Elections day in the USA

According to the early (meaning, as of this posting) result, the Democrats look like they're going to get a gain on the House, and the Senate is still waaaaaay too close to call. In more local matters, it looks like a good day for the regressives, as their proposal to stop affirmative action and gender-specific programs and considerations looks to pass. Handily. We Are Not Amused.

Although there hasn't been too much ruckus yet about election fraud, Kos suggests that we adopt Oregon's system and say thatmail-in ballots are definitely the answer. Of course, one sometimes wonders whether vote-stealing is needed, as the president can use the military to suppress their own citizens, if he declares the right kind of emergencies. Fox did it's part to get the vote out, by having Sean Hannity encourage Democratic voters to stay home, apparently under the misguided belief that that the Democratic party has abandoned its base. (If it has, they should still turn out in force, though, and vote someone in who they can get behind.) Maybe he's banking this on the Washington Post reporting that the terror campaign waged by the Republicans is succeeding far beyond their expectations? So much so that both sides' campaign messages are "We're not the wacko in the White House!".

Potburgers for the officers of the law, anyone? Certainly, sirs. Also in the odd department, Pronto condoms - apply the rubber to your willy in record time, so that you can make the most of that legendary staying power of yours. (Actually, it's not a half-bad idea, if it gets more people to take the few seconds it needs to actually put on a rubber.) If you're looking for what happened to deleted Wikipedia articles, give a thwock at The Wikipedia Dumper, where many of those articles have been rescued.

My MEMS degree is tickled at this article, which gives several reasons how Medieval Times got it wrong on authenticity.

Papers, Please! A blog that comments on issues regarding the need, or lack thereof, for identification to exercise basic rights. Generally negative about programs that impose more identification requirements. It's a worldwide focus, and it covers nonhumans, as well.

Okay, okay. Here come the calls of "playing God." The BBC reports that UK scientists are trying to create embyros by fusing human DNA and cow eggs. These will be for stem-cell research purposes, not for udder experiments.

A potentially interesting resource, with pictures and information, about Japanese Gods, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas. Has much on origins, too - so in a little poking, I find information about the four legendary beings that a story like Fushigi Yugi takes its mythology from. Very exciting.

Here's some bottlecap turtles. I might need the drinks more. Although, I think I'm forgetting something. Maybe if I go to sleep, then I'll remember. I might remember is better if while asleep, someone gives my brain a gentle electric current, according to NewScientist. It'll certainly help for my exams. The real question is whether it'll help me on creativity.

The aftermath.

So I went to bed last night not knowing what was going to appear. For the moment, it looks like the Dems may have both of the federal houses, which will make life hell for the current President, assuming all the Dems vote in their ranks. Likely as a result of this, Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down as Defense Secretary. Both of these things makes the Democrat supporters happy. The rest of us get some relief from the constant Republican assault. With the speed of Rummy's evacuation, one wonders whether the relationship terminator was called in.

Unfortunately, there was also the matter of the amendment to end affirmative action programs passing, too. In the environment I'm in, you want to believe the state champions liberal causes. Then elections happen and you realize that you're in a bubble. (Most of us knew this already, I would hope.) On the cheerier side, it looked like Arizona was set to reject a gay marriage ban, making them the first state to do so.

Much of Pennsylvania was also overjoyed to see Rick Santorum lose his job. What's best about this article is the picture - look at the expressions on the family. You could probably have a captioning contest on this, and I suspect it would quickly deteriorate into the worst of the Republican offenses, like "The girls know that Daddy will be drinking tonight. When he gets drunk, he wants his belt. The boy knows that after the belt, he wants his son." or something like that. It's a pretty weird picture.

Michigan did vote down a mourning dove hunting amendment. That doesn't stop hunting season from starting next weekend. Some people, who don't want to wait for dressing and cooking, may elect to use the seasoning shells to help make their game more palatable from the beginning.

Another possible avenue toward renewable fuels - nanoporus materials to hold hydrogen fuel at safe temperatures and pressures. In other nanotechnology, there may be an easier way of making strongly conducitve carbon nanotubes. We'll see whether the laws regarding power and size still manage to hold, or whether we have to wait a little bit before nanocomputers.

And then there's a surfaceish look at the zombie genre and what it means. At least, to me it looks kind of surfaceish, but it hints that there might be something deep in the non-deepness of the zombie movie.

Anyway, that's the end of the links post. After I scribble down the other post, I'm probably dropping into bed and snoozing for a good while.

The list of 5 things I'm proud of - #1

This series of entries are tagged. It's that damn important for me, that I want to be able to find these in the vast myriads of links and Livejournal posts.

This entry comes about because, in conversing with him, 2dlife challenged me with a simple task: "Write five things about yourself that you are proud of, without using any qualifications or comparisons."

I stalled out at three at the time. And it took me a very long time to get numbers four and five on the list. I said that when I got to five, I'd go back and write out an LJ entry for each one of them, and then at the end, I'd open up the floor to see if I missed anything. Since 2dlife said that he'd come up with ten in my struggle to find three, I suspect there's a lot there I'm not noticing.

A few days ago, I finally found #5. So now I'm fulfilling the other part of the requirement. It's time to write some self-praise. Most likely, I'm well-overdue for it. Here we go.

#1: I have graduated from the University of Michigan, with high honors and high distinction. And then I graduated again two years later.

My bachelor's degree is one of my greatest achievements to this date - and it rolls in several other statements about me - I was able to get into the University, and able to finish the course of study, not only writing an undergraduate thesis, but receiving high honors and finishing with a grade point average that is in the top 10% of my class. And then I got into the graduate school, went through the course of study, and graduated from that, too. Anyway, what this says about me is one of the few things that I've been mostly proud about in my life - I'm a pretty smart person. In the times where I'm not the greatest of sport players, or I despair for not having a harem of girls hanging off my arms, I can still take comfort in having high intelligence. Does that mean I take comfort in knowing exactly why it isn't working, or take comfort in being able to fix it when something looks like it's not going to work? Something like that. There's something to be proud of for being smart in the book sense. Maybe it's the ability to rise above the pettiness of high school and not get drawn into those kinds of politics when they reappear later in life. Intelligence and experience both grant perspective. That perspective is something to be proud of.

They also grant the ability to avoid getting painted too much by one's family when they start tossing off in-jokes, strange jokes and long-winded jokes involving describing things in their most wordy way. Eventually, it lets you shoot back. This is something to be proud of, as the people who have been around my family (or me) will attest.

So, it's worth being proud of myself for being bright, and the tangible manifestation of that is in the degree that I currently have with me in my room. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far in the academic sphere. That should translate into success in the career field as well.

That's one. There are four more to go that I've thought of.