I feel so ... Secret Squirrel

After reading a recent entry in my blog, Ben suggested that I might not want to advertise the fact that we're [redacted] a certain [redacted]. Seemed like a good idea. So I went through and purged previous entries of the offending content.

Summer Vacation, Part 4

Aaaah, summer. That magical time of year when temperatures rise to WTF and humidity makes the outdoors all but unbearable.

Here I am basking in the cool of Central Air, trying to get focused on school work. The dog occasionally pesters me, and the cats love the laptop, and I need to start writing a paper. Meanwhile, laundry tumbles in the washer and dryer, and I consider the pros and cons of going to the grocery store (pro: get more food; con: have to leave house).

We've [redacted] the most recent episode of [redacted], but haven't watched it yet - it's the middle of a [redacted], and I am trying to hold off watching until we have both parts. Can I make it? Place your bets!

A disrupted sleep pattern adds to the complexity of my life. Wow, it's tough being an unemployed American.

Last weekend, Ben & I went up to the Twin Cities. I did a little homework, and we went to see Daywatch (based (mostly) on the book Nightwatch, and sequel to the film of that name), then we had dinner with friends Melissa & Shane & Jessica & her husband Gabe, then a couple of drinks. Mmmm... drinks.

Score one for theocracy

From Atheist Revolution: The Supreme Court wants the president to spend your tax money on faith-based programs.

A gay man's ideal job?

Check out the guy on the right.

Red, Blue, .... Purple?

Science Avenger has a post that includes a link to a study indicating that

"By almost any measure of societal breakdown that so-called Republican "values voters" decry, it is Red State America where moral failure is greatest."

While it's nice to be able to make categorical statements, the use of statistics is always subject to skepticism. The most notable exception to the "Blue States Good, Red States Bad!" dichotomy was the Great Plains region. Looking just at the healthcare and education data provided on that page, I noticed that the Great Plains outperformed most of the West Coast and New York on both counts. That makes it pretty obvious to me that there are additional dynamics occurring - largely related to demographics and economic conditions, I expect.

Another curiosity is the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. This area is rural and not in great shape economically, but was solidly blue, according to this map illustrating a county by county breakdown of voting results.


(This map from Wikipedia shows a more interesting distribution, using a gradient of color from red to blue to measure the outcome more precisely.)

California is particularly interesting. On the minimum wage map, California is one of very few states with minimum wages higher than the federal minimum proposed for 2009. They also have (arguably) one of the highest personal income tax rates in the nation (the 2nd highest, at the top of its range, according to this data; however, the bottom of the range is 1.0%, so ... whatever that implies). So why does it perform so poorly on measures of health care and educational statistics?

But now look at these maps from the US Census (keep in mind that Blue States are predominantly found in the Northeast/New England, the Great Lakes region, and the West Coast).

Unmarried Partners


It's pretty rough, and Alaska is an anomaly, but it looks like Blue areas have higher rates of households headed by couples (both straight and gay) who are not married.

Nuclear Families


At the "opposite" side of the family composition spectrum, families with kids that are headed by a married couple are dominant throughout most of the country, but highest in the Great Plains (and Utah, but I wonder if it counts if the family is headed by one guy married to four women?). Looking a bit further, in those Red states with higher rates of this traditional family structure, educational performance appears to improve.

Now if we compare Nuclear Families to Poverty, an interesting trend appears:

If you look closely at the two maps, there's a reasonably strong inverse correlation between poverty and percentage of families headed by a married couple. There's a curve of poverty in the South, along the Mississippi River and stretching east to the North Carolina Coast, that corresponds almost identically to a stretch of high levels of households lacking married leadership. Some counties in North and South Dakota show the same relationship.

And now, look at this:

This map shows, by county, the percentage of the population that identifies as black and non-Hispanic. Remember that swath of poor, single-parent families?

So what does all this mean? Does this mean that poor single-parent black families living in states with bad educational systems vote the same is non-poor white traditional nuclear families with better public education? Not really: among all that Red in the South, there's a familiar curve working its way through the area.

But maybe if we throw religion into the mix, it will all become clear.

Hmm... Those traditional families in the Great Plains are pretty religious, but the South looks only slightly more religious than the Northeast.

Well what the hell!? You mean I can't draw any solid conclusions that allow me to make categorical statements about how certain people vote!? But I can't live without stereotypes and the ability to divide people into "them" and "us" groups! I also can't live without exclamation points!

100!

This is my 100th post! Huzzah! [animated gif of spinning guitar removed for your sanity]

One imagines this would be a good time to reflect back on previous posts, and perhaps look to the future of blog.

Here's one characteristic of Lady with a hat:


(click the pic to rate your blog!)

This rating was apparently determined by a single occurance of the word hell, but I know I also used the word shitty in at least one recent entry:

I feel like a shitty parent, having him lose teeth to gingivitis

Another thing about this blog that might interest you is that the content ranges from random comments about me, to rants about religion and modern life, to links you might enjoy. It seems I also talk about TV a lot.

Anyway - I considered devising a vast array of Rockettes and Riverdancers to celebrate this 100th entry, but realized that digitizing them would take too long with my existing hardware. Plus, then they'd be running around my computer, all Tron-esque, and who knows what havoc they might wreak. Also, I'd be finding glitter in my keyboard for the next 12 years.

So what of the future? Likely more of the same, no?

In conclusion, the end.

Photo op

I snagged this beauty in Uptown, at the corner of Hennepin & Lake.

My first thought was: It would be hilarious if they added Se habla español.

My second thought was: It would be even more hilarious if they moved it several blocks east along Lake St. And then added No habla español.

"Embryos are....

just tiny babies!" according to a billboard I saw on my way home today. And I thought, "Tiny, delicious babies, that you can sprinkle on a salad!"

New excuse: "The Buick made me do it."

Catholicism demonstrates again why it is utterly pointless in the modern world with its 10 commandments for drivers. Seriously, what is the point of this inane drivel?

Favorite lines:

Holy Mother Church urges drivers to, among other things, "refrain from drinking and driving, and to pray you make it before you even buckle up."
I'm sorry, don't we already have a pretty strong cultural pressure against drinking & driving? And if I'm so unsure of my driving skill that I have to pray that I survive a trip to the mall, I really ought to consider riding the bus instead.

They "also warned that automobiles can be 'an occasion of sin' -- particularly when they are used for dangerous passing or for prostitution."
These two examples aren't exactly similar in the eyes of the law. Again, if societal pressure isn't keeping you from picking up hookers, I doubt this ridiculous edict will have any effect.

Some church guy says, "We know that as a consequence of transgressions and negligence, 1.2 million people die each year on the roads. That's a sad reality, and at the same time, a great challenge for society and the church."
Actually, I don't see the necessity for the church in this equation. Maybe they're desperately trying to assert some degree of relevance in a world that would be better off without them?

Church guy also notes "that the Bible was full of people on the move, including Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus."
WTF does that have to do with anything? Moby Dick takes place on a boat, but I haven't seen anyone suggest that it should be a guide for ocean travel.

"drivers can kill themselves and others if they don't get their cars regular tuneups"
So now will I be committing a sin if I don't get my oil changed every 3000 miles? How many Hail Marys will absolve me of that?

Saying the Rosary while driving is "particularly well suited to recitation by all in the car since its 'rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver's attention.'"
Nice. Growing up in a strongly Catholic household, I can remember always having trouble keeping track of which little plastic bead I was supposed to be holding on to. Sounds pretty distracting to me.

Commandment number 8 reads: "Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness."
This is one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard.

Sorry to go on - I'll leave the remainder to your own analysis.

PZ Myers over at Pharyngula sums it up nicely:

The Vatican can't put together a rational policy on contraception, a far more serious problem for the world and to which their beliefs contribute, but they can send out these trivial and irritatingly idiotic suggestions for drivers?

Inappropriate use of vernacular gestures

This video at YouTube is not explicit, but probably not appropriate for the workplace. Nonetheless, it's completely hilarious, if slightly vulgar. Okay, more like moderately vulgar.

All he wants for Christmas...

Just got Mercury home, and he is pretty sedate - no doubt due to the sedatives. They gave him a bandanna around his neck, but I don't think teal is his color. He lost his 2 front teeth - his two favorite incisors for tearing fuzz off of stuffed animals! =( He also had two others on his left that fell out during the cleaning process. They gave him a shot of painkiller, and gave me some pills for the next couple days. I feel like a shitty parent, having him lose teeth to gingivitis, but ... these things happen? Given the poor condition of my own teeth, maybe it's a genetic issue.

How'd that ultrasound machine get in my septic tank?

From Slate magazine:

Update on fetal sex selection: At least eight small skulls have been found in a septic tank near New Delhi, India, and investigators are digging for more. An ultrasound machine was also found. Officials say it appears to be another "case of female feticide." Other recent discoveries: 437 baby bones near a hospital in Madhya Pradesh in February and 25 fetuses in a well in Punjab, also associated with an ultrasound facility. In the state where the eight new skulls were found, the ratio of female to male residents is only 86 to 100. (To debate the morality and legality of sex-selection abortions, click here.)

As gruesome and horrible as this story is, that line "an ultrasound machine was also found" makes it sound, well, funny.

Of dogs and dentists

I just dropped Mercury off at the vet to have his teeth cleaned. At his annual exam a couple of weeks ago, the vet checked his gums and his teeth, and they're not in great shape. Of course, we skipped dental work on him last year, because things looked "ok" - also, it's ridiculously expensive (in the $300 area!?), regardless of the health benefits (which are significant). We've tried brushing the dog's teeth once or twice in the past, but it's always been a ridiculous hassle. He used to chew a lot more rawhide, which is apparently great for the teeth (maybe I should try it?), and for the past year or so, he hasn't been chewing as much. I guess we'll just need to be more diligent in keeping his teeth clean at home.

The new math? That's so 10 years ago.

Just saw an ad for a special about the 100 greatest movies. Its title: "100 Years, 100 Movies." Then I saw the subtitle: "10th Anniversary Edition."

A great name

I'm doing all this reading for my summer class, and came across a reference to the "Chicago School" of urban sociology, and some of its more well-known "academic luminaries, including a fellow named "St. Clair Drake." And I said to myself, "Now there's a cool name." I need a name like that.

Seriously good TV

The latest installment in [redacted] was the first of [redacted]. All I can say is Wow. It was among the best things I've ever seen on television. Ben & I have also been watching some of the old [redacted] stories, and while they are enjoyable and interesting to watch, they suffer in quality when compared to the current incarnation of the program. I think, primarily, there are subtle aspects of character development, and the relationships among the characters, that weren't there in the older stories (at least the ones that I've seen). The escapades of [redacted] are very much plot-driven, and while the story itself is key in any series, the new series does a better job of character development.

New feature!

Over there on the right, I've decided to add a short list of "Random links." I'll add items periodically, but not necessarily on a regular schedule. Maybe three to five times a week? Anyhoo, I've got a few on there to get us started.

Random blog link

Stumbled across this fascinating blog today.

Things that make me go "Awww"

Mercury is being so ridiculously adorable right now, curled up in his little bed next to my chair. I wish that I could go get my camera & snag a photo, but I know that as soon as I get up, he'll be up & running too, wanting me to follow him back to the bedroom for snuggles (and the inevitable nap that follows).

Summer Vacation, Part 3

I think I can officially count today as the first day of summer productivity, from a mood perspective. Yesterday I started work for my summer class, and today I feel all energized & shit. I've already been to the grocery, and am ready to get my reading done, and tomorrow I meet with my instructor for the first time. I've got my primary text here, all marked up, and I've decided to write up short summaries of each reading as well, to help my brain get into writing mode. There are a couple of additional texts that I ought to pick up, so I'll be stopping by the library tomorrow as well. Oh, how exciting!

Huzzah for urban form! Huzzah for urban design! Huzzah for reading copious literature and writing papers! Huzzah, I say, huzzah!

Possibly. The. Best. Episode. Ever.

Last night we watched the latest episode of [redacted], entitled "[redacted]." It was written by [redacted], who penned the 2-parter [redacted] from series 1, and series 2's wonderful "[redacted]." (Mild spoiler: according to Wikipedia, [redacted] will be writing 2 episodes for [redacted]) "[redacted]" is absurdly well crafted, and beautifully executed. I want to see more of its protagonist. Ben speculates that perhaps there will be a place for her in [redacted]. Personally, I would love to see her [redacted] in a future series. While I've got nothing against [redacted], I haven't warmed up to her completely. She's a strong and capable character, but I still miss [redacted].

Alas, only three episodes remain, and then the long wait for [redacted].

Fun at the Creation Museum

Just had to post a link to this entry about a visit to the Creation Museum. My favorite part is the "Don't think, just listen and believe." Anyone still want to assert that this is a place with scientific underpinnings?

My first religious wingnut comment

Check out this comment. I'm still waiting for someone to provide anything approximating scientific evidence for creationism (please note: bible stores are not scientific evidence). Oh, and the term "intelligent design," for those who aren't sure, is a way of dressing up creationism and claiming it's science. Interested in clarifying the issue? Check out Why Darwin Matters by Michael Shermer. Also, see this entry at Pharyngula.

The short response is: Evolution is a scientific theory that produces testable hypotheses to describe phenomena, in accordance with the scientific method. Supporters of creationism (whatever label you attach to it) have yet to provide actual evidence or any testable hypotheses. On other key feature of a testable hypothesis is that it is falsifiable. In other words, a hypothesis can be proven wrong. No claims made by creationists meet this criteria, and that is a fundamental flaw in the assertions that creationism is a science.

Friday evening fun in Rochester

We decided to order a pizza for dinner this evening, and I went to Pizza Hut's web site to place the order. After I'd picked the toppings I wanted, I noticed a text field at the bottom of the page.


Then, when I've paid for it and am checking out, it has another text entry field for me to abuse:So much for fun on a Friday night.

Random Comix

http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=514
http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=340 (is Utahraptor teh gay?)

How to ride a triceratops

You may have heard about the Creation Museum that opened recently in Kentucky. (Aren't they breaking one of the commandments by being open 7 days a week?) As I understand it, this is the creationist equivalent of a science museum, complete with humans living alongside dinosaurs, a brief history (seriously, only 6,000 years) of the Earth, and a replica of Noah's Ark (presumably to scale). Oh, and dinosaurs with saddles. The museum map (PDF) is a must see. The folks at Ars Technica visited the museum recently, saving many of us a very long drive.

Going postal

The other day I received this gem in my mailbox (click to see full-size and get the full effect).

Summer Vacation, Part 2

It's been a cool and wet summer so far. I've done some yard work, been sick a couple of times, visited my family back in NoDak, and gotten a haircut. Next Monday (the 11th) is officially the beginning of my summer class - I need to get ready for that, I guess.

Hmm....

Wow, I'm boring.

Why I don't like the word at atheist

I'll tell you why, see. Describing oneself as an atheist is like going around telling people, "Hey, I'm not a pedophile (just so you know)." Or walking into a restaurant and announcing to everyone, "I'm not a meat-eater." What if you ask me what I do for a living, and I say, "Well, I'll tell you this much: I'm not a chiropractor"? That doesn't tell you what you want to know. People don't define themselves by what they don't do or believe. If I believe that a rational and natural explanation exists for everything in the universe, whether or not we know that explanation, shouldn't I consider my belief as the source for any label I might choose to apply to myself?

Australia - the land that's down under, and white

And "should" speak only English, apparently. Thanks to Mary for pointing this one out. Choice excerpts:

In Australia the Indigenous Affairs minister, Mal Brough, declared on May 24 that "he was considering a plan to restrict welfare payments to aboriginal parents in order to force their children to attend school and learn English."

[T]hese [aboriginal] languages are at the lower threshold of size with respect to having a sustainable populations of speakers.

The story cites Laklak Burarrwanga of Yirrkala as reporting that she was made to wash out her mouth with soap if she was caught speaking her aboriginal language at school. Worse used to go on: aboriginal children were literally kidnapped by the state and taken away against their parents' protests to be educated far away in English-speaking schools.

Despite the inevitability of the demise of these languages, what function does it serve to punish native speakers who do not yet speak English? It is likely that, with such small populations, the languages will die out of their own accord within a couple of generations. What rational explanation can they offer for this proposal?

Insomnia

It's 3:17 a.m., and I'm still wide awake, an' I hates it.

What the HEll?

An interesting blog I found today. I've noticed the lowercase-L phenomenon before, but this blog is collects samples of all kinds, and has some pretty hilarious examples.

There's also a link to a blog addressing my biggest pet peeve, apostrophe abuse.

I expect accusations of grammar-policing, and can only defend myself by saying that pet peeves, like phobias, are not rational.

Curse you, Blogger.com

A friend pointed me at one of her friend's LiveJournal entries today. I was looking at it, and I thought, I wonder if they have better customization & templates than does Blogger.com. Of course, the only way to find out was to sign up for an account, so I did, and I perused their templates, etc., and found that they have wider range of templates, including one with three columns, vs. the limiting 2-column maximum of Blogger.

Then, I tried doing that previous entry, and I wanted to insert the piece from that job posting, and it was murderously difficult to format it and get it to look decent. The HTML-editing capacity of Blogger, and the ability to get things to look the way you want them to look, is woeful in its deficiency. So annoying! It makes me wish I'd done a little more research and comparison before starting up this here blog.

Now, those of you that know me are thinking, "Here we go - now we're going to have to update all our links, because he's going to switch over to LiveJournal, and then after a while he'll get tired of that, and look for something else." As much as I want greater control over the appearances, though, I'm not going to jump to another system of templates and limitations. What I really ought to do is get a proper site organized, and set up the blog there (sadly, ladywithahat.com is taken). Alas, laziness wins out, and I'll just have to accept the limitations hereof, for the time being.

However, anybody out there with experience with other blogging systems or who has their own site (this means you ;-)) - feel free to offer your insight and opinions on this particular quandary.

Sorting socks

I'm sitting here folding laundry, sorting socks, and looking at this email I got about a summer internship (which, while in MS Word format, I can't open with MS Word - and yes, I know that reads as if I am in MS Word format ... maybe I am).

Here's what they're looking for....

Seeking a Landscape Design student who:
    would be interested in an internship for the Summer of
     2007 for compensation
    can work approximately 40 hours per week
    can give office design/drafting support
    occasionally could fill in on a construction crew
    would be able to reside Minneapolis area
    has their own reliable transportation
    is able to communicate effectively
    whose design visions compliment our company’s
     objective
    whose instructor could recommend this student and
     can attest to his/her abilities and design style
    who has knowledge in the following fields:
        o    AutoCAD
        o    SketchUp
        o    Excel and Word
        o    Strong construction knowledge
        o    Plant knowledge

Considering that right now, I'm feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of sorting socks, I'm really not feeling confident enough to even send my resume. And considering that the note arrived late last week, maybe they've already filled the position? I guess I need to pay closer attention to all those emails I get from "Graduate Landscape."

It's showtime!

Ben and I went to see Spiderman 3 this afternoon. Based on the first two of the series, my expectations were fairly high.

==== SPOILER WARNING (highlight to view) ====
We paid the matinee price of $6 a piece, and I still feel ripped off. For a movie that runs nearly 2 and a half hours, it lacked a lot. I was looking at my watch shortly after the first hour elapsed. I'm no film critic, but I can be critical of a film, and I sure am in this case. It was moderately entertaining, but had no clear focus. I haven't read any reviews, but my understanding is that one of the main criticisms from the pros is that there were too many villains. I can't argue there: three separate nemeses in one movie? Also, what kind of movie was it? At a personal level, Peter Parker had to deal with his romance with Mary Jane, his friendship with Henry, his ongoing drama over his uncle's death, and a competitor for his job at the Daily Bugle. In the final analysis, all of these threads were necessary to the ultimate "moral" of the film, about friendship and responsibility for one's actions, but without Peter's voice-over pounding that lesson in near the end, it gets a bit lost in the shuffle.
==== END SPOILER ====

Do I want my $6 back? Yeah, I do. If your community is lucky enough to have a cheap cinema where you can see a film for a buck or two, you could go see it then. Or you could rent it. Or, really, you could just skip it. There wasn't anything particularly compelling about it.

Next stop: Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. My expectations: Very Low.

Ugly people need love too

Those ads for eHarmony.com are so annoying. Really, I don't care about your first date, or your first kiss, or how much you love each other, and how the first time you met it's like you'd known each other your whole lives.

Ooh, but I do need that $2 coupon for Pantene Texturize!

And OMFSM, why are diaper commercials so asinine???

Too funny not to be shared

MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless
Yeah, I's got lazy agin.

Maybe I should have a limit of one links-only post per (time period). Or I could add a section over there on the right for transient links like these?