I don't know where this one came from, but Obama as Lebowski... Brilliant.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
So, I hate the horror movies like The Saw or Hostel. Gratuitous violence is not my thing. However, I do like a good sci-fi thriller or something so campy that it's funny, and as such, I was really hoping the new M. Night. Shyamalan movie, The Happening, would be good. It's not. At all. I'm glad he got away from his twist at the end, but at least Unbreakable was fun. If you have even the slightest bit of scientific knowledge, then you will be nothing but frustrated by it. Is it a plant revolt? Is it the government? Fucking tell a story. Groan. Plants don't cause wind. Plants don't "evolve" on command. arrrrrgh.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Finally, a biofuel that doesn't use food crops: Sapphire Energy uses algae to make "green crude" which can be refined to gasoline or diesel, and unlike other biofuels the green crude can be shipped in existing pipelines. Read about it here or here. Competition with agricultural land is one of the problems with standard biofuels. That, and even cellulosic ethanol requires growing large stands of switchgrass, which is a highly invasive non-native plant in most areas. I don't know how much dinojuice could be replaced with this process, but it is a start, and should have the potential to be upscaled more than other biofuels.
Since $5/gallon gas isn't that far off, maybe people will start driving less. I think it is going to fundamentally change how we live. Much of the development in the US has been in exburb sprawl. At $5/gal. people will have to live closer to work, and consider other forms of transportation. It screws people who live in rural areas, and those that have to drive, but for the vast majority of people who have made the choice to commute 40-100 miles per day because housing was cheap in the exburbs, it changes that choice, and urban center areas are going to be a lot more desirable, even if there isn't the same amount of space. Europe has been living this way for years. Now is not the time to own in a bedroom community. I think it will fundamntally change San Marcos. Currently we've got just shy of 30K students. The school plans for a full 30K within 5 years. Right now, at least 30% of the undergraduates commute from Austin or San Antonio. That's not going to be economically feasible anymore. Rentals are going to be a hot commodity. Maybe it will get more people in this town out of their SUV's and onto bikes. I think it's already happening... I see more bikes here than I did 3 years ago.
Since $5/gallon gas isn't that far off, maybe people will start driving less. I think it is going to fundamentally change how we live. Much of the development in the US has been in exburb sprawl. At $5/gal. people will have to live closer to work, and consider other forms of transportation. It screws people who live in rural areas, and those that have to drive, but for the vast majority of people who have made the choice to commute 40-100 miles per day because housing was cheap in the exburbs, it changes that choice, and urban center areas are going to be a lot more desirable, even if there isn't the same amount of space. Europe has been living this way for years. Now is not the time to own in a bedroom community. I think it will fundamntally change San Marcos. Currently we've got just shy of 30K students. The school plans for a full 30K within 5 years. Right now, at least 30% of the undergraduates commute from Austin or San Antonio. That's not going to be economically feasible anymore. Rentals are going to be a hot commodity. Maybe it will get more people in this town out of their SUV's and onto bikes. I think it's already happening... I see more bikes here than I did 3 years ago.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Digging out....
Whew. I am one (re)signature away from the M.S. The graduate college approved my thesis earlier today, but because they didn't like the fact that I put "Dr." in front of my committee member's names on the signature pages I have to get it resigned. I've got all of the signatures except one committee member. He'll be back on Tuesday. Maybe now I can get back to things like working on the house and riding my bike. I'm already starting work on my PhD project, and I have a NSF fellowship going in. This means I don't have to teach labs (which I do actually enjoy, but is time consuming) I do have about 15hrs per week commitment for the fellowship, but it's for more money and less hours than teaching at the university. Actually, I will be teaching, but it will be working with high school teachers and students, and I won't be grading or dealing with discipline. The teacher I'm paired with is already almost done with her MS in Biochemistry, so it will be mostly working with her to work on better ways to get students excited about science.
Anyways what this means is that I actually have a weekend off. I'll be spending the summer doing fieldwork, reading, and developing my PhD project with my advisor, at least on an educational level. The rest of the time I hope to spend riding my bike and climbing. Hopefully, I can also make it to my cousin's wedding and my 20yr high school reunion. Maybe even a vacation, although I do have to deal with a seminar class associated with the NSF grant over the summer. Maybe I'll even make a non-political post or two.
Anyways what this means is that I actually have a weekend off. I'll be spending the summer doing fieldwork, reading, and developing my PhD project with my advisor, at least on an educational level. The rest of the time I hope to spend riding my bike and climbing. Hopefully, I can also make it to my cousin's wedding and my 20yr high school reunion. Maybe even a vacation, although I do have to deal with a seminar class associated with the NSF grant over the summer. Maybe I'll even make a non-political post or two.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
So I'm trying not to get too distracted by the political BS right not. I'm in the midst of writing my thesis, and I have to give a 45min talk tomorrow... But FUCK ABC!!!!!!!! It took them an hour to get to any question of any substance. Stephaclintonopolis was a former high level Clinton (Bill) staffer, and he was allowed to be a moderator?! Fuck them. He took notes from an interview with Hannity. Fuck them. Obama isn't connected to the Weather Underground. It's a total republican smear. Hannity is a white supremacist jackass who Fox gives a show. He brought the flag pin "issue" up again. What the fuck?!!! First off, a flag pin really is the least you can do. Secondly, why is Obama's patriotism being questioned when Hillary wasn't wearing one either. It's a bullshit manufactured issue. You hypocritical pieces of shit don't deserve to be called journalists! I hope you rot. Both ABC and Fox. Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Speaking of campaign/media shenanigans...
Obama has been getting all sorts of bad press about his association with a nutjob preacher, who is black, so therefore speaks for all of the scary black people (according to MSM).
BUT:
Huckabee was a candidate for president for 14 months and is a former Southern Baptist preacher, yet wouldn't release his sermons. He doesn't believe in evolution. He supports the anti-gay marriage amendment. He supports the overturn of Roe v. Wade. He thinks the constitution should be changed to make it in-line with the Bible. He doesn't believe in the separation of church and state.
McCain has support from John Hagee and considers Rod Parsley his spiritual advisor. Let's look at Hagee first: Hagee thinks the Catholic church is a "whore" and false religion. He believes in the end days prophecy and that we are nearing them. Now Parsley: He believes that Islam is a "false religion" and that we are at war with them. He makes no distinction between Islamic moderates, and the whackjobs who have warped it into justification for terrorism. (Don't they see their hypocrisy? No of course not...) He believes that Planned Parenthood can be likened to Nazi's. He thinks that we should be prosecuting people for adultery. McCain hasn't had to distance himself from either of these nutjobs.
During the Reagan and Bush I era (as well as Nixon), the Reverend Billy Graham was a regular visitor to the Whitehouse and spiritual adviser. Graham was a confirmed anti-Semite.
My point is that if the MSM is going to take Obama to task about this, then they need to do the same with the conservative white repugnicants who are pushing this shit. I think it is a problem, that religion has made it's way into our politics so insidiously. Any church that promotes political candidates should immediately lose their tax free status. No questions. Religion has to leave our political discourse. Separation of church and state should be absolute. If you can't separate your religious views from your political behavior, then you need to get out of office. NOW. How have conservatives made religion a litmus test for office? I hate them.
Obama has been getting all sorts of bad press about his association with a nutjob preacher, who is black, so therefore speaks for all of the scary black people (according to MSM).
BUT:
Huckabee was a candidate for president for 14 months and is a former Southern Baptist preacher, yet wouldn't release his sermons. He doesn't believe in evolution. He supports the anti-gay marriage amendment. He supports the overturn of Roe v. Wade. He thinks the constitution should be changed to make it in-line with the Bible. He doesn't believe in the separation of church and state.
McCain has support from John Hagee and considers Rod Parsley his spiritual advisor. Let's look at Hagee first: Hagee thinks the Catholic church is a "whore" and false religion. He believes in the end days prophecy and that we are nearing them. Now Parsley: He believes that Islam is a "false religion" and that we are at war with them. He makes no distinction between Islamic moderates, and the whackjobs who have warped it into justification for terrorism. (Don't they see their hypocrisy? No of course not...) He believes that Planned Parenthood can be likened to Nazi's. He thinks that we should be prosecuting people for adultery. McCain hasn't had to distance himself from either of these nutjobs.
During the Reagan and Bush I era (as well as Nixon), the Reverend Billy Graham was a regular visitor to the Whitehouse and spiritual adviser. Graham was a confirmed anti-Semite.
My point is that if the MSM is going to take Obama to task about this, then they need to do the same with the conservative white repugnicants who are pushing this shit. I think it is a problem, that religion has made it's way into our politics so insidiously. Any church that promotes political candidates should immediately lose their tax free status. No questions. Religion has to leave our political discourse. Separation of church and state should be absolute. If you can't separate your religious views from your political behavior, then you need to get out of office. NOW. How have conservatives made religion a litmus test for office? I hate them.
In-case you missed it with all the campaign shenanigans of the past couple of weeks:
The EPA has recently made a couple of decisions which go against all their internal scientists and further show how much BushCo. will politicize anything: First, the EPA denied the right of CA to set their own, stricter, standards on automobile emissions. As CA goes, so goes the nation, and the automobile manufactures don't want that. There is precedent for CA to set their own standards, as they've done it many times in the past. Many other states were awaiting this decision as, they want to do the same thing. Apparently, that's not good enough. By EPA justification, since CA doesn't have problems that are any worse than anyone else's, the administration doesn't think that they have the right to do anything about the problems they do have. This has caused the scientists and legal counsel of the EPA to openly state that they have no confidence in the BushCo. puppet director. Remember this is an issue being pushed by a Republican governor, who actually sees the importance of it, and for all of CA's reputation, it's not that blue of a state. If my memory serves me correctly, other than Grey Davis, CA has had a republican governor for the majority of the past 20 years.
Secondly, the president just directly intervened in the decision on regulating seasonal ozone levels nationwide. Again, going against the scientific and legal council within the EPA. If it wasn't perfectly clear that this administration doesn't care about actually enforcing laws, such as the Clean Air Act, which specifically states that economics can't be considered, because the regulations have to be made on health and welfare standards only. President Bush broke the law (again), by intervening in this decision.
Look, I understand that Pelosi can't actually push impeachment, it has to come from elsewhere in the party. If Bush is impeached, Cheney has to be impeached as well, that puts Pelosi as President, and it would be politically impossible for her to push it. That doesn't mean that we can't have others push it. Wexler and Kucinich have called for it. We need to encourage every Dem in the house to sign on. Cheney first, then Shrub.
The EPA has recently made a couple of decisions which go against all their internal scientists and further show how much BushCo. will politicize anything: First, the EPA denied the right of CA to set their own, stricter, standards on automobile emissions. As CA goes, so goes the nation, and the automobile manufactures don't want that. There is precedent for CA to set their own standards, as they've done it many times in the past. Many other states were awaiting this decision as, they want to do the same thing. Apparently, that's not good enough. By EPA justification, since CA doesn't have problems that are any worse than anyone else's, the administration doesn't think that they have the right to do anything about the problems they do have. This has caused the scientists and legal counsel of the EPA to openly state that they have no confidence in the BushCo. puppet director. Remember this is an issue being pushed by a Republican governor, who actually sees the importance of it, and for all of CA's reputation, it's not that blue of a state. If my memory serves me correctly, other than Grey Davis, CA has had a republican governor for the majority of the past 20 years.
Secondly, the president just directly intervened in the decision on regulating seasonal ozone levels nationwide. Again, going against the scientific and legal council within the EPA. If it wasn't perfectly clear that this administration doesn't care about actually enforcing laws, such as the Clean Air Act, which specifically states that economics can't be considered, because the regulations have to be made on health and welfare standards only. President Bush broke the law (again), by intervening in this decision.
Look, I understand that Pelosi can't actually push impeachment, it has to come from elsewhere in the party. If Bush is impeached, Cheney has to be impeached as well, that puts Pelosi as President, and it would be politically impossible for her to push it. That doesn't mean that we can't have others push it. Wexler and Kucinich have called for it. We need to encourage every Dem in the house to sign on. Cheney first, then Shrub.
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