I'm not one to stare in the mirror narcissistically but I'll admit that sometimes I get a little warm feeling by going back and reading some major work that I put together in the past. It gives me a little lift to see what I accomplished.

Today, I had a reason to crack open my fourth year review (that I submitted two weeks ago) and I found myself proudly reading it. Okay, so I've got a bit of a narcissistic bone in my body, but it ain't about my looks.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

The news hit the press today of a scientific study done at U. Penn that shows an abstinence centered approach to sex education can successfully reduce teen pregnancy. But the conservatives crowing about this should read the fine print.

"It did not take a moralistic tone, as many abstinence programs do. Most notably, the sessions encouraged children to delay sex until they are ready, not necessarily until married; did not portray sex outside marriage as never appropriate; and did not disparage condoms."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102628.html?hpid=topnews

In other words the program that the kids went though was about waiting to have sex until you are ready not teaching that sex is bad unless you are married and doing it just to procreate. To me that is a common sense approach. The reason why teens shouldn't have sex is not some moral imperative. Most teens just aren't responsible enough or mature enough to deal with the consequences. Studies show this with driving as well. The brain of a typical teen is still developing the centers that manage risk in an adult way. IMHO, until you are able to take responsibility for your own sexual health you should refrain from intercourse.

One aspect of a good scientific hypothesis is that it is consistent with other tested hypotheses. The explanation I just gave for this study explains how this is so. The explanation the looney right gives for it makes the conclusions of the study less credible. That's how science works. Learn it.

Of course this isn't the spin that the religious wrong is going to give the study but since when have we expected them to read and understand the fine print? They see what they want to see. Blinded by faith.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

puffinesq and I had been waiting for the movie "(500) Days of Summer" to appear on on-demand. We'd missed it in the theater and we're too lazy to get off the couch. Anyone else out there with an infant totally understands.

It was a decent movie. A little thought provoking. But frankly the best part was the opening montage to Regina Spektor's song "Us." Its one of those songs that stuck to me the first time I heard it and frankly after that the rest of the soundtrack was all downhill from there. I kept waiting for the song to come back in the movie and it didn't. How many movies get you hung up on the first song in the first scene and then you're totally disappointed when it doesn't even run with the credits at the end? I know its weird that a sound track order would break a movie like this but maybe they should have saved that song for another, more climactic, part of the movie.

I'm not sure what to say about it otherwise. It had some reflective or schadenfreude value. But it wasn't really a comedy. I guess "quirky" would be the right word. Fans of "Pushing Daisies" who miss that show might get a little fix from the story telling style in this movie.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Just three weeks after my last episode I had another kidney stone yesterday. The good news is according the CT scan I had three weeks ago this is either the last or the next-to-last one that was up in my right kidney. (I might have also passed one on Friday but that isn't clear.) I'm becoming an old-pro at this. I've learned to tell when its in my kidney, when it descends to my bladder, and then when it hangs out in my urethra. Not lethal but also none of it pleasant I assure you.

I spent most of the day tolerating about a 3 or 4 on the ten point pain scale. The doctor told me to call him if I was reaching for the prescription pain killer. After 8 hours at a 3 or 4 I was ready for the hard stuff. This has been an interesting experiment in pain for me. Apparently I've got a rather high threshold over short time-scales but if you ask me to tolerate it for more than six to eight hours, I want the drugs. Of course twenty minutes after I took the high-end drugs the flood gates opened. The way I explain it is that I think there is a point that if the pain gets relieved the right muscles relax and the ordeal is over.

puffinesq got the worse deal in this. The baby is cutting her first two teeth (at the same time). I was pretty useless. And this was the four year anniversary of our first date. At least we got out for dinner on Friday night. She's a super partner.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Thanks to eirias for catching this. (Incidentally eirias I'm feeling a little bad about a quip I made about University staff that made them sound like second class citizens so sorry.):

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2010/01/hbc-90006368#

So where is Jack screaming, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH?" Am I wrong or is this a little too much like "A Few Good Men?" And then as eirias pointed out, what gives with the Post and the Times not having this all over their front page? This only reinforces my perception that even under Obama our government can no longer be trusted in matters of "national security" and that the art of journalism is circling the drain on life support.

Solider on brave space-cadet.

Well this is the year for another biennial naval grazing event on my way to tenure. They call it fourth year review. I call it the last time I'll have to write a review over winter break. (Tenure apps are due in October, not January.) I have done a lot of stuff over the past four years in this job. Writing a report about it seems redundant. It's kind of like taking the qualifiers: everyone has decided who's passing so why put us through the ringer?

The mood around the office is gloomy. NPR was right in their report yesterday. Illinois would be the worst state budget crisis if it weren't for the mother of all meltdowns in California. But California is better in one respect: they have a plan. Us? Nada. I guess we're suppose to pray our way out of this one. Good luck with that.

The word that all U employees would get furloughed for four days this semester went over like a ton of bricks. My inbox is filled to the brim with people bitching about it by "reply-all" yesterday. The dean made it worse by starting to talk about combining departments. His sense of timing is pretty bad. I expect several of my friends will be actively job hunting by the end of the week. Mierde! Me? I'm one of the lowest paid cogs. It doesn't save them hardly anything to get rid of me and it isn't cost effective to make me so miserable I want to quit.

Fun fact of the day: The state of Illinois could lay off every single one of its employees and the budget would still be running a deficit. Start digging! We'll come out in China soon!

Solider on brave space-cadets.

So our fearless leaders have spun the wheel of enemies and decided we're going to blame Yemen for that idiot who sewed explosives into his underwear but did not have a detonator. This is the moment where we find out if Obama really is different and if we've learned anything from the last thirty years. To recap with an air of ridiculous over simplification:

The Reagan Response: Illegally funnel money to the CIA that they use to arm and train the enemies of your enemies. Never mind that in ten years the enemies of your enemies might be your enemies, you'll be out of office by then and it will be someone else's mess.

The Bush I & II Response: Hot war. Ground troops. They'll be greeted as liberators. Damn the cost to the US economy, full speed ahead.

Bubba Clinton Response: Bomb them from 40,000 feet. Hope Madeline Albright can negotiate with the survivors. Why doesn't anyone like us? Don't they understand this is tough love? Think Somalia, The Balkans, Kosovo.

Seriously, I believe they have a wheel in the Pentagon that has the names of countries they think they can beat up easily on it and every time we have something like this they give it a spin. If you want to go further back, I don't think we've ever gotten it right since the US decided to be a world power. So what's Obama gonna do? Based on his tendency so far to be the President of "it'll have to do" I don't have much confidence in what follows. I'll be thrilled to be proven wrong.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

puffinesq and I rang in the New Year at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in DC. We were rubbing elbows with the elite of the Republic and foreign diplomats. Normally that would make me fear for the future of our Republic, but seeing so many people choosing on an evening of celebration to define "american" in terms of the culture given to us by Gershwin, Copland, Bernstein, and Rodgers & Hammerstein made me think it matters less what our political leaders do as long as we define who we are as a group by our art.

puffinesq pointed out how diverse the crowd at the symphony concert was in age, color of hair, color of skin, first language, and formality of dress. I think the Founding Fathers would not have predicted such a crowd but they would have been proud to see it gather and enjoy a world class performance in a concert hall built for everyone. Really, just a great hopeful way to start a new year slightly buzzed on champagne.

BTW, if any of you have an opportunity to see a guy named Leon Bates play the piano: do not pass that up! His rendition of Rhapsody in Blue was original and moving. He's coming to Springfield in May and I'm looking forward to seeing him perform again.

Happy New Year.

I saw that some woman jumped a barricade at the Vatican and knocked the Pope down at Christmas mass. Whatever. Dude is 82 years old. He's so frail that he had to celebrate midnight mass at 10 pm last night. So much for god giving him the strength to get through it. I bet she didn't expect to get as far as she did and knocking him down was kind of her "what the hell do I do now" reaction. My reaction to that is: why bother? If he pisses you off that much just don't go to church and stop tithing him your money. Church is optional people. Exercise your right to choose.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

This is for my astronomy peeps. After the holidays I'll be at the AAS meeting in DC. goodguyseatpie and I will be rooming together (a la Oscar v. Felix) at the conference hotel. My poster is up on Tuesday. I've become very jaded so just about any excuse to go drink a beer would be welcome and accepted. Yall know how to find me.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Dear College Students,
The tuition you pay entitles you to nothing except the opportunity to learn. What you do with it is up to you. Its like buying a fishing license. You put down good money on an opportunity to catch a fish. You did not buy a fish with that money. Paying that money does not guarantee that you that you will get a fish. That is especially true if you decide to spend all day in bed, on a bar stool, or playing your Wii instead of getting out there and putting a line in the water.
This is important, I CANNOT TEACH YOU IF YOU DO NOT TRY TO LEARN. You probably would not buy a fishing license if you never intend to fish. Likewise, you should not pay tuition in a university or college unless you intend to make an effort to learn. Wanting to learn is not enough. You must make the effort to make the money you spent worth the investment.
It does not please me to have the university take your money and then you earn a D or F in my class. The shred of hope I hold out when you earn a D or an F from me is that while you might not have learned the content presented in my class, maybe you learned that you need to work harder to do well in school. When you are ready to do that I'd be pleased to have you back in my classroom.
If you have failed this time, don't despair. Learn. You can do it. Will you?

Soldier on brave space-cadets.

This is absolutely brilliant:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/17/drone.video.hacked/index.html

So apparently there is software you can download on the internet that allows you to eavesdrop on the feed from an unmanned Predator drone. Yeah. I guess I'm not terribly surprised. This could explain a lot. Turns out that there is a cost for not putting a pilot in the plane.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

This one is like hearing an echo of my own voice across the vacuous expanse occupied between Mitch McConnell's ears.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121601906.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Howard for president 2012. YEEEE HAW!

Solider on brave space-cadets.

It's dead Jim. Put a fork in it. I don't have any hope left for national healthcare legislation that would have any real impact. The Dems are being held hostage by the minority conservative wing of the party and Joe Fucking Lieberman. I know the strategy goes something like: we make it look like these guys are the ones getting in the way and the voters will take care of them in the next primary. I'd like to blame the people of Connecticut and put it on them but the chances that they actually do something about it look pretty bleak. However, gawd dammit. Just once I'd like someone in favor of a strong single payer system stand up and say, "This is bullshit. To get my vote you are going to have to give those of us that would actually like to fix this (not cripple this) something."

The shame is that with ballooning healthcare costs our economy is helplessly crippled. States can't pay for education, roads, and libraries because the healthcare subsidies to the poor and elderly and the benefits costs for their employees are eating their budgets alive. Companies can't be profitable for the same reason. The system is collapsing under its own bloated weight. The bill before Congress does nothing to help. Its a toothless wonder and now the conservatives are gouging out its eyes. Yes, I suppose we can hope that the voters blame the conservatives of both parties for screwing us all but that might be too late.

Liberals and progressives need to do more shouting. We've got to fight to give our economy a fighting chance. The conservatives don't own the mantle of authority on economic progress and business. A national healthcare system with teeth would be good for our economy and good for business. When it comes down to it the conservatives are screwing their own base of support. (Assuming their base of support is more than just plutocrats or wannabe plutocrats that don't want to pay taxes.) We need to be louder about pointing that out.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

I'm wearing a scarf in my office. It's not a fashion statement. Its survival. Last time I measured it the temperature was 67 F at my head and 50 F at my feet. I'm wearing wool socks and my feet still feel like blocks of ice. The heating in this building is so screwed up and turning it down to save money might end up costing the health plan more than they save in fuel cost. I'm thinking of bringing in a trash can and burning paper scrap in it in the middle of my office. Welcome to the Illinois budget crisis.

Stay warm space-cadets.

Today I finished going over a problem with my physics students and one a hand shot up. I asked what the question was and she asked, "So is that all there is to it? You just reason it through without math?"

I said, "Sure. Or is it just that the math has become such an integrated part of your reasoning that you are using the math and you don't think about it?"

Oh, I'm an evil evil man. But really I think that might be the most reassuring comment I've gotten from a student all semester as far as showing me that I've accomplished what I set out to teach.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

So the TSA posted a copy of their internal manual with the sensitive stuff redacted out. But some enterprising individuals were able to "remove" the redactions because they were not done in a way where the data was truly redacted.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120803206.html?hpid=topnews

A lot of the news articles don't tell you how to find the "hacked" manual if you want a copy. Google "TSA manual crytome" and the first link will take you to the site where it was originally posted and still available for download.

I understand that people might be upset that "secret" security measures were revealed. But I've got a real problem then with who decides what is "too sensitive" or "secret." Basically after eight years of Dubya's junta I don't trust anyone to make decisions about what I'm not allowed to know. It's used too often to cover waste, graft, corruption, and illegal actions performed in our name by our government.

Frankly in this situation the "hack" does not break the law. I kind of object to the people using the word "hack" in this case because the term "hack" has its roots in illegal activity. This action only exploits the incompetence of the people who decided the information should be "secret" in the first place.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

This is a pretty good clip of an interview of Richard Dawkins.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/11/30/VI2009113003185.html?hpid=talkbox1

Of course the way it gets spun is "Richard Dawkins is not convince there is no god." Well yes that is true. But that's kind of a sensational interpretation.

Dawkins explains that he thinks of god in the same way as he thinks of fairies and unicorns. If someone presented him with rational verifiable evidence of the existence of magical one horned equines he wouldn't discount the rational conclusions as plain as the evidence supports. I think this is the best description I've heard of true atheism as a whole hearted embracing of the completely rational. Just because you don't believe in god doesn't mean that without evidence you believe there is no god. Its about rationality over belief and I'm please to hear it explained so succinctly.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

This is hopefully not the typical vindictive "those bastards they screwed me for the third time" post. This has been brewing for years but a discussion over in astronomy got me thinking I should post it.

Those of you who read the Sky & Telescope website might have noticed that last weekend they had an article on Eta Carinae that had completely disappeared from their website by Tuesday. Here is the straight dope. That article was at best factually flawed and at worst a premeditated vindictive lie. I saw the article Friday. The interpretation of the data was so bad that I posted a rebuttal comment citing literature sources and alerted KD and RMH about it. The article kind of sucked but what piqued my interest is that it mentioned a recent IAU telegram on Eta. I knew we had submitted a recent IAU telegram on Eta and found it interesting that they did not reference our telegram, but instead referenced a telegram by someone else. I ask RMH whatever happened to our telegram. She writes me back that the telegram mentioned in the article is our telegram, attributed to someone else and completely misreported.

KD wrote a polite "WTF" letter to the author of the article and the S&T managing editor. After that the editor writes me about my comment and asks me when one of their "writers" (I use the term loosely which is why I have put it in quotes) can contact me and get "my side of the story." Um... "my side of the story" is that KD and I wrote that article you attributed to someone else. That isn't exactly a "story." It's a fact you should have checked. I didn't reply because my reply in my head was "when hell freezes over" (more background about that below). KD got a reply from the editor at the same time that clearly completely missed the point that what he was really concerned about was that the IAU telegram was falsely attributed to someone else. Basically S&T was completely unwilling to admit they had published incorrect information and was trying to weasel out of it without admitting fault. KD wrote a less polite reply that told them to go back to journalism school.

This is not my first unfavorable dealing with S&T as a "source" for a story. A year and a half ago almost exactly the same type of situation played out with a different "writer" and an IAU telegram that I was primary author on. I was horribly mis-quoted by the "writer" and when I complained the editor refused to admit anything improper had happened and the article just disappeared from the site. And if I want to go back further then I can rattle off about a ten year long list of dealing with S&T where I have been misquoted, misattributed, or just abused by their "writers."

I'd like to make it clear that my endorsement of their rival Astronomy is not merely a vengeful angry act without reason to truly appreciate Astronomy. My dealings with Astronomy over the same period have been in sharp contrast to S&T. They wrote a wonderful flattering article with me as the primary source three years ago. I have never had a complaint about how a writer working for Astronomy has approached me or used my work or words in their magazine even if the tone of the article has disagreed with my theory. On a whole I would say that the writers working for Astronomy are better. They are more professional and they don't have an agenda. I've always felt with S&T writers that they know what they want to write and they are just trying to twist what I say into that mold. With Astronomy you get the contrasting vibe that they really want the source to provide the narrative that they format into a story that most accurately and objectively reports that information. In short my direct experience is that, Astronomy employs professionals that graduated in the top of their class from journalism school and S&T employs the rejects from Faux News.

I tell you that part of what gets me about this it that I know people on my flist who would be great science writers who would take their job really seriously if they got the chance. It pisses me off to see the equivalent of a room full of monkeys on typewriters getting props as a "serious" or "the best" astronomy magazine when my friends who would do a more serious and ethical job are underemployed. Okay that's your usual dose of humor impaired outrage from me for the week.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

An hour ago my daughter fell asleep... cold... while I was putting her jammies on. That's half an hour before her bed time. Must have been a rough day. And I thought I was feeling over-worked and under-paid. I'm really craving a bourbon and Coke right now... and then about 20 hours of sleep.

Solider on brave space-cadets.