Daily Archives: December 9, 2007

So, this was a little embarassing…

… but fun on so many levels…

The scene: At a gathering of semi related people, with my daughter, sitting next to two conservative born again Christians (one being a “perfected” Jew). All very nice people in their own way, just don’t bring up religion.

Then M comes along very interested in discussing The Golden Compass … could she take Julia to the movie, has she seen it yet, etc?

I’m thinking, great, good idea, and I’m thinking how smart I am for deciding to get The Golden Compass books for Julia for Solstice. That’s when Julia pipes up and says “Yea, I love those books I’ve read them all …. ”

I’m thinking crap, I didn’t know that, when did she read them, can I borrow them from her? … and so on when she continues … “Yea, my dad gave them to me for my birthday.”

Well, that’s cool. Not only is Julia way ahead of me as usual, but apparently, I am way ahead of myself as well.

Just then, Christian Couple tunes into the conversation … which had been about books all evening … “Which book are you talking about?”

M: “The Golden Compass. I want to take Julia to the Movie.”

… tick .. tick .. tick … then a certain special look in the eyes.

Thankfully everyone, especially the christians, remain polite at the Chanuka gatherings, especially when one end of the table is packed with godless atheists and their spawn.

But it was fun.

Data Woes

… the guy who has ants in his hard drive, so he loads it up with insect spray. Kills bugs dead. And data too…… the woman who’s USB stick went through the wash. Whites whiter, brights brighter, data gonner…… the guys who decided to test a parachute using their fancy digital camera as a weight. The parachute didn’t work. But the camera did bust into tiny pieces……. The British Scientist who got annoyed at the squeeking noise his hard drive made. So he experimented with oiling the hard drive. Hypothesis: Rejected. Data: Gone….[source]

“Child, are you going to Hell?” asks North Dakota Middle School Teacher

This is a bad one, folks.

In Simle North Dakota, at the Middle school, a

…teacher is under investigation after showing a religious-themed video in health class.

“We acknowledge that a video clip was shown in a classroom that violated School Board policy and that a parent has submitted a letter of complaint,” said Superintendent Paul Johnson, reading a written statement. “We are investigating the incident and will decide on Monday what action to take.”

The teacher showed “A Letter from Hell,” off of Godtube.com to a health class Wednesday, according to a letter from Steven and Heather Balaban, who have a daughter in the class. Two messages at Steve Balaban’s law office were not returned, and a home number was not listed.

The rest of the story is here.

My daugter came home the other day … she’s in middle school … and mentioned that the teacher in her health class showed a video about Adam and Eve.
Continue reading “Child, are you going to Hell?” asks North Dakota Middle School Teacher

Health News

Ebola in Uganda:

New Ebola fatalities push Uganda toll to 25: official from PhysOrg.com
A dreaded Ebola outbreak has killed two people, bringing the toll to 25 in western Uganda, an official said Saturday, as health teams battled to contain the virulent strain in the region.[]

With the outbreak earlier in the year in DRC, and this outbreak, this is a big year for Ebola. Some time soon, someone is going to have to go and figure out where this disease resides in the wild. I’m betting on it being a plant virus that reaches human populations through a number of different routes, including but not limited to fruit bats. I will be very interesting to see how this particular strain, which is very different in its presentation from other strains, relates at a phylogenetic level from what is already know. (If, indeed, it ends up actually being Ebola proper as opposed to something closely related).

Father of bird flu victim tests positive: China from PhysOrg.com
The father of a man in China who died this week of bird flu has also tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the disease, the country’s health ministry reported on Friday.[]

Britain warns of homeopathic risks from PhysOrg.com
A top British health official says people who use homeopathic medicines could be causing themselves more harm than good.[]