A short post - 12-14 September 2009
Sep. 15th, 2009 09:47 amSalutations, fans of sport. It was an interesting weekend, where a young team with a fairly new coach managed a last-seconds drive to beat a top 25 opponent, and then climbed into the top 25 ranking themselves. While the powerhouse team of that conference lost a game through poor gameplay, despite the score being relatively close. Additionally, those who follow Twilight and are in Utah can traverse a corn maze made to look like the characters in the book, which will no doubt make for a Team Edward/Team Jacob relay sprint. (Assuming they aren't rudely interrupted by Depp's fourth Pirates movie, which could steal their thunder away.)
On more professional news, unless it the budget changes significantly, the Free Library of Philadelphia will close in October. That's a gigantic city library system, gone. What kind of people have we become where this is even possible? That said, pressure is being applied to make it possible to continue operations.
Finally, Norman Borlaug, engineer of higher-yield crops to help with food shortages, has died at 95, and Patrick Swayze, most notably of Dirty Dancing fame, has died at 57.
Domestically, the last week was chock full of fibs, falsehoods, fearmongering, and lots of lying (and, rather interestingly, the most vocal accusation of lying was to a statement that wasn't a lie.) Over the weekend, a tea party (and other fringe elements) march in Washington, with at least partial credit claimed by Glenn Beck's "9/12" idea The signs are pretty informative. No, not the ones you see in the WND article, the other ones. Like the right question to be asking at such an event (and one answer that sums it up pretty well), the poor-taste reference to the recently deceased, followed by the reference to the Secret Muslim canard, the new conservative rallying cry, the "let's use an image before we really think about whether it applies" posters, oh, and yes, the secession-implying throwback to a time when black men were slaves, not Presidents. WND nicely summarizes all the astroturf organizations taking part in the attempted grassroots as well. And yes, there are plenty of mis-spelled objects, including one that has already been demotivatorized about a "pubic option", for example, and combinations of all the previously mentioned tropes, combining the "liar", "Joker-Obama", "Obama bin Laden", and "taxed to death" all on one sign, for example.
Additionally, a film about the life of Charles Darwin made in the UK cannot find a US distributor because they feel it would be too controversial for the audience. *headpiano* Not to mention the description given by a prominent Christian review site describes Darwin as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder. His 'half-baked theory' directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to 'atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering', the site stated". The worrying statistic is the one that says approximately 4 in 10 Americans believe in evolution (although, as with all surveys, seeing the question asked is important. Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics, you know.) And then, there's the endless problems with "when I say scientific theory, I do not mean layman's definitions" that crop up, too.
Hehe... first there was the Alberto Gonalez opera, now we have Con Dolcezza (with Sweetness), the remarks of Condoleezza Rice, set to music.
Wall Street is taking the wrong lesson from the financial collapse - instead of "Things might have gotten too complex for us to safely understand and handle", instead they're saying "The models were wrong, that's all. Fix the models and we'll be fine!"
In opinions, think about this: If government-run health care is good enough for the military, it should be good enough for the rest of us.
Also of importance, considering certain anniversaries, instead of being afraid all the time, and supporting candidates who use fear and listening to media outlets that use fear, refuse to be terrorized by the spectre of terrorists. Not to say "Do nothing", but don't think two men checking their watches are plotting terrorism.
Some tips for the potential sexual assaulter so that they can not assault people. Turning the tables on advice for those who could be victims by giving solid and sound advice to those who would assault.
Last out, Mr. Cline gives the right wing hell about their protest of a Presidential speech, highlighting the opinions and currents that lead to such nonsense decisions and the sad conclusion that there probably is no way to separate the virus from the political party is has infected.
In the realms of great science and interesting technology, yet mroe evidence debunking the idea of solar panels using human hair, so likely hoax instead of breakthrough, but Google's going into solar mirrors, snorting seems to be a rather effective method of delivering stem cells to the brain, levitating mice, trying to map how and where to surf the gravity waves, cutting salt intake cuts health care costs, if you're an American, an 18-foot wide multiuser multitouch display, photographs from space at a $150 USD cost, and several things about our universe that don't make sense, at least according to current science and knowledge.
Oh, and XBoxes as a really cheap way of engaging in parallel processing.
Last for tonight, an IT professional tells us about how IT geeks work, and why standard managers don't necessarily work when in charge of those geeks (as well as all the things those geeks will do to get around people or institutional policies in the way of their work).
On more professional news, unless it the budget changes significantly, the Free Library of Philadelphia will close in October. That's a gigantic city library system, gone. What kind of people have we become where this is even possible? That said, pressure is being applied to make it possible to continue operations.
Finally, Norman Borlaug, engineer of higher-yield crops to help with food shortages, has died at 95, and Patrick Swayze, most notably of Dirty Dancing fame, has died at 57.
Domestically, the last week was chock full of fibs, falsehoods, fearmongering, and lots of lying (and, rather interestingly, the most vocal accusation of lying was to a statement that wasn't a lie.) Over the weekend, a tea party (and other fringe elements) march in Washington, with at least partial credit claimed by Glenn Beck's "9/12" idea The signs are pretty informative. No, not the ones you see in the WND article, the other ones. Like the right question to be asking at such an event (and one answer that sums it up pretty well), the poor-taste reference to the recently deceased, followed by the reference to the Secret Muslim canard, the new conservative rallying cry, the "let's use an image before we really think about whether it applies" posters, oh, and yes, the secession-implying throwback to a time when black men were slaves, not Presidents. WND nicely summarizes all the astroturf organizations taking part in the attempted grassroots as well. And yes, there are plenty of mis-spelled objects, including one that has already been demotivatorized about a "pubic option", for example, and combinations of all the previously mentioned tropes, combining the "liar", "Joker-Obama", "Obama bin Laden", and "taxed to death" all on one sign, for example.
Additionally, a film about the life of Charles Darwin made in the UK cannot find a US distributor because they feel it would be too controversial for the audience. *headpiano* Not to mention the description given by a prominent Christian review site describes Darwin as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder. His 'half-baked theory' directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to 'atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering', the site stated". The worrying statistic is the one that says approximately 4 in 10 Americans believe in evolution (although, as with all surveys, seeing the question asked is important. Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics, you know.) And then, there's the endless problems with "when I say scientific theory, I do not mean layman's definitions" that crop up, too.
Hehe... first there was the Alberto Gonalez opera, now we have Con Dolcezza (with Sweetness), the remarks of Condoleezza Rice, set to music.
Wall Street is taking the wrong lesson from the financial collapse - instead of "Things might have gotten too complex for us to safely understand and handle", instead they're saying "The models were wrong, that's all. Fix the models and we'll be fine!"
In opinions, think about this: If government-run health care is good enough for the military, it should be good enough for the rest of us.
Also of importance, considering certain anniversaries, instead of being afraid all the time, and supporting candidates who use fear and listening to media outlets that use fear, refuse to be terrorized by the spectre of terrorists. Not to say "Do nothing", but don't think two men checking their watches are plotting terrorism.
Some tips for the potential sexual assaulter so that they can not assault people. Turning the tables on advice for those who could be victims by giving solid and sound advice to those who would assault.
Last out, Mr. Cline gives the right wing hell about their protest of a Presidential speech, highlighting the opinions and currents that lead to such nonsense decisions and the sad conclusion that there probably is no way to separate the virus from the political party is has infected.
In the realms of great science and interesting technology, yet mroe evidence debunking the idea of solar panels using human hair, so likely hoax instead of breakthrough, but Google's going into solar mirrors, snorting seems to be a rather effective method of delivering stem cells to the brain, levitating mice, trying to map how and where to surf the gravity waves, cutting salt intake cuts health care costs, if you're an American, an 18-foot wide multiuser multitouch display, photographs from space at a $150 USD cost, and several things about our universe that don't make sense, at least according to current science and knowledge.
Oh, and XBoxes as a really cheap way of engaging in parallel processing.
Last for tonight, an IT professional tells us about how IT geeks work, and why standard managers don't necessarily work when in charge of those geeks (as well as all the things those geeks will do to get around people or institutional policies in the way of their work).