makes the claim…
While there have historically been religious sects that openly incorporated sexual activity as part of their religious activities, Southern Baptists aren’t usually considered among that number. Which makes the claim …
“I was in the area pastoring to police.”
… a bit odd, given that …
An executive committee member of the Southern Baptist Convention was arrested on a lewdness charge for propositioning a plainclothes policeman outside a hotel, police said. Lonnie Latham, senior pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church, was booked into Oklahoma County Jail Tuesday night on a misdemeanor charge of offering to engage in an act of lewdness, police Capt. Jeffrey Becker said. Latham was released on $500 bail Wednesday afternoon.
Latham, who has spoken out against homosexuality, asked the officer to join him in his hotel room for oral sex. Latham was arrested and his 2005 Mercedes automobile was impounded, Becker said.
Actually, involuntary chortling aside, it’s actually pretty sad. Latham has been a supporter of Southern Baptists measures to befriend gays to the end of convincing them they can go straight if “if they accept Jesus Christ as their savior and reject their ‘sinful, destructive lifestyle.'” Obviously Latham’s got some personal problems here, and a lot of internal conflicts over his own sexuality and his efforts to reject same — which efforts, in his case, have indeed become destructive.
(via Les)
So quoth Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on the Abramoff brouhaha. Wrong, Harry. It’s a Congressional Scandal, and with names like yours and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) being bandied about as…
So quoth Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on the Abramoff brouhaha.
Wrong, Harry. It’s a Congressional Scandal, and with names like yours and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) being bandied about as “recipients of large contributions from tribes represented by Abramoff,” the only reason I suspect we’ll see more Republicans than Democrats lined up against the wall on this is because they have a majority in both houses and have been in power more over the past decade or so.
I am not one to automatically associate lobbying with bribery, or to presume that contributors are actually puppet masters. I like to think the system usually works, within the bounds of human frailty.
But I’m getting the tar, feathers, and rail ready for these guys this time. It’s about time someone reminded Congress of whom they are actually supposed to represent.
(via Ginny)
Drinking lots of coffee can significantly reduce the occurrence of some types of breast cancer in women. “Those women who drank six or more cups of coffee a day on…
Drinking lots of coffee can significantly reduce the occurrence of some types of breast cancer in women.
“Those women who drank six or more cups of coffee a day on average had about a 75 per cent reduction in the risk of breast cancer,” Narod said.
The study looked at women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, and found those who drank coffee had less risk of developing breast cancer than those who did not. Drinking coffee was especially protective against breast cancer among those with a BRCA1 mutation.
Those who drank one to three cups daily had a 10 per cent lower chance of developing breast cancer than those who did not drink coffee. Those who drank four or five cups had a 25 per cent lower risk. And those who drank six cups or more had a 69 per cent lower chance of developing breast cancer.
[…] The researchers believe the lower cancer risk may be the result of phtoestrogens found in the coffee. Decaffeinated coffee consumption had no effect on breast cancer rates.
So … go for that espresso, ladies!
(via Beth)
I’d really, really, really, really, really, REALLY (no, really) hoped that I could take tomorrow off. Just relax. Sleep in. Hang out. Be pampered. Play some CoH. Play with photo…
I’d really, really, really, really, really, REALLY (no, really) hoped that I could take tomorrow off. Just relax. Sleep in. Hang out. Be pampered. Play some CoH. Play with photo software. Relax. Enjoy. Vacate.
Instead (or, perhaps, in addition), I have a Noon phonecon that I must chair. I have one at 2 that I should probably be on (since my top client, my boss, the IT VP liaison to my top client will be there, and the call is being led by my top manager who’s in charge of a project in serious trouble …).
And I should probably check my e-mail, too.
Hrm.
At least I can sleep in. And I have a nice evening planned. 🙂
You meet the strangest people online … Hi David, Please don’t be alarmed. I’m not your evil doppelganger… nor have I stolen your identity. I stumbled upon your Amazon reviews…
You meet the strangest people online …
Hi David,
Please don’t be alarmed. I’m not your evil doppelganger… nor have I stolen your identity.
I stumbled upon your Amazon reviews completely by chance. But here’s the odd thing – you like comic books? Well, I’ve produced my own comic book called ‘Glory Be!’ that I’ve published myself since last August. Here’s the link to my site, if you want to see for yourself…
http://www.creationcomics.co.uk
I live in England, but just wanted to say hi to my namesake …
Best regards,
David C Hill (Dave)
PS: My C stands for Charles.
I went to the site, and, yes, indeed, the name “Dave Hill” is spattered all over the place. It’s … vaguely disturbing, even though I’ve hardly got the least common name on the planet.
Still, he seems like a decent enough sort, and certainly the name alone is worth recommending you pop on over and check the place out.
My thought, back in early December, was … I’m taking two-plus weeks of vacation around the holidays. No problem. I’ll plan on working Tuesday-Wednesday each of the two weeks, which…
My thought, back in early December, was …
I’m taking two-plus weeks of vacation around the holidays. No problem. I’ll plan on working Tuesday-Wednesday each of the two weeks, which will be enough to cover whatever small crises come up, while still allowing me some time to finally get to some strategic initiatives my boss has assigned me, while still not interfering with the general “getting a rest” quality of the holidays.
The reality? Nowhere near the thought.
Each Tuesday/Wednesday has been action packed with playing catch-up and then trying to advance the dozen-odd major projects and production issues I have to fight right now, juggling a week of meetings into two days, and generally unproductive fever pitch. The other days have resulted in what feels like at least one, if not more, business conference calls on major production issues I simply couldn’t avoid.
At this point, I’m feeling like I should have just said nothing for Christmas week, and then hit 3-4 days this week. That wouldn’t have gotten me out of some of the brouhaha on the phone, but it would have blocked out some real time regardless. Or something. Because, to be honest, I feel like I’ve managed to accomplish neither of my goals (to rest and to keep up with work).
Rrg.
Of course, this year is particularly bad with major projects all needing to be planned and scheduled and reviewed and approved by some very demanding clients, some other major projects that I’m suddenly having to pay more attention to, personnel shifts, and a couple of weeks of major production glitches in the middle of year-end processing, which I am suddenly much more involved in, too.
But, still …
(Takes deep breath.)
We will persevere. It’ll get done.
The shape of the glass can fool folks as to how much is being poured into it. In a survey of teens, adults, and even bar tenders, folks tended to…
The shape of the glass can fool folks as to how much is being poured into it. In a survey of teens, adults, and even bar tenders, folks tended to underestimate the amount of fluid in a short, fat glass, vs. a tall, skinny glass.
Three separate studies yielded similar conclusions, regardless of the beverage. Teenagers concerned about their health poured less fruit juice when they were given tall, slender glasses than when they were given short, squat tumblers, although they believed the opposite was true.
What is at work here is how we measure quantities in the mind’s eye, Wansink says. We tend to rely more on a vertical than a horizontal measurement, so it appears at first that a taller glass holds more than a shorter one, even if the short glass is wider. “Elongation,” to use the researchers’ word, is the trickster here.
(via GeekPress)
Just what everyone needs — a primer on how to defend onesself with (or from) a walking stick: No. 6. A very Safe Way to Disable a Boxer who Attempts…
Just what everyone needs — a primer on how to defend onesself with (or from) a walking stick:
No. 6. A very Safe Way to Disable a Boxer who Attempts to Rush You when You are Armed with a Stick.
Imagine the case of a man armed with a serviceable stick being attacked by a skilled boxer. One of the safest and most reliable methods of defence against a boxer’s fists is as follows: —
The man with the stick faces the boxer in the back-guard position — that is to say, with his left foot and arm extended, and his right arm guarding his head. His left arm is thus free to guard his face or body, if, by any chance, he should fail to evade the blow.
As soon as the boxer opens his attack with a direct blow upon the man with the stick, the latter jumps with one movement to the former’s left, bending well forward in a crouched position, so as to avoid any possibility of being hit. Then, turning half round on his left toe, and drawing his right foot in a line with his left, he makes a low, back-handed sweep with his stick, and strikes the boxer across the knee, disabling him, and bringing him to the ground.
No mention of an attacker using a banana, though there is a section on defense against “the most Dangerous Kick of an Expert Kicker,” also known as a “savater, or foot-boxer.”
Good show.
(via the Flea)