Ok, darn cool

Odd things in Pitt's libraries, via Breaching the Web.

Know what got me? The Chinese Sky During the Han: Constellating Stars and Society. Doesn't that just sound neat?

Sometimes I wish I worked in a library.

Why?

The battle for American science (courtesy of Medley)

One of the first signs that something was changing came in March last year in the suburbs of northern Atlanta, when people started talking, a little more frequently than might be expected, about mousetraps. It was hardly unprecedented in the US that a group of local parents should be lobbying for their children to be taught that evolution was a disputed theory, not a fact. But the way some of them were doing it was new, which is where the mousetraps came in. Unlike some of the openly evangelical Christian lobbies, they didn't want schools to teach creationism - the theory that God created the universe in seven days - they only wanted to air a theory known as Intelligent Design. ID holds that the living cell is "irreducibly complex", like a mousetrap. Remove the spring from a mousetrap and it isn't just an inferior mousetrap; it isn't a mousetrap at all. It had to have been created by an intelligent designer. It was the same, they said, for cells, and so life must have been designed by some kind of intelligence. Critics called this "stealth creationism" - religious dogma masquerading as science - but the ID proponents got their way, thanks partly to wording in President Bush's new education bill. Schools in Atlanta are now theoretically entitled to "teach the controversy" (though officials have urged teachers to stick to evolution for now, sparking a lawsuit) - and textbooks presenting Darwinism as fact have stickers inside, pointing out that it might not be.

OK. Because smaller components, i.e., atoms, can make up molecules, God must exist. (That's exactly the same as the mousetrap argument -- the reason we think in atoms at all is because they are 'irreducibly complex' -- the smallest chunk of a thing with the qualities of the thing -- iron, chlorine, oxygen. The only difference in the argument is that any 3-year-old can break a mousetrap. It takes a lot more effort on the part of Ph.d's to screw around at the atomic level.)

Can I prove that God exists, based on the statement above? Because smaller components, i.e., atoms, can make molecules, God must exist. Because the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts, God must exist.

Because, just to pin that sucker down where it can't move, because collaboration works, God must exist.

Interesting idea.

Can you prove God's existence based on that statement? Can you make predictions based on that statement that can then be tested, and used to validate that 'God' exists?

If you cannot, then you cannot teach this idea in a science class. You can teach it elsewhere, but you cannot call it science, no matter how much you want to.

Science is a method of asking questions based on observations, predicting behaviours, and testing if those behaviours occur. Science is not a thing, it is a process of analyzing the world we live in.

If you want to apply the scientific method to the question of God's existence, go ahead.

If you want to assert that God exists, well, that's not the scientific method. So, go do your asserting outside of science class.

Hornblower

Yum yum yum! I just got, as an out-of-the-blue gift from Janis, all eleven of the Horatio Hornblower novels.

Oh, my god. I haven't read these since I was a teen. I am thrilled to have a whole set all to myself! Wheeeeeee!

In return, I've loaned her the first three Honor Harrington novels, by David Weber.

And, of course, I'm still sitting here at work, and yes, starting to chafe over the fact that there are 11 books singing lusciously at me from my desk, sirens perched on an unassailable rock, above a sea of MIS help requests, whilst I slump before The Infernal Machine one desk away.

If I breathe very deep, I can smell them from here.

reeeeeeead me

reeeeead me....

I shall, however, dutifully stand my watch.

The Tender Trap

I went with a friend to see the play "The Tender Trap" at Actor's Asylum in San Diego last night.

We had a great time, 2 afficionados sitting in the back row of the tiniest theatre I've ever been in (excepting the last time I was at this theatre), watching a 1950's romantic comedy about a New York louse who finally falls in love.

Sexist? Hell, it was written in the '50's. You bet. Didn't stop us from having a good time.

"The Tender Trap": the play was turned into a film (starring Frank Sinatra) in 1955. I haven't seen it, can't compare.

The performances were good, the venue was lovely -- what more can I ask for?

Stupid Security

Winners announced in the Stupid Security Competition.

"If you thought the accounting profession was bad news, just wait till you hear how stupid the security industry has become. Even before 9/11 a whole army of bumbling amateurs has taken it upon themselves to figure out pointless, annoying, intrusive, illusory and just plain stupid measures to "protect" our security."

Categories were broken up into "Inexplicable", "Intrusive", "Counterproductive", "Annoying", and "Egregious". The judges included privacy specialists and journalists.

Musical Friday Five

1. What was the first band you saw in concert? The first band I ever saw in concert -- ooh, it depends on what the meaning of 'is' is. No, sorry. Do bands playing at state fairs, county festivals, or ren faire like things count? First band I ever paid money just to see them was the Cocteau Twins, spring, 1991.

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now? Err. Uh.... There's "favorite group to dance around fast to", which would be artists like Ricky Martin, Army of Lovers, and a bunch of dance/house/techno types I don't even know the names of (hey, I listen to a lot of soundtracks). "Darn good fun" bands would be Cibo Matto and Moonlife. There's "people to sing along with", Annie Lennox, The Beatles, Sting, Jeff Lynne, Marc Cohen, Etta James, Muddy Waters, Don Mclean and Manhatten Transfer. Then of course there's "romancin' music", music good for a rhumba, vertical or horizontal -- Cesaria Evora . Music great for late night gotta-stay-awake coding: Nine Inch Nails and Rammstein. Life's soundtrack in general: Vivaldi, Bach, and Howard Shore.

3. What's your favorite song? Song-song? Not instrumental? Babylon, by Don Mclean, dona nobis pacem, and Blackbird, by The Beatles.

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? The cello. Then the banjo. Then the violin. I've had voice training, brass, and woodwinds, but no strings.

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why? Oh, that's impossible. Bach, I suppose, so I could say 'thanks'.

You Will Be Missed

They put us all together at the same table, the "techies", thinking that we'd have something in common to talk about (rightly so). Janis (Marshmallows & Bile), me, Kim, Cindy, one or two others too far away for me to talk with, and Anita Borg.

Yeah, I had dinner with Anita Borg at the 1999 Journalism and Women Symposium. (I feel guilty almost for being so impressed. ) The aforementioned 4 were the segments of The 3rd WWWave who were able to shake loose the time and money to attend, and even that was only with the (much appreciated) backing of my employer at the time, Alpine Electronics Research & Development.

We didn't talk much (Janis and Anita talked up a storm, you would have needed a crowbar to get them apart -- not a bad thing). The next morning, I stood up and spoke, as the designated 'voice' of the 3rd WWWave, in part because I was still in my 20s at the time. Anita spoke, and then we had a panel on third-wave feminism, and the ball really got rolling. It was one hell of a weekend.

I disagreed, and still do, with Anita Borg regarding the significance of any spikes or dips in the stats on women getting CS degrees. In my career as a computer scientist, I've worked with more people who have a non-CS degree than those that do. Best software designers I've ever met were physicists, biologists, and EE's. Put us in a room together and we don't solve the problem, we *annihilate* it.

So my answer, whenever she would bring that stat up, was that CS degrees are barely even an indicator of women in the industry, (as indicated by anecdotal experience, only, I admit) and what you need to do is survey women in the industry directly. How many women work as software engineers, architects, designers, or programmers?

But god damn, I respect the woman. She founded IWT, the Institute for Women and Technology, to ask questions about technology to make it useful to everyone, not just the stereotypical blinkered binary-spouting 'early adopter' geek. "Everyone" includes women. Just bring a woman into technology assessment , IWT promotes, in full partnership, and be surprised by the new ideas you'll get out as a result, the market you'll open up. So, naturally , IWT pushes R&D, pushes education, pushes political envelopes -- everywhere to promote the full, active involvement of women in society.

Damn. Anita, requiscat in pace.

Statistics Redux

Being as I lamented recently over the ease with which statistics can say, oh, anything you want, I thought I'd point out to everyone an example of rigorous results of a poll/survey/study. I'm not dissing Gallup or Knight-Ridder, or at least, not actively. I have no data, y'see?

Hope And Despair For The Obese

The article actually describes two studies, one having to do with self-rated 'quality of life' information from obese children, and the other related to the efficacy of a known drug in a new role -- weight loss. I'm going to talk about the numbers in the latter, and compare them to blanket statements like "40% of Americans believe the it's the earth, not the moon, that's made of green cheese."

Firstly, the obesity study is quite clearly peer-reviewed, as a publication in the Journal for American Medical Association.

Secondly the obesity study lists the group running the study, the lead researcher, the number of participants, their average weight, age range, and gender. The relevant article reveals that the diet of the participants was monitored by a dietitian, lowered by 500 calories (for the control and the experimental groups), and participants were encouraged to increase their activity levels.

These details are important to any scientist who wants to prove or disprove the -- admittedly preliminary -- finding that the drug in question may contribute to "signficant weight loss". Why? Because anyone who wants to duplicate these results needs to know the parameters of the experiment.

This is why it's impossible to take an off-the-cuff '40% of anything' statement at anything more than 1/20th of the value of the paper it's printed on. Because you don't know anything. But this obesity study? You know enough to replicate the experiment and support or contradict its results.

That's the difference between "science", and "making shit up", friends and neighbors.

I wish I read Arabic

I'd give a limb to be able to next-day papers from that part of the world right now, and read 'em raw. Errrrrrg. Instead, I've been reading the Arab News, Arabic News, and my more traditional, non-American news sources. You know, where I've got a shot at getting actual news.

There is no news in the US, as far as I'm concerned, with, maybe, 2 exceptions. NPR, and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

http://www.middleeastdaily.com/
http://www.arabicnews.com
http://www.arabnews.com
http://www.arab2.com/n/na/egypt/middle-east-news-agency.htm
http://www.gulf-news.com/

The Reason Why

Excellent article by George McGovern, if you haven't spotted it already from M&B.

Forsworn

This is the oath that George took:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

It's not a difficult oath to remember. New members of our armed forces take one very similar every day.

The core of the oath every person wearing a Marine Corps, Air Force, Army or Naval uniform, on Iraqi soil and off, right this second, swore when they enlisted, is to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic;" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same. "

There's not much more than that -- obedience to the lawful orders of superiors (including the Commander-in-Chief) in adherence to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The usual.

But the Constitution.

The Constitution is the core of this oath, the basis for our system of government, and without it we cease to be Americans. It's not even the basis, it is our system of government. It is the definition of the United States of America. It is the compact the Founding Fathers made with one another and with posterity. We make that compact anew every time someone takes that oath. That is why we must preserve the Constitution, must protect it, must defend it if we want to continue to call ourselves Americans.

Well and so. Points for effort, Mr. President, but with regards to the preservation, protection and defense of the Constitution, I'm afraid I have to give you an 'F'. You can't protect a thing by destroying it. You owe us, all of us, in service and civilian, much more than that.

The Constitution of the United States of America
Enlistment Oath
Air Force Academy: Arrival & Oath
Marine Corps: Enlisted Oath

Damn Straight We Need Regime Change


"Republicans assail Kerry for 'regime change' remark"

I'm actually going to quote large chunks here.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry came under fire from top congressional Republicans for saying the United States, like Iraq, needs a regime change. Kerry would not back down.

Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, got huffy --

"Free and open discourse is one thing, but petty, partisan insults launched solely for personal political gain are highly inappropriate at a time when American men and women are in harm's way," Frist said in a statement Thursday.

I can't believe he actually said that with a straight face. I mean, I'm assuming he did, otherwise the article would have said, suppressing laughter at the blatent hyprocrisy of his statement, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said..... But it doesn't say that, so straight-faced he must have been.

"In a speech Wednesday in Peterborough, N.H., Kerry said President Bush so alienated allies prior to the U.S.-led war against Iraq that only a new president can rebuild damaged relationships with other countries. "

I believe this firmly. I believe that only if we elect a new president who has the strength of will to apologize, yes, apologize to the international community for the insults and misuse of power by this Bush Administration, do we, America, have a snowball's chance in hell of regaining our standing with that community. Our name, reputation, and honor has been besmirched by an administration that ignores international treaties and the importance of international relations as a whole.

Kerry said it right, "patriotism is not mutually exclusive with questioning the war".

Leading congressional Democrats generally have avoided criticism of Bush since U.S.-led forces began attacking Iraq.

Attention, "leading congressional Democrats"! It is time to stop avoiding criticism! It is time to question the regime actively ripping up our social contract! It is time to be a patriot! It is time to stand up for the Constitution!



Kerry says US needs its own 'regime change'
Republicans assail Kerry for 'regime change' remark
On eve of war, Kerry blasts Bush
ADDRESSING THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

Flashy Beaks

Flashy colours come and go in the fashion world but bright beaks are always in style for male birds seeking a mate.

So, does this mean it's the guys who should be wearing lipstick?

The *snigger* Core (guffaw)

I can't stop laughing every time I see an ad for the film, "The Core".

Seriously. There I am, minding my own business, channel-surfing mindlessly (the sport of champions), and I'll slam into one of the more talky ads for the flick, where they actually *say* things like 'we're going in' and 'restart the core', and --

BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

'Scuse me.

Literally, I collapse into laughter, pointing my finger at the screen. I swear, it's almost Pavlovian.

But it's just so *funny*. I mean, here's the idea, right? Let's take a ship made of earth stuff, and ride in it to someplace so hot even the earth melts!

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

My god, what a great idea! Let's drive a tank made of metal to a place where rocks melt! Yeah!

*hysterical laughter*

Not Much, But I Try

Jill, it was the best I could do.

One Patently False Statement

Deserves Another

Homophobes: Shoe pinches a bit on the other foot, don't it?