Sunday, August 29, 2004
Medals Count.
Hey everybody! I wanted to get one last thought on the Olympics out before the topic fails to be timely. There is a lot of talk about the medal counts of the countries participating in the Olympics. By most angles, the USA looks like it is the undisputed champion of athletic prowess. But let's look closer at the numbers.
The US has a ton of athletes competing in the games compared to most countries, We (currently) have 102 total medals, 35 of which are gold. Both our total count, and our gold count are the highest in the games. But only 1/3rd of our medals are gold. China, on the other hand, has 62 total medals, and 31 of them are gold. Exactly 50%. So of China's medal earning athletes, half of them are the best in their respective events. The US is not so lucky.
I wish that there were better numbers posted to reflect the number of medals earned versus participants. Smaller countries, such as Cuba (27 medals, 9 gold), Kenya (7 medals, 1 gold), and New Zealand (5 medals, 3 gold) may have high percentage of medals to participants; meaning, their athlete-representatives are quality over quantity.
The USA has a lot of money to throw at all sorts of sports. Even a nation as large as China has to justify spending on their athletic programs. China may not see the viability in developing an archery team when they are already so strong at diving. Kenya may lack resources entirely to develop team handball, kayaking, and platform diving. The USA has stories of athletes struggling to train and earn a living, but even the worst story from a US athlete probably doesn't compare to the disparity of athletes such as the Iraqi women.
The point is this; our superficial emergence as world athlete power is due to more factors than our ability at sports. It also reflects the amount of financial resource out country generates, primarily the resource that is made available for leisure and athletic endeavors. It could be that of USA's 614 number of athletes, we may only medal 17% of the time (tied with Cuba, who in comparison only sent 160 delegates). North Korea is just a step behind with 14% (36 athletes). Russia beats us at the athletic cold war: 18% of their 514 athletes medaled. (as a side note, the magic number appears to be 9%; which means roughly that 1 in every 10 athletes tend to get some podium time).
These sort of statistical analysis questions impact our daily lives, and we need to learn to look beyond the "obvious" numbers. As any minister will tell you, there is a great temptation in measuring your ministry's effectiveness by numbers (such as attendance, baptisms, and giving sums). But rarely do these numbers tell the true story.
As a practical example, consider that we have an election coming up. We will be subject to a lot of poll results. We need to look past things like approval ratings, popularity with sub-groups within the public, and voter turnouts to see the bigger pictures. We need to consider the effect that the potential candidates will have on many issues, such as health care, education, research, and industry. You cannot hear that Bush's administration has saved $"x" in taxes and assume he is the best candidate. You cannot look at Kerry's plan for job creation and assume he will be the best president. There are many things to consider, often intangible when it comes to statistical analysis.
So while I am proud to live in America, and happy that our men and women (mostly our women) have performed at such a high level, and successfully represented us as true champions... I am even more proud as I vicariously live through the nation of United Arab Emirates (one medal, four representatives), Zimbabwe (3 medals with 13 athletes, including one gold!), Ethiopia (24%! 7 medals with only 29 athletes), Thailand (18% of their 44 medaled, including 3 golds), Syria (one medal, six contestants), Eritrea (one deal, 4 athletes!), Kenya (7 of 51 athletes), Iran (6 medals, 40 athletes), Azerbaijan (5 medals in 39), Georgia (4 medals, 33 athletes), and Turkey (who had 9 medals, 3 of each color, with only 67 athletes). Imagine how proud those athletes' countrymen must feel. Rather than sending a flood of athletes, hoping for the law of averages to yield medals, they truly sent forth champions; flagships of their home nation.
Please note that I used the total number of athletes, and this is misleading in one particular manner; it does not account for the fact that team sports may have more participants and earn only one medal. For instance, Paraguay only earned one medal with 32 entrants, but only 5 of them were not on their soccer team (so they really has 1 medal with 6 entries). I simply did not have the data handy to do an analysis based on this. It would be interesting to see medal counts per event...
... It would also be interesting to see medal counts (which is the media's standard for athletic achievement by country) compared to the respective country's populations. It's all anthropology people, not sports. Or is it really all boil down to math... : )
All data was taken from Yahoo! Sports
See ya!
The US has a ton of athletes competing in the games compared to most countries, We (currently) have 102 total medals, 35 of which are gold. Both our total count, and our gold count are the highest in the games. But only 1/3rd of our medals are gold. China, on the other hand, has 62 total medals, and 31 of them are gold. Exactly 50%. So of China's medal earning athletes, half of them are the best in their respective events. The US is not so lucky.
I wish that there were better numbers posted to reflect the number of medals earned versus participants. Smaller countries, such as Cuba (27 medals, 9 gold), Kenya (7 medals, 1 gold), and New Zealand (5 medals, 3 gold) may have high percentage of medals to participants; meaning, their athlete-representatives are quality over quantity.
The USA has a lot of money to throw at all sorts of sports. Even a nation as large as China has to justify spending on their athletic programs. China may not see the viability in developing an archery team when they are already so strong at diving. Kenya may lack resources entirely to develop team handball, kayaking, and platform diving. The USA has stories of athletes struggling to train and earn a living, but even the worst story from a US athlete probably doesn't compare to the disparity of athletes such as the Iraqi women.
The point is this; our superficial emergence as world athlete power is due to more factors than our ability at sports. It also reflects the amount of financial resource out country generates, primarily the resource that is made available for leisure and athletic endeavors. It could be that of USA's 614 number of athletes, we may only medal 17% of the time (tied with Cuba, who in comparison only sent 160 delegates). North Korea is just a step behind with 14% (36 athletes). Russia beats us at the athletic cold war: 18% of their 514 athletes medaled. (as a side note, the magic number appears to be 9%; which means roughly that 1 in every 10 athletes tend to get some podium time).
These sort of statistical analysis questions impact our daily lives, and we need to learn to look beyond the "obvious" numbers. As any minister will tell you, there is a great temptation in measuring your ministry's effectiveness by numbers (such as attendance, baptisms, and giving sums). But rarely do these numbers tell the true story.
As a practical example, consider that we have an election coming up. We will be subject to a lot of poll results. We need to look past things like approval ratings, popularity with sub-groups within the public, and voter turnouts to see the bigger pictures. We need to consider the effect that the potential candidates will have on many issues, such as health care, education, research, and industry. You cannot hear that Bush's administration has saved $"x" in taxes and assume he is the best candidate. You cannot look at Kerry's plan for job creation and assume he will be the best president. There are many things to consider, often intangible when it comes to statistical analysis.
So while I am proud to live in America, and happy that our men and women (mostly our women) have performed at such a high level, and successfully represented us as true champions... I am even more proud as I vicariously live through the nation of United Arab Emirates (one medal, four representatives), Zimbabwe (3 medals with 13 athletes, including one gold!), Ethiopia (24%! 7 medals with only 29 athletes), Thailand (18% of their 44 medaled, including 3 golds), Syria (one medal, six contestants), Eritrea (one deal, 4 athletes!), Kenya (7 of 51 athletes), Iran (6 medals, 40 athletes), Azerbaijan (5 medals in 39), Georgia (4 medals, 33 athletes), and Turkey (who had 9 medals, 3 of each color, with only 67 athletes). Imagine how proud those athletes' countrymen must feel. Rather than sending a flood of athletes, hoping for the law of averages to yield medals, they truly sent forth champions; flagships of their home nation.
Please note that I used the total number of athletes, and this is misleading in one particular manner; it does not account for the fact that team sports may have more participants and earn only one medal. For instance, Paraguay only earned one medal with 32 entrants, but only 5 of them were not on their soccer team (so they really has 1 medal with 6 entries). I simply did not have the data handy to do an analysis based on this. It would be interesting to see medal counts per event...
... It would also be interesting to see medal counts (which is the media's standard for athletic achievement by country) compared to the respective country's populations. It's all anthropology people, not sports. Or is it really all boil down to math... : )
All data was taken from Yahoo! Sports
See ya!
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (for 8/29)
Hello! Here we go! My week-in-review...
The Good:
1) I made it through my first full week of school! I think my favorite classes are going to be Biochemistry and Intro to Health Care.
2) My scale tipped into the 214's this week! That may sound like a high weight (and it is), but I was up to 230 this summer. I have not been this "light" for a long, long time. Go me!
3) The Olympics have been great this year. Did you see the results of the men's synchronized diving? Two Greek men won it. It was a very improbable win, because most of their training was done in a pool with only one diving board! Oh, and their high marks from the judges were primarily based on the fact that they both committed an error at the exact same time, giving the illusion of synchronization. Amazing!
The Bad:
1) US athletes. They are braggarts. They strut around. They pose for the camera. Many of our track and field athletes are just an embarrassment to our country when it comes to their sportsmanship. I was mortified to see one of our hurdlers fall, and not get back up. I think a DNF is more embarrassing than a last place finish any day.
2) Creighton Soccer. The soccer was good (they beat the mighty Kangaroos of UMKC 1 - 0), but the night was a let-down. I went primarily to meet people, and I only saw 4 of my classmates. I was sort of apprehensive and nervous about mingling, but I went... and so I was upset that all that inner turmoil was for nothing. Oh well, there will be other chances.
The Ugly:
1) My throat. I have some sort of viral deal going on, and my throat hurts terribly. It doesn't stop me from talking (grin). I think that my body is a little fatigued from coping with my new schedule. I am up at 6 am daily (2 hours earlier than my earliest stirring in the summer), and am doing a TON more in a day that I have in a long time.
See ya!
The Good:
1) I made it through my first full week of school! I think my favorite classes are going to be Biochemistry and Intro to Health Care.
2) My scale tipped into the 214's this week! That may sound like a high weight (and it is), but I was up to 230 this summer. I have not been this "light" for a long, long time. Go me!
3) The Olympics have been great this year. Did you see the results of the men's synchronized diving? Two Greek men won it. It was a very improbable win, because most of their training was done in a pool with only one diving board! Oh, and their high marks from the judges were primarily based on the fact that they both committed an error at the exact same time, giving the illusion of synchronization. Amazing!
The Bad:
1) US athletes. They are braggarts. They strut around. They pose for the camera. Many of our track and field athletes are just an embarrassment to our country when it comes to their sportsmanship. I was mortified to see one of our hurdlers fall, and not get back up. I think a DNF is more embarrassing than a last place finish any day.
2) Creighton Soccer. The soccer was good (they beat the mighty Kangaroos of UMKC 1 - 0), but the night was a let-down. I went primarily to meet people, and I only saw 4 of my classmates. I was sort of apprehensive and nervous about mingling, but I went... and so I was upset that all that inner turmoil was for nothing. Oh well, there will be other chances.
The Ugly:
1) My throat. I have some sort of viral deal going on, and my throat hurts terribly. It doesn't stop me from talking (grin). I think that my body is a little fatigued from coping with my new schedule. I am up at 6 am daily (2 hours earlier than my earliest stirring in the summer), and am doing a TON more in a day that I have in a long time.
See ya!
Friday, August 27, 2004
Evil Eye
I'll post my Good, Bad, and Ugly post later, but first I wanted to share about something that just happened. I am sitting in a lounge at CU where many students study, socialize, and walk through on the way to class. Now bear with me as I set this story up, it is going to sound a little sexist at first...
I looked up from my computer and realized my eyes went immediately to some girl's rear. She was a tan girl, with a nice, fit body, and short (short!) shorts. I was suddenly aware that I was pretty much staring, and was embarrassed, so I looked back down. Then, I looked up again at the guys sitting in front of me. They were staring. I laughed to myself, until I realized my eyes had wandered again to her rear. I looked down in a hurry, then thought to look to the guys sitting to my right. Sure enough, they were checking her out. (In case you are wondering why is is standing with her butt towards us, the vending machine room is across the way from where the seats are). One guy had even craned his neck over his shoulder to see what his buddy was looking at.
This is partially involuntary, but then again, it is very wrong. It is objectification of women plain and simple. However, I began to wonder, why did she wear such short shorts in the first place...? Anyway, the real point here is as I started to observe the room, any guy who was looking up from his work was looking at this girl's can. And the other girls in the room began to notice. They saw that attention was focused somewhere, and they two looked to see what everyone was looking at.
Some of the girls scowled instantly, others just went back along their way. Those that realized what was going on must have either instantly hated the guys, or the girl for "demanding" attention. It was a funny spontaneous moment of armchair anthropology. I am not sure what to take away from it, other than to keep my eyes on my laptop or notes from now on... : )
See ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
I looked up from my computer and realized my eyes went immediately to some girl's rear. She was a tan girl, with a nice, fit body, and short (short!) shorts. I was suddenly aware that I was pretty much staring, and was embarrassed, so I looked back down. Then, I looked up again at the guys sitting in front of me. They were staring. I laughed to myself, until I realized my eyes had wandered again to her rear. I looked down in a hurry, then thought to look to the guys sitting to my right. Sure enough, they were checking her out. (In case you are wondering why is is standing with her butt towards us, the vending machine room is across the way from where the seats are). One guy had even craned his neck over his shoulder to see what his buddy was looking at.
This is partially involuntary, but then again, it is very wrong. It is objectification of women plain and simple. However, I began to wonder, why did she wear such short shorts in the first place...? Anyway, the real point here is as I started to observe the room, any guy who was looking up from his work was looking at this girl's can. And the other girls in the room began to notice. They saw that attention was focused somewhere, and they two looked to see what everyone was looking at.
Some of the girls scowled instantly, others just went back along their way. Those that realized what was going on must have either instantly hated the guys, or the girl for "demanding" attention. It was a funny spontaneous moment of armchair anthropology. I am not sure what to take away from it, other than to keep my eyes on my laptop or notes from now on... : )
See ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Never Did No Wanderin'
Hey everyone! Ever notice that your mind will tend to wander to the oddest places if you fail to stay focused? It can't be just me...
At church last Sunday, all I could think about was tennis for some reason. I tried to focus, but I kept thinking about how much fun it is, and how much I stink at it. I was trying to work out the math in my head to determine the angle I need to hit the ball on a serve to clear the net and still land within the serve box. Next thing you know, it was altar call time.
Yesterday in Dr. Singh's class (Physical Pharmacy), I found myself wishing my brother was in class with me (Spare me the Liberace comments; his name is Mark, not George). As much as he squanders a naturally curious and bright mind, he still does love to learn. He loves to learn conversions and little formulas. Our family is a motivational gene away from being the Kennedy's of health and science. Well, that gene, and a lot of money. Anyway, I also started to laugh, because he has developed an anagram to remember the taxonomic levels (Kingdom, Phylum, etc.) that is, let's just say, inappropriate. Funny, but inappropriate.
As I sat studying later that day, my mind began to wander to the handful of people I love to spend time with most. I realized that the few people I wish I could see every day share something odd in common. All of these people have one initial that is also the first letter of one of the four directions on a compass (N, W, S, E). No exceptions. Even my single most favorite person in the world.
And as I drove in to Omaha today, after I realized I forgot my gym clothes (another day with no lifting or running), I found myself singing along with the New Pornogrpahers CD at a full yell. In my mind, I was imagining myself strumming a guitar and singing in front of a crowd... something I would never actually do. Then I realized I need to focus on driving instead of belting out "The Ballad of the Comeback Kid."
My mind just wanders and wanders, unless I make a determined effort to stay on task. As John Steinbeck once wrote, "For myself, I can double think. I find that (nothing) prevents a second and continuing layer of thinking, wondering, conjecturing." Amen. Now only if I could double study...
See ya!
At church last Sunday, all I could think about was tennis for some reason. I tried to focus, but I kept thinking about how much fun it is, and how much I stink at it. I was trying to work out the math in my head to determine the angle I need to hit the ball on a serve to clear the net and still land within the serve box. Next thing you know, it was altar call time.
Yesterday in Dr. Singh's class (Physical Pharmacy), I found myself wishing my brother was in class with me (Spare me the Liberace comments; his name is Mark, not George). As much as he squanders a naturally curious and bright mind, he still does love to learn. He loves to learn conversions and little formulas. Our family is a motivational gene away from being the Kennedy's of health and science. Well, that gene, and a lot of money. Anyway, I also started to laugh, because he has developed an anagram to remember the taxonomic levels (Kingdom, Phylum, etc.) that is, let's just say, inappropriate. Funny, but inappropriate.
As I sat studying later that day, my mind began to wander to the handful of people I love to spend time with most. I realized that the few people I wish I could see every day share something odd in common. All of these people have one initial that is also the first letter of one of the four directions on a compass (N, W, S, E). No exceptions. Even my single most favorite person in the world.
And as I drove in to Omaha today, after I realized I forgot my gym clothes (another day with no lifting or running), I found myself singing along with the New Pornogrpahers CD at a full yell. In my mind, I was imagining myself strumming a guitar and singing in front of a crowd... something I would never actually do. Then I realized I need to focus on driving instead of belting out "The Ballad of the Comeback Kid."
My mind just wanders and wanders, unless I make a determined effort to stay on task. As John Steinbeck once wrote, "For myself, I can double think. I find that (nothing) prevents a second and continuing layer of thinking, wondering, conjecturing." Amen. Now only if I could double study...
See ya!
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
"I want to be more than yesterday."
Life has a funny way of changing us. The older we get, the less like the old “us” we become. But the truth of the matter is, as these changes come, we are becoming more like the real “us.” This isn’t to say we don’t change for the worse sometimes, but it is inevitable that we are all in a state of “becoming” as we age.
A lot of us would like to either change choices in our pasts, or at least wipe memory of our past selves from the minds of others. Maybe we treated our bodies too harshly with drugs, alcohol, and poor diets. Maybe we neglected family who are no longer around. Maybe we wasted time and money by choosing the wrong college, career, or hobbies. Maybe we were too free with sharing ourselves sexually; leaving us with emotional scars (like the inability to appreciate true intimacy) or STDs. Maybe credit cards became a toy to us, leaving us with debts we now struggle to fight. Or, maybe we paired up with a spouse too early; before we had a true sense of who we were in relation to our world and our futures.
This line of regret is not only for those of us who have not achieved great things. It does not mean that the person feeling it is weak in any way. In the early 1900’s, Albert Einstein helped develop theories and procedures that allowed the US to develop the atomic bomb. After the American bombing of Hiroshima, Einstein was mortified. He once commented that if he had known how they were going to his research, he would have become a shoemaker.
My point is this; we can’t do much about our past. Who we are becoming is more important. We need to learn from our mistakes, and try to make fewer of them. I myself am humiliated by my own past actions, but I can’t do anything about that. But I found a little personal sanity because I have slowly began to “be myself” lately. I have decided, like the words of the Polyphonic Spree song (and title of this post) “I want to be more than yesterday.” I want to take stock of where I am heading, daily, and make needed adjustments to get there.
I can’t focus on a rude comment I made to someone I now wish to be friends with. I mope about lost opportunities and dollars. I can’t obsess about the “what could have been’s” (as my friend Phuong reminded me… but it is fun to think about them sometimes). It’s too unrealistic and unfair to assume that the women I feel would have been perfect candidates for wives would even want to have been with me in the first place (grin).
I can’t feel bad about doing a poor job as a minister, just as I can’t feel bad about the times I did too good of a job, when in my own heart I wasn’t convicted. My fat gut, my bad posture, my lack of athletic prowess, lack of social contacts, the money I have wasted, words I have avoiding saying to people I love, and extensive knowledge of Nintendo games rather than car maintenance… all that hindsight leads to waste and depression.
I already feel as if I am a different person than I was a week ago. After a week of orientation, and two days of classes, I suddenly feel like a pharmacy student. I feel proud that I have made it this far, and humble that I have been given the mind and the opportunity to fill such an important role in society. I just hope that I always respect the job, and seek to do the most good that I can. As the credo at Creighton goes, I hope that I am a man for others.
The changes time brings are good, and can be used for good. MK Gandhi was a lawyer in his younger days, and we all know how he finished his life. CS Lewis was an atheist, and he became one of modern Christianity’s most literate defenders. In contrast, writer Michael Shermer was an evangelical Christian and left the fold to defend logic and science over myth and mysticism. The point is, we rarely stay static. If we do, then we are not spending enough time on introspection.
As we build a database of knowledge and experience, we not only see ourselves change, but also we see the things that we value change. We need to act on this change, and try to make a positive difference in our own lives, as well as the lives of others. If it means changing careers, religions, lifestyles, or even residencies, it needs to be done.
So encourage me if you see me dwelling on the old Carl (like moping about being 29 and just now entering Pharmacy School), and I will likewise encourage you to become something great (like a doctor… yes I am talking to you Sara!). As Confucius said, we shouldn’t feel bad about the good qualities in ourselves that others fail to recognize… we should feel bad about the good qualities in others we don’t acknowledge. I hope all of my friends and classmates do great things on this planet!
See ya!
A lot of us would like to either change choices in our pasts, or at least wipe memory of our past selves from the minds of others. Maybe we treated our bodies too harshly with drugs, alcohol, and poor diets. Maybe we neglected family who are no longer around. Maybe we wasted time and money by choosing the wrong college, career, or hobbies. Maybe we were too free with sharing ourselves sexually; leaving us with emotional scars (like the inability to appreciate true intimacy) or STDs. Maybe credit cards became a toy to us, leaving us with debts we now struggle to fight. Or, maybe we paired up with a spouse too early; before we had a true sense of who we were in relation to our world and our futures.
This line of regret is not only for those of us who have not achieved great things. It does not mean that the person feeling it is weak in any way. In the early 1900’s, Albert Einstein helped develop theories and procedures that allowed the US to develop the atomic bomb. After the American bombing of Hiroshima, Einstein was mortified. He once commented that if he had known how they were going to his research, he would have become a shoemaker.
My point is this; we can’t do much about our past. Who we are becoming is more important. We need to learn from our mistakes, and try to make fewer of them. I myself am humiliated by my own past actions, but I can’t do anything about that. But I found a little personal sanity because I have slowly began to “be myself” lately. I have decided, like the words of the Polyphonic Spree song (and title of this post) “I want to be more than yesterday.” I want to take stock of where I am heading, daily, and make needed adjustments to get there.
I can’t focus on a rude comment I made to someone I now wish to be friends with. I mope about lost opportunities and dollars. I can’t obsess about the “what could have been’s” (as my friend Phuong reminded me… but it is fun to think about them sometimes). It’s too unrealistic and unfair to assume that the women I feel would have been perfect candidates for wives would even want to have been with me in the first place (grin).
I can’t feel bad about doing a poor job as a minister, just as I can’t feel bad about the times I did too good of a job, when in my own heart I wasn’t convicted. My fat gut, my bad posture, my lack of athletic prowess, lack of social contacts, the money I have wasted, words I have avoiding saying to people I love, and extensive knowledge of Nintendo games rather than car maintenance… all that hindsight leads to waste and depression.
I already feel as if I am a different person than I was a week ago. After a week of orientation, and two days of classes, I suddenly feel like a pharmacy student. I feel proud that I have made it this far, and humble that I have been given the mind and the opportunity to fill such an important role in society. I just hope that I always respect the job, and seek to do the most good that I can. As the credo at Creighton goes, I hope that I am a man for others.
The changes time brings are good, and can be used for good. MK Gandhi was a lawyer in his younger days, and we all know how he finished his life. CS Lewis was an atheist, and he became one of modern Christianity’s most literate defenders. In contrast, writer Michael Shermer was an evangelical Christian and left the fold to defend logic and science over myth and mysticism. The point is, we rarely stay static. If we do, then we are not spending enough time on introspection.
As we build a database of knowledge and experience, we not only see ourselves change, but also we see the things that we value change. We need to act on this change, and try to make a positive difference in our own lives, as well as the lives of others. If it means changing careers, religions, lifestyles, or even residencies, it needs to be done.
So encourage me if you see me dwelling on the old Carl (like moping about being 29 and just now entering Pharmacy School), and I will likewise encourage you to become something great (like a doctor… yes I am talking to you Sara!). As Confucius said, we shouldn’t feel bad about the good qualities in ourselves that others fail to recognize… we should feel bad about the good qualities in others we don’t acknowledge. I hope all of my friends and classmates do great things on this planet!
See ya!
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Moving In.
Hi-ya. Early this morning I attended a CPR training class at Creighton. Most of the city streets around the campus were either blocked off entirely, or swarming with people holding signs (telling the directions to various dorms). It seems that this weekend was move-in weekend for the undergraduate students.
I don;t know about all of you, but I have mixed feelings about "moving-in" at college. It was nice to see your friends after all that time away (except on your freshman year, when you knew almost no one). But on the other hand, I have never been big on packing, unpacking, or meeting new people. Not that I don't like to meet new people, I am just not good at it.
I've been me long enough now to know that I am an acquired taste. People don't look at me and say "there is a guy I need to hook up with." Similarly, my actions in public rarely have any sort of magnetic value either. If I speak in class, it is usually to ask/answer questions ("nerd"), help someone who is lost ("know-it-all nerd"), or make a side comment, which I think is funny but others aren't always so sure ("annoying nerd"). The "Carl" that is interesting and worth getting to know comes along in those rare moments of heartfelt communication. In that, or in my semi-anonymous blogging.
That being said, I did some moving in of my own this week. It was my first week on campus as a pharmacy student. My new classmates all look so young... well, most of them. They seem smart and confident, and dare I say, well off financially (by their dress). I find myself identifying cliques already, and I don't fit in to any of them. I have joked all week about only meeting a few people, but it is true. I have honestly tried my hardest, and I have (in fishing terminology) had few bites. I did miss a "good" opportunity to mingle Friday, as many students convened at a local bar. But I didn't feel comfortable or motivated to do that; not yet anyway. In 30 years, I've never been to a bar on a Friday night (except once at an Old Chicago to meet with an out-of-town friend).
I also moved into my laptop computer, so to speak. I agonized over what to load onto it to make it feel like "home." Here's the list, just to reveal a little more about me to all of you.
1) Some music... as in, all of my Talking Heads albums. You don;t realize how essential this is to my survival.
2) My wallpaper... a scan of a hand-written note from MK Gandhi. Now only does it reference my birthday (Nov. 10), it has a fantastic message of wisdom in simplicity. A college president had asked Gandhi to send along some words of wisdom for the university students. Gandhi's reply was that all he could say to them is to put character before literary knowledge. One sentence, and a million years worth of truth. Just as Gandhi serves as a key inspiration to my life, his words still echo in the ages (in digital form) inspiring me to push myself to always consider character.
3) Chess. I have been able to squeeze in some chess between sessions at school, and I am planning to do so whenever I can. I love chess. As I have aged, I have lost interest in a lot of things... only to have fewer, but stronger loves replace them. Chess is one of these passions. And I stink at it. : ) I read books on it, replay games from the masters by myself, play others, and even meditate about moves in games I haven't played yet... but I still struggle to win. It's an art form; it is spiritual and timeless. It takes concentration, creativity, and a little bit of psychology. But, it is also a time thief. All of the studying, playing, and analyzing eats up a lot of my spare time... only to see my rating drop below 1400 (which is bad). Author Raymond Chandler once said of chess, "as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you could find anywhere outside an advertising agency."
So there you have it. Moving in. I hope that as life progresses, I have fewer moves ahead. Having said that, I will reveal to you that I am pursuing a new job, locally, which means more moving in to be done...
See ya!
I don;t know about all of you, but I have mixed feelings about "moving-in" at college. It was nice to see your friends after all that time away (except on your freshman year, when you knew almost no one). But on the other hand, I have never been big on packing, unpacking, or meeting new people. Not that I don't like to meet new people, I am just not good at it.
I've been me long enough now to know that I am an acquired taste. People don't look at me and say "there is a guy I need to hook up with." Similarly, my actions in public rarely have any sort of magnetic value either. If I speak in class, it is usually to ask/answer questions ("nerd"), help someone who is lost ("know-it-all nerd"), or make a side comment, which I think is funny but others aren't always so sure ("annoying nerd"). The "Carl" that is interesting and worth getting to know comes along in those rare moments of heartfelt communication. In that, or in my semi-anonymous blogging.
That being said, I did some moving in of my own this week. It was my first week on campus as a pharmacy student. My new classmates all look so young... well, most of them. They seem smart and confident, and dare I say, well off financially (by their dress). I find myself identifying cliques already, and I don't fit in to any of them. I have joked all week about only meeting a few people, but it is true. I have honestly tried my hardest, and I have (in fishing terminology) had few bites. I did miss a "good" opportunity to mingle Friday, as many students convened at a local bar. But I didn't feel comfortable or motivated to do that; not yet anyway. In 30 years, I've never been to a bar on a Friday night (except once at an Old Chicago to meet with an out-of-town friend).
I also moved into my laptop computer, so to speak. I agonized over what to load onto it to make it feel like "home." Here's the list, just to reveal a little more about me to all of you.
1) Some music... as in, all of my Talking Heads albums. You don;t realize how essential this is to my survival.
2) My wallpaper... a scan of a hand-written note from MK Gandhi. Now only does it reference my birthday (Nov. 10), it has a fantastic message of wisdom in simplicity. A college president had asked Gandhi to send along some words of wisdom for the university students. Gandhi's reply was that all he could say to them is to put character before literary knowledge. One sentence, and a million years worth of truth. Just as Gandhi serves as a key inspiration to my life, his words still echo in the ages (in digital form) inspiring me to push myself to always consider character.
3) Chess. I have been able to squeeze in some chess between sessions at school, and I am planning to do so whenever I can. I love chess. As I have aged, I have lost interest in a lot of things... only to have fewer, but stronger loves replace them. Chess is one of these passions. And I stink at it. : ) I read books on it, replay games from the masters by myself, play others, and even meditate about moves in games I haven't played yet... but I still struggle to win. It's an art form; it is spiritual and timeless. It takes concentration, creativity, and a little bit of psychology. But, it is also a time thief. All of the studying, playing, and analyzing eats up a lot of my spare time... only to see my rating drop below 1400 (which is bad). Author Raymond Chandler once said of chess, "as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you could find anywhere outside an advertising agency."
So there you have it. Moving in. I hope that as life progresses, I have fewer moves ahead. Having said that, I will reveal to you that I am pursuing a new job, locally, which means more moving in to be done...
See ya!
Friday, August 20, 2004
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (for 8/20/04)
Hello! My busy week of orientation has encouraged me to start something new on this blog. Every Friday I will add a blog called "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," which will cover the ups and downs of my previous week. That way we can all stay up to date with what is cooking in my life, as well as some funny stories. Just in case you are not aware, the title comes from a Western movie staring Clint Eastwood. His Westerns are some of the only movies of that genre that I enjoy. In these movies, he portrays an anti-hero... a guy who ultimately does good, but is anything but righteous.
The Good -
1) Pharmacy School has begun! I am so excited to start. I am very pumped up about the prospect of becoming a professional. It seems as though this is the goal my life was heading for all along, although I had no idea. : )
2) The laptop computers we are using are fantastic. I also enjoy the high speed internet we use at the college. If you guys want to email me during the day, chances are I will get it immediately. Also, if you email me, I will tell you which messenger service I am using (it isn't Yahoo), and maybe we can partake in some daytime chats.
3) The Olympics have been fabulous. Although the events I want to see most are either not shown, or on when I cannot watch, I have enjoyed the Olympics very much.
4) I get to see my friends Sara, Phuong, and Scott on a regular basis. I am very happy about this!
The Bad -
1) Money. This first year of school is costing me over $20,000. It is hard for me not to worry about the cost when I already have loans out from my trip to NCC. But, it is unavoidable if I want to become a Pharmacist.
2) I haven't been too lucky with paperwork and college. This week I have been locked out of my online quizzing (since the lady who activates QM software was never informed that I was enrolled). Then the business office was not made aware that my loan check was available. Then the check was far lower than I expected... because Student Health neglected to inform the business office that I waived insurance and immunization costs. So I am waiting for yet another check...
3) I don't get to see my friend Pat daily, as I have for the last couple of years.
The Ugly -
1) Nothing ugly this week. I hope I get to type this every week. If I had to force an "ugly" I would mention that Iraq lost in men's soccer, and I was very disappointed. They are still number one in their block, but Argentina looks as if they are going to walk away with the gold. And Japan's soccer team played so much worse than they really can. If you have ever watched J-League soccer, you will see talent equal or above the MLS. Disappointing.
2) Oh, and the American men's basketball team is a joke. They may not be our best players, as so many tend to think, but for the millions of dollars they are paid in the NBA, it is embarrassing to see them struggle in world play. Ridiculous.
See ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
The Good -
1) Pharmacy School has begun! I am so excited to start. I am very pumped up about the prospect of becoming a professional. It seems as though this is the goal my life was heading for all along, although I had no idea. : )
2) The laptop computers we are using are fantastic. I also enjoy the high speed internet we use at the college. If you guys want to email me during the day, chances are I will get it immediately. Also, if you email me, I will tell you which messenger service I am using (it isn't Yahoo), and maybe we can partake in some daytime chats.
3) The Olympics have been fabulous. Although the events I want to see most are either not shown, or on when I cannot watch, I have enjoyed the Olympics very much.
4) I get to see my friends Sara, Phuong, and Scott on a regular basis. I am very happy about this!
The Bad -
1) Money. This first year of school is costing me over $20,000. It is hard for me not to worry about the cost when I already have loans out from my trip to NCC. But, it is unavoidable if I want to become a Pharmacist.
2) I haven't been too lucky with paperwork and college. This week I have been locked out of my online quizzing (since the lady who activates QM software was never informed that I was enrolled). Then the business office was not made aware that my loan check was available. Then the check was far lower than I expected... because Student Health neglected to inform the business office that I waived insurance and immunization costs. So I am waiting for yet another check...
3) I don't get to see my friend Pat daily, as I have for the last couple of years.
The Ugly -
1) Nothing ugly this week. I hope I get to type this every week. If I had to force an "ugly" I would mention that Iraq lost in men's soccer, and I was very disappointed. They are still number one in their block, but Argentina looks as if they are going to walk away with the gold. And Japan's soccer team played so much worse than they really can. If you have ever watched J-League soccer, you will see talent equal or above the MLS. Disappointing.
2) Oh, and the American men's basketball team is a joke. They may not be our best players, as so many tend to think, but for the millions of dollars they are paid in the NBA, it is embarrassing to see them struggle in world play. Ridiculous.
See ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Pharmacy School Rocks.
Hey everyone. My absence from "blog-land" has been due to my orientation week. We have had 8 hour days of orientation all week, and it isn't over yet. I promise that I will find time to post something in the next two days. There haven't been many funny stories, but there has been one embarrassing one... most of you may have heard about it so far.
It has to do with a class composite picture that was taken of me on day one. It was hideous. And, being digital, I would have thought that the photographer would have looked at it, and have me stand in for a second picture... but they did not. I did not know it was bad until they passed around a black and white class composite page. We were to check to see if the right names were affixed to the right pictures.
My name was correct, but boy was my picture bad. My chin was tucked in, making my head and neck look very fat; my eyes were closed and I had the stupidest looking grin on my face! I cannot believe they printed that! My mortification was complete when I heard people I don;t even know at the table next to mine say "look at Carl Smith's picture! It's great!" (followed by laughter.
At first chance, I ran to the lady who was in charge of pictures and requested a retake. The request was granted, and the hideous pictures was replaced by a (slightly) less hideous one. I guess I have to work with what God gave me, after all...
So I started my week being the uncomfortable butt of a good laugh. Things have only been better since. I can't say that I am meeting lots of people, in the sense that I have become friendly with them, but I have been introduced to a lot of people... my head is swimming!
So, 110 students, countless faculty, and $20,000-ish dollars later, I have started my quest towards my pharmacy career! Go me! : )
See ya!
It has to do with a class composite picture that was taken of me on day one. It was hideous. And, being digital, I would have thought that the photographer would have looked at it, and have me stand in for a second picture... but they did not. I did not know it was bad until they passed around a black and white class composite page. We were to check to see if the right names were affixed to the right pictures.
My name was correct, but boy was my picture bad. My chin was tucked in, making my head and neck look very fat; my eyes were closed and I had the stupidest looking grin on my face! I cannot believe they printed that! My mortification was complete when I heard people I don;t even know at the table next to mine say "look at Carl Smith's picture! It's great!" (followed by laughter.
At first chance, I ran to the lady who was in charge of pictures and requested a retake. The request was granted, and the hideous pictures was replaced by a (slightly) less hideous one. I guess I have to work with what God gave me, after all...
So I started my week being the uncomfortable butt of a good laugh. Things have only been better since. I can't say that I am meeting lots of people, in the sense that I have become friendly with them, but I have been introduced to a lot of people... my head is swimming!
So, 110 students, countless faculty, and $20,000-ish dollars later, I have started my quest towards my pharmacy career! Go me! : )
See ya!
Thursday, August 12, 2004
It's officially a picnic...
Hello everyone! I just checked the site tracker, and we have 1,018 visits. Wow!
I came across a news story today that just gets my inner-scientist drooling. It seems that in Australia, they have found a super-colony of ants. The colony spans 62 miles (100 km), and is the home of mutated Argentine ants. This story has about a dozen interesting features, and I am dying to comment on them all. But I won't, because that would bore those of you who do not enjoy biology as much as I do. But there are some hard lessons to learn here...
First of all, the ants, as you may have guessed, are not native to Australia. By some twist of fate, they are not only in Australia, but have flourished in the climate. These particular ants have found a way to stabilize their population back in their home environments, but in Australia it is a different tale.
The ants have mutated, and have remained aggressive and productive, but have lost all in-group adversity. That is to say, they no longer fight amongst themselves for resources and turf. These ants have found themselves in a foreign land, and they have banded together. They have lost the instinct to fight out-group ants of similar genetic make-up. So when they are introduced to a fellow Argentine ant, they do not go into war mode. Instead of naturally desiring conflict, which helps population density from exploding through attrition, they have began to work together as one super-colony. The success has been unbelievable! A normal colony, back home in Argentina, is about 20 or 30 meters long. Just a fraction of the size of the colony now resting in the Melbourne area.
You see? Working together is a wonderful thing! A small change has taken ants that are, like any other ant, a mere pest and made them a force to be reckoned with. Now, as a unified society, they are a force that has grabbed human attentions. Their abilities to coordinate and cooperate are so astute that they are ruining Australian biodiversity. They have eliminated all types of vegetation and insect life. They can systematically render a native life form extinct by their sheer number and collective intent. This has made these little ants an enemy to Australia.
It is too easy to make object lessons out of a story like this. About teamwork, about making the most of being away from home, even the threat that can be imposed by foreign elements in an environment. But the one point that I want to elaborate on is the fact that these ants are VARIABLE. Variation is the key to understanding true evolution, and sadly it is the one item that is most misunderstood. I think having a misconception about variability leads to both feverish acceptance of evolution and feverish denial of it.
The reason these ants demonstrate variability is because of this; when they were in their so-called natural habitat, there was homeostasis. Creationists use this, and I think appropriately, to show that God has established an order... everything has its place, and things find a way to work in harmony. The ants have a population control built-in; their aggressive tendencies. These in turn spare the local flora and fauna from over harvesting. The ant, it would seem, has a place where it belongs.
But does it truly belong anywhere? It exists in Argentina, because at some point it found success there, more-so than in its previous locations. Over years and years, the society was formed. There were years of huge populations, and years of devastation from over aggressiveness. Sprinkled between were years that food was plentiful, and years when it was scarce. The hot sun was an enemy for long spells, but a cool friend in others. There were predators who feasted on the ants (who also enjoyed years of over population), but somehow the ants avoid extinction, and lived long enough to see the predation boom end.
If Australia was their first home, they would be a different ant entirely, much like the ants that are present in the super-colony. It isn't because they decided to mutate. It is because there is enough variation in offspring, both good and bad, that eventually a percentage of ants were born that could make the most of their Australian home. This percentage were very successful, and gave rise to another generation that was more or less similar. Thus you have evolution. There is no steering, no deciding, no "I'd better develop sharper claws" mentality. There is nothing but luck and chance. If you took a sample of 100 ants from the Australian super-colony, you would find a fantastic percentage of similarity in the genetic attributes... but there would be unique aspects as well. Longer legs, shorter antennae, keener eyes, different shades of abdomen color... life is unavoidably and uncontrollably variable.
As a matter of fact, this expressed variability that looks like a "plus" for the ants (the teamwork) will become its undoing. On a normal biological time-span (much longer than human "100 years=long time"), this race of ants will all but eliminate itself at its current pace. It will become too densely populated, and it will exhaust both real estate and resources. Granted, there will still be an enormous number of ants, but populations will gradually fall. Then will come famine, disease, and the possibility of variation. Ants may suddenly begin to find their aggressive nature working its way into the gene pool in a more concentrated population. Soon, the wars will re-ignite, driving the population into smaller groupings. This trend will ebb and flow until a observable homeostasis is met, or until the creature is extinct. And ants are not the only thing evolving in this manner. Maybe a rare beetle that feeds on ants will suddenly explode onto the Melbourne scene, and eliminate the ant populations. Maybe a poisoned milkweed will choke out all greenery before the ants do.
Life is complex and chaotic. And all of this happens every day, with plants in your house, insects in your garden, and the animals that roam your state parks.
The misconception of the uneducated evolutionist is that these ants are exemplifying evolution towards a new species; that they are somehow better as they are now. They are improving their species through instinctive altruistic behavior, allowing populations to reach heights never dreamed of back home in Argentina. But the true scientist knows that rarely is there a "better," only "different," and often a "worse." Genetics is fickle. Just look at the rainbow of human diseases. The success of their breeding is a tempting allusion to evolutionary fitness. But the polls are not closed yet. Check back in 10,000 years. Have they exhausted their resources and existing in small pockets, worse off than modern Argentine ants in their "native" land? Are they even present in Australia at all? Only then will we have some idea of this "new" ant is fit.
The misconception of the uneducated Creationist is that those ants belong somewhere specific, and will only find ruin elsewhere. It is hard to argue this at first, because all too often we see how introducing a foreign life-form to an ecosystem can unbalance it, and ruin many aspects of it. But what isn't seen is the long timeline that nature acts upon. Eventually, homeostasis will be found. And the Western mind may be surprised to learn that homeostasis does not equal Eden. Even if southern Australia ends up becoming a harsh desert, free of green plants and insects, it will have stabilized. To the Earth, a desert is as good as a marsh, as a city, as a tar pit, as an ocean, or as a rain forest. To the universe, the earth is as good as the moon, or Mars, or Jupiter. If you believe in mathematics and physics. you may already understand that homeostasis actually rests somewhere closer to annihilation. Its all thermodynamics. It doesn't make for a feel-good religion, but it does reflect reality. And reality is truth, and truth shouldn't scare even the most conservative Christian. None of this threatens God (until you edge ever so close to claiming an answer to the universe's causation). Evolution is not a force. It is the summation of real events that work on many levels. Not like a ladder. Not even in unison. It is an interpretation of results, and educated guessed based on those results.
It is religion that is like a ladder; forever reaching to better man's understanding of himself, his place in the universe, and his behavior. Evolution is not a religion. As I have said, it is a collection of facts and theories based on facts. Evolution is forever susceptible to being altered by new discoveries. Religion, if it is true, should always be singular. The core of Christianity today should resemble Christianity in 300 AD. Truth is unchanging, after-all. The future of these ants may alter our understanding of the sciences, but it should in no way alter our views on religion. Runaway ant populations do not discredit God, no more than runaway church attendance should discredit evolution (a lesson Kansas needs to look into).
Anyway, its all fun to think about (for me anyway). And, I was overdue for a scientific blog.
See ya!
I came across a news story today that just gets my inner-scientist drooling. It seems that in Australia, they have found a super-colony of ants. The colony spans 62 miles (100 km), and is the home of mutated Argentine ants. This story has about a dozen interesting features, and I am dying to comment on them all. But I won't, because that would bore those of you who do not enjoy biology as much as I do. But there are some hard lessons to learn here...
First of all, the ants, as you may have guessed, are not native to Australia. By some twist of fate, they are not only in Australia, but have flourished in the climate. These particular ants have found a way to stabilize their population back in their home environments, but in Australia it is a different tale.
The ants have mutated, and have remained aggressive and productive, but have lost all in-group adversity. That is to say, they no longer fight amongst themselves for resources and turf. These ants have found themselves in a foreign land, and they have banded together. They have lost the instinct to fight out-group ants of similar genetic make-up. So when they are introduced to a fellow Argentine ant, they do not go into war mode. Instead of naturally desiring conflict, which helps population density from exploding through attrition, they have began to work together as one super-colony. The success has been unbelievable! A normal colony, back home in Argentina, is about 20 or 30 meters long. Just a fraction of the size of the colony now resting in the Melbourne area.
You see? Working together is a wonderful thing! A small change has taken ants that are, like any other ant, a mere pest and made them a force to be reckoned with. Now, as a unified society, they are a force that has grabbed human attentions. Their abilities to coordinate and cooperate are so astute that they are ruining Australian biodiversity. They have eliminated all types of vegetation and insect life. They can systematically render a native life form extinct by their sheer number and collective intent. This has made these little ants an enemy to Australia.
It is too easy to make object lessons out of a story like this. About teamwork, about making the most of being away from home, even the threat that can be imposed by foreign elements in an environment. But the one point that I want to elaborate on is the fact that these ants are VARIABLE. Variation is the key to understanding true evolution, and sadly it is the one item that is most misunderstood. I think having a misconception about variability leads to both feverish acceptance of evolution and feverish denial of it.
The reason these ants demonstrate variability is because of this; when they were in their so-called natural habitat, there was homeostasis. Creationists use this, and I think appropriately, to show that God has established an order... everything has its place, and things find a way to work in harmony. The ants have a population control built-in; their aggressive tendencies. These in turn spare the local flora and fauna from over harvesting. The ant, it would seem, has a place where it belongs.
But does it truly belong anywhere? It exists in Argentina, because at some point it found success there, more-so than in its previous locations. Over years and years, the society was formed. There were years of huge populations, and years of devastation from over aggressiveness. Sprinkled between were years that food was plentiful, and years when it was scarce. The hot sun was an enemy for long spells, but a cool friend in others. There were predators who feasted on the ants (who also enjoyed years of over population), but somehow the ants avoid extinction, and lived long enough to see the predation boom end.
If Australia was their first home, they would be a different ant entirely, much like the ants that are present in the super-colony. It isn't because they decided to mutate. It is because there is enough variation in offspring, both good and bad, that eventually a percentage of ants were born that could make the most of their Australian home. This percentage were very successful, and gave rise to another generation that was more or less similar. Thus you have evolution. There is no steering, no deciding, no "I'd better develop sharper claws" mentality. There is nothing but luck and chance. If you took a sample of 100 ants from the Australian super-colony, you would find a fantastic percentage of similarity in the genetic attributes... but there would be unique aspects as well. Longer legs, shorter antennae, keener eyes, different shades of abdomen color... life is unavoidably and uncontrollably variable.
As a matter of fact, this expressed variability that looks like a "plus" for the ants (the teamwork) will become its undoing. On a normal biological time-span (much longer than human "100 years=long time"), this race of ants will all but eliminate itself at its current pace. It will become too densely populated, and it will exhaust both real estate and resources. Granted, there will still be an enormous number of ants, but populations will gradually fall. Then will come famine, disease, and the possibility of variation. Ants may suddenly begin to find their aggressive nature working its way into the gene pool in a more concentrated population. Soon, the wars will re-ignite, driving the population into smaller groupings. This trend will ebb and flow until a observable homeostasis is met, or until the creature is extinct. And ants are not the only thing evolving in this manner. Maybe a rare beetle that feeds on ants will suddenly explode onto the Melbourne scene, and eliminate the ant populations. Maybe a poisoned milkweed will choke out all greenery before the ants do.
Life is complex and chaotic. And all of this happens every day, with plants in your house, insects in your garden, and the animals that roam your state parks.
The misconception of the uneducated evolutionist is that these ants are exemplifying evolution towards a new species; that they are somehow better as they are now. They are improving their species through instinctive altruistic behavior, allowing populations to reach heights never dreamed of back home in Argentina. But the true scientist knows that rarely is there a "better," only "different," and often a "worse." Genetics is fickle. Just look at the rainbow of human diseases. The success of their breeding is a tempting allusion to evolutionary fitness. But the polls are not closed yet. Check back in 10,000 years. Have they exhausted their resources and existing in small pockets, worse off than modern Argentine ants in their "native" land? Are they even present in Australia at all? Only then will we have some idea of this "new" ant is fit.
The misconception of the uneducated Creationist is that those ants belong somewhere specific, and will only find ruin elsewhere. It is hard to argue this at first, because all too often we see how introducing a foreign life-form to an ecosystem can unbalance it, and ruin many aspects of it. But what isn't seen is the long timeline that nature acts upon. Eventually, homeostasis will be found. And the Western mind may be surprised to learn that homeostasis does not equal Eden. Even if southern Australia ends up becoming a harsh desert, free of green plants and insects, it will have stabilized. To the Earth, a desert is as good as a marsh, as a city, as a tar pit, as an ocean, or as a rain forest. To the universe, the earth is as good as the moon, or Mars, or Jupiter. If you believe in mathematics and physics. you may already understand that homeostasis actually rests somewhere closer to annihilation. Its all thermodynamics. It doesn't make for a feel-good religion, but it does reflect reality. And reality is truth, and truth shouldn't scare even the most conservative Christian. None of this threatens God (until you edge ever so close to claiming an answer to the universe's causation). Evolution is not a force. It is the summation of real events that work on many levels. Not like a ladder. Not even in unison. It is an interpretation of results, and educated guessed based on those results.
It is religion that is like a ladder; forever reaching to better man's understanding of himself, his place in the universe, and his behavior. Evolution is not a religion. As I have said, it is a collection of facts and theories based on facts. Evolution is forever susceptible to being altered by new discoveries. Religion, if it is true, should always be singular. The core of Christianity today should resemble Christianity in 300 AD. Truth is unchanging, after-all. The future of these ants may alter our understanding of the sciences, but it should in no way alter our views on religion. Runaway ant populations do not discredit God, no more than runaway church attendance should discredit evolution (a lesson Kansas needs to look into).
Anyway, its all fun to think about (for me anyway). And, I was overdue for a scientific blog.
See ya!
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Man, what a day...
Okay, okay, so this week isn't shaping up to be the big summer blowout I had hoped. Usually, the last week of summer is for us "college" kids to do a few important things;
1) To buy new clothes for school
2) To quit whatever crappy job we took for the summer break
3) To end summer flings with one last intense week of "flinging"
4) To hang out with every friend you can, and have a ton of fun doing it
I haven't done 1, 2, or 3. And man do I wish I could do 3. : ) Just kidding. Anyway, I did get to have some one-on-one time with my local friends... all but one anyway (I hope that changes before Friday). Today I even got to see my pal Nate, who I have not seen all summer. So it was a good morning... although I wasted all the time prior to Nate's arrival. :)
But once I got to work, my day took a very bad turn for the worse. I hate talking about work on my blog, but I have to say that it ruined my week, and it isn't even Wednesday yet. It seems that my department's manager thinks I am an a-hole. Not only that, it was made apparent to me today that she has all but asked me to leave my job. I am sort of upset about this, as I like my job and the people I work with. One lousy person that I cannot seem to get along with, and it happens to be the department head. I won't go any further into it, as it is completely boring to talk about, but I wanted to share with you all that I will not be quitting, no matter how easy my manager has made it for me to leave. I'm not saying I will never leave, but I am going to leave on my own terms. Anyway, it was a bad day.
So, I haven't been able to cut through my anger long enough to consider a real topic for today, but I did want to post something. So here it goes, my attempt at a short, upbeat blog...
If M&M candies are supposed to melt in your mouth, and not in your hands (as the ads used to say), why do they instantly "melt" in my yogurt? I threw a handful of M&M Mini's into my cup of "Best Choice" vanilla yogurt (to make it palatable). Each M&M instantly left trails of green, red, blue, and orange. It is like the colorful dye could not wait to leave the M&M. The resulting psychedelic swirls were enough to make the hardest-core of hippies smile. What is in my yogurt that is so, I don't know, color-philic? Anyone know?
See ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
1) To buy new clothes for school
2) To quit whatever crappy job we took for the summer break
3) To end summer flings with one last intense week of "flinging"
4) To hang out with every friend you can, and have a ton of fun doing it
I haven't done 1, 2, or 3. And man do I wish I could do 3. : ) Just kidding. Anyway, I did get to have some one-on-one time with my local friends... all but one anyway (I hope that changes before Friday). Today I even got to see my pal Nate, who I have not seen all summer. So it was a good morning... although I wasted all the time prior to Nate's arrival. :)
But once I got to work, my day took a very bad turn for the worse. I hate talking about work on my blog, but I have to say that it ruined my week, and it isn't even Wednesday yet. It seems that my department's manager thinks I am an a-hole. Not only that, it was made apparent to me today that she has all but asked me to leave my job. I am sort of upset about this, as I like my job and the people I work with. One lousy person that I cannot seem to get along with, and it happens to be the department head. I won't go any further into it, as it is completely boring to talk about, but I wanted to share with you all that I will not be quitting, no matter how easy my manager has made it for me to leave. I'm not saying I will never leave, but I am going to leave on my own terms. Anyway, it was a bad day.
So, I haven't been able to cut through my anger long enough to consider a real topic for today, but I did want to post something. So here it goes, my attempt at a short, upbeat blog...
If M&M candies are supposed to melt in your mouth, and not in your hands (as the ads used to say), why do they instantly "melt" in my yogurt? I threw a handful of M&M Mini's into my cup of "Best Choice" vanilla yogurt (to make it palatable). Each M&M instantly left trails of green, red, blue, and orange. It is like the colorful dye could not wait to leave the M&M. The resulting psychedelic swirls were enough to make the hardest-core of hippies smile. What is in my yogurt that is so, I don't know, color-philic? Anyone know?
See ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
Not Double Nickels On The Dime (or, "I didn't drive 55")
Hey everyone! By this time tomorrow, the site will have had 1000 visits! Pretty cool! I never thought so many people would read (or pretend to read) my blog! Thanks to everyone who visits, and I hope I can look forward to another 1000 visits!
Yesterday I had a good day. I am trying to spend my time as structured as possible, yet have as much fun as I can squeeze into this week. Pharmacy School begins for me next Monday with a week of Orientation. The days last from 8 AM to 5 PM, which is going to be taxing on someone who has spent all summer reading manga and golfing. So this week is all about fun.
In the midst of my fun yesterday, I found myself driving the 93 Saturn I call "my car" at speeds over 80 miles per hour. I was driving on I-80, and when I looked down I was shocked to see how fast I was going. First of all, it was way over the speed limit. Second, cars were still passing me. Third, I didn't think the old Saturn could go so fast!
I immediately slowed down, but I was proud of my car. It is falling apart, and I have had nothing but nervous thoughts about it lately. I bought this car a few years ago, before I even considered pursuing pharmacy. As I began to look into Pharmacy School, I said to myself "this car will have to last through my schooling." Then my plans were delayed two consecutive years. The first time they were delayed because I didn't realize I couldn't finish up my pre-req's as fast as I had imagined (sort of hard to take chemistry and organic chemistry in one year). The second time was because I was not accepted.
Now the car is 11 years old and has 103,000 miles on it. I worry about it. It was never built to be a durable car. It is an economy car, which means Saturn cut a lot of corners. The engine is not made to be a work horse... all four cylinders are becoming tired. The transmission is starting to protest when it needs to shift. It loses oil, and overheats easy. The interior is falling apart, literally. Even my seat is retiring... if I dare press back with any weight against it at all, it collapses (if I get into a wreck I am in trouble). My tires don't keep air very well, the speakers rattle if a hint of bass is broadcast through them, and let's just say that the exterior has seen better days (it took a beating one year when we had a bad hail storm, followed my an icy winter).
But the car runs. It is good to know that it always starts, even on the coldest day. The air conditioner and heater work better than any of the three cars I have owned. I hope I can squeeze 4 years out of this car without putting too much money into it. It has sort of become my friend... as much as an inanimate object can. I'll miss it when I get rid of it.
It's been there for me in so many good and bad times. It has hauled me to visit friends, sporting events, concerts, and movies. It has been to Denver. It served as a makeshift phone booth, mobile restaurant, a bed on a few nasty occasions, and as a changing room on others. It has hauled my mountain bike to trails, and my golf clubs to courses. It's been hit by other cars, grocery carts, a ladder, bottle rockets, hail, tree limbs, and other assorted debris. I have listened to countless CDs at full blast in my car, often singing along. I have even listened to Japanese language teaching CDs in it.
It was with me when I took courses at Iowa Western, Creighton, Iowa Western again, and now Creighton again. I knew my car before I knew any of my friends at work and school. Old friends I haven't seen in years sat in my car at one time.
So there you have it. My attachment to my car. The car that shocked me when it drove over 80 miles an hour. The thing that I pour money into in the form of gas, oil, licensing, taxes, and insurance. The thing I hate to use, and wish I could find a way around owning. But it is my car, and it is a good car. So please, don't laugh at it if you see me driving it!
See ya!
Yesterday I had a good day. I am trying to spend my time as structured as possible, yet have as much fun as I can squeeze into this week. Pharmacy School begins for me next Monday with a week of Orientation. The days last from 8 AM to 5 PM, which is going to be taxing on someone who has spent all summer reading manga and golfing. So this week is all about fun.
In the midst of my fun yesterday, I found myself driving the 93 Saturn I call "my car" at speeds over 80 miles per hour. I was driving on I-80, and when I looked down I was shocked to see how fast I was going. First of all, it was way over the speed limit. Second, cars were still passing me. Third, I didn't think the old Saturn could go so fast!
I immediately slowed down, but I was proud of my car. It is falling apart, and I have had nothing but nervous thoughts about it lately. I bought this car a few years ago, before I even considered pursuing pharmacy. As I began to look into Pharmacy School, I said to myself "this car will have to last through my schooling." Then my plans were delayed two consecutive years. The first time they were delayed because I didn't realize I couldn't finish up my pre-req's as fast as I had imagined (sort of hard to take chemistry and organic chemistry in one year). The second time was because I was not accepted.
Now the car is 11 years old and has 103,000 miles on it. I worry about it. It was never built to be a durable car. It is an economy car, which means Saturn cut a lot of corners. The engine is not made to be a work horse... all four cylinders are becoming tired. The transmission is starting to protest when it needs to shift. It loses oil, and overheats easy. The interior is falling apart, literally. Even my seat is retiring... if I dare press back with any weight against it at all, it collapses (if I get into a wreck I am in trouble). My tires don't keep air very well, the speakers rattle if a hint of bass is broadcast through them, and let's just say that the exterior has seen better days (it took a beating one year when we had a bad hail storm, followed my an icy winter).
But the car runs. It is good to know that it always starts, even on the coldest day. The air conditioner and heater work better than any of the three cars I have owned. I hope I can squeeze 4 years out of this car without putting too much money into it. It has sort of become my friend... as much as an inanimate object can. I'll miss it when I get rid of it.
It's been there for me in so many good and bad times. It has hauled me to visit friends, sporting events, concerts, and movies. It has been to Denver. It served as a makeshift phone booth, mobile restaurant, a bed on a few nasty occasions, and as a changing room on others. It has hauled my mountain bike to trails, and my golf clubs to courses. It's been hit by other cars, grocery carts, a ladder, bottle rockets, hail, tree limbs, and other assorted debris. I have listened to countless CDs at full blast in my car, often singing along. I have even listened to Japanese language teaching CDs in it.
It was with me when I took courses at Iowa Western, Creighton, Iowa Western again, and now Creighton again. I knew my car before I knew any of my friends at work and school. Old friends I haven't seen in years sat in my car at one time.
So there you have it. My attachment to my car. The car that shocked me when it drove over 80 miles an hour. The thing that I pour money into in the form of gas, oil, licensing, taxes, and insurance. The thing I hate to use, and wish I could find a way around owning. But it is my car, and it is a good car. So please, don't laugh at it if you see me driving it!
See ya!
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Three the hard way
Hi-ya! Boy, when there is actually a lot to talk about, I seem to not find time to type a blog entry! This is why every attempt at starting a diary has failed for me. If I make time to sit and write, I find I have little to write about. When my life is bustling with activity and thoughts, I don't care to sit and type about it. : )
The reason I titled this blog "three the hard way" is because I have had a lot of run-in's with the number three. I am one of three children, my weight is three digits long (sigh), and I will soon be three decades old. Yesterday was my 6th anniversary of marriage to Sandy (3 plus 3). We watched a movie called "13 going on 30." I have been playing a lot of golf at, you guessed it, a par 3 course. My father, who was laid off, is entering his third week of having work. This extends not only his income, but his insurance as well.
I had a run in with a guy at the movie theater today who made me angry, because of the number three. You see, there were three urinals in the rest room, and he chose the center one... which all but forces others to stand back and wait for him to be done, so that they may take the outer ones... ANYWAY, the trouble was based on the number three. By the way, I saw Anchorman, and it was very funny. Three stars.
And, I have come to realize that my heart has been divided. I can't explain it completely, but I have found that I have very distinct ways I "love" certain people. It is a horrible realization and liberating self-discovery at the same time. My life is more full now than it ever has been, yet I suddenly find myself a shojo manga character, and my own life has taken on a WB drama undertone (at least it isn't UPN). At any rate, this discovery is due to three people in particular. Three people that I love dearly, each for different reasons, and each in a different way. Each member of this trio are sources of joy for me; each special in their own way. This next year could shape up to be hard on a soft-hearted guy like myself.
So the number three has cropped up in some strange ways. Meaningless, yet it makes for a colorful thread to sew a blog with. I hope to blog more this week. I am going to try to do six blogs in six days... in commemoration of my 6th anniversary (and because it is 3 + 3). So thanks for peeking in this last week, only to find no updates. The site isn't dead, it was just on screen saver mode. : )
To close, I already have great day lined up for tomorrow. Maybe not as good as Friday, but we'll see. A friend of mine jokingly commented that I am living a charmed life lately... well, it may not be exactly charmed, but for now, I love being a Carl.
And if release dates are correct, the third volume of .hack//Legend of the Twilight manga is due out, closing a 10 month wait for the series' conclusion. Now, if only that Aqua Teen Hunger Force Collection Three DVD set would just hurry up...
Three ya! I mean, see ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
The reason I titled this blog "three the hard way" is because I have had a lot of run-in's with the number three. I am one of three children, my weight is three digits long (sigh), and I will soon be three decades old. Yesterday was my 6th anniversary of marriage to Sandy (3 plus 3). We watched a movie called "13 going on 30." I have been playing a lot of golf at, you guessed it, a par 3 course. My father, who was laid off, is entering his third week of having work. This extends not only his income, but his insurance as well.
I had a run in with a guy at the movie theater today who made me angry, because of the number three. You see, there were three urinals in the rest room, and he chose the center one... which all but forces others to stand back and wait for him to be done, so that they may take the outer ones... ANYWAY, the trouble was based on the number three. By the way, I saw Anchorman, and it was very funny. Three stars.
And, I have come to realize that my heart has been divided. I can't explain it completely, but I have found that I have very distinct ways I "love" certain people. It is a horrible realization and liberating self-discovery at the same time. My life is more full now than it ever has been, yet I suddenly find myself a shojo manga character, and my own life has taken on a WB drama undertone (at least it isn't UPN). At any rate, this discovery is due to three people in particular. Three people that I love dearly, each for different reasons, and each in a different way. Each member of this trio are sources of joy for me; each special in their own way. This next year could shape up to be hard on a soft-hearted guy like myself.
So the number three has cropped up in some strange ways. Meaningless, yet it makes for a colorful thread to sew a blog with. I hope to blog more this week. I am going to try to do six blogs in six days... in commemoration of my 6th anniversary (and because it is 3 + 3). So thanks for peeking in this last week, only to find no updates. The site isn't dead, it was just on screen saver mode. : )
To close, I already have great day lined up for tomorrow. Maybe not as good as Friday, but we'll see. A friend of mine jokingly commented that I am living a charmed life lately... well, it may not be exactly charmed, but for now, I love being a Carl.
And if release dates are correct, the third volume of .hack//Legend of the Twilight manga is due out, closing a 10 month wait for the series' conclusion. Now, if only that Aqua Teen Hunger Force Collection Three DVD set would just hurry up...
Three ya! I mean, see ya! Kerry/Edwards 2004.
Monday, August 02, 2004
Demons and smoking: a connection or not?
Hello once again, friends! I'll start by saying I wasted about 40 minutes at work playing a game online based on the manga/anime Inuyasha. It can be found here. Anyway, when I got home, my 56k modem wasn't cutting it. I wanted to battle anime demons at normal speed! In my frustration, I decided to finally do something I have been considering for a month or so...
No, I didn't call to get DSL or cable modem service. I started a second blog, dedicated only to manga and related fun. It keeps this site free of my ramblings (well, manga ramblings) and also keeps my manga site free of religion and politics (well, except manga related religion and politics). Please visit it, and feel free to bookmark it. I will be allowing each post to take viewer comments as well. I want it to become a fan community site, separate from my diary posts. Won't you join in the fun?
On to business... as I waited for Akane and Inuyasha to load, I watched the news. I mentioned a post or two ago that I wanted to talk about smoking. The topic once again surfaced on our local news. Many people want local governments to ban smoking in public areas, mostly restaurants. Omaha's government has avoid this sticky topic, and said that it is up to the state to make such a ruling.
The problem is that there is already a precedent for a city to make this decision for its citizens without the state's help. When I lived in Colorado, the city of Boulder was smoke-free (about everywhere but your own home and car... and sometimes not even your own home). And tonight it was announced on the news that Lincoln (Nebraska's capital) is allowing its citizens to vote on the issue. Should the city be smoke-free?
Lincoln has twice passed a smoke-free ordinance, but both times the people were able to petition it with enough names to halt it from going into effect. The advocates for smoke-free say that smoking is intrusive. It makes those around you smell like smoke, and the second-hand smoke enters the lungs of those who choose not to smoke. Also, many employees say that they are putting their own health at risk when they are subjected to the smoke.
I sympathize with the non-smokers. I do not smoke, and I think it is a bad habit. Everything I have learned in my science readings and health training tell me that there are nothing but serious, negative effects from smoking. Not to mention it is expensive, stinky, and addictive.
But I do not support a governmental ban. Why? Because people already have the power to "ban" smoking. Employees can find different jobs. That sounds easier than it should, but the choice was made to work in such an environment, and a choice can be made to leave. Patrons can likewise find food elsewhere. These are not public school rooms and hospitals were are debating over... we are debating over bars, lounges, and casual dining facilities.
When this low-carb Atkins Diet nonsense exploded in America, only the truly dedicated were able to easily participate. They were throwing away buns, asking for substitutes for fries, or even bringing their own elements of dinner with them. Grocery stores did not carry low-carb anything at first, unless it was naturally so. Then the fad kicked in.
Now every restaurant has a low-carb portion of its menu. Many food producers have started to manufacture low-carb items, even substitutes of their normal line. Restaurants everywhere proudly post carb content information on their billboards and windows. Coke and Pepsi both have offered a low-carb soda, almost specifically to the demand of Atkins dieters. And guess what, the government did not have to twist any arms to make this happen.
You see, the business community responded to what matter most to the world... money. It saw earnings that were to be made. Enough dieters were throwing away buns that Burger King decided to offer hamburgers wrapped in lettuce instead. Subway saw their sandwiches start to slump, and offered wraps and salads. Diet Coke sales are through the roof. All because the service industries and production industries respond to dollars.
If enough consumers decided that being smoke-free was important, a smoke-free environment would begin to exist. It is a form of protest; withhold your business and make it know that you are intentionally doing so. You do not NEED Applebee's to survive. But it is fun to go there. Write the manager, tell him you miss eating his food, and that you plan to return when there is no smoking allowed. Enough of these letters, and a lack of dollars flowing in, and the manager himself will paint the "no smoking sign" on the door.
We too often look to a higher force than ourselves to do heavy lifting. The government is wasteful and inefficient, and most of the time it is our fault that it is. We expect them to legislate for us on behalf of our pet peeves and whims. We have the power to make changes a lot larger than smoking bans without the governments help... and yet we neglect to.
We don't have to wait for laws or voting days to make a change in our lives. We have become lazy in that aspect. Let's all remember the slyly atheistic mantra; "God helps those who help themselves." You want Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs smoke-free? Then do it. Eat at home. Write letters. And enjoy your freedom to make change.
See ya!
No, I didn't call to get DSL or cable modem service. I started a second blog, dedicated only to manga and related fun. It keeps this site free of my ramblings (well, manga ramblings) and also keeps my manga site free of religion and politics (well, except manga related religion and politics). Please visit it, and feel free to bookmark it. I will be allowing each post to take viewer comments as well. I want it to become a fan community site, separate from my diary posts. Won't you join in the fun?
On to business... as I waited for Akane and Inuyasha to load, I watched the news. I mentioned a post or two ago that I wanted to talk about smoking. The topic once again surfaced on our local news. Many people want local governments to ban smoking in public areas, mostly restaurants. Omaha's government has avoid this sticky topic, and said that it is up to the state to make such a ruling.
The problem is that there is already a precedent for a city to make this decision for its citizens without the state's help. When I lived in Colorado, the city of Boulder was smoke-free (about everywhere but your own home and car... and sometimes not even your own home). And tonight it was announced on the news that Lincoln (Nebraska's capital) is allowing its citizens to vote on the issue. Should the city be smoke-free?
Lincoln has twice passed a smoke-free ordinance, but both times the people were able to petition it with enough names to halt it from going into effect. The advocates for smoke-free say that smoking is intrusive. It makes those around you smell like smoke, and the second-hand smoke enters the lungs of those who choose not to smoke. Also, many employees say that they are putting their own health at risk when they are subjected to the smoke.
I sympathize with the non-smokers. I do not smoke, and I think it is a bad habit. Everything I have learned in my science readings and health training tell me that there are nothing but serious, negative effects from smoking. Not to mention it is expensive, stinky, and addictive.
But I do not support a governmental ban. Why? Because people already have the power to "ban" smoking. Employees can find different jobs. That sounds easier than it should, but the choice was made to work in such an environment, and a choice can be made to leave. Patrons can likewise find food elsewhere. These are not public school rooms and hospitals were are debating over... we are debating over bars, lounges, and casual dining facilities.
When this low-carb Atkins Diet nonsense exploded in America, only the truly dedicated were able to easily participate. They were throwing away buns, asking for substitutes for fries, or even bringing their own elements of dinner with them. Grocery stores did not carry low-carb anything at first, unless it was naturally so. Then the fad kicked in.
Now every restaurant has a low-carb portion of its menu. Many food producers have started to manufacture low-carb items, even substitutes of their normal line. Restaurants everywhere proudly post carb content information on their billboards and windows. Coke and Pepsi both have offered a low-carb soda, almost specifically to the demand of Atkins dieters. And guess what, the government did not have to twist any arms to make this happen.
You see, the business community responded to what matter most to the world... money. It saw earnings that were to be made. Enough dieters were throwing away buns that Burger King decided to offer hamburgers wrapped in lettuce instead. Subway saw their sandwiches start to slump, and offered wraps and salads. Diet Coke sales are through the roof. All because the service industries and production industries respond to dollars.
If enough consumers decided that being smoke-free was important, a smoke-free environment would begin to exist. It is a form of protest; withhold your business and make it know that you are intentionally doing so. You do not NEED Applebee's to survive. But it is fun to go there. Write the manager, tell him you miss eating his food, and that you plan to return when there is no smoking allowed. Enough of these letters, and a lack of dollars flowing in, and the manager himself will paint the "no smoking sign" on the door.
We too often look to a higher force than ourselves to do heavy lifting. The government is wasteful and inefficient, and most of the time it is our fault that it is. We expect them to legislate for us on behalf of our pet peeves and whims. We have the power to make changes a lot larger than smoking bans without the governments help... and yet we neglect to.
We don't have to wait for laws or voting days to make a change in our lives. We have become lazy in that aspect. Let's all remember the slyly atheistic mantra; "God helps those who help themselves." You want Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs smoke-free? Then do it. Eat at home. Write letters. And enjoy your freedom to make change.
See ya!