tqa | May 21, 2009
As many of you know, my family circumstances do not put me neatly within the American norm. I've got a functioning Y-chromosome, but even though I'm happily married, I've done single parent duty for months at a time. Even when my wife is home, she has very little control over her schedule, and very little flexibility when it comes to things like taking time off when one of the kids is sick. There are few women working in her specific field, and not many of the ones who are there have families.
A while ago, I'd have told you that this gives me about as close to a first-hand understanding of…
tqa | May 21, 2009
Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified for the first time in front of the House Education and Labor Committee yesterday, on the topic of the President's education plan. Duncan was the only witness for the hearing, and his testimony covered the broad spectrum of federal involvement in education. (As someone with a Bachelor's degree who is moving toward a secondary education career, I was particularly happy to hear discussion about the need for more of a focus on non-traditional routes toward teacher certification.)
One area that received a great deal of attention (and which will receive…
tqa | May 19, 2009
As a blogger, I've got to say that I love Michael Steele. All I have to do when I'm having a hard time trying to find something to write about is pop over to Google News and type his name into the box. (I don't have a news alert set for him because I don't want to be overwhelmed with material.)
Today's source of inspriation comes from an op-ed Steele wrote for yesterday's Politico. It started on a note that almost made me feel a faint glimmer of hope that the GOP just might possibly be starting to figure out how to begin to start playing a constructive role in national politics:
The…
tqa | May 18, 2009
This is largely a test post. I'm dragging myself kicking and screaming into the new era of online communications. If I've done things correctly, both my facebook account and twitter feed should provide some sort of announcement when new material posts to this blog.
That doesn't mean that they will, of course, but they should.
To keep this from being a totally wasted post, you'll find a picture below the fold. It's a recent experiment with an IR filter I picked up a while back.
tqa | May 18, 2009
Yesterday, the LA Times ran an opinion piece that is nothing short of appalling. The column in question was titled, "Atheists: No God, no reason, just whining". Sadly, that remarkable headline does appear to very accurately reflect the content of the column. The LA Times apparently decided, for reasons passing understanding, that it was a good idea to give Charlotte Allen the opportunity to present a ~1300-word long explanation of why she doesn't like "atheists."
Just so we're clear, that's how she presented herself - not as someone who doesn't like some, many, or most atheists, or someone…
tqa | May 16, 2009
Dear Moms and Dads,
When I work at a swim meet as a deck official, I'm always happy to see parents there who are happy and excited to see their children compete. It's almost as cool to see parents taking an interest in their children as it is to watch kids working hard and trying their best. Your children deserve your support, and it's wonderful that you're there to give it to them.
That said, there can sometimes be too much of a good thing.
I know I've only been working as a stroke and turn judge for a year or so, but I think I've seen enough meets to be able to offer a little…
tqa | May 13, 2009
Yesterday, the Daily Kos and ThinkProgress reported on some spectacularly inane things that Texas Representative "Smokey Joe" Barton said about carbon dioxide. Now, Barton getting something wrong that involves science or the environment is, of course, nothing new. He is, after all, the man who recently Twittered his pride at "stumping" the Nobel Laureate Energy Secretary with a question that actually demonstrated nothing more than Barton's own ignorance of basic geology. As revealing as that whole little incident was, he managed to make more mistakes yesterday.
Barton committed the errors…
tqa | May 7, 2009I just playing an album I haven't listened to for a while, and I was struck by a sudden and painful sense of deja vu. As it turns out, the source of the feeling is available on YouTube, so I thought I'd share.
tqa | May 7, 2009
At least two medical doctors think that it isn't, and have said so publicly. They feel that the "research has shown" that the new flu isn't going to be very virulent, and question the wisdom of spending $1.5 billion developing a vaccine that "may never be used". I suspect that few of you will be surprised to learn that both these doctors are also Republican members of Congress. Representatives Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun (both of Georgia) made their views known during floor speeches in the House yesterday.
I was not aware that any research had been published that demonstrates that we know…
tqa | May 4, 2009
...you should go and read Devilstower's truly superb article "How Freedom Was Lost" over at the Daily Kos. After you read it, you might want to send copies to the Libertarians you know.
tqa | May 3, 2009I'm not a huge LOLcats fan, but this one is just perfect.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
tqa | April 30, 2009
I was planning to take a couple of days off, but five or six people have emailed me the link to this quote, and it's far too good not to feature:
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
tqa | April 28, 2009
I'm still trying to fully digest the implications of Specter's Switch, but there was something in one of the Politico articles on the defection that I can't resist commenting on now:
In 2001, Republicans still had the House and the White House. Now they have neither. Instead, they have a Republican National Committee chairman who is drawing weak reviews for gaffes...
What? Are they kidding? Steele's gaffes get great reviews. There's nobody in American politics today who can manage to jump, stuff both feet in his mouth, and land flat on his ass in front of the camera the way Michael…
tqa | April 28, 2009
The BBC is reporting that some people are not thrilled about calling the influenza virus that's currently causing alarm around the world "swine flu". Unfortunately, there's a slight possibility that the alternative suggestion wasn't entirely well thought out.
One Monday, Israel's deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman, who belongs to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect, said the outbreak should be renamed "Mexican flu" in deference to Jewish and Muslim sensitivities over pork.
Anyone else just facepalm?
tqa | April 27, 2009
First, the Quote of the Day:
we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
If you're an American, those fourteen words will hopefully look at least vaguely familiar. They're the closing words of the Declaration of Independence. Those words weren't tacked on to the end of the document as a fancy ending. That was the price that the Declaration's signers were willing to pay. When they signed, there was a very real chance that they would in the end pay that price.
Over the weekend, Newsweek's Joe Meacham published an editorial that managed to miss the…
tqa | April 24, 2009
...because there's something about the culture here in the South that I just don't understand.
I was driving earlier, when a funeral procession started to pass from the opposite direction. While I was waiting for them to pass, I was looking at some of the drivers in the procession. A significant fraction of the people in the funeral procession cars were dressed in uniform.
Confederate uniform.
Based on where I was and the direction they were heading, the funeral was clearly going to be in the nearby national cemetery. I just don't get it. How on earth is it appropriate for people to…
tqa | April 23, 2009
Everyone knew there were wolves in the mountains, but they seldom came near the village - the modern wolves were the offspring of ancestors that had survived because they had learned that human meat had sharp edges.
Terry Pratchett
Equal Rites
tqa | April 22, 2009
After my earlier antics, this seemed apropos. Particularly given the conversation that took place after my wife found the directions I hadn't read.
Jill: I thought you said it was a technical problem!
Tim: Technically, I was the problem.
Home Improvement
Episode 1.09 Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
tqa | April 22, 2009
Representative Joe Barton is feeling very good about himself right now. He's convinced that he "baffled" a Nobel Laureate with a "basic question." During a congressional hearing earlier today, he asked Energy Secretary Stephen Chu how the oil got to Alaska. Here's the YouTube clip of the exchange. For your convenience, I've done a quick transcript.
Barton: Dr. Chu, I don't wanna leave you out, you're our... you're our scientist. I have one simple question for you in the last six seconds. How did all the oil and gas get to Alaska and under the Arctic Ocean?
Chu: [Nervous-sounding…