tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38389652011-04-21T18:38:13.577-05:00Made You ThinkWhat made me think today (or, recently).Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.comBlogger1111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1143082799133355772006-03-22T20:56:00.000-06:002006-03-22T20:59:59.133-06:00"the youngest in a family of dragons is still a dragon from the point of view of those who find dragons alarming"A great interview with Margaret Atwood. (Thanks feministlawprofs.)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1143082472844982452006-03-22T20:53:00.000-06:002006-03-22T20:54:32.856-06:00Relax a littleIt turns out that working too much isn't even good for your work.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142431409935479182006-03-15T08:02:00.000-06:002006-03-15T08:03:29.936-06:00I'm embarassed of my carbon footprintWhich I calculated here.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142431354643748662006-03-15T07:59:00.000-06:002006-03-15T08:02:34.643-06:00Government reducing mad cow testingThat seems an odd response to this week's news. The Reuters article I just linked to explains that Americans seem to have little worry about their beef, though.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142431123771352142006-03-15T07:54:00.000-06:002006-03-15T08:05:45.493-06:00Can you draw Morrissey? And other stories about cute little (lying, biting) toddlersThanks to the Morning News I found this blog with two recent, hilarious posts about life as an alternadad. My favorite part from the first one, which recounts a visit to Souplantation (which reminded me how much I wish we had Souplantation in Milwaukee). Alternadad takes his son outside after a biting incident.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142260768697926902006-03-13T08:33:00.000-06:002006-03-13T08:41:06.496-06:00And a bit more inspirationYou probably have heard about Tom Fox, who was a Christian peace activist killed in Iraq. It inspires me that the folks from his own Quaker congregation in Virginia gave this statement in response to news of his death."That no matter what happened to him personally, he believed his mission of peace, and his direct action of connecting to people, one human being and one Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142260426888441912006-03-13T08:26:00.000-06:002006-03-13T08:33:46.890-06:00InspirationI wanted to share two quotes I found today.First, "It may be that the most interesting American struggle is the struggle to set oneself free from the limits one is born to, and then to learn something of the value of those limits."--Greil Marcus (cited on Blogora).And this: "No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in the present instant. Take peace. The gloom of the world Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142259942498242472006-03-13T08:25:00.000-06:002006-03-13T08:25:42.506-06:00Water on Saturn's moonEnceladus has geysers!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1142258357417451942006-03-13T07:58:00.000-06:002006-03-13T07:59:17.426-06:00Google MARS!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1141876402762581122006-03-08T21:35:00.000-06:002006-03-08T21:53:22.776-06:00Another exciting new hypothesis about dark matter and dark energy!I realize that I am completely unqualified to understand and, really, even comment about the investigations trying to figure out what in the heck is going on with black holes, why the universe seems to be expanding much more rapidly than it should, and why measurements suggest there's a lot of extra matter hanging around but Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1141875077636497242006-03-08T21:21:00.000-06:002006-03-08T21:31:17.650-06:00Yanni arrested for domestic violenceIt surprised me to hear that. His music's so . . . peaceful. You've got to at least give it that.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1141874449703226882006-03-08T21:17:00.000-06:002006-03-08T21:20:49.726-06:00Then they will be 11 and 1/2 hours ahead of usI didn't realize that India was 5.5 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. I guess I didn't realize that any time zones shifted in half-hour increments. Sri Lanka will move its clocks back 1/2 hour in April, to be in line with India. Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1140788591373015302006-02-24T07:38:00.000-06:002006-02-24T07:43:49.230-06:00I guess I really am too nice; or maybe just anti-boundaryThis post on the new legal writing blog, which links to an article about how students are using email to "erase boundaries" between student and teacher really interested me. An example of what one of the professors cited as going "too far" were student email comments like "I think you're covering the material too fast, or I don't think Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1140788300895753652006-02-24T07:37:00.000-06:002006-02-24T07:38:20.896-06:00Paper chairThis chair looks cool -- it's a huge roll of paper that your kid sits on, pulling off more paper as needed. But it would become progressively less cool the more you used it....Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1140788217041342182006-02-24T07:34:00.000-06:002006-02-24T07:36:57.043-06:00Our DisappearedI was talking to students yesterday about the meaning of the word "disappeared," which is a term used to describe the phenomenon in many countries of a person disappearing, presumably taken somewhere by the government. And then I was reading this article about a federal district court judge ordering our government to release the names of the Guantanamo Bay detainees, and one of Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1140788048130451992006-02-24T07:24:00.000-06:002006-02-24T07:34:08.166-06:00Romance in MadisonIn case someone (i.e., Jo) didn't read the comment, I wanted to share what my friend Rebecca pointed out -- there's a very romantic hotel in Madison, the Canterbury Inn, "a 'literary' bed and breakfast, situated atop an independent used and scholarly bookstore and cafe in the heart of downtown Madison, Wisconsin." The rooms have names like "The Wife of Bath's room,"Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1140493798590514732006-02-20T20:45:00.000-06:002006-02-20T22:25:11.986-06:00Sundry random itemsI have not posted in so long that I have too many clippings, and they refuse to be tamed.First, perhaps the most bizarre. The Conglomerate reports that Madison was named the most romantic city in the U.S. As much as I wish this were true, since it would be another reason for my friends Jo and Kris to consider Madison a good option should they return to the states (and Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1138978580715575962006-02-03T08:39:00.000-06:002006-02-03T08:57:59.296-06:00More pun-in tending headlines?Boy, that has to be the worst example, too. But it does identify the subject I'm interested in: whether headlines have gotten "punnier" since so many people started receiving notification about the news via email and blogs (especially blog aggregators).It could be that rather than any increase in the use of puns or other humorous plays-on-words in headlines, I'm Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1138633892136859432006-01-30T08:42:00.000-06:002006-01-30T09:13:40.720-06:00TruthinessI feel that the hubbub over who made up the word "truthiness" has drawn too much attention away from the discussion of the problem of truthiness. I believe that truthiness is one of the greatest problems facing our nation. (Hint: note ironic truthiness used in this paragraph.)Examples:An military analyst and former Army officer says that the military is stretched nearly "to the Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137885513318426062006-01-21T16:42:00.000-06:002006-01-21T17:20:20.646-06:00It seems we've turned the earth into a septic tank; oh, and the space nearby, too.I guess I'm becoming an environmentalist. In fact, my concern about our environment has lately been growing into almost panic. At least fear. I don't know if it's the phenonmenon of when-you-look-for-something-you-see it, or if there really has been an alarming increase in the number of frightening reports Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137101032980204892006-01-12T15:19:00.000-06:002006-01-12T15:24:56.786-06:00Fewer girl babies born in IndiaThis article says that since sex-selective abortion became possible, perhaps 10 million fewer female babies have been born in India than would otherwise be expected. The most striking part to me was this chart of the falling percentage of women:Indian females born as a percentage of males born. 1981; 96.2% 1991; 94.5% 2001; 92.7%What happens in 15 years, when Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137100741844730582006-01-12T15:18:00.000-06:002006-01-12T15:19:01.846-06:00What kids learn at the movies.In their own words. (Thanks, Morning News.)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137100564790323032006-01-12T15:12:00.000-06:002006-01-12T15:18:01.686-06:00Factory farming and modern morality.This essay in American Conservative discusses the faulty legal and moral reasoning that permits factory farms to subject animals to treatment that would be animal cruelty for pets. (Thanks, Morning News.)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137099989736380612006-01-12T15:04:00.000-06:002006-01-12T15:06:29.736-06:00Another study in the category of, they needed a study?As you may have noticed from your personal experience, your mind is foggy during the first moments after you wake up, sometimes so foggy that it's like being drunk. "'For a short period, at least, the effects of sleep inertia may be as bad as or worse than being legally drunk,' said researcher Kenneth Wright of the University of Colorado at Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137099855157898462006-01-12T14:54:00.000-06:002006-01-12T15:04:15.166-06:00How the Alito hearings demonstrate the current "Constitutional catechism"At Balkinization, Jack Balkin offers this thoughtful post reviewing questions and answers in the Alito hearings to demonstrate "that at this point in American constitutional history, a Supreme Court nominee must recite a catechism of belief if he or she is to be confirmed."Here's the content of the catechism:The nominee mustJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137099221716222292006-01-12T14:46:00.000-06:002006-01-12T14:53:41.716-06:00My fear of birds, justified. I have an irrational fear of, well, more like revulsion for, birds. I don't know that it's a phobia, because I can reassure myself that say, a robin, can't really hurt me or anything. But they do give me that creepy feeling that most people get from spiders or snakes.So, this article was of interest to me. Scientists have decided, based on markings on the bones, Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137098793365873012006-01-12T14:42:00.000-06:002006-01-12T14:46:33.366-06:00"Taiwan breeds transgenic, fluorescent green pig."I think this headline speaks for itself. "By injecting fluorescent green protein into embryonic pigs, a research team at the island's leading National Taiwan University managed to breed three male transgenic pigs," the article explains. There's a picture. It's horrifying.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1137098505217151472006-01-12T14:39:00.000-06:002006-01-12T14:41:45.233-06:00A slinky-shaped magnetic fieldsurrounds a gas cloud in the Orion constellation. That, or the field is smashed up and around the gas cloud. They're not quite sure. Obviously, the slinky is the much snazzier option.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1136867042896871832006-01-09T22:22:00.000-06:002006-01-09T22:24:02.896-06:00A draw in the words battleI've decided it's a draw in the battle of the words; one week, dictionary.com seems to send dumb words, then the next thing you know wordsmith.org is sending "anachronism." I did like this word, meaning yesterday evening: yestreen.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1136866914358490262006-01-09T22:19:00.000-06:002006-01-09T22:21:54.356-06:00Ancient hair gelFound on Irish bog man. Short, apparently rich guy, "Clonycavan Man," found with big, tall guy, "Oldcroghan Man," in a bog. Both murdered a couple thousand years ago. Clonycavan Man supposedly used the hair gel to make his hair bigger. Weird.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1136866768025111472006-01-09T22:16:00.000-06:002006-01-09T22:26:33.440-06:00New research about black holesSome scientists think it takes a very long time for matter to move into the center of a black hole. "By tracking the death spiral of cosmic gas at the center of a galaxy called NGC1097, scientists figured that material moving at 110,000 miles an hour would still take eons to cross into a black hole." More than 200,000 years.Also, other scientists discovered a star Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135901355659235892005-12-29T18:07:00.000-06:002005-12-29T18:11:20.346-06:00Locusts crossed the Atlantic?And this National Geographic article reports on a study suggesting that an "Ancient Locust Swarm Crossed the Atlantic." Is this April Fool's Day? The genetic evidence is actually persuasive, but it seems there must be some other explanation than that they crossed the Atlantic Ocean...in a swarm....???It seems preposterous, but the article says that a swarm did Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135901218384573792005-12-29T18:03:00.000-06:002005-12-29T18:06:58.386-06:00"Ancient weapons factory"?National Geographic reports that this Connecticut archeological find, of a site with thousands of stone artifacts suggesting that hunters gathered there to fashion stone points for spears, is an ancient "weapons factory." The phrase seems imprecise; is it a factory any time people gather together to work? We're talking about people bashing rocks together into sharp Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135900922585859302005-12-29T18:00:00.000-06:002005-12-29T18:02:02.586-06:00Young women surpass men in internet usage.I didn't read the full story yet, but the tech blogger at the Journal Sentinel says that the study shows more women than men are online, in the under-65 age group.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135900833650122202005-12-29T17:57:00.000-06:002005-12-29T18:00:33.650-06:00Man beaten by mob in Milwaukee.Almost as upsetting as the horrific beating of this guy driving on a Milwaukee street is the fact that this story made the national press. Someone should investigate how many times Milwaukee stories have made the national press in the last five years, and the image those stories present. Also, someone should study why so many of these beatings seem to happen here,Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135900655896918062005-12-29T17:56:00.000-06:002005-12-29T17:57:35.896-06:00Supreme Court asked to approve Padilla transfer.The controversial transfer request, rejected by the Fourth Circuit in a stinging opinion written by Judge Luttig, is headed to SCOTUS.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135900568975663482005-12-29T17:52:00.000-06:002005-12-29T17:56:08.986-06:00A draw in the battle of the online word-a-day servicesYesterday, dictionary.com sent "cynosure," which means "a center of attention. And wordsmith.org sent "couloir," which means "a deep mountain gorge or gully." I couldn't have given an accurate definition of either word before, so I'm calling it a draw. Actually, the edge is to dictionary.com, because I find that word "cynosure" more useful.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135781760243055312005-12-28T08:38:00.000-06:002005-12-28T08:56:00.253-06:00Historical perspective: the Puritan war on ChristmasNational Geographic news offered this interesting article about Texas A&M anthropologist Vaughn Bryant's theory that "we are reverting back to the days when Christians were trying to abolish Christmas."The Puritans opposed celebration of Christmas, which they considered a Christianized pagan festival. Of course, the Puritans didn't really Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135265451236283642005-12-22T09:25:00.000-06:002005-12-22T09:31:34.960-06:00Green Bay alderman goes on air to make racist comments and then lies about it.This is just awful, but also sort of funny. On November 2, Green Bay city council member Earl Van Den Heuvel called in to a radio station talk show to offer opinions such as the following: "Being a racist may be a smart thing to protect your property in this city. Until the people start changing, until the people startJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135264233780543252005-12-22T09:02:00.000-06:002005-12-22T09:11:33.003-06:00Battle of the word-a-day servicesBefore unsubscribing from dictionary.com's word-a-day service, I'm going to compare here, now and then, the words I receive from dictionary.com and from wordsmith.org each day.I called this a "battle" in the title, but I actually expect it to be more like a humiliating documentation that dictionary.com is...well, just not as good.Today, my word from dictionary.comJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135263765602685282005-12-22T08:59:00.000-06:002005-12-22T09:12:21.056-06:00"Japanese whalers and Greenpeace in remote ocean battle"For me, this headline created unrealistic expectations regarding the nature of this "battle." As the article explains, basically, Greenpeace is getting in the way of Japanese whaler boats, and the whalers tried to push the Greenpeace boats away. Somewhat disappointingly, neither side had a giant monster, laser guns, or actually, weapons of Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135263471965613962005-12-22T08:35:00.000-06:002005-12-22T09:13:33.226-06:00Why American Girls dolls aren't wholesome enoughI have been really puzzled about the recent American Girls dolls controversy. The dolls always struck me as presenting a very traditional and wholesome image of girlhood. Yet, recently they've come under fire from groups who claim to promote conservative family values. Here's why: the American Girls company gives money to Girls, Inc. an organizationJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135262072209156922005-12-22T08:18:00.000-06:002005-12-22T09:15:13.390-06:00Judge Luttig, writing for the Fourth Circuit, has questioned the government's credibility in requesting Padilla transferSCOTUSblog discusses the Fourth Circuit's opinion denying the government's motion to transfer Jose Padilla to civilian custody and to vacate the Fourth Circuit's September opinion, in which the court held that the President to detain enemy combatants within the borders of the Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135261074518723642005-12-22T08:16:00.000-06:002005-12-22T08:17:54.520-06:00Insect wallpaperReuters reports about how "Canadian artist Jennifer Angus took [an "eight-inch jungle nymph insect"], and 15,000 other insects, and pinned them to the walls of Toronto's textile museum for an exhibit that looks, from afar, like elaborate wallpaper and aims to parody bizarre Victorian tastes." There's a cool picture with the article.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135260919616837172005-12-22T08:09:00.000-06:002005-12-22T08:15:19.626-06:00How illegal gun trade worksAt least, how illegal guns get into New York City. The Morning News links to this interesting piece from the New Yorker, describing the way guns are brought in from out of state. The information comes from an interview with a private investigator, Jim Mintz, who is helping the city investigate the gun trade for its anti-gun lawsuit:Mintz got up and walked over to a Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135060779931124022005-12-20T00:32:00.000-06:002005-12-20T00:41:55.053-06:00I fancy myself to have sprachgefuhl.Who knew there was a word for that? This proves that Wordsmith is definitely superior to dictionary.com.And on the subject of spachgefuhl, did you ever read the Life in Hell cartoon where the last panel is something like, "You have a way with words"? One cannot live by sprachgefuhl alone.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135060352298180422005-12-20T00:30:00.000-06:002005-12-20T00:32:47.240-06:00Mass-market solar panels by 2007?According to Honda. I would like some for my house.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135059977146480982005-12-20T00:25:00.000-06:002005-12-20T00:26:17.146-06:00Melange does not merit "word of the day" statusI don't know about these words of the day from dictionary.com sometimes. Isn't melange a pretty well-known word? It does not seem at all unusual to me.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1135059466892964542005-12-20T00:14:00.000-06:002005-12-20T00:17:46.903-06:00The Master and Margarita on TV?In Russia. Not here. Sad for me. Maybe they'll release it on DVD.I had to reread the sentence that mentions "Begemot," thinking to myself, they're talking about Behemoth. It's pathetic that I'd forgotten how "h" sounds become "g" sounds in Russian (or maybe it's how "g" sounds become "h" sounds in English?) Anyway, my favorite example is "guligan," which is Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134678561937778902005-12-15T14:28:00.000-06:002005-12-15T14:29:39.606-06:00Another creepy, and yet cool, online databaseLooking for info about Scott Horton (author of the Balkin torture/honor post I was blogging about), I ran across this site, the "nndb," which bills itself as "tracking the entire world." Thankfully, they don't seem to be tracking me.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134678217773970612005-12-15T14:22:00.000-06:002005-12-15T14:24:49.606-06:00Torture policy developmentSome sort of agreement was reached today between McCain and the administration regarding a ban on the use of torture. The question is what they mean when they use that word "torture."Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134675405594783532005-12-15T13:31:00.000-06:002005-12-15T13:36:45.606-06:00"Mother rats nearly always beat virgins in competitions that involve multitasking."I just received my issue of SciAm in the mail, and there's a really interesting article about a study showing that, at least in some ways, becoming a mother (maybe even a parent, in general) increases intelligence. The latest issue's content doesn't seem to be on the web yet, but this paragraph from the article isJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134673287794543662005-12-15T12:53:00.000-06:002005-12-15T13:01:27.796-06:00More on torture and honorHorton's post about "honor" and "torture" on Balkinization drew the following comment from a reader titling himself "A Christian Prophet":Have I missed something? I haven't seen any evidence that the U.S. has tortured anyone. I've seen strong assurances that the U.S. absolutely does not use torture. And I've seen stories that a few guards abused prisoners and were Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134672587503032252005-12-15T12:44:00.000-06:002005-12-15T12:49:47.513-06:00People trade their time for moneySomeone wrote a paper documenting the fact that on average, people who spend less time shopping pay higher prices. (Thanks to Christine at the Conglomerate for linking to Tyler Cowen's discussion of the study.) In brief, the study finds thatFor identical goods, prices paid are highest for middleaged, rich, and large households, consistent Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134669900697389362005-12-15T11:51:00.000-06:002005-12-15T12:05:00.706-06:00Torture and dishonorThis piece by Scott Horton at Balkinization really touched me, summed up why I find the whole torture debate so hard to take. He explains that the recent decision of the British House of Lords holding that evidence obtained through the use of torture would be inadmissible was based on precedents decided before 1729. It's based on law that was part of the common law before Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134668958129060742005-12-15T11:46:00.000-06:002005-12-15T11:49:18.130-06:00You mean to say, the United States has been moving detainees around without permission?I don't mean to say that I approve of it, or that it's no big deal. But Europe's apparent outrage over the evidence that our government has moved detainees around in Europe outside of normal legal channels rings a little hollow to me. For one thing, I find it hard to believe that most of these governments Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134668782982477042005-12-15T11:45:00.000-06:002005-12-15T11:46:22.983-06:00Another encouraging development for beesI guess that they like living under power lines when the scrub's left to grow. Let's let it grow! Encourage bees, save money on cutting down scrub.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134668688685879022005-12-15T11:37:00.000-06:002005-12-15T11:44:48.696-06:00The Great LakesThis international pact to preserve the Great Lakes seems like a positive development. Particularly because the Great Lakes are on the verge of "ecological breakdown," according to scientists who study such the lakes The scientists urged that collective effort was essential:"There's widespread agreement that the Great Lakes are under tremendous stress," said Alfred Beeton of the Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134656916436725532005-12-15T08:24:00.000-06:002005-12-15T08:28:36.436-06:00Bias in the workplace reportedly extremely commonDid you hear that one out of six Americans reports having been the victim of bias in the workplace? Although the Gallup pollsters concluded that much of this bias is unprotected favoritism, rather than legally prohibited discrimination, they still estimate illegal discrimination rates of between 9 and 15 percent. They also noted that "employees Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134656668807230222005-12-15T08:23:00.000-06:002005-12-15T08:24:28.806-06:00Breakfast reviewsWhat a good idea. I love going out for breakfast. I wish there was something like this for Milwaukee. Thanks Morning News.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134656612002620752005-12-15T08:21:00.000-06:002005-12-15T08:23:32.003-06:00Dryasdust is a word?According to Wordsmith, "dryasdust" is a word meaning "extremely dull, dry, or boring."Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134656457351022062005-12-15T08:20:00.000-06:002005-12-15T08:20:57.353-06:00Help for finding a needle in a haystackA new statistical method helps researchers separate out random occurrences from significant, but very rare, ones. At least, that's what they say it does.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1134656353217811652005-12-15T08:17:00.000-06:002005-12-15T08:19:13.226-06:00Easy-to-access, detailed stats on cities all over the nationI think I picked this link up from the Morning News at some point, but I can't remember when. It's fun to snoop around for statistics about various cities, villages, and towns across the country and in your own neighborhood.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133803118654757612005-12-05T11:12:00.000-06:002005-12-05T11:35:51.276-06:00Intuitive dietingThis idea of intuitive eating as a diet definitely has intuitive appeal. It's similar to Margaret Cho's f***-it diet from a couple of year's ago. The basic concept is to eat what you want, but only enough to satisfy.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133486061712999292005-12-01T19:13:00.000-06:002005-12-01T19:14:47.730-06:00Of or related to snow.I've had a really nival couple of days. My husband, even more so.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133486010212189002005-12-01T19:07:00.000-06:002005-12-01T19:15:04.466-06:00When they say "put a cow in your tank," they really mean it.This really puts the "bio" in "biodiesel":A C$14 million factory near Montreal started producing "biodiesel" fuel two weeks ago from the bones, innards and other parts of farm animals such as cattle, pigs or chickens that Canadians do not eat.the animal and fat waste arrives from a rendering plant as a thick brown liquid -- with a Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133330576224884542005-11-29T23:55:00.000-06:002005-11-30T00:03:15.300-06:00The earth probably was habitable many billions of years earlier than previously thought.Is it just me, or is it true that the more sophisticated our science gets, the less it turns out we know? For example, recent study of zircons has undermined the "conventional theories that early Earth was either moonlike or dominated by oceans. Those theories hold that continental crust didn't form until 4 Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133330096662650512005-11-29T23:54:00.000-06:002005-11-29T23:54:56.663-06:00Don't sweat the velitations.And it's all velitations.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133329795787400272005-11-29T23:47:00.000-06:002005-11-29T23:54:01.236-06:00By resolution of its legislature, Idaho "commends Jared and Jerusha Hess and the City of Preston for showcasing the positive aspects of Idaho's youth, rural culture, education system, athletics, economic prosperity and diversity."The text of the resolution is hilarious. I particularly like the provision that "'any members of the House of Representatives or the Senate of the Legislature of the Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133150489369952842005-11-27T21:59:00.000-06:002005-11-27T22:04:12.150-06:00Avoiding family stress during the holidays As this article points out, "We all like to think of holiday time as a season of peace, love and family togetherness. But in real life, and with the stresses of the winter holiday period, even the closest of clans is bound to have its testy moments." Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133105504079362602005-11-27T09:29:00.000-06:002005-11-27T09:31:44.080-06:00Bee diversityUntil earlier this year, I had no idea there were so many different species of bees. As it turns out, different species of bees are better at pollinating particular species of plants. So bee diversity is good for the ecosystem and in particular, for your garden. This National Geographic article explains that urban "garden types have a huge effect on bee diversity."Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133105365355732502005-11-27T09:27:00.000-06:002005-11-27T09:33:25.980-06:00From Balkinization, another careful look at torture lawBalkin discusses David Luban's recent article on the administration's torture policy. As usual, his analysis emphasizes the way people, lawyers mostly, use language to control the way issues are debated. For example, he argues that Luban's article helps put the torture debate back on track (in rhetorical terms, back "in stasis").Luban's Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133105170647042392005-11-27T09:25:00.000-06:002005-11-27T09:26:10.646-06:00Did we really need a scientific study to confirmthat "Sweet Snacks Slacken Stress"? Sort of silly alliteration in the headline.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1133105085047410292005-11-27T09:24:00.000-06:002005-11-27T09:24:45.063-06:00Dark energy and Einstein's harmonious constantFascinating!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1132195198880651202005-11-16T20:38:00.000-06:002005-11-16T20:39:58.890-06:00I am against torture.And so I'm particularly depressed and angry about the continuing revelations about torture in Iraqi prisons.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1132117126558858192005-11-15T22:49:00.000-06:002005-11-15T22:58:46.560-06:00Recycling the plattenbauThe Morning News once again proves its worth, linking to this article about the re-use of concrete slabs from old Soviet tower-style housing to build new, more appealing housing. As the Guardian states, It looks like many other desirable new homes: a light, spacious two-storey villa with a cool, geometric simplicity. But architect Hervé Biele's first built Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1132116263002460602005-11-15T22:42:00.000-06:002005-11-15T22:44:23.010-06:00EcesisAnother cool plant-kindgom word. As Wordsmith says, "Decided to pack up and move to a new city? Why call it a mere moving (or shifting) when you can grandly announce your ecesis."Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1131987253782193362005-11-14T10:53:00.000-06:002005-11-14T10:55:05.670-06:00Tropism"The turning or bending (typically by growth instead of movement) of an organism in response to an external stimulus." What a great word. Isn't that happening to all of us, all of the time?Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1131603309720393972005-11-10T00:12:00.000-06:002005-11-10T00:15:09.730-06:00Lowell B. Komie's stories Lowell B. Komie is a Chicago lawyer who writes fiction about, among other subjects, Chicago lawyers. His prose is spare and modern, yet filled with life. His perspective is fascinating. Consider Res Ipsa and Fox Hunting, for example.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1131499850576138632005-11-08T19:29:00.000-06:002005-11-08T19:30:50.586-06:00Have you been seeing fireballs lately?I thought I was just going crazy, but I guess there really are fireballs in the sky these days.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1131463901268118062005-11-08T09:30:00.000-06:002005-11-08T14:56:19.446-06:00Do women have a more refined sense of humor than men have?According to this study, they do. Well, that's my interpretation of the study anyway. They found that on average, women take longer to decide whether something's funny. And that once they've decided something's funny, they enjoy the humor more than men do (again, on average).Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1131204948830997282005-11-05T09:21:00.000-06:002005-11-05T09:35:48.850-06:00Archaeologists are fairly certain they have found Copernicus's remains in Poland. This news reminded me of how much I loved the book The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus. The book recounts astrophysicist Owen Gingerich's search for the first and second editions of Copernicus's book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. Gingerich's search disproves the Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1131035660809191732005-11-03T10:33:00.000-06:002005-11-03T10:36:39.160-06:00First lightResearchers think they have pictures of the first lightwaves in our universe.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130986437198338262005-11-02T20:52:00.000-06:002005-11-03T10:36:29.570-06:00Picture of one of our "black site" prisons?This article, with a picture of an Afghan prison supposedly called the Salt Pit, was on Xinhua.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130959725843042372005-11-02T13:27:00.000-06:002005-11-03T10:36:16.246-06:00Read about our "black site" prisonsCNN reports about them here.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130879319279466832005-11-01T15:07:00.000-06:002005-11-03T10:35:41.603-06:00Guantanamo detainees attempt suicide at alarming ratesSee this Washington Post article. Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130798501662240192005-10-31T16:40:00.000-06:002005-10-31T16:43:17.213-06:00Advice for soldiers going to IraqIn 1942. My favorite part: "If you can win the trust and friendship of all the Iraqis you meet, you will do more than you may think possible to help bring them together in our common cause."The Morning News (which linked me to this Harper's piece on our government's 1942 advice to our soldiers in Iraq) is really much more useful than this blog, IJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130724730683482422005-10-30T20:10:00.000-06:002005-10-30T20:13:45.493-06:00Balkin on Luttig's "Superprecedents"Balkin offers a thoughtful discussion of what it means to call Roe v. Wade a "superprecedent."Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130724580192995122005-10-30T20:05:00.000-06:002005-10-30T20:13:32.453-06:00Our women detaineesThe American Prospect recently reminded readers that there were women at Abu Ghraib, too. After she arrived, she says, soldiers and guards forced her and other prisoners to crouch on the ground with their arms above their heads in 100-degree weather: “They told us, ‘You are cowards. You are Saddam’s children. You are ?ghting against the Americans.’ If we complained, they said, Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130724125402430202005-10-30T20:00:00.000-06:002005-10-30T20:13:16.020-06:00As Balkin says, "We need 'maximum flexibility' to waterboard"Speaks for itself.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130723989807507502005-10-30T19:55:00.000-06:002005-10-30T20:13:03.673-06:00Government database with "driving records, favorite college subjects, GPAs, ethnicity and Social Security numbers of every American age 16-25"I saw this the other day and then I think I blocked it out because it was so freaky.Imagine a massive database packed with the driving records, favoritecollege subjects, GPAs, ethnicity and Social Security numbers of every American age 16-25. What could Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130723729959450602005-10-30T19:50:00.000-06:002005-10-30T20:12:50.380-06:00Protein MusicSome scientists are finding it easier to teach about the structure of DNA proteins by using Protein Music -- music based on the patterns of amino acids that make up DNA. Here's my favorite part: Clark said one of the more interesting things demonstrated by the music is the differences and similarities between the same protein of different species. While some proteins Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130364935432224562005-10-26T17:14:00.000-05:002005-10-26T21:16:52.066-05:00Death We have now lost 2000 soldiers in Iraq. And by at least one count, Iraqi civilian casualties are in the tens of thousands. The New York Times reports that "more than 60 Iraqis were killed daily this year, up from 40 last year." (Thanks to the Morning News for the link to this headline.)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130364521808451492005-10-26T17:07:00.000-05:002005-10-26T17:08:41.813-05:00Can they do that? CNN reports the White House has asked the Onion to quit using the presidential seal in parodies.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130171281835104112005-10-24T11:27:00.000-05:002005-10-24T12:11:27.743-05:00TortureThe Morning News also links to this New York Review of Books article that reports the testimony of an officer and two NCOs who served at "Forward Operating Base Mercury" in Iraq, with the 82d Airborne division of the United States Army. The article is an excerpt of a longer Human Rights Watch Report that came out in September.Torture horrifies me. Not so much because I picture myself in Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130039901369320392005-10-22T22:54:00.000-05:002005-10-24T11:28:53.623-05:00Thank-you notes.I am terrible at writing thank-you notes. Often, I just don't do so. When I do, I struggle to write them. I like to write, and have always been puzzled by this problem.The Morning News offers this helpful assistance for the thank-you-note challenged. And links to this piece discussing Harriet Miers' terrible thank-you note to George Bush, and why such notes are so hard to write. Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1130033927728295452005-10-22T21:13:00.000-05:002005-10-22T21:23:43.316-05:00We are having a fantastic working moms discussion on motherswithoutborders. My last postings made me think of this website I've visited now and then, for the organization Putting Family First.The front page of the site says that "[c]urrent research tells us that what our children and youth want most and need most from us as parents… is our TIME! In our fast paced world, Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1129905114494718872005-10-21T09:30:00.000-05:002005-10-21T09:31:54.500-05:00Sadly, it seems that selective logging does not help the rain forest. And that the overall damage caused by timber harvests has been greatly underestimated.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1129866002419679192005-10-20T22:39:00.000-05:002005-10-20T22:40:02.426-05:00Sickening waste of Katrina debit card money. Not surprising I guess.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3838965.post-1129777906793658722005-10-19T22:01:00.000-05:002005-10-20T09:22:49.290-05:00DailyKos today includes a blurb and a link about Robert Bork's perspective on the Harriet Miers nomination.Which reminded me of a fleeting thought I had this morning when I heard someone mention Robert Bork. Is it possible that in some small part, Bork's confirmation process was affected by the confluence of his personality, the raucus debate over his nomination, and the sound of his name? And Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11191079561278663788noreply@blogger.com0