Posts under ‘politics’

That was helpful, not that I give myself any credit for it. Although it’s likely that some of the five hundred or so people who visited one of my sites yesterday didn’t know much about SOPA/PIPA, and maybe they clicked on the EFF link and learned something. But you know industry’s concerns about the internet [...]

If this site, in its entirety, is down tomorrow. SOPA and PIPA are utterly appalling pieces of potential US legislation, and would likely destroy the internet as a community. Not that I expect my tiny participation in tomorrow’s blackout campaign to have any effect, but I want to add my support. The internet has been [...]

Is this tree. There’s quite a bit of discussion on the Legos for girls I mentioned earlier. Best bits I’ve seen: This 1981 ad for Legos. Based on one data point, we’ve come a long way… backward. And this article by Tansy Rayner Roberts, with my favorite quote on the topic: “Our girls should have [...]

My friend Tom left this link on a previous post about science and art: Bathsheba Grossman. I’d looked at her work before, but I don’t think I’d posted it. Science, math and 3D printing- what’s not to like? Another friend, Eric, left an interesting comment on my post about November writing lessons. Eric’s comment, reprinted [...]

I was going to write something about National Novel Writing Month and how I’m tweaking the rules this year to get some of the mass enthusiasm without any of the nervous breakdown, but. I saw this instead, and am too angry about it to write about anything else. Nature, one of the premier scientific journals, [...]

Good job, New York.

With only the names changed, to protect both the innocent and the guilty. twitterconservative: RT: President Obama Takes away National Day of Prayer, But we have “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month’? God Help Us! afriend: I can’t find any authoritative information to that effect. I think you were duped. twitterconservative: yep Guess you [...]

Why? Because he’s awesome. I have a great deal of respect for George Takei and his advocacy efforts. He’s got such a large platform to work from. It’s also entirely okay to be gay, straight, lesbian, trans, queer, asexual, neuter, or whatever else you are. Or more than one of those. Or none. And married. [...]

Need a space program? Start your own! To add to the cheer, more short-sighted behavior: Governor Corbett’s new Pennsylvania state budget cuts the funding for Penn State and other state universities by over 50%. Yes, the economy is bad. Yes, the state and nation do not have as much money as they’d like. Cutting education [...]

My internet was full of remarkably cool things today. This is a wonderful illustration of the “bush of life” (a tree is far too tidy). I love depictions of aspects of science that are both beautiful and meaningful. Somewhat related: the history of scientific illustration (15th – 17th centuries). Using graphics to convey relations: the [...]