Wingnuts: Make Up Your Mind!!!

Joe Frazier: RIP

Joe Frazier died of liver cancer at the age of 67. He left us too soon. But he left knowing one thing that very few of us will ever know: what it is like to be the best in the world at something.

FAILS all around….Grab the Popcorn!

Yes, I have a facebook account. Yes I accepted a friend request without checking it out. Result: I was tagged in the following photo:

FAIL. Yes, there was a link with a phrase “I am bored”…though I wonder if there is some bad photo shop here.

Student FAIL

see more funny videos, and check out our Yo Dawg lols!

Hey, at least in mathematics, if a student tells me that I can just mark it wrong and leave it at that.

Public FAIL
The Obama White House made a promise to respond to petitions that met a certain standard. You know that there are a lot of stupid people in this country. So one of the petitions dealt with extraterrestrial life and a government cover up:

Well, for now, at least:

The White House says there is no evidence of life beyond Earth — and no cover-up by the government — but scientists are still searching…Phil Larson, who works on space policy and communications at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy [OSTP], also [notes] that “there is no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public’s eye.”

No, this wasn’t from a scene in Invasion of the Pod People; last week, Larson, a research assistant in the OSTP, responded to two open petitions to the president, one demanding that federal authorities “formally acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race” and one calling for “open Congressional hearings to allow the people to become aware of [government interactions with extraterrestrial beings] through those whose voices have been silenced by unconstitutional secrecy oaths.”

This pair of “We the People” petitions were signed by thousands of concerned citizens—12,078 unique signatures for the former, 5,387 for the latter [...]

Under the White House’s “We the People” guidelines, any petition that meets the signature threshold (then 5,000) within 30 days of submission “will be reviewed by the Administration and an official response will be issued.” (The review process, though, can easily result in the non-response of a rejection, as seen with multiple petitions regarding drug laws.[...]

Why would anyone want to be president of this dumb country?

Stupid Republican Tricks

I am enjoying this!

Yes, Mr. Cain’s latest accuser went public.

Yep…a tea party type…appears to be just a bit tart-ish. This is wonderful; some Republicans are hitting back savagely. But they can’t blame the liberals for this…though the lawyer that this woman obtained is known for trying to steal the show. What a circus!

9-9-9: 9 women, 9 charges, 9 political lives…I’m loving it!

Ok, Herman Cain never stood a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the Republican nomination. However, it appears that he drew enough support from the “anti-Romney’ candidates to worry them (Rick Perry?). Hence the resurfacing of allegations including a new 4′th allegation of sexual harassment.

Sure many in the Republican establishment are shrugging this off; it is merely a case of slacker gold-diggers trying to get rich at the expense of a famous person:

Moreover, people are on to the sexual-harassment scam. In typical fashion, Congress took a situation where women had no protection for legitimate grievances and created a solution rife with unintended consequences. Now businesses are regularly making payouts for the flimsiest of reasons. It’s obvious that these alleged victims and their lawyers — no matter what they may say publicly — are champing at the bit to come forward for their day in the limelight and the inevitable book deal. Who can pass up being the new Anita Hill, who to this day periodically receives glowing newspaper profiles?

(yes, this came from Fred Thompson, or someone writing for Mr. Thompson)

Anyway, I love it when Republicans go after one another. Pass the popcorn!!!

But the funniest take comes from this Tom Tomorrow Cartoon: “Will the pretend candidacy of a man who never had a remote chance of winning the nomination let alone winning the presidency be derailed by the sexual harassment scandal? “

Click the thumnail to see the cartoon at the source; it is hilarious!

(the Republicans don’t play nice, do they? )

I wouldn’t say that I am a slow swimmer

Hey, just because the woman in the lane next to me did 4 laps to my 3 doesn’t mean that I am a bad swimmer….it means that I am a “differently speeded” swimmer!

Actually, today’s workout went ok.
Weights: same old with the following exceptions:
Sit ups: 120
Lunges: only 1 set
bench press: 10 x 135, 10 x 155, 3 x 170, 3 x 170
seated military: 2 sets of 15 with 40 pound dumbbells
curls: 2 sets of 15 with 25 pound dumbbells and 1 set of 10 with 42.5 on the cable.
I also used 190 for the abduction and adduction and 120 for the push backs.

Everything else was the same.

Swimming: 500 of 25 long, 25 free
1000 free in 17:54 (8:56 half way; pushed myself against the faster swimmer)
500 of back/free (slow)
200 pull
2200 total (or 2 km)

Man Up!!!! (and other topics)

From Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub: there is an electronic ad for the CNN special on “fixing education” in the United States. Fareed Zakaria has a show on it. But among the guests is Michelle Rhee. To this, the blogger writes:

What in the world can Michelle Rhee add to this discussion? From the press release it looks a lot like the “balance” fallacy makes the show suffer: Journalists think they need a contrasting view, so when Euclid tells a writer that 2+2=4, the journalist seeks out others who have different opinions, and prints those opinions no matter how stupid, insipid, or dangerous they may be.

You see this in shows concerning evolution, climate change and the like.

Man Up!!!
Miranda Celeste Hale talks about buying a Coke Zero in a can and finding that the can is adorned with a football. She does a bit of research and finds that Coke Zero was/is marketed to guys.

Dr. Pepper is going much the same thing:

Dang, I was doing all of those bench presses and curls…and all I had to do was to drink the “right” kind of diet Dr. Pepper!

Oh well….off to the gym anyway.

Given that I get there so early, I probably won’t see this. There is usually a few fat old professors/university staff and the Army ROTC doing their chants…and sometimes some young woman who gets on the stepper and continually yells into her bluetooth.

Professor or Hobo??? Take the Quiz

The quiz is here.

Hat tip: Jerry Coyne.

I got 8 out of 10 correct…then again I am a mathematics professor and therefore have an unfair advantage.

Faith/Science compatibility and viewing of climate change data

Workout notes 7.2 miles on my own (lunch plus one lower Bradley Park loop) 1:39:21. Then I did 3 more slower miles with Lynn; the day was cool and windy. On an amusing note: I needed to use the bathroom (cool days do that to me) and I saw a porta-pottie in the distance. But just before I got there, someone drove up and parked and waddled to it. Grrr…fortunately it wasn’t an emergency.

Later In the afternoon, I decided to rake the yard a bit. I shoved the leaves into the lawn waste bin repeatedly…forgetting that I had my wedding ring (plus a band to keep it on) on. That’s right; my band had disappeared so I had to dump the leaves and sort. Yes, I found the ring. But what a pain…and how stupid was I???

Humor

Science
How Climate Change Skeptics view global temperature data:

Click the figure to animate; from by blue aardvark at Daily Kos.

Science and Religion: compatible?
Yes, I know that there are some outstanding scientists who are religious (e. g. Francis Collins). But most are not. And it is possible for people to compartmentalize their minds; cognitive dissonance is common. Why I think that the two things are incompatible? For one, the “miracles” violate laws of nature and tend to occur when they can’t be verified. When is the last time you saw a medically dead person raised from the dead? How about talking snakes? Remember that standard religions in the United States require belief that such miracles occurred.

Another thing: religion requires “faith”; science requires that one change their current beliefs if there is enough evidence to do so (e. g., mammal fossils in pre-Cambrian rock would falsify evolution). On the other hand, how many times have you heard “nothing can shake my faith” said…and said in a way that is supposed to be positive?

Another point: evolution, as understood in science, is an undirected process. Humans were not the inevitable outcome of a creative process; start the tape again and we wouldn’t be here.

On an emotional level:

Sorry: I just can’t buy it.

I do understand why someone might religion on a private level; as my wife says: “there are few places where you gather together and get challenged to live a better life”. I do miss that about church. But I can’t go to a church and say that I “respect beliefs X, Y, and Z” when I don’t. I can respect the people that hold such beliefs (we are all wrong about something) but I can’t respect the belief that waving a pendant above a pill can determine whether you need the pill or not, or that believing in some Cosmic Zombie imputes “grace” or “salvation”, that some rube read some golden plates with magic seer stones, etc. Sorry..but such beliefs are absurd.

But I can see having some “sacred story” to meditate on…to calm and soothe the mind and to help yourself get through the tough patches of life and to be more generous and giving to others.

But as a way of “knowing something?” No. Religion has nothing to say there.
Note how the standard western religions has relegated beliefs to “metaphors” once scientific evidence became so compelling that one could only believe isolated miracles and not get ridiculed.

Well, exactly what is the ration of miracles that one should believe in and how do you know which ones to accept?

Nevertheless, one blogger (and famous science professor) took part in a public debate with a Catholic theologian; the topic was “are science and religion compatible”. Here is an analysis of the debate and here is the debate itself along with the question and answer period.

I watched the debate and the first 30 minutes were painful. The theologian basically said this: “what we see though science” can be interpreted in different ways. The scientist studies how it happens (evolution, big bang, physics, etc.). But there is a higher question as to “why”, etc. and that is where religion comes in. Not going to the “whys” is like seeing a book as nothing more than pieces of paper with ink marks on them.

How does one determine the correct interpretations as to the higher questions? Evidently, one can have some sort of revelation or one can listen to the revelations of others.

Needless to say, what this theologian said was not convincing; it sounded like a word salad of nonsense and “what if” metaphors; one could use a similar line of reasoning to justify any sort of religion or woo.

Jerry Coyne responded with the usual arguments. I think that Dr. Coyne got two things wrong:
1. The Catholic church doesn’t claim that it gets its authority from scripture but rather through sacred tradition and apostolic succession.
2. About the pedophile priests: the priests who are guilt of this never thought that pedophilia was consistent with Christianity; remember that in the United States prison population, theists are more represented than atheists. The whole idea of Christianity is that most of us behave in shameful ways from time to time and, on our own, we can’t stop. Hence we need redemption. From Romans Chapter 7, verse 15

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

But Dr. Coyne is making the point that humans are capable of cognitive dissonance; that is beyond question.

So here is is: the first video is the debate; the second is the question and answer period. Personally, I’d fast forward to 36 minutes when Dr. Coyne starts; the first part is a waste of time (IMHO); there is nothing original there.

The youtube videos have been removed but both the debate video and the question/answer period can be accessed here.

Leave Kim Kardashian Alone!!!!

Poor Kim Kardashain. She has trouble with her swimsuits:

and now those meanies at Saturday Night Live are making fun of her divorce.

Leave Kim alone!

These are spoofs on:

Bonus: a mom’s work is never done. The kid is hilarious…but the way this mom is going…well, she is probably going to have more kids real soon.

Running Solo and some College Football…

Workout notes: I did a solo 8 mile run on the same course I ran on 4 weeks ago. My time was 1:19:19 (41:14 out, 38:05 back) as opposed to the 1:18:05 I ran that day.
The difference: 9 mph head wind heading out today as opposed to 4 mph on the “faster” day and on the faster day, I ran with someone.

But…ironically, my first 7 miles today was actually FASTER than the first 7 last time; the difference is that last time I ran the last mile in 8:18; today it was 9:35…because I was out of gas and had to walk a few steps with about .6 miles to go.

It is difficult for me to make myself really hurt when I am by myself.

Note: on the downhill section on the way back, I had a few “bad steps” (not quite a buckle of the knee but a brief “power loss”) and I had to focus on keeping the stride short. Last night I felt a twinge in my back prior to going to bed, but no trouble in the morning.

College football
Right now: the games that I have readily available are 41-10 (Oklahoma versus Texas A & M…this was 13-10 at the half and OU went on a 28-0 run in the third quarter; of course that was helped by two Aggie interceptions and a wind blown short punt.

Wisconsin had a 38-17 on Purdue…AT THE HALF. I’ll have to find something better.

But I did see some decent games last night and today:

Last night I saw Kent State versus Central Michigan. Both of these teams are in the lower tier of the Mid America Conference and I don’t follow either; yet they played an entertaining game.

It was decided on the last play when Central Michigan missed a 28 yard field goal, even though they used a play to move the ball to the center of the field. The final was 24-21, Kent State. Some faulted the C. M. coach for not making more ties toward the end zone (they had time outs and enough time) but a coach has to make that decision by HIS team…not a generic team. And the C. M. kicker had made his last 10 field goals in a row and 12 out of 15 for the year; of course any coach would love those odds.

This morning I started with Texas versus Texas Tech.

Though Tech drove the ball well on its first two drives and even took a 3-0 lead (touchdown called back on an offensive “hands to the face” penalty), Texas was so dominating that UT never had to punt. It was 31-6 at the half and I gave up on the game when it was 45-13 in the 3′rd quarter.

People will note that UT had 595 yards of total offense including 439 ON THE GROUND. But the UT rush defense was superb holding the Red Raiders to 30 yards on the ground (though they got some yards passing….). It ended 52-20, Longhorns.

Of course this is a Texas Tech team that beat Oklahoma one week and got blown out by Iowa State the next.

I turned to Michigan State vs. Minnesota game; it was tied 24-24 in the 4′th. I saw MSU’s go ahead touchdown and then saw them hold off the Gophers to win 31-24.

But Minnesota is starting to play better again, and Illinois ends with a game at Minnesota.

Currently, Navy is taking out its frustrations on Troy (up 42-7 going into the 4′th) and Nebraska WAS down 21-10 to Northwestern; now it is 21-18. We know that Northwestern has trouble holding onto leads.

(photos from Yahoo)