Started Bad...Got Worse

You know a game is in trouble when the first pass is intercepted. Especially after the trouncing we took last week. Sorry to end the season with a doofy looking football player, but it kind of sums up the end of this season. Better than last year I suppose.

They didn't get a first down until the final play of the 3rd quarter. And I'm not sure they ever got over 100 yards with the ball. It was clear that the USC wanted a shutout - it sure looked like they'd get their wish. So -- two games ago I found myself cheering for Navy because they were playing so much better than us. Last weekend I only caught a part of the 4th quarter - but that was enough. Syracuse?? Really??? And this week - glutton for punishment I guess.

Earlier this week, the news stations were playing a clip from Charlie Weis's first press conference where he emphatically stated that a 6-5 season was not acceptable - to the fans or to him. I wonder where 6-6 stands then...

Bewildered

I made the terrible mistake of downloading the game "Bejeweled Deluxe 2" to my iPhone, and well...this Thanksgiving Break has flown by. I've gotten lots of stuff done, but when not being productive...I've been hooked (admittedly, the icon to the left goes to another game, but it was the closest I could come to Bejeweled...with a skull).

When not staring at a tiny screen, I've managed to program my garage door and openers (made necessary after I washed my previous opener). Cleaned and moved stuff around in the study and several closets (made necessary because I'm hosting the departmental Christmas party in two weeks). Wrote a largely new Early Primate Evolution lecture (made necessary because I hate the topic and have thus avoided updating the material for awhile). And, wrote lots of letters of recommendation (....because I left 'em till the last minute).

AND, while cleaning the study I came across one of my old PowerBook G4 laptops - the one that I spilled a nearly full Diet Coke into as I was herding cats on the desk. I just assumed it was fried - had tried to restart it several times long ago, no luck. I've since had 3 new laptops. I pluggd it in, and it worked!! I'm updating it now, will take it to the lab tomorrow for student use.

I tell ya, these Mac laptops can take a likin' and keep on tickin'. I had a small 12" laptop that was dropped from about 3 feet and kept working tho' nicely dented. It was subsequented dropped again from an even higher location, a key popped off, the screen popped out, and the frame was even more dented. The little bugger started up again once I pushed the screen back in, we've been using it in the lab since. I'm thinking about starting a new reality show -- Extreme Mac.

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkey Pardoning??

Chatting with family today, and a few students on Tuesday - no one had seen the Sarah Palin turkey video. It turned me off turkey this Thanksgiving I confess - bummer, cuz I miss the good smelling house.

Many stations have blurred out what's going on in the background - this one doesn't. Happy Thanksgiving???

Is Airport Security Useless?

Email Access (or Lack Thereof)

A quick note -- the internet access here at the Westin Boston Waterfront is truly awful, so if you've sent me an email and I haven't responded, now you know why. (fortunately the meetings are great and it's been a terrific visit).

Every time the computer goes to sleep or I close it to put away while I'm out, it loses the connection and requires calling the front desk, who transfers me to the internet provider, who then goes thru the same 4 steps (I guided the last guy to try to cut down on time), and then "guarantees" me that it'll work. Next time -- doesn't work. Apparently "guarantee" has a different meaning to them than I. Schmucks.

Anyway, I'm giving up the ghost cuz it's more than a bit frustrating (and wastes a half hour minimum each and every time). Talk to you in a few days. I will respond when I get out of here and to the airport on Sunday afternoon.

If At First...

I was scheduled to leave for Boston last night to attend the ASOR meetings. But alas, United Express had other plans.

When I checked in, the attendant said we might have a one hour delay due to high winds. While I was sitting in the terminal, the flight crew came in and the pilot told them we would have a one hour delay due to mechanical problems with the plane. After 2.5 hours, I realized that we would be landing (even with the extra hour time difference) about 40 minutes after my flight to Boston departed (the last of the evening), so went up front to see if I could get off the plane.

They were admittedly very nice about it. But interestingly enough, as they were getting me set up to fly out today, the attendant said the delay was a 'gate check' due to high traffic at O'Hare. Makes ya wonder....three reasons, same flight, double the length of the predicted delay.

At one point while I was getting my tickets for today, they reported that the flight was canceled. Then 10 minutes later, it was un-cancelled. By then, I was glad to be set up with tickets for an early morning departure, which went off without a hitch as it turns out.

It was a packed flight, since it was full of the folks from last night, as well as the people who got bumped when the 6:00 am flight was canceled.

And they wonder why no one likes the airlines....

But it was nice to be able to go back home to sleep rather than get stranded in Chicago. Unexpected kittie-cuddle time, no worries about packing, cleaning the house, etc.

One Man's Terrorist...

...is another man's freedom fighter, as they say. I heard an EXCELLENT interview today (yep, on NPR) with Bill Ayres - the 'terrorist' that Obama pals around with. To be honest, I didn't know much about the guy, beyond what was being said of him by the McCain campaign.

Which Way The Wind Blows: Bill Ayers On Obama
FreshAir,
NPR.org, Nov 18, 2008

At the start of the interview, there seemed to be a lot of passing the buck. "I was misquoted", "they exaggerated", "they misunderstood", etc. But then he got into the meat of the conversation, and it was exceptional. I'd take a course from this guy in a hot second! The students at U of Chicago have a goldmine in him, hope they take advantage of it.

His thoughts on protest, on what constitutes terrorism, on who should be apologizing and/or admitting to their actions during the Vietnam war, on the responsibility of 'witnessing' and then taking action, the importance of questioning your own dogma, etc. were quite salient. I was left admiring his views, though questioning his methods - and wondering why McCain was so willing to paint Ayres with such broad strokes. Perhaps because he asks what McCain was doing when he was shot down.

Agree or disagree with his views on the war, it is a VERY thought provoking conversation that asks questions as pertinent today as they were in the late 60s.

Trekkie Glee

I can hardly contain my glee!!! I just saw my first commercial for the new Star Trek movie!! It's not due out till May 8, so it's going to be a slow painful wait.

Not having cameos from Shatner and a few others seems a bit sacrilegious, but at least Nimoy is involved. And it does look go-od. Yay, movie #11.

Ugly

I'm late in posting this - sorry Alicia. It wasn't a pretty game, and for the first time, I heard them address the question of Weis' longevity at ND if this trend continues. We were 'assured' that he is here to stay, but the fact that it is being talked about can't be a good thing for him.

Anyway, we won. Gotta confess, at the end of the game, I was actually hoping for Navy to win. We didn't deserve it.

Random Bytes

The 50 Biggest Movies of 2009
by Michael Moran
Times.com,
Nov 10, 2008


Iraq's damaged Babylon hopes for revival
By Andrew North
BBC.com, Nov 14, 2008


Study Shows Drivers Feel Free to Ignore Speed Limits
By Keith Barry
Wired.com,
Nov 14, 2008



Five Million Dead and Counting The disaster in Congo is all the more tragic because it was utterly avoidable.
By Michael J. Kavanagh
Slate.com, Nov. 14, 2008


Pelvis Dated To 1.2 Million Years Ago Shows Ancestors May Have Been Born With Big Heads
ScienceDaily.com,
Nov 14, 2008



Obama's plans for probing Bush torture
By Mark Benjamin
Salon.com, Nov 15, 2008


Turning Urine Into Water For Space Station Recycling
ScienceDaily.com,
Nov 14, 2008



Pentagon Clears Flying-Car Project for Takeoff
By Noah Shachtman
Wired.com, Nov 13, 2008


How Eating Red Meat Can Spur Cancer Progression: New Mechanism Identified
ScienceDaily.com,
Nov 14, 2008


Growth hormones for kids
By Rahul K. Parikh, M.D.
Salon.com, Oct. 31, 2008


Pope sees physicist Hawking at evolution gathering
Reuters.com, Oct 31, 2008

Can Animals Lie? You Want A Piece of This? (Please Please Please Don’t Take a Piece of This!)
by Carl Zimmer
Discover.com, Nov 13, 2008


The Incredible Journey: Microchip ID Reunites Owners with Cat - 13 Years Later
by Lisa Stein
ScientificAmerican.com,
Nov 14, 2008


To Save the Southern Polar Environment--Dump the Antarctic Treaty
By Brendan Borrell
ScientificAmerican.com, Nov 10, 2008

Oh-ooh

Here's the article that led me to this startling discovery. Take the quiz yourself - better safe than sorry!!

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you
by Matthew Inman
Mingle2.com

Jane Goodall Interview

Here's another NPR recommendation -- an interview with Jane Goodall.

Goodall Reflects On A Lifetime Of Chimp Research
Talk of the Nation
NPR.com, Nov 14, 2008

Polly Wanna Cracker??

This is a very interesting interview with the woman who worked with Alex the parrot for 30 years studying language acquisition. Some very touching accounts, I think this is going on my nightstand.

'Alex & Me': The Hidden World Of Animal Minds
Fresh Air
NPR.com, Nov. 12, 2008

Veteran's Day

I hate to kick him while he's down (way down), but today's ceremony on the Intrepid seemed a slap in the face of many in uniform. Today George W. Bush was awarded the Intrepid Freedom Award, designed to recognize world leaders who embody the ideals of world freedom and democracy. I understand that his father served on that ship. And that it might be common to award the outgoing President with said award.

But don't we have to remember that this is the Administration that sanctioned torture, dispensed with habeas corpus, started the first war of aggression by America on a sovereign nation, suspended portions of the Geneva Conventions? I'm bypassing the whole set of Constitutional issues here, the above seems more than enough to call this award into question.

Seems a bitter pill to make the families of soldiers who died in Bush's Private Little War...not to mention the countless Iraqiis, who we seem to never actually talk about.

Cold Dark Day...

...yes, that applies to the weather as well. But alas, it was more a mood around campus after last night's utter trouncing by Boston College. It looked like the Irish were channeling last year's team -- although, as a student pointed out to me on Facebook - at least last year's team managed to score a point on BC.

And alas, they announced that the Mars Phoenix lander died today. Apparently it will slowly freeze into a solid block of dry ice over the Martian winter, and is not expected to revive in the Spring. So sad. It's like somebody killed Wall-e or something. Sniff!

On the up side...the Obama camp 'leaked' that they are going to close Guantanamo. That is indeed excellent news!! A definite bright spot.

Pretty Funny

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Whoa!! Dodged a Bullet!!

I mean really -- I knew Palin was dim, and didn't hesitate to say so from the minute she was selected -- but now the stories are getting downright frightening.

What is particularly sad -- even if today's stories prove to be false -- is how willing people are to believe them because she so repeatedly proved herself to be incompetent. No sexism, no he said/she said - she totally did this to herself. She was not qualified for this position and didn't have the smarts (or humility) to recognize it. Nor did McCain apparently.

According to today's releases (from FOX!!!!), Palin didn't know:

• what countries compose North America (is this actually possible???)
• what countries are part of NAFTA
• that Africa is a continent and not a country
• asked if South Africa was part of that 'country'
• spent much more on clothes 'n such than the $150,000 we were told
• refused a briefing before the Couric interview (no trouble believing that one)

To be honest, it really is hard to believe that any adult American is really so stupid that they don't know what countries are in North America. I realize I live in an academic bubble most of the time, but I really have to wonder about the truth of that story.

Here's the link to the Fox report: Fox: Palin didn’t know Africa is a continent

Amen!!

A colleague (Eric L.) posted this on Facebook, I thought I'd share it here:

Voting Shifts

This is a pretty interesting map from this week's election. It shows voting shifts nationwide, and the degree of change. Note the strong shift towards the Democratic party even in red states...particularly in Indiana. To see a larger version, just click on the map below. Or, it can be found at:
New York Times Election 2008 Map