The argument that math education is too compartmentalized doesn’t apply only to math education – the same could be said for science in general. We compartmentalize everything so much in public education that it’s not until much later that people see the connections across subject disciplines.
Popularity: 25% [?]
Another video that just goes to show how poorly we actually understand the relationship between obesity and overeating. The last 30 minutes dovetails nicely with Sugar: The Bitter Truth and also explains why low-carb diets seem to work so well.
Popularity: 36% [?]
This video is fun for people who enjoy foreign language learning. It’s also very NSFW.
Many years ago, I did some research with a couple of other colleagues on adapting a speech recognizer to handle common mispronunciations of Korean learners of American English. Using expert knowledge, we modified native English phonological rules to allow for these mispronunciations and tagged the phonetic errors when they occurred. It was a pretty easy technique that worked surprisingly well. The [ih]-[iy] confusion was one of the simpler phonetic mistakes Korean learners commonly make, so I particularly liked the discussion of correctly pronouncing “bitch” vs. “beach.”
Popularity: 44% [?]
About three years ago, as I was preparing to deploy to Iraq, Ms. Geek and I married in a small ceremony at the Cumberland County Magistrate — this also happens to be the Cumberland County Jail, so we technically had a jailhouse wedding. We had a nicer vows exchange ceremony for our families when I returned from deployment. Romance isn’t dead, we just put it on hold.
For our anniversary this year, we had planned to do a traditional “let’s have dinner at a nice restaurant away from the baby” type of affair, but at the last moment I decided to also get Ms. Geek a gift. Flowers are usually an easy gift, but I couldn’t find any that she would have liked. I also couldn’t find a card that was worthy. And she doesn’t particularly like jewelry as a gift – too impractical. So as I was walking around Kendall Square looking for a small gift, I had one of those rare flashes of creativity when I saw the xkcd: Volume 0 book in the window of the MIT bookstore.
While I was deployed, Ms. Geek sent me a care package every single week. I looked forward to those packages like a kid anticipating X-mas. Each one contained a home-recorded DVD of television shows for the week, snacks, letters, local newspapers, small gifts … and a selection of printed out xkcd comics. I’d never heard of the comic before deploying, but I immediately loved it and started posting the printouts on my office wall.
So I bought the book, and for about an hour, sat at my desk making it into a nice hand-made gift for Ms. Geek. I tabbed the pages that had comics dealing with love or related subjects, numbered them using the Fibonacci sequence (refer to 289), and wrote my anniversary love note in the margins.
The result is now scanned and posted for posterity.
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| Wedding Anniversary Feb 20, 2010 |
And yes, she loved it.
Thank you for the colored tabs, Katrina!
Popularity: 100% [?]
While I was deployed to Iraq, one of my sanity maintenance strategies was to log some of the ridiculous things said by various staff officers. It was inspired by this infamous list of staff officer quotes. I’ve anonymized the quotes for career safety.
“Well, I’m not going to do that again.” MAJ (MND-B), after spending several hours on a single slide.
“I have never missed a suspense. The information may be inaccurate, but it’s timely.” MAJ (MND-B)
“I’ve spent 3 days on this slide and I know even less about how the Iraqi government functions than when I started.” MAJ (MND-B)
“TGIF would mean something if the week wasn’t 365 days long.” CPT (MND-B)
“If you want to destroy your enemy, send the Army to wage war. If you really want to f— up the country, send the Army to wage peace.” CPT (MND-B)
“It’s okay to step on your crank once in a while; just don’t mark time on it.” Unknown
“It’s great when people think you can walk on water, but it sucks like hell when they ask you to do it.” Unknown
“Why am I making briefing slides for — on — —–? I’ve never been there. He’s been there like four times. What’s wrong with this picture?” MAJ (MND-B)
“It needs more cowbell.” LTC reviewing a MAJ’s slides (MND-B)
“Those last two briefings get three cowbells.” MAJ on the Joint Common Plan
“It has a level of goodness that has yet to be measured.” MAJ commenting on a civil military project.
“A campaign of exhaustion – using kinetic and non-kinetic means.” COL’s Joint Common Plan slide.
“We need to get them off the CERP crack pipe.” MAJ (MND-B)
“I cannot possibly make this slide anymore confusing.” MAJ after being told to add more processes to the Government of Iraq Essential Services Brief.
“Whoa! [name of person speaking] doesn’t go off the FOB.” NAVY LT after being told he needs a trip to the IZ.
“No, sir.” NAVY LT’s reply to GEN —–’s asking if he was having a good time in Iraq. He recovered quickly and said, “It’s war sir.” This was followed by a slap to the back of his head from a MAJ.
“Damn Sarge!!!! From now on, I want you to raise your hand if you have a question!” MAJ to a CPT, aka Huggy Bear, later kicked out of the Army for being too stupid.
“Working at —– — is like getting hit by a train and getting thrown further down the tracks so that you can get hit again.” MAJ (MND-B)
“I forward emails. Pushing the envelope of freedom and winning the war one email at a time. You know, the best part is that I don’t even write any of them; just add FYI and hit send. Sweet.” MND-B staff officer when asked by a visitor, “What do you do at Division?”
“Waiting until the last 10 minutes before a task is due means you only have to do 10 minutes of work. However, the amount of pain incurred is exponential in the inverse of the time remaining to do the task.” CPT (MND-B). Explaining the theory behind waiting until the last moment before a task is due.
“My weapon has been off the FOB more than I have.” CPO complaining about a MAJ taking his weapon instead of his own.
“Demonstrating our commitment: Making Iraq safer for our children.” LCDR on a new IO campaign.
“I may not be able to pop the bottom off, but I still get friction in the mayonnaise jar.” MND-B CPT responding to an insinuation that his “equipment” was inadequate.
“Currently, there is drought potential from lack of rain during the rainy season. Multiple pipe breaks in the water mains due to illegal taps from returning IDPs and squatters. Massive corrosion and degradation from 3 decades of maintenance neglect. Low water pressure from pumps not operating at full capacity due to lack of feeder lines from substations. Inoperable pumps. Water treatment plants that are still not operational and can not create potable water for the local population. Contamination from sewage treatment plants not operating and sewage being dumped directly into the Tigris. And cholera and hepatitis outbreaks due to sewage in the river being used for irrigation and farming. And reopening swimming pools is supposedly a national priority? Is transitioning the CLCs now not a priority? Or is this part of the same plan? Let’s train the CLCs to be lifeguards!” CPT going off the deep end.
“Same circus, different clowns.” Navy LT comment after MND-B transitioned authority.
Popularity: 86% [?]
Last week, Adm Mullen spoke at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on repealing “Don’t ask, Don’t tell.”
“It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” Mullen said. “We have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as institutions,” Mullen added.
Adm Mullen spoke to Integrity – do what’s right, legally and morally. This is one of the seven Army Values; the others are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, and Personal Courage. These are the values that Soldiers must internalize and conduct their daily lives by from the moment they enter the Army. We say that Soldiers must live the Army Values. Because gay and lesbians Soldiers must violate their Integrity in order to remain in the service, they are forced to violate the value of Integrity which forces them to violate the values of Respect, Selfless Service, and Personal Courage as well. The breach of these values affects not only the gay and lesbian Soldiers, but their commanders and fellow Soldiers as well.
The contradiction that makes DADT incompatible with the Army Values exists between the legal and moral aspects of Integrity. Legally gays and lesbians must remain absolutely silent about their sexuality, and they must lie to everyone about their personal lives. While military professionalism says that personal lives are of no consequence in the military, the reality is that Soldiers talk to each other about what’s going on outside of work. That sort of talk is inevitable when working with their colleagues for years. Commanders must also be aware of their Soldiers personal lives so that they can take appropriate steps to ensure domestic problems do not interfere with the Soldiers’ performance of their duties. The lies gay and lesbian Soldiers must tell create the moral failure in Integrity.
The issue ultimately comes down to Integrity, because in order to uphold other Army Values, such as Loyalty and Duty, the Soldier must sacrifice their comfort in Selfless Service. But, in making this sacrifice, gay and lesbian Soldiers must be dishonest, violating their Integrity and those of other Soldiers, should they be discovered. This is the core of the problem.
The violation of Integrity leads to a violation of Respect. Gay and lesbian Soldiers cannot be Respected in totality if they are forced to hide who they are. In a complementary fashion, gay and lesbian Soldiers cannot Respect other Soldiers because they must constantly lie to them. Treating other human beings with Respect first requires honesty, but as Integrity requires honesty to remain intact, it is impossible for gay and lesbian Soldiers to uphold the value of Respect.
The violation of Integrity is itself a violation of Personal Courage. By lying to other Soldiers, gay and lesbian Soldiers are failing to face moral adversity. If they were to uphold the value of Personal Courage, they would stand up to correct the moral wrongs of DADT. But in doing so, they violate DADT. A catch-22. So in order to remain in the military and in compliance with DADT, gay and lesbian Soldiers must violate Integrity, Respect, and Personal Courage.
And by violating Integrity, Respect, and Personal Courage, gay and lesbian Soldiers are forced to violate Honor – because they can not uphold all seven Army Values. Thus, DADT ultimately forces gay and lesbian Soldiers to either leave the service or only uphold three of the seven Army Values.
Violations of the seven Army Values are not simply confined to gay and lesbian Soldiers, because DADT also has consequences for straight but sympathetic commanders. As a commander, if I find out that one of my Soldiers is gay or lesbian, I am legally obligated to initiate an investigation. If my moral conscience is at odds with discharging a gay or lesbian Soldier, then there is an inherent internal contradiction for me. My Integrity is also violated.
The values of Loyalty, Duty, and Selfless Service would require that I set aside my personal moral qualms and discharge gay and lesbian Soldiers. If I do so, then I have not Respected my other Soldiers by expecting professional behavior of them, and I have not Respected my gay or lesbian Soldiers by treating them as a decent human beings. I also violate the value of Personal Courage, because I have not taken a moral stand on the issue by retaining those Soldiers in violation of my legal obligation. And because I fail to uphold three Army values, I fail to uphold Honor. I too, as a sympathetic commander, violate four of the seven Army Values because of DADT.
It could be argued that this all radiates from my personal moral qualms about discharging Soldiers simply for being gay or lesbian. And I would agree: If one has no moral qualms with discharging gay and lesbian Soldiers, then one’s values framework remains intact. However, as time has progressed, the general population has become more accepting of gay and lesbian Soldiers. Greater and greater numbers of young Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Officers, coming from the general population, bring this acceptance into the services with them. If a commander is of the same mind as myself, then the internal questions are: Do I discharge this Soldier? Do I refuse? Do I lose the paperwork? Or do I leave the Army?
Any answer, other an affirmative to the final question, will force me to violate Respect, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Sympathetic commanders will continue to face this dilemma until DADT is repealed or we leave our services.
Some would argue that the solutions are easy: either gays and lesbians leave the military or they never join in the first place. This is merely wishing the problem away. Gay and lesbian Soldiers have been a part of the military since the United States was formed, even before the ostensibly more humane DADT policy was put into place. Whether or not DADT is repealed, they will continue to be a part of the military.
Therefore, the only practical, sane, moral, and logical solution that allows all Soldiers – straight, gay, or lesbian – to fully live the Army Values is the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Popularity: 77% [?]
The good part starts at about the 7:05 mark.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Mass Backwards | ||||
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You need to replace perhaps the most loved liberal in the history of the Senate with a Candidate that believes Kurt Schilling is a Yankee fan. Because if this lady loses, the healthcare reform bill, that the beloved late Senator considered his legacy will die.
And the reason it will die – the reason it will die is because if Coakley loses, Democrats will only then have an 18-vote majority in the Senate – which is more than George W. Bush *ever* had in the Senate when he did whatever the f— he wanted to do. In fact, the Democrats have a greater majority than Republicans have had since 1923. But for Democrats, apparently a majority of 100 – is 60.
And the state that you need to save healthcare reform is Massachusetts, perhaps the one state whose healthcare system is already more progressive than anything promised in the healthcare reform bill, therefore making them perhaps one of the only states that suffers not a wit from the dying of this bill.
You really f—ed yourselves.
And the only reason that yawl are in this special election position in the first place, is because 6 years ago Massachusetts Democrats changed the rule that empty Senate seats would be appointed by Governors, because at that time they were sure that a Senator named John Kerry was about to win the White House and they didn’t want a Mitt Romney appointing a Republican Senator to Kerry’s position which would have derailed the Democrat’s ability to concede to the Republican’s every whim.
Strategy.
See, it’s not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess – it’s that Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse’s office because once again they glued their balls to their thighs.
I’m sorry, I thought I was in good enough shape to get through a simple explanation of how f—ed up the Democrats are, but, they really f—ed up.
It’s not your fault Democratic party leadership, no one should’ve raised the bar of expectations for you. We should just leave the bar on the ground – wait for you to trip.
Popularity: 45% [?]
You who live safe
In your warm houses,
You who find, returning in the evening,
Hot food and friendly faces:
Consider if this is a man
Who works in the mud
Who does not know peace
Who fights for a scrap of bread
Who dies because of a yes or no.
Consider if this is a woman,
Without hair and without name
With no more strength to remember,
Her eyes empty and her womb cold
Like a frog in winter.
Meditate that this came about:
I commend these words to you.
Carve them in your hearts
At home, in the street,
Going to bed, rising;
Repeat them to your children,
Or may your house fall apart,
May illness impede you,
May your children turn their faces from you.
Popularity: 58% [?]
An excerpt from Survival in Auschwitz by Pimo Levi:
But another fact seems to us worthy of attention: there comes to light the existence of two particularly well differentiated categories among men – the saved and the drowned. Other pairs of opposites (the good and the bad, the wise and the foolish, the cowards and the courageous, the unlucky and the fortunate) are considerably less distinct, they seem less essential and above all they allow for more numerous and complex intermediary gradations.
This division is much less evident in ordinary life; for there it rarely happens that a man loses himself. A man is normally not alone, and in his rise or fall is tied to the destinies of his neighbours; so that it is exceptional for anyone to acquire unlimited power, or to fall by a succession of defeats into utter ruin. Moreover, everyone is normally in possession of such spiritual, physical and even financial resources that the probabilities of a shipwreck, of total inadequacy in the face of life, are relatively small. And one must take into account a definite cushioning effect exercised both by the law, and by the moral sense which constitutes a self-imposed law; for a country is considered the more civilized the more the wisdom and efficiency of its laws hinder a weak man from becoming too weak or a powerful one too powerful.
But in the Lager things are different: here the struggle to survive is without respite, because everyone is desperately and ferociously alone. If some Null Achtzehn vacillates, he will find no one to extend a helping hand; on the contrary, someone will knock him aside, because it is in no one’s interest that there will be one more ‘musselman’ dragging himself to work everyday; and if someone, by a miracle of savage patience and cunning, finds a new method of avoiding the hardest work, a new art which yields him an ounce of bread, he will try to keep his method secret, and he will be esteemed and respected for this, and will derive from it an exclusive personal benefit; he will become stronger and so will be feared, and who is feared is, ipso facto, a candidate for survival.
In history and in life one sometimes seems to glimpse a ferocious law which states: ‘to he that has, will be given; from he that has not, will be taken away’. In the Lager, where man is alone and where the struggle for life is reduced to its primordial mechanism, this unjust law is openly in force, is recognized by all. With the adaptable, the strong and astute individuals, even the leaders willingly keep contact, sometimes even friendly contact, because they hope later to perhaps derive some benefit. But with the musselmans, the men in decay, it is not even worth speaking, because one knows already that they will complain and will speak about what they used to eat at home. Even less worthwhile is it to make friends with them, because they have no distinguished acquaintances in camp, they do not gain any extra rations, they do not work in profitable Kommandos and they know no secret method of organizing. And in any case, one knows that they are only here on a visit, that in a few weeks nothing will remain of them but a handful of ashes in some near-by field and a crossed-out number on a register. Although engulfed and swept along without rest by the innumerable crowd of those similar to them, they suffer and drag themselves along in an opaque intimate solitude, and in solitude they die or disappear, without leaving a trace in anyone’s memory.
I plan to reread this passage whenever I feel sorry for myself.
Popularity: 77% [?]
