Buffalo Central Terminal

During my first trip away from home, when I was a 17 year old college freshman, I had the pleasure to walk through the grand, yet almost empty, Buffalo Central Terminal. As I walked from the train to the taxi, I marvelled at the magnificent architecture of the building, with high arched windows and rooms, and elaborately carved signs and ornaments. And I wondered how the building could become so empty and so deserted. I speculated that the decline of the railroads caused this beautiful terminal to fall in disuse.

Today, Buffalo Central Terminal is not used, and has fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. You can no longer go inside, you can only view it from the outside. And yet, this grand edifice still inspires awe and admiration. I’m so glad that I got to walk around the outside on Sunday, a nice warm sunny day, and take some pictures. Perhaps this grand old building will function again in the future.

No Sitcom For Duff

We are sad to report that Hilary Duff will not be appearing in a new CBS sitcom after all. A CBS spokesperson says, “We were excited to develop it with her. This project didn’t work out, but we certainly hope to be in business with her in the future.”

More on Jobs

Treasury Secretary John Snow says outsourcing of American jobs can help make the economy stronger. He also is quoted as saying “If we can keep the American economy strong and growing and expanding, we'll create lots of jobs.”

I agree completely with the second statement. A strong economy is a good thing. But, I disagree with the first part, that outsourcing of American jobs will make the economy stronger. It will make some other country’s economy stronger, but how it will make the American economy stronger is not stated. We aren’t told what the mechanism is. And frankly, I don’t see how that could happen.

Furthermore, a strong economy does nothing to stop the flow of jobs to overseas. Why? Because companies are making financial decisions to move jobs overseas. The equation usually goes like this: lower labor costs overseas plus lower tax rates overseas makes it more profitable to manufacture or do business overseas, even when you factor in a higher distribution cost from overseas to the United States (and if you are talking about computer information systems jobs going overseas, there is no distribution cost). And the state of the economy does not enter into the equation. A strong economy will not stop jobs from going overseas.

I fail to understand the Bush administration’s reluctance to take action to save jobs from going overseas.

All Spam Restaurant Opens in The Philippines

Don’t you just hate it when the people overseas get all the goodies? I mean, SPAMburgers, SPAMNuggets, SPAM and jelly sandwiches. Who wouldn’t be drooling over this? (Link via J-Walk)

Psychic’s Misinformation Cancels Flight

A self-described psychic’s tip that a bomb might be on a plane prompted a search with bomb-sniffing dogs that turned up nothing suspicious but forced the cancellation of the flight.

I hope American Airlines, the victim of this psychic scam, sues the psychic. I hope transportation officials remain extremely cautious when legitimate intelligence points to the possibility of a potential attack on an airplane. But when a psychic predicts something, I will gladly board the plane, and I call on transportation authorities to ignore the psychic entirely.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

I have lived through many downsizings at my company. I still have a job, but many others do not. Furthermore, much of my company’s work that used to be here in the United States is now moving to India, China and other places. The reasons for this are several: technological change, the low salaries that third-world workers receive, and the high tax rates that United States companies pay.

Thus, we are pleased to see Senator John Kerry address the problem head on. Government cannot do anything about the issue of technological change, nor can US government change the fact that third-world workers receive very low salaries compared to United States workers. In fact, in one recent case where my company moved jobs to China, the tax rates were cited as a primary reason for the move. Kerry says:

If a company is torn between creating jobs here or overseas, we now have a tax code that tells you go overseas. And that makes no sense. And if I am president, it will end as soon as possible.

According to CBS News, White House spokesman Scott McLellan “dismissed Kerry’s proposal as a ‘tax shell game’ that he said would not address the issue of jobs going overseas.” At least in one case, at my company, McLellan is incorrect. And I suspect there are many other companies making similar decisions, that’s why the issue has become so important lately. But, McLellan does not tell us, and I have not seen reported, what President Bush is going to do to stop jobs from going overseas. In fact, one member of the Bush staff, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, has said that efforts to keep jobs from going overseas will only hurt the United States economy.

I prefer to have Senator Kerry’s efforts to keep jobs in the United States rather than Mr. Greenspan’s reluctance to fight to keep jobs here. Furthermore, I think Senator Kerry’s proposals hit the target properly. We still wait to see President Bush’s proposals to keep jobs in the United States.

More on Dihydrogen Monoxide

Dihydrogen monoxide is a substance that can destroy property and harm humans. We reported on a town’s attempt to ban it here.

There is a research organization, DHMO.org, devoted to researching this substance and educating the public. There is even a hint at controversy:
Current allegations suggest that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may be conspiring to cover up the whole DHMO issue. Attempts by DHMO researchers to elicit comment from the EPA regarding the possible coverup were either ignored or dodged, leading researchers to infer the alleged coverup. Incredibly, the EPA then attempted to divert attention from the real issue onto talk of the aesthetics and layout of the EAC’s DMRD web site!

Now before you call your congressman, please understand that dihydrogen monoxide is also known as H₂O, or water. Humorously, I am reminded of a scene in the old Honeymooners TV show, in which Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton are about to learn some chemistry. Ralph has a vial of a substance labelled H₂O. I will attempt to recall the dialog as best I can:

Norton: What is this? H - 2 - O?
Ralph: That’s pronounced “ho”.
Norton: Oh, I see. Let’s see what it does. (Norton almost spills it.)
Ralph: Norton, be careful with that ho. What do you think it is, water?

Sad State of Mathematics Knowledge, Part II

A while back, I complained about the sad state of math knowledge here in the United States. A local DJ could not get a simple math problem right, nor could he understand the solution. Now, in comments, a reader tells us of what happens in high school math in Panama.

I did problems like that in 6th and 7th grade in my country — which you call a third world country — and ended up doing Differential and Integral Calculus in 12th. And not only a small group of over-read, overstudied, hyperintellectual elite… ALL of us. And not only in my school, either. Calculus is a National Standard for 12th grade in Panama.

I can also recall a former CEO of my company discussing hiring issues. He said something like this: “When we talk to CEOs from Germany, their complaint is that potential hirees could have a little more calculus. Here in the United States we find many high school graduates who cannot do algebra.”

Many have written that high school education in the United States should be improved. I say students in the United States should have a mathematics knowledge that is at least at the same level as students in Panama.

Unkle Roger

We reported way back in December about the tragic shooting of local DJ Roger McCall, also known as Unkle Rog. A tribute page has been set up for Unkle Rog. There’s not much on this web page yet, but its nice to know that some members of the community thought enough of Unkle Rog to set up a tribute page to him.

Mars Rover Blog

The little NASA rover Opportunity has been blogging from the surface of Mars. Oh, the things Opportunity has found! And how kind of NASA to build a blogging application into the rover’s software! (link via Preposterous Universe)

The 9/11 Debate

Kevin Drum at The Washington Monthly sums up my feelings so far about the Congressional testimony over 9/11. Mind you, I haven’t had the chance to read Richard Clarke’s new book, nor have I had time to read the full transcripts of the testimony on Capitol Hill. I have only read what has been reported in the news. Says Drum:

As for the substance of the hearings, here is Shorter Congressional Testimony™: we all tried really hard and paid oodles of attention to terrorism before 9/11. Really.

I might add that we have heard the two sides in this debate disagree, so: let’s get into details now. Let’s hear some specifics about what the Bush administration was doing during this time; let’s see the documentation that backs this up. And let’s make sure that Clarke’s allegations are corroborated as well. The general public should demand this. I do.

I should add that I do like Clarke’s human admission “Your government failed you, and I failed you”. It would be nice to hear something similar from President Bush.

Phishers, The Latest E-Mail Scam

Read this New York Times story. It’s about people called Phishers who send out scam e-mails designed to trick you into giving the scammers personal information. The scam e-mails are disguised as official-looking e-mails from various different companies and government organizations. Never ever give out personal information when someone asks you for it in an e-mail.

Welcome, Panda’s Thumb

A group of prominent scientists, philosophers and other interested parties have begun the blog Panda’s Thumb, dedicated to “defending the integrity of science against all attempts to weaken it, distort it, or destroy it.” Check back regularly! See you there!

Oregon Country Bans All Marriage

Let’s also throw out the baby with the bathwater! Let’s stop doing things that have always been legal so we can get clarification about the legality of that other thing. Makes no sense to me.

On-Line Polls

I think on-line polls are the most useless type of information ever collected. They have no statistical validity. Never ever try to find some meaning in the results. Please don’t ever waste your time on them.

Regarding on-line polls, I
	participate in on-line polls
	do not participate in on-line polls
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Evolution Update

Many months ago, thanks to a dedicated effort by Texas scientists, a proposal to weaken the teaching of science, and specifically weaken the teaching of evolution, in Texas public schools was defeated. Reed Austin Cartwright (blog), a doctoral student in the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia, reports on a similar attempt in Georgia. He tells us that the Georgia House has passed a bill which says:

Based upon these foregoing competencies, the state board shall adopt a uniformly sequenced core curriculum that conforms to curriculum standards of the various subject matter national organizations where applicable for grades kindergarten through 12.

In other words, this is a victory for science and a defeat for religionists who want to introduce religiously motivated pseudo-science into the classroom as science. But this bill still has to pass the Georgia senate.

PZ Myers (blog), Associate Professor of Biology at University of Minnesota, Morris, reports: the Minnesota Department of Education’s new social studies and science standards were approved by the Minnesota House on Thursday, but only after lawmakers amended the document to reflect the views of critics of evolution. Myers goes on to call those lawmakers: “Bastards. Craven, ignorant, despicable bastards”.

The situation in Ohio is still unclear, as final standards have not been passed, and arguments fly back and forth.

Other good blogs to read on this subject include Ed Brayton’s Dispatches from the Culture Wars, science writer Carl Zimmer’s The Loom and Brian Leiter’s The Leiter Reports. Leiter is Joseph D. Jamail Centennial Chair in Law, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Law and Philosophy Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Do I Feel Safer Now?

In early 2003, the Bush administration made claims that Iraq was a threat to the United States because it had Weapons of Mass Destruction. In addition, it was claimed that Iraq supported terrorism, and we couldn’t take the chance that the WMD could fall into terrorists hands. Using this information as a justification, the United States attacked Iraq, and succeeded in overthrowing Saddam Hussein, a brutal tyrant.

Now, one year later, no evidence of WMD has yet been found, and most investigators now say that the WMD didn’t exist. Evidence that Iraq was supporting terrorism also has been sketchy at best. The Bush administration now claims that the benefit of invading Iraq was that we removed a brutal tyrant, which is true, and the world is now a better and safer place.

Interestingly, in early 2003, based upon what I read, I supported attacking Iraq. And now I think that it was a terrible mistake. In fact, had the Bush administration tried, in 2003, to promote attacking Iraq based on what they are saying in 2004, they most likely would have been laughed at. Had I known that for $87 billion, and the loss of many American lives, we could overthrow a brutal tyrant, who apparently was not in possession of WMD, I would have thought that there are many better uses for that $87 billion, and that this was not something on which to risk American soldiers’ lives. Imagine what good things we could have done with that $87 billion.

Worse yet, it now appears that the real effort of combatting terrorism slowed down while America diverted its attention to Iraq. Much of that money could have been used to track down Osama bin Laden and the rest of his Al Qaeda thugs. But it was not used that way.

How did this happen? In one view, the Bush administration basically used only that intelligence information that conformed with its view about Iraq and ignored other information that was contradictory to its view about Iraq. In another view, it was the CIA, FBI and other intelligence sources that provided Bush incorrect information about WMD in Iraq. Regardless, Bush was misinformed. He was opposed to Congress appointing a commission to look into how this happened, until pressured by Congress and public opinion. And even so, we do not hear from Bush, as we heard from an earlier President, “The buck stops here.” Bush does not accept any responsibility for this, and continues to claim the invasion of Iraq was a success. Had I been misled by the intelligence agencies, as Bush may have been, I would have heads rolling. I would be infuriated. And yet Bush didn’t even want to investigate, much yet step up to the plate and claim “The buck stops here”.

Do I feel safer today because of the United States invasion of Iraq? No, I do not. It apparently has not helped the fight on terrorism. Al Qaeda operates today in many places in the world. Do I feel that the Bush administration can make proper use of the next bit of intelligence that might come our way? No, I do not. If the problem was the way Bush cherry-picked intelligence, or if the problem was that the intelligence agencies failed, I see no evidence that things have improved in any way.

Another Reason to Like Ketchup

Gotcha!

Officials in the city of Aliso Viejo, California, were concerned about a substance called dihydrogen monoxide, and a law banning the substance was going to be placed before the city council this week. After all, in large quantities, dihydrogen monoxide can cause medical problems in humans and even destroy property.

However, the city officials now are red-faced, as they have fallen for an internet hoax. Dihyrogen monoxide is also known as H₂O, or water.

Hillbilly Dickshunairy

Wandering Hillbilly Buddy Don has put together a Hillybilly Dickshunairy, no doubt to edify all of us about the highlights of the hillbilly dialect. Here is a sample:

beeyootiful: [adjective] beautiful (“twuz a beeyootiful fall evenin, jes warm a nuff whar ye dint need a jacket but jes chilly a nuff whar a cuple of folk mite sit a bit closer to keep frum a'gittin a chill”)

Buddy Don also has a blog The Wandering Hillbilly where you can read his pinions, fer eggzample, how to git publicans to vote fer runaway borryin. It would appear that hillbillies don’t own keyboards with capital letters.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Courtesy of Goldie from Drama Queen, here is a lovely St. Patrick Day joke.

Utah Bans Firing Squads

Well, it’s about time!

Rumsfeld and The Truth

A database compiled by Representative Henry Waxman (D-Ca) contains a large number of quotes by members of the Bush administration, showing what they said in the run-up to the Iraq war. On at least one occasion recently, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld claimed on Face The Nation that he never said Iraq was an imminent threat. But now, thanks to Senator Waxman’s database, he was confronted with his exact quote, where he did say Iraq was an “imminent threat”. Naughty, naughty, Secretary Rumsfeld. Nice job, Rep. Waxman.

By the way, you can see the video Rumsfeld making his claim and then getting caught here, or just read the transcript here.

Birdcam

This is a great site for families with small children, bird watchers and nature lovers! Since 1998, peregrine falcons have been nesting at the Kodak Office tower, and thanks to digital photography and the internet, you can watch all the action. You will see the parents, Mariah and Kaver, move in, you will see Mariah sitting on the eggs she lays, and then you will see the chicks hatch (probably in mid-May), grow up and eventually fly away. So far 21 young falcons have grown up in this nestbox. Right now the nestbox is mostly empty, but once the eggs are laid, there will usually be a bird in the box. Check back regularly.

Steroid Use By Pro Athletes

A few days ago, I wondered why the United States government, President Bush in his State of The Union address, and Congress recently, considers steroid use by pro athletes an issue that requires government action. Now, Murray Chass in the New York Times points the finger at earlier actions by Congress, where they could have acted to make illegal many of the supplements that are being used by professional athletes, or could have required proof of safety of these supplements before they can be marketed, and Congress chose not to make these supplements illegal or require proof of safety. In fact Congress passed a bill in 1994 that allowed dietary supplements to be marketed almost without restriction; that these supplements did not have to prove they were safe, and that they did not have to prove they were effective. Only when evidence of an unsafe supplement was gathered would the FDA have authority to act (as it recently did regarding ephedra). This, by the way, is the exact opposite of what is done in Australia, where dietary supplements must be proven safe and effective before they can be marketed.

Go, Nimrods!

Calling someone a nimrod is not normally a compliment. But the Watersmeet (Michigan) Township boy’s basketball team uses Nimrod as its nickname, and no one there is ashamed of the nickname. And now that ESPN has begun running a series of commercials with local residents voicing their pride at being a Nimrod, suddenly the word takes on a new meaning. How can you not feel proud of 81 year old Dale Jenkins, singing the Nimrod fight song?

ESPN intended the commercials to show how sports brings people together and is part of the fabric of our society. But the un-intended consequences have the town of Watersmeet basking in the spotlight, the school has been deluged with requests for its logo, and has sold $35,000 of Nimrod merchandise. Jenkins and basketball coach/principal/superintendent George Peterson III will appear on the Jay Leno show on Monday. Go, Nimrods!

Update (3/16): View the Nimrods tee-shirts here.

What Up, Hilary Duff?

Not wanting to be outdone by Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen, Hilary Duff has joined the fashion wars with a new line of clothing called “Stuff by Duff”, adding to her already impressive resumé which includes a hit TV show, movies and an album that hit #1 on the Billboard Pop Chart. Her new line of clothing has debuted, based upon what Hilary herself would wear. According to the Toronto Star, “Her squeaky-clean public image makes her a safe brand for companies like Target, which carries her products in the U.S., and Zellers. Even though her Stuff by Duff line just hit stores shelves, it ‘has exceeded our expectations,’ says Thomas Haig, president and COO of Zellers.”

South Pole Webcam

Live, from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station: Blizzards! Ice! Sun! No wildlife! Check back every fifteen minutes for a new webcam picture! Or better yet, read about the fascinating history of the South Pole, the research that goes on there, and what life is like at the Station.

Vegetables

Avocados — yum
Artichokes — yum
Spinach — blech

Nasty Season

Let the Nasty Season begin! Ooops, wait — it has already begun. We are seeing the Presidential race degenerate into name calling already, with both sides willing to accuse the other of not just bad policy and a bad record, which is an acceptable form of debate, but of making dishonest comments and lying. Well, isn’t that enlightening? And we can look forward to seven more months of it. I harbor no illusions that things will improve, however I do plan to turn off every political commercial I can this election campaign. When I am watching TV or listening to the radio, and a political ad begins — click! I will try to read candidate’s speeches and position papers.

It is little consolation that we don’t have the nastiest political system in the world. Read about the events in South Korea of the last few days, as described by Kevin Drum at Calpundit.

Irreducible Complexity

This is a term used by Creationists to describe the fact that certain biological features of organisms (such as the eye) are too complex to have evolved. Although scientists have had credible rebuttals to this argument, they have now observed evolution in action, in which bacteria create “irreducibly complex” methods of “eating” compounds that do not exist naturally, such as various different forms of pollution. Carl Zimmer at The Loom posts a letter which explains how these bacteria evolve methods of eating compounds that require the bacteria to synthesize multiple proteins, in sequence, to devour the pollutants. This sequence is an evolution of an “irreducibly complex” chain of events and biological processes that accomplish a certain function.

Madrid Bombings

It’s hard to find words to describe my disgust at the people who resort to bombings like this. I consider the perpetrators to no longer be human beings, and no longer deserving of the rights and privileges of a civilized society. When we find them, and prove their guilt, they deserve to be sealed up in an abandoned tunnel with a powerful bomb set to explode. Inhuman punishment for inhuman butchers. There, what do you think of that?

Steroid Use By Pro Athletes

Can someone explain why our President, in his State of The Union Message, and our Congress, in session today, feels it necessary to get involved in the use of steroids by professional athletes? This is an issue that affects at most 5,000 Americans, and it is something that the athletes themselves could clean up immediately, if they wanted to. Why does it warrant government attention?

Woman Tries to Spend One Million Dollar Bill at Walmart

A Georgia woman who allegedly tried to use a fake $1 million bill to buy $1,675 worth of merchandise at Wal-Mart has been arrested. A store clerk immediately noticed that the bill was fake when Alice Regina Pike, 35, handed it to her on Friday. Pike then tried to use two gift cards worth only $2.32 to buy the merchandise, but when that did not work, she again asked to cash the $1 million bill. The store called police. Pike was charged with forgery.

Purple Reign

Farewell to the Greece (NY) Odyssey girls basketball team. One game away from qualifying for the New York State tournament, these young ladies built a 13 point lead tonight against undefeated Clyde-Savannah (the number 2 ranked class C team in New York State), and then couldn’t hang on. But you couldn’t ask for a more entertaining team, a more spirited team, and they should be very proud of their accomplishments this year. All of us parents are thrilled to have been able to watch. Although their season is over, they now reign as the Section V Class CCC Champions (see the picture below) and gave themselves and all of us fans a moment we will never forget. We are already looking forward to next year.

Furthest Galaxies Ever Seen

The Hubble Space Telescope, taking an exposure of very faint galaxies over a three month period, have found the most distant galaxies ever seen. These galaxies were the first to form in the time shortly after the Big Bang, giving scientists a look back into time almost 13 billion years ago, to a time when the universe was 400 to 800 million years old. The photo shows “a zoo of oddball galaxies littering the field. Some look like toothpicks; others like links on a bracelet. A few appear to be interacting. Their strange shapes are a far cry from the majestic spiral and elliptical galaxies we see today.” Congratulations to Hubble!

What a shame such magnificent views of our universe, along with the expanding scientific knowledge they generate, will come to an end soon because NASA has chosen to stop funding the Hubble telescope in favor of manned missions to the moon and to Mars, both of which can be much more safely and effectively studied via robotic spacecraft.

Electronic Voting Fails Again

The Los Angeles Times is reporting more problems with the electronic voting system used in the state’s recent election.

Poll workers struggling with a new electronic voting system in last week's election gave thousands of Orange County voters the wrong ballots, according to a Times analysis of election records. In 21 precincts where the problem was most acute, there were more ballots cast than registered voters.

Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better.

Lives and Loves of Great Mathematicians

Friedrich at 2Blowhards has been reading A History of Mathematics, and far from being put to sleep by the sheer dullness of mathematicians, he has come away with a very different impression.

I must say that a historical account such as this one certainly humanizes the study of math—which otherwise can seem (to intellectual lightweights like me) a forbidding exercise in abstract thought. In fact, what strikes me on going through the book is that mathematicians, far from being ethereal creatures living on air and focused solely on matters of pure intellect, have often been rather remarkably accomplished in other areas as well.

He goes on to list the accomplishments of some famed mathematicians in very diverse areas: commerce, warfare, music, poetry, architecture, law and politics. In fact, the only thing missing seems to be a mathematician who is a great lover. How odd that Friedrich skips over that extremely important part of the lives of mathematicians, despite labelling his blog article “Lives and Loves of Great Mathematicians”. Nevertheless, Friedrich paints mathematicians in a very glowing light.

Identify That Candy Bar

No doubt you have better things to do, but you probably won’t be able to resist the urge to name that candy bar. The web site shows candy bars in cross section, and your task is to identify it. The M&Ms were easy!

Health Advice in Pop Culture Magazines

When I saw the title “health: Fat chance” in the new magazine Rochester Insider, I was somewhat concerned. I wasn’t expecting a hard hitting attack on the current generation of low-carb diets. I mean, after all this was a pop culture magazine. And I wasn’t expecting them to back things up with sceintific information. And I wasn’t expecting links to anti-carb diet websites. Yet there it was, a hard-hitting attack on low-carb diets! Surprise, surprise! Good job, Rochester Insider!

Anti-Vaccination Fever

One of mankind’s greatest accomplishments is conquering previously fearsome diseases. The list is long: polio, smallpox, plague, whooping cough, etc. And yet here we are in the 21st century, and there is a move afoot to stop people from taking vaccinations. Some of the reasons behind this movement are sensationalist media, religious fanatics, and alternative medical practitioners. Statistics presented by William John Hoyt Jr. show how several countries have recently experienced a rise is pertussis (whooping cough) cases, not co-incidentally as an anti-vaccination movement gains strength in that particular country.

Today in parts of Nigeria, religiously motivated fear and ignorance is now jeopardizing a campaign to innoculate people there against polio. Muslim leaders in Nigeria fear that the vaccination program is an American plot to make Muslims infertile. And so despite the fact that evidence of this charge is absent, and despite the fact that Pfizer uses the same vaccine around the world, polio vaccinations have been stopped in Nigeria. While there were 350,000 polio cases around the world in 1988, there were less than 1,000 last year, but now there has been a polio outbreak in Kano, Nigeria, an outbreak that was totally preventable.

Leopards Rule!

The Greece (NY) Odyssey Girls Basketball team won their first ever Section V Championship last night. They received a brilliant offensive and defensive performance from junior guard Rachel Pagano-Fuller, while twins Hannah and Libby Meier put in fine performances as well. Hannah pulled down two offensive rebounds in the last 12 seconds to keep the ball under Odyssey’s control and seal the win. Libby won tournament MVP.

Counterfeit Latte

Another radio commercial has made me shake my head in disbelief. It’s the new issue created by Dunkin Donuts, about how you may have received “counterfeit latte” in the past, oh, the shame of it all! Not only does the commercial blame the customer, and make it seem like the customer should be ashamed, but they make “counterfeit latte” an issue with apparent seriousness. Now, I realize the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek. Nevertheless, mark me down as less inclined to visit Dunkin Donuts.

Movable Type Update

A few days ago, I complained that I could not post to certain Movable Type blogs because of their spam-killer software, which thinks that part of my blog URL “home.ro” indicates I am a spammer. And quickly, the people who made the anti-spam add-on for Movable Type let me know that they had fixed it for me (thanks!) but that it might take a while for the software to trickle down to all users. And why would the users upgrade anyway, their version blocks probably 99.99999% of the spam they were getting? So this is a plea for all MT blogs to get the latest spam blacklist, so I can post again. I appreciate it!

Wegmans Supermarket Opens in Suburban Washington

One family, a couple plus four children ages 2 to 8, began their wait at 5:20 am, first in line, for the 7am opening of Wegmans first Washington, DC area store. When the store opened, the employees led a cheer. “Give me a W! W! Give me an E! E!...” By 7:55 a.m., all 850 grocery carts were taken. The surrounding roads were so clogged that Loudoun sheriff’s deputies directed traffic. Supermarket Superstar Danny Wegman was there to view the crowd. Free samples of Dom Perignon were given out. After two hours, the aformentioned family had a cart filled with all sorts of bottled water — the special kind with vapor-distilled electrolytes — and vegetable potpies and soy raspberry yogurt.

I wish I was there. I am sooooo jealous!

Don’t Rely on Psychics for Medical Advice

More correctly, don’t rely on psychics for any advice. But I digress, before I progress. Anyway...

Dutch actress Sylvia Millecam died from cancer after taking the advice of psychic Jomanda. Despite being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, Millecam never believed she was suffering from the disease. Instead, the actress thought it was a bacterial infection and she died in August 2001. Now the Dutch Government is beginning a criminal investigation of Jomanda.

What kind of psychic can’t see that her patient is going to die in two years? Obviously, a very bad psychic. Regardless, don’t rely on psychics for medical advice. Or any advice.

Prodigious Memory

Scott Hagwood is the USA Memory Champion. To win that title, he memorized 107 random words, 128 speed numbers and an entire deck of 52 cards in 2 minutes even. He will represent the United States in the upcoming World Championships. (Link via J-Walk).

When I was in college, I studied memory techniques. The Memory Book, by Jerry Lucas and Harry Lorrayne, explained how to do it. Early in that book, the authors tell you that by the end of this chapter, you will have memorized the fifty states in alphabetical order. You think to yourself: “Self! There’s no way you can do that!” And by the end of the chapter, you have memorized the fifty states in alphabetical order. With that encouragement, I went ahead and used the memory techniques to study for my classes. In a bold move a few days later, I studied just 45 minutes for an anthropology final. And after those 45 minutes, I thought I had memorized the material. Sure enough, I got a 98 on the test the next day. Pretty amazing stuff. Sadly, I have little need to apply those techniques any more, and so I rarely use it. But if you are a student, or in a job where you have to meet a lot of people and remember their names and personal information, the book is well worth the money, and the memory method is well worth the effort.

Water on Mars

Physicist Sean Carroll laments that today’s announcement that Mars was once wet, which is a wonderful discovery, may in fact wind up siphoning off more money from worthwhile space exploration programs into President Bush’s proposed manned mission to Mars. He says that NASA budget is being strangled, the Hubble telescope will be abandoned despite its incredible successes, and future projects will also be abandoned. And replacing those worthwhile endeavors with the manned mission to Mars, he says, is “just silly”.

I have a vested interest in this kind of science, it's true; but by any objective measure the most successful science missions that NASA has done have been unmanned satellites, not sending people around the solar system. Our scientific decisions are being increasingly driven by spectacle and political calculation, which is a shame when there are such exciting results potentially within reach.

Rush-speak

When Rush Limbaugh speaks, he speaks a new language called Rush-speak. It sounds great, and means nothing. Here, we take Rush’s own words, and point out the total lack of substance therein. So, according to the Miami Herald, Rush states regarding the Howard Stern situation:

I’ve never heard Howard Stern. But when the federal government gets involved in this, I get a little frightened. . . . What happens if a whole bunch of John Kerrys or Terry McAuliffes start running this country and decide conservative views are leading to violence?

Okay, sentence by sentence now.

I’ve never heard Howard Stern.

I have to compliment Rush here, the sentence is grammatically correct and most likely factually correct.

But when the federal government gets involved in this, I get a little frightened.

Hmmm, the government wasn’t involved, was it? This was a corporation, Clear Channel, decided to yank Stern off the air because they — Clear Channel — wanted stricter standards. So what are you talking about, Mr. Limbaugh, with the government getting involved? But wait! The government has been involved in regulating content broadcast over the air for over 50 years now. If they do get involved, it won’t be a new issue, as Rush’s sentence implies, it will be something they have been doing for a long time, following existing rules and regulations, and it will not be the first time the government has targeted Stern. I’m also a little surprised that a conservative, family-values type of guy like Limbaugh is suddenly sticking up for Stern, and for freedom of speech even if it is indecent, but that’s a side issue.

What happens if a whole bunch of John Kerrys or Terry McAuliffes start running this country and decide conservative views are leading to violence?

Beautiful. First, there’s absolutely no evidence that any candidate will take office and ban conservative speech because it may lead to violence. But go ahead and claim it without evidence. Go ahead and scare people. But the implication here is that now an elected official of the United States government is going to ban political speech if it is conservative. Brilliant. Mr. Limbaugh, read the United States Constitution. The first amendment prohibits the government from banning political speech.

And there you go, students, your first lesson on Rush-speak, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.