I started writing this post on this blog but when I was done I realized it was anthropology so I put it here. If you are feeling a bit unsure of yourself emotionally don’t go there, let other people look and we’ll get back to you.
Yearly Archives: 2011
There are no atheists on the editorial page!!!11!!
Racism in the presidential pardon system
The pardon process relies on the recommendations of a special office of the White House, which takes a number of factors (not skin color) into account overtly, including things like level of remorse or financial or family factors. The process was, wisely one would have thought, depoliticized by George Bush at the beginning of his first term, so that the professional pardon lawyers’ recommendations are routinely followed, plus or minus only small variations….
New York City Traffic Signs in Poetic Form
The idea is that if you hear or see the same phrase or symbol again and again you grow habituated to it. For instance, right now, think about where you work or go to school (or some other non-residential interior where you spend considerable time) and tell me where the Exit signs and fire extinguishers are. You might well know, or you might have grown so used to them that they are in the background.
The City of New York has placed a number of signs warning pedestrians, bikers, and drivers, of the usual hazards, but using an unusual technique: New symbols linked to haiku.
Traffic warning street signs written as haiku are appearing on poles around the five boroughs, posted by the New York City Department of Transportation. The poems and accompanying artwork were created by artist John Morse. There are 12 designs in all, 10 in English and two in Spanish.
“Poetry has a lot of power,” Morse tells NPR’s Scott Simon. “If you say to people: ‘Walk.’ ‘Don’t walk.’ Or, ‘Look both ways.’ If you can tweak it just a bit — and poetry does that — the device gives these simple words power.”
I’ll give you a link.
A link that you can follow.
Just click on this word.
Racial Bias in Presidential Pardons?
The pardon process relies on the recommendations of a special office of the White House, which takes a number of factors (not skin color) into account overtly, including things like level of remorse or financial or family factors. The process was, wisely one would have thought, depoliticized by George Bush at the beginning of his first term, so that the professional pardon lawyers’ recommendations are routinely followed, plus or minus only small variations.
So, we therefore know that the fact that a white person is 400% more likely to be pardoned than a black person is not because of some yahoo racist president or evil chief of staff. Rather, it’s just how the legal system turns out.
Propublica did the study that gives us these results. Continue reading Racial Bias in Presidential Pardons?
Harry Potter: Books cf Movies
Everyone knows that the number of pages per book in the famous series by J.K. Rowlings increased over time, but was this increase steady? Was it consistent? The answer seems to be no.
Looking at this graph, is is probably more accurate to say that the early books were a certain length, around 400 pages or less, and the later books (4 through 7) were longer, around 700 pages. This may seem like a trivial observation, and it probably is. But it is important to understand the basic pattern of page length over time in this series before we explore the more important and deeper meanings of it all.
Continue reading Harry Potter: Books cf Movies
“The Rap Guide to Evolution” Baba Brinkman on Atheists Talk #144, December 4th, 2011
Baba Brinkman is a Canadian rap artist, writer, actor, and tree planter. He is well known for blending rap music and literature and science. He coined the term “lit hop” to describe his literature-based rap music.
Baba Brinkman earned a Master of Arts in Medieval and Renaissance English Literature and he studied human evolution and primatology with the orangutan researcher Biruté Galdikas. His thesis compared modern Hip hop freestyle battling with The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Get all the details about Sunday Morning’s show here.
Herman Cain is Out of the Race
Herman Cain has dropped out of the race to be leader of the free world.
“I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family,” Cain told several hundred supporters gathered at what was to have been the opening of his national campaign headquarters.
The Manga Guide to Relativity
The The Manga Guide to Relativity 
When you have finished reading this book you will be able to calculate the effects of time dilation, explain the Twin Paradox, understand Einsteinium famous E=mc2 and get a job at CERN.
Hideo Nitta, is in the Department of Physics at Tokyo Gakugei University, and an expert in physics and physics education. Masafumi Yamamoto is an applied physicist from Hokkaido University, and I’m pretty sure Keita Takatsu is the artist. This is a little like Pokemon except only things that are possible happen in the book.
“A Club of Liars, Demagogues and Ignoramuses”
I love this commentary by Marc Pitzle
Africa is a country. In Libya, the Taliban reigns. Muslims are terrorists; most immigrants are criminal; all Occupy protesters are dirty. And women who feel sexually harassed — well, they shouldn’t make such a big deal about it.
Welcome to the wonderful world of the US Republicans…. The US Republican race is dominated by ignorance, lies and scandals. The current crop of candidates have shown such a basic lack of knowledge that they make George W. Bush look like Einstein. The Grand Old Party is ruining the entire country’s reputation.
Sausage, Mushroom and Extra Ammo, Please.
Pennsylvania High School Refuses Admission to HIV+ Kid
A private high school in Pennsylvania refuses to admit a 13-year-old honor student who is HIV positive. The student’s lawyer has filed a lawsuit alleging the school “violated multiple anti-discrimination laws.”
It is a boarding school founded and financed originally by Hershey, as in Hershey Bar. This school is known for doing good things especially with poor kids. They argue that since it is a boarding school, they can’t guarantee safety for the other children. Others argue that this makes The Hershey School out of step with reality and modern science and medicine.
Please do not shoot the endangered animals
It is illegal to shoot a cougar in Minnesota unless it is about to eat you. This did not stop Bruce Ihnen and Daniel Hamman from killing one of these beautiful beasts. Ihnen and Hamman need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Dog Shoots Man
This is cute for two reasons. First, we seem to have a dog who is sympathetic to the ducks, possibly in cahoots with them, who helps arrange for the attempted assassination of a duck hunter. Second, the story is told by the hunter himself on an internet forum…
…I set my double barrel in the decoy box, walked around the front of the boat to get a better angle to push it out of the weeds and just as I had turned to cross the front of the boat and ( in case you haven’t guessed) Boom, the gun goes off. I looked back and the dog had climbed over the side and stepped on the trigger. About a half second later I realized I had been shot. I fell down backwards in the water…
Let this be a lesson to you … vet your dog and unload your gun!
Safety in High School Science Departments
Four students in one of our local junior high schools were involved in an uncontrolled fire and/or explosion a few hours ago. It was in a physical science class. One of the students was burned severely and is in the Hennepin County Hospital burn unit. His injuries are not life threatening by my understanding is that his face is covered with second degree degree burns or worse. The other students are not at present hospitalized.
The mishap occurred during the demonstration of an experiment that was intended to be a “reward” for the students performance in class. There are various stories floating around as to exactly what happened, but I won’t repeat them here because they are not verified and there is not enough detail for that information to have any meaning. At this point we do not know what kind of accident this was, how it may have been prevented. I think, however, it is safe to say that it is generally a bad thing for students to get blown up in science class.
And, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you something you may not know about your local high school.
Continue reading Safety in High School Science Departments