Hey Paul

Hitchens on Palin and the GOP

2008-10-27T15:01:00.001-07:00

Hitchens on Palin and the current GOP

This is what the Republican Party has done to us this year: It has placed within reach of the Oval Office a woman who is a religious fanatic and a proud, boastful ignoramus. Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just "people of faith" but theocratic bullies. On Nov. 4, anyone who cares for the Constitution has a clear duty to repudiate this wickedness and stupidity.

Amen. Read the full essay here.

Obama's Funny Campaign Donations

2008-10-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Furriners and ObamaWhy bother doing any research when it's so much easier to sling ridiculous accusations willy nilly. I loved what this guy had to say in the comments:

And thus the line is drawn between folks who still have something to learn about the world (and who would therefore ask questions) and those whose brains have fossilized to the point that all data merely confirm what the rocks in their heads are already telling them.

Stock Chartgame

2008-10-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Think you can make money in the stock market?Try it risk-free.

Financial Crisis Primer

2008-10-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Financial Crisis PrimerWith the recent financial meltdown, I'd been feeling awfully ill-informed. So I decided to start scouring the web in an effort to understand what the heck is going on, how it all happened and what it all means. This American Life had two recent shows about the crisis. First, there was The Giant Pool of Money, a show about the housing crisis and what it has to do with the turmoil on Wall Street. Then there was Another Frightening Show About the Economy which focuses more on the Wall Street end of the crisis. I also came across a piece by Paul Krugman (who just won the Nobel Prize in economics) in which he uses the analogy of a baby-sitting co-op to explain how economies work (or don't). And then there's this piece by Jim Manzi on The American Scene who uses a caveman analogy to explain the economy and the recent Wall Street crisis. If you've come across other useful resources to explain the economy and the Wall Street crisis, feel free to leave a link in the comments.

2008-10-14T09:16:00.001-07:00

Articles of ImpeachmentWill these people ever pay for their crimes?

The Big Picture on the Sun

2008-10-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our Freakin' Amazing SunThe Big Picture has some amazing pics of the sun.

Epicurus on God

2007-12-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

Epicurus on the coexistence of God and evil:

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able, and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?

The good news is we'll all be dead.

2007-11-25T17:21:00.001-08:00

The good new is we'll all be dead.From a review of Michael Novecek's Terra: Our 100-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem--and the Threats that Now Put it at Risk in the November 15, 2007 issue of Nature:

The geological perspective of Terra is bizarrely reassuring. Humans will presumably be gone within a few million years, perhaps sooner. If the past that Novacek describes is a guide to the future, global ecosystem processes will be restored some tens of thousands of years to a million years after our demise, and new forms of life over the ensuing millions of years will exploit the denuded planet we leave behind. Thirty million years on, things will be back to normal, albeit a very different 'normal' from before. It is good the be optimistic. The problem is living here in the meantime.

I think it's safe to say the tree-huggers have gone off the deep end when their view of eutopia is a world without us.

China Regulates Reincarnation

2007-08-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Regime Regulated ReincarnationReligion is absurd. Government is absurd. Religion + Government = Sublime:

In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

Full story here.

SYTYCD is rigged

2007-08-17T14:38:00.001-07:00

So You Think You Can Danceis rigged. How else can you explain Sabra's win. I mean no disrespect to Sabra. Of all the girls, she was my favorite, but Danny and Neil were way better. Danny clearly deserved to win. I could have lived with a Neil win as well; after all, he is a great dancer and admittedly there's more to this sort of competition than just skill. But no way do I buy a Sabra win. The producers felt they had to have a female win at least once in three seasons--they stole a quarter of a million dollars from Danny. Very disappointing.

The Flask is Back

2007-03-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

The Flask is BackI don't know why it was ever gone, but for the last several weeks, the bubbling flask in my hand has been nothing but a white box. Since I haven't blogged in I don't know how long, I didn't want to bother Evan about it. Maybe now that it's back, it'll inspire me to start blogging again.

Yeah, it's a scam

2007-01-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's a scam.Here's the follow up response to the "tutoring email" I wrote about earlier.

Thanks for your email,And more so i am glad the way you have kept me posted on the (tutoring) and i have accepted your offer and its okay by me,

I have make contacts with my son concerning the arrangement of the tutoring which he told me is ok by him and i want you to know that i am going to pay for month which is $300and also my client who is in U .S. will be sending you a check of $4,000

And i want you to know that the rest of the money will be used to get house accomodation beside your location for my son and his nanny and any other arrangement for the lesson so that the tuition can be able to conveniet for both of you,as soon as you get the check cash you will deduct cost of price of the lesson and send remaing balance to my son's TICKET AGENT so that they can book for their flight ticket to come to U.S.

Regarding this kindly get back to me with your full information to receive the check ,like your full name we be on check your full address where you can receive it, inculding your contact phone number, so that payment can be able to made out intime,Because i want the lesson to start as soon as you received the check .

Thanks and waiting to read from you.

jackcob.

Obviously, I'm not going to give them any personal information, but I would like to have some fun with this. Any suggestions?

Tutoring

2007-01-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

Am I Being Scammed?In an effort to rake in some extra cash, I recently posted an add to craigslist offering my services as a chemistry tutor. It took a couple weeks, but I finally started getting some hits and last night I met with my first client. So far so good. I have one question though. In the past few days I've been getting these strange emails requesting my services and I can't help but be suspicious. Here's the text of the first message:

Good day to you over there, I need a tutor for my son (larry) for the month of (Feb), i got your advert while surfing through the internet and i really want my child to be taught by you.larry is 14 year old and easily catch up.

Although,i understand you are in (U.S} but i've arranged with my Nanny ASSOCAITE living there that my son is coming to stay with him for his period of tutoring and he has agreed with me,i am based in finland kindly get back to me with......

1.YOUR CHARGE FOR AN HOUR....

2.TOTAL CHARGES FOR 1 MONTH THAT HE
WILL BE TAUGHT 3 TIMES PER WEEK..

3.FULL NAME AND ADDRESS....

4.YOUR PHONE NUMBER..."

don't hesitate to e-mail with your total charges.

Sound suspicious to you? It did to me, but I responded anyway. I did give my phone number, but said I was located in "South Natomas area of Sacramento, just off Garden Highway,"--I wasn't about to give out my home address. If this is some sort of scam, how would it work?

And here's another email I just got:

Hello,
My name is debrah smith and i am 24 years old.I am a very tolerant person and down to earth,dont interfer into other peoples business cos i like to respect their privacy.I am looking for someone that i could confide in to take some Home Lessons in my new apartment i just acquired in the States(thanks to roomates.com), as I will be making my move from Marion Iowa to my new apartment very close to your place .i saw your ad the web.so i would like you to help me out in some Lessons,i work for a company as a model in the us, i want to know where you are located also as the company will be paying for the lessons and also i have a modelling partner her nick name is surygirl, I think she too is interested as we are both on this lesson,they are also paying for her lessons,Pls send me your location and i will mail you if this is possible please inform on your price ranges and also your address where the payment could be made to via cheque from my company,i await to hear from you.
regards
debrah

I was suspicious of this as well, but responded anyway (this time without even my phone number). Then, moments after I replied, I got another message from someone else, but with the exact same text as debrah's message. So obviously, these weren't for real, but what is it? In both, roomates.com was hyperlinked--is this just a crazy way to get people to their webpage?

Pluto Demotion "mean spirited"

2006-10-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

Deserved ReputationI know it's old news, but I came across this tidbit about the backlash to Pluto's demotion in Chemical & Engineering News (subscription required) and just had to share:

My favorite protest came from California Assemblyman Keith Richman, who introduced a resolution condemning IAU's reclassification of Pluto as "mean-spirited." Among the resolution's light-hearted declarations are that Pluto, "affectionately sharing the name of California's most famous animated dog, has a special connection to California history and culture" and "downgrading Pluto's status will cause psychological harm to some Californians who question their place in the universe." Richman managed to get 53 assembly members to sign on as coauthors.

Is it any wonder Californians have a reputation for being nuts?

Moms Louder Than Fire Alarms

2006-10-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Moms More Alarming Than Fire

Children in deep sleep awoke to recordings of their mothers' voices -- calling them by name and ordering them out of their bedrooms -- even if they slept through the beeping sound a smoke alarm makes, according to a small study.

Why is this not surprising? Read the full story at CNN.com.

Penn State 33, Northwestern 7

2006-10-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Penn State 33, Northwestern 7We're baaaack! It looks like we might have an offense after all. Morelli was throwing good, and while he did make a few mistakes, it was a drastic improvement over last weeks showing at Ohio State. If he continues to make quantum leaps like that, we'll be crushing Michigan in no time. Wouldn't it be grand is Penn State gave Michigan their only loss this season?

George Schaller

2006-09-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Quote of the Day

It is tremendously worrisome that we don't talk about nature anymore. We talk about natural resources as if everything had a price tag. You can't buy spiritual values at a shopping mall. The things that uplift the spirit—an old-growth forest, a clear river, the flight of a golden eagle, the howl of a wolf, space and quiet without motors—are intangibles. Those are the values that people do look for and that everyone needs.

George Schaller in National Geographic.

FDA Turns 100

2006-09-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

FDA Turns 100Chemical & Engineering News has an article commemorating the one hundreth anniversary of the Food and Drug Administation. My favorite tidbit:

Food processing in the late-19th and early-20th centuries involved a great deal of deception. Chemicals were used to heighten color, modify flavor, soften texture, and delay spoilage according to FDA. Jars labeled strawberry jam often contained no strawberries, only glucose, red food coloring, grass seeds, and gelatin. Jars of honey were sometimes diluted with glucose. Rotten eggs were deodorized, rancid butter was revived. "Soothing syrups" for babies were often laced with morphine. "Olive oil" was sometimes made with cottonseed.

There are two things I want to know—how does one "revive" rancid butter and how do I get my hands on some of that "soothing syrup?"

Movin' Out

2006-09-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Movin' OutA few years ago I had tickets to see Billy Joel and Twila Tharp's Movin' Out in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, a couple weeks before the show, I totaled my truck and could not make the trip. Very disappointing. But, I'm now living in Sacramento—and so is Movin' Out (at least for this week). I saw the show tonight. I wish I could write a thorough review worthy of this or any other blog. But I'm not much of a writer, so let me just say this: I'm going to see the show again next week. Yes, it was that good. Great music, great musicians, great dances, and gorgeous and phenomenal dancers. The stand out dancer was Holly Cruikshank, who is absolutely mesmerizing with her legs for days. I think I might be going again just to see her, but honestly, the others were very good too.

Hillary Says No To Torture

2006-09-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hillary Says No To Torture

Interactive Periodic Table

2006-09-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Cool ChemistryCheck it out—an interactive periodic table. This would have made Gen Chem so much easier had it been around oh so many years ago.

Quote of the Day

2006-09-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

Quote of the DayI know I quote Andrew Sullivan a lot, but I can't help it—he's one of the few remaining sane voices of conservatism in America. Here he is again trying to crack through the thick skull of the electorate:

The deeper point is that, in this law, the "battlefield" has been extended into every living room in the country, and that without judicial oversight, the entire discretion to name someone an "illegal enemy combatant" is entirely up to one man, the president. And he also has the discretion to torture such a person at will, using techniques once deployed by the North Vietnamese and the KGB. This is the bill now being considered. It is a grave threat to basic liberties.

Sullivan's latest book, The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How To Get It Back , will be out in a couple weeks.

Killer Teddy Bear

2006-09-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

Killer Teddy BearA teddy bear clogged a drain at a fish hatchery, thus blocking the flow of oxygen and suffocating thousands of trout.

Hatcheries supervisor Robert Fawcett said the bear, dressed in yellow raincoat and hat, is believed to be the first stuffed toy to cause fatalities at the facility.

The deaths prompted Fawcett to release a written warning: "RELEASE OF ANY TEDDY BEARS into the fish hatchery water IS NOT PERMITTED."

Well now we know—and knowing's half the battle.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

2006-09-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Be Afraid, Be Very AfraidKing George is trying to install a "thinly-veiled military dictatorship" and he must be stopped. The time for playing politics is past—please fight this.

Andrew Sullivan:

How do I put this in words as clearly as possible. If the U.S. government decides, for reasons of its own, that you are an "illegal enemy combatant," i.e. that you are someone who
has engaged in hostilities or who has purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States,

they can detain you without charges indefinitely, granting you no legal recourse except to a military tribunal, and, under the proposed bill, "disappear" and torture you. This is not just restricted to aliens or foreigners, but applies to U.S. citizens as well. It can happen anywhere in the U.S. at any time. We are all at potential risk.

We can and must fight terrorists without sacrificing our own freedoms. If we give up our freedoms, they will have won—no matter how many of them we kill. Call or write your representatives today. Most, if not all, of our representatives have webpages where you can submit your comments directly on line. It's that easy. If you're in California, Senator Boxer can be reached here, Senator Feinstein can be reached here. Check here to find out where your House Reps are.

5 Tips to increase your likeability

2006-09-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dude, chill.I just discovered the Prometheus Institute webpage—I think this is going to be one of my new favorite places on the web. Here are five tips to increase your likeability from said webpage:

1. Be positive
2. Control your insecurities
3. Provide value
4. Eliminate all judgements
5. Become a person of conviction

They may sound simple enough, maybe even banal, but click here to read the list with commentary—I found it refreshing.

Numero 4 in particular jogged some thoughts loose in my head. I know I'm not the most patient person, especially when it comes to driving. If a car in front of me isn't going as fast as I want to drive or isn't getting out of the way, I will tail them like crazy until they get the picture. And yet, when someone is doing the same to me, do I speed up or change lanes? Of course not. In fact, I slow down until they give up and decide to just pass me—even if I'm in the fast lane (which I usually am). I know I don't always use my turn signal, and yet I have no problem achieving indignation overload when another driver does the same. When someone doesn't hit the gas at the exact split second the light turns green, my blood pressure spikes and I got into honk mode. But as the consumate daydreamer, I know I've done the same many times myself. I guess the take home message is: I need to relax. Nobody's perfect, least of all me.