I’ve updated the list of books I’m currently reading on the sidebar of my homepage. This feature will get a lot of play over the next ten weeks because my classes have about 2000 pages of required reading this quarter.
Category General
Flooded MUNI Station
An odd storm made its way through the bay area today. Apparently the MUNI wasn’t equipped to handle it.
Van Jones Can’t Destroy America If He’s Not In The White House
In case you missed it: Van Jones resigned at around midnight last night. I don’t know specifics about what Mr. Jones’ policy ideas but he had respect from both sides of the American political spectrum (I’m looking at you Meg Whitman). These policy ideas didn’t matter to the groups that tacked increasing amounts of modifiers before his name in the weeks leading up to his resignation.
First it was radical community organizer, then it was radical community organizer and black nationalist, followed by radical community organizer, black nationalist, and avowed communist, after that he was a radical community organizer, black nationalist, avowed communist, and 9/11 truth petition signer. The one that finally killed him was radical community organizer, black nationalist, avowed communist, 9/11 truth petition signer, and 9/11 truth march organizer.
When repeated enough, these charges became fact. Nobody could even legitimately question the factuality of any of them.
Update: Time has a short profile of Jones.
New Plans
Seeing as it has been a whole three weeks since I have posted, I feel it I need to do something to be reinvigorated in the “blogging spirit”. My idea is to choose one topic a week, do research on it (post the research), and then post an “official” opinion at the end of the week, probably friday or saturday. The intention of this is not to rediscover something everybody already knows but to take the analysis one step farther and raise the discourse to a level above that of reddit’s “lets talk but not act” mentality. Here are some working ideas:
- Torture
- The Iraq war
- Genocide
- The 2008 election
- The media (both old and new)
- College (Specifically the admissions process)
I think 6 weeks should be good enough to get started and see how I like it. The topic of this week: torture.
300
Call it a major hurdle but for the last week I haven’t been able to blog simply because I did not feel like writing this single entry. Why? Because this is my 300th entry in this very weblog. It’s been a long 299 entries but I’ve finally made it. It’s crazy to see how far I’ve come… now I have a grand total of 3 readers besides myself! So sit back, relax, and grab a pint (’cause I can’t) for another 300 entries going strong!
Google “Beer”
On reddit today is a link to the Google search of beer whose title is wondering why there are no ads that appear on it. Wondering why this was, I looked up Google Adwords’ Editorial Guidelines which state:
As a business, Google must make decisions about where we draw the line in regards to the advertising we accept. We, therefore, may not accept ads or keywords containing or relating to certain products or services.
Beer would be one of these, apparently. Also on the list are alcohol, guns and tobacco (as well as any products relating to these). Interestingly enough, the term weapons does have ads.
Global Warming: Who really cares?
Cross posted to Newsvine.
The other day, I entered a discussion with my math teacher (who happens to have a philosophy degree) on the subject of global warming. It is his position that global warming has been blown out of proportion and is not extremely different than the climate changes that have happened throughout the world’s history. What is going on right now is, in fact, smaller than what has happened before. I saw what he was doing, he even explained it. He was trying to get us to research a topic and come to our own conclusions.
My evangelical friends, however, took it a different way. I have recently branched off of the average Creation debates I have with these friends and have ventured into the touchy subject of global warming or, so the Christianists have redubbed it, climate change. A few weeks ago I asked a one friend whether he believed global warming was happening or not and he replied that he didn’t because “God wouldn’t allow that to happen to the earth before Jesus comes” (That might not be exaclty right but that is what I got out of it). Global Warming and the return of Jesus is a topic for another time but my position now is: “Why does it matter?”
Regardless of whether global warming is happening or not, we should be taking measures to cut down our contribution to the degredation of this planet and its precious resources. Like it or not, we are stuck here for at least the next couple decades, why not make the world a more livable place while we’re here? American’s are too stubborn and large corporations enjoy profits too much. This is the way it was with sweatshops in the late 1990s, until somebody protested the mistreatment of workers. More recently, those who protested the treatment of the environment are labelled as hippies or tree-huggers. Luckily however, green has started to become cool. Corporations are realizing that environmentalists are a lucrative market and major grocery stores have started providing more organic foods.
This is just a small step in the right direction but small steps lead to big changes in the long run. The United States has a tendency to let problems just grow and grow until one day everything explodes in their face but this will not be so with global warming. If the earth is indeed getting warmer, then the signs will be more subtle and, by the time we realize what is happening, it will most likely be too late.
Being A Good Writer…
“Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.”
Via boingboing.net.
Welcome Back
… ant that’s all I have to say about that. I hope you had a good month off, mine has been very busy. My birthday was a few days ago. Happy 17!
Eat less insects
An instructables how to gives some fun hints about how to avoid eating insects and insect byproducts. The article uses simple candies to illustrate how insects are commonly disguised in the ingredients listing. This probably won’t effect which foods I choose to eat but it’s nice to know. An added bonus would be to freak out my friends.
Eating a Live Wasp
A user at Ask MetaFilter asks, “Can I eat a live wasp?” At the time of this writing nobody has yet said yes… One person did, however, say that wasps and bees can be eaten after being boiled and even gives some tips as to how to prepare them.
Note Taking Hacks
As you might have read in a previous entry, I have recently begun carrying a Moleskine notebook around, almost religiously. As an acolyte in the cult of molskinery, I am always on the look out for neat tips and tricks that can help me organize my notes better. So today, I was reading the 43Folders Wiki page on ‘note taking‘ and stumbled across a link to some good hints. My favorite is the use of symbols.
I indent my notes from the left edge of the paper about half an inch. This allows me to put my symbols in the left margin. I use four:
- If an item is particularly important or insightful, I put a star next to it.
- If an item requires further research or resolution, I put a question mark next to it.
- If an item requires follow-up, I put a ballot box (open square) next to it. When the item is completed, I check it off.
- If I have assigned a follow-up item to someone, I put an open circle next to it (similar to the ballot box but a circle rather than a square). In the notes, I indicate who is responsible. When the item is completed, I check it off.
Technorati Tags: moleskine, notetaking, symbols