Doesn't surprise me. This is what happens when you choose to have a private email instead of one built behind a (hopefully) more secure network. People will break into it and post pictures.
Now, I don't condone such activities. But, I do find it funny.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
How Would McCain Win a "Key State"?
Do you think McCain could win based off of his personality, like one of his campaign organizers said off-the-cuff?
Do you think McCain could win based off of his policies? You know, the ones he doesn't dare speak about on television but has no problem publishing on the Internet, like the proposed tax on health care?
No, those are what real politicians do. You know, go to town meetings and talk to people. McCain's campaign is all about various ways to vote cage and suppress.
How could one potentially suppress the opposition vote? Easy. Mail a flier to registered voters that pose as an absentee ballot, like the ones being sent in Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia. Another way to cause confusion is to argue the validity of a vote due to foreclosure listings.
While the McCainiacs are busy complaining about how "insulting" Obama ads have been, maybe they should reconsider their support of a campaign that would rather use Rovian tactics to rob and deceive voters.
Do you think McCain could win based off of his policies? You know, the ones he doesn't dare speak about on television but has no problem publishing on the Internet, like the proposed tax on health care?
No, those are what real politicians do. You know, go to town meetings and talk to people. McCain's campaign is all about various ways to vote cage and suppress.
How could one potentially suppress the opposition vote? Easy. Mail a flier to registered voters that pose as an absentee ballot, like the ones being sent in Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia. Another way to cause confusion is to argue the validity of a vote due to foreclosure listings.
While the McCainiacs are busy complaining about how "insulting" Obama ads have been, maybe they should reconsider their support of a campaign that would rather use Rovian tactics to rob and deceive voters.
Kool-aid drinkers miss premise of Obama Ad
This doesn't surprise me at all. Consider the following ad from Obama titled "Still":
The kool-aid drinkers at Hot Air are stuck on the premise of modern technology, but fail to address the ending message of the ad. The non-tech-savvy McCain comes from an interview done by the New York Times back in July (Politico has the summary about the technology part).
What is the ending message? The same old Republican nonsense of helping corporations over middle America. But none of the kool-aid drinkers would ever be bothered with discussing the issues and policies. Instead, they'd rather talk about their personalities.
The kool-aid drinkers at Hot Air are stuck on the premise of modern technology, but fail to address the ending message of the ad. The non-tech-savvy McCain comes from an interview done by the New York Times back in July (Politico has the summary about the technology part).
What is the ending message? The same old Republican nonsense of helping corporations over middle America. But none of the kool-aid drinkers would ever be bothered with discussing the issues and policies. Instead, they'd rather talk about their personalities.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Reviving the old blog
To deal with some issues that have sprung up with a certain dipshit and his egregious claims.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The chemists need a big toy, too
What with the opening of the LHC and the test runs on the "Squirrel Smasher", I do believe us chemists are left with nothing to smash together at ridiculous velocities.
Any suggestions? We need to smash something before we are left with nothing to smash together.
Any suggestions? We need to smash something before we are left with nothing to smash together.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Biochemistry shouldn't be this fun
It is a cardinal rule written somewhere that biochemistry needs to be designed to suck the last bit of liveliness from any budding scientist.
How can biochemistry succeed in such a goal when it produces such a fun video game? I mean, that's not fair. Not only are you having fun, but you're learning the amino acid groups.
I think I need to write Congress.
How can biochemistry succeed in such a goal when it produces such a fun video game? I mean, that's not fair. Not only are you having fun, but you're learning the amino acid groups.
I think I need to write Congress.
Monday, September 1, 2008
"Chancygate": An Unfortunate Hoax
So it appears that the chancellor's email about Rush is a hoax, according to the Daily Illini and an email from Assc. Chancellor Kaler. Which makes sense from the perspective of certain contributing alum being part of the infrastructure known as Greek life, and it would be terrible to upset the contributors to university coffers.
But in all fairness, I am a first year graduate student, and I have yet to receive an official correspondence from the chancellor (or it was ages ago and I had deleted it, which amounts to the same thing pragmatically). So I didn't know about the typical format of emails from his office. Secondly, I was on my laptop in the union using the CITES express mail, and so didn't have access (nor any suspicion) to the e-mail header, which would've thrown red flags.
But here is a morsel for all you disgruntled anon's that disagree with my position toward Greek life. I know such blanket statements as I've made in person and the email made offend you. But you should ask yourself, did you fall within the roughly (or more) 70% of Greeks that comprise of the "stereotype", as research in higher education shows, particularly with regards to alcoholic intake and GPA? Could you see the concern of those with making diversity work on campus and developing an inclusive community on a university have some initial criticisms of the structure of first-year Rush?
And I know some of you are saying "I am not this stereotype". Of course you probably aren't. This is another instance of the description being a normal (or Gaussian) distribution. A good majority of Greeks have responded on surveys of being moderate to heavy drinkers, listing escapism and the desire for social inclusiveness (or "in-group acceptance") as two major reasons/motivations. Of course these reasons aren't dependent on simply being Greek; it exists in non-Greek social groups as well. However, there is a significantly larger frequency found amongst Greek members.
If you claim you are/were not a moderate to heavy drinker and Greek, then congratulations. You are beyond the normal distribution. But my next question would be when did you rush. This is important, because as time increases between starting college life and rushing, the less influential Greek life has on peer-group exclusivity and impact on GPA. This is also documented in the literature.
These are concerns which float in the minds of administrators when the topic of Greek life comes up in any meeting: drinking, academics, campus community. I have plenty of anecdotal stories about people who became complete failures after they rushed, and I have several anecdotal accounts of people who had great successes as being a member of the Greek community. But you have to ask yourself this: is it a "stereotype" wrongfully placed, or is it an accurate portrayal of the normal distribution of Greek members?
I know my answer. What is yours?
But in all fairness, I am a first year graduate student, and I have yet to receive an official correspondence from the chancellor (or it was ages ago and I had deleted it, which amounts to the same thing pragmatically). So I didn't know about the typical format of emails from his office. Secondly, I was on my laptop in the union using the CITES express mail, and so didn't have access (nor any suspicion) to the e-mail header, which would've thrown red flags.
But here is a morsel for all you disgruntled anon's that disagree with my position toward Greek life. I know such blanket statements as I've made in person and the email made offend you. But you should ask yourself, did you fall within the roughly (or more) 70% of Greeks that comprise of the "stereotype", as research in higher education shows, particularly with regards to alcoholic intake and GPA? Could you see the concern of those with making diversity work on campus and developing an inclusive community on a university have some initial criticisms of the structure of first-year Rush?
And I know some of you are saying "I am not this stereotype". Of course you probably aren't. This is another instance of the description being a normal (or Gaussian) distribution. A good majority of Greeks have responded on surveys of being moderate to heavy drinkers, listing escapism and the desire for social inclusiveness (or "in-group acceptance") as two major reasons/motivations. Of course these reasons aren't dependent on simply being Greek; it exists in non-Greek social groups as well. However, there is a significantly larger frequency found amongst Greek members.
If you claim you are/were not a moderate to heavy drinker and Greek, then congratulations. You are beyond the normal distribution. But my next question would be when did you rush. This is important, because as time increases between starting college life and rushing, the less influential Greek life has on peer-group exclusivity and impact on GPA. This is also documented in the literature.
These are concerns which float in the minds of administrators when the topic of Greek life comes up in any meeting: drinking, academics, campus community. I have plenty of anecdotal stories about people who became complete failures after they rushed, and I have several anecdotal accounts of people who had great successes as being a member of the Greek community. But you have to ask yourself this: is it a "stereotype" wrongfully placed, or is it an accurate portrayal of the normal distribution of Greek members?
I know my answer. What is yours?
Kudos to Chancellor Herman of UIUC
My undergraduate Alma Mater is heavily influenced by Greek life (eg. fraternities and sororities...not people from Greece). It was nearly impossible to meet someone in one of your classes who was not part of or at one time was part of the Greek community. In fact, student government elections were basically a joke since it came down to voting on either this Greek or that Greek, with student government policies heavily favoring the advancement of the Greek life.
So, it is really shocking to see a chancellor at another university sending a mass criticism of the Greek life to the student body. And, being a silent observer of the activities and antics of the Greeks at my university, I have no problem agreeing with the opinion in Chancellor Hermon's e-mail. It follows (all emphasis mine):
Wow. I have no additional commentary, since he wrapped up my sentiments precisely. I know several people who were Greek, and they were cool. But I also have met my fair share of Greeks who fit the xenophobic, close-minded type expressed in the chancellor's e-mail.
Consider his e-mail a general overview of my perspective as well.
So, it is really shocking to see a chancellor at another university sending a mass criticism of the Greek life to the student body. And, being a silent observer of the activities and antics of the Greeks at my university, I have no problem agreeing with the opinion in Chancellor Hermon's e-mail. It follows (all emphasis mine):
Dear Students,
Many of you may be aware of an event known as Rush. It is my objective to warn you of the potential downsides of Greek organizations. I advise you to not succumb to the aggressive recruitment tactics used by these organizations. It has been my concern over the years, that the Greek culture of alcoholism and lack of respect for the community degrades campus life. These organizations present themselves as prestigious, yet are discriminatory, serve to perpetuate social inequality, especially with respect to the opposite gender, and promote a lack of diversity. Many students have expressed concerns with regards to safety on campus, particularly due to Greek culture and behavior. It is my hope that a student's experience on campus strengthens one's individuality, but the Greek system emphasizes the group above all, without cause or reason. This is detrimental to the purpose of universities.
I hope that you will consider wisely.
GDI Chancellor Richard Herman
Wow. I have no additional commentary, since he wrapped up my sentiments precisely. I know several people who were Greek, and they were cool. But I also have met my fair share of Greeks who fit the xenophobic, close-minded type expressed in the chancellor's e-mail.
Consider his e-mail a general overview of my perspective as well.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Popular Science Book Meme
I haven't been blogging for the past month. Completely uprooting oneself from a place you called home twenty-two years of your life tends to cause large disturbances. And so, my first post from a long hiatus (and so I can say that I posted at least once in August) is a pop-sci meme courtesy of Jennifer Oullete at Cocktail Party Physics.
So here are the rules. In bold are the ones that I have read. The one that is struck out I don't believe should be on the list. And any in italics are ones I added.
Now everyone will know how much of a nerd I am.
1. Micrographia, Robert Hooke
2. The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin
3. Never at Rest, Richard Westfall
4. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, Richard Feynman
5. Tesla: Man Out of Time, Margaret Cheney
6. The Devil's Doctor, Philip Ball
7. The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Richard Rhodes
8. Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, Dennis Overbye
9. Physics for Entertainment, Yakov Perelman
10. 1-2-3 Infinity, George Gamow
11. The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene
12. Warmth Disperses, Time Passes, Hans Christian von Bayer
13. Alice in Quantumland, Robert Gilmore
14. Where Does the Weirdness Go? David Lindley
15. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
16. A Force of Nature, Richard Rhodes
17. Black Holes and Time Warps, Kip Thorne
18. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
19. Universal Foam, Sidney Perkowitz
20. Vermeer's Camera, Philip Steadman
21. The Code Book, Simon Singh
22. The Elements of Murder, John Emsley
23. Soul Made Flesh, Carl Zimmer
24. Time's Arrow, Martin Amis
25. The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments, George Johnson
26. Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman
27. Godel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter
28. The Curious Life of Robert Hooke, Lisa Jardine
29. A Matter of Degrees, Gino Segre
30. The Physics of Star Trek, Lawrence Krauss
31. E=mc<2>, David Bodanis
32. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, Charles Seife
33. Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold, Tom Shachtman
34. A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, Janna Levin
35. Warped Passages, Lisa Randall
36. Apollo's Fire, Michael Sims
37. Flatland, Edward Abbott
38. Fermat's Last Theorem, Amir Aczel
39. Stiff, Mary Roach
40. Astroturf, M.G. Lord
41. The Periodic Table, Primo Levi
42. Longitude, Dava Sobel
43. The First Three Minutes, Steven Weinberg
44. The Mummy Congress, Heather Pringle
45. The Accelerating Universe, Mario Livio
46. Math and the Mona Lisa, Bulent Atalay
47. This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin
48. The Executioner's Current, Richard Moran
49. Krakatoa, Simon Winchester
50. Pythagorus' Trousers, Margaret Wertheim
51. Neuromancer, William Gibson
52. The Physics of Superheroes, James Kakalios
53. The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump, Sandra Hempel
54. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, Katrina Firlik
55. Einstein's Clocks and Poincare's Maps, Peter Galison
56. The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan
57. The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins
58. The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker
59. An Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears
60. Consilience, E.O. Wilson
61. Wonderful Life, Stephen J. Gould
62. Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard
63. Fire in the Brain, Ronald K. Siegel
64. The Life of a Cell, Lewis Thomas
65. Coming of Age in the Milky Way, Timothy Ferris
66. Storm World, Chris Mooney
67. The Carbon Age, Eric Roston
68. The Black Hole Wars, Leonard Susskind
69. Copenhagen, Michael Frayn
70. From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne
71. Gut Symmetries, Jeanette Winterson
72. Chaos, James Gleick
73. Innumeracy, John Allen Paulos
74.The Physics of NASCAR, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky
75. Subtle is the Lord, Abraham Pais
76. A New Kind of Science, Wolfram
77. The Wizard of Quarks, Robert Gilmore
78. Four Laws That Drive the Universe, Peter Atkins
79. The Ancestor's Tale, Richard Dawkins
80. Discarded Science: Ideas that seemed good at the time, John Grant
81. Death by Black Hole, Neil DeGrasse Tyson
82. The Comprehensible Cosmos, Victor Stenger
83. The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design, Leonard Susskind
So here are the rules. In bold are the ones that I have read. The one that is struck out I don't believe should be on the list. And any in italics are ones I added.
Now everyone will know how much of a nerd I am.
1. Micrographia, Robert Hooke
2. The Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin
3. Never at Rest, Richard Westfall
4. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, Richard Feynman
5. Tesla: Man Out of Time, Margaret Cheney
6. The Devil's Doctor, Philip Ball
7. The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Richard Rhodes
8. Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, Dennis Overbye
9. Physics for Entertainment, Yakov Perelman
10. 1-2-3 Infinity, George Gamow
11. The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene
12. Warmth Disperses, Time Passes, Hans Christian von Bayer
13. Alice in Quantumland, Robert Gilmore
14. Where Does the Weirdness Go? David Lindley
15. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
16. A Force of Nature, Richard Rhodes
17. Black Holes and Time Warps, Kip Thorne
18. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
19. Universal Foam, Sidney Perkowitz
20. Vermeer's Camera, Philip Steadman
21. The Code Book, Simon Singh
22. The Elements of Murder, John Emsley
23. Soul Made Flesh, Carl Zimmer
24. Time's Arrow, Martin Amis
25. The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments, George Johnson
26. Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman
27. Godel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter
28. The Curious Life of Robert Hooke, Lisa Jardine
29. A Matter of Degrees, Gino Segre
30. The Physics of Star Trek, Lawrence Krauss
31. E=mc<2>, David Bodanis
32. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea, Charles Seife
33. Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold, Tom Shachtman
34. A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, Janna Levin
35. Warped Passages, Lisa Randall
36. Apollo's Fire, Michael Sims
37. Flatland, Edward Abbott
38. Fermat's Last Theorem, Amir Aczel
39. Stiff, Mary Roach
40. Astroturf, M.G. Lord
41. The Periodic Table, Primo Levi
42. Longitude, Dava Sobel
43. The First Three Minutes, Steven Weinberg
44. The Mummy Congress, Heather Pringle
45. The Accelerating Universe, Mario Livio
46. Math and the Mona Lisa, Bulent Atalay
47. This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin
48. The Executioner's Current, Richard Moran
49. Krakatoa, Simon Winchester
50. Pythagorus' Trousers, Margaret Wertheim
51. Neuromancer, William Gibson
52. The Physics of Superheroes, James Kakalios
53. The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump, Sandra Hempel
54. Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, Katrina Firlik
55. Einstein's Clocks and Poincare's Maps, Peter Galison
56. The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan
57. The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins
58. The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker
59. An Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears
60. Consilience, E.O. Wilson
61. Wonderful Life, Stephen J. Gould
62. Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard
63. Fire in the Brain, Ronald K. Siegel
64. The Life of a Cell, Lewis Thomas
65. Coming of Age in the Milky Way, Timothy Ferris
66. Storm World, Chris Mooney
67. The Carbon Age, Eric Roston
68. The Black Hole Wars, Leonard Susskind
69. Copenhagen, Michael Frayn
70. From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne
71. Gut Symmetries, Jeanette Winterson
72. Chaos, James Gleick
73. Innumeracy, John Allen Paulos
74.
75. Subtle is the Lord, Abraham Pais
76. A New Kind of Science, Wolfram
77. The Wizard of Quarks, Robert Gilmore
78. Four Laws That Drive the Universe, Peter Atkins
79. The Ancestor's Tale, Richard Dawkins
80. Discarded Science: Ideas that seemed good at the time, John Grant
81. Death by Black Hole, Neil DeGrasse Tyson
82. The Comprehensible Cosmos, Victor Stenger
83. The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design, Leonard Susskind
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Attention Walking-Aficionados
Two days ago, Google Maps introduced a new utility that will map a walking path to your destination, given the destination is under 6.2 miles and in a large city. They also fixed the mass-transit feature found in bigger cities. Granted, it's in beta, but it's a step in the right direction.
Kudos to Google. Now, I expect to see more people walking and absorbing their surroundings, especially all you hippies with iPhones or iPod Touches.
(On a personal note, I determined today that from where I am going to live to where I will work at UIUC is about 1.2 miles. At LSU, this distance was ~0.8 miles. I'm excited.)
Kudos to Google. Now, I expect to see more people walking and absorbing their surroundings, especially all you hippies with iPhones or iPod Touches.
(On a personal note, I determined today that from where I am going to live to where I will work at UIUC is about 1.2 miles. At LSU, this distance was ~0.8 miles. I'm excited.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
