Bye-bye to subway photography
Ban looms for subway shutterbugsTransit officials are moving ahead with a planned ban on taking pictures, filming and videotaping in the subway system - saying it's a necessary security measure in the post-9/11 world.
The article goes on to say that the MTA rejected a less-stringent measure that would have allowed most photography, while still banning shots of dispatchers' towers, equipment rooms, and infrastructure such as tunnels and bridges. A 45-day comment period on this measure ends Jan. 10.Thanksgiving 2k4
What I Did On Thanksgiving Day, by Mikey Dietsch, age 36. [or skip the jabbering and go straight to Jen's pictures] Jennifer and I had a yummy Thanksgiving Day with lots of good food and fun things. First we went to Sarafina Broadway, where we met up with members of the Lunch Club. We had brunch while watching the parade pass outside Sarafina's big picture windows. Continue reading "Thanksgiving 2k4"Glenmorangie, 15
Purchased for Thanksgiving, but opened early for "quality control," this 15-year-old single malt is light on the smokey peaty notes that characterize other scotches. The Glenmorangie is heathery or floral, with notes of nutmeg and allspice, vanilla, chocolate, and almonds. As I sipped, it slightly zapped the tip of my tongue and the back, but it went down smooth with no burning.
[This is my first attempt at trying to describe the flavor and mouthfeel of scotch. Bear with me.]
Interweb spreds ingorance quickerly
An Alaskan librarian claims that the Web allows ignorance to spread "farther and faster than ever before." To prove his own point, he misspells the names of columnists Dan Gillmor and Dave Barry, and miscites the name of Gillmor's new treatise. Oops.Gazette readers blow it on 69
Readers of satire site Hoosier Gazette apparently didn't catch the satire, judging from this collection of recent letters.Theory, misunderstood again
A Pennsylvania school district is the first in the nation to approve the teaching of intelligent design, also known as "creationism in a cheap tuxedo." The district's website states: "Because Darwin's theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered." Again, we see complete disregard for what a theory means. The district's board members seem to feel that anything that's a "theory" is unproven and therefore open to question. But you know what else is a theory? Atomic theory, but let this school board tell the people of Hiroshima that atomic power is "just a theory." Continental drift is a theory, as is its cousin, plate tectonics, so I hope the board members will call up all their friends in California and tell them to suspend belief in earthquakes until more facts come in. And oh my goodness! Has anyone ever seen an electron? Electrical theory posits that they exist, but no one's seen one, so I guess electrical theory isn't a fact, either. Scientists might pretend that electricity is responsible for getting this message in front of your eyes, but they clearly don't have all the facts, so let's not believe them until we know more.Indiana highway is immoral
Hostettler mounting campaign to change the name of Interstate 69
John Hostettler, the Congressman representing the 8th district of Indiana, has been convinced by local religious groups to introduce legislation in the House that would change the name of an Interstate 69 extension to a more moral sounding number.
[It's a hoax, folks. Don't you think the proximity of "mounting" to "69" would be a dead giveaway? Seriously, though, in a country that changed U.S. Highway 666 to U.S. 491, I can't blame people for believing the hoax.]
My new hat!
I just bought one of these pretty things:
It looks just like this, except that mine is graphite, a darker grey.
Theory, expanded
So, let's recall our definitions. Merriam-Webster says that a theory is "a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena". How does evolutionary theory fit this bill? It provides a body of principles to explain the phenomena related to the origin and diversification of life. Scientists generally affirm these principles, even though some disagree on certain details--such as punctuated equilibrium. AHD, 4E expands on M-W: Evolution is a "set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena." The first part, up to the comma, I've already covered: Evolutionary theory is a set of principles, widely accepted by scientists, that explains a group of phenomena related to the origins and diversification of life. But AHD offers two points that M-W misses: repeated testing and predictions about natural phenomena. Evolution has been repeatedly tested. Take just one example: bacterial resistance to antibiotics. We know that certain diseases are now harder to treat with drugs because the bacteria that cause those diseases have evolved defenses against antibiotics. Evolutionary theory makes predictions about natural phenomena. Using evolutionary theories, scientists can make predictions about certain species might evolve to adapt to their environments. For example, evolutionary theory predicts that an organism in a rapidly changing environment should have higher mutation rates. So, to recap, evolution is a theory. It provides generally accepted and scientifically plausible principles to explain how life arose on Earth and how it attained its present diversity. Evolutionary theory makes predictions that scientists can test through observation and experimentation. A theory is not an intuition, a guess, or a hunch. The theory of evolution is not four teenagers and a dog riding around in a van chasing men dressed like ghosts because Velma had a "theory" about Old Mr. Scruggs. Dismissing evolution as "just" a theory shows a dramatic misunderstanding of what a theory is. See also "Evolution is only a theory," at EvoWiki.org.
New form of spam
Ben Hammersley discusses a new form of comment spam, in which a commenter leaves a generic comment like "Nice site!" or "I agree!" The URL in the comments points to the person's personal website (something like www.stephjones.com), but the URL doesn't resolve to an actual domain, so when you follow the link, the page comes up blank. Since the commenter isn't saying anything of substance, and since the URLs don't work, I've assumed these were spam and deleted all of them accordingly. I'm glad to see a reasonable explanation for why this is happening.Theory, misunderstood
Yahoo! News - Georgia Evolution Case Heads to Court ATLANTA - School officials in suburban Cobb County go to court Monday to defend themselves against a lawsuit accusing the district of promoting religion by requiring that science textbooks warn students evolution is "a theory, not a fact."Comparing covers
Yet another instance in which I prefer the UK cover (left) over the US version (right).
Theory, defined
M-W Online: 5 : a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena <wave theory of light> AHD, 4E: 1. A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena.Iranian sues U.S. for rights to publish memoir
Human-rights activist Shirin Ebadi (شیرین عبادی), a 2003 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is suing the U.S. government. Ebadi argues in her lawsuit that Treasury Department restrictions will prevent her from publishing her memoir in the United States. Treasury forbids American companies from publishing the works of authors in Iran, Cuba, or Sudan unless those works were written without American involvement.
Ebadi wishes to publish her book here in the U.S. because, in her home country, it would be subject to state approval--but ironically, it's subject to state approval in the land of the "free" as well.
[more, via Blog of a Bookslut]
Intellectual freedom, privacy, etc. / Reading and writing
Permalink | Comments (2) |
[Courtesy No books, please, we're democrats
I'm a little sorry to see that Maud Newton is disspirited, although I'm pretty damn depressed myself.
But news like today's is EXACTLY why books seem important to me, and why I take such consolation in them. I read not only for entertainment but also for edification, and had I not made such strong efforts to educate myself by selecting worthy books, I'd be just as willfully ignorant as the feelgood security NASCAR parents who reelected the Chimp.
Congratulations...
...Americans. May you get the government you deserve. Four more years of deficit spending to support regime changes, so that your children can bleed and die in Iran and Syria. A rollback of civil rights for women and gays. A president who confuses Sweden with Switzerland and, one assumes, Swaziland. But by god, he's resolute, and he won't waver one minute when he insists that Sweden is a country in southern Africa that neighbors Mozambique. You think I'm joking? Read on ... Continue reading "Congratulations..."My ballot
Following is a list of the races appearing on my ballot. Had I thought to prepare this sooner, I'd have incorporated links to candidates' home pages or biographies, where I could find them. (Also, although I know my polling place, I wanted to provide my precinct number here, but I can't find it online, and my voter-registration card is at home because I'm dumb.)
I think a Blogger Ballot Project would be a cool thing because it would provide an excuse for bloggers to go out and research the candidates and ballot initiatives that they'll see when they go to the polls.
Key to the parties follows.
PRESIDENT
REP George W Bush
DEM John F Kerry
IND Ralph Nader
CON George W. Bush
WOR John F. Kerry
PJP Ralph Nader
SOC Roger Calero
LIB Michael Badnarik
VICE PRESIDENT
REP Dick Cheney
DEM John Edwards
IND Jan D Pierce
CON Dick Cheney
WOR John Edwards
PJP Peter Miguel Camejo
SOC Arrin Hawkins
LIB Richard V Campagna
U.S. SENATE
REP Howard Mills
DEM Charles E Schumer
IND Charles E Schumer
CON Marilyn F O'Grady
WOR Charles E Schumer
SOC Martin Koppel
LIB Donald Silberger
GRE David E McReynolds
BUI Abraham Hirschfeld
U.S. CONGRESS DISTRICT 11
DEM Major R Owens
IND Lorraine Stevens
CON Sol Lieberman
WOR Major R Owens
STATE SENATE DISTRICT 20
DEM Carl Andrews
CON Anthony Herbert
WOR Carl Andrews
STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 52
REP Scott J Santandrea
DEM Joan L Millman
CON Anne Marie Coffey
WOR Joan L Millman
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE DISTRICT 2, KINGS AND RICHMOND COUNTIES
REP Michelle Weston Patter
REP Louis J. Marrero
REP Matthew A. Sciarrino, Jr.
REP Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix
REP Eric I. Prus
DEM Michelle Weston Patter
DEM Louis J. Marrero
DEM Wayne P. Saitta
DEM Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix
DEM Eric I. Prus
CON Thomas Stadnik
CON Philip J. Smallman
CON Matthew A. Sciarrino, Jr.
Key:
REP Republican
DEM Democrat
IND Independence
CON Conservative
WOR Working Families
PJP Peace and Justice
SOC Socialist Workers
LIB Libertarian
GRE Green
BUI Builders