Ponderings of a Scientist

First off - I updated my last post to include the password for accessing pictures

Second - to my post title.  I spend my days at home now and often listen to NPR for hours on end. I cannot tell you how many features I’ve heard about the Sopranos over the course of the last few days.  Last week it was all about the final episode coming and what will happen, this week its all about what did happen on the final episode.  Maybe I wouldn’t be so bothered by this if I watched the show, but I have a feeling I would still not consider a primetime TV drama worthy of coverage on NPR!  When will it end, I can’t take much more Sopranos!

Don’t you just hate when someone is rude to you for no reason. Its especially bad when you encounter this person on a regular basis. It makes me so mad! What did I ever do to deserve such contempt from this person? Thanks to her, my day gets to start with me being ticked off!

I’ve decided (reaffirmed) that I don’t work well in teams.  Pretty much I’m ornery and get easily aggravated by people.  Especially in reference to this newest pet peeve:  when a person refuses to listen to/agree with anything you say, however later when someone else has the same thought they listen and agree.  This is particularly annoying when working in a group, where you seem to be the only one to realize that you have extensive knowledge in the group’s to-be-performed task.  So your ideas are shot down, until an outside of the group person states them again.  Then the most aggresive opponent in the group reiteriates said ideas as his/her own, when really you had them days ago.  I don’t like to think of myself as caddy, but I do like to get credit when credit is due.

As an informal educator (sorry Alan!) I spend a lot of work time thinking about how “kids these days” learn (boy when did I become that kind of adult).  How can we engage them and teach understanding, rather than teach to pass standardized tests?  How can we foster education which will allow students to grow into productive adults?  The solution is obvious, if you look at any teenager - technology, and lots of it, coming at them via multiple sensory streams all at once.  It seems our pollution of the planet, which has resulted in chemicals which disrupt brain activity and grew a cohort of ADHD kids, may not be all bad (being sarcastic here).  However, since they are ADHD, let’s blast them with tons of high tech information, instead of one monotone teacher lecturing on one disconnected topic.  This blog is a great commentary on using technology to teach!  I also appreciate this sentiment from a conference attended by my co-workers…. A 18th century scientist would not recognize a 21st century laboratory, however a 18th century teacher would feel quite comfortable in a 21st century classroom.  Is it time to change our pedagogy?  Perhaps!

Commuting sucks and I’m getting really sick of it! Commuting makes you truly evaluate how much you like your job. I like my job and I love the company I work for, too bad I don’t live an hour closer and get paid more. Trouble is, while Southern NH is a great place to live, there is a derth of career opportunities. I can’t, however, move to Portland, as Zipy has a job in NH and one of us has to be close to home, especially given the impending baby. I don’t even want to think about adding daycare pick-ups and drop-offs to my commuting schedule. As it stands: I leave the house at 6:55 am to get to work by 8:00 am. Then I work with crazy 5th graders all day, get back in the car between 4 and 5 pm and drive an hour to get home. The morning commute isn’t bad, because I’m half a sleep, but getting up so early is a bummer. The evening commute sucks! An hour of thinking how hungry I am and how much I have to do before making dinner when I get home. Monday’s are the worst because Monday’s are meeting day and invariably some meeting leaves a bad taste in my mouth, or is otherwise depressing, (remembing that I work for a non-profit with limited cash flow, too many good ideas and not enough people) such that I get to obsess over said meeting the whole way home. This month is also hard because NPR is covering Politics, Politics, and Iraq; I can’t take one more Republican crazy tell me he is going to beat the liberals because Americans don’t want taxes and are terrorized by the Iraqi people.

On a complete different note - why do towns designate Trick or Treat nights other than on Halloween. I almost hit a few batmen, princesses, and firemen (all dress in dark colors with no lights of course, running amok in the streets) on the way home. These kids were way too old to Trick or Treat so early in the evening… do designated nights also come with designated hours? Halloween isn’t nearly as cool if you don’t get to stay up after your bedtime!

Anyone who does or has live(d) in Dover can relate to this… I was on the back side of Central Ave today turning left at the turn-around to head back to the front side of Central.  I was in traffic in the left turning lane waiting for my turn, while the two straight lanes were waiting at a red light.  As I approached the intersection I attempted to turn into the right most turn lane (to go straight across Central to 2nd), but instead got cut-off my not one, but two cars turning into that lane from the straight lane as their light turned green.  One of the cars came inches, literally, from hitting me!!  How difficult is it to figure out that straight arrows mean continue in a straight line, while turn arrows mean turn! And if it so happens that the turn lane splits into two lanes you get to choose which to turn onto only when you have a turn light!  Stupid Stupid People!

For the first time ever, the Forbes 400 List, the list of the top 400 (why 400?) richest people in the World, names only billionaires.  Multi-millionaires didn’t make the cut.  The rich just keep getting richer and the poor just keep dying in Iraq.

Interesting NPR stories from this morning’s commute:

Target goes bling with new “Tar-Jah” Couture line of jeans and handbags.  Hundred dollar plus items all the rag in a boutique in L.A.  So watch out for the bullseye on Paris Hiltons fanny.

iPod and Nike have developed a wireless pedometer that talks to you via your iPod Nano:  “30 minutes complete, 3.0 miles run, current pace 10 mph, pick up the pace fatty!”  What inspiration.

Big surprise here… the foreclosure rate on mortgages has increased.  Really, how could you fail by paying only interest for 5 years (we were actually offered that loan)?  Or even better if you can’t make your payment its okay, we’ll just add it back on to the principle and you can pay 3 million dollars over 100 years for a $200,000 house!

So I will write a post with many of these.  Thus you do not understand with out these.  Zipy-esque post complete!  Love the Monkey.

I know I’ve been neglecting this blog as of late (see previous bloggy complaints for explaination), however, confounding the problem of my seldom posting, is that I’m not convinced anyone besides Zipy reads this damn thing. Where did all my friends go? Apparently, I have nothing of interest to say. Albeit Tizzom’s complaints it seems I was doing better talking (writing) about politics then talking about science! Well damn you all! I give up. If I don’t received four comments, from four different people, to this post my site will be off air (or wire, cable, dsl) as of midnight Sunday.

Time is ticking (tick, tick, tick)… if only I knew how to insert a count down clock

2 days, 10 hours, 35 minutes

2 days, 10 hours, 34 minutes

2 days, 10 hours, 33 minutes………………………………