Dr SPiff's Rant Page

AAS Meeting

2009-12-23T20:03:01Z

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.

End of Semester Memo

2009-12-18T21:44:25Z

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.

Is that our house?

2009-12-18T04:59:24Z

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.

Listen To Howard

2009-12-16T22:10:57Z

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.

Put a Fork In It

2009-12-12T17:24:02Z

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.

It's not a fashion statement

2009-12-10T19:19:42Z

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.

Messing With You Students

2009-12-09T23:33:05Z

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.

How to Find The Redaction Removed TSA Manual

2009-12-08T22:39:55Z

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.

Rational Atheism

2009-12-07T04:50:03Z

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.

Cancel You Sky & Telescope Subscriptions. Read Astronomy Instead.

2009-12-06T16:00:51Z

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.

And I Thought I Had A Rough Week

2009-12-04T02:36:45Z

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.

Progress

2009-11-27T21:32:52Z

I started the week with a two inch tall pile of grading (I kid you not). If I had checked my bags, the airline would have charged me extra for the weight in grading that I was carrying. As of now I'm down to only have ten lab reports left to grade. It only took several days of on and off effort and about half a bottle of Jack Daniels. Happy US Thanksgiving.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

The Day Keanu Stood Still

2009-11-26T17:01:03Z

I've got a chance to watch some parts of movies over the past few days. I was pleasantly impressed with the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Things I didn't like:
1. A more indifferent and less empathetic Klatuu. But that's what you get when you cast Keanu Reeves in any role.
2. Gort was portrayed as more vindictive. In my mind Gort is a force of nature and shouldn't even acknowledge when someone else is in the room. The sequence in the flash chamber where he stared down everyone was creepy, but out of character.

Things I liked:
1. "I'll take you to our real leaders." And then she takes Klatuu to see a Nobel Prize winner. Very nice.
2. The "evolve at the precipice" thing was an interesting piece of philosophy.
3. I like how the writers updated this remake with our current societal fears. It seemed that they actually understood the subtext of the original and updated it very nicely.
4. The directors resisted adding some banal and redundant explanation of what happened or a happy ending at the end of the movie. End with a punch in the gut. That is good movie making.

I'd recommend this one for sci-fi fans.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Cross Eyed 3D of Saturn's Moon Enceladus

2009-11-25T02:33:48Z

Don't stare at these images too long... wouldn't want you eyes to stay crossed that way. But they are just so cool I had to post the link. They are the latest raw images from the Cassini probe orbiting Saturn.

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002225/

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Case Study

2009-11-19T13:50:46Z

This is why healthcare costs continue to go through the roof; scientific results be damned, let's spend money. Go!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111802545.html

I acknowledge that this is partially an education issue. If we did a better job of educating patients to weigh risks and benefits for themselves they would probably reach similar conclusions given the same data. But on the other hand maybe not. People tend to be very emotional about their health decisions and doctors, afraid of being sued are more than willing to give a patient anything they ask for rather than be responsible for denying a useless procedure, test, or treatment.

Yes, mammograms have saved lives. There are people who are alive today who would be dead if it hadn't been for a preventative mammogram. All this panel of experts was concluding is that the number of people helped was less than the number of people hurt by mammograms. They've concluded that women under 40 who get mammograms are rolling the dice and an unfavorable outcome is more likely than a favorable one. I think if the press reported it that way maybe we'd be having a more productive conversation about it with less of the irrational screaming, accusations, and gnashing of teeth. This is also BTW why I've never been a fan of the American Cancer Society.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Prepare to be Nauseated

2009-11-10T14:16:55Z

Jump on that band-wagon Newt!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110903302.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

I firmly believe that if a deity or other intelligent force really had knocked Newt Gingrich off his horse that it would have also insured that Newt would have split his skull open on a rock. The only way to sum up his behavior in my mind is: pathetic pandering. The idea that the United States was founded on purely "christian" values is a delusional fallacy unbecoming of anyone who fancies himself a professor and an academic. You aren't living in the Republic of Gilead Newt.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Something American Evanglicals and Muslims Have in Common

2009-11-08T14:17:50Z

Well I guess its easy to spread lies and ignorance anywhere you've got religious zealots:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/07/AR2009110702233.html

A civilization that refuses to understand or be curious about the forces that shaped it has no hope of controlling its own destiny. To me that's a pretty sad state of affairs.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Bachman on Overdrive.

2009-11-06T14:09:59Z

I know this is an opinion piece but it gives a pretty objective description of the "protest" that occured:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110504566.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

How can any politician even acknowledge a crowd like this? It's despicable. The "protestors" are free to their opinions. But those opinions are ugly and racists. And any politician that would use this as a wave of support should have their membership in the human race revoked. You can almost forgive the hateful ignorance of the crowd. But the people at the front egging them on should go right to hell.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

In New York

2009-11-05T18:35:07Z

I'm in New York to visit goodguyseatpie and give a talk to his students. FYI for everyone, this trip was pretty simple. He's just a hop (airplane to LGA), skip (bus to the MTA North Station), and a jump (train the rest of the way) away. And yall know how much I complain about travel so if this was simple for me, it's _simple_. Of course I'm also batshit tired because I taught a night class yesterday and got up at 3 am to drive to the STL airport. But details, details.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Teaching Jovian Planets

2009-11-02T22:44:26Z

This is for all the astronomy teachers out there. This week I'm teaching jovian planets in our solar system. Every week I do an in-class cooperative learning activity. But this week I don't have anything and I'm running low on ideas. Does anyone out there have good ideas for activities that students can do in class related to learning about jovian planets?

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Give Samhain Back

2009-10-31T23:29:09Z

I'd like to tell the Pope that if he thinks people shouldn't let their children dress up as witches and devils on Halloween that maybe he should just let the Celts have Samhain back. We'd be happy to take it. Honestly this is the only co-opted "christian" holiday I can get behind anymore. It's celebrated with true acts of humor and charity and no one feels like that are obligated to get anyone a gift. This is what all community holidays should be like.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Someone Is Gonna Get Fired

2009-10-29T05:14:56Z

This is amusing in a really sad and stupid kind of way:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/28/did-schwarzenegger-say-fk-you-to-legislature/

Actually its the kind of immature stunt that gets low level cogs in a cult of personality fired. Look for the Schwarzenegger aide that announces their "retirement" or "leaving the governor's office for a new career opportunity" in the next few weeks. Honestly, only a real putz would think they could get away with this stunt. It isn't even really clever. It's just sad.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

And the winner is...

2009-10-28T17:09:22Z

Kidney stones! At least that's the best explanation that the Dr had to offer for my discomfort Monday morning and yesterday. They were probably small enough that they just passed on their own but all the symptoms I had seem to point toward a small calcified mass winding its way through the pipes. In retrospect it makes some sense considering my family medical history and that puffinesq has upped the calcium in our diets while she's been nursing. It makes me long for the days when I was younger and my insides didn't seem to care what I ate. Still good to know it probably isn't something creepier or more "serious." I put "serious" in quotes because if you've ever had the flu and kidney stones at the same time you'd think they were serious on some level or another.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

I Really Saw This

2009-10-26T21:00:13Z

As I was flipping through day-time TV, I went past the public access channel which had an advertisement up on the screen. It was just solid text from the top to the bottom. No pictures. No sound. It was up on the screen about 30 seconds. At the top it read: "Dyslexia Seminar." Um... Maybe you want to rethink your outreach program you've got there.

Solider on brave space-cadets.

Convalescing At Home

2009-10-26T20:21:23Z

I woke up with some wicked pain this morning that at first I thought was the Indian food and chile that I ate yesterday fighting it out in my intestine. But it got worse. It fortunately did not follow the pattern of appendicitis or kidney stones. But puffinesq called a doctor when I started writhing on the floor. The pain stopped four hours later after I found I could sooth it by laying on my back in about two inches of hot water in the tub. I actually fell asleep that way. puffinesq insisted that I stay home in bed. I am starting to think that it might have been a lower back muscle thing. I have a doctor's appointment for Wednesday and hopefully then I get some answers.

Well, back to going stir crazy confined to my bed.

Solider on brave space-cadets.