FMJRA Saturday – In which I reveal my secret crush on Charles Johnson
No wait that would be Barrett Brown of Vanity Fair. The only way it could have been clearer is if Brown had just written “I LOVE YOU CHARLES! MARRY ME!” and left the article at that. I guess that’s the spoils of switching sides, adulation and amazement for awhile. I assume that Johnson’s true colors will eventually shine through again and some of the glow will be lost to his new left compatriots.
For a slightly more balanced (and by that I mean about 40 orders of magnitude more balanced) see the NY Times article on the same subject. They at least acknowledge some of the insane behavior Johnson has exhibited.
Only two linkbacks this week. There is probably a reason for that – I know I lost some readers but that’s OK I will make it up with new better readers 🙂 (not better than my remaining current readers that would be impossible :-D)
The Classic Liberal linked my post about Cindy McCain and gay marriage.
Dustbury picked up on the question about why we are producing fewer geeks. I thought about this a lot this week and I think one of the reasons is a steady de-empahsis of math and hard science in schools. This opinion is formed anecdotally. Obviously I don’t have children of my own in the schools, but listening to friends talk about their kids education. There is a serious problem. Parents could (and should) step in to help fill the gap but I am afraid most of them don’t realize what’s missing. When I mention that I am an engineer I can’t tell you how many people tell me “Oh my god, I could never do all that math.” Then they tell me that they are real estate agents or bankers or graphic artists. They don’t see the disconnect.
-elsewhere-
I know some of you like Audrianna stories. She has enrolled in a creative writing class and says she is going to write a book so you may be able to get your fill. She slapped me when I said that she was definitely creative but I didn’t know she knew how to write. Give a girl a compliment and she gets all mad – sheesh.
I am a little mad at Ace for this entire pudding thing. Mr. X and I gave it a try. We reeked of butterscotch. That gets unattractive after awhile. Chocolate next time you dope. 🙂
JD Hayworth is running against John McCain. I have heard Hayworth on the radio a few times. I haven’t been that impressed, but it’s not my call I don’t live in Arizona.
Ellie Light sure gets around.
In recent weeks, Light has published virtually identical “Letters to the Editor” in support of President Barack Obama in more than a dozen newspapers.Every letter claimed a different residence for Light that happened to be in the newspaper’s circulation area.
Is there a rule in Alisnky’s book for this?
Do you really have to ask Michael? Did U.S. Intel Officials Mislead Congress About Christmas Day Bombing?
But some officials (who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue) said those responses to the panel may have been misleading and glossed over the extent to which all the relevant national-security agencies, including top aides to Blair and Napolitano, were fully informed about the plans to charge the suspect in federal court hours before he was read his Miranda rights and stopped cooperating.
(…)
Neither Leiter nor any of the other participants, including representatives from the FBI and the CIA, raised any questions about the Justice Department’s plans to charge the suspect in federal court, the officials said. “If you participate in a conference call and you don’t raise any objections, that suggests you were consulted,” said one senior law-enforcement official. Another added that “nobody at any point” raised any objections, either during the meeting or during a four-hour period afterward when Abdulmutallab was informed of his Miranda rights to be represented by a lawyer.
Little Miss Attila regains a little respect for Keith Olberman – I watched the video and I also think Olberman redeemed himself a bit.
The Classic Liberal links Charisma Carpenter and concerns about state interference in child rearing.
The Other McCain finds the NY Times article about Charles Johnson reasonably accurate.
LOL – “Only 77% of Investors See Obama as Anti-Business” The other 23% not paying attention.
A Conservative Shemale 
“I could never do all that math.” Fear of calculus, maybe?
Then again, a generation or two later, we’re seeing fear of algebra, fercrissake.
That’s exactly it. You can see it in the fact that there is debate over whether algebra should be required for graduation from high school. How do you function in the modern world without Algebra?
I function in the modern world fairly well without algebra. I tried 3 times to get a decent grade in Algebra and never did (I smoked Geometry like a cheap cigar, th0).
But you took it right? That’s the point. And i bet you use it more than you know. Especially if you do anything that requires graphing and such.
Oh, I took it. I just never wrapped my noodle around it. I never was able to grasp the fundamentals of this black art. Now if I see any, my eyes glaze over and I skim past it to the end.
And no, I don’t think I use it much. Despite over a decade working in the financial industry, I think the most complex math I’ve had to do was division. And I let the spreadsheet do most of that.
Yeah; geometry was fun. Also, word problems. But algebra was a challenge for me, because I never really learned the multiplication table when I was a kid.
Keep in mind that a lot of us farm out some of the scut work to our computers or calculators.
Also, when I truly need help I just call my math-teacher mom, and she helps me to reason out the part of the analysis that I was setting up some sort of mental block over.