February 28, 2006
Wasn't there a political party once called the Know Nothings?
If you are feeling up to it, here is a 50+ comment thread from a group of clowns that know absolutely nothing about home education, not that it stops them from throwing out their poorly informed and highly bigoted opinions as fact.
They seem to consider themselves a group of enlightened progressives, yet they are absolutely terrified of the idea of a kid getting educated without government influence. If this is the face of the Democratic party, the Republicans sadly have nothing to fear.
Permalink | Comments (4)February 27, 2006
links for 2006-02-28
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A Myspace FAQ for parents - for those you that don't get it
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Since we all know HS'ers are just watching Soap Operas (or should that be Daytime Dramas?) all day while the kids play video games...
Now this is a sunrise.
I stole this pic from this site, that documents the final trip of a military aircraft to the aircraft boneyard in AZ. It stopped on Kwaj on the way.
I lived that sunrise for two years, although on the rare occasions that I actually saw it I was still up - not just getting up ;)
The complexity of my life leads me to occasionally miss the laid back island lifestyle.
February 26, 2006
links for 2006-02-27
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Probably more reliable than any official govt site
The Philips RC9800i - Missed it by that much
Philips Electronics sent me a $400 remote control to play with play with and write about. It's not a trip to Amsterdam, but hey, I'm not complaining.
When I got the box I was psyched. I've had a Home Theater Master 500 for a couple of years, and I've never been completely happy with it. So I jumped at the opportunity to replace it with the latest and greatest, without spending a dime of my own cash.
We will start with the good. The RC9800i is not so much a remote control as it is a small hand held Linux device optimized for home theater control. Anytime you add a Linux device to your network you gain geek points. Geek points are good.
Yes, I said add it to your network. It talks 802.11, and with the addition of the provided software to your computer, the remote device acts as an audio streaming proxy and streams MP3s on your PC through your stereo system. 99% of my MP3s originated with my CD collection, so the feature is of limited real value to me. But it's still fracking cool.
Set up is nice too. After the software update was completed (via USB cable to my computer), it spun up a wizard that asked me a bunch of questions (in plain English) about my home theater setup, walked me through some tests of the system, and then told it when it was done. It was exceptionally easy.
However, that ease of use comes with a price in flexibility. I suspect most home theater geeks will be annoyed by some of the limitations.
The most irritating limitation is the device's lack of ability to deal with stereo components that don't have a remote control. My CD jukebox is circa 1997 and does not have a remote control. That stops the set up process cold. There is no way that I found to tell the RC9800i to forget about the remote codes and move on. The only way to move on was to delete the CD player from my set up. I had to come up with a hack workaround that involved telling the device that I was going to play CDs via the DVD player, and having it set the inputs on the receiver for the CD player. It works, but that isn't the point. A $400 device designed to control home theaters should be able to handle a legacy component without the user having to come up with a hack workaround.
I had the same problem with the PS2. The RC9800i thinks the PS2 has a wireless remote. Maybe the newest models do, but mine doesn't. Again, I had to delete it from my set up.
The idea of the remote is that you push the "Play PS2" button on the touchscreen, and the remote turns on your PS2, switches the video equipment on, changes the inputs appropriately, etc. If you don't have wireless control of the PS2 it should at least be able to set up the rest while you push the power button on the PS2. Again, I could have hacked it by using the another button, but that is not the point.
If you have remote control on all your devices, it works great. I push watch TV, and the TV comes on, input changes to Tivo if necessary, the receiver turns on, and switches to the proper audio input. The remote seems to do a good job of picking up the expected functions from your remotes. You can add user defined buttons for functions that don't automatically transfer across.
However, there are usability issues. Number one is the form factor. A remote control should fit comfortably in one hand, leaving the other hand free to access your beverage as you channel surf. The 9800i isn't really a channel surfing friendly remote. The form factor doesn't work for me. Also, you have to page through 3 or 4 screens to get to some fairly common remote features. There doesn't seem to be a way to rearrange what buttons are accessed on what screens. I'd like to be able to customize that and get my most common functions on one screen. Also, the ability to program a bunch of buttons for your favorite channels on one screen would be cool too.
The bottom line is that the potential is there, and since it is Linux based new features are only a software upgrade away. This may evolve into the mother of all remotes, but I don't think it is there today.
Permalink | Comments (0)February 25, 2006
links for 2006-02-26
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IAATM
Loundoun County VA providing a Mickey Mouse Education
In Loudoun County VA, AP History students watch Mulan in class, to illustate ancient chinese history, and a science class watched The Lion King, because it illustrates The Circle of Life..
And I thought I was just being snarky when I refered to the Mickey Mouse education provided by the schools!
via Joanne Jacobs
Permalink | Comments (1)February 24, 2006
links for 2006-02-25
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1. Attach nanotube to cancer cells 2.Heat nanotube with laser 3. Cancer cell goes boom. Very early stage research - but very cool.
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Schools are letting teachers and not tests decide who belongs in the gifted prgrams. What could possibly go wrong?
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Kennewick man is 9000 years old - or about 3000 years older then the earth itself. So who buried him?
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This company builds Scooby Doo bookshelf doors and secret passages into your house. How cool would that be?
Feel good story of the day
This is a great story. A high school basketball coach let his autistic team manager suit up for the final game of the year, and then put him in the game with 4 minutes left, as a reward / thank you for enthusiastically tackling the thankless job of fetching water and towels all year.
The idea was hopefully to set him up to score a basket.
Instead, he went out and buried 6 threes in 4 minutes.
Check out the CBS news video. Just try to stay in a bad mood after watching this.
Permalink | Comments (3)The ultimate definition of homeschooling
I may have found a definition of homeschooling that I actually like.
Homeschooling is an education without the bullshit.
Nice!
via Daryl, of course.
Permalink | Comments (1)February 23, 2006
links for 2006-02-24
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Homeschooling one day - but I nominate her for best looking homeschool blog anyway. I wish I had that kind of design talent.
Chinese Democracy Lives! Maybe
Both remaining Guns N Roses fans must be bouncing off the walls tonight. Rumor is that the long awaited (as in about 10 years now)next album from Axl Rose, Chinese Democracy - is really going to hit the streets sometime soon. They even leaked songs this time.
I downloaded the three tracks and listened. My official review is meh. There is nothing particularly awful about the tracks but nothing particularly great either. If I want to hear GNR I'll crank up Appetite For Destruction.
Permalink | Comments (2)An Orgasmic House Cleaning Experience
Remember those Herbal Essence shampoo commercials that were all the rage a couple of years ago? You know, the ones where the hot women turned down dates and social opportunities because washing their hair was such a self-satisfying experience.
I think I just witnessed that in real life.
My corporate masters sent me the new improved Swiffer Sweeper to review. I've been pretty harsh on Swiffer products, and I really had no expectation that this would be different.
Michelle used it to mop the floors tonight, and reported back that she liked it. That's not exactly true. She squealed something along the lines of greatest thing ever. Really, she couldn't stop gushing about how great this thing is. Elevated heartbeat, flushed skin, big smile, all the signs were there. She was having a really fine cleaning experience, or the fumes from the toilet bowl cleaner were getting to her.
The big deal is the new wet cloths for it. One of them allows her to mop all 3-1/2 of our bathrooms without pulling out the mop and pail. I wasn't really aware that the mop and pail were such a problem. Actually, they never were for me. On those rare occasions that she has asked me to mop the floors, I just used the nearest sink as the mop pail. However, I've been married long enough to know better than to argue about a $6 cleaning product that makes my wife this happy.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a drug store that is open late and has the Swiffer Wet Cloths in stock ;)
PS. Note to the suits at Swiffer - if I see any TV commercials involving hot women really enjoying cleaning the floors, I expect a royalty check, or maybe a part in the commercial. We can talk about it.
Permalink | Comments (4)ODonnellweb: The source for ukuele hip hop
The Internet works in very odd ways. My two recent posts related to ukulele tunes apparently has caused Google, or some search engine, to make me an authority, because I was contacted by another ukulele musician. Or maybe it's just a very, very odd coincidence.
This time it's Jon Braman, DC resident and ukulele hip hop artist. Yes, he raps over his ukulele. I wasn't sure what to expect when I clicked over, but I have to say, it pretty much works. So here we have an urban dwelling, environmental activist rap artist, emailing a suburban family man that just bought a gas guzzling SUV this weekend (and is prone to listening to Twisted Sister at loud volume), to ask me to review his album of ukulele hip hop. (The CD actually is going to Ryan, so I'm sure it'll appear at ADDreviews shortly.) This never could have happened 10 years ago.
It's all good though. Check out Daisies - it's my favorite of the tunes he has posted.
Permalink | Comments (0)February 22, 2006
links for 2006-02-23
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JJ Redick - he shoots, he scores, he was homeschooled.
February 21, 2006
links for 2006-02-22
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Patriot Guard Motorcycle club drowns out protesters at military funerals - cool.
We are living in a police state
You absolutely must read this post at The Agitator. If this is even 1/2 true it is blood-curdlingly outrageous. Balko is usually a straight shooter - so although some of the details may be off, I'll bet this story is mostly true.
If none of this bothers you in the least, please go away and don't hang around here no more. You scare me.
Permalink | Comments (2)February 20, 2006
links for 2006-02-21
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Tom and I disagree on "Algebra For All" graduation requirements.
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The op-ed refernced above / below
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Sicko doesn't even begin to describe it. The wife was smart enough to not sign it.
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no mention of pasta anywhere.
February 19, 2006
links for 2006-02-20
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The HEMI has its own web site.
Car Shopping Ain't What It Used To Be
I'm done car shopping, finally. Over the last few weeks we've been in and out of 6-8 dealerships. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of stupid sales tactics. In fact, not one salesperson exhibited any of the pushy, lame behaviors so associated with the car business. In every case, they facilitated test drives, answered questions, and let me walk out of of the dealership with little to no pressure to make a deal today.
Yesterday we headed out with a list of Ford Expeditions to look at. After a no-go at the Kia dealership (didn't have the tow package) and a no-go at the Ford dealership (didn't have any used Expeditions at all) we went to an independent dealer that has a lot of high-end 2-3 year old vehicles. We drove 2 Expeditions, and looked at about 6 others. Michelle wasn't feeling the love for any of them. We took a lunch break, and decided to look at the rest of his Expedition stock, then head over to the Dodge dealer to take a 2nd look at Durangos. We drove a Suburban too, but Michelle hated it. The indy guy mentioned he had a 05 Yukon XL at his warehouse that he could have available in about an hour, so we told him to bring it over and we'd come back after the side trip to the Dodge dealer.
Dodge had an 05 Durango with the HEMI, leather everything, DVD and NAV system, basically every option Dodge offers, and only 17K miles. Predictably, Michelle did feel the love for this truck. Also predictably, it was at at the extreme top of my price range. However, when I thought about it in terms of what I was getting for the additional $5000 I was spending, the Dodge made a lot of sense. According to Edmond's.com, I negotiated a deal about $400 under true market value, so I'm pretty happy with the deal.
One place the car business needs to improve though is the after the sale paperwork. We were there about an hour after I shook hands on the deal, and they were not busy. Breck commented that he thought when spending that kind of money, they want to get the money as soon as possible. It is a good point. I had about an hour before I signed anything binding to get buyers remorse.
So now we own a Dodge truck. Add to that the cowboy hat I bought Michelle for Valentine's Day, the fact that I find myself tuning in FM 104.5 (country that rocks) far more often than the rock stations, and of course the horse, and I think the transformation is official.
I've gone country.
Permalink | Comments (4)February 18, 2006
I learned a new word - heteroflexible
This rather eye opening article was forwarded to me by a reader who can ID himself in the comments if he desires.
The article somewhat sensationalizes the apparent trend of high school girls who are flexible about the sex of their partners. The percentage of girls 15-19 who report same sex intimacy is the same as the percentage of 15-44 year women who report the same. Which of course means that all our daughters are turning into lesbians.
What I really found interesting though was the level of acceptance among their peers. I'm a child of the 80s. High school lesbians were unheard of (or at least I don't remember ever hearing of any), and guys who were even thought to be gay were tortured mercilessly. I don't think most teenagers have any idea what they are or aren't. If working through those issues can be done without the constant fear of public humiliation or an ass-kicking, that's probably a good thing. I suspect most of the kids will continue to experiment through college and eventually get married and start families. I don't think acceptance of what was once considered extreme automatically changes the norm. Getting married and starting a family has worked well for the human race for a long time. That may change someday - but I don't think it'll happen in a single generation.
One one level, it's just friend with benefits with a more liberal definition of friend. I was not a model teenager, nor were most of my friends, yet all of us have grown up to become responsible adults. I don't see the constant pushing of the envelope from the teenage set as a real big threat to society.
Feel free to throw that last paragraph back at me in a couple of years.
Permalink | Comments (4)February 17, 2006
links for 2006-02-18
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Purdue as the real life incarnation of the Hickory Huskers.
PS Student Comment
He / she added the comment to the wrong post. Must be that stellar education at work. It was too good to leave hidden though.
new comment has been posted on your blog O'DonnellWeb, on entry #2224 (The Blizzard of 2006).
View this comment:
Edit this comment:
IP Address: 66.216.136.92
Name: public student
Email Address: [edited]@aol.com
URL:
Comments:
You guys got it all wrong. See you're the ones who are screwed up. If you think public schools are bad then wait until you're children go to college and can't get accepted because of their grades. Its not their faught that you guys think you're doing the right thing by keeping them a home. hey its ok it just shows that you're an unstable person that needs the comfort of not only screwing up your life but your childrens lives too. Oh and by the way people in public schools don't let a "pencil-necked Statist bureaucrat dweeb" jerk with their schedules. We simply don't go to school the days we have something planned! DUH?
Permalink | Comments (6)Would you buy a used rental car?
A dealer in the area has a couple of loaded Ford Expeditions, under 20K miles, with the factory tow package. On paper, they are exactly what we want, and the price is right too.
However, a Carfax search turned up they they were both rental cars in their previous lives. My Budget Rent-A-Car summer job in college convinced me that I never, ever, wanted to own a former rental car. However, that was 20 years ago and I'm willing to be open minded if anybody can convince me otherwise.
Anybody have an informed opinion?
Permalink | Comments (12)February 16, 2006
16-7
I haven't written anything about coaching basketball this year. However tonight was a game for the ages. It was round one of the playoffs. We were leading 3-0 at Q1 and losing 6-5 at halftime. Coaching offense has never been my thing. We've excelled over the last 4 years by playing the best defense in the league.
The game ended 16-7 us. That's right, they scored 1 point in the second half. And it's not like they didn't have some talent. They had two kids larger than my biggest kid, and several guards that could handle the ball.
With 3 minutes left in the game the other coach instructed his kids to foul at every opportunity to stop the clock. That's about as bush league as you can get in youth basketball. It really wasn't that much of a change in strategy though. Hack and foul seemed to be the MO the entire game. We were probably 5-20 from the line.
I've been losing by 1 in the last minute several times and I've never instructed the kids to foul to stop the clock. The point at this age is to teach them to NOT foul.
Our reward for the win is the #1 seed in the next game. We lost to them 31-28 earlier this year. We ended the season 4-4. Our 4 losses were to the teams seeded 1-4 in the tourney. There are 14 teams in the league and we play 8 games. It's a random draw on the schedule. Could my luck have been any worse?
Now that we are in the playoffs I've spun it to the kids that we are the only team in the league that has faced all the best teams, and we know we can beat them all if we bring our A game.
Permalink | Comments (1)February 15, 2006
links for 2006-02-16
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This is so cool
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good advice served up with snark.
Family Game Night Suggestions
We added to the coffers of Days Of Wonder again this past Christmas, and now that we've played everything...
Ticket To Ride Europe - It's the sequel to Ticket To Ride, which we still play a lot of around here. The European map adds some challenge as us Americans usually don't know where everything is over there. A few new rules make strategy a more important part of the game. It's still great fun though.
Pirate's Cove - Now this is fun. You get to be a Pirate and pillage islands, fight other Pirates in grand naval battles, and bury your loot, as you vie to become the most feared Pirate of the seas. Strategy will help to good player win more often than not, but the dice falling your way is still a big part of the game.
Shadows Over Camelot - This my friends, is beginners geek crack. The road starting with this game can only lead to musty basements full of empty Mountain Dew can after an all day D&D gaming session, and an unhealthy knowledge of Star Trek trivia. It's a cooperative game, all the players work together to overcome the forces of evil. Unless one of the players is a turncoat working for evil. Tread lightly here. It's great fun, simple enough for the pre-teen set to get, and plays in about 90 minutes. But oh, the places you'll go ;)
All the games can be learned in 5-10 minutes, and played in 45 to 90 minutes.
PS. Ticket to Ride has a computer game out now too. It's evil. It will suck away your life as you constantly play just one more game. Not that I have a problem. I can quit anytime I want. Really. I can.
Permalink | Comments (1)Oh My God, They Killed Billy.
Sorry, I finally had time to watch last week's Battlestar Galactica. I caught up on 24 last night too.
Permalink | Comments (0)College? Meh
Homeschool Buzz pointed to this LTTE from a home educated teenager who questions the value of a college degree.
There are plenty of people with degrees who are the biggest fools I have ever met. Some of them are even considered "experts" in their fields, according to the fancy papers on the wall, but I know of people who may have no degrees and are far more qualified for the job. When it comes down to it, I'm really out to please God and my family, then myself, first. And everyone else? Their opinions just don't matter.
She has a point. An undergraduate degree today is the functional equivalent of a high school degree in the 1950s. It's the price of admission to corporate America. I hope my kids have much higher aspirations than joining corporate America.
Permalink | Comments (1)February 14, 2006
links for 2006-02-15
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Interesting profile of Lee Iococa's efforts to finance a cure for diabetes.
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Women's Biathlon: Women, on skis, in tights, with guns. This should be much more popular in America.
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A reasonable treatment of the subject.
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Tom and Katie to split, Of course, he has probably implanted mind control thetans in her by now, so he ownz her. Ba ha ha
Brittni Paivna - (Not A) Spam Artist
This post has been redacted and corrected because the author is an idiot.
It turns out that a reader left a link to Brittni in the comments of the While My Ukele Gently Weeps Post. I have no idea why I didn't see that connection and think to check there. I really have to stop assuming the worst about people.
Even if the worst usually is true.
So check it out - traditional Hawaiian Ukele. If this doesn't make you think about lounging on Waikiki Beach, or hanging out sipping Mai Tais at the Tiki Bar in the International Marketplace, well you just aren't human.
i wonder of that Tiki Bar is still there?
Permalink | Comments (0)Valentine's Day Haiku
Beautiful she is
Worthy? I am not, no way.
Lucky. That I am.
In other V-Day news, her present, which shipped from Chicago on 2/7, is still not here. It is scheduled to arrive at the local PO this evening, and I guess if I'm lucky it'll be delivered tomorrow.
If anybody sees that southbound Mule train please give it a swift kick in the ass for me. Maybe that'll speed it up.
Update: I got a stainless steel cocktail shaker, jigger, and lime squeezer. Who's coming over for daiquiris?
Permalink | Comments (1)February 13, 2006
links for 2006-02-14
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My local sherriff believes in "going all the way" to get the conviction
Were the schools ever any good?
Daniel sent this link to a brief survey through the decades that shows that Will Rogers had it right many years ago.
The schools ain’t what they used to be and probably never were
I think we tend to romanticize the past in many instances, not just schools.
Permalink | Comments (0)February 12, 2006
links for 2006-02-13
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William Baimbridge is an idiot.
The Blizzard of 2006
Maybe not quite a blizzard, but the snow on the deck was 7 inches this morning. It took me about an hour to shovel, then I took the kids to the park to go sledding.
The roads are fine. That didn't stop the county from closing the schools tomorrow and canceling the planned day off for President's Day next Monday. All those parents that might have been planning a 3 day weekend are now screwed. I really don't know how people put up with some faceless stranger deciding on their schedule for 75% of the year.
February 11, 2006
links for 2006-02-12
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cool lightning tracker
February 10, 2006
links for 2006-02-11
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Stay at home classrooms? I think I'm going to gag
Top 15 Biblical Ways to Get A Wife
List here. I thought this one was particularly appealing.
8. Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter for a wife -David (I Samuel 18:27)
Kidnapping, purchasing, and taking a prisoner of war for your wife are also listed as viable options.
Does the absence of meet her at a frat party on the list mean my marriage is a sham?
Permalink | Comments (1)If the schools are such bastions of good socialization...
...then why are they dedicating time to teach classes designed to curb the gossiping, rumor-spreading and snubbing that's endemic to girls.
Is it endemic to girls, or is it endemic to girls who go to school?
Permalink | Comments (7)February 09, 2006
links for 2006-02-10
Homeschool Stuff that's Bugging Me
Parents that forbid their 18 year old daughters to go to college, because a women's place is married, keeping house, and putting out on demand for her Godly husband. I'm not linking to the blog thread, but it was like a train wreck that I shouldn't gawk at, but did anyway. Even though it was royally pissing me off, I keep going back to read more.
If God wanted women subservient to men, He wouldn't have made them smarter than us.
Also, it seems like homeschoolers are increasingly referring to "their homeschools" as though it is some sort of separate entity. Do all these people have little one room school houses in the back yard? Did I miss that memo? I'm more and more ready to get rid of the term homeschool altogether. I have no idea why this grates on me, but it does.
HSLDA is proud of themselves for getting Oprah to notice us. I think we'll regret the publicity if she suddenly takes an interest. It's one thing for tree hugging liberals to homeschool, they aren't reliable straight party ticket voters anyway. But if "they" get the impression we are recruiting into the most reliable statist voting block in the country, some people will be very pissed. That is not a fight we want.
Could I be anymore curmudgeonly tonight?
Permalink | Comments (7)Swiffer Amazing Woman of the Year
Swiffer is running it's second annual Amazing Woman of the Year contest.
Cindy Crawford won last year, but that was only because I didn't nominate my wife :)
Going out on a limb here that Swiffer may not like...the contest seems very skewed towards women that are spending their time doing stuff beyond their own family. This is from the entry form:
If you know an amazing woman who deserves to be honored for her work at home and in the community, nominate her here. Tell us why this woman is amazing, including how she juggles all of her responsibilities, commitments and community service.
Quite frankly, I think the really amazing woman is the one that dials down the commitments and community service, in order to spend more time hanging out at the park with her kids.
Permalink | Comments (2)David Freidman on the "S" word
This suggests an important point about home schooling–it is, among other things, a way of making it more likely that your children's parents, siblings, and a few friends will function as the effective peer group. Seen from one standpoint, that means parents trying to control their children, mold them in their own image. Seen from the other side, the choice is between the parents' values and the values of a random collection of kids–and most parents know which they prefer.
Really, the whole S word argument boils down to that last sentence, choosing between your values and the values of a random collection of kids. Put that way, it's rather obvious which group has the socialization problem.
But we already knew that.
Permalink | Comments (0)February 08, 2006
links for 2006-02-09
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SOme amazing pictures here
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Craig said so, it must be true. I've sworn off arguing with idiots, but I'll continue to point them out for those of you that enjoy the exercise.
February 07, 2006
links for 2006-02-08
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Simple tool for removing ticks.
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A chain smoking (actually chewing) dachshund
February 06, 2006
links for 2006-02-07
I've been memed
This is usually a meme free zone ®, however since it was Ryan that tagged me, and I got nothing else to write about tonight, I'll play along.
Four jobs I've had:
- Convenience store cashier (twice)
- Dorm kitchen grunt
- Burger King (for about 2 weeks)
- Tech Sales (most of my adult life)
Four movies I can watch over and over again:
- Casablanca
- Raiders of The Lost Ark
- Better Off Dead
- Top Gun
Four places I've lived:
- Torrejon Spain
- Rammstein Germany
- Kwajalein, Marshall Islands
- Leesburg, VA
Four TV Shows love:
- Battlestar Galactica
- 24
- Lost
- Good Eats
Four Places I've vacationed:
- Panama Ciy, FL
- Jekyll Island, GA
- Corolla, NC
- Honolulu, HI
Four of my favorite dishes
- Lasagna
- Steak, grilled
- Fish, grilled
- PB&J - my lunch almost every day
Four sites [that are not really blogs] that I visit daily:
- The Bleat
- Soxaholix
- Boortz
- Fredericksburg.com
Four places I would rather be right now:
- Laying on a beach with my wife
- In a pub, in Dublin. Ireland, not Ohio.
- On my horse farm, if I owned a horse farm
- Australia
Four bloggers I am tagging:
- Daryl
- Andrea
- Doc
- Natalie
February 05, 2006
links for 2006-02-06
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Yes, you are reading the title properly.
73% of teenagers are into the occult
If by into we mean have played with a Ouiji Board, or read a book.
The most common types of witchcraft behaviors were using a Ouija board and reading a book about witchcraft or Wicca, each of which had been done by more than one-third of teenagers. More than one-quarter of teens have played a game featuring sorcery or witchcraft elements. One-tenth of teens had participated in a séance and 1 out of 12 had tried to cast a spell or mix a magic potion.
Note to fundamentalist wackos: If you can buy it at Toys R Us, it's not a tool of the occult. It's a toy.
BTW, I was guilty of all of the above as a teenager, except maybe the magic potions and spells. I don't think I ever mixed anything more devious than a cocktail :)
Permalink | Comments (1)Official Superbowl Thread
Go Steelers.
Not because I'm a Steelers fan or anything. It's mostly an AFC, and Pittsburgh is much closer to DC than Seattle, thing.
Halftime Update:
Pittsburgh Referees 14
Seattle Seahawks 3
Two horrible calls - one to take a TD away from Seattle, one to give a TD to Pitt.
The commercials: Mostly boring. Kermit the Frog was kind of cute, and the Sprint theft deterrant was funny.
The halftime show was boring. The Stones? Although the tennyboppers in the Tongue Pit going nuts to a song that has 20 years on them was kind of funny.
4th Qtr update: Seattle has a 1st and goal taken away on a phantom holding call. Three calls - 21 points.
If I were the conspiracy type...
Permalink | Comments (2)Zombie mind control wasps
This is both disgusting, and amazingly cool.
The wasp slips her stinger through the roach's exoskeleton and directly into its brain. She apparently use ssensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through the brain, a bit like a surgeon snaking his way to an appendix with a laparoscope. She continues to probe the roach's brain until she reaches one particular spot that appears to control the escape reflex. She injects a second venom that influences these neurons in such a way that the escape reflex disappears.
From the outside, the effect is surreal. The wasp does not paralyze the cockroach. In fact, the roach is able to lift up its front legs again and walk. But now it cannot move of its own accord. The wasp takes hold of one of the roach's antennae and leads it--in the words of Israeli scientists who study Ampulex--like a dog on a leash.
The zombie roach crawls where its master leads, which turns out to be the wasp's burrow. The roach creeps obediently into the burrow and sits there quietly, while the wasp plugs up the burrow with pebbles. Now the wasp turns to the roach once more and lays an egg on its underside. The roach does not resist. The egg hatches, and the larva chews a hole in the side of the roach. In it goes.
As JWZ noted, one does wonder what a kind and benevolent God was thinking when He intelligently designed this.
Permalink | Comments (3)February 04, 2006
links for 2006-02-05
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Captain Jack and Captain Mal are kindred souls? Very interesting thought.
Explain this picture
This picture is just begging for the creative talents of both my readers.
Also, if you happen to know the orgin of the picture, please share. The blog I found it on did not identify the source.
Permalink | Comments (5)February 03, 2006
Fred First on the importance of names
Fred postulates that we would all be much better stewards of the natural world if we simply knew the proper names (3.5 min MP3) of our non-human partners in the ecosystem.
I suspect that he is right. Quite frankly, most of what I know about the birds and trees I've learned from my kids. My only memory of any sort of natural education in the schools was pinning butterflies to poster board, and collecting plant specimens. Both were in 5th grade, and both involved killing the targets to bring them into class.
Great lesson that was.
Permalink | Comments (4)David Friedman on Unschooling
One of the assumptions built into the conventional version of K-12 schooling, private and public, is that there is some subset of human knowledge, large enough to occupy most of twelve years of school, that everyone needs to know. That assumption is false. There is a very short list of skills–reading, writing or typing, and simple arithmetic are the only ones that occur to me–that almost everyone will find worth learning. Beyond that, education involves learning things, but not any particular things. The standard curriculum is for the most part an arbitrary list of what happens to be in fashion–the subjects everyone is required to pretend to learn.
I liked this too.
I sometimes describe it as throwing books at them and seeing which ones stick.Permalink | Comments (1)
February 02, 2006
links for 2006-02-03
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scary what you can do with a cell phone these days
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Go on a cruise to talk blogging? I'd rather have my eyeballs gouged out with rusty spoons.
One of these things is not like the others
Now that I've stuck that Seseme Street tune in your head...
O'DonnellWeb is one of the 10 featured blogs for February at Athomeschool.com. However, one of 10 sites doesn't quite fit in. Can you pick it out?
Heh. And thank you to the proprieters of AtHomeschool for the link.
Permalink | Comments (2)Is an alcohol based economy the answer?
Any scientists (or non-scientists) in the audience want to comment on this? The argument is that with gas at over $2 a gallon, it is now economically feasible to pivot the country from a petroleum base to an ethanol and methanol base. The benefits are that both are better for the environment, and that we already have the technology and resources, thus we become much more self sufficient and less beholden to the terror merchants that control the the world's petrol resources.
The author (whose book on Mars I have read) contends that all this will happen with a simple decree from Congress that Detroit start producing Flexible Fuel Vehicles in mass, and that all vehicles be FFV within a few years. Allegedly, Brazil just did this and saw a 60% adoption rate within a couple of years.
For the record, I do believe we need to become much more energy self-sufficient. Whether it be by alternative fuels, or more drilling closer to home, is an open question. On a purely superficial level, if we can power the country on corn and coal, both of which we have plenty of, it seems like that would be a good thing.
What am I missing?
Permalink | Comments (18)February 01, 2006
links for 2006-02-02
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For some weird reason, I now regret never having sent a Telegram.
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For those of you still interested in debating the socialization topic, there is some good advice here. I'm sticking with the bean dip strategy
Quote of the week
I could kill you with my brain.
- River Tam
Permalink | Comments (2)Must Love Dogs
Must Love Dogs was the "date night" movie last weekend. The date was in the basement, but such is life when a real date night out of the house ends up costing $100 by the time we pay the sitter.
It's John Cusack and Diane Lane. Cusack plays that self tortured, philosophical underachiever that he seems to play in every movie. Diane Lane is the preschool teacher we all wish our kids had :)
It's the predictable romantic comedy formula. They meet, don't really hit it off, try again, fall for each other, break up, and the reunite in a sickingly sappy ending. If you are going to get stuck watching a chick flick, you could do a lot worse though. There are a few LOL moments, and did I mention Diane Lane was in the movie?
Permalink | Comments (2)