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The end of Facebook

Ron — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:06:18 +0000

For me, anyway. Facebook never really worked for me anyway; but on top of that, there are lots of serious privacy concerns — see, for example: Facebook gives your info to advertisers, gets caught in the act, promises to stop; EFF’s Bill of Privacy Rights for Social Network Users; MoveOn’s “Did you see what Facebook is trying to do?“; Openbook; Facebook and “radical transparency” (a rant); and Quit Facebook Day.

Which brings us to today. I decided to quit, and figured I might as well do it on Quit Facebook Day.

I support the move to create an open-source, de-centralized, not-for-whoring-to-corporations alternative to Facebook; maybe Diaspora will be that; we’ll see.

Anti-materialism in 4th-grade science

Ron — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:19:12 +0000

My son Oz (in 4th grade) brought home some homework covering the study of matter in his 4th grade science lesson. Here’s a couple of lines from the narrative page “explaining” atoms and matter:

And on the next page, they quizzed him, to make sure he’d accepted the anti-materialist dogma.

When I asked Oz what was wrong with that, he thought for a minute, and then said “They’re in your brain!”

I’ve raised him well.

And while I’m at it: He also noted that he questioned the teacher on the part of the sheet that said all matter was made of atoms, noting that the sun, a miasma of plasma, was really ions and free electrons, and maybe didn’t count as atoms as such.

Thank you, They Might Be Giants.

Republicans are scary crazy

Ron — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:41:59 +0000

If you think ‘Publicans are pretty normal, you might want to check out a really scary poll of self-identified Republicans here, commissioned by Daily Kos. Here are some of the highlights:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 1/20-31. Self-identified Republicans. MoE 2%

Should Barack Obama be impeached, or not?
Yes 39%, No 32%, Not Sure 29%

Do you think Barack Obama is a socialist?
Yes 63%, No 21%, Not Sure 16 %

Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not?
Yes 42%, No 36%, Not Sure 22 %

Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win?
Yes 24%, No 43%, Not Sure 33 %

Do you believe Barack Obama is a racist who hates White people?
Yes 31%, No 36%, Not Sure 33 %

Do you believe your state should secede from the United States?
Yes 23%, No 58%, Not Sure 19 %

Should same sex couples be allowed to marry?
Yes 7%, No 77%, Not Sure 16%

Should openly gay men and women be allowed to teach in public schools?
Yes 8%, No 73%, Not Sure 19%

Should public school students be taught that the book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world?
Yes 77%, No 15%, Not Sure 8 %

Should contraceptive use be outlawed?
Yes 31%, No 56%, Not Sure 13%

Do you believe the birth control pill is abortion?
Yes 34%, No 48%, Not Sure 18%

Do you consider abortion to be murder?
Yes 76%, No 8%, Not Sure 16%

Do you believe that the only way for an individual to go to heaven is though Jesus Christ, or can one make it to heaven through another faith?
Christ 67%, Other 15%, Not Sure 18%

Arg

Ron — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:07:22 +0000

Just fixing this again (argh). Bear with me. Pictures are down, and other stuff. Fixed this weekend.
Update: Mostly fixed now. Some of the older images and links still down. The new WordPress MU has been a bit persnickety.

This year’s “Mindset List”

Ron — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:57:23 +0000

Every fall, Beloit College makes up a “Mindset List” to reflect the world of the new incoming college students (born in about 1991, this year) — what their life has included, and what it hasn’t. Understandably, reading it makes those of us over, um, thirty feel old and alienated. And who doesn’t like that? So check it out; here’s a few of my favorites from this year:

5. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.
6. Earvin “Magic” Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
9. Rap music has always been mainstream.
15. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
22. The European Union has always existed.
30. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
32. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.
34. Women have always outnumbered men in college.
38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.
68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.

J.P. Patches and Archie McPhee

Ron — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:52:52 +0000

The coolest thing I brought home from Seattle? Clearly the JP Patches Bobblehead from Archie McPhee.

My dad and the electro-assist bicycle

Ron — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:45:50 +0000

In the 60’s and 70’s, my dad worked off and on on building one of these things in the garage; he called it the “Friction Compensator”. (eROCKIT electro-assist bicycle)

I’m not kidding. He was an electrical engineer by education, and also converted a 1947 Crossley to electric power with a big rack of lead-acid batteries in the back. Drove me to kindergarten in it a few times.

Live from CRUMBS Cafe

Ron — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:38:38 +0000

Check out the excellent new local music CD Live from CRUMBS Cafe, a compilation of songs from the CRUMBS Cafe Radio Show spanning from 2007-2009.

Believe it or not, back in a past life, before the internets were converted to tubes and were still made of tin cans and string, I had something to do with CRUMBS. Trust me, it’s much cooler now.

Bobby McFerrin and the Power of the Pentatonic Scale

Ron — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:56:48 +0000

Embedding is disabled on this video, so you have to go over to YouTube to see it. But it’s worth it: The awesome Bobby McFerrin “demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale” at the World Science Festival 2009.

YouTube: World Science Festival 2009 — Bobby McFerrin

Abstinance-geared “sex-ed” causes pregnancy & syphilis

Ron — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:43:05 +0000

Imagine my surprise: We’re now reaping the “rewards” of Bushies’ Jeebus-driven anti-sex health “education” policies. A new CDC report has both of these “rising sharply among a generation of American school girls who were urged to avoid sex before marriage under George Bush’s evangelically-driven education policy”. (US teen pregnancy and syphilis rates rose sharply during Bush’s presidency)