More On The Georgia Evolution Controversy

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the new proposed curriculum for the state of Georgia doesn’t just eliminate the word “evolution”, it eliminates the fundamental concepts of evolution. Now we see the real motivation behind the new curriculum.

In the same article, a local clergyman, Pastor William Sheals suggests “that a true Christian cannot believe in evolution”. This is indeed an interesting statement, considering Pope John Paul II’s statement on the matter: “...fresh knowledge has led to the recognition that evolution is more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favour of this theory.” But Sheals also adds that “You’re still teaching the fact that man evolved from an ape.” This quote displays a common misunderstanding about evolution — no such claim is made by evolution’s proponents.

Finally, Barry Palevitz, a professor of plant biology at the University of Georgia, says of the proposed new standards: “As head of advising for the biology major at the University of Georgia, I will recommend that we not give advance placement credit for college-level introductory biology, regardless of test score, to students who take biology in Georgia high schools ... A student who wants to be a science teacher or go to medical, dental or other graduate school will have to retake intro biology here.” (Links via Pharyngula and The Intersection)

Update (2/1/04): John Scalzi at Whatever has an interesting example of how to challenge the currently accepted scientific theory (and it’s not an example about evolution). Scalzi also talks about why the Georgia state proposed curriculum is a stupid idea.

Football Humor

John at J-Walk tells this wonderful joke about the Super Bowl.

Pyat’s Evil Fish Page

Scary pictures! Who knew fish could look so gruesome? (Link via Pharyngula)

The Milkshake Song

My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard

What’s this? A song about being an entrepreneur? How unusual! And its a cute twist on the old lemonade stand idea. I like it!

And they’re like, “It’s better than yours”, Damn right, it’s better than yours, I can teach you, but I have to charge

Ah yes, capitalism ... I wonder if this is how Starbucks got started, by being better than others.

I know you want it... The thing that makes me, What the guys go crazy for, They lose their minds, the way I wind

Now wait a minute ... I'm starting to think they’re talking about something else.

Okay, I see now, its just like any other pop radio song these days. And I thought they were talking about the next Starbucks! Silly me...

NFL to Crack Down Further

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue plans to crack down even further on endzone celebrations. He says that the leagues coaches and owners have been very clear that they want to see an end to the over-the-top celebrations. And to that I can say: Bravo!

Now some people will point out that the NFL is all about entertainment, and that the NFL is a business, and they need to allow these antics to increase their profits. They will say it is stupid and counter-productive to do otherwise. Hmmm. Show me one person who stopped watching the NFL because of the existing ban on end-zone celebrations. I don’t think there are many. And the NFL’s current level of popularity is certainly as high as it has ever been, and it is as high as any team sport in North America. Banning end-zone celebrations will yield a noticeable change to the NFL’s popularity.

Education in Georgia

Georgia’s schools Superintendent Kathy Cox wants to remove the word “evolution” from the state’s high school curriculum. She says the word is simply a “buzzword”. The net effect of this proposal, if it were to be enforced, is that Georgia students would be less well equipped to succeed in college. Hardly a good direction for the state’s education department to move in. Former president Jimmy Carter is embarrassed. The former president says: “As a Christian, a trained engineer and scientist, and a professor at Emory University, I am embarrassed by Superintendent Kathy Cox’s attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia’s students.”

But wait! There’s more! Joseph Jarrell, a history teacher in Georgia for 25 years, has examined the draft of the new high school history curriculum. The period 1800 to 1876 is not mentioned! (Link via Calpundit)

Students probably will not be remembering the Alamo; it won't be a topic of discussion in Georgia's high schools. Daniel Webster and Henry Clay will be omitted, as well as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and the Underground Railroad.

Search in vain for discussion of the Civil War; that topic is off limits. In a course entitled "American History," students will not study our most devastating war. There is no mention of Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee or anything else associated with those years.

What is going on down there? Do they want to provide students with an education and prepare them for the rest of their life, or not?

This Bothers Me

A father watching his son’s high school wrestling match in Spencerport, NY, came down out of the stands and wound up in a fight with a referee. Police were called, but no charges were filed. Apparently the father didn’t like one of the referee’s calls. After the school investigated, the school disciplined the father, while no action was taken against the referee.

What bothers me is that some “fans” feel the need to do more than just yell and boo. Yelling and booing is perfectly acceptable at a high school sporting event, as long as your comments are not vulgar. When you come down out of the stands to try to take matters into your own hands, you have crossed the line. Your behavior is not acceptable. And this type of rage is the exact opposite of what should happen in high school sports. Students need to see examples of good sportsmanship, and good behavior instead of the opposite. Furthermore, bad calls by a referee are part of life. Deal with it. You can’t change a thing by confronting the referee; you can only make matters worse and make yourself look bad.

The World’s Largest Rodent

Over at The Happy Capy, you can learn some interesting facts about the capybara, the world’s largest rodent. For example, capybaras are “mostly crepuscular but will be nocturnal to avoid hunting”. (When was the last time you got to use the word crepuscular in your blog?) Or did you know that “the capybara is also unique as one of only two mammals lacking a vermiform appendix”? (There are two such animals but the capybara is unique?)These lovable creatures live in South America and Panama, and weigh up to 110 pounds. Hardly the kind of thing you’d want as a pet. Also at The Happy Cappy are actual capybara sounds, I know you are dying to hear those!

Humor — Unless You Are From Arkansas

Karissa at Sugarpacket tells of the problems caused by the design of the new Arkansas quarters.

Hilary Is A Busy Little Duff

According to Net Music Countdown, Hilary Duff is getting busier and busier.

After completing principal photography on "Heart of Summer" in Los Angeles, California, Hilary Duff will begin shooting on "The Perfect Man" a feature film about a single mom and a teen, played by Hilary Duff.

The teen star is quite busy as of late. Currently shooting "Heart of Summer", Duff is playing a few weekend shows, then travelling back to Los Angeles during the week for the movie. She will also be presenting at the Grammy award show February 8th in Los Angeles.

After completing "The Perfect Man", Duff will hit the road for a full fledged, 40 city headlining summer tour which will most likely coincide with the release of her romantic comedy "A Cinderella Story" in July.

Hilary continues to play the part of wholesome teenager, which is a very good thing. Perhaps that’s why some Hollywood moguls refer to her as the anti-Britney, the former wholesome teenager who now is sexed up beyond belief.

A Phone Call To Tech Support

Last night, I could’t get my Kodak DX6490 digital camera to talk to the computer. I spent over an hour on the phone with technical support, and they were great. The person I spoke to was very well spoken, explained things clearly, knew exactly what to do next, and always was calm and polite to me. And while it seems like an hour is a long time, much of that time was spent re-booting the computer. But in the end, I was very pleased with the service I received on this phone call to technical support, and things are working properly again.

Some Thoughts About Sports

A sex tape involving Dr. J? Say it ain’t so! The Doctor was always my favorite basketball player, and he will remain so in my mind. Who can ever forget the first ever slam dunk contest? Doc began his run from midcourt, took off at the freethrow line, and brought the house down.

And in a similar vein, I find Marv Albert to be one of the best sportscasters ever, despite the fact that I don’t think much of him personally because of his conviction for sexual assault.

Pete Rose? I hope he never makes another dollar by signing autographs. If ESPN Classic were to show one of your games, I doubt I would watch. It’s tough to earn my disgust, but Pete Rose has succeeded.

Keyshawn, Keyshawn, Keyshawn... unlike the others mentioned so far in this post, you didn’t even have a great career. I wonder how many coaches are thinking that they don’t want anything to do with a ballplayer who verbally threatens to kill someone else?

He Hate Me? Hmmmm... a disgusting name to be sure, but an entertaining person and an entertaining player.

Pat Summitt receives a contract extension and a raise from the University of Tennessee. Congratulations, Pat. You were a great player and an even greater coach, and always a class act.

Blogging in Buffalo

The Buffalo News has an article about blogging right down the Thruway from here, in my old college town, Buffalo. One of the bloggers mentioned even has a daughter named Paige. What excellent taste in names!

Congrats Again to NASA

The rover Opportunity safely landed on Mars yesterday and beamed back pictures to Earth. Meanwhile, the crippled rover Spirit, which landed in December and is on the opposite side of Mars from Opportunity, may indeed be fixable. Both accomplishments amaze me.

Snark Hunt

Kate at Electric Venom has a collection this week’s snarkiest blog posts. We be snarkin’!

Bravo!

Congratulation to the students at Greece Athena High School, for their magnificent production of A Chorus Line last night. All of the cast of the play should be very proud of themselves, including my son Logan. Bravo!

A Useful Blog Utility

Blo.gs is a useful site if you read lots of blogs on a regular basis. One of my favorite features is the listing of the blogs you read, along with the time that it was last updated. That way you can surf to those blogs that have been recently updated, and not waste your time going to blogs that have no new content. There is even a Mozilla sidebar application, as shown at right. There is also a similar plug-in for Internet Explorer, but you’re not still using IE, are you?

Book Review

Title: Fermat’s Enigma
Author: Simon Singh

Pierre de Fermat wrote in the margins of one of his manuscripts: “I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain”. And thus began a 350 year chase by mathematicians to solve the riddle, known as Fermat’s Last Theorem.

The great thing about this book is that you don’t need to be good at math to enjoy the story. It is the thrill of the chase, the personalities and the struggle that maintain your attention, not the mathematics. According to Publisher’s Weekly (quoted on the back of the book):

The history of mathematics comes alive even for those who dread balancing their checkbooks, and anyone interested in the creative process will appreciate Singh’s insights into how a mathematician tackles such a monumental problem.

Library Journal says:

Singh captures the joys and frustrations of this quest for an extremely elusive proof … and builds to a truly engrossing climax. It’s a mathematical page-turner.

We learn the story of many individuals who contributed to this quest. We learn about Paul Wolfskehl, distraught over being spurned by a woman, decided to kill himself at midnight on a particular day. Wolfskehl set his papers in order on that fateful night and then to while away the time until midnight, he began reading previous efforts to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem. He thought he spotted a flaw in one proof, and began working diligently on the math involved, forgetting about his midnight deadline. By 6 am the next day, he had contributed to the mathematics and to the legend of Fermat’s Last Theorem, and Wolfskehl found a new purpose to his life.

We also learn the story of Andrew Wiles, the man who finally proved Fermat was right. Wiles was a gifted mathematician at Princeton, but during the late 1980s and 1990s he went into near seclusion to work on Fermat’s Last Theorem. At a mathematical conference in 1993, rumors began to fly that Wiles had solved the problem. Before a standing room only audience, Wiles wrote blackboard after blackboard of abstract, advanced mathematics, in what would be the lecture of the century. Then he wrote Fermat’s famous equation, and said “I think I’ll stop here.” The mathematical equivalent of winning the Super Bowl, Wiles received a boisterous standing ovation, something unheard of in mathematical lectures. (The picture of Wiles below was taken minutes after Wiles completed his lecture.)

Another E-Mail Scam

The latest scam is an e-mail that is allegedly from FDIC, informing you that because of a violation of the Patriot act, your bank account may lose its insurance. If you get such an e-mail, toss it in the trash. Do not give out your bank account information to the website indicated in the e-mail.

Never give out personal information to someone who sends you an e-mail.

By the way, because of an unfixed flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer, this e-mail looks like it sends you to the actual FDIC site, when in fact you are being sent to a server in Pakistan. Yet another reason to stop using IE as your browser. Use Mozilla instead.

Corporate Downsizing

My company, continuing the process that has existed for the past several years, announced another 20% downsizing, to happen over the next three years. I guess I expect this now, and it comes as no surprise. Yet it still brings anxiety and forces me to reconsider certain spending decisions. Like buying a new car, or hanging on to the old one for a few more years — I guess now I’ll hang on to my old one a little longer.

One is tempted to place the blame somewhere for this. One issue is definitely changing technology. Throughout the history of industry, when a technology gets replaced by a newer, improved technology, some companies suffer while other companies prosper. The rise and decline of railroads is one example. And so my company suffers from the fact that new technology is very competitive. It’s not clear that my company can adapt to the new technology quickly enough, and even if it can, there will still be fewer jobs.

My company also suffers from the high tax rates here in the United States and in New York State. Some jobs will be shipped to foreign countries, where there is almost no tax on industry. So, while this doesn’t result in fewer jobs, it does result in fewer jobs in the United States. The cost of labor in foreign countries also figures into this.

The cycle of anxiety begins again. The cycle of uncertainty begins again. I hate it.

Great Molasses Flood Remembered

Yes that’s right, a molasses flood. It happened in Boston in 1919 when a tank holding molasses ruptured. The resultant catastrophe killed 21 and injured 150. Yikes!

Gold Teeth, NY

Tyrell Biggs is down with the Jibbers. Of course, I don’t have a clue what that means, but in more normal English the Gold Teeth, NY web site says: “Master craftsman of custom removable gold teeth for over 18 years”. Now, that’s not a complete sentence, but I would never say so to Mr. Biggs’ face. In fact, he is downright scary. Nevertheless, I know where I'm shopping the next time I want removable gold teeth! (Link via Pat and Fran)

It Was 40 Years Ago Today

Way back in 1964, 15 year old Lisa was diligently writing in her Beatles Log, or B-Log, or Blog for short, as she called it. Seems that on this date in 1964, Lisa got tickets to see The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show! And of course, the rest is history. In addition to creating her Blog, Lisa receives e-mails about her review of the upcoming album Meet The Beatles! E-mail is an interesting concept for 1964, don’t you think? (Link via J-Walk)

Shop woman fights off raider with pastry

A German shop assistant has fought off a would-be robber by pelting him with rolls and pastry. You can read the rest here.

Who’s on First?

Although this classic comedy routine by Abbott and Costello is over 60 years old now, it still hasn’t lost any of its punch. They performed it on radio, and in their 1945 movie “The Naughty Nineties”, and on their television show. You can read the transcript of it here, and you’ll certainly get a chuckle out of it, but this comedy routine has an even stronger impact if you listen to the actors themselves perform it, which you can do here.

My favorite exchange from the “Who’s on First?” routine still cracks me up (and Costello’s reaction is equally funny):

Costello: When you pay off the first baseman every month, who gets the money?
Abbott: Every dollar of it.

Dawn at Caterwauling updates this classic comedy routine by having Abbott and Costello buy a computer.

The Ephedra Aftermath

The Buffalo News reports that many consumers are desperate to get their hands on more ephedra, despite the fact that it was banned first by New York State, and then by the Federal Government. Apparently, the health risks do not deter them. On the other hand, lawyers have been trolling for ephedra users now in order to present law suits against the makers of ephedra supplements. Who says lawyers have a bad reputation? Finally, I can’t decide if this is good or bad, but some ephedra makers are declaring bankruptcy now, meaning that any future lawsuits against them will not reap any financial reward.

The Height of Silliness

On Thursday last week, the Philadelphia Daily News consulted with an astrologist, a feng shui master and a psychic, to see who would win yesterday’s NFC Championship game. All predicted an Eagles win. Based on actual results, I would have to say all three were wrong.

Next we see that psychic Uri Geller has placed Michael Jackson under deep hypnosis, and Geller is convinced of Michael’s innocence. To quote the Peoria Pundit, “Oh, well that settles it...”

Commercials That Don’t Describe The Product

Cialis is a new prescription drug that does ... well, the commercial doesn’t really tell you what it does ... but you should ask your doctor if it is right for you. After all, the commercials tell you that it will “keep you in the game”. Hey, I’m already in the game ... and your commercial doesn’t really explain anything.

Levitra is a new prescription drug that does ... well, the commercial doesn’t really tell you what it does ... but you should ask your doctor if it is right for you. I thought the purpose of advertising was to communicate. Silly me.

Please, spare me any further such commercials.

“Along Came Polly”

I see the general public does not share my disdain of Ben Stiller movies. That’s fine, they don’t have to like what I like. But I still find myself dismayed by the huge success of “Along Came Polly”. Perhaps the people who attended didn’t read the reviews, and didn’t see the previews, they just knew that Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller were the stars, and that’s why they went.

I went to Rotten Tomatos.com, to see what a larger number of people were saying. Among the critics who have rated this movie, we find that the majority rated this movie as “Rotten”. But among non-critics, more rated “Along Came Polly” with a thumbs up than with a thumbs down. There’s no accounting for taste.

P.S.: This great line is from the review of “Along Came Polly” by Newsday’s Jan Stuart: “...if this is entertainment, the Port Authority should consider selling tickets to the washroom facilities at its New York bus terminal”.

Microsoft Sues Mike Rowe

Seventeen year old Mike Rowe has named his web site MikeRoweSoft.com. The fine folks at Microsoft are not amused, and threaten to sue. Microsoft offered to settle this case for $10, but Mike Rowe then asked for $10,000. You go get ’em, Mike. Let’s hope the courts throw this one out.

Okay, No More “It’s Colder Than...” Remarks

Weather.com reports it is now –41°F in Fairbanks, Alaska right now.

Speaking of 14 Year Old Prodigies...

Meet Alia Sabur, 14 year old summa cum laude graduate of SUNY Stony Brook, with a degree in applied math. She is now enrolled at Drexel University in Philadelphia, with plans to get her Ph. D. in nanophotonics (study and creation of electronic devices using optics, at the nanoscale) by age 18, and she also plans to be a professional clarinetist by age 18. What I find very interesting about all this is that the Dean of Drexel’s College of Engineering, Selcuk Guceri, met with Alia and her parents to determine if Alia could handle the pressures of a college graduate program at age 14. He came away favorably impressed. Said Guceri: “It's kind of unusual to see someone so young and so well-balanced in life... I will be very watchful, we will be very watchful. After all, she’s a 14-year-old child going through the growth process. We have to ensure that we don't get her burnt out.”

Internet Searches That Lead to Paige’s Page

The good news is that fewer porn searches now bring people to Paige’s Page. I’m not sure why that has happened. After all, I never have porn here, and yet in the past lots of people searched on Google for it and would wind up here. It may be Google and other search engines have changed the way they list sites, or it may be that lately the content here at Paige’s Page doesn’t mention Brit ... oops, I almost did it again ...

Now, lots of people search for Hilary Duff or Ashlie Brillault and wind up here. I’m a lot more comfortable with that. One disturbing search that led people here recently was a Google search for “butchered child Laura Bush”. I have no explanation for that. But whoever entered that search into Google, please either leave an explanation, or accept my diagnosis that you are a very sick person.

Ben Stiller

Am I the only person who thinks Ben Stiller isn’t the least bit funny? I think I was the only person who did not like Ben Stiller’s character in “There’s Something About Mary”. Other than the time when he was nice to Cameron Diaz’s mentally challenged brother, there was nothing to like about his character. He was a total loser. He couldn’t do anything right, and yet he wins the girl. But now, the reviews of the new movie “Along Came Polly” (which I have not yet seen) make me feel a lot better. Perhaps I’m not alone in my opinion. Stephen Holden, in the New York Times, says:

But this flat romantic comedy … fails to provide any reason a spunky free-spirited girl-next-door like Ms. Aniston’s character, Polly Prince, would give Reuben Feffer, Mr. Stiller’s uptight nerd, a second glance.

Then there’s Christy Lemire of the Associated Press who writes:

After “There’s Something About Mary,” “Meet the Parents” and “Duplex,” it seemed Ben Stiller had played characters who’ve humiliated and injured themselves in every imaginable way and had every possible bodily fluid spew from them or spill on them.

Now, along comes “Along Came Polly,” in which Stiller gets carried away on yet another wave of gross-out gags, all of them desperately straining for laughs, few of them truly earning any.

Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie is a 14 year old girl, playing against adult men this weekend at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Michelle joins a growing list of high school athletes competing at the highest levels of their sport. Today, Freddie Adu, also 14 years old, was the first player selected by in the Major League Soccer draft. (Adu was already the highest paid player in the MLS.) We regularly see high school students in the Olympics in figure skating, swimming, gymnastics and several other sports.

Should high school students be allowed to play sports at the professional or Olympic level? Do the risks to these students outweigh the benefit? Should there be rules preventing this from happening?

Generally, I believe that high school students should be high school students. But, I also think that on an exceptional basis, high school students who have the capability to perform at a higher level should be allowed to do so. I am not convinced that there is a greater risk of psychological harm to these young men and women from playing at a higher level, than to those high school students who live more conventional high school lives. I know numerous young men and women who I would say are “screwed up”, and fortunately, I know a larger number of young men and women who seem well adjusted. And if you study the history of high schoolers participating in professional sports or the Olympics, you will find many who had psychological problems, and many more who wound up having a relatively normal life, psychologically speaking.

I don’t think there should be a rule banning high school students from participating. However, I also believe that each case should be examined individually, and if the governing body of the sport decides that the high school student is not able to handle the pressure, the governing body should step in and insist that the high school student not participate until he or she is more able to handle the pressure. Yes, I know that I am advocating allowing one high school student to participate, and not allowing another. I have no idea what the legalities of this situation are, but I think the rulings should be made on what is best for each individual. What do you think?

Let’s Vacation on Mars

According to this article, it was warmer in the Gusev Crater on Mars (home of the Spirit rover) than it was in Rochester, NY. I hope my travel agent can get me a good price on the flight to Mars...

Congratulations to NASA and The Spirit Rover

Ladies and gentelmen, I present to you the little Earth spacecraft that could, Spirit! What an amazing story this is, the dramatic and risky landing that allowed the spacecraft to bounce 28 times before coming to a stop; the ability to untangle all the wires and balloons and debris so that the rover could actually move; and of course the rover itself that can figure how to go around or over rocks and perform scientific exploration on its own. Spirit today rolled onto Martian soil. What incredible results must await the exploration of Gusev crater! I’m giddy just thinking about it.

Wegmans on FoodTV

Wegmans, the supermarket chain based in Rochester, NY, is possibly the best supermarket chain on the planet (and maybe even the best in the entire galaxy). Tonight, on a FoodTV show named Top 5, Wegmans was portrayed under the topic of “One Stop Shopping”. A few weeks ago, Wegmans was cited by Fortune Magazine as being the 9th best company in the United States to work for. And I love shopping there, even though I tend to buy too many gourmet items because Wegmans makes them look sooooooo good.

Update (1/19/04): Bob Whaley at Modular Parrot descirbes his own divine culinary experiences at Wegmans.

Polar Exploration

Right now, here in sub-polar Rochester, NY, the temperature is –1° Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of –21°. The snow is coming down rather steadily and heavily. Yes, its a nasty night outside. But consider the early polar explorers. They spent an entire winter at the northern and southern edges of our planet, when the high temperature all winter was –40°, so that when spring came, and the temperature on a good day might go up to –15°, they could march out onto the frigid white ice and discover something. Spending a night in a tent where the outside temperature was –70° was a common activity. And they knew nothing of wind-chill. These men had only animal skins as clothing and tents, not our modern fabrics. And in the name of science and exploration, many of these men lost fingers, toes, limbs, or their lives. I would call them crazy, but those are my standards of the early 21st century; in the 19th and early 20th century, these men were heros. And now that I recall Robert E. Peary’s December 1898 march northward, through daytime temperatures of –50° and –60° to secure a remote outpost from a rival, I don’t feel so cold. (By the way, Peary lost 7 toes to frostbite because of this unnecessary march).

eBay Joker Auctions Off West Virginia

An attempt to auction off the state of West Virginia drew 56 bids and nearly enough promised dollars to fill the state’s projected budget hole before eBay learned of the joke.

Another MegaNews Site

Check out Topix.Net, a new site that aggregates news reports from thousands of on-line news sources. You can select broad categories, such as “US/World” or “Sci/Tech”, or enter in your favorite topic in the Search bar, and the latest news on that topic is found, all sorted with the most recent news first. When I went to the Local news area and typed in my hometown of Rochester, NY, I got a large amount of news from many local news sources, which seemed more comprehensive than what I got at the local newspaper’s web site. And the results are displayed in a visually appealing manner (at least, that’s my opinion of the aesthetics). (Link via Off On A Tangent).

Bunless Burgers

Burger King, bowing to the latest diet craze, the low-carb Atkins Diet, will roll out breadless Whoppers this week. This follows similar changes to the menu at Subway, Blimpie and other fast food restaurants.

Paige’s Page is still not convinced that low-carb is the best way to lose weight, since we lost 20 pounds last year just by eating sensibly and exercising, although we do recognize that Atkins does work for many people. Nevertheless, we are impressed at the success of the marketing by the Atkins people.

An Interesting Use of Blogs

I stumbled across Ms. Paulette’s 2-3 Class News blog by accident. I find the idea fascinating ... imagine, a schoolteacher posting to her blog what happened in class today. If I was a parent of a child in this class, I would be thrilled to find out what went on in school every day. And I’m quite impressed that Ms. Paulette is taking the time to do this.

Another interesting use of blogs is by the Western States Information Agency, which collects, analyzes and shares crime information. PC Magazine reports that crime-related information is quickly posted to the web, and law enforcement agencies have easy access to the latest information that they might need. This replaces a less effective e-mail system that was previously in use. (Link via Sugarpacket).

Finally, there’s the new (to me) concept of a Baby Blog. I think the parents are actually the bloggers — I figured that out myself — and they describe the days in the life of the newborn baby Adelle. I’m sure Adelle’s friends and relatives are going to enjoy this blog.

Update — Ashlie Brillault

Paige’s Page spoke highly of Ashlie Brillault, the talented young actress who played Kate Sanders, the “villain” to Hilary Duff in The Lizzie McGuire Show. She now has a website named Ashlie Brillault...Nothing Like Kate. Check it out! The new site contains pictures of Ashlie when she was four years old, and pictures of Ashlie since The Lizzie McGuire Show has gone off the air!

Rally to Support Michael Jackson

A huge rally is planned by supporters of Michael Jackson, who is to be arraigned on child molestation charges.

I don’t understand this a bit. What is the purpose of this rally? The court system will eventually decide whether or not Michael is guilty or innocent, based upon the facts presented in the trial. The rally will have no impact on that.

It also escapes my comprehension how massive numbers of people can even know whether Michael is innocent or guilty. They don’t know, of course, they just assume. One line of thought that I have encountered goes like this — I love Michael Jackson’s music, so I know he is innocent. Sorry, I can’t see any validity to that argument. Another line of thought goes like this: I met Michael Jackson, I even talked to him for thirty minutes, and so I know that he can’t be guilty. Sorry, I can’t agree with that argument either.

I can see how many people wish to show their support for Michael, the person; and I can see how many people would fervently wish that he will be found innocent. But beyond these two limited expressions of feelings, the rally will not accomplish anything. And there are ways to show this support without tying up traffic and requiring police to monitor the crowd, as will happen with the rally.

Hate In The Workplace

According to this article, Hewlett-Packard’s firing of a worker who repeatedly posted biblical verses condemning homosexuality has been upheld by the courts. Similar things have happened at my company, and I applaud my company and Hewlett-Packard for taking a strong stand against this type of activity in the workplace. Furthermore, the court has ruled that “Hewlett-Packard’s efforts to eradicate discrimination against homosexuals in its workplace were entirely consistent with the goals and objectives of our civil rights statutes generally”. (link via Lean Left)

The side issues require a few comments. Was Hewlett-Packard (and my company) choosing homosexuality in favor of Christianity? I would say no. In fact, I would expect that all beliefs get the same protection in the workplace — if there was a posting of anti-Christian literature, I would expect that it would be removed and the perpetrator would be fired. Was the worker prohibited from practicing his religion? I am not aware of any requirement that Christians of any denomination are required to post any particular Biblical verse or other material in the workplace so that others might read them; in fact, most Christians feel no such need to do so in the workplace. Was the worker singled out because of his religious beliefs? According to the court, the defendant “offered no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that would support a reasonable inference that his termination was the result of disparate treatment on account of religion”.

Brrrrrr!

Barney’s First Dog Blog

Seems as if President Bush’s dog Barney has taken up blogging! And among his concerns, Mommy (Laura Bush) is too busy to pay him any attention, Howard Dean’s dog also has a blog, and other dogs get to hang out with Jennifer Love Hewitt. And of course, he has a few comments about his Silly Daddy (President Bush) and Mr. Shiny Head (Vice President Cheney), and the press gets a few well-deserved barks too.

Rose Still Lying?

Pete Rose still says he never placed bets from the dugout. Veteran reporter Hal McCoy, of the Dayton Daily News, claims that he actually overheard part of a conversation that indicates Rose was indeed involved in placing bets from the dugout. Quoted by Sportsline.Com’s Scott Miller, here’s what McCoy says:

“I was an unwitting witness to that on one occasion, too. He called Detroit manager Sparky Anderson one night in his clubhouse office as I sat in a chair in the room. ‘Sparky, it’s Pete. How’s your pitcher look tonight?’ Rose asked Anderson.

“When he hung up, I said, ‘Pete, Detroit is in the American League. Why do you care about the pitchers?’

“Rose looked up with that familiar half-smile and said, ‘You know me, Hal. I just like to know what’s going on everywhere in baseball.’ That wasn’t a lie because he didn’t say why he wanted to know what was going on everywhere in baseball. The Dowd report and Gioiosa’s comments finished that sentence for Pete.”

Can Sparky Anderson provide independent corroboration of this?

A Bad-Smelling Rose

The condemnations come thundering down on Pete Rose now, wave on wave, as even those who were sympathetic to Rose for many years now find fault with Rose. First, there is Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who supported Rose over the last 14 years, saying “It looks so bad”. Rose’s teammate and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan echoes a similar sentiment. Peter Gammons, who supported Rose’s election into the Hall of Fame for many years, has done an about turn. Jayson Stark of ESPN details all of the reasons why Rose’s current book and confession have backfired. Primarily, it boils down to Rose doing what is best for Rose, instead of what is best for baseball. Rose’s book earns him money, upstages the election of two other Hall of Famers, and shows no contrition or understanding of the seriousness of his crime. And to make matters worse, Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun Times, speaking on ESPN’s Around The Horn, and Michael Wilbon, speaking on ESPN’s PTI, both claim Rose’s book contains lies.

Good Eats

Every once in a while, the folks at FoodTV veer towards comedy. And so, buried in a wealth of cooking information presented by Alton Brown, is a joke or two. Not necessarily a good joke, but definitely a joke. Despite this, Good Eats is a most informative and enjoyable television show. A