This is a publicly searchable index of friends I've lost contact with over the years. Perhaps one of them will remember Jeff Dixon or Jeffrey Dixon and do a search, or perhaps a Google of themselves will bring them here. I am on Facebook and I'd love to hear from:
Primary school
Barbara the kid next door at PMQ 145 at Bagotville late 1970s
Partrick Ryal Ray, my best friend at the same time
Krista Bourgeois, who lived down the street and was very kind
4-6th grade
Ricky, my first friend in Rapid Valley
Michael Goodall (Bucky), my best friend for most of Rapid Valley
Wade Bogstead, my best friend when I left; his geekdom was sorely missed
Junior High
Jeremy (Jamie?) Pryor, a brief friendship that didn't withstand moving
Robert Stewart, a friendship that ended over stupid stuff
Trina Leslie, the cute girl that was nice to everyone, even us dweebs
High School
Valerie Lubrich -- I'm not sure if she walked with the rest of us, but she was always kind and took a great deal of undeserved abuse.
Timothy Sudol -- He never got what he deserved in the friendship, but it was still a real one. I'd like to meet him again.
Civil Air Patrol
I still wonder what happened to Barbara Crielly and David Anding.
I'd love to see what became of the people I cared about who I haven't been able to find on Google, Facebook, or Livejournal.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Challenged ballots: You be the judge
This is what challenges look like. Some of them are silly, but many are legitimate. How do you determine a voter's intent? This interactive exercise lets you judge contested ballots in the Minnesota Senate race. I wish I had a tool like this back in October, when I was teaching Elections.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Meme of the Moment -- Omnivore's 100
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred: 1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding 7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp 9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 19. Steamed pork buns 20. Pistachio ice cream 21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras 24. Rice and beans 25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper 27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters 29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda 31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl 33. Salted lassi 34. Sauerkraut 35. Root beer float 36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O 39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail 41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu 47. Chicken tikka masala 48. Eel 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut 50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone 54. Paneer 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal 56. Spaetzle 57. Dirty gin martini 58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine 60. Carob chips 61. S’mores 62. Sweetbreads 63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake 68. Haggis 69. Fried plantain 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe 74. Gjetost, or brunost 75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu 77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini 81. Tom yum 82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef 86. Hare 87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate 91. Spam 92. Soft shell crab 93. Rose harissa 94. Catfish 95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor 98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
At the 2008 CEDA National Tournament, Bill Shanahan's teams struck a judge because she had previously given them low speaker points. Well, apparently judge and coach Shanara Reid-Brinkley took it personally and politically as an attack on African-American women in general. In a quarterfinal round at the tournament, the team debating against Fort Hays used the strike as evidence that their opponents were upholding white, male supremacy in debate. Both Bill Shanahan and Shanara Reid-Brinkley were in the room as the judges announced their decision -- a 2-1 against Fort Hays. The judges explained their decision, but apparently there was some nonverbal exchange between Shanahan and Reid-Brinkley during the process. It seems that Bill was scowling or otherwise looking pissed off when one of the debaters was talking after the decision, Reid-Brinkley made some sort of nonverbal gestures as well, and Shanahan challenged her. She complained that he was "walking around doing stuff" and argued that he had no right to be in the room expressing his emotions about the round. Anyone who knows Bill could have predicted what happened next -- he was outraged that someone was telling him what to do and he therefore escalated the situation. Reid-Brinkley also had a hair trigger, and the two were soon "debating" in profanities and even a bare ass. This Higher Ed article describes what followed. Of course, it is far more interesting to watch the video.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Cute comic about how life really works
Things They Don't Tell You (But Should) is a webcomic that reveals the horrible truths of life with other people (example: "tall people only date other tall people, so if you turn out to be short, don't bother looking up").
What is theft? I view it as depriving someone of a thing which is rightfully theirs. I do not, however, believe that creating something gives one a right to compensation when someone else copies the creation. The alternative is the idea that everytime someone generates something of value, he or she is entitled to be compensated by those who would enjoy that value. Therefore, we are stealing when we find a way to enjoy something another person has created without paying them compensation. A sendup of this theory is here. It reveals the absurdity of demanding a right to be compensated for everything that other people may value.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Why facts won’t demolish the conspiracy theories
This column argues that conspiracy theories are drivn by a "crisis of causality." While I agree that mistrust contributes to conspiracy theories, I think the author underplays the normal human desire to ascribe great causes to great events. We don't like to think of the processes that govern our lives as being stochastic. It is not so much a distrust of causality but a desperate attempt to restore causal logic to the world we see around us that leads us to theorize about vast, hidden conspiracies. Given this, facts do make a difference by allowing us to tell a story and take measures to avoid becoming a character in that drama. I would expect conspiracy theories to flourish where we are unable to protect ourselves from the true causes of disaster -- or where people are ignorant of the facts. In other words, facts will help -- but control over our surroundings is also necessary to make conspiracy theories unattractive.
One of my favorite sites of the late 1990s has been archived and reposted to the web. It's cheesy, of course, but I always liked it. It was so sweet and noncommercial; of course it couldn't last.
Stuff White People Like is a well-known piece of satire. I really like this one, especially: "When engaging in a conversation about corporate evils it is important to NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as the companies mentioned earlier. White people prefer to hate corporations that don’t make stuff that they like." True of so many people I know...
