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silveradeptYet another day at the office. Got to meet the teen materials selector and discuss what sort of things we want to do with teenage space and selection and weeding and all sorts of things like that. I like what’s coming down the pipe, so this should make my job somewhat easier in maintaining the balance between shelf space and collection size. We’re definitely up for the challenge.
A hypothetical question to start tonight, before getting into the links. If you were told that “there was no dress code” for your work, what would you default to wearing? If there was no dress code, but the aim was to “look professional”? And is there an inherent contradiction in the statement of there being no dress code, but that employees have to look professional? Got blindsided again on the matter of how one should be dressing at work, hearing secondhand, yet again, as to what no dress code actually means at work. I still think that a person can be a professional and look professional in jeans and tee-shirt, especially if working with teenagers or a younger crowd, but there’s still the image that professional persons wear at least one step up from their casual jeans for most of the week. I still don’t understand what mystical power kahki pants or a suit imparts to a person about their professional-ness, but since I’m still on probation, I hear and obey. Never let anyone fool you by believing that there’s no dress code. And while I’m glad people are asking about this for me, to clarify here and there, and passing along the messages to me, I get really annoyed at the passive-aggressiveness where I keep hearing these things secondhand, without anyone saying anything directly to me. If you want me to dress in a certain manner (a dress code), then say so, for Mod’s sake. Don’t complain to someone else about me so that I end up hearing it from them. I admit that I’m pretty clueless that I’m violating some norm unless someone brings it to my attention. Especially if I think I’ve got a valid interpretation of what was said to me.
Anyway, enough of the angry face. Instead, we go on to other things that might make you angry. Like a helicopter gunship that fired on those making bombs, then continued to fire into the building the bombmakers fled into, killing innocents and the bombmakers. Is that a lack of fire discipline, or just another unfortunate accident where innocents get killed? Unless those bombmakers had weapons stashed in that house and were planning on using them, I’m pretty sure they weren’t going anywhere. Once they resurfaced, they could have easily been killed, I’m sure.
More positively, the military might finally be able to control and oversee the private security forces in Iraq. Almost sounds like accountability. Opposition is expected from Ms. Rice and the State Department. Most positively, a dispatch from Iraq where the techniques of getting to know and helping the locals out is working. If Iraq ends up being the “victory” that many conservatives claim to see around the corner, it will probably be because of efforts like these, sustained over a very long time.
An attempt to give children of illegal immigrants a way to become legal, through university or military service, has been blocked. The spectre of it being an “amnesty” or a concession for illegal immigrants pretty well killed the bill in question. But if those illegal immigrant children want to move up in the world and become even more productive members of society, they’re going to need some way of legitimizing themselves, even if their parents don’t get it.
Of course, if biometric methods of paying for school lunches (or getting the free ones) turn out to be popular, then there may not be a way of evading things long enough to get to that point. Yes, supposedly the print image is discarded and the data is turned into a number, but it wouldn’t be too hard for a governmental snoop to start targeting areas with particular lunch distribution patterns to see what kinds of children are going there, and how legal they might be.
Meanwhile, some southern states are slow adapting themselves to the drought conditions in the area. Great Lakes people have been complaining for a while that they don’t want their water shipped to other places, but with supplies running lower in the South, maybe they’ll give up some - the bottled water manufacturer’s shares, perhaps?
India will be hosting a summit concerning how to ensure that all the world's people have access to proper sanitation. Yes, a lot of crap jokes are probably possible, but bad sanitation does sicken and kill people, so this is serious business in a lot of ways.
Here’s something genuinely disturbing - the consumer model of tasers, available in several colors, are selling like hotcakes. Are enough people that afraid of what’s out there to buy something like that as a personal protection device? There are some neighborhoods where they might be required equipment, I’ll grant, but putting that kind of power in a non-law enforcement person makes me very nervous.
As a prelude to our quiche competition tonight, the GOP wants to know who the scariest Democrat is. I don’t see the intelligence in posting that. It’s a pretty cheap stunt. Then again, when presidential candidates are selling all sorts of knicknacks as campaign fundraising, selling an image (literally) might be about as far as we’ve gotten in the political maturity realm.
The bronze (statue of Atlas) goes to Bill’O. We knew it was only a matter of time before he yapped about J.K. Rowling’s revelation, and he doesn't disappoint, calling J.K. a "provacateur" for "The Gay Agenda" and that it was "indoctrination" of children to the lifestyle. Oh, grow up, Bill. All the adults here understand the difference between existing as a homosexual and actively trying to make other children homosexual. I’m not even sure if the second option there is possible, but either way, Bill, maturity would be appreciated.
The runner-up: The mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, for, well, lots of stuff done in his reign, very little of which seems to have had any sort of serious consequence. Including the demolition of a building, supposedly for reasons of fighting the War on Some Drugs, with no drugs being found in the building at all.
Our winner, tonight, however, is Mitt Romney, who has a brilliant idea on what to do with college aid: Link the amount of aid offered to the worth of the career being pursued. He did not disclose specifics about who would be worthier than the others, and so receive more aid, or how he would go about assessing the merit of each candidate, but I’m sure that nobody in charge of such a program would attempt to influence career decisions by offering more or less money for the studies available. And that colleges and universities will willingly change their tuition requirements so that the 10K assistance/year art student can still go to their university along with the 30K assistance/year MBA. The idea that some careers and degrees matter more than others is already being played out in the business world as it is, requiring many people to shelve their real desires and degrees in favor of something that will get them regular employment. Tying college aid to this idea would only make it worse, and probably glut the market with plenty of whatever degree is the affordable one for that year.
By using some mathematical modeling, an Australian claims to be able to speed regular telephone copper up by nearly 200 times, which would make broadband cook along, even on old wiring.
Fifty years after publication, a scientist requests retraction of some of his statements, not only because they were being used by creationist forces, but because they were not scientifically sound statements to make in the first place. That, ladies and gentlemen, is Science. As is finding out that Daylight Savings Time may have strong negative effects. Since it’s down to what, about 3% of the populace that engages in agriculture, I think it would be feasible to scrap DST entirely and just run one clock all the time.
In the next-to-last spot, and thus hopefully likely to get noticed, the Slacktivist offers theory #4 on why Christians are preceived to be so anti-homosexual: The Exegetical Panic Defense. In this theory, evangelicals and the like have staked their entire faith on one item - a “pure”, “inerrant”, and always unambiguous interpretation of the scripture. If something should arrive that challenges that interpretation, such as a homosexual that doesn’t behave like a sodomite and Agent of Satan should, and that in fact might be a Really Nice Person, then that pillar of faith they have shakes, and they worry that if homosexuals really are just nice people, then the other parts of their faith might not be literally and inerrantly true, and that would bring down the entire enterprise. Rather than let the house burn down and rebuild it with a better foundation, instead they try even harder to ensure that their rock of faith is unchipped. Which means even more strident denunciations of the things that the Bible says are bad, regardless of their experience. Put together enough of these people all relying on a single support, and you get at least some explanation, but this isn’t really a complete theory, either - too many individuals and denominations that build their houses on stronger stuff. Another partial explanation. There may not be a One True Reason, but putting together all the plausible ones should produce some sort of picture. For now, though, more theories on the way.
Last for tonight is a little bit we all need to remember, “Don’ worry, be happy”. We may be closer to achieving that as two regions of the brain linked to optimistic thought have been discovered.
And then there’s this other stuff that’s boring question-and-answer thingies. Ignore it if you like.
1. Named after anyone?
Not as far as I know.
2. Last time cried?
I’m not sure. Probably a couple tears shed here and there when things got a bit angry or depressing, but no really prolonged cry.
3. Like your handwriting?
Eh. It’s messy when I go quickly, better when I print.
4. Favorite Lunch Meat?
Roast beef - also a very expensive one, so only gotten rarely
5. Kids?
Nope.
6. Would I be friends with myself?
Maybe. I might find myself charming and a great companion. I might also find myself stuck in several ruts that would take too much effort to pull out of.
7. Sarcasm?
Useful in moderation.
8. Tonsils?
Still around.
9. Would you Bungee Jump?
Probably. Timidly, though, and after some prodding and a lot of “ohman it’s high up here, what happens if something goes wrong....”
10. Favorite Cereal?
Hrm. Probably Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. These days, though, I probably couldn’t eat them.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
No laces. When I did have them, though, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
12. In your own opinion, are you strong?
Probably in a “Whoa. Didn’t know I could do that.” kind of way.
13. Favorite ice Cream?
Cookies and Cream.
14. First thing you notice about people?
Probably their bodily/facial structure. Tells me almost nothing about the person, but it’s the first thing you notice.
15. Red or Pink?
Red.
16. What do you like least about yourself?
Indecisiveness.
17. Who do you miss most?
Probably my siblings, just for the usual back-and-forth banter that accompanies dinner at our table.
18. Would you like to see other people’s results?
Yeah, I suppose. But there’s no pressure.
19. Pants and shoes?
Blue jeans, black clogs.
20. Last thing consumed?
Pizza.
21. Listening to right now?
*points to music line*
22. Personal Crayon Color?
That silver in my name’s not just there to be sparkly and decorative.
23. Favorite smell(s)?
After-rain mustiness, ozone in the air, cooking foodstuffs.
24. Last telephone conversation?
Reminders for programming.
25. Do you like the person who inflicted this on you?
Well, it’s kind of a do as you like bit, rather than a tagging thing. So yeah, I like me.
26. Favorite sport to watch?
Lots of them, but if I had to pick a favorite, it’s probably ice hockey.
27. Hair color?
Brown, I think. Assuming it didn’t lighten or darken on me.
28. Eye color?
Hazel. More brown when alert, more green when tired.
29. Contacts?
Mercifully, my eyesight is good.
30. Favorite food?
Pizza, probably, although I’ve been making and consuming some very yummy stuff for a while now.
31. Tragedies or comedies?
Comedies.
32. Last movie?
Um... ye gods, that was a while ago. Maybe it was Potter Five in IMAX.
33. Shirt color?
Grey. With white flowers.
34. Summer or winter?
Snow over heat.
35. Hugs or kisses?
Chocolate is lovely, no matter what form it comes in.
36. Favorite dessert?
Cheesecake.
37. Likely sheep?
No idea.
38. Unlikely sheep?
No clue.
39. Current book reading?
Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow’s big changes.
40. Mouse pad design?
Supposedly the character for “peace”
41. Last’s night’s T.V. watching?
Tail end of the Sox game and Countdown, I think.
42. Favorite sound?
The first note of M Fanfare. In second, thunderstorms.
43. Stones or Beatles?
Unknown.
44. Farthest from home?
Hawai’i.
45. Special Talents?
The ability to make other people look good or be luckier with my presence. Kind of a useless talent when by yourself, though. Also, Fortune Cookie Teller.
46. Birthplace?
Mitten State, Liberal Bastion.
A hypothetical question to start tonight, before getting into the links. If you were told that “there was no dress code” for your work, what would you default to wearing? If there was no dress code, but the aim was to “look professional”? And is there an inherent contradiction in the statement of there being no dress code, but that employees have to look professional? Got blindsided again on the matter of how one should be dressing at work, hearing secondhand, yet again, as to what no dress code actually means at work. I still think that a person can be a professional and look professional in jeans and tee-shirt, especially if working with teenagers or a younger crowd, but there’s still the image that professional persons wear at least one step up from their casual jeans for most of the week. I still don’t understand what mystical power kahki pants or a suit imparts to a person about their professional-ness, but since I’m still on probation, I hear and obey. Never let anyone fool you by believing that there’s no dress code. And while I’m glad people are asking about this for me, to clarify here and there, and passing along the messages to me, I get really annoyed at the passive-aggressiveness where I keep hearing these things secondhand, without anyone saying anything directly to me. If you want me to dress in a certain manner (a dress code), then say so, for Mod’s sake. Don’t complain to someone else about me so that I end up hearing it from them. I admit that I’m pretty clueless that I’m violating some norm unless someone brings it to my attention. Especially if I think I’ve got a valid interpretation of what was said to me.
Anyway, enough of the angry face. Instead, we go on to other things that might make you angry. Like a helicopter gunship that fired on those making bombs, then continued to fire into the building the bombmakers fled into, killing innocents and the bombmakers. Is that a lack of fire discipline, or just another unfortunate accident where innocents get killed? Unless those bombmakers had weapons stashed in that house and were planning on using them, I’m pretty sure they weren’t going anywhere. Once they resurfaced, they could have easily been killed, I’m sure.
More positively, the military might finally be able to control and oversee the private security forces in Iraq. Almost sounds like accountability. Opposition is expected from Ms. Rice and the State Department. Most positively, a dispatch from Iraq where the techniques of getting to know and helping the locals out is working. If Iraq ends up being the “victory” that many conservatives claim to see around the corner, it will probably be because of efforts like these, sustained over a very long time.
An attempt to give children of illegal immigrants a way to become legal, through university or military service, has been blocked. The spectre of it being an “amnesty” or a concession for illegal immigrants pretty well killed the bill in question. But if those illegal immigrant children want to move up in the world and become even more productive members of society, they’re going to need some way of legitimizing themselves, even if their parents don’t get it.
Of course, if biometric methods of paying for school lunches (or getting the free ones) turn out to be popular, then there may not be a way of evading things long enough to get to that point. Yes, supposedly the print image is discarded and the data is turned into a number, but it wouldn’t be too hard for a governmental snoop to start targeting areas with particular lunch distribution patterns to see what kinds of children are going there, and how legal they might be.
Meanwhile, some southern states are slow adapting themselves to the drought conditions in the area. Great Lakes people have been complaining for a while that they don’t want their water shipped to other places, but with supplies running lower in the South, maybe they’ll give up some - the bottled water manufacturer’s shares, perhaps?
India will be hosting a summit concerning how to ensure that all the world's people have access to proper sanitation. Yes, a lot of crap jokes are probably possible, but bad sanitation does sicken and kill people, so this is serious business in a lot of ways.
Here’s something genuinely disturbing - the consumer model of tasers, available in several colors, are selling like hotcakes. Are enough people that afraid of what’s out there to buy something like that as a personal protection device? There are some neighborhoods where they might be required equipment, I’ll grant, but putting that kind of power in a non-law enforcement person makes me very nervous.
As a prelude to our quiche competition tonight, the GOP wants to know who the scariest Democrat is. I don’t see the intelligence in posting that. It’s a pretty cheap stunt. Then again, when presidential candidates are selling all sorts of knicknacks as campaign fundraising, selling an image (literally) might be about as far as we’ve gotten in the political maturity realm.
The bronze (statue of Atlas) goes to Bill’O. We knew it was only a matter of time before he yapped about J.K. Rowling’s revelation, and he doesn't disappoint, calling J.K. a "provacateur" for "The Gay Agenda" and that it was "indoctrination" of children to the lifestyle. Oh, grow up, Bill. All the adults here understand the difference between existing as a homosexual and actively trying to make other children homosexual. I’m not even sure if the second option there is possible, but either way, Bill, maturity would be appreciated.
The runner-up: The mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, for, well, lots of stuff done in his reign, very little of which seems to have had any sort of serious consequence. Including the demolition of a building, supposedly for reasons of fighting the War on Some Drugs, with no drugs being found in the building at all.
Our winner, tonight, however, is Mitt Romney, who has a brilliant idea on what to do with college aid: Link the amount of aid offered to the worth of the career being pursued. He did not disclose specifics about who would be worthier than the others, and so receive more aid, or how he would go about assessing the merit of each candidate, but I’m sure that nobody in charge of such a program would attempt to influence career decisions by offering more or less money for the studies available. And that colleges and universities will willingly change their tuition requirements so that the 10K assistance/year art student can still go to their university along with the 30K assistance/year MBA. The idea that some careers and degrees matter more than others is already being played out in the business world as it is, requiring many people to shelve their real desires and degrees in favor of something that will get them regular employment. Tying college aid to this idea would only make it worse, and probably glut the market with plenty of whatever degree is the affordable one for that year.
By using some mathematical modeling, an Australian claims to be able to speed regular telephone copper up by nearly 200 times, which would make broadband cook along, even on old wiring.
Fifty years after publication, a scientist requests retraction of some of his statements, not only because they were being used by creationist forces, but because they were not scientifically sound statements to make in the first place. That, ladies and gentlemen, is Science. As is finding out that Daylight Savings Time may have strong negative effects. Since it’s down to what, about 3% of the populace that engages in agriculture, I think it would be feasible to scrap DST entirely and just run one clock all the time.
In the next-to-last spot, and thus hopefully likely to get noticed, the Slacktivist offers theory #4 on why Christians are preceived to be so anti-homosexual: The Exegetical Panic Defense. In this theory, evangelicals and the like have staked their entire faith on one item - a “pure”, “inerrant”, and always unambiguous interpretation of the scripture. If something should arrive that challenges that interpretation, such as a homosexual that doesn’t behave like a sodomite and Agent of Satan should, and that in fact might be a Really Nice Person, then that pillar of faith they have shakes, and they worry that if homosexuals really are just nice people, then the other parts of their faith might not be literally and inerrantly true, and that would bring down the entire enterprise. Rather than let the house burn down and rebuild it with a better foundation, instead they try even harder to ensure that their rock of faith is unchipped. Which means even more strident denunciations of the things that the Bible says are bad, regardless of their experience. Put together enough of these people all relying on a single support, and you get at least some explanation, but this isn’t really a complete theory, either - too many individuals and denominations that build their houses on stronger stuff. Another partial explanation. There may not be a One True Reason, but putting together all the plausible ones should produce some sort of picture. For now, though, more theories on the way.
Last for tonight is a little bit we all need to remember, “Don’ worry, be happy”. We may be closer to achieving that as two regions of the brain linked to optimistic thought have been discovered.
And then there’s this other stuff that’s boring question-and-answer thingies. Ignore it if you like.
1. Named after anyone?
Not as far as I know.
2. Last time cried?
I’m not sure. Probably a couple tears shed here and there when things got a bit angry or depressing, but no really prolonged cry.
3. Like your handwriting?
Eh. It’s messy when I go quickly, better when I print.
4. Favorite Lunch Meat?
Roast beef - also a very expensive one, so only gotten rarely
5. Kids?
Nope.
6. Would I be friends with myself?
Maybe. I might find myself charming and a great companion. I might also find myself stuck in several ruts that would take too much effort to pull out of.
7. Sarcasm?
Useful in moderation.
8. Tonsils?
Still around.
9. Would you Bungee Jump?
Probably. Timidly, though, and after some prodding and a lot of “ohman it’s high up here, what happens if something goes wrong....”
10. Favorite Cereal?
Hrm. Probably Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. These days, though, I probably couldn’t eat them.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
No laces. When I did have them, though, sometimes yes, sometimes no.
12. In your own opinion, are you strong?
Probably in a “Whoa. Didn’t know I could do that.” kind of way.
13. Favorite ice Cream?
Cookies and Cream.
14. First thing you notice about people?
Probably their bodily/facial structure. Tells me almost nothing about the person, but it’s the first thing you notice.
15. Red or Pink?
Red.
16. What do you like least about yourself?
Indecisiveness.
17. Who do you miss most?
Probably my siblings, just for the usual back-and-forth banter that accompanies dinner at our table.
18. Would you like to see other people’s results?
Yeah, I suppose. But there’s no pressure.
19. Pants and shoes?
Blue jeans, black clogs.
20. Last thing consumed?
Pizza.
21. Listening to right now?
*points to music line*
22. Personal Crayon Color?
That silver in my name’s not just there to be sparkly and decorative.
23. Favorite smell(s)?
After-rain mustiness, ozone in the air, cooking foodstuffs.
24. Last telephone conversation?
Reminders for programming.
25. Do you like the person who inflicted this on you?
Well, it’s kind of a do as you like bit, rather than a tagging thing. So yeah, I like me.
26. Favorite sport to watch?
Lots of them, but if I had to pick a favorite, it’s probably ice hockey.
27. Hair color?
Brown, I think. Assuming it didn’t lighten or darken on me.
28. Eye color?
Hazel. More brown when alert, more green when tired.
29. Contacts?
Mercifully, my eyesight is good.
30. Favorite food?
Pizza, probably, although I’ve been making and consuming some very yummy stuff for a while now.
31. Tragedies or comedies?
Comedies.
32. Last movie?
Um... ye gods, that was a while ago. Maybe it was Potter Five in IMAX.
33. Shirt color?
Grey. With white flowers.
34. Summer or winter?
Snow over heat.
35. Hugs or kisses?
Chocolate is lovely, no matter what form it comes in.
36. Favorite dessert?
Cheesecake.
37. Likely sheep?
No idea.
38. Unlikely sheep?
No clue.
39. Current book reading?
Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow’s big changes.
40. Mouse pad design?
Supposedly the character for “peace”
41. Last’s night’s T.V. watching?
Tail end of the Sox game and Countdown, I think.
42. Favorite sound?
The first note of M Fanfare. In second, thunderstorms.
43. Stones or Beatles?
Unknown.
44. Farthest from home?
Hawai’i.
45. Special Talents?
The ability to make other people look good or be luckier with my presence. Kind of a useless talent when by yourself, though. Also, Fortune Cookie Teller.
46. Birthplace?
Mitten State, Liberal Bastion.
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Date: 2007-10-26 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-26 06:58 pm (UTC)