“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed – Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, ‘It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.'”
— Anonymous
Courtesy of a quote Kristen found in London…and there is wisdom in it…oh yes…
Some statistics from the May 2006 issue of Popular Science:
It’s stuff like this that makes me consider teaching high school instead of going into industry, etc…or at the very least, teaching high school around retirement time rather than at a college somewhere…
Brooke and I are both reading a book now titled “The World is Flat,” by Thomas Friedman, which is about rapid globalization in the 21st century…how the U.S. is quickly falling behind other countries like India and China in technology, etc…? He points out how it can be a good thing for the U.S., since we as Americans tend to do well when we’re challenged (i.e. World War II, the Space Race, etc.), but we’ve gotta start getting in gear unless we want to be left behind.
In any case, it makes me wonder what everyone’s doing with their lives, then. If we’ve got so many people going to college nowadays, why aren’t more of them majoring in “pure” sciences or engineering? It’s not like getting degrees in physics or chemical engineering are going to leave you without a lucrative job when you get out… Maybe it’s because you really need a graduate education before you get a money-making job (not in all cases, of course)?
I dunno…I still find it sad, though…especially sad that the American public is more preoccupied with their own wealth and with Tom and Katie’s new baby rather than with trying to figure out how the world works and, therefore, how to fix its problems.
Does anyone know where that word came from? I mean, we were reading in a paper today and it struck me (not the first time, honestly…) how odd that word is. It’s a combination of three English words…like we used to spell it out in a sentence, but then we said it so often that we randomly decided to make it one word… Whose decision was that?!
Does anyone know where that word came from? I mean, we were reading in a paper today and it struck me (not the first time, honestly…) how odd that word is. It’s a combination of three English words…like we used to spell it out in a sentence, but then we said it so often that we randomly decided to make it one word… Whose decision was that?!
So, I’m in this class called “Special Topics in Biomedical Sciences II” where you read papers and discuss them. The papers generally follow along with what we’re getting in our lecture class, so it’s consequently divided up into “units,” of sorts, each with a test at the end. Well, our “Systems” (as in, systems of the body) exam was last Thursday. The grade is based 50% on participation and 50% on the exam for each section; participation is handled in a Socratic style, where the students have to each talk about the paper and what it means, how the experiments were done, etc.
Honestly, I was sure I did well on the exam, but I wasn’t too sure on my participation. We did the first few sessions as a full group, rather than dividing up into two smaller groups (which, all of the class agrees, is preferable)… In the first few sessions, I don’t think I really talked that much…I almost went and talked to Dr. Samson about how I was doing, ’cause I wasn’t really being called on or directed to describe any portions of the paper like some other students were.
Well, we got our grades back today for participation and the exam. I got the high score, overall.
😛
…now, if I can just buffer the grade in the lecture class a bit…hmmmmm…
So, I’m in this class called “Special Topics in Biomedical Sciences II” where you read papers and discuss them. The papers generally follow along with what we’re getting in our lecture class, so it’s consequently divided up into “units,” of sorts, each with a test at the end. Well, our “Systems” (as in, systems of the body) exam was last Thursday. The grade is based 50% on participation and 50% on the exam for each section; participation is handled in a Socratic style, where the students have to each talk about the paper and what it means, how the experiments were done, etc.
Honestly, I was sure I did well on the exam, but I wasn’t too sure on my participation. We did the first few sessions as a full group, rather than dividing up into two smaller groups (which, all of the class agrees, is preferable)… In the first few sessions, I don’t think I really talked that much…I almost went and talked to Dr. Samson about how I was doing, ’cause I wasn’t really being called on or directed to describe any portions of the paper like some other students were.
Well, we got our grades back today for participation and the exam. I got the high score, overall.
😛
…now, if I can just buffer the grade in the lecture class a bit…hmmmmm…
So, Slashdot has run a few stories in the past few days about global warming.?? According to a recent poll, 71% of Americans are now ready to believe that global warming is real and is a problem.? This is after researchers, for years, have said that it’s a problem.? Science Magazine, in Dec. 2004, reported that out of 928 scientific papers published in research periodicals, 75% accepted the “consensus view” that global warming is caused by humans, while the other 25% didn’t say either way; none of them said explicitly that humans are not the cause.
So, with overwhelming evidence, why is it that many people refuse to believe it? I mean, there’s a girl in my class that refuses to believe that global warming is caused by human involvement!? She admits that it’s happening, but says that it’s caused by the “natural cycle” that Earth goes through between ice ages. Perhaps most disturbing, researchers are finding it difficult to report their findings due to pressure from the Bush Administration, being told to remove references to global warming from web sites and their reports.
…so wtf?!? I mean, so far as the Bush Administration goes, they just want to keep us under an oil-based economy so they keep getting kickbacks from the Middle East, but why does the American public go along with it?!? Are the just stupid? What is with that remaining 29% that makes them not believe that humans are the primary cause of accelerating global warming?
…as with many social issues, I guess I just don’t get it…
So, Brooke and I drove up to St. Charles, MO today to go biking on the Katy Trail, in preparation for our trip this summer.? For those who don’t know (or don’t remember…), we’re planning on making a “vacation” out of biking the entirety of the Katy Trail, ~265 mi from end-to-end, starting near Sedalia, MO and ending in St. Charles.? So yeah, we went biking today ’cause a). the weather was gorgeous, and b). we hadn’t gotten to use Brooke’s new bike for an extended period yet, so it was about time to take ‘er out for a spin.
Anyway, we started at 1:20ish…got done around 4:20ish, so we spent about 3 hours…and biked for 30+ miles…and damn, does it hurt.? We weren’t really planning to go that far on our first outing this year (and I haven’t done a 30 mile-er since 2002…), but it was one of those “oh, we aren’t tired yet, so we’ll just keep going” situations…of course, just after we turned around, we were tired…and our butts hurt…
Regardless, it was a good trip and well-worth the pain to enjoy some good weather.? Needless to say, however, we’ve got some work to do before biking 265 miles…? 😛
My sister is a huge dork…
…but I miss her anyway…? 😛
My sister is a huge dork…
…but I miss her anyway…? 😛
