UPDATE: They got a new plane

– – – – –

UPDATE: They have decided it is better to fly a
plane with brakes, so they are now looking for
a new one. Problem is, the broken plane is an
extra large, and most likely the replacement
will be a medium, so we won’t all fit.

– – – – – –

So, I was just about to get on a plane at MSP, when we heard about “maintenance trouble.” There was a delay, then another delay, then another. Then the pilot came on the intercom and explained.

“One of the spoilers is broken. We need that to slow the plane down when that is necessary. We can kinda do without it, but we would have to adjust the weight of the aircraft. If we do that, we might not make it all the way to our destination. So we’ve got a guy working on the calculations and we’ll let you know. He’s got my cell phone. We might have to use a different aircraft. We’ll keep you posted.”

I think that there is an airstrip NEAR where we are going, a government air strip, that is among the longest in the world. If we land there, we don’t need the spoilers, right? Maybe I’ll go tell him that. What do you think?

With elements inside.

This is important if you need to get your dog’s ears to lie flat.

Pharyngula’s PZ Myers has a penchant for certain sorts of creatures. It would be really fun to hand him one of these full of hot cocoa:

Continue reading In case anybody wants to get PZ Myers a present →

Olympia Snow, of Maine, one of the few Republicans that is not an embarrassment to the rest of humanity, will retire. She’s had enough of the political climate her compatriots have created:

…she said she was swayed by the increasing polarization in Washington.

“Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term,” Snowe said in a statement. “So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.”

NYT

There is a pretty good chance that she will be replaced with a Democrat.

For the first time since George Bush ruined the economy, the Down Jones Industrial Average has closed above 13,000 points. Republicans have declared this a bad thing and blamed it on Obama. Details at 11.

In related news, unemployment is down, and consumer confidence is up, and many regional housing markets are starting to show a pulse. Republicans insist that these things must stop; they are planning impeachment proceedings against Obama.

Meanwhile, Romney breaks with Republicans on the question of being mean to Obama. Then he says some really bad things about Obama:

The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund continues to receive donations and offers of help from various stakeholders. We are actively working with several organizations in order to make CSLDF a one-stop resource for scientists looking for legal resources and we are currently pursuing several educational and legal initiatives which will be made public in the future.

In the short-term, CSLDF would greatly appreciate your financial support to help Dr. Michael Mann. Funds are needed to:

1. Fend-off ATI’s demand to take Dr. Mann’s deposition, which is a blatant attempt to harass and intimidate him for exercising his constitutional rights by petitioning to intervene in the case.

2. Defeat ATI’s attempt to obtain Dr. Mann’s email correspondence through the civil discovery process, which essentially is an “end-run” around the scholarly research exemption under the Virginia FOIA law.

3. Prepare for summary judgment on the issue of the exempt status of his email correspondence under the Virginia FOIA law.

Donations can be sent to CSLDF online or by sending a check made out to PEER, with Climate Science LDF on the memo line to:

Climate Science Legal Defense Fund
c/o PEER
2000 P Street, NW #240
Washington, D.C. 20036

Through PEER, a private non-profit organization organized under Section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue code, your contribution will be tax deductible.

Sincerely,

Climate Science Legal Defense Fund

The issue of diversity is being discussed, from several different angles, among the Freethoughtblogs community and others. This is a list of posts you might want to have a look at.

This is especially important in relation to maintaining or enhancing diversity when you are engaged in some sort of selection process: Hiring, making a list of authors, putting together a blog network, etc. etc.

They are listed in date order:

• Getting It Right Early: Why Atheists Need to Act Now on Gender and Race
• Tokenism Is Not Inclusivity
• Thoughts From A Diversity Hire
• How To Make Diversity Happen
• On Diversity, and the Lack Thereof…
• Diversity and the Best Atheist Blogger Award – Please Don’t Vote for Me
• Not one of us is a token
• Catches Twenty-Two

The issue of diversity is being discussed, from several different angles, among the Freethoughtblogs community and others. This is a list of posts you might want to have a look at.

This is especially important in relation to maintaining or enhancing diversity when you are engaged in some sort of selection process: Hiring, making a list of authors, putting together a blog network, etc. etc.

They are listed in date order:

• Getting It Right Early: Why Atheists Need to Act Now on Gender and Race
• Tokenism Is Not Inclusivity
• Thoughts From A Diversity Hire
• How To Make Diversity Happen
• On Diversity, and the Lack Thereof…
• Diversity and the Best Atheist Blogger Award – Please Don’t Vote for Me
• Not one of us is a token
• Catches Twenty-Two

I know many of you enjoy discussing resonance. Check this out: