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silveradeptThe first day back was light enough - got reading done, got some work done, got a paper back. I’ve found out that I can make the magic of paper-writing go cross-discipline. Well, I did that a few times in my undergraduate, with my various classes, I suppose, but this is proving I can do it on the graduate level. And then my editors get a hold of it and only make it better.
It’s on MySpace, which might elicit a hiss from the crowd (or not), but this is what happens when you apply the logic of No Child Left Behind to dentistry. See how silly it is? There are probably people who would heartily endorse the extension of that logic to other professions like dentistry, though. So maybe we shouldn’t be giving them ideas...
A short piece in the New York Times about how the industrialized world is having fertility rates drop, some below the “replacement rate”. It then describes a “fertility paradox” in some countries - those countries that offer paid maternity leave and subsidized child care have higher fertility rates than those using "traditional" man-works-woman-raises-children methods. Isn’t that odd? Women who can work and be mothers are having more children than countries where women feel they have to choose between working and being a mother. Maybe they’re more secure about starting a family because they know there’s something there to help them out once they have a child. The United States could stand to take a page out of that playbook, but it probably won’t happen because all the opponents would have to do is shout “Socialism! Socialism! Lalalalalalalala!” and the whole thing would collapse.
Two articles are next, originating from the same source. Probably aiming to be funny, and falling somewhat short of the goal (because these days, there’s a chance the most outlandish statement that you can think of in the political sphere has been seriously voiced by someone), what the left-wing extremist believes, and what the right-wing extremist believes. As I was saying, there are shades of possible truth in both, depending on whose lens you look at them with. There was also an alternate right-wing list proposed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
satyrblade on bradhicks's journal. And much venting and commentary was had by all. (Hooray.)
Amy Goodman of Democracy now talked with General Wesley Clark (recall that name?), who hints he might be running for President, details decisions that were made to invade Iraq (and possibly Iran) without supporting evidence, and outlines what he thinks can be done to change the course of the conflict in Iraq, among other things. There’s a lot there in the interview about both past and present.
European light bulb manufacturers are looking to encourage all the consumers of Europe to follow Australia’s lead and switch over totally to compact flourescent lamps for all their lightning needs. Th energy savings supposedly would be the equivalent of twenty-seven power plants’ generation. That’s pretty impressive. And if the possibility of carbon nanotubes helping to improve solar cell efficiency is good, then we get closer to being able to harness renewable sources for more power generation than before.
The Cherokee Nation voted on Sunday to revoke tribal citizenship for the descendants of slaves Cherokees owned. Only those with the blood in them are part of the nation now, and only those part of the nation can secure any tribal benefits provided.
Planet Ark says there's a good chance there will be more hurricanes in the Atlatntic than average this year, as the El Nino system that has been hanging around since last year has gone away. Batten down the hatches, and if there is a $DEITY, he’d better stay well clear of New Orleans.
Steampunk Keyboard. It’s an excellent-looking device, with typewriter keys and brassed buttons, metal and great design. I think I would very much enjoy having a keyboard like that, and I wonder if/hope that someone has applied/will apply this principle to creating an entire keyboard/monitor/peripheral set-up on the steampunk idea. Style and substance, too. Good piece of work.
The New York Times also has a piece on how to grow a super-athlete (start early, practice deliberately, take plenty of time), which was as much about myelin reinforcement of nerve pathways and channels used often as it was about the building blocks of good technique and skill. In addition to that, good breakfast foods will keep them healthy while tehy do sport - a press release from the American Heart Association says that whole-grain cereals (those with at least 25 percent oat or bran content) reduce the risk of heart disease if eaten regularly.
A third piece from the Times, clocking in at eleven webpages, talks about the research around the evolution of religion and G-d into brain function, and whether that early adaptation serves any purpose in modern society. Religion might have appeared because of the tendency to ascribe agency and narratives to what could be random noise, as well as the theory of mind that lets us think in other people’s shoes. That could create disembodied minds mucking about with the universe. Then make those agents slightly outside the bounds of scientific reality, and you have gods, angels, and other beings. Or, perhaps think of what religion could have conferred to the ancestors as evolutionary advantages, things that we may not consider to be advantages today, but were then. Have a read (although you’ll need the services of BugMeNot), and make your own conclusions about the origins of G-d.
Last bit for tonight is a gimmick, but perhaps one that will eventually be of use - people can buy certificates of ownership for personalized parallel universes. Of course, we’d have to figure out how to slide into them for the deed to be worth anything... and even then, we might have to figure out how to deal with ourselves in our own ideal situation. This is assuming, of course, that the person and their doppelganger don’t pull a matter-anti-matter reaction when they get close.
That’s all you get from me tonight. I’ll dream of layout designs and case studies and the whole programming thing, too... and there’s a couple other projects that I have to get in order. This month is going to be hell. I can just tell...
It’s on MySpace, which might elicit a hiss from the crowd (or not), but this is what happens when you apply the logic of No Child Left Behind to dentistry. See how silly it is? There are probably people who would heartily endorse the extension of that logic to other professions like dentistry, though. So maybe we shouldn’t be giving them ideas...
A short piece in the New York Times about how the industrialized world is having fertility rates drop, some below the “replacement rate”. It then describes a “fertility paradox” in some countries - those countries that offer paid maternity leave and subsidized child care have higher fertility rates than those using "traditional" man-works-woman-raises-children methods. Isn’t that odd? Women who can work and be mothers are having more children than countries where women feel they have to choose between working and being a mother. Maybe they’re more secure about starting a family because they know there’s something there to help them out once they have a child. The United States could stand to take a page out of that playbook, but it probably won’t happen because all the opponents would have to do is shout “Socialism! Socialism! Lalalalalalalala!” and the whole thing would collapse.
Two articles are next, originating from the same source. Probably aiming to be funny, and falling somewhat short of the goal (because these days, there’s a chance the most outlandish statement that you can think of in the political sphere has been seriously voiced by someone), what the left-wing extremist believes, and what the right-wing extremist believes. As I was saying, there are shades of possible truth in both, depending on whose lens you look at them with. There was also an alternate right-wing list proposed by
satyrblade on bradhicks's journal. And much venting and commentary was had by all. (Hooray.) Amy Goodman of Democracy now talked with General Wesley Clark (recall that name?), who hints he might be running for President, details decisions that were made to invade Iraq (and possibly Iran) without supporting evidence, and outlines what he thinks can be done to change the course of the conflict in Iraq, among other things. There’s a lot there in the interview about both past and present.
European light bulb manufacturers are looking to encourage all the consumers of Europe to follow Australia’s lead and switch over totally to compact flourescent lamps for all their lightning needs. Th energy savings supposedly would be the equivalent of twenty-seven power plants’ generation. That’s pretty impressive. And if the possibility of carbon nanotubes helping to improve solar cell efficiency is good, then we get closer to being able to harness renewable sources for more power generation than before.
The Cherokee Nation voted on Sunday to revoke tribal citizenship for the descendants of slaves Cherokees owned. Only those with the blood in them are part of the nation now, and only those part of the nation can secure any tribal benefits provided.
Planet Ark says there's a good chance there will be more hurricanes in the Atlatntic than average this year, as the El Nino system that has been hanging around since last year has gone away. Batten down the hatches, and if there is a $DEITY, he’d better stay well clear of New Orleans.
Steampunk Keyboard. It’s an excellent-looking device, with typewriter keys and brassed buttons, metal and great design. I think I would very much enjoy having a keyboard like that, and I wonder if/hope that someone has applied/will apply this principle to creating an entire keyboard/monitor/peripheral set-up on the steampunk idea. Style and substance, too. Good piece of work.
The New York Times also has a piece on how to grow a super-athlete (start early, practice deliberately, take plenty of time), which was as much about myelin reinforcement of nerve pathways and channels used often as it was about the building blocks of good technique and skill. In addition to that, good breakfast foods will keep them healthy while tehy do sport - a press release from the American Heart Association says that whole-grain cereals (those with at least 25 percent oat or bran content) reduce the risk of heart disease if eaten regularly.
A third piece from the Times, clocking in at eleven webpages, talks about the research around the evolution of religion and G-d into brain function, and whether that early adaptation serves any purpose in modern society. Religion might have appeared because of the tendency to ascribe agency and narratives to what could be random noise, as well as the theory of mind that lets us think in other people’s shoes. That could create disembodied minds mucking about with the universe. Then make those agents slightly outside the bounds of scientific reality, and you have gods, angels, and other beings. Or, perhaps think of what religion could have conferred to the ancestors as evolutionary advantages, things that we may not consider to be advantages today, but were then. Have a read (although you’ll need the services of BugMeNot), and make your own conclusions about the origins of G-d.
Last bit for tonight is a gimmick, but perhaps one that will eventually be of use - people can buy certificates of ownership for personalized parallel universes. Of course, we’d have to figure out how to slide into them for the deed to be worth anything... and even then, we might have to figure out how to deal with ourselves in our own ideal situation. This is assuming, of course, that the person and their doppelganger don’t pull a matter-anti-matter reaction when they get close.
That’s all you get from me tonight. I’ll dream of layout designs and case studies and the whole programming thing, too... and there’s a couple other projects that I have to get in order. This month is going to be hell. I can just tell...
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 08:47 pm (UTC)Anyway - I think that's the bigger problem, that the smaller companies (like the one I worked for) don't offer things like twelve weeks. The company we worked for told us "by law" they had to give six, and didn't offer any to the father.
I wasn't sure if the insurance part was "leave the hospital" or if there was a grace period. Now, does that "leave the hospital" include if there is somethin wrong with the child that requires an extended stay longer than the mother, or is it "when mom leaves"? Most employers in this area pay about 75% of the employee's insurance and then 0-50% of your dependents insurance.
The daycare I formerly worked for was state regulated and I know we couldn't have children as young as six weeks. Our cut off was eight or twelve, but that also may have had to do with the education level of the teachers (myself and one other person were the only two with 4-year degrees in child development)
Because we were state-regulated, we got support from the state to subsidize childcare for low-income families. of course, we still charged crazy amounts for parents who weren't consdiered "low income", and frankly? the center I worked at SUCKED. We didn't have TVs to plop the kids down at, but I recall when I wanted to do arts and crafts with the kids, it was shot down by one of the other teachers because it was "too messy".
And that's a problem too - Quality affordable daycare for the "average" person. The inexpensive daycare centers are often lacking in having a teaching staff, and even sometimes in nutritional meals. Again, back to the center I worked at straight out of college - We didn't even have a nutritionist on staff to plan meals. Meals were determined by what the food service company had to offer for the week, and what was "cheap". Pizza and tater tots were often on the list.
Having an employer who is flexible and allows you to take leave, and allows the father to take leave is great to have, but a lot of people just don't have jobs that are that flexible - particularly if you work in retail or customer service.
You got disability? Nice. I was out for six weeks with a spinal tap and had to fight for my disability pay, so I can only imagine what it might have been like if someone was trying to get disability after having a baby.
you're right though, at least in the case of my co-worker, she took what she was told by the employer as being WORD and din't look into things any farther. I think that's a big problem too - employers might not tell you the whole story of what youcan get because they don't want to give it out.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 09:02 pm (UTC)Hey don't get me wrong. There are tons of problem with the system. I'm lucky in many respects because my employers has phenomenal benefits and a culture of openness and fairness.
Regarding disability (though I think it's funny to call pregnancy a disability), it is something you actually can see coming. I filled out my claim before a stopped working which meant little hassle later. But again, the HR person here was a huge help to me, so I imagine most folks don't get an experience like I had. That fact does depress me.
FYI, I got most of my information via the employee handbook and my benefits information sheets - items which the company is legally bound to. That gave me a worst case scenario for which to plan. I had a fairly good idea of what to expect before we got pregnant. Researching before you are committed is key so you can make the best decision for yourself and your family. (IIRC http://babycenter.com has a pre-pregnancy section so that could be some help.)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 09:20 pm (UTC)and I agree, it's funny to think of a pregnancy as a disability, but if the pay is offered, you might as well apply for it as far in advance as you can, since well, generally you know you're pregnant at least eight months before the baby is born!