The better half of average

Giveth or taketh away?

2011-04-13T12:28:00.002-05:00

Republicans in Congress would like us to think that their primary focus is jobs, jobs and jobs. Give tax cuts to businesses so they will create more jobs, they say. That goes along with the general theme of creating a "good climate for business." I don't buy that supply-side economics bullshit, but that's not what I'm here to discuss.

The big hoopla now is reducing government spending. Budget cuts. Republicans (and many Democrats now) believe that is the answer to the country's problems. This action, however, is directly at odds with job creation. No matter how you do it, cutting the federal budget will take away jobs, not create them. If the job creation were truly the Republican's main goal, they would not be pushing for this. So clearly the focus is also reducing the size of the federal government, a long-held fundamental conservative goal. I don't necessarily have a problem with that in principle, but is now a good time? Please don't tell me your goal is job creation when your actions will result in job elimination.

Little green (I think) light

2010-12-21T14:38:00.002-06:00

My Droid has a little green light the blinks whenever I get a text message, phone call, or email. Oh how I love the little green light.

You have got to be fucking kidding me

2010-10-11T16:07:00.003-05:00

Theres's plenty of room at the Paris Hilton

2010-09-09T07:57:00.001-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/09/08/girls.gone.wild.book/index.html?hpt=T2

What a vacuous whore.

Ha.

2010-08-31T13:19:00.001-05:00

"I'll bet the mosque will perform gay marriages for illegal Mexicans and shelter for anchor babies, unless people want abortions then they'll provide those too!"

Not my words. I stole them from a message board. Thanks, whoever you are.

I won't bitch about traffic in Nashville anymore

2010-08-08T00:35:00.001-05:00

Just a few ideas

2010-07-19T09:16:00.003-05:00

1. Outlaw lobbying

2. Senators, congressmen and the President only serve one term; increase senatorial terms to 10 years, congressional terms to 4 years, and the presidential term to 6 years.

3. No primaries; instead, there is an initial election with candidates of any/no party in October and, if required, a run-off in November.

4. Both of those election days are federal holidays.

5. Publicly finance all campaigns.

Will any of this ever be done? No. Those in power want their campaign contributions and limit-less terms. Point 2 and possibly point 3 would also require a constitutional amendment.

Mmm

2010-07-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

I could go for a Teddywedger's right about now.

Drill baby, drill?

2010-05-18T12:48:00.001-05:00

Oh shit

2010-05-08T19:12:00.002-05:00

Slightly ironic

2010-04-17T09:01:00.004-05:00

I went to work (relatively) early this Saturday and decided to get breakfast at the hospital cafeteria. I occasionally like a few over-easy eggs and toast for a weekend breakfast.

I got in line at the short-order station, and as I approached the grill, I noticed everyone had ordered over-hard eggs. OK, I thought, I guess not everyone likes gooey running yolks perfect for toast-dipping. When it was my turn to order, however, I asked for over-easy eggs. The cook responded that here at Vanderbilt they have to cook the eggs over-hard, for health reasons. After he declined my proposal to sign some sort of waiver, I settled on pancakes instead.

Once the other people's eggs were almost done cooking, in a bubbling pond of grease, mind you, he asked if they wanted cheese on them.

Cheese? On fried eggs? I thought. They all quickly said yes, please! The cook then proceeded to put a heaping pile of shredded cheddar atop each already lipid-logged chicken embryo. The grill sizzled as it morphed the cheese from shreds to goo. Then he stacked the two eggs on top of each other, and placed them into a to-go box, with a comet trail of cheese following his spatula. I envisioned at least a quarter inch of grease in the bottom of the Styrofoam container.

The woman directly ahead of me ordered pancakes as well. When hers were ready, the cook asked if she wanted butter on them. She replied in the positive, and he applied a fat spiral of semi-liquid butter to the top of both of her pancakes. Upon completion of this anointment, the woman asked if he could put more on. He proceeded to cover the remaining bare spots of the pancake with butter, stacked them, and placed them into a container.

He looked at me. No butter for me, please, I said.

After I paid for my breakfast and walked back to my lab, the irony of this situation hit me. The hospital believes that a liquid egg yolk is a health hazard (which I should remind you is tightly sealed up within a few bacterially-impenetrable membranes), but sees no problem with topping fried eggs with cheese and using butter as a sauce.

This is the culture that invented sausage gravy, after all.

Healthcare

2010-04-01T22:04:00.003-05:00

First it was the death panels. Then it was socialism. The last ditch effort was that fetuses would be sucked out left and right with federal money.

All lies.

Participate in a real discussion.

Oops

2010-03-02T22:35:00.003-06:00

Don't be stupid

2010-01-13T12:08:00.002-06:00

NBC, get your head out of your ass.

A dinosaur

2010-01-04T13:14:00.002-06:00

This is a component of the memory from UNIVAC I, the first commercially-made computer.

H.M. Krishna Murthy is a fraud

2009-12-17T13:26:00.003-06:00

H.M. Krishna Murthy liked to make up crystal structures and get them published in journals such as Cell, Nature, and PNAS. What a guy!

Read about it here.

Oh shut up

2009-12-07T10:58:00.003-06:00

I love it when people say something like "what happened to global warming?" or "I guess Al Gore was wrong" when it's unseasonably cold outside. I guess they don't understand the difference between weather and climate.

What an Idiot

2009-11-20T08:33:00.001-06:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/11/20/costello.cameron.evolution.cnn

Where have I gone?

2009-11-02T14:16:00.003-06:00

The three or four of you who have been reading this blog might be wondering where I've been lately. I have turned my writing energy towards editing Wikipedia.

My Wikipedia user page can be found Here.

I'm sure I'll still post to this blog occasionally, but don't expect constant updates.

Suck on it again, Creationists!

2009-10-14T12:50:00.003-05:00

Darwinopterus

Maybe someday you will actually see all of the evidence around you and give up your silly superstitions.

Suck on it, Creationists!

2009-10-01T11:13:00.000-05:00

Excavating Ardi: A New Piece for the Puzzle of Human Evolution

Pastor Steven Anderson

2009-09-02T13:49:00.003-05:00

From a recent sermon: "I'd like to see Obama die." In fact, he prays for the President's death. However, he goes to say that he would like to see Obama die of "natural causes."

Oh, I guess that makes it OK then.

I initially thought that Keith Olbermann's comments on how the killer of abortion doctor George Tiller was brainwashed by right-wing influentials were over-reaching. But, given that Mr. Anderson (who, by the way, has no credentials other than "memorizing almost half of the Bible" according to his Church's website) is suggesting that it is OK to pray and hope for the death of the President, perhaps Keith Olbermann was right. Perhaps the words of these nutjobs will actually influence someone into killing the President.

Then what? Could Mr. Anderson defend his sermons? Would it just be a part of "God's plan?"

We do really need tort reform

2009-08-14T08:32:00.002-05:00

Although the monumental cost of health care in this country is in part due to inefficiencies in administration and regional cost variations, the practice of CMA (cover my ass) medicine probably accounts for an even larger chunk.

Doctors are fearful of malpractice suits, so they often carryout tests that, in a large majority of cases, will not improve patient prognosis. They figure it's better to bill the insurance company for a $3000 MRI scan that turns up negative than to run the risk of missing something, even if the chances of the MRI revealing this condition is 1:1000.

Given the current system, doctors have every reason and incentive to practice CMA medicine. It is currently way too easy to sue physicians for malpractice. I get really annoyed when I hear about someone winning a huge sum of money in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Those are our insurance rates going up! It makes sense that if you are disabled due to a physician's negligence you should be appropriately compensated, but if your "compensation" involves an addition to your house and a new swimming pool, then something is seriously wrong here.

Too many people in this country have an idea that they are some how entitled to a free ride, that a tragedy is an opportunity to get ahead by crying about it. Unfortunately, when they are paid a handsome sum of money after a lawsuit, we ALL pick up the tab. It's like a sick lottery game. We need tort reform so that frivolous lawsuits never make it past exploration and warranted lawsuits pay out an appropriate compensatory sum.

I wish this issue was present in the debate for health care reform. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party really likes lawyers, so they're unlikely to bring it up. The Republicans are all for tort reform, but they are so far off in right field with their "death panels" and talk of killing grandma that they are really not part of the real debate. If the Republicans actually brought something to the table (like tort reform), then maybe we could have a real discussion about this issue.

No political content

2009-08-13T12:46:00.003-05:00

How does this contribute to the debate?

2009-08-13T08:23:00.002-05:00

How awful it would be to have bureaucrats making your healtcare decisions

2009-08-10T09:54:00.002-05:00

Coked up!

2009-08-07T16:17:00.001-05:00

40 years ago today

2009-07-20T11:09:00.001-05:00

Why "strict constructionist" versus "judicial activist" is a false dichotomy

2009-07-13T08:48:00.002-05:00

The Votemaster (see link to his page at the right) wrote this little explanation of why judges can't really be "strict constructionists", as conservatives supposedly want them to be.

Consider, for example, the recent case of Savana Redding, a 13-year-old girl and honor student who was strip searched by her school nurse because a classmate said Redding had prescription-strength ibuprofen on her body. Prescription-strength ibuprofen is simply a pill with the same amount of active ingredient as two over-the-counter ibuprofen pills, which Redding could have legally brought to school. But the school has a policy of no prescription drugs in school without notifying the school nurse and said it was just enforcing its zero-tolerance-for-drugs policy. Redding was humiliated and her mother sued the school. Redding won the case and the school appealed to the Supreme Court.

Now here's the problem with the "robot theory" of Supreme Court justices. Suppose a justice is 100% committed to following the constitution so when the case hits, he or she Googles "United States constitution" and discovers the fourth amendment, which says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ...

Great. So if this search was unreasonable, it was also unconstitutional but if it was reasonable, it was fine. Trouble is, the constitution doesn't spell out what is reasonable. The justices had to make a judgment call here based on their life experiences. If the nurse hadn't insisted on peeking inside her bra and panties, would that have been reasonable? Suppose the nurse had done a pat-down search, the way TSA employees pat down thousands of passengers at airport security checkpoints every day? Suppose the nurse had merely asked Redding to empty her purse and pockets but leave her clothes on? What if the suspected drug had been marijuana instead of ibuprofen? Suppose three students had incriminated Redding instead of just one? Would it have been any different if it had been a boy rather than a girl? What if it were a 7-year-old or a 17-year-old instead of a 13-year-old? The constitution doesn't say a damn thing. So each justice has to make up his or her own mind. That's why the argument that a justice has to put aside his or her own feelings and just follow the law doesn't fly: in these tough cases, the law doesn't say what to do. In this case, the court decided 8-1 (with justice Clarence Thomas dissenting) that the search was illegal, but who knows what it would have decided in any of the variant scenarios sketched above.

He loves getting down and dirty with a pair of cocks

2009-07-04T21:48:00.011-05:00

This is a mugshot of Jorge Iglesias, a Madison man who was arrested and charged with crimes related to running a cockfighting ring. He was also my neighbor in Madison.

A few months after we bought our Madison house, this guy bought the one across the street. He seemed fine at first. He owned a painting business and made the house look nice.

Then came the birds. He fixed up his garage to house hundreds of birds. Big birds, small birds. Blue ones, yellow ones. Noisey ones. It was like a pet shop. His big plan was to bring these exotic birds from some Latin American country and then sell them in Madison.

Until the inspector found out. It turns out you can't run a pet shop out of your garage. Imagine that. He had to get rid of the birds.

Then various people would come and go from the house throughout the day. I first assumed they were people involved with his painting business, but most of them weren't exactly wearing coveralls. Generally, a car with a couple people in it would stop in front of his house, and one person would get out and go inside. Then he would come out a couple minutes later and the car would drive off. I'm sure they were painters.

Everyone now and then, curiously, I would hear roosters.

At some point a couple years ago, I stopped seeing Jorge around his house and saw other people there. I found out he moved to a different house out near the sewage treatment plant and he was renting the house across the street out. The first people who lived there were fine. They were quiet, kind and even helped me shovel my driveway a couple of times.

But the nice people moved out and then 8 Mexicans moved in. They had a total of 11 cars, trucks and vans. It was a two bedroom house. The place became a real eyesore and these people weren't very friendly. Of course, it's possible they didn't understand enough English to return my greetings.

I still heard roosters occasionally and saw someone making small cages. I realized that Jorge and his friends were probably involved with cockfighting. I heard rumors that he trained the roosters and fought them in Milwaukee and northern Wisconsin.

I didn't really care about the roosters; they're incredibly stupid (I would have called the police or the Humane Society had I thought he was fighting dogs, however). But I was more annoyed with the noise, especially since we were trying to sell our house.

Our house sold anyway, and the roosters quieted down or were moved away. So imagine my "surprise" when I found this article:

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10549033

Briefly, Jorge was running a cockfighting ring out of his other house, near the sewage treatment plant. This really underscores how dumb Jorge is. He thought he could house 37 roosters in a residential neighborhood and not piss off the neighbors. Smart, really smart.

Oh yeah, and last year he assulted one of his employees with a machete. I hope he spends a while in prison; we're better off with him behind bars.

Palin Calls it Quits

2009-07-03T15:19:00.004-05:00

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced today that she will step down as Governor at the end of July. This from the woman who wanted to be our Vice President. I'm guessing things got tough up there and probably a big investigation was coming, but this really makes her look like a quitter. What if McCain won in 2008, died and Sarah Palin became president? Would she quit if things got tough? If she thinks she is positioning herself for a run for the presidency in 2012, she's sorely mistaken. A less than one term governor who is a quitter is not presidential material.

Governor Sanford

2009-06-24T14:25:00.000-05:00

This little drama gets better with each passing day!

Read:

Sanford in Argentina.

My Cat

2009-06-08T19:30:00.003-05:00

I think this picture makes my cat look like she's the star of some cam show.

Kitty Porn.

McRib is back!

2009-05-16T23:08:00.007-05:00

It seems like every couple of years McDonald's reintroduces the McRib sandwhich. While I love ribs and I also love sandwhiches, I do not count myself among the McRib fans.

In fact, I've devoted considerable thought on the McRib. If it is such a great, popular sandwhich, then why does McDonald's sell it for a while and then deprive us all of this national treasure? Why do they make us wait, with baited breath, for the return of this tangy and tender delicacy?

I've developed a theory that neatly explains why we only see McRib for a limited time. As you can plainly see from the second picture, McRib is not actually made from anything that resembles ribs. It's some sort of scientifically-produced, machine-pressed meat product, not unlike Joan Rivers. I believe that McDonald's collects bits of what they loosely define as "meat" throughout the year. This stuff could be random trimmings from slaughterhouses, the scrapings from the McDonald's grills, and perhaps the ultimate fate of missing neighborhood pets from across the nation. There is only a limited supply of this "meat" and therefore they can only sell this product for a few months every couple of years.

So, my friends, run out to your nearest McDonald's and get your McRib sandwhich before it's too late!

Spring, finally

2009-03-15T21:07:00.001-05:00

A couple funny pictures

2009-03-09T23:25:00.002-05:00

More great stuff from Kent R. Rieske

2009-02-20T12:46:00.003-06:00

I really have no idea what Mr. Rieske thinks this graph proves. It looks completely made up and the variables make no sense.

Furthermore he gives no reference for any research that produced this graph. That's why I think he completely made it up.

To see this graph in its rediculous context, go here.

This Kent R. Rieske guy is a genius!

2009-02-16T09:27:00.002-06:00

In addition to his in-depth, scientific refutation of the theory of evolution, Mr. Rieske also decisively rules out the possibility of the big bang having occured.

"White light emitted from an object that is moving away at a high speed appears in the red spectrum. The light appears in the violet or blue spectrum when the object is moving toward the viewer. The concept is simple, perhaps too simple. The Redshift Theory has our little planet at the center of the universe because nearly all galaxies are moving away from us. This is ridiculous. It seems the myth that the Earth is the center of the universe will never die."

So what Mr. Rieske is saying is that cosmologists claim the Earth is at the center of the universe and everything is moving away from us. Since we are not at the center of the universe, then clearly everything isn't actually moving away from us and thus the big bang never occured.

What Mr. Rieske fails to realize is that no modern cosmologist/astrophysicist claims that Earth is at the center of the universe. The Earth occupies no special position in the universe, but space is expanding at all points. Thus many objects are moving away from each other.

The common analogy is a balloon that is inflated part way with many dots drawn on it to represent galaxies. As the balloon is blown up further, all dots become more distant from the other dots. No dot occupies a special position, but from any given dot, it appears that all other dots are moving away.

The fact that Mr. Riekse uses this argument to refute the big bang theory shows his how vacous his ideas and ideology are.

To see more of his brilliant postings, including his claim that light has mass, go to: Random blog posting

Of course, the Bible is the authority when it comes to science!

2009-02-13T21:50:00.006-06:00

I am amazed when people who have no real knowledge of biology claim to be experts in evolutionary theory. The webpage below, written by Kent R. Rieske, compiles some of the most tired and obviously wrong Young Earth Creationist ideas...all in one place!

Kent is a "Ministry Director" for Bible Life Ministries in Boulder, CO. There he writes (poorly) about how evolution is wrong and then at the end of each of his pages, ask you to send him money. He accepts VISA, MasterCard and American Express!

Bible Life Ministries

We expect to remain competitive in science and industry when there are people who deny the obvious? If reason doesn't win out, we are doomed as a society.

Shameless promotion

2009-02-05T16:04:00.002-06:00

I'll be getting my Ph.D. soon and then it's off to Nashville for Andy and me. That means we have to sell our house. So here I am shame(lessly)(fully) advertising it here.

Check out the listing here

It just gets better every day

2009-01-22T20:32:00.004-06:00

I posted a couple weeks ago about how we're getting diesel fumes in the Biochemistry building as a result of machinery operating nearby (a building attached to ours is being torn down). Well that hasn't really been fixed yet.

In fact, things are actually getting worse. Today our lab and hallway filled with dust from construction debris so bad that some of my coworkers had to wear particle masks. I just said fuck it and went home.

But that's not the most interesting thing that happened at work today. This morning around 9:00 or so, I noticed that there was some steam emanating from a pit the construction workers had been digging. Curious, I thought.

A few minutes later, I checked my email and our building manager announced that a water main was damaged and water to our building had been shut off. I went back to the pit and there was a lot more steam and now I could see water billowing out of a pipe and filling the pit up. Good job, guys.

Oh, but it gets even better. We went without water for a couple hours. Hmm, I wondered, how are we going to stay here with no toilets, sinks, etc? It wouldn't matter, because around 11:00 a coworker came into the lab I was in and informed me he had gone outside for a smoke and he extinguished his cigarette because he smelled natural gas.

I went upstairs to my office and I noticed the smell myself. Then the fire alarms went off. Foolishly, I grabbed my computer and coat. Perhaps even more foolishly, I took the long way out of the building, crossing over the skywalk so I could see the site of the construction.

The pit, which was still full of water, now had a jet of gas violently bubbling from it. The gasline broke. Five buildings nearby had to be evacuated. Pedestrian and vehicle traffic had to be rerouted around all the streets near my building.

It turned out that the watermain break caused the pit to collapse and the collapse broke the gas main. On another lovely note, they were doing sewer work and the water from the main must have flushed into the sewer because one of the buildings nearby had a bunch of shitwater in the basement.

This construction project has been an utter mess. Who planned this? Did they know what they were getting into? Did they mark the location of the water and gas mains? Did they know that operating diesel machinery near air intakes might be a bad thing?

After complaining about this to the Department of Biochemistry for over a month now, I'm a little disappointed that they didn't take swift and decisive action. Carbon monoxide poisoning is serious and can be deadly. Instead, our department has put keeping this project on schedule ahead of our health and safety.

Those in charge of this project are either incompetent or simply don't care about the health of the members in my building.

Brrr...

2009-01-16T17:04:00.000-06:00

It was a bit chilly today.

I think he gets it

2009-01-12T10:16:00.003-06:00

President Bush gave his final press conference today. Here are a few quotations from it:

"I am concerned that in the wake of the defeat, that the temptation will be to look inward, and to say, 'Well, here is a litmus test you must adhere to."

"This party will come back. But the party's message has got to be that different points of view are included in the party."

The president specifically cited the at-times heated debate over illegal immigration, and said Republicans appeared as if they "don't like immigrants."

"If the image is we don't like immigrants, then there is probably somebody else out there saying, 'Well, if they don't like immigrants, they probably don't like me as well,'" Bush said. "Our party has got to be compassionate and broad-minded."

This is in constrast to what many Congressional Republicans have been saying. They suggest they need to get back to their conservative roots.

The air up here

2009-01-09T13:38:00.009-06:00

The Biochemistry Department is expanding and as a result, an old building attached to my building will be first torn down. Findorf Construction has the contract and they started working about a month and a half ago.

We knew we would have to deal with a lot of noise and vibrations, but we had not anticipated that we would have to put up with Diesel exhaust fumes from the (de)construction equipment. Findorf failed to seal off the doors between the building to be demolished and the building we currently occupy. They used a Bobcat to tear down walls in the old building and as a result, a lot of dust and exhaust entered our building.

I seem to get a headache every day because of this and one day it was so bad I was sick to my stomach and lightheaded. I had to go home early. The next morning it was even worse so I bitched like crazy about it. Our department didn't do much about it, so I got my boss involved and finally they sealed off the doors with plastic.

However, a couple days later we smelled exhaust again. It was before we were going to Arizona, so we didn't worry about it too much. Now that we're back, however, the exhaust is still present. The issue this time is that they are operating their machinery directly in front of our air intakes. Have a look for yourself below. The white sign on the middle-right of the first picture reads "DANGER-turn engine off. Air intake picks up fumes."

I like the last picture the best. Apparently now there is a danger of asbestos. So there wasn't a danger of asbestos when they were knocking down the walls with a Bobcat and the dust was coming into our building?

We keep bitching about all of this, but so far, not much has been done about it.

Palin As President

2008-12-24T11:48:00.001-06:00

Here's a website that I visited daily before the election. It's still pretty funny.

Palin As President

It may take it while to load, be patient.

Quickie Quiz

2008-12-24T11:35:00.005-06:00

Illinois Governor and Alleged Senate Seat Salesman Rod Blagojevich:

a) is explaining to the media that he never did anything illegal in his conversations to fill President-elect Obama's Senate seat.

b) is touting the success of his road construction projects around the greater Chicago area.

c) intended to extend his middle finger to the camera, but accidentally extended his index finger.

d) is informing the media when he will next go for a jog so they can film him in his tracksuit.

e) is auctioning to the highest bidder a 30-minute block of time for an exclusive interview.

The economy

2008-12-23T11:56:00.008-06:00

Disaster. Catastrophe. Icky Poo.

There's not much good to say about the economy these days, unless you're in healthcare or IT. Have things finally bottomed out? Will the housing and job markets rebound after the new year and a new president is sworn in?

Or are we headed for something worse, another economic disaster that will redefine the word "great" when describing a depression? With the massive over-valuing of real estate in the past decade and collapse of the US auto industry, exacerbated by the fact that our major export now is our own debt, this scenario of complete economic destruction seems more and more like a realistic inevitability.

What went wrong? Where did we, as a country, fuck up?

I believe it all boils down to two basic ideas. The first is greed. The second is acceptance that greed is an appropriate motivating force in our world.

For much of the past century, our political leaders acknowledged that greed is not a means that produces sustainable ends. Trusts were broken up, finance laws were written to keep greedy investors from pissing away capital on risky or even dubious investments. The Great Depression proved that perhaps this sort of unfettered capitalism isn't the most stable way to run an economy.

And for decades restraint reigned supreme.

Until Reagan took office in the 80s and, in response to various economic woes, regulations were loosened. The unraveling of our banking and finance laws continued until very recently. What resulted was an environment where investors could take huge sums of money and pump it through a confusing and completely opaque network of pipes. Mortgages, once held by local banks, were now sold as "mortgage-backed securities", traded on Wall Street and became part of our mutual funds, Main Street investments, and our retirement funds. The incestuous relationship between banking and finance was worsened by involvement of insurance investments and a new thing called default swaps, which was like insurance on a debt, without actually having any capital to back them up.

The fault cannot be placed entirely on our politicians and Wall Street investors, however. The American Dream can be a problematic idea. If your American Dream is to live comfortably, with your family and friends close by, then our country can support that. Our country cannot support everyone wanting the biggest house, the newest car and the most lavish vacations. Somewhere in our history, the American Dream morphed from a vision of community and comfort into some unreal, fairy-tale version of what life should be.

And this idea that more things--houses, cars, clothes--were what the American Dream really was is partially to blame for our economic crisis. Millions of Americans bought a home that was way beyond their means. Mortgage brokers convinced people that they could afford a home that cost ten times their annual income, and the potential home-buyers were all too eager to apply for the mortgage. They racked up unimaginable credit card debt so they could have their Coach purses and bass boats. Weddings cost the same as a new car. The newlywed couple then had to fill their massive house with furniture--all purchased on credit. Greed was everywhere.

And then it all came crashing down.

Some would say it started with housing prices falling, but the signs were there before that. The US auto industry has been in trouble for decades. We lost our innovative nature and, all the while the US auto industry was saying how great their product was, they were losing market share every year. Ford, GM and Chrysler eventually started posting massive losses. Lay-offs were the obvious solution. Suppliers soon followed suit.

The lay-offs forced many Americans, who could barely make their bloated mortgage payments, into foreclosure. Millions of foreclosures caused the collapse of banks, credit froze, borrowing stopped and the economy is now at a stand still.

Greed. People wanted things they couldn't afford, lenders wanted people's debt, and companies only focused on the short-term cash cows (like SUVs), not the long-term investments (like fuel-efficient cars) that would assure the future of the company. Greed goes hand-in-hand with immediate gratification. Now we are paying the price.

Our politicians always waived a banner of "free-market capitalism" and stood by as many of the barriers preventing cryptic financial practices and poor lending decisions were torn down. They claimed that regulation stunts growth.

Maybe it does.

Maybe it should.

If our economy didn't grow at such unprecedented rates, then perhaps we wouldn't be hitting the bottom so hard right now. If instead, we grew at a modest rate, bought modest homes and drove modest cars, we wouldn't be where we are.

Our companies failed us. Our politicians failed us. We failed us. Slowly, we will crawl out of this economic mess. Hopefully guided by innovative new technology we can tap new energy resources and repower our economy.

Hopefully we've learned something here and the next time business and financial leaders want to throw up a curtain around their practices and come up with catchy phrases like "mortgage-backed securities" and "default swaps" we will pay more attention and keep regulations in place. Hopefully the next time our economy grows, we don't waste our money on things we neither need nor can afford. Hopefully next time our corporations have to make important decisions, they will think about the long-term viability of their company and not immediate pay-offs.

Hopefully next time.

A Hiatus

2008-12-23T11:44:00.002-06:00

Sorry for not posting in over a month, but I've been busy (making a poster to present at the 21st Enzyme Mechanisms Conference in Tucson, writing my thesis, teaching a class, wrapping up my own research and getting projects for other students in order). But now that I have a few days off, I can post something.

So here it is, Graeme, a posting.

More liberal propaganda to come, I swear.

I like it when people say "fuck" on TV

2008-11-11T08:13:00.002-06:00

Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe on MSNBC said something that he, and the producers of his show are going to regret when the FCC finds out about this.

Watch it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/joe-scarboroughs-fuck-up_n_142598.html

Election result highlights

2008-11-05T08:41:00.002-06:00

1. Senator Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States, after dominating in the Electoral College and sweeping the popular vote convincingly. There will be no discussion of hanging or pregnant chads this time around. This election was the definition of a landslide.

2. Democrats expanded their majority in the US House of Representatives. In a particularly sweet victory, Democrat Betsy Markey beat Republican incumbant Marylin Musgrave by nearly 10 percentage points for Colorados's 4th House district. Musgrave was the main sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendemnt in the 108th and 109th Congresses. She also opposes embryonic stem cell research. She can now retire and get old, and when she gets a disease later in life that can be cured by stem cells, she should be denied treatment.

3. Democrats increased their majority in the US Senate. As of this moment, Democrats have picked up seats in Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina, giving the Democrats a majority with no fewer than 56 seats. A few other races are too close to call now, but they don't look promising for the Democrats.

The victory of Democrat Kay Hagan over Republican Liddy Dole in North Carolina is another incredible victory for Democrats. A year ago, it looked as if there was no way Hagan could beat Dole. When I visited North Carolina during the summer of 2008, there were a few Hagan signs here and there around Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill, but Dole was still up in the polls by 8-10 percentage points. What a diference the economy makes! In a last-ditch effort, Dole tried to tie Hagan to some radical atheists and implied that Hagan herself was an atheist, which, unfortunately, would spell disaster for someone seeking a Senate seat in a state like North Carolina. This back-fired, however, because it was completely false. Hagan has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro for 17 years and even taught Sunday school. Oops.

It looks highly probable that the same people who elected incompetent model/sportscaster Sarah Palin as their governor will also re-elect convicted felon Ted Stevens as their US Senator over Democratic challanger and former Anchorage mayor Mark Begich. I doubt the Senate will allow a convicted felon to serve, even if he is seeking appeal. It therefore seems likely that Stevens will be expelled from the Senate and a special election will be called. Could we see a race between Mark Begich and Sarah Palin? Could Alaska be that silly as to thrust Palin back into the national spotlight?

4. It was not a good day for equality. Arizona and Florida passed bans on gay marriage and it seems very possible that California's Prop 8 will also pass. Arkansas, which has never been on the forefront of progress, passed a ban preventing gay couples from adopting. Would someone please explain to me how these ballot measures are good for families?

On a lighter note, Michigan passed a measure allowing for the use of medical marijuana (it even allows someone who is charged with possession to submit a doctor's note that they have a medical need). I'm amazed by the margin with which the measure passed. I guess it's the first step to fully legalizing marijuana. Michigan also passed a measure that would allow the use of human embryonic stem cells for research. This passed despite the opposition's TV commercials that insisted this would lead to human-animal hybrids with human bodies and goat hooves.

It's Election Day

2008-11-04T08:58:00.005-06:00

You shouldn't be reading my blog, you should be in line waiting to vote! I don't have anything else to say, so here are a few pictures from Halloween on State Street.

Hmm. Nice costume. I wonder if he was cold.

Down to the Wire

2008-11-03T08:56:00.004-06:00

The final week of the Presidential campaign is finally upon us! Finally. This election has been going on for 20 months and I think everyone has had about enough of it.

While I know it's dangerous to make predictions, I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm pretty sure Barack Obama will win tomorrow. And I don't think we will have to stay up late to find that out. If any of Virginia, Ohio or Florida go for Obama, it is certain doom for the McCain campaign. As the remainder of the polls close across the country, it will only get worse for McCain.

I think it would be fitting for the McCain campaign to go down in a huge fireball. I like John McCain (at least the John McCain of a couple years ago), but his campaign has been a complete disaster and maybe he learned a few lessons here.

He has made one poor decision after another. The first big blunder was to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate. Sure she's hot and spicy, but just like all things hot and spicy, you'll be left with the shits in the morning.

The next big blunder was "suspending" his campaign to deal with the economic crisis--even though Sarah Palin was still technically campaigning. My guess is that Grandpa McCain couldn't handle the rigors of the campaign trail and needed a two-day nap.

Now, in the final days of the campaign, he has turned his attention to Pennsylvania. Yeah, Pennsylvania, the state where he's been 8-12 points behind since this past summer. And I don't mean like Obama 45 to McCain 36, either. I mean Obama 53 to McCain 44. When candidates poll (consistently) in the 50's it indicates they have a lock on that portion of the electorate and only real issues (blunders, wars, saying "macaca") can turn things around. No amount of campaigning by McCain can pull Obama's numbers in Pennsylvania down enough to make a real difference. There is no huge pool of undecideds in Pennsylvania that McCain can convince to break for him, either. If those poll numbers stick, even if ALL of the undecided voters break for McCain, he still loses.

It's as if instead of losing by 12 points in Pennsylvania, they want to lose only by 8 points, while they could be campainging and spending money in states that are closer and actually stand a chance to be flipped into the McCain column. Their energy would be better spent in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado and Nevada.

So I think the McCain campaign's decision to go after Pennsylvania is the latest in a series of blunders and miscalculations.

I wonder if his presidency would be filled with the same thing.

Quickie Quiz

2008-10-24T09:10:00.004-05:00

GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin:

a.) is greeting reporters with a warm smile after getting off her campaign plane.

b.) is handing out voter registration forms.

c.) is stealing ballots so she can stuff the ballot box on election day.

d.) is shown here being caught by the "gotcha media."

PS-I realize that this picture is actually from when she was running for Governor, but oh well. Her expression is priceless.

For those of you who haven't seen this, go to http://www.palinaspresident.us/. It's updated daily.

An analogy

2008-10-09T09:58:00.001-05:00

http://caro.tumblr.com/post/52905901

Fox Forum

2008-10-08T08:05:00.005-05:00

I was reading various post-debate analyses and found the Fox Forum, where a bunch of conservative commentators pretend they're having a fair and balanced discussion. Internet readers can comment below, much like a BB. I found this comment to be especially insightful (not). I directly copied and pasted this, no alterations.

Linda Marsh
October 8th, 2008 at 8:43 am
So McCain was not smooth. He walked into a lion’s den. Tom Brocow and Katy Curik all liberals and buddies with Oboma. Questions were of his choice, and he did not have control over the time allowed. Poor conduct on his part. You could tell by his facial expressions and his barking out McCain’s name that he was a liberal. And how about the location of the town hall meeting. And what about the conversation between him and Oboma after the meeting. Why didn’t he leave the stage. What was up with all the coverage on the picture taking , etc. What subliminal message was that giving. Fox news should have not televised that unless they want to coment on it, and I want you to coment on the good-ole-boy glad ragging that went on after the debate. Have we stooped so low to choose a presidet with terrorist ties and does not believe in the flag and the bible. And keep driving home his ties with Acorn and will we choose a president with no morals just because our pocketbooks are hurting. And our pocketbooks have hurt before and we didn’t die from it. Change the credit bureaus repoting system and that will help everyone. Simple fix. If they pay their monthly bills they get credit for it.

Linda Marsh, you're a genius. You might want to check your spelling sometime. Although I suppose maybe Hockey Moms can't spell.

Quickie Quiz

2008-10-07T08:47:00.003-05:00

Arizona Senator and Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain is:

a.) frustrated over the latest poll numbers

b.) realizing that he has to pull his campaign out of Minnesota and Wisconsin as well.

c.) trying to hide that thing on his face (it's melanoma).

d.) doing his best Carnie Wilson impersonation

Two big not surprises

2008-09-24T08:00:00.009-05:00

Gay!

The bailout

2008-09-23T09:15:00.007-05:00

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is insisting that Congress approve a $700 billion buyout of bad mortgage packages. This would, he insists, save our economy from ruin and ensure domestic and foreign investors that our economy is a worthwhile risk.

While in the longrun I think people will see this as a necessity, there is certainly room here to insert some regulation, oversight and help for "main street", as Democratic leaders in Congress have suggested. The Bush Administration, of course, is opposed to this and wants to give Henry Paulson all the power he has requested. There is no doubt that he is among the most qualified people to handle this, but a little moderation might be a good idea.

I'm not opposed to this buyout, but it irks me that the Bush Administration was so eager to step in and fix this. Remember back a year or so ago, when the mortgage crisis became apparent. Many Democrats were calling for the treasury to step in and help individuals. But that was met with sharp opposition. Such a move would be socialist! The government cannot help people pay their bills! They're on their own...if they bought a house they can't afford, then they will have to suffer the consequences.

However, this bailout is completely contradictory to such logic. These businesses made terrible investments and if the Bush Administration truly believes in the "free market", then they should let these companies go under. The fact that they were unwilling to help individual homeowners, but jump at the chance of helping huge corporations really reflects on who this government is representing: the fat cats, the lobbyists, the have's.

I really hope the American people see how corporate influence and greed have mis-shapen our country, and how the Republican Party has been entirely complicit.

The honeymoon is over

2008-09-22T12:51:00.003-05:00

She was going to change Washington! She was going to pull disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters away from the Democratic Party! She was going to usher a huge GOP landslide at the polls this fall. She was going to solve our nation's energy problems! Well, she was going to do all of these things, until we started actually learning stuff about Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

And hey, the excitement was well-deserved. She is the first non-white non-male to be nominated for vice President by the GOP. The Democrats did it back in 1984, but come on, the Republicans are only 24 years behind. She energized the base and everyone thought she would be pulling in the independents with her. The McCain-Palin ticket was up 4-5 points in most polls after the GOP convention. Victory was a sure thing!

What most pundits and GOP enthusiasts forgot was that the Obama-Biden ticket enjoyed a similiar scenerio after the Democratic National Convention. Some polls had the Obama-Biden ticket up 8-9 points above McCain. However, the Friday after the convention, McCain announced Palin as his VP choice. That weekend news cycle was dominated by Hurricane Gustav and the RNC started Monday. So Obama's "bounce" was eclipsed by those events. I was surprised when CNN stated that Obama had "no bounce." Clearly they weren't looking in the right place.

Now the McCain-Palin "bounce" has settled naturally and everyone now can clam down and analyze the situation realistically. While Palin is a very successful person and likely has "reformed" Alaska, I think Americans have now realized she can't possibily be as effective on a national scale as the campaign suggests.

When McCain picked her, she was the maverick reformer governor of a rugged state. Now, a few weeks later, she is the under-qualified scandal-ridden governor of a state with a population one quarter that of Brooklyn. And the polls reflect this: her favorable rating has plummeted and Obama again has taken the lead nationally.

I guess the honeymoon is in fact over.

Sarah Palin

2008-09-04T10:19:00.006-05:00

Alaska Governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin delivered a pretty good speech at the GOP convention on Wednesday. She clearly won over that crowd, but will she win over any independents or Hillary Clinton supporters? We'll see.

I'm still a bit surprised that McCain picked her and I really think a lot of conservatives are steaming at the ears or at the very least scratching their heads. Yes she is anti-choice and a fundamentalist Christian, but she's also under investigation and her unmarried 17 year old daughter is preggers. These are things that you can be sure the GOP is not pleased about.

Then there is the experience issue. All throughout the summer we've heard the McCain camp say how inexperienced Obama is and we can't trust the Presidency to someone so inexperienced. By selecting Palin as his running mate, McCain has effectively taken that argument off the table. Palin is the newbie governor of a state with a population smaller than the south side of Chicago and former mayor of a city smaller than most Chicago neighborhoods. And while I can't tout Obama's record of experience as lengthy, no one can criticize him for being inexperienced and say that Palin is more prepared without being a fact-blurring hypocrite.

The Obama is inexperienced argument can no longer be made. Now they will go after him as being the "most liberal member of the Senate", just you watch!

Oh, and by the way, this is my 200th posting!

The ticket

2008-08-28T08:03:00.004-05:00

I'm happy about this duo. Biden may not be a very concise person, but he is an incredibly smart and experienced leader and I think he can relate well with ordinary people.

Now that Hillary and Bill threw their support in for Obama, Hillary's supporters can stop their whining and get behind the Obama-Biden ticket. I'm not convinced that the Hillary supporters were really as bitter and angry as the media portrayed them to be. Given the thunderous roar of applause that followed Hillary's motion to nominate Obama by acclamation, I think the issue of bitter Hillary supporters was way over-blown. I wonder if this story was extrapolated from those polls that say XX% of Hillary supporters won't vote for Obama. Well it turns out that answering "yes" on a telephone interview is way different than causing trouble at your party's convention or, yes, actually voting for the other guy.

Are you seriously telling me that pro-choice liberal women are going to vote for an anti-choice candidate like McCain?

I don't think so.

The Pickens Plan

2008-08-14T16:14:00.003-05:00

Maybe you've seen the commercials on TV with T. Boone Pickens...he's the old guy talking about how we've become so dependent on foreign oil (in 2007 we imported 70% of our oil).

His plan is basically to put up thousands of wind turbines between Texas and North Dakota (one of the most productive places on Earth on a wind*acre basis). Adding that power to the grid will then replace power that we generate from natural gas (of which 90% is harnessed from North America). This natural gas can then be used to fuel cars. Not a bad idea...at least someone is thinking big.

To check out his plan and sign up to help it become reality, go to The Pickens Plan.

Proteopedia

2008-07-16T10:34:00.003-05:00

First there was Wikipedia, then soon all the innumerable wiki's followed (including my favorite, Conservapedia). Now there's Proteopedia, the online encyclopedia of proteins. It looks to me like they prefer to look at proteins whose structures have been solved. To my amazement, they have all 5 of my structures on their site:

http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/3b8x
http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/3bn1
http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/2gms
http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/2gmu
http://www.proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/2r0t

I guess I should feel flattered that someone took the time to make webpages about my research...but somehow I don't.

Something to read if you're bored

2008-07-15T10:52:00.003-05:00

Creation "Science" Debunked

The site is a little dry, but if any of you were wondering why creation "science"/intelligent design is a crock of bullshit, this site explains it.

It's the Electoral College, stupid!

2008-07-15T07:36:00.003-05:00

The media would have us think that the race for President is neck and neck--that one little gaffe or misstatement would spell doom for either candidate. Well one thing the media is not doing a good job reporting is the truth.

The truth is, of course, that the election is not decided by the popular vote. It's the Electoral College, stupid! So state-by-state polls are what really counts. My favorite website is http://www.electoral-vote.com/, as many of you know. Go there. Look at the state-by-state polling. Notice that McCain is ahead in some red states (like South Dakota) by 4 points, while Bush won it from Kerry by 22 points. Notice that Ohio and Iowa have been in the "blue column" for a while now. Also notice that states like Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia are now in play for the Democrats.

The election in not even close. Unless Obama says or does something incredibly stupid or is swift-boated and doesn't fight back, the election is his.

NYC, BB, and smells

2008-06-28T09:55:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting a shitty Bed and Breakfast on City Island in NYC right now, waiting for some random guy I met here to take me to the airport. The website for this place describes it as "beautifully restored." I suppose that could be true if beauty involves chipping paint, outdated (not retro) fixtures and an odor that is reminiscent Goodwill, grandma's house and a wet basement all rolled up into one olfactory-punishing funk.

Well that's really all I have to say.

shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits

2008-06-23T07:49:00.003-05:00

George Carlin 1937-2008

His 7 words will live on.

Tim Russert 1950-2008

2008-06-14T08:51:00.001-05:00

Thanks for keeping my Sundays interesting.

My accomplishments are many

2008-06-05T13:22:00.002-05:00

Hillary Clinton's campaign announced that she will announce this Saturday the end of her campaign to be the Democratic presidential nominee . I guess ending her campaign is like knocking over a Coke machine: You can't do it in one push. You have to rock it back and forth a few times and then it will fall over.

Well clearly, the letter I sent to her campaign had some impact here. I'm glad she listened. Now I think I'll send a letter to John McCain and ask him to step aside.

Response from Hillary Clinton

2008-06-02T15:17:00.003-05:00

Dear Friend:

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns with me via e-mail. I hope you will understand that, because of the volume of e-mails I receive from residents of New York State, I cannot at this time respond to messages received from residents of other states. I encourage you to contact your U.S. senators if you have an issue or concern that needs immediate attention. You can access your senators electronically by visiting http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm for a listing of their contact information. If you are still interested in learning more about the work I am doing on behalf of New York State, I hope you will continue to monitor my work through my website at http://clinton.senate.gov/.

Sincerely,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
New York State

Now, I have contacted several Senators from other states (including Bill Frist, John Kerry, and John Edwards) and none of them told me to go away like Senator Clinton did. They at least sent me some sort of form Email back. I'm not sure how common it is for Senators to ignore people from other states, but I find it annoying. I also sent my message to her presidential campaign website, but I'm sure that will just get deleted by a volunteer.

Letter to Senator Clinton

2008-06-02T15:10:00.001-05:00

Dear Senator Clinton,

I would like to congratulate you on being the first serious female presidential candidate. You have opened up many doors and I truly feel you have inspired a generation of young women.

I would like to thank you for bringing up many important issues during your presidential campaign such as the war in Iraq, healthcare and the economy. You are a tremendous asset to the Democratic Party.

As this long and arduous primary campaign season is drawing to a close, we as a Party must come together around a single candidate. While I am glad that you want everyone to have a voice in this primary, it is now clear since the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting that the odds of you becoming the Democratic nominee are near zero.

Therefore, I , as a life-long member of the Democratic Party, respectfully request that you suspend your campaign and endorse Barack Obama once he has gained the 2118 delegates required to clinch the nomination. I hope that you will work tirelessly, as I will, to ensure that he will be the next President of the United States. The stakes are too high for this nomination to be decided in Denver; by then it will be too late.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Paul D. Cook.

Oops

2008-05-29T15:21:00.003-05:00

A medical helicopter crashed onto the roof of Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI. Butterworth is the largest hospital in western Michigan and the one in which I was born.

This story can be found here.

How many calories?

2008-05-27T10:36:00.002-05:00

Rally's introduced the new Philly Cheese Steak Burger. For some reason, the folks at Rally's believe that an ideal beef burger should be topped with cheese, onions, peppers, and of course, more beef.

You know we've reached a new low in fast food when steak is no longer an entree, but is instead a condiment. What's next? How about putting a few chicken wings on a burger? Maybe they could top it with a few bratwurst? They could introduce it around July 4th. It would be a smash hit.

Americans used to be great innovators. We invented the computer and made the automobile into an industry. Now our energy of innovation is going into making Philly Cheese Steak Burgers. No wonder we have an obesity epidemic.

Tid Bits

2008-05-20T15:30:00.009-05:00

1. Gay marriage is legal in California. For now. But I'm not sure if there's enough distaste for gays in California to amend the state constitution. Efforts in the past have failed and in recent years a gay marriage/civil unions bill passed both chambers of the state legislature, only to be vetoed by Gov. Schwartzenegger.

2. Hillary Clinton is done. She and Bill apparently don't know it yet. Only when you suspend reality and use some very goofy math is she ahead. For example: she has been saying that she is ahead in the popular vote. Well, that is true if you 1.) ignore all caucus voting and 2.) include Florida and Michigan. Suspension of reality is a powerful tool. For example: I can show you that Hillary Clinton is actually a black man if you 1.) ignore the color of her skin and 2.) pretend she doesn't have a vagina.

3. John McCain is old. I'm not sure he has the stamina to run a general election campaign. I imagine when the debates and rules thereof are announced there will be at least three scheduled naps and perhaps a time when he has us sit on his lap to tell us about the "good ol' days." I'm pretty sure his campaign commercials will feature him in a rocking chair sitting in front of a fireplace while wearing a sweater.

4. Iraq is still a disaster. I'll say it again: I was right about this way back in 2003! We had no good reason to invade Iraq and clearly it was a mistake to do so. Imagine how much progress we could have made dismantling al Qaeda if we weren't bogged down in this mess. I also bet that Iran wouldn't have the balls to pretend it's a nuclear power if we weren't tied up in Iraq.

5. Senator Ted Kennedy is sick. Surprisingly, it's not cirrhosis, diabetes or any of the other diseases of excess. Instead, it's a malignant brain tumor. Sad. I was at the airport when, at the time, he was having "stroke-like symptoms." There was an idiot a few seats over from me who said to his family "good, we will be better without him." Now, I certainly understand not liking some politicians, but that's a pretty disgusting statement. I really dislike the delusional Senator James Inhoffe from Oklahoma, but I do not wish death or sickness on him.

Equating reality

2008-04-18T13:32:00.010-05:00

I had a friend in undergrad who liked to, let's say, embellish her stories. I made an equation describing this phenomenon. For the sake of anonymity, let's say her name is K. The equation is

,

where B_s (in units of information) represents the amount of bullshit this person would spew, K_f(in iunits of s^-1) is the K exaggeration factor, T is the truth (in units of information), t represents time (in s) since the previous bullshitting event, and P (in units of information) represents the previous knowledge others around K have about the issue being bull-shitted.

As the equation demonstrates, bullshit is indeed based upon truth, but clearly can be influenced by many factors. The bullshit decreases when K knows that people in her vicinity know more about the issue than she does. This, at times, prevents K from looking like an idiot. However, when a large quantity of time passes since the previous bullshitting event, the P factor no longer is signicant compared to the value of the numerator. Therefore, no matter who is around, K will spout tons of bullshit.

Finally, the K exaggeration factor (K_f) itself contains many variables that change relative to the situation. These inlclude a scaling parameter that describes K's level of interest in the issue and a periodic function that fluctuates on a monthly basis. Thus, it is perhaps more appropriate to assign a K exaggeration factor to each particular situation.

1,000 march in Oxnard in tribute to slain teen

2008-03-26T08:02:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure if many of you have heard about this story, but it's worth bringing back into the spotlight. Hopefully this tragedy will have a Matthew Shepard effect, and make people think more about their actions.

By Catherine Saillant, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer February 17, 2008

A march organized by students focuses on tolerance in the wake of the fatal shooting of an openly gay boy.

The Goths in their black T-shirts were there. So were the punks with fluorescent hair and multiple piercings.

There were even a few adolescent boys carrying skateboards among the nearly 1,000 Oxnard youth and other supporters who turned out Saturday for a hastily organized peace march to pay tribute to Lawrence King, 15, the Oxnard student shot to death in a classroom last week.

"Larry, Larry, Larry!" the crowd chanted before marchers clasped hands in a moment of silence for the fallen student.

There were no bullhorns, no speeches and no politicians. Just a mass of mostly adolescents wearing bright clothing, carrying signs and singing John Lennon's "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance."

The size of the turnout surprised police, school officials and even the two Hueneme High School sophomores who put the event together just three days ago, spreading the word with fliers, cellphone calls and MySpace bulletins.

"We were expecting maybe 100 or 200 people," said Courtney LaForest, 16, as she gazed at a broad "peace circle" formed by march participants at Plaza Park in downtown Oxnard. "This is incredible."

Courtney said the turnout reflected a community's anguish over a senseless shooting that has destroyed the lives of two young men. It was also a public plea for tolerance on school campuses for those who are different, she said.

"I didn't know Larry. A lot of people here didn't know him," she said. "We are saying you don't need to accept people who are gay, but you should tolerate them."

King, an eighth-grader at E.O. Green Junior High School in south Oxnard, had revealed he was gay this school year. In recent weeks, he had begun accessorizing his school uniform with feminine items and was often teased by other students, several of his classmates said.

"What he did was really brave -- to wear makeup and high-heeled boots," said Erin Mings, 12, who hung out with King at the school. "Every corner he turned around, people were saying, 'Oh, my god, he's wearing makeup today.' "

Erin said King was an outgoing and funny boy who stood his ground.

"When people came up and started punking him, he just stood up for himself," Erin said.

Jeremiah, another student and friend of the victim, said King had recently told the 14-year-old boy who is alleged to have shot him that he had a crush on him.

"I see no point in shooting someone for telling them that you like them," said Jeremiah, who didn't want to give his last name.

Brandon McInerney, 14, who attended E.O. Green with King, has been charged with premeditated murder and will be tried as an adult. He is being held in Ventura County Juvenile Hall in lieu of $770,000 bail. McInerney could face 50 years to life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors added a hate crime allegation that could bring an additional one to three years.

Saturday's march began at Carty Park, adjacent to the junior high school where the shooting took place Tuesday. Students busily scribbled signs on poster boards, with such messages as "RIP Larry King," "Gay Pride" and "Support Love and Tolerance."

Melissa Crutcher, 16, who helped organize the march, said King's slaying infuriated her. Sporting pink-tinged hair, hot pink pants and multiple ear piercings, Melissa said she knew what it was like to get picked on for looking different."

I know I stick out myself," she said. "And it's just appalling that just for being himself he got shot."

Jerry Dannenberg, superintendent of the Hueneme School District, of which E.O. Green is a part, joined the marchers. He had been told that an event was being planned by students and sent word that the school should support it, Dannenberg said.

"We forget the goodness that is in most of our kids," Dannenberg said. "This tremendous turnout by kids is an expression of their voices, their opinions."

Connor Sipes, 13, showed up with two of his buddies. They attend a different middle school, Connor said, but learned about the march through a posting on MySpace.

Connor wore a headband and a gold peace sign around his neck as the three boys walked the two miles from the school to the city park. He participated because what happened to King "wasn't right," he said. "It will be a better future if we are more tolerant."

Pics from vacation

2008-03-18T20:10:00.010-05:00

We spent a week in Miami, the Everglades and Key West to get away from the cold Wisconsin winter. The last few vacations we had saw me constantly fumbling with the camera to take pictures, so this time I spent much less time worrying about taking the perfect photo and more time enjoying myself (food poisoning aside).

Nonetheless, here are a few pics we did take:

The Hyatt on Key West kept a turtle pond. So cool!

There was one little brat turtle that kept harrassing the older turtles. Just like a kitten!

An alligator in the Everglades!

Headed out to the dive site...
Wet suits...so hot.

School of fish underwater

Kansas school board to schools: include alternatives to gravity

2008-02-19T14:00:00.004-06:00

The following is of course a dramatization, not an actual news report

Topeka, KS

In a bold move, the Kansas State School Board voted 9-1 to mandate that schools in the state present alternative theories to gravity. The decision came after several days of testimony in which experts in physics, the clergy, and local parents weighed in on the issue.

"I'm really pleased with the decision," Board President Maureen Connolly said. "Many in our community are concerned that our children were not hearing the whole story concerning the so-called theory of gravity."

Her sentiments were echoed by Bill Jordens, local business owner and father of two sons in the area schools. "The liberal elite have had strangle hold on our public schools for so long. This 'theory' of gravity is just another lie to take religion out of our lives."

The debate leading up to the decision was very intense. The Reverend James McCarthy from Faith Evangelical Church was alotted 45 minutes to address the Board. He laid out his argument for why alternatives to theory of gravity need to be presented to public school children. "Every text book in the Kansas science curriculum refers to gravity as if it's a foregone conclusion. I submit to you that it is not. There is currently a very active debate going on in the scientific community regarding the theory of gravity. For instance, not one pro-gravity scientist has been able to explain why gravity seems to weeken when we're in an elevator that is traveling down, while it gets stronger when we're in an elevator going up. And what about outer space? Where did gravity go? Did it get lost?" The crowd, familar with that argument, erupted in applause.

Reverend McCarthy continued, "I'm not saying that all aspects of the theory of gravity are wrong, but I am saying that serious questions remain unanswered and we owe it to our children to present them with all arguments."

The scientific community was represented at the meeting by Dr. William Mulder, professor of physics from the University of Kansas. "Gravity is such a foundational theory in physics that it has essentially become fact. Although research and theoretical physics are postulating the interaction of gravity with the other fundamental forces, no legitimite scientist is debating its existence," he explained to the Board.

The Board and the crowd were skeptical to say the least. "Dr. Mulder," asked one Board member, "can you explain how this 'gravity' works?"

"There is a fundamental attraction that all matter has for all other matter in the universe," he explained. "This attraction is directly related to the mass of the objects and inversely related to the distance between them. It's really that simple."

The board member, after whispering to another member, responded, "if there is an attraction, why can I not see it? If I am pulling someone with a rope, we can see the rope. Don't you think it's a little absurd to suggest that the Earth is pulling on me? I see no rope, sir." The crowd again erupted in applause and cheer.

The lone dissenter on the Board, Ike Newelton, was outraged. "How can you people believe this? Gravity has been postulated for milenia, shown mathetically for centuries and rigorously tested in the past 100 years. It is a simple fact supported by a mountain of evidence. Matter attracts matter; it's as simple as that."

Others are not as convinced as Mr. Newelton.

"This nonsense about invisible forces acting over great distances is just that: nonsense," says World Net Daily founder and amateur scientist Joseph Farrah. "There is only one force that is invisible and acts throughout the universe and it is called God. I stick to the Earth because God wants me to. The Earth goes around the Sun because God wants it to. There is absolutely no mention of gravity in the Bible, so to propose its existence is a slap in the face to the Almighty. Furthermore, if you look at the great thinkers of mankind including Plato and Aristotle, they didn't suggest some mysterious force was at work, but rather that our bodies long to be united with the Earth, which is almost a direct analogy to God. So this theory of gravity lie is a new one created to foster confusion and drive people away from God's honest Truth."

When asked about the works of Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. Farrah replied, "There are many who don't believe that Newton even existed. The liberal elite are so desperate after their outlandish theory of evolution was defeated that they're willing to do anything to save this theory of gravity, include making up a supposed genius who just happens to be dead now."

New science text books for Kansas 7th and 8th graders have already been ordered and should be in schools within the next few days. The high school curriculum requires a more extensive overhaul and should be ready by the next semester.

While many in the country are hopeful that the Kansas decision will have an impact nationwide, Bill Jordens has a much more humble tone. "I'm just glad we were able to win this one for God. When I brought this theory of gravity issue to the school board last year, we knew it would be an uphill battle. Fortunately for our community, the school board wasn't afraid to tackle this one."

Insight from the Votemaster

2008-02-08T08:20:00.000-06:00

This is from the Votemaster's website (see link under blogs of interest, at right)

This election has been very informative. We have learned things from many candidates, as follows.

Republicans

From John McCain: Actually having principles and sticking by them even when some people in your party don't like them is a good thing. Voters like candidates they believe are telling the truth, even when they don't like everything they are saying. Authenticity counts for more than policy papers. McCain may be "older than dirt and have more scars than Frankenstein" (his own words), but What You See Is What You Get. People like that.

From Rudy Giuliani: You can't skip Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina and expect to be teleported into the White House. These early contests are no fun. You have to slog through the snow (well, maybe not in South Carolina) and meet all the voters personally. They take their roles seriously. Also, if you have opposed your party's core principles all your life, probably you have no chance no matter how many pairs of snow boots you wear out.

From Mitt Romney: The White House is not for sale. Just because you can can afford to spend $35 million of you own money and can hire excellent advisors who can make a great business plan starting with wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, it doesn't mean the voters will go for you.

From Fred Thompson: You don't have to spend $35 million of your own money, but you do have to want the job. If you can't make up your mind whether you want to run or not, and having decided you probably want to run, you don't make much of an effort, people are going to notice. Makes a poor impression.

From Mike Huckabee: If you are in tune with the voters in your party and are a friendly, folksy kind of guy, you have a chance, even without $100 million. Friendly definitely beats mean and angry. You need a bit of luck (like Brownback not catching fire), but you might do well.

From Ron Paul: Having a fanatical, but tiny base is not enough, even if they donate vast amounts of money. You have to strike a chord with a fair number of people. And try to avoid kooky ideas (like abolishing the income tax) if possible.

From Duncan Hunter: If you have nothing to sell, nobody is going to buy it.

Democrats

From Al Gore: You can't become President if you don't run. Well, there is a 0.001% chance that a deadlocked convention will draft you in desperation, but don't count on it. Doesn't work most of the time.

From Hillary Clinton: No matter how much you think you have a right to the job, you have to earn it. Even if you are smart, knowledgeable, and very hardworking, you have to compete right along with everyone else. Telling everyone you are inevitable and other candidates should kindly go away turns off the voters.

From Barack Obama: Being black is not a fatal handicap any more. If you are charismatic and have a couple of Ivy League degrees and stand for something, people will listen to you. You might not win, but being black is not a showstopper any more.

From John Edwards: Politics isn't always fair. You can work your heart out to help the disadvantaged, but the disadvantaged don't always recognize your efforts. Only in America can a homeless person living in a cardboard box oppose raising taxes on millionaires because he hopes to be a millionaire some day.

From Bill Richardson: Resume is not destiny. You can have filled every job in government in a highly competent way and be fluent in two languages, but if you are equally boring in both of them, people won't vote for your resume.

From Joe Biden: While not having any ambition (see Fred Thompson) is fatal, having lots and lots of ambition is not enough. You have to be able to connect with real people. Addressing them in Senate-speak ("I oppose the motion to reconsider tabling the first motion") might work in a Senate committee, but with real voters you have to be able to explain in English what you will do to improve their lives.

From Chris Dodd: Nothing we didn't learn from Biden.
Polling is starting in Virginia. Only for the wrong party.

Super Tuesday

2008-02-07T08:31:00.000-06:00

Well, it's over.

Are there any answers? Yes, John McCain will be the Republican nominee and either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. Sounds a lot like the situation before the Super Tuesday primaries.

The Republican winner-take-all system worked; a clear front-runner has emerged relatively early in the primary process. Why the Democrats don't see the benefit of this system is beyond me. However, looking at Tuesday's results, it still would have been a close race on the Democratic side. Barack Obama won more states, but each with fewer delegates. Hillary Clinton won fewer states that generally have more delegates. So it's pretty much a draw.

However, it was just announced that Hillary Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million in order to keep up with the fund raising of the Obama campaign. It certainly is a good sign for Barack Obama that she's having trouble matching his funds. Even though the next few primaries/caucuses are likely to go for Obama, it will still be a tight race that will probably go on for another few months with Hillary and Barack raising money battling each other.

In the mean time, John McCain will keep racking up the delegates and will be able to raise money to battle the unamed Democratic challenger. Assuming the Republicans rally around McCain, this could be very damaging to the Democrats, especially if the Barack vs. Hillary tone gets particularly nasty.

In my opinion, Barack and Hillary need to make some sort of amends and attack only McCain and not each other. They need to show that the Democratic party is united and is simply choosing the best candidate from a selection of two excellent candidates.

Quickie Quiz

2008-01-30T13:12:00.000-06:00

Former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is:

a.) graciously waving to supporters after his big win in the Nevada Republican caucus.

b.) indicating the number of positions he's had on abortion.

c.) showing his "bling bling" to the camera.

d.) chanting "who let the dogs out? who? who? who?"

e.) showing us that he only has one wedding ring and therefore only one wife.

My two bits (for now) about the 2008 presidential election

2008-01-30T10:37:00.001-06:00

Although much can happen between now and the end of primary season, it seems likely (although not certain) that John McCain will be the Republican presidential nominee. If Mitt Romney can appeal to moderates or if Mike Huckabee drops out (and most of his supporters go for Romeny instead), then perhaps McCain might have some problems, but barring any major campaign faux pas or perhaps a sign of his old age, I think McCain will be the nominee.

Even though I think McCain stands a better chance of defeating a Democrat in the general election than any of the other Republicans, I'm not saddened by his likely nomination. I think he is a noble man who would make an excellent president. I think he would govern on behalf of most of America and not just the fortunate few that the Bush Administration represents. Given that the Congress will most likely remain under Democratic control, a McCain presidency could lead to a government of compromise and working together.

That being said, there is one major reason that I will not vote for McCain in November: the Supreme Court. The court is fairly evenly split with 4 liberals, 4 conservatives and Justice Kennedy, who is moderate to slightly conservative. The average age of the liberal justices is 74, while the average age of the conservative justices is just 60. John Paul Stevens is 82 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 74, both liberals and the two oldest members of the Court. So it stands to reason that the next few openings on the Court will be liberals.

If McCain were president, I think he would appoint justices who are moderately conservative. This would tip the balance of the Supreme Court and many more 5-4 and possibly 6-3 conservate decisions would occur. We could kiss Roe vs. Wade good bye. Many states would outlaw any and all forms of abortion. Other issues the court hears such as civil rights and the power of the government would all be considered before a far more conservative Court.

Therefore, I will not be voting for John McCain this November, if indeed he is the Republican nominee. The next few weeks will hopefully close the deal on the Democratic side: Barack or Hillary. Hopefully John Edwards's departure will tip the balance one way or the other.

RIP, Heath

2008-01-23T14:44:00.001-06:00

It saddens me that Heath Ledger died. He was a talented, daring actor. It seems that he was well liked and well respected in Hollywood.

I'm not going to complete this thought, but it is something I ask myself. Why, did Heath have to die when he was so talented and respected? Although he may have had some personal demons, it was his acting ability that dominated his media attention. Then there are people in Hollywood who are drunk media spectacles who get busted for under-aged drinking and/or lose custody of their kids. I'm not saying I want them to die, but...

Why did he have to die?

The Columbo of Grand Valley

2008-01-10T08:45:00.000-06:00

I recently was contactd by a gentleman who was, like myself, the subject of an investigation of stolen property conducted by Detective John Lyman of the Grand Valley State University Department of Public Safety.

However, unlike myself, this gentleman was not able to get the good detective off his back. In fact this guy was convicted of theft (an LCD projector was stolen). His story is outlined in great detail here:

My own terribly painful experience

Now, I really don't know this person, and should have no reason to believe his story over that of what I'd assume Detective Lyman's story would be. He very well could have stolen the property in question, and gone through all this trouble to make himself appear innocent to his family, friends and associates.

But the very fact that Detective Lyman was at the center of this investigation raises my eyebrow. In my experience Lyman seems to take silly bits of information and make a case out of it. He loves the polygraph. Sometimes I wonder if investigators use the polygraph when there is no real evidence in a case.

Nonetheless, the real issue here is credibility. Detective Lyman lost all credibility with me, my family, and my friends. So if someone who was the subject of his investigation tells me that he is innocent and Lyman went to great lengths to make a case, I'm more apt to believe that person.

I am by no means anti-law enforcement. I believe that vast majority of police officers and detectives do their best to keep the public safe. And I tend to side with law enforcement on most issues agaist them. I feel we need to respect law enforcement and of course trust them. Unfortunately, people like Detective Lyman betray that respect and trust.

The votemaster

2008-01-10T08:28:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to remind everyone of this website. It's great during election years.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Never be alone!

2007-12-13T15:15:00.000-06:00

This cartoon helps educate kids on how to stay safe at Church. You never know what might happen if a priest and an alter boy are alone in the same room.

Who made the cartoon? You might be apt to think the Onion published this. Or maybe some anti-catholic group. Nope. This cartoon is from a coloring book put out by the Archdiocese of New York.

It seems that the Catholic Church is so over-run (financially) by scandal that they have to actually teach kids to be safe around priests.

I guess this is their way of cleaning things up.

Huckabee lost the weight, now he should lose the homophobia

2007-12-11T08:14:00.000-06:00

Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is enjoying a lot of media attention lately. Many conservatives feel he is their man for the Republican presidential nomination. And certainly compared against Rudy Guiliani, who is open about his support of gay rights and is pro-choice, and Mitt Romney, who has a past of rather liberal opinions on social issues, Huckabee seems like a gift from the Almighty to conservatives.

And indeed he is conservative. Anti-gay, pro-life, and he's an ordained minister to boot. His conservatism is not a newfound glory, as seems to be the case with Mitt Romney. Just take this excerpt regarding the AIDS crisis from 1992 when Huckabee was running for the US Senate:

"We need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

So it sounds like Huckabee was suggesting that we create an AIDS colony somewhere and put all fo the HIV-infected people there. I'm not sure what else "isolate from the general population" would mean.

When asked about this comment recently, Huckabee responded, "I still believe this today." However, he was quick to also mention that he "didn't say we should quarantine." But back in 1992 AIDS had not ravished the general population like it had the gay population, and I really cannot find another logical interpretation for Huckabee's comments other than he wanted to quarantine all the gay people with AIDS.

The fact that he is unwilling to see the homophobia of his past statement is alarming and demonstrates to me that he is incapable of even coming close to representing my interests.

Yet another anecdote from undergrad

2007-12-10T14:24:00.001-06:00

My freshman chemistry professor was a riot. Everything was presented in a humorous yet informative way. He had a great story involving orange juice dilution and his kids (about C1V1 = C2V2; the story ended with his wife coming down to breakfast, after which he abruptly ended the dilution game and gave his wife the undiluted remainder). He also demonstrated electronegativity using his "relationship" with the overhead projector.

However, the most memorable moment I have of him was very early into the first semester. He often would adorn his sentences with various colorful adjectives, most of which were taken from the so-called mild trinity of "shit", "hell" and "damn."

In the second week of class, before he began his lecture, he announced, "I received a message and it seems that some of you were a little bit offended by my use of adult language."

I was a bit surprised, since I assumed everyone there was 18 or older. Who would make such a complaint?

He continued, "well, I looked at my driver's licence and it turns out that I'm an adult...so fuck that!"

The room erupted in laughter. That was the only time I heard him use a non-mild trinity word. And while I feel a little sorry for the person who made the complaint and got totally side-swiped, his point is well taken. He's an adult; we're adults.

Welcome to college.

Getting the lead out

2007-12-10T08:40:00.000-06:00

Apparently there's lead in Christmas lights. I think the media has gone overboard with the lead warnings. I can see a legitimate reason to warn the public about lead contained in toys, but Christmas lights? Give me a break.

I thought everyone knew this, but lead is only toxic if taken orally or somehow introduced into your body. It cannot be absorbed through the skin. In addition, it is in general not very toxic to adults, but rather poses a threat mostly to children.

So therefore, if you're worried about the lead in your Christmas lights, then you're telling me that your children are eating your Christmas lights. In which case, I think you have bigger worries than lead poisoning...like electrocution.

Quickie Quiz

2007-12-07T09:10:00.001-06:00

Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama is:

a.) pointing to his close friends who attended his speech.

b.) asking an Iraq War veteran to stand and be recognized.

c.) pointing at absolutely no one...this just looks good on camera.

d.) attempting to Disco like John Travolta.

Conservapedia

2007-11-28T08:17:00.000-06:00

http://www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page

Maybe some of you have been to Conservapedia before, but I wanted to point it out others who may not have seen it. Unlike Wikipedia, which can be edited by any registered user, Conservapedia is a submission-based site. Users submit changes that are then reviewed by the founders of the site. These changes must conform to the stated "Conservapedia Commandments", which I assume were written on stone tablets on high.

While Wikipedia has a core policy of neutrality, Conservapedia creator Andrew Schlafly has stated that "It's impossible for an encyclopedia to be neutral. I mean let's take a point of view, let's disclose that point of view to the reader."

When you abandon neutrality, you are no longer writing an encyclopedia; you are writing propaganda. Just how biased is Conservapedia? Here are a few quotes:

In their article on homosexuality it is stated:

"There are notable instances of prominent homosexual organizations being permissive towards pedophilia or condoning/promoting pedophilia."

According to their article, "prominent homosexual organizations" include NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association). NAMBLA?!?! They've got to be joking. Clearly NAMBLA would condone pedophilia, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the gay communities across the nation who supports NAMBLA or even considers them a prominent homosexual organization. Prominent organizations, if you ask me, include the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays (PFLAG), and various state organizations such as Fair Wisconsin. None of the these organizations condone pedophilia in any form.

In their article on evolution it is stated:

"Creationists can cite quotations which assert that no solid fossil evidence for the theory of evolution position exists."

That's funny because this idea of "no transitional forms" loses more and more ground every day. Just look in palentology or archaeology journals and you'll see that scientists are still finding new fossils. The"gaps" in the fossil record are being filled in. If these creation "scientists" had any idea the odds of an organism being fossilized and the odds of that fossil being found, they might understand that it will take a while to fill in the "gaps." Just as an example, the idea of the dinosaurs evolving into modern birds had been around for a while. Eventually, several fossils were found that filled in the "gaps", supporting this theory. So this argument about not finding transitional forms is hogwash.

I could talk for days about their presentation of irreducible complexity, but I'll spare you that rant.

It is interesting to note that Schlafly once stated, "I've tried editing Wikipedia, and found it and the biased editors who dominate it censor or change facts to suit their views. In one case my factual edits were removed within 60 seconds — so editing Wikipedia is no longer a viable approach."

Well, Mr. Schlafly, when your views contradict centuries of scientific precedent and spit in the faces of countless researchers who actually took the time to investigate the natural world, yes, perhaps people will correct your rediculous "factual edits" with haste.

Of course there were those who attempted to vandalize or otherwise alter the content of Conservapedia. After they were blocked, they created their own page: http://www.rationalwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page.

Haley Barbour's electile dysfunction

2007-11-27T08:21:00.000-06:00

Mississippi law states:

"If a vacancy shall occur in the office of United States Senator from Mississippi by death, resignation or otherwise, the Governor shall, within ten (10) days after receiving official notice of such vacancy, issue his proclamation for an election to be held... within ninety (90) days from the time the proclamation is issued and the returns of such election shall be certified to the Governor in the manner set out above for regular elections, unless the vacancy shall occur in a year that there shall be held a general state or congressional election, in which event the Governor's proclamation shall designate the general election day as the time for electing a Senator, and the vacancy shall be filled by appointment as hereinafter provided.

The issue here is that:

1. Senator Lott has announced his intention to resign BEFORE the end of 2007 (no doubt to avoid new lobbying laws).

2. Governor Haley Barbour announced that he will appoint an interim Senator and a special election will be held Nov 4, 2008.

Clearly, by reading the Mississippi law we see that since Senator Lott is resigning BEFORE 2008, a special election must be held no more than 100 days after Lott's resignation, which would make the election some time in or before April 2008. Will the governor dodge this law so he can appoint the person of his choosing? Or perhaps he will follow the law and hold a special election when he should.

Or perhaps Senator Lott will wait to resign until January 1, 2008. This way, according to Mississippi law, the special election could take place on Nov 4, 2008. However, that would also mean that Senator Lott won't be able to put his knowledge of politics to "good use" for a large lobby until January 2010.

Lott for sale

2007-11-26T11:16:00.000-06:00

Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) will be resigning from the US Senate by the end of the year. You may remember that Senator Lott was majority leader until 2002, when he said that the country would have avoided "all these problems" if Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist Presidential bid had been sucessful. While Lott never elaborated on what "all these problems" are, pretty much everyone, including his own party, knew that he meant "all these black people." Despite his pleas of "poor wording", he was forced to give up his leadership position.

However, it seems that, according to the Republican Party, racism is a temporary affliction. He was reelected in 2006 and was awarded the number 2 position as minority whip. Now, after such a triumphant return, a rebirth of the phoenix if you will, we hear the Senator Lott will be resigning.

This one confused me. At first, I thought he was simply abdandoning ship. Things are tough for the Republicans, and they're not going to get any easier any time soon. But then I stumbled upon a new law that kicks in on January 1, 2008 which forbids lawmakers from lobbying for two years after leaving office. Those who leave by the end of 2007 are covered by the previous law, which demands a wait of only one year. This way, he can secure a well-paying job as a whore for a drug company or maybe big tobacco by the end of 2008. If he were to wait until the end of his term, or even the next election, he would be closing in on the ripe old age of 70.

Excellent choice, Senator Lott. Don't serve the people of Mississippi in the Senate. I'm sure your skills as a lobbyist will serve this nation much better, right?

Iranian official says gays should be executed

2007-11-14T07:30:00.000-06:00

The Advocate
published Tuesday, November 13, 2007

A high-ranking Iranian leader told members of Britain's Parliament at a peace conference in May that gays deserve to be executed or tortured, according to a story in The Times of London.
Mohsen Yahyavi, a member of Iran's Parliament, is the most prominent politician to admit that Iran enforces capital punishment against gays, after multiple reports alleged that gay youths in the country were being hanged.

The controversial comments arose while delegates discussed the 2005 public hanging of Mahmoud Asqari and Ayad Marhouni, who were both under 18 at the time of their arrest. A video of the execution was posted on the Internet, upsetting human rights activists.

In response, Yahyavi "explained that according to Islam gays and lesbianism were not permitted," according to the meeting's minutes. "He said that if homosexual activity is in private there is no problem, but those in overt activity should be executed (he initially said tortured but changed it to executed). He argued that homosexuality is against human nature and that humans are here to reproduce."

He also argued that homosexuality has caused the spread of several diseases, such as AIDS.
Ann Clwyd, a member of Britain's Parliament, told The Times that Yahyavi's comments caused alarm among delegates.

"It is of great concern that these attitudes persist, and we made it clear what we felt," she said.

Scopegate (full version)

2007-11-13T14:22:00.000-06:00

The story you are about to read is based on actual events. Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I’m Sergeant John Lyman, Detective Lieutenant, Grand Valley State University Department of Public Safety.

08:10 Monday

I was late. Kids, traffic, the usual. In a rush, I spilled my coffee on my lap as I was getting out of my car. I threw the cup to the ground, teaching it a lesson. I made my way into the precint. A few of my coworkers greeted me with the typical head nod, a few glancing down at my wet crotch, wondering if I had pissed myself.

As I was pushing paperwork that I should have finished last Friday, the Captain handed me a folder.

“John,” he said, “this came in over the weekend. It seems that there is some equipment missing from the biology department.”

“What kind of equipment?”

“Looks like some microscopes, a printer, maybe a digital camera,” he explained.

“Sounds serious, I’ll look into it.”

“Thanks John.”

I opened the folder and looked at the single piece of paper contained within it. It was a typical report for stolen property. A student reported to his professor that a digital camera was missing. They soon realized that a printer and microscopes were missing…20 microscopes.

My heart raced. This was a big case. 20 microscopes is a lot. I thought perhaps it was the tip of the iceberg. Maybe there was a huge academic crime syndicate working at Grand Valley, stealing equipment and selling it on the black market to China. Maybe if I solved this case I could get promoted to Captain. Captain Sergeant John Lyman, Detective Lieutenant. I liked the sound of that.

I knew I had to get to work. But first, something more important: I had to take a dump.

09:00

I drove up to the Hall of Science, parking on the grass between the bike racks and the fire hydrant. I walked toward the building and heard a student say something about bacon. Funny, I didn’t smell any bacon and the cafeteria was on the other side of the campus. Drugs, the kid was probably on drugs. All these kids were on drugs…and pot.

Anyways, I made my way up to the office of Leondardo Davis, the professor who filed the missing property complaint. I knocked on his door, which was partially open. He turned around in his chair and said, “Oh, come in.”

“Professor Davis?”

“Yes, are you here about the microscopes?”

“Yeah, I just need to ask a few questions.”

“Sure, go ahead, take a seat.”

“So a student of yours found that a camera was missing?”

“Yes, Paul Cook was going to use it and it was gone.”

“I see, and this student, is he here now?"

“No, he’s in Indiana for the summer doing research.”

“Research huh? Is Paul into drugs, Mr. Davis?” I pulled out my notepad and started taking notes.

“Drugs? Uh, I really doubt it.”

“You never can be too sure. Does Paul have access to the room where the micrscopes were stored?”

“Well, yes he does. I mean all research students do.”

“I see. So let me just make sure I understand this. Paul has access to the room where these microscopes were stored. Now they are missing. Paul also was the person who supposedly found that the camera was missing."

“That makes him a suspect?” he asked.

“With as much experience as I have, you learn to look for patterns, Mr. Davis,” I explained. “Many-a-time the person who comits the crime is the same person who reports the crime…sorta a cover, ya know?”

“Maybe, but I really doubt Paul stole anything. He’s a good student and I don’t think he’d throw away a promising future like that.”

“Nevertheless, Mr. Davis, I would like to talk with him. Did Paul have a roommate while he was here? Or did he have close friends in the department?”

"Well, yes, he had a roommmate. And he had friends in the department.”

“I see, and who was his roommate?” I asked.

“Well, his name is Stefan and he was a student in the department. He graduated already.”

“Hmm. So Paul and Stefan were roommates and both in this department. See, 20 microscopes is a lot of microscpes. I don’t think someone could do this alone.”

“Probably not, but I still want to go on record as saying Paul, or Stefan for that matter, did not do this.”

“Does Paul have a car, Mr. Davis.” He seemed to be getting frustrated.

“Yes, he has a car. But not to be rude, it’s Dr. Davis.”

“Oh, sorry. So he has a car. Interesting.”

“Well, detective, I really have some work to get done, so if there’s nothing else…”

“Sure, thank you for your help. This has been quite informative.” I left his office and looked over the notes I took. I really began to think my theory was right. It just fit so well. A student conveniently noticed that a camera was missing, the same student who had a car and had access to the room from which the microscopes went missing. Furthermore, his roommate also had access to that room. And now, both of them are conveniently not here anymore.

This was too good to be true. I could really feel that this was going to be a big case. A burning in my belly told me so. But perhaps that was just the burning I usually get every morning that can be cured with a few glazed donuts.

13:20 Monday

I looked into who this Stefan person was. His full name was Stefan Kilyieunow. I figured he was Dutch. But there was something about his name that didn’t sit well with me. It seemed like the name of a criminal.

I did some asking around and soon my skills as a detective paid off. I received some information from a guy named Matt Joelsco, who knew both Paul and Stefan. This guy said that Stefan, who worked in the chemistry department, had a hatred for the biology department. It all made such perfect sense. Means, motive and opportunity.

Matt also said that Stefan and his girlfriend had an encounter with an officer in my department during a traffic stop. I looked into it and found the report. The stop involved a red 1985 Cutlass that was driving through campus. The officer observed the break lights tap on and off 30 times in three blocks. Suspecting a driver under the influence, the officer pulled them over. The report stated that when the female driver opened the window, a peculiar odor emanated from the vehicle. The officer asked what the smell was, and the male passenger who was identified as Stefan Kilyieunow, responded sarcastically that the smell was probably “chemicals” since he worked “in a lab.” The officer felt that the male occupant was being evasive, but had no probable cause to detain them. The officer issued a warning for careless driving and let them go.

This Stefan character was surely trouble. I got his parents’ phone number and called them to arrange a visit to the station. Although they were confused, they said they wanted to help in anyway they could. Stefan and his father were to come on Tuesday afternoon. He probably had no idea what his son was up to.

08:12 Tuesday

Late again. I was getting a rookie who started last week and just finished with all the procedural stuff. I was going to show him how real detective work is done. When I walked into my office, he was already sitting across the desk.

“Good morning, sir. I’m Officer Mark Murray.” He said.

“Oh, sorry I’m late. We’ve got some important things to do today.”

“Excellent, I look forward to learning from you, sir.”

Rookies, so green. So impresionable. I figured our first order of business should be to check out Paul’s legal address. Since he’s out of town, maybe we can find something of interest there.

09:45

The house appeared to be a duplex. There were no cars in the driveway, but there was a carport with what appeared to be a covered boat in it. Paul’s address was Apt. 1. I rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. No one answered. I rang the door bell of Apt. 2 and knocked on the door. Eventually we heard noise coming from upstairs, followed by thumping footsteps making their way down the stairs.

An unshaven man with no shirt on opened the door.“Yes?” he said.

“Good morning, I am Sergeant John Lyman, Detective Lieutenant and this is Officer Murray. We’re from the Grand Valley Department of Public Safety.”

“OK.” The guy said.

“We’re looking for Paul Cook. Do you know him?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s my nephew. My sister owns this building.” I looked at the rookie and told him to start writing this stuff down.

“And do you know where he is?” I asked.

“I think he left for the summer somewhere. I’m not sure where, though.”

“When did he leave?”

“Last week sometime.”

“And do you know what he had been doing for the past couple weeks? Anything out of the ordinary?”

“Well he and some queer friend of his were working on his boat. I think they took it out somewhere.”

A boat! It occurred to me that they could use the boat to traffic their stolen property. This warrented further examination. "Do you mind if we look around out here?” I asked.

"Sure, I guess.”

We let him go and made our way back to the boat. It was covered with a canvass cover, a cover that would do an excellent job of keeping microscopes dry and out of view. The rookie and I pulled back the cover, but I didn’t find any microscpes.

“Nothing.” He said.

“No, not nothing.” I said. “Look, binoculars.”

“Binoculars?” He asked.

”Yes, two pairs of them. Why would someone have two pairs of binoculars in a boat?”

“Well it looks like one is a low power and the other is higher power. Maybe they birdwatch or something.”

"Birdwatching? Who birdwatches?" Rookies...so green.

"I don't know, science people?"

“See this is why you have to pay attention to details,” I explained. “This is fishy. I’m looking for microscopes and I find binoculars. I’m starting to think Paul and Stefan are part of a larger optics smuggling ring.” I could tell by the look on my Rookie’s face that he was impressed with my analysis, as he was completely silent. "Are you writing this down?" I asked.

We left to go back to the station and get lunch. My rookie had more departmental stuff to do in the afternoon, so I was alone again.

14:40 Tuesday

The afternoon arrived quickly. I took a longer than usual nap in my car, which I had parked behind the dumpsters by the cafeteria. I just made it back to the station in time for my interview with Stefan and his father.

Another officer escorted them into my office. Stefan was very blonde and I realized that his last name was indeed Dutch. Police intuition.

I asked them to have a seat, but his father said that he preferred to stand.

“So I’m sure you know why you’re here.” I started.

“Not really, do you think I heard something about this stuff?” Stefan said.

“Maybe you did. But I think you’re more involved than just that.” It’s important to put people on the hotseat. I continued, “In fact, let me ask you point-blank: did you steal some microscopes?”

His eyes flashed to his father and then back to me. “No, sir. Absolutely not.”

“And why should I believe you?” I asked.

“Because I don’t need them and I have no reason to steal.”

“I see. What I can’t figure out is what someone would do with this number of microscopes. What do you think?” I wanted to trap him.

“I have no idea, since I’m not interested in microscopes, sir.”

“Right. Well, I’ve heard that you hold grudges with the biology department. Do you dislike them enough to steal from them?”

“What? Grudges? I’m a chemist and prefer chemistry. I don’t have anything against the biology department, I just don’t like biology.”

“I see.” I noticed he was getting pretty white in the face. I’ve seen this hundreds of times. People get scared and the blood runs from their face. “What, son? Are you scared? You look pretty pale.”

“Well, sir, I’m an albino.”

“Are you getting smart with me, son?” I asked.

“No, sir, it’s a genetic disorder.”

“I see. And just how long have you had this ‘genetic disorder’?”

“Um, well all my life, sir.”

“I see. Why are you squinting so much, son? And why are your eyes red? Are you on the pot? Would you be willing to take a drug test?” I knew that rapid-fire questions can fluster people, making them more apt to make mistake. I was good at flushing lies out.

“Well, sir, because I have albinism, my body doesn’t make certain pigments, which causes my eyes to be red. And it causes my vision to be pretty bad. I’m legally blind and squint a lot. Because of that I can’t even drive.”

Can’t drive? But his roommate Paul could! And Paul had a boat. I wondered if Stefan was the mastermind here and he recruited Paul to help, with promises of money and drugs. “I see, will you take a drug test?” I asked.

“Alright, alright, detective,” his father interjected. “That’s enough. What is the purpose of all this?”

“Mr. Kilyieunow, I need to be thorough.” I explained.“Thorough is fine, but this is rediculous. If you’re going to sit here and accuse my son of being a thief and a drug user, then I think we should seek counsel.”

“There’s no reason for that. Just a few more questions.”

“No, no more questions. We’re done. If you have more questions, we’ll come in with our attorney.”

“That’s your right, Mr. Kilyieunow, but would you and your son consider taking a polygraph?”

“No, we’re leaving.”

They left. But what didn’t leave was my suspicion. Why was his father so defensive? I really began to think his father was in on the deal. Maybe he needed some extra money…Perhaps he had a gambling problem. Besides, how well can a career in physical therapy pay anyways?

09:00 Wednesday

I overslept. Good thing I wasn’t working with the rookie that day. I snuck in the back door of the station and made it to my office without being seen. I don’t think anyone noticed that I was so late.The morning took my attention away from the Case of the Stolen Microscopoes to deal with other cases. Someone had apparently put laundry soap in the fountain outside the student center and suds covered much of the sidewalk. Damned kids and their drug highs. By afternoon, I had interview more than 20 students and was on my way to solving that case.

In a more troubling case, a public computer in the Honors College had its floppy disk drive stolen. I packed up the computer as evidence and sent it to the state crime lab to have it dusted for finger prints. Sure it's a costly measure, but justice must prevail.

15:30

I reached a dead end with Stefan and his father. They were clearly hiding something, but without more evidence, I couldn’t persue them. I turned my attention again to Paul. I called his mother to try to put some pressure on her.

“Hello.” A woman answered.

“Hello, ma’am my name is Sergeant John Lyman, Detective Lieutenant with the Grand Valley State University Department of Public Safety.”

“OK.” She said.

“Are you Ms. O- Um…O-jack-nick…Um…Is it O-jack-nick-chuck, Paul’s mother?”

“Uh, yes, this is she.”

“Ma’am, I’m investigating the theft of some microscopes from campus and I would like to talk to Paul about it. Do you know how I could reach him?”

”Oh, well he’s in Indiana for the summer. Do you think he knows something about it?”

“Well, ma’am, I actually have reason to believe he’s involved with the theft.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” She said. “There’s no way he’s involved.”

“Well if he’s not then there’s nothing to worry about. But I would like to talk to him.”

“I think you’re barking up the wrong tree here, but let me find the number where he can be reached.” She left the phone for a minute and came back with the number. She seemed like a nice lady. It was a shame her son had her fooled.

I was about to dial the number Paul’s mom gave me, when Officer Callahan walked into my office. She was the hottest thing in the department. A fine young woman with a sexy East Texas drawl that drove all the guys crazy. I really wanted to sexually harrass her. She handed me some papers pertaining to the Case of the Sudsy Fountain. I stood up to take the papers, but in so doing, my thigh hit the desk, shaking it enough to cause a bag sitting on the edge to fall off.

“Oh!” I said. She reached down to pick up the bag, when a bottle fell out. “Let me get that!” I panicked.

“Oh, I can.” she said and bent over to get it.

“No, it’s OK.” She picked it up and looked at the label.“VIAGRA” it said in big letters.

“Oh,” she said. “Um, sorry. I mean, I’m sorry that I did that…I’m not sorry that you have a…well…I mean, I’m sorry about that too, but I meant…I…I’m just sorry.” She was flustered. “Here are the papers,” she said, and left.

It was really embarrassing. But a dame like her wouldn’t go for a guy like me anyways. She’s interested in the jet-set cool kids with their Calvins and their Abercrombies and their gelled hair.

It's nap time anyways.

16:20

I called the number Paul’s mom left me.

“Hello?” A male voice answered.

“Hello, I’m Sergeant John Lyman, Detective Lieutentant, Grand Valley State University Department of Public Safety.”

“OK.” He said.

“I suppose you know why I’m calling,” I started.

“Um, actually, I have no idea.”

“Right. Well, it turns out that some property was stolen from the biology department here and I’d like to talk about it with you.”

“Oh, well if you think I can help…”

“I do,” I said. “In fact, I think you can be of a lot of help.”

“OK, what do you want to know?” he said.

“Well, we can’t do this over the phone. When will you be back to Michigan?”

“I’ll be here until the middle of August,” he said.

“I see. Where exactly are you?”

“I’m at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.”

“Bloomington, eh? A college town, lots of interesting types there, I bet.”

“I suppose.” “If I were to drive down there, would you let me ask you some questions?”

”Here, in Bloomington?” he asked.

“Yes, there.” I said. I figured having him away from his usual protections would make him more vunerable and he would give up his secrets more easily.

“OK, fine I guess.” I told him I’d be in touch once I got this cleared with the Captain.

TWO MONTHS LATER

11:45 Saturday

The case had gone cold. The Captain wouldn’t let me go to Bloomington. Something about probable cause and budget concerns. I call it bureaucracy getting in the way of good police work. See, this isn’t like CSI or Law and Order. Here, crimes aren’t solved by high-tech gadgets and DNA “evidence.” Here, crimes are solved by hard work and determination.

It was late August. Classes had just started last week and I knew Paul would be back in town. I tracked down his campus address from the registrar records. I drove over to his apartment and rang the doorbell. A guy answered the door.

“Yeah?” he said.

“Are you Paul Cook?” I asked.

“Yup, how can I help you?”

“Hi Paul, I’m Sergeant John Lyman, Detective Lieutenant, Grand Valley State University Department of Public Safety.”

“OK.” He said.

“Can you come down to the station to answer a few questions?” I asked.

“Sure.”

“When can you come?” I asked.

“How about right now?” I escorted him down to my car and drove him to the station. I directed him to a meeting room and told him I’d be right back. I went back to my office and got a cup of coffee, then went at PrisonChics.com for a bit. About twenty minutes later, I went back to see Paul. It’s good to let them wait around and get nervous. I had brough in with me several folders filled with paper. Much of it was scrap paper that I pulled out of the recycle bin near the copy machine. I walked into the meeting room and dropped the stack of folders on the table with a big thud.

“Sorry that took me so long, police business, you know.”

“Sure.”

“So, as you can see, I’ve been pretty busy with this case.”

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

“Let me be frank. I first want to ask you: did you steal this property?”

“No,” he said.

“And why should I believe you?” I asked.

“I have no need to steal and it’s not in my character.”

“I see. What I can’t figure out, is what someone would do with this many microscopes. I mean, we’re talking about 10 microcopes here.” I watched the expression on his face to see if he noticed I undercounted the microscopes.

“I have no idea.” He said. His expression looked honest. He was good. A seasoned liar, I could tell. His answers were short and concise. I wondered if he’d been questioned by law enforcement before.

"So are you good with computers?" I asked.

"Maybe a little above average, I suppose."

"So you know that any time you use your keycard to get into the science building, a record of your entry is kept."

"Make sense," he said.

"So if you're good with computers, I bet you could have changed the log to remove your entry from the computers."

"Maybe, but I really wouldn't know where to start. I don't know where the computer is and even if I did, I'm sure it's password protected."

"I see," I said, "Now, still, I just don't get what someone would do with this many microscopes."

"Me neither," he said.

“Now, what about your friend Stefan?” I asked.

“What about him?”

“Well, I mean, do you guys steal a lot of stuff?”

“We don’t steal anything.”

“Right. What about his father? Why is his father so defensive?”

“I don’t know. I can’t speak for someone else.”

“Well I tried talking to them, but his father is very defensive and I can’t get any answers from them. Does Stefan’s father always protect him?”

“Well, I mean Stefan has had difficulties over the years with his albinism, so I imagine he relies on his parents a little more than the average person our age.”

“I see. Paul, let's talk hypothetical. What would you do with all these microscopes if you did steal them?”

“I can't speculate since I'm not interested in microscopes and I don't steal things.” He said. He was good. I knew I had to turn up the heat.

“Well, Paul, would you be willing to take a polygraph?”

“And what would that accomplish?”

“Well, it would rule you out.” I explained.

“Rule me out of what?” he asked.

“It would you out of being under suspicsion.”

“Well, I’m not going to give an answer to that question right now. I’ll need to talk it over with my parents and others who can advise me properly."

Paul was very crafty. He knew just how to get around my questions. I brought him back home and later I did a background check on him and any possible aliases he might have. He was clean. A very careful person, no doubt. But he will slip up, they all do.

09:45 Tuesday

I was typing up my reports when the Captain came into my office.

“John,” he said, “we have to talk.”

“Sure, what can I do for you, sir.” I said.

“John, I got a call from the Chair of the Chemistry department. He asked us to stop talking to Paul about the microscopes and he’s willing to give a statement as a character witness on Paul’s behalf.”

“Wow.” I said. “And you believe him?”

“I do, John. At the very least, let’s let thing settle down a bit.”

“Yes sir, I’ll put my resources elsewhere.” The Captain left. Paul had everyone fooled, even the Chair of the Chemistry department. And now even the Captain was falling victim to his smooth-talking ways. I began to realize that if I was going to solve this case, I might have to step things up a bit. The Captain didn’t know the case like I did, and I wasn’t about to let it get away from me.

13:40 Wednesday

I developed a plan. It was two-fold. First, I was going to set up surveillance outside Paul's apartment at night to see what his nighttime activities were. Most criminals do their work at night. And second, I was going to setup a sting operation. I had some connections who could get me some merhandise that Paul might be interested in.

05:00 Thursday

I had to get up early. I had an informant on Grand Rapids's rough-and-tumble westside who was arranging to get me some equipment for my sting operation. We met in an alley behind Adobe Tacos and transferred 10 microscopes, 5 sets binoculars, 3 telescopes, and a digital camera to my car. I gave the informant an envelope with $2000 cash. He got me the equipment "at or under cost", as he put it. I don't ask him questions much, he's too valuable. He helps me out from time to time, and I turn my head just as often. I took the equipment back to work and kept it in my office.

04:30 Friday

I snuck into the science building before anyone else got in and put the equipment in the hallway near where Paul's lab was. I knew it would be too tempting for him to pass up. Now all I had to do was watch and wait from my car across the street. I saw Paul enter the building around 7:30 that morning.

14:20

I had fallen asleep in my car around noon and was awoken later by a lound knock on my car window. It was the Captain. I rolled down my window.

"Oh, hi Captain." I said.

"John, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Well, sir, I have reason to believe that Paul will be stealing more equipment this afternoon, so I'm keeping on eye on the building." I said.

“Yeah, it looks like it...John, didn’t you get that memo I put on your desk Tuesday afternoon? Or the voicemail I left on your cell phone?”

“What memo? Voicemail?” My desk was a tremendous mess and I never actually figured out how to retrieve my voicemails.

“John, the Chair of the biology department called me and said that the microscopes weren’t stolen. There was a mix-up over funds with a professor who left. It turns out that a professor thought the microscopes, the printer and the digital camera were purchased on his transferable funds and he could take them with him. He took them without really mentioning it. They figured it out and the equipment was returned last week. You really should listen to your voicemails.”

“Oh,” I said.

I was foiled this time. Maybe Paul and Stefan didn't steal the equipment. Maybe they've been innocent all along. But I don't think so. I think they're the type who look for opportunities and take advantage of them. Well, if they do, they better not do it on the campus of Grand Valley State University, because I'll be watching.

I'm always watching.

Comments

Anonymous said...
you had a run in with the cops huh?
9:33 AM

Paul said...
Well it was really just a run-in with one detective who felt like wasting the tax payers' money.
10:31 AM

Edward said...
when did creative writing become part of the chemistry program?
1:18 PM

Anonymous said...
hurry up already, you are keeping me on the edge of my seat...What happens next?
3:54 PM

Paul said...
Who said this blog had anything to do with my education? Furthermore, much of this story is true anyways...not much to create.
8:55 PM

Tidbits

2007-10-30T14:09:00.001-05:00

1. I think it's crazy how early the Presidential campaign started this time around. I bet a lot of Americans are already sick of it. Many states have moved their primaries up to early January, and there's some chance that Iowa could hold its primary in December. That's right, it's possible that we could have 10 months of general election campaigning.

2. Things still don't look good for the Republicans. Hillary Clinton has nearly 3 times as much money as all of the Republican candidates combined. Barack Obama has nearly 1.5 times as much money as his Republican rivals. There are many out there, however, who feel that Hillary cannot win regardless of how much money she raises. I'm not sure I count myself among them.

The situation is similar in the House and Senate races, where Democrats have many millions more to spend on their campaigns than the Republicans do. Additionally, Democrats are defending far fewer seats in either chamber. Although not likely, it's at least possible that there could be a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate (that's at least 60 seats, folks).

3. Are we heading into a recession? With oil prices going up and up, a housing market showing no signs of improvement, and most Americans in jobs that are not increasing pay at the rate of inflation, I'm starting to wonder. The story for the richest of the rich, however, only gets better.

4. The state of Wisconsin finally has a budget, as of last week. The Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled assembly could not, until recently, reach a compromise that they could give to the Democratic Governor. It was a typical stalemate: Democrats wanted to increase taxes on cigarettes and a few other areas to pay for state programs, but the Republicans wanted to decrease taxes. The Republicans refused to pass the governor's budget, and, as a result, many local governments would have to raise property taxes to make up for the shortfall (in Wisconsin, the absence of a budget does not mean government shutdown, it means automatic funding at the previous year's levels). So I think that sorta back-fired for the Republicans.

Harry Reid follow-up

2007-10-03T12:27:00.000-05:00

So I realize in my last post I was a little harsh on Harry Reid. However, when one considers some of his life experiences and compares them to his current demeanor, the contrast is great.

For example, Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Comission from 1977 to 1981, a post that subjected him to death threats. Reid's wife once found a bomb attached to one of their cars. Jack Gordon, the manager and future husband of singer Latoya Jackson once tried to bribe Reid. Reid allowed the FBI to tape Gordon's attempt to bribe him with $12,000, at which point Reid attempted to strangle Gordon, saying "You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!"

I can't imagine this quiet, low-key Mormon doing that now...

Quickie Quiz

2007-10-02T09:52:00.001-05:00

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is :

A.) Fielding reporters' questions about important Senate business including congressional oversight of the executive branch, the war in Iraq and the healthcare crisis.

B.) Getting stumped by a hard question.

C.) Trying really hard to remember where he parked his car.

D.) Wondering where his spine went.

OK, I don't want to be mean to him, but I've been a little disappointed with him since...well, since he became minority leader after Tom Daschle was defeated by Jon Thune in 2004. Harry Reid doesn't project an image of strength and his leadership skills quite frankly, are dismal.

I'm not sure why he's been wasting the Senate's time with silly measures like the condemnation of MoveOn.org (whose NY Times "Betray-Us" article, by the way, I think is stupid and certainly doesn't elevate the dialog, but nonetheless is not an issue the US Sentate needs to take up). I'm also disappointed that he hasn't been a stronger supporter of Iraq War solutions such as Senator Jim Webb's amendment to require troops have a resting period between deployments. He should be on TV every day telling the American people how the Democrats want to solve this issue, while the Republicans only want to pass the issue on to the next President. But alas, he isn't.

I think other prominent Democrats in the US Senate would be much better leaders including Senators Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Dick Durbin, or even someone like Carl Levin. Unfortunately, there's politics even amongst politicians and for some reason, Harry Reid came out the winner.

Still alive

2007-09-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

OK, so I'm not dead. I actually have several things I want to write about, but my days at work are pretty much packed full. And who wants to write when they get home in the evening? Not me. Anyways, new posts will come, I assure you.

To honor intellect

2007-08-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

The Miss Teen USA pageant aired on NBC this past Friday and wow did South Carolina send its finest!

Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina, displayed the product of a high-quality Southern education.

One judge, Aimee Teegarden, an actress from NBC's Friday Night Lights, asked her this question:

"Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can't locate the United States on a world map. Why do you think this is?"

Upton's answer:

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children.

Um, yeah. She doesn't have much of a grasp on the issue...or reality. It's not so easy thinking up an intelligent answer as opposed to regurgitating a canned, prerehersed response, is it?