One down, two to go. - 5 April 2007

With today, I have closed out all the work I need to do for one class. There is only one more thing to turn in and one more class to attend, and that one’s finished for real. Next Monday, another one bits the dust after a group presentation. And from there, all that’s left is to turn in the final code release. (Well, and present that Wednesday, but that one looks to be a pretty informal affair.)

After tomorrow’s interview, I’ll be hightailing it for the Land of No Net Connectivity for a couple days, so hold all my e-mails and links, or something. Wouldn’t want you to think that an Internet service provider had done something bone-jarringly stupid, like suspending someone’s account for excessive downloading, or something.

Starting with food and drink, cloudy apple juice is apparently better for you than clear, filtered apple juice through virtue of carrying more antioxidants. Usually, the stuff’s pretty good-tasting, too, so for those who can and want to, drink up!

Following this with a damn good idea. Downsize D.C. has launched a campaign to get a law introduced and passed that would require a quorum of legislators to be present at every reading of every bill, whether introduced or up for revision, that every word of the bill be read in the presence of this quorum, and those present sign an affadavit indicating that they paid attention while the reading occurred. I think the quorum presence and full reading is part of procedure, if not already codified into law, but I could be wrong. The desired effect, in any case, is that the Congresscritters would make shorter, cleaner, more effective laws, and then replace the current arcane set with smaller, cleaner laws because they would hate having to sit through all those full readings of the bills as well as swear that they actually understood what was said. It’s got merit. I’d like to see it happen. And I’d like to see what sort of crushing accountability could be delivered to those who weren’t paying attention and let something go through, even when they did say they had paid attention.

The nation of Eritrea has banned the practice of female circumcision, more often cited as a female genital mutilation in studies on the subject. They join several other nations in banning the practice. We’ll see whether they enforce the matter as the ban would dictate. I suppose we’re lucky in the U.S. that all people talk about is that having birth control will make people have more sex. At least they’re not trying to actively inflict pain on women and make sex less pleasurable.

Following up on a previous nationwide story, no criminal charges are being pressed against the radio station that ran the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest that resulted in a death. Because, probably along with indemnity clauses, it was determined that the victim could have stopped at any time.

The AP reports that the fifteen soldiers captured and then broadcast have returned home safely to England. a conflict resolved peacefully. Been a while since we had one of those.

The sun’s natural cycle of spots and flares could hold problems for our technological world. GPS systems may be affected or disrupted by solar flares.

The military continues to require much of its members, So much so that units currently on a break between tours will have spent less than a year away before being sent back to ensure that troop levels consistent with the surge are maintained. On the ideological front, "Global War on Terror" is no longer a term in vogue for the 2008 defence budget., and will be absent. Not that any of the things that the GWOT was doing will disappear, at least for the moment, but the term is not going to be used. Perhaps because the people in defence have figured out precisely what a global war on an abstract concept will require in terms of funds, troops, and ideological commitments. An opinion in the Wall Street Journal suggests Iran and Islam is the next Cold War, and requires a similar stance, while the Journal’s deputy editor of editorials continues the suggestion that we wait for results on the troop surge before pulling the plug on Iraq.

Making Light provides an insight into why these sorts of positions seem reasonable to people - The middle is where most people are. But if you change where the middle is, then the whole country will move the way you want it to. So that shift right that’s been going on for a while, making the country even more conservative than usual? Has much to do with the constant barrage that anything even remotely, one drop associated with something left of the Republican/neoconservative/dominionist agenda is fringe lunacy, Communism (ohnoes!) and only terrorist, the insane, and the damned hold those kinds of views.

Summarizing a different kind of lunacy, the New York Times has a piece from music store owners about how everything the RIAA has done in the last few years has produced the opposite effect of what was intended. In trying to kill singles, they’ve killed albums. In trying to kill piracy, they’ve encouraged it. In rallying against the Internet phenomenon, they’ve driven it to new heights. People get singles over the Internet, and DRM-free, if they’re willing to pay the premium for it.

Out of Kuro5hin, an example that might help people understand why math is a hated subject in our schools. The method to teach math currently popular teaches nothing about the broader concepts of what math can do, and the “real-world” applications thereof are extraordinarily contrived. There’s a nice analogy right at the beginning about how much English would be hated were the same methods used to teach math used on English.

I have a slew of religiously-oriented material here. First, a tale of two posters. On the left, beep for Jesus. On the right, beep twice for Max wearing a Satan mask. (Well, okay, it’s supposed to be El Diablo himself, but one of the commenters rightly notes that it could be Max wearing a mask.) Some other wonderfully Christian values make much of a Muslim praying the invocation for the Texas Senate, which prompted one of the Texas State senators to leave the floor while the prayer was delivered, and argues that the Senate should not let Muslims pray on their floor because other countries’ would not let Christians or Jews pray on theirs. Whatever happened to the idea of blessing those that curse you? Even more so, Pat Robertson is worried that Islam will take over America and make Christians second-class citizens... while he’s trying to get ideological clones of his to take over the government and make other people into second-class citizens.

Changing out from monotheists to kami everywhere, Spiegel Online has an article about Shinto, the indigenous (is it?) religion of Japan. Gods For Every Occasion shows how Shinto practice survives through tradition and coexists with Buddhist, Christian, and other practices on the islands. Wouldn’t it be nice if Christianity in this country could get along so well with the other faiths around it?

With all that religion, there must be a good shot or two of science to make things fair and balanced... or something. Or just some new ways of using scientific components, like making your own wine charms with circuit board components and solder. Slipping into science fiction for a bit, one of the cars used for close-up shots of KITT, from Knight Rider, is for sale. In its current state, it’s not street-legal, but for someone who is willing to put up the nearly $150,000 U.S. for the car, the cost of making it legal is probably a pittance more. More than likely, KITT will be bought for display, rather than driving.

An ethical dilemma presents itself to the modern world. Do you imprison people who carry diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculoisis when they don’t quarantine themselves, intentionally or accidentally? Obviously, those in charge don’t want epidemics if potentially deadly diseases, and I have a sinking feeling that it would take quite a while to develop a natural resistance, if one exists, against these kinds of strains. So what do you do?

Helvetica turns fifty years old today, and a lot of things that we’re used to seeing thank Helvetica for its long years of service. It won’t be retiring any time soon, either.

And last, invoking Godwin’s Law (sort of). The Table of Malcontents realizes when it comes to the idea of Nazis ruling Antarctica using UFO technology, truth is less cool than fiction.

But we’ll leave you with something that works, even though it probably shouldn’t. In A.D. 2101, snow war was beginning. Which reminds me. It snowed today. All freaking day. When I wake up in the morning, I’d like for it to be a bright sunshiny warm day. Like the ones earlier in the week.

Before I go, one last infodump - 6 April 2007

Well, survived the interview. I think this one went better than the last. Still just stage one, though. Unlike Sasuke, where there’s usually a button to indicate passing the stage, I’ll just have to wait on this one. Much like Missy Kurzweil in The View From the Couch, the anxiety is high, sometimes the indecisiveness gets to you, and in my profession, the libraries aren’t coming to us to offer positions (not really, anyway). Luckily, I’m not the only one with post-graduation anxieties and job searches. It’ll happen. The question is more a matter of when than if, now.

Since I’ll be heading out after this for the break, you get the link list early.

Buddhadharma 2.0 continues at Buddhist Geeks, exploring some of the ways that technology has changed the teacher-student relationship.

Sneaking in a pair of articles on biotech (and hoping I don’t get hit by any of the biologists around), San Diego researchers are making a strong claim - they can prevent (or at least heavily retard) bacteria from mutating into resistant strains. The process involves a molecule that stops the bacteria from utilizing segments of DNA that tend to replicate with errors (Errors? What kind of errors?). In conjunction with antibiotics, it is thought this will prevent bacterial strains from developing resistance through mutation, and possibly give new life to antibiotics long since passed. The other bit is MIT and Stanford researchers have developed a method of turning neurons on and off by exposing them to specific light, using genes to envelop cells with objects that will either positively or negatively charge neurons (triggering or inhibiting them, respectively) depending on the light exposure. The on/off switch hopes to be useful for people who have problems caused by errant neuron firings, or to help gain more precision in the mapping of the brain and what fires when certain tasks are used.

Strange stuff involving matters of NC-17 nature. First, always make sure that the person you think is of age is of age. The girl who looks 16 may be 10. The gent is spared jail but is registered as a sex offender. Elsewhere, a judge considered looking at child pr0n to be a matter of weak impulse control while he was sentencing someone who had more than 800 images of such. He didn’t suggest there would be lighter sentencing to those caught with it, just that the people who do have it should know better and be able to control themselves. In Florida, because of strict regulations of convicted sex offenders, some sex offenders are being housed under a bridge, because of the restrictions on where they can and cannot live and go. This probably borders on the cruel and unusual punishment stage, but it runs up against “zomg! Think of the Childrens!”, and so will likely persist.

Veering into politics and international affairs, Mr. Bush continues to say that leaving Iraq would be disaster. Even more disturbing, National Guard brigades could be sent to Iraq. Aren’t the guard supposed to only be used to defend the country, not go out and fight wars in others? Or did that get changed through a quiet provision in a bill somewhere?

An opinion in the Telegraph today suggests that IRan's about-face on the matter of the British soldiers is a way of currying favor and appearing positive, while hiding other intentions. An opinion in Townhall.com from Oliver North looks at the consequences of the action and concludes because the world depends on oil prices, Iran will act lawlessly and with impunity. The suggestion at the end of his article, though, is to build an alternative project that will free the country from oil dependence. I me wonder if we can pitch renewables to liberals as a clean, non-polluting energy, and to conservatives as a way of ensuring that America can continue to act as a power, rather than having to bow to oil-rich governments. There’s a bi-partisan accord for you.

The Speaker continued her Middle East tour, visiting Saudia Arabia and engaging in talks with the king of the country. Although the article seems to be more focused on her talks with Syria and the state of the Middle East than saying much about her experience in Saudi Arabia. Filler of some sort, perhaps?

The obvious Orwell reference, made. The semi-obvious V for Vendetta reference, made. Now, observe, if you will, the introduction of CCTV cameras in England that tell people when they are breaking laws or being anti-social. I would like to know if anyone has plans for them to broadcast the 1812 Overture on the day they all become operational.

More attorney oddities. Four attorneys resigned their posts collectively, citing an inability to get along with their newly-appointed boss, even after Washington sent a mediator down to try and dissuade them. TPM may be making a mountain out of a molehill in this occasion, but we’ll watch for further developments and see if anything more comes to light.

Finally, Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon on Truthout remind us that Dr. King fought for a lot more than just civil rights in his lifetime, but the parts that don’t make him into an American hero often aren’t shown.

Stuck in Customs has a beautiful picture of Times Square at dusk. The first thing I notice, though... is all the advertisements. That’s where the color comes from. And now I wonder how pretty the place might look if all the ads were off.

Google announces a means of making Google Maps even more useful - MyMaps, which lets users do some map tagging of their own. Scientific American has more about the new service, and some of the maps that have already been created, like the origins of programming languages or the places where monsters have been sighted worldwide.

I’m not sure how well these will go over, but you can get a sticker set for the Tube that says which stop to wake you at. This probably breaks the rules of Underground Etiquette, and it also relies on someone else actually waking you at the requested point. So it may not work to well at all.

The last laugh is Post Modern Barney's take on the Globe Theater Internet Message Board, circa Shakespeare. I laughed a lot at these, as they skewer the fandom and the Bard at the same time.

And, like yesterday, it was snowing out. Mother Nature is two to three months late on this. We need to recalibrate, either the seasons or Nature herself. This snow in April bit is just not cool. Maybe, to express my rage, I’ll learn how to rip a phonebook in half and do it. Or maybe I’ll just enjoy the company of family.

The other part for the weekend, the Blog Against Theocracy.

Funny how things sneak up on you like that. Over this weekend, if I want to participate in a blogswarm supporting many causes, such as the separation of science and religion in the classroom, the stopping of discrimination based on religious grounds in the government, against those of differing sexual orientations or religions, or the firm commitment to the idea that the United States should maintain itself as a democratic republic, rather than slide into being ruled by religious extremists, the thing that jumps into my head most is how “Blog Against Theocracy” represents a lot more than it looks at first.

In some ways, being against theocracy could be bad. If the religion in general was benevolent, had members who practiced that benevolence in all aspects of their life, and were moral, ethical, and upstanding people, then there would probably be a big call for them to be enshrined in the government. If they were competent administrators and applied the principles of their religion to their work, for the improvement of all people under their eye, then most people probably wouldn’t have problems with keeping them in government and letting them rule by religious principles.

Where the problems start are in implementation and in our various dispositions as human beings. For various reasons, some people just tick us off, or we’re taught in one way or another that some people aren’t as good as we are, because they lack something, be it fairness of skin, affluence, or the big one, religion and the “salvation” and “morality” that goes along with it. A lot of the influential writers, founders, and figures of religions recognized that this happened, and have teachings that instruct their followers not to do it. The Prophet spoke of the People of the Book, those who weren’t Muslim but worshipped the same G-d. Samaritans, tax collectors, “sinners”, Romans, Gentiles, the poor, and women are all part of the story of Jesus of Nazareth. The message is pretty clear: These people are worthy, too. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. G-d does not play favorites, but he rewards those who do what he instructs and calls them his chosen people.

The Founding Fathers recognized this, too, and thus enshrined into the Constitution a prohibition against adopting a single religion or excluding other religions from being able to practice. They wanted to get rid of the possibility that our own human biases would lead us to systematic exclusions of people based on their beliefs.

Right now, much of the world thinks they are G-d’s chosen people by virtue of the place they were born, the family they were born into, or the religion they follow. And they think they should shout from the rooftops about their special status. They expect to be obeyed, to be given special treatment, to have their view enshrined in the laws of the land, because G-d demands it of his people. Jesus had words about them, too.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.” (Matthew 6:5, NSRV)

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by the host, and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place’, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that wen your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke, 14:7-11, NSRV)

People are telling the world about their religion every moment of every day of their life. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Fred Phelps, George H.W. Bush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, King Abdullah, the barista at Starbucks, the preacher on the street, the vested priest celebrating the resurrection festival, the hooded priestess celebrating the coming of spring. The person that says homosexuals go to hell, and the person that defends the right of homosexuals to be married. Everyone says “This is what an X is”, whether religious or not, in everything they say and do. Some people are much more subtle about it than others, and some are much more in tune with the teachings of their founders than others.

So, I suppose my parting question is just this - which would be more in tune with being a good member of your religion - enshrining it into law and forcing people to worship the same way you do, making loud and public proclamations of your faith (under penalty of imprisonment or death if you don’t), and displaying your faith as conspicuously as possible to everyone, or by doing works that bring about a better quality of life for everyone, regardless of faith?

“But whenever you go pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6, NSRV)