Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Salad days
I'm glad that my wife brought home some salad fixin's - there's nothing worse than a broken salad!"
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Monday, December 08, 2008
Coo!
To those who think that a Parliamentary ® coalition would be a coup, spend the quarter and buy a clue!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Post-season ® in the Clubhouse ®
I wonder why they chill the champagne ® before they pour it over their heads.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
September 11th
Once again, let us put aside a few minutes to remember the innocents who were executed on this day in 2001 for the crime of being American, without trial or evidence or representation by counsel. My condolences to the families and friends of these victims, and to the world that is suffering the ongoing consequences of these crimes against humanity
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Cliché Speak II
Brian Cashman®, again:
"We'll see how it comes out," Yankees® general manager Brian Cashman said. "Coming in, a lot of things make sense and they don't necessarily play out that way. We'll just see how it all looks when we put it together and see it in front of us."
"We'll see how it comes out," Yankees® general manager Brian Cashman said. "Coming in, a lot of things make sense and they don't necessarily play out that way. We'll just see how it all looks when we put it together and see it in front of us."
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Why Does God Need a Starship?
In 1989, William Shatner® developed the initial storyline for and directed the rather forgettable Star Trek V: The Final Frontier®.
In this film, Spock's® half-brother, Sybok®, seizes control of the Enterprise®, so he can reach a mythical planet named Sha Ka Ree®, where a mysterious, presumably God-like entity awaits.
Claiming to be God, the entity asks Sybok and the Enterprise crew how they got to the planet. When told about the Enterprise, it demands passage aboard the ship in order to leave the planet to spread his Word to the rest of the Universe.
The movie would be completely forgettable were it not for Captain Kirk's® asking the entity, "Why does God need a starhip?"
Whenever any person or organization claims to speak for God, ask a similar question. "Why does God need you to speak for Him [or Her]?"
In this film, Spock's® half-brother, Sybok®, seizes control of the Enterprise®, so he can reach a mythical planet named Sha Ka Ree®, where a mysterious, presumably God-like entity awaits.
Claiming to be God, the entity asks Sybok and the Enterprise crew how they got to the planet. When told about the Enterprise, it demands passage aboard the ship in order to leave the planet to spread his Word to the rest of the Universe.
The movie would be completely forgettable were it not for Captain Kirk's® asking the entity, "Why does God need a starhip?"
Whenever any person or organization claims to speak for God, ask a similar question. "Why does God need you to speak for Him [or Her]?"
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Good or Bad
Today, Benazir Bhutto was shot and killed in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Her assassin - or an accomplice, the reports are somewhat ambiguous - then blew himself up, killing at least another 20 people. It will take some time to determine who was responsible for this atrocity, but chances are pretty good that the perpetrators were Muslims, killing other Muslims.
Perhaps this is why the capital of Pakistan is called Islamabad, not Islamagood!
Perhaps this is why the capital of Pakistan is called Islamabad, not Islamagood!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Excuse Me!
On Friday, I was waiting for a friend outside the Museum's new Crystal thing. He was late and, because I don't wear a watch anymore, I didn't know what time it was ... or how late he was.
Two ladies - one middle-aged, one perhaps a little older - came out of the museum, and headed in my direction. One of them was certain to wear a watch, I supposed.
"Excuse me," I said politely. The older lady got a stricken look on her face, said "No ... ", and turned her head away.
"Can you please tell me what time it is?" I continued.
"Three-ten," the younger woman said, and the two of them continued on their way.
Harsh!!
Two ladies - one middle-aged, one perhaps a little older - came out of the museum, and headed in my direction. One of them was certain to wear a watch, I supposed.
"Excuse me," I said politely. The older lady got a stricken look on her face, said "No ... ", and turned her head away.
"Can you please tell me what time it is?" I continued.
"Three-ten," the younger woman said, and the two of them continued on their way.
Harsh!!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Cliché Speak
"I understand why people are asking. I'd ask," he said. "For the most part, we're going to try to stay the course and build around our young pitching as we move forward. But talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words, so let's see where I'm standing come February."
Brian Cashman®, GM, New York Yankees®
Brian Cashman®, GM, New York Yankees®
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Books V
These books might be of interest to you:
I especially recommend the Levitin book to anyone who has even the slightest interest in music!
- Rickles' Book, a memoir by Don Rickles
- Soulsville, U.S.A. : the Story of Stax Records, by Rob Bowman
- This is Your Brain on Music : the Science of a Human Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin
I especially recommend the Levitin book to anyone who has even the slightest interest in music!
Sham Pain
In postseason baseball, when a team has a chance to clinch a League Championship or a World Series, columnists report that the champagne is on ice in the clubhouse.
Why?
If the team does win, the players make their way to the clubhouse, open bottles, and spray each other and the [now plastic-covered] walls, and pour champagne over each other and the coaches and managers and the reporters and commentators. Why ice the champagne if no one is going to drink it?
Why?
If the team does win, the players make their way to the clubhouse, open bottles, and spray each other and the [now plastic-covered] walls, and pour champagne over each other and the coaches and managers and the reporters and commentators. Why ice the champagne if no one is going to drink it?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
D N A! D N A!
James Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA.
In 1953, based on X-ray diffraction images taken by Rosalind Franklin, Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first accurate model of DNA structure in the journal Nature. Experimental evidence for their model was published in a series of five articles in the same issue of Nature. Of these, Franklin and Raymond Gosling's paper was the first publication of X-ray diffraction data that supported the Watson and Crick model. This issue also contained an article on DNA structure by Maurice Wilkins and his colleagues.
In 1962, after Franklin's death, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. However, speculation continues on who should have received credit for the discovery, as it was based on Franklin's data.
So, Watson scored the Nobel Prize, and Rosalind Franklin became a footnote. Now, 45 years later, all James Watson had to do was keep his mouth shut, and his place in history would have been secure. Instead, he recently made statements about possible links between race and intelligence. He was quoted in an article for the Sunday Times Magazine, published on October 14, 2007, that he is "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really."
As a result the London Science Museum cancelled a talk that Watson was scheduled to give on October 19, 2007. The museum spokesperson stated that, "We feel Dr. Watson has gone beyond the point of acceptable debate and we are, as a result, cancelling his talk." Additionally, the Board of Trustees of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory suspended Dr. Watson's administrative responsibilities in response to the comments, according to a public statement posted on the laboratory's website. The University of Edinburgh also withdrew the invitation to Dr Watson to the "DNA, Dolly and Other Dangerous Ideas: The Destiny of 21st Century Science" Enlightenment Lecture on October 22, 2007.
Watson later apologized "unreservedly" and was quoted as being "mortified" for the comments attributed to him, stating, "I cannot understand how I could have said what I am quoted as having said. I can certainly understand why people, reading those words, have reacted in the ways they have," he said.
Following the controversy that ensued, Watson resigned from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he served as Director and later as Chancellor, on October 25, 2007.
I wonder how anybody could be so stupid as to hold, and publicly state, such ignorant views in the 21st century. I'd like to think that Rosalind Franklin had the last laugh.
In 1953, based on X-ray diffraction images taken by Rosalind Franklin, Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first accurate model of DNA structure in the journal Nature. Experimental evidence for their model was published in a series of five articles in the same issue of Nature. Of these, Franklin and Raymond Gosling's paper was the first publication of X-ray diffraction data that supported the Watson and Crick model. This issue also contained an article on DNA structure by Maurice Wilkins and his colleagues.
In 1962, after Franklin's death, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. However, speculation continues on who should have received credit for the discovery, as it was based on Franklin's data.
So, Watson scored the Nobel Prize, and Rosalind Franklin became a footnote. Now, 45 years later, all James Watson had to do was keep his mouth shut, and his place in history would have been secure. Instead, he recently made statements about possible links between race and intelligence. He was quoted in an article for the Sunday Times Magazine, published on October 14, 2007, that he is "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really."
As a result the London Science Museum cancelled a talk that Watson was scheduled to give on October 19, 2007. The museum spokesperson stated that, "We feel Dr. Watson has gone beyond the point of acceptable debate and we are, as a result, cancelling his talk." Additionally, the Board of Trustees of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory suspended Dr. Watson's administrative responsibilities in response to the comments, according to a public statement posted on the laboratory's website. The University of Edinburgh also withdrew the invitation to Dr Watson to the "DNA, Dolly and Other Dangerous Ideas: The Destiny of 21st Century Science" Enlightenment Lecture on October 22, 2007.
Watson later apologized "unreservedly" and was quoted as being "mortified" for the comments attributed to him, stating, "I cannot understand how I could have said what I am quoted as having said. I can certainly understand why people, reading those words, have reacted in the ways they have," he said.
Following the controversy that ensued, Watson resigned from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he served as Director and later as Chancellor, on October 25, 2007.
I wonder how anybody could be so stupid as to hold, and publicly state, such ignorant views in the 21st century. I'd like to think that Rosalind Franklin had the last laugh.
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