Tag: schools

Only Shorties Left Alive

Ok, I know why some of you are here: to get your sweet sweet dose of NSA links.

Turns out not: There’s no shortage of STEM workers. There may, however, be a shortage of STEM workers who want to work for crappy wages.

Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me: Which of these inventions is likely to be fake? Two teenage girls invent new bomb detector that could revolutionize getting around their home town, teenage boy makes browser plugin that allows you to see who a politician’s major contributors are with a simple mouse-over, or Egyptian military invents a gadget that can detect AIDS and Hepatitis C without taking blood samples? Regrettably, I cannot promise that Carl Kassel will record your voicemail message.

Sick of Politics and November is So Far Away: Pelosi thinks immigration reform is now a longshot (because hey, we can’t have a Democratic Kenyan President signing that into law or something). Republicans don’t like it when President Obama does things that President Bush and President Reagan did frequently. Maybe Senator McCain shouldn’t talk about ISIS anymore. And the Koch agenda.

A Couple Items on Abortion: Southern Beale points out that abortion restrictions don’t keep women from getting abortions, just from getting safe ones. And someone I’ve not had the chance to link to in a long time, MahaBarbara on “What If Banks, Not Abortion Clinics, Needed Buffer Zones?”

Have you ever wondered what these signs mean?: In short, the higher the number, the more dangerous it could be.

I’ve said it before: In areas where schools push the high school start time back, student traffic accidents dropped 70%. Oh yeah, and their grades improved.

Have you read this one yet?: It’s been making the rounds, just want to make sure everybody’s seen it.

And finally: A gun safety ad that doesn’t involve a made up tragedy.

Yo, Brian Williams “Raps”

 

In Closing: Ok, we got us a whole bunch of NSA stuff, including some items courtesy of Comrade Misfit; college graduation season is a nice time for life lessons, such as “it’s a bad idea to hide the fact that you’ve dropped out, and a worse idea to hide that fact by calling in a bomb threat to graduation”; the American worker is still screwed, more so if they are of color, and that’s partly because certain people in government thought it was more important to bail out the banks and businesses; I don’t even know what to make of this (EDIT!!); read the labels, people; oops, maybe appealing to science was a bad idea; I clearly don’t link Dave Johnson enough; the real reason for the War on Teachers?; introducing Naia; and Godzilla is growing.

Yet More Things I Learned This Semester

Yes, the semester is almost over and that means it’s time to share a few choice thoughts.

In General:

  • There are people who are willing to wait for a spot 100 feet closer to the building, even in nice weather. In the meantime, I’ve parked in the next lot over, locked my car, walked to the building, and made it to the 3rd floor while That Guy is still waiting for an ever-so-slightly closer parking spot.
  • You’d be surprised how many people don’t show up to class regularly and still expect to do well in that class.
  • Sorry, I already knew that time management is important.
  • Cleaning staff never notice graffiti on the back of a bathroom stall door.

In Spanish:

  • Spanish has two verbs that translate “to be.” Use one to ask “What kind of person is Juan” and the other to ask “How is Juan”. Use one to ask “Where is Maria” and the other to ask “Where is Maria from”. Use the wrong one, and you may well say “Teresa is boring” instead of “Teresa is bored.” Teresa would be understandably upset.
  • It’s alarmingly easy to mix up the verbs “to go” and “to see“.
  • You can do a lot with cognates. The one thing you can’t do is be sure you understand the correct thing.

In Microbiology:

  • Not only can viruses infect bacteria, they can accidentally take bacterial genetic material to the next bacterium when they leave.
  • The entire family of Penicillin related drugs works by pulling out the “molecular nails” that bacteria use to build cell walls. Resistant bacteria have an enzyme that breaks up the “nail-puller.” Viruses don’t have cell walls, and that’s why these drugs don’t effect them.
  • Look, you’re never ever going to wash every single germ off your hands. What’s more, you wouldn’t want to. The germs that normally live there help keep “opportunists” — that’s bad-guy germs — from setting up shop. So for pity sake, stop using that damned anti-bacterial soap.

In Anatomy:

  • If you are trying to remember a whole bunch of acronyms (say, hormone names), you are better off memorizing the long version. Otherwise the “alphabet soup” will drive you mad. Besides, often the long version tells you what the darn thing does!
  • How much carbon dioxide you have in your body determines a lot more things than the amount of oxygen. It effects your respiration rate, the pH of your blood, and more.
  • The first thing your body does with any carbohydrate you eat is turn it into a simple sugar. So, should a diabetic be eating a lot of pasta?

There you go. Now let’s have some In Closing: GOP is upset that their Nevada organization doesn’t want to keep fighting a lost battle; on debt; it does at least put a roof over head; I wish I could refute this; even Mitt “Rmoney” thinks that the minimum wage is too low!; death penalty follow up; Subway CEO tosses owner operators under the bus; the ACLU on NSA reform and letting cops hack your computer.

Red Oleander

IMG_20140508_185729

 

In Closing: Slippery slope; Empire in decline; ok sure, have some NSA, Snowden, spying, and bonus Homeland Security links; Yellen at nothin; deny it all you like; yeah right, it might result in a very nasty bit of commentary but populist revolt??; it’s almost like math teachers get bored and try inventing new ways to add and subtract (and places like Kumon and Sylvan make more money….); and better figure it out, Eric.

Not Really Much Music Monday: May 5th

In addition to being Cinco De Mayo…..

 

It’s the birthday of Karl Marx.

 

 

In Closing: It’s good to be the CEO; a couple items on sexual assaults on campus (and not just college campuses, of course maybe if kids didn’t have to go to school in the dark….); turns out it’s not illegal to give away books; vaccination works; somebody’s gonna have to do something real soon now; and the job creation numbers aren’t as rosy as they first seem. Maybe that’s why all those armed guys have time to defend the Bundy Ranch?

Music Monday: Modern Minimalism in March

Last week I introduced everybody to minimalism. Sure, there are “serious” composers doing minimalism, but I think that the dance music community has done a far better job with the genre. Notice the small selection of notes used and the repetition of slightly-changed thematic material. Oh yeah, and it doesn’t go on for a half hour:

 

In Closing: do you really think almost half of black preschoolers do things that warrant a suspension?; drug resistant bacteria are a problem; TPP; happy; random facts; birth control; on minimum wage, you can’t afford to live indoors; those damned tests; and marriage.

I bet I know how some jobs could be created….

More than half the nation’s public schools need to be repaired, renovated or modernized, a survey released Thursday found.

Getting these schools in good condition would cost about $197 billion….

Since to the best of my knowledge there’s no Renovation Fairy who can complete a project by waving a magic hammer, that work would have to be done by people. And since all those schools are here in the United States, there’s no outsourcing this to a foreign country with cheap labor. As a bonus, it might result in schools with fewer structural safety issues and better learning environments.

And when they’re done with that project, maybe they can do something about the 78,000 bridges that need a total of $3,000,000,000,000 in repairs.

Seems to me we can keep some construction workers busy for the foreseeable future.

In Closing: your dose of Snowden, NSA, privacy, CIA, and assorted related news; I guess Billie Jean was his lover, and the kid really is his son; sex work; and Vegas, baby.

Shorties’ Due

Enjoy some pre-SOTU appetizers.

Keeping an eye on us all: So, here’s the latest links on the NSA, privacy, spying, Snowden, the legality of anything the NSA is up to, and related issues. This just keeps getting messier.

No, the fact that it’s cold outside does not prove that global warming is a hoax: seriously, people.

Check the weather anyway, I think hell froze over: Ben Stein veers away from the party line and says that if the national debt is a problem, higher taxes is the answer.

Stuck in [what’s left of] the middle: on income inequality, the middle class, and related issues.

Afghanistan: I guess there will be no true peace unless everyone agrees to it.

Uh, what?: Some public school in Louisiana thinks that they are a Christian school, apparently. And the sad part is that they will “blame” the non-Christian family for making them teach in accordance with the First Amendment and the Law.

More relevant than he thinks: Religious extremism is dangerous, no matter what the religion is. See also, last two paragraphs.

Same as it ever was: Americans are not happy with their government. However, don’t expect anybody to “vote the bums out” anytime soon.

What, you want accurate facts too??: Rand Paul.

Anti-Abortion and Pro-Life are different things: Amen to that.

Why?: Why, exactly, was personal information about 74,000 on a laptop computer for any reason?

And finally: Budget Bourbon. My current brand of choice is represented, so I may yet try the others.

ZOMG! He’s Asking About the Future!

My local news channel decided to cover some information about the Arapahoe High School Shooter, specifically using this “chilling” — that’s Channel 8’s descriptor, not mine — quote:

During a 2010 9NEWS town hall style debate, the then-freshman was selected from the audience to ask a question.

“What would you like your legacy to be,” Pierson asked.

Concerned about his own legacy even then, he told friends he had big future plans that were centered around his passion for speech and debate.

Right. So let me make sure I’ve got this right. Every kid who plans for the future might be planning something sinister for the future? Do we lock them up, maybe get them mandatory counseling so they won’t worry about planning for the future any more?? See, the thing that confuses me is that I’ve been told since I was 12 that “winners” and “successful people” have goals they work towards, perhaps even seeking to leave a “legacy” behind in the world. Does that make Napoleon Hill a subversive writer? What about Paul J. Meyer?

What about kids who “had very strong beliefs about gun laws and stuff”? Should we lock them up? Do we need a suicide watch on any student thrown off a school team? Is attending Bible meetings a warning sign?

It’s easy to force pieces into a puzzle when you know what it looks like at the end. Human brains are built for pattern recognition. “In retrospect, there were warning signs.” Sure, warning signs that would apply to millions of people who do not bring a weapon to school with the intent of killing someone.

Many thanks to all those who made this incident as short as possible with few victims. Let’s stop glorifying murder now, shall we?

The Last Will and Shorties of Rosalind Leigh

On Education: Children living in poverty are everywhere, and standardized tests are not ready for them. For pity sake, we’re wasting time teaching kids who are still figuring out how to hold a pencil how to fill in little bubbles on scantrons. All hail the holy power of earning a completion certificate degree.

On Spying on American Citizens: Hilary says we need an adult conversation. Good luck in a world where we are all apparently afraid there’s a terrorist under the bed. But if they can track all Americans (illegally), how are they going to sort through enough information to find anything useful? Unless the goal is to be able to blackmail every single one of us? No wonder Snowden doesn’t think the internal reporting system works. There’s hope for reform, but it still looks like whitewashing to me.

Fat People with Thin Skins: Apparently don’t understand how the Unfollow button works.

Coolest Pope since Ever: Sold Harley, gave proceeds to charity.

On the working poor: It’s more than possible to work full time and still live in poverty. Some argue that the low wages paid to fast food workers turns into high profits for companies and high taxes for the rest of us who must subsidize their food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance. Then the poor have to put up with food stamp systems that go down, and risk losing their job for helping a fellow human being.

Whatever Happened to Vanilla Ice?: He cleaned himself up, realized he owned a bunch of property, fixed it up, and started hanging out with the Amish.

On Republicans: When Pat Robertson says your too extreme, it might be time to revisit your views. I’m still a little worried that the current “dialog” on a budget is going to turn into “dialog” on how we “have to” cut Social Security, Medicare, and anything else that doesn’t directly help rich people and/or influential Congresscritters.

Common Misconceptions: Enjoy.

Bankrupt, yet record profits?: How does that work, American Airlines??

Yeah, we could use some good news: Iran appears to want to talk like sensible people about nukes.

Human Rights: the comic.

And now for something adorable: 4 new cubs at a Vegas lion habitat.