If there really had been a Mercutio, and if there really were a Paradise, Mercutio might be hanging out with teenage Vietnam draftee casualties now, talking about what it felt like to die for other people's vanity and foolishness.
--Kurt Vonnegut's Hocus Pocus p151
Women Bridging Gap in Science Opportunities - NYTimes.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
4:54 pm EDT, Jun 5, 2009
In recent years “men and women faculty in science, engineering and mathematics have enjoyed comparable opportunities,” the panel said in its report, released on Tuesday. It found that women who apply for university jobs and, once they have them, for promotion and tenure, are at least as likely to succeed as men. But compared with their numbers among new Ph.D.’s, women are still underrepresented in applicant pools, a puzzle that offers an opportunity for further research, the panel said.
The panel said one factor outshined all others in encouraging women to apply for jobs: having women on the committees appointed to fill them.
In another report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Wisconsin reviewed a variety of studies and concluded that the achievement gap between boys and girls in mathematics performance had narrowed to the vanishing point.
Hallelujah! Girl power!
And rock on, Dr. Cross, who recently joined the ranks of the PhD femme fatales. :-)
Free Press: media reform through education, organizing and advocacy:
Topic: Miscellaneous
1:20 pm EDT, Jun 4, 2009
In crafting the national broadband plan, the Federal Communications Commission must protect Internet users from corporate gatekeepers who seek to keep prices high and speeds slow, limit access to content and stifle innovations and market choice. Net Neutrality must be a basic and enforceable rule of the Internet. The plan must also ensure that every American -- regardless of their race, income or location -- can connect to broadband at prices everyone can afford.
Why the Doninger decision is dangerous and Sotomayor must not be confirmed.
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:50 pm EDT, May 29, 2009
This post links to the Doninger decision, joined by Obama Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor. I think its a very dangerous decision that represents a view of the Constitution which runs counter to its intent.
Great post! You perfectly explain the case, results, and ramifications. All I learned about laws and legal jargon I got from Law and Order, so needless to say there are some deficiencies in my education. :-)
Hey, have you seen this case of her's? Seems there are also concerns about her persuasiveness.
Movie Review - Drag Me to Hell - Mud and Guts - NYTimes.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:13 pm EDT, May 29, 2009
Swift and sure, “Drag Me to Hell” unfurls in vertiginous, comic-book frames, like a long-lost issue of “Tales From the Crypt.” Neither small humans nor smaller animals are exempt from the carnage, which is orchestrated (by Mr. Raimi and his screenwriting sibling, Ivan) to recall memorable moments in horror-movie history. The most chilling of these is the sight of the old woman’s car (played by Mr. Raimi’s own 1973 Oldsmobile), idling in the parking garage like the malevolent Plymouth Fury of John Carpenter’s “Christine.”
Hot shit! Sam Raimi's back in the horror genre and he's brought his car!
National Briefing - Science - Astronauts’ Urine-to-Water Test Successful - NYTimes.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:33 pm EDT, May 21, 2009
The three crew members of the International Space Station raised plastic pouches in a toast of their first taste of urine that had been recycled into drinkable water. “The taste is great,” said Michael R. Barratt, a flight engineer. A recycling system, installed last fall, purifies the urine. Recycling is crucial, especially with the station crew expanding to six people this month, because of the cost of transporting water from Earth. At the station’s mission control room in Houston, people cheered and drank similarly recycled water. A distillation unit in the system initially proved balky, and a replacement was brought up and installed in March. After the system passed tests, the station’s two astronauts and one cosmonaut finally took a sip.
Pay attention, kids. This is where the world is heading.
State of the Art - With a Private MiFi Hot Spot, Be Online Wherever You Like - NYTimes.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
3:25 pm EDT, May 20, 2009
What if you had a personal Wi-Fi bubble, a private hot spot, that followed you everywhere you go?
Incredibly, there is such a thing. It’s the Novatel MiFi 2200, available from Verizon starting in mid-May ($100 with two-year contract, after rebate). It’s a little wisp of a thing, like a triple-thick credit card. It has one power button, one status light and a swappable battery that looks like the one in a cellphone. When you turn on your MiFi and wait 30 seconds, it provides a personal, portable, powerful, password-protected wireless hot spot.
YouTube - Story of Stuff, Full Version; How Things Work, About Stuff
Topic: Miscellaneous
1:25 pm EDT, May 11, 2009
Another terribly unfortunate aspect of our education system in the hands of conservative Christian activits. This video is the best example grammar school teachers have of the wasteful ways of American consumption. What's even more unfortunate is how shamefully bias the video is, so much so that it can't possibly achieve a very wide audience (especially, ahem, in Georgia where I live).
In particular, she demonizes (among other things) landfills and incinerators as if operators of those facilities created the problem of restricted disposal area in the first place. She fails to mention other important aspects of dioxins, such as how barrel burning contributes significantly to the problem.
At any rate, if you're a newbie to sustainability, it's a great intro to a fascinating topic.
