The Cognitive Revolution

Windows 7 is all that and a bag of chips.

2009-11-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

I bought a new computer with Vista and got the 7 upgrade. Windows 7 is much more stable, user friendly, and uses less resources. My RAM usage dropped by 25% and my processor isn't as taxed.

It's Jackie Robinson Day

2009-04-15T18:01:00.002-04:00

What is the Purpose of Martial Arts?

2009-03-25T14:13:00.002-04:00

This video is interesting to me because it represents to me what MMA has started to do to traditional martial arts. In this video Faber is talking about how he was jumped by 10 -12 guys with weapons and all he did was punch kick and throw them. I will give the Faber credit as he was smart enough to know that ground fighting is out of the question in a street fight. However, he had a totally sport mind set. I guarantee you that if my instructor, who is about 55 years old, had fought these dudes, there would have been 10-12 dudes either knocked out, dead, or with a permanent injury. I don't fault Faber for training sport, and then of course, in a fight, he fights sport. That is just what happens. Moreover, I am a strong proponent of having a sport aspect in marital arts as it allows for us to develop timing, accuracy, and power while learning the benefits of sportsmanship. However, I have to say that I have seen far too many people who have forgotten that martial arts is ultimately about surviving life and death encounters, or they believe that MMA is a close enough approximation to a life and death encounter. Either way many martial artists believe the ultimate goal of a martial arts is related to what goes on in the MMA ring. I am sorry, but the first time that someone makes a move towards an out-numbered martial artist with a hammer, broken bottle, or brass knuckles, the next part of the story should involve words like crushed, broke, knocked out, gouged, or poked and not cross, knee, jab, and so on. Faber is easily one of the top 50 of martial arts competitors in the world, if he barely made it out alive due to a sport mind-set, what hope have we?

Padding is Killing Martial Arts

2009-03-16T16:41:00.000-04:00

I first started to think about this years ago as I began to wonder why the palm strike has fallen by the wayside in favor of the fist. My guess is that this has come about in part because hitting someone with your fist does not hurt because of padding and wrist wraps that can be used during training. Also, people don't have to fight hand to hand day in and day out for survival so if you break your knuckles you get a cast rather than lose your life because you can't fight the next day.

My next point comes from watching people execute various techniques on youtube, at McDojos, and instructional tapes. People are willing to block heavy kicks with the blades of their forearms. Hammer fists, and bolo forearm techniques are often considered sloppy fighting in MMA circles rather than the harbingers of a broken face (and knuckle savers). I see various iron fist techniques going by the wayside as time goes on. People are willing to take bad angles to low kicks. People are less concerned about center-line kicking because the cup will protect you if you get hit in the groin. However, the rules usually prevent groin kicks anyway.

Now when you throw BJJ into the mix, people think that they can go out onto the street and apply submissions from their backs because they are used to training on a mat.

I have often considered making a video on how to not hurt yourself in a street fight. I can see a long-time McDojo practitioner going out throwing 1 kick, hurting his leg, and being defeated with the opponent throwing no offensive techniques. This should not happen and would not happen if people would take the pads off from time to time in order to figure out what they need to do to protect their bodies when executing techniques.

Is Wing Chun a Religeon Method of Selfdense?

2009-03-09T11:51:00.005-04:00

Are Wing Chun practitioners gong to move ahead or live in the past? Isn't that the real question.
I have been concerned about Wing Chun as a whole over the past few years as more information has become available on the web about other forms of Wing Chun. My concern is that practitioners are often more concerned about preserving what Wing Chun was rather than push it into the future. This is evidenced by comments that you see on every message board, video posting site, and magazine criticizing someone for not practicing "real Wing Chun" or "true Wing Chun."

Masters make videos on youtube to demonstrate their chi sao skills as if the barometer of Wing Chun skill is chi sao. In these videos I see Wing Chun practitioners who have taken nothing from boxing in the last 30 year. These great masters along with their pupils ride their chins high (exposing themselves to throat attacks) and never use the highly efficient shoulder defenses and head moments. If we as WIng Chun practitioners are truly holding to our principles then isn't a shoulder shrug, a lowering of a chin, or a shoulder roll a demonstration of true economy of motion?

What it really amounts to is that no techniques can be accepted until such time as a federation head sees enough criticism regarding the styles ability to deal with certain type of technique so he pulls out, “the secret Wing Chun technique,” that is being revealed address people concerns.

In addition, in my 18 years of Wing Chun training, if I have learned anything at all Wing Chun is nothing at all without footwork. In addition, WC is nothing without a good dose of old fashioned boxing covering maneuvers or hard blocking to deal with situations where your mobility has been cutoff by your opponent. Nonetheless, chi sao is over emphasized at the expense of training out of movement and those who advocate the use of boxing covers or hard blocking are dismissed nothing short of Wing Chun heretics who practice a bastardized form of Wing Chun. However, in an effort to codify and preserve "real Wing Chun", I argue that it's chief practitioners have unintentionally turned their art into a sport similar to judo where additional martial arts training is required to use it effectively.

Additional Details
This question has little do with MMA. I am merely pointing out that a style should be effective at the ranges of fighting that its practitioners claim it to be effective at. Wing Chun can be a devastating style or a devastating failure if you don't train properly. In my mind, the goal of Wing Chun is to immobilize an opponent’s weapon or weapons in order to deliver clean unimpeded strikes or offensive techniques.

I am disturbed by the slothing around with no real stance, intensity, or physical exertion during chi sao that passes as real fight training. Especially considering the time that people devote to it. Moreover, chi sao is like a speed bag to a boxer. No boxer would want to go to the fight without getting his bag work in, but no boxer would take bag work to be the point of his training. Yet, in Wing Chun, we have built a monument to our speed bag known as chi sao.

Presidential Debate

2008-09-27T12:55:00.003-04:00

I don't have a lot to add on it. I thought that both candidates agreed on a number of topics; However, McCain's voting record seriously hampered his ability to be convincing or credible.

The only other thing that was sort of odd or goofy was that McCain often talked about having experience that allowed him to understand the subtle nature of problems that our nation faced. However, he failed to demonstrate his insight. It made it look like he was just name calling.

Noisy Computers and Graphics Cards

2008-07-16T02:54:00.003-04:00

All I have to say is that I hate loud computers. My quiet fan went out so I had to use a noisy one until my quiet one arrived. The fan was so loud that it was giving me a headache. Also, in the interest of having a quit computer, I recommend the Fatal1ty graphics cards because they don't use fans.

Duke Roufus DVDs

2008-03-14T01:31:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't know, Duke Rufus is an American Kickboxer/Muay Thai expert. I finally broke down and watched his videos. You definitely don't want to buy these as a beginner if you don't know much about this style of fighting. He presents far to much information and it is a little bit difficult to synthesize the techniques that he shows out of movement with an opponent versus the the same technique in the air. However, the strength of Duke's tapes is his insight on how to knock someone the fuck out.

Garage Martial Artists

2008-03-06T10:44:00.002-05:00

It is interesting. In my hometown that some of the worst martial artists own the biggest schools and have the most "credentials." I had to put credentials in quotes because the credentials that they have are either fake or from a disreputable organization.

Then, on the other hand. I know these guys who are training in basements who would straight whip a mother fuckers ass. Not to say that these guys don't associate with martial arts big wigs, but they spend a lot of time training on their own and get with the big wigs when they can. Yet, if a person from the public were to judge, who has the credentials, they would look at the guy with the big school legit when he couldn't whip his way out of a Meijer bag (damn that is a flimsy bag).

Anyway, I decided to try to get a martial arts club going and setting myself up as 0ne of its instructors. I have to role my eyes every time I look at a my own martial arts certificates and licenses. Lets face it. A martial arts certificate isn't worth the paper it's written on, yet people want to see it. Granted I worked hard and got mine the old fashioned way, but how in the hell could I prove that?

I saw a Muay Thai class the other day, either the instructor didn't know much or he isn't bothering to teach anything. From watching him it looked to me like he had the traditional bad Muay Thai hands as well. Of course, he has the obligatory big certificate and a picture of himself holding up a championship belt. I am willing to wager that every person in who teaches Muay Thai has a big certificate and a championship from god knows where. What do you make of that?

Here is what I make of it. People are full of shit.

Children's Songs Redone

2008-03-04T04:08:00.001-05:00

EVERYBODY HAS A PLAN UNTIL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE

2008-03-01T23:05:00.003-05:00

Isn't this saying the truth? Armchair fight strategists kill me. People make all of these assessments about how fast, powerful, flexible, or skilled someone is without watching them fight. This doesn't even make sense to me. Nearly every time that I competed I was scared. I have typically always assumed that an opponent had what it took to beat me. Until they proved me wrong.

So I guess that many game plans are built upon arrogance which leads to having your face rearranged. I don't mean that as a euphemism either. I am talking about people getting straight fucked up.

My opinion is that a person can't really strategize until they have been punched in the face... a lot. I am not saying that you have to be a professional fighter, but you have to be willing to go and test some techniques to learn when and how to use them. No I am not saying to get into a street fight. A decent fighter could go out and whip street thugs until their wind gave out. I am saying grab a person from your dojo, qwoon, or training facility and get punched in the face before devising a plan. If you haven't been punched in the face and you have a plan that is the same as having no plan.

Squating

2008-02-28T01:53:00.004-05:00

Something happened to the video that I had originally posted but this video contains some of the same elements and actually the same women competitor. Remember as you are reading this that there are comments that don't match up to this video. However, the general idea is the same. The girl is able to perform a squatting movement effectively and the guy struggles. Notice that the man's knees break forward too far over his toes and he ends up coming up on his toes because he lacks the ability to balance himself.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_OHSComp.wmv

Here is a good side by side comparison of to people with completely different lever lengths (i.e. torso, femur, and tibia).

The man here has muscular well developed quads yet can barely perform this overhead squat movement yet he has incredible leg development. How could this be? He attributes his struggle to flexibility. I have a different take. Look at how far his knees have to break over his toes for him to get to parallel.

Now look at the girl. Her knees barely break forward. even when going significantly beyond parallel. Are you going to tell me that these two are doing the same exercise?

Don't get me wrong, squatting is a great exercise. Maybe it is the best. However, it has to be modified for different individuals. Squats and steroids have an odd similarity. People see these hulking dudes on T.V. and want to do everything they do to get "swole" or "cock diesel" yet they don't know the hidden truth that the person is on steroids. Squats are the same way. Around the gym we will see these guys with massive leg development and big squats. People want to get huge legs so they ask "super leg guy" how he got his legs so swole. What is super leg guy's response? Squatting. What is the hidden reality. Standard squat form does not work for everybody. Therefore, squat as much and as hard as you can, and you never reach your objective. Why? because the hidden truth of squatting is that it is often ineffective for certain body types leaving the bulk of the thigh muscles unstimulated.

So now I swear by smith squats. It was my solution. I have achieved massive gains in leg size and strength. Now this has been my "fix." However, I don't want to pretend know more than I do and suggest that smith squatting might increase your leg development in a dramatic way. Moreover, me pontificating about what will work for you makes me like anyone else who claims to know something about weight lifting. But, what I am suggesting is that if squatting seems to be a waste of time then you should begin to consider alternatives.

Merry Fucking Christmas

2007-12-25T05:12:00.001-05:00

Pure Genius: These Guys Put it in Perspective.

2007-11-08T00:44:00.001-05:00

This points out the silliness of the junk that I have heard over and over justifying the use of racial slurs. The whole, "I don't mean 'nigger' as something against black people, " but only use it in reference to blacks.

Hardcore

2007-11-06T02:05:00.000-05:00

Hardcore Jewish Chicks

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Colts versus Patriots Week 9 (Revised)

2007-10-25T00:05:00.000-04:00

Below this commentary, I have a sort of balanced look at the match up; I am probably biased, but I just don’t see how the Patriots intend to win. If you ask me there is a lot of smoke and mirrors to what is going on with the Patriots and it does not make good news or television to point out the facts.

Everyone has pointed out all of the gaudy Tom Brady numbers. However, if you ask me the offense has under performed in several ways.

The Patriots have played mostly the worst defenses in the league while the Colts have played many of the best defenses yet the Patriots are slightly behind the Colts in the “Win Indicators”: yards/carry, 3^rd down conversion percentage, and turnover ratio (specifically on offense the Patriots have more giveaways).

In defense of Patriots, they have played some of the better offenses in the league and the defenses held up reasonably well which is largely due to turnovers. However, I have one caveat to this: the Patriots are 26^th in the league in red-zone defense so they just can’t stop anybody inside the 20.

The Patriots have an explosive passing attack; however, the Colts defense is designed philosophically to stop the big play and run-after-the-catch.

Colts Advantage(s)

-No Huddle Tires the older Patriot defense because it prevents the platooning that the older players on the Patriot defense require.

Pats Challenge(s)

-Force three and outs on defense

-Run the football effectively on offense to help give the defense a rest. (Unfortunately the -pats don’t have a big bruising 250 lb running back that Colts have trouble tackling)

Colts Advantage(s)

-Defense designed to stop the pass, capable of getting pressure with only 4 guys.

Patriot Challenge(s)

-Stay patient only take the deep ball when its there. Use the tight end and slot receiver.

Patriots Advantage(s)

-Well schemed defense that is good at generating sacks

Colts Challenge(s)

Getting all of the Blitzes blocked.

Tossup(s)

I don’t trust either teams run defense. The Colts will be forced to stop the run without Bob Sanders’s support (However, the Pats have smaller backs making this more of a possibility). The Patriot run defense just isn’t that good teams have been running right at Tedy Bruschi. Richard Seymour may or may not play and be of assistance in this capacity.

Cowboys Versus the Patriots Week 5

2007-10-14T03:07:00.000-04:00

I don't see this Dallas game as a blowout. I have the Pats by a touchdown, but here is what I think that Dallas needs to do:

What I know they can do:

Run the football like crazy

Work on eliminating turnovers and penalties

Pressure Tom with 4 or 5 guys and play cover 1 or 2 the whole game.

They could help themselves a lot if:

They can go no huddle - to take advantage of the older Pats defense which compensates with platooning. However, the Dallas O line may not be able to handle it.

Have Romo escape the pocket and run for a first down or two.

Why the Patriot Offense is so Good?

2007-10-07T18:46:00.000-04:00

As of week 4 here are the leagues bottom 7 defenses according to ESPN. As of week 5 they will have played every one of these teams except Oakland and Detroit.

26	San Diego	1404	351.0	392	98.0	1012	253.0	102	25.5
27	Oakland	1423	355.8	518	129.5	905	226.3	100	25.0
28	NY Jets	1462	365.5	450	112.5	1012	253.0	103	25.8
29	Detroit	1527	381.8	457	114.3	1070	267.5	121	30.3
30	Cincinnati	1612	403.0	608	152.0	1004	251.0	129	32.3
31	Cleveland	1710	427.5	640	160.0	1070	267.5	118	29.5
32	Buffalo	1722	430.5	592	148.0	1130	282.5	93	23.3

Give Me the Rent

2007-10-02T19:29:00.000-04:00

Shady Brady and Bill Bellicheat

2007-09-14T18:15:00.000-04:00

Cuts/Colts

2007-08-30T04:34:00.000-04:00

I have followed training camp closely. The colts are freaking stacked with similar second an third-string players with similar talent especially at receiver and linebacker. I suspect that they will cut some of these second and third-string veterans to save salary cap money, and young guys always have more upside if they are playing near the same level as a veteran. The one edge that these rookies have is that they are good on special where a lot of guys from last year really didn't do well on special teams.

Vick Parody Video

2007-08-28T00:29:00.000-04:00

Counterpoint: Michael Vick Takes Plea

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My Playoff Picks

2007-08-14T00:55:00.000-04:00

AFC

North Steelers This is a tough division , but they are the most complete team. It's going to between the steelers and Ravens.

East Patriots This is a no-brainer.

South Colts I have said about all I need to.

West Broncos This may seem crazy, but I am telling you the Broncos will be tough to beet with the best corners in the league and a revamped D-line.

Wild Card 1 Chargers They have talent but lack veteran leadership. LT and Lights Out as team leaders with no Marty? You do the math.

Wild Card 2 Ravens The north division is so tough that I think that they are going to take an unbelievable pounding and not win the division. Plus, McNair is getting old so I don’t trust his ability to deliver even with a reinvigorated running game.

NFC

North Bears No-brainer.

East Cowboys I think that they are looking like the Joe Montana 49ers. However they have a weak secondary, but a good pass rush. I could see them winning the NFC if the pass rushers stay healthy.

South Saints The division is tougher this year, but the Saints have improved.

West Seahawks Everyone is healthy.

Wild Card 1 Eagles McNabb will win enough games before he is injured to put them in the playoffs.

Wild Card 2 Packers* This team will have a filthy defense this year. If you look at Favre's career he has ups and downs. I think that he presses more when he feels like his team isn't going to make it. This team has a shot. I think that we might see Favre run for first downs and put it all on the line this year.

*initially I was thinking of the Bucs here, but I like the Packers. To me it is a team that could gel and really do something.

Colts Will Improve

2007-08-13T13:33:00.001-04:00

First, I would like to say that the Colts have won for so long because they know how to pick players. For instance, everyone is concerned about who will be the colts second running back. Honestly, do you think that the Colts don’t have a plan? Now a team like the Bengals, their draft pick, Kenny Irons, went down. Do you think that they have a decent backup plan? NO! Since Tony Dungy and Bill Polian have been in the league, they have won period. Don't worry about the Colts.

Second, everybody is worried about the Colts loosing decent players. However, the Colts defense was basically horrible last year. It really can’t get much worse that what it was last year. Everything that I have heard indicates that the new starters are better than the ones they had last year.

Third, kickoff and punt coverage were horrible last year. I am pretty sure both were the worst in the league. I can’t promise that they were dead last last year because I can’t get NFL.com to spit out the stats I want.

Finally, The Colts know how to find players, and when you are dead last in several categories, you don’t need premier, big-name guys to make a big difference on your team when you are really bad in an area. The Colts already have big names signed to their roster, they just need role players who can play backup receiver, corner, or tight end who can also play special teams.

As a little post script: I expect this to be one of the better defensive years for the Colts. Primarily because the Colts have some punishing hitters on defense. Keiaho, who replaced Cato June, hits way harder and is a sure tackler. Not to mention, the secondary is probably the best tackling secondary in football anyway.

I know that the D-line is suspect, but they have brought in some 300 lb tackles in Johnson and Pitcock. Johnson is a great pass rusher and I am sure that both will be more effective against the run than last-year's group. However, lets not forget that the Colts played without substitutes at defensive tackle for a number of games.

Drafting Players in the Professional Sports

2007-08-13T04:48:00.001-04:00

I never really followed football when I was younger because I never had the attention span to watch the game. However, I always loved to watch highlights. However, as I have gotten older, gotten my ADD in check, and moved away from doing to watching, I have begun to follow football very closely. My point is that I understand the games well and all of the stuff that I see and here, but I haven’t followed it long enough to understand everything in terms of how players develop over time and so forth.

Here are some thoughts on the draft. Rounds 1 to 3 a team drafts because the players are good and will help the team. Rounds 4 to 6 are drafted not so much because they will be better than undrafted guys but more because teams have more film or they played in a big conference giving them less of a bust factor due to off-field behavior or injury.

The best example is the undrafted DT ED Johnson and 3^rd Round Quinn Pitcock. Johnson has been described by SI.com as playing like he was “shot out of a cannon.” Pitcock is simply described as a hard worker. One was drafted and the other was not. Granted it does not say that Johnson was arrested he was suspended from school. I would assume that he had engaged in something inappropriate, but nothing illegal. I think that the Colts can work with a guy like that.

Draft

2007-08-13T04:48:00.000-04:00

Bob Sanders/Colts

2007-08-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

Some fans think that it would be a good idea to resign Bob Sanders. I think that this would be a HORRIBLE idea. He has missed over half his games. I just don't see him panning out with the number of injuries that he has had. I can only see resigning him if he signs a really small contract. However, he is hurt so much that he can't be counted upon. the colts will have a low second round pick next year they would be better off to sign another safety who can help with the run. I think that Sanders is getting a little too much credit for the defense during the playoffs. You have to also remember that part of the playoff success had to do with having a defensive tackle substitutes. For most of the season, the Colts were playing with no substitutes at defensive tackle.

My next big hope is that the Colts don't sign an official fullback and just keep using Klecko as the fullback. I think that the Colts interests will be better served by having three legit running backs. I think that Dorey is going to be on the team and be the number 2 back. I am under the impression that he is a poor-man's Reggie Bush. I almost want to say to go with the veteran that they have from the Canadian League because of his receiving ability, and if Addai goes down, it would be nice to have a veteran professional player.

Colts Cap Room

2007-08-02T03:57:00.000-04:00

It's pretty exciting right now. The Colts released Corey Simon who was a well paid free agent. In addition, Tarik Glenn, a starting left tackle, retired. They should have about 6 to 12 million in cap room now. They should consider going after the best defensive tackle that they can get that they don't have to overpay for. The one thing that has always bothered me about the Colts is that there are always guys out there who are at the end of their contracts and considering retirement, but they never go after them. You will never see the Colts sign a Simeon Rice, Jr. Seau, or something like that. Guys like that probably don't want to break the bank. They just want to win.

More Harry Potter

2007-07-29T16:28:00.000-04:00

I guess there will be no more Harry Potter books; However, we can all look forward to the movies. However, it would be nice if Rowling would make some other "magic" books pertaining to the Harry Potter Universe. Yea maybe Harry's story is done; however, the the world of magic that has suffered years of inbreeding leading to insanity and, not to mention, the general sense of entitlement that certain factions of the wizarding community have. Let's face it their are stories to tell. In addition, you can't just build up an entire world over the course of 17 years and then let it all go can you?

Encyclopedia Dramatica

2007-07-16T04:06:00.000-04:00

Someone has stolen my idea and created an Encyclopedia Dramatica. Here is an article about the friend zone. I really like some of the things that you are supposed to say if they call, or how to get rid of them. I have to say that the man who wrote this is one bitter SOB.
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Friend_Zone

The Edge of Evolution

2007-07-07T22:29:00.000-04:00

I was watching C-span and I saw a talk by the author of a book called the Edge of Evolution. The argument that the book puts forth is that evolution does not explain a number of phenomena that can only be explained by a design theory. It was a little weird, but the author seemed to argue that, all of the mutations that were necessary to make a human starting with a single-celled organism are too improbable.

The problem with the reasoning that the author uses is that he never seemed to get the ideas that evolution is not purposeful and it is not necessary for every possible mutation to be exhausted before a viable mutation can occur. So his ideas are hinged upon the notion that there is only one correct evolutionary solution and that all other possible solutions were exhausted before the"correct" adaptation took place. If this were the case, I would imagine that it would be impossible for evolution to have brought about life on earth. However, with my limited understanding of biology and chemistry, this seems pretty stupid.

Credit

2007-07-06T03:24:00.000-04:00

Hey I have been managing my credit for a while now. I make my payments on time and occasionally charge stuff just to use my credit cards. It has worked. I have 1 credit card that only has 10% interest. I have also made it a point to open new accounts recently for the express point of establishing a long credit history with several places. Anyway, if you will look in my links. I found a cite that will give you a free report from each credit agency.

Pants Off Dance Off

2007-07-06T00:35:00.000-04:00

So I was watching this TV show called the Pants Off Dance Off. It involved people stripping to their underwear while being judged by professional dancers. The show was retarded, but before I gathered my strength to turn the channel, I watched the first contestant. She was a total moron as one might expect. She was dedicating her performance her high school principal who told her that she would go nowhere in life. Well first of all, her principal was right. Being on the Pants off Dance of does not mean that you have arrived. Second, she really thought that she was something because she had been living in NY and working as a model for a while which brings me to my next point. I posit that as long as a girl doesn't have fat rolls she can probably model for a living; however, some girls who have fat rolls still model. My point is this: women don't have to be attractive to model. If you want to pose nude for art students, work for local artists, or generally take low level work then, you can model and waitress to make ends meet.

I don' t see modeling as noble work. It would seem to me that it is the kind of thing that you do when you don't have anything else that you can do and you need money, like stripping. Maybe it is an "I need feel pretty" thing. If you ask me, to some extent, modeling exists because mannequins can't dress themselves and are hard to pose the way you want. Therefore, it is easier to hire someone who is a little smarter than a mannequin to dress themselves and stand the way you want. Also, there really aren't that many women who are so good looking that guys almost have to look at them and actually have the ability to sell something independent of an advertising scheme. I am not saying that you have to be a supermodel to model; I just don't get it. As I said, modeling has a purposes, but it isn't something to brag about on national television.

Wisdom

2007-06-28T08:44:00.002-04:00

As I get older, I have learned that a lot of the things that I thought were true as a child really weren't. What made me think of this is my job. When I was young, I thought that old people were stupid. There are a number of people in their late 50's and early 60's who have it going on. My point is, looking back, old people weren't stupid; it was just that a lot of the old people that I knew were stupid. Plus, psychology has taught me that people in late adulthood can have some great skills.

Anytime that I think of the wisdom I have gained over the last however many years. I often think about how much I would like to share it with an eager young mind like a son or a daughter. I don't mean just what I think about old people, but stuff like, how to workout, how to kickbox, how to solve math problems, and what it means to take a logical perspective on life. It's weird though. I guess that you say that I would like to have some kids so that I can pour all of my good ideas in them. Maybe it is arrogance something, but I think that I have a lot of good information that is worth preserving.

2007-06-28T08:44:00.001-04:00

The Steal of the NBA Draft (Yi Jianlian)

2007-06-26T00:02:00.000-04:00

I would have a hard time passing on this dude. He is 19, has a jumper, can jump, shoot free throws, and is 7'. This dude can play, and he will have a defensive and rebounding impact. The only concern might be the amount of interference from the Chinese Government. Apparently, they overwork Yao Ming by making him work with the Chinese National Team during the off season. This might explain his injury proneness.

Idiot Drivers

2007-06-21T15:52:00.001-04:00

Of the top, Science has shown that Cognitive ability is linked to the performance of all tasks.

This is for all of you the dumb asses, morons, imbeciles, half-wits, dim wits, nit wits, dummies, jackasses, mongoloids, mentally challenged, slow, mo mo, borderline IQs, Forrest Gumps, Lennies, knuckle draggers, philistines, idiots, custodial IQs, feebleminded, retarded, simpleminded, idiotic, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, unthinking; absurd, mentally invalid, irrational, and unreasonable drivers out there.

I have let these slide for years, but they piss me off so bad that it isn’t even funny.

One, there is a certain segment of the driving population who think that driving in someone’s blind spot is somehow a good driving approach. Let me clue you in. Due to the way that vehicles and/or the human eyes are designed, people have difficulty seeing other cars that ride on either side of the car from a few feet behind the back bumper to the back end of the trunk. Don’t honk your horn or get pissed off when you get cutoff, just remember that you are a fucking imbecile and try to learn from the experience.

Two, when you are riding someone’s blind spot but not close enough to interfere with them changing lanes you should not speedup when they put their turn signal on. This happens to me constantly and I can barely fucking believe it when it happens.

If you are one of these people I suggest the following.

-Don’t reproduce.

-Don’t drink alcohol. You need to save all the brain cells that you can.

-For God’s sake, don’t drive anymore.

Overrated Patriots

2007-06-17T22:42:00.000-04:00

I think that the Patriots are the favorite to win the Super Bowl, but I think that they are a bit overrated. Not only are they being picked as the best team, but they are also considered to have the best defense and offense by some "experts."

First, I will discuss the defense. The patriots have a bunch of big, slow defensive linemen who are reeling by the 4th quarter. The addition of Adalius Thomas is not going to make up for the general lack of athleticism on their D line. In addition, their is no way that the Patriots have a better defense than the Ravens, Chargers, Jaguars, Dolphins, or Raiders. Finally, I look for a big resurgence in the Bronco's and Steeler's defenses due to health and the draft.

Now on to the offense. Yea they did a good job in free agency. However, now that Brady has all of these receivers, lets see if he can get it to them and learn to use the check-downs and so for. If you ask me their is a lot more that will be asked of Tom Brady so lets wait to see if he can carry the load. They have made drastic improvements to their passing game, but Randy Moss is no longer what he once was, and they don't have an overpowering running game. Finally, the Patriots will rank behind the Colts, Saints, Chargers, Bengals, Eagles, and Rams in offense this year. The Colts will be off the hook with Gonzalez and Hall. The Saints... Off the Chain. The Chargers will have a more experienced Phillip Rivers and Ladanian Tomlison. The Bengals have Carson Palmer. The Eagles have McNabb and Weapon X. The Rams are an offensive minded team and the QB Bulger had a breakout year last year.

Lets face it the Patriots are just top-ten in offense and defense and just a little better than what they have been in the past few years. Could they win the Super Bowl? Defiantly. Are they the best team all around? Probably. Are the best in any category? Probably not.

The 3 Things on My Mind

2007-06-15T23:37:00.000-04:00

1. I cut my own hair today. Granted, it was only a buzz, but it looks decent. I have tried to do this before, but it never worked. I think that what helped me is that I was careful. I am usually not careful enough so so I have always had to shave it. In addition, I bought higher quality clippers, and the right kinds of clippers.

2. Tim Duncan is not the best power forward ever. As Bill Walton pointed out, Tim Duncan is a center. He is the jumper for the spurs, 6'11", and weighs 260. What is my point? My point is that someone with that many physical gifts needs to be held to center not power forward standards. Finally, Tim Duncan cannot be the best power forward because Charles Barkley is. You don't Believe me? Check the stats
Charles Stats
http://www.nba.com/history/players/barkley_stats.html
Tim Stats
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tim_duncan/career_stats.html

There is not much difference in their career stats, but remember that Barkley has played out a career and gone through the late-career decline where Tim has not. Not to mention, Barkley is a much better ball handler, jump shooter, and leader. Some may suggest that Duncan is a better defender, but I would suggest that is is only a better post defender, Barkley was a more versitile defender. Finally, who would you be more scared of with the ball at the end of a game Barkley or Duncan? Well I will tell you, Barkley. Why? because he has more skills and can do more with the ball. Tim Duncan is a Center and if he were a power forward, Barkley is better.

3. I thought that when I moved to Dayton from my crappy hometown that people would somehow be smarter on average. However, I can't say that is the case. Of the fast food restaurants that I frequent here, non of them get my order correct. There is a problem every time that I go there. The level of incompetence in Dayton is just as high as anywhere else if not worse. Maybe there is something in the water?

Newegg Sucks?

2007-06-09T18:38:00.000-04:00

Two years ago, when I built a new computer, all I saw on the net was how great Newegg was as far as prices and service. In fact, it was basically impossible to find any complaints about them.

I upgraded about a month ago, and Newegg was still the cheapest on a lot of things; however, their service was really bad. I had an issue where one of my credit cards was not working with their system; the credit card company said that Newegg's equipment was not transmitting the appropriate information. I e-mailed Newegg and got no response. After a day or two, I called. I talked to them and they said that I needed to contact my credit card company which I did. The credit card company told me the same thing; then, I tried to call Newegg and got no answer and e-mailed them to no avail.

Today, I ordered a wireless router. I checked Newegg and it was about $80 and $50 through buy.com. Buy.com also had more options.

Also, I have read a story or two where people felt like Newegg kind of gave them the fuck-off when they had problems.

I am not saying that you should never shop at Newegg. I am just saying that I would shop around before buying, and I would consider spending a little extra to get at least some service when there is a problem. When you are spending an amount of money that you would consider large, you should consider spending 5-10% extra for a little security in terms of service. Nobody wants to have a big chuck of cash dangling in limbo while some internet company isn't returning your correspondents.

***Just as a minor point. I am pretty sure that Newegg sends out auto responses to confirm that you sent an e-mail, but I never got a response that addressed my issues. ***

Summer Plans

2007-06-08T20:19:00.000-04:00

Summer is upon us. I, Like many others in academia, am about to start summer break. I am making summer plans like many of you. Here are my plans in no particular order.

1. Lift weight a lot more.
2. Get my thesis proposal done by the end of July.
3. Do more cardio at the gym.
4. Get better at my job.
5. See Fantatic 4 II and Transformers on opening nights.
6. Get a girlfriend or a cat. Maybe both! As Samuel L. Jackson said, "Pussy is pussy." LOL. Seriously, I think that I would like more company around the house. so I think that I will get a cat or Bull Terrier during August. If someone knows where to get an extremely friendly, fully housebroken girl, cat, or Bull Terrier send me an e-mail.
7. Try to catch up on correspondents with people who I would like to talk to more.

Larry Bird Quotes

2007-05-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

I found some Larry Bird Quotes that show how times have changed. I think that in the 70's and 80's this language was much more common and maybe even acceptable. The first time that I remember this language starting to become unacceptable was when Jimmy the Greek got fired for his comment, "During the slave period, the slave owner would breed his big black with his big woman so that he would have a big black kid—that's where it all started."

I guess I am glad that people don't talk this way as much as they used to. Sometimes these comments can be funny when meant purely in the spirit of humor, but more often than not someone gets offended. Anyway here is one of his comments (the rest you can read thought he link). Larry is a white guy, I suppose that he can poke fun at white guys for not taking basketball seriously.

"As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me - red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game."
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/larrybird153140.html

Best QB's

2007-05-21T04:41:00.000-04:00

Sports Nation Came out with a pole of the best quarter backs.
1 Peyton Manning
2 Tom Brady
3 Drew Brees
4 Carson Palmer
5 Donovan McNabb
6 Matt Hasslebeck
7 Brett Favre
8 Phillip Rivers
9 Marc Bulger
10 Vince Young

I don't see how any of these rookies made the list. They were not the best QB's last year.
If it were me I would put Carson Palmer above Tom Brady, Favre at 5 and Bulger at 6. I think that Bulger is a good QB. Favre has no help at all; he is surrounded by a lot of young guys who have not lived up to their potential yet.
Here is my test of a great QB. Look at the Bears; they have everything but a QB. Who would you want to be the QB for a single season? I think that Favre has to be in the top five. I think that a case can be made for putting Favre at 3 because he stays healthy in spite of no O line. In fact, I would put him at 3 the packers suck and no one could have good QB stats playing there. As much as I complain about Marvin Harrison he is way better than a lot of receivers.

Anna Nicole

2007-02-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

Since her death their is this huge media circus centered around who her baby's daddy is. I always figured her for a bigger slut than what she probably was. Only five guys including her dead husband have come out of the woodwork to say that the baby might be his. If I am not mistaken, many of those guys have come out of the woodwork from years ago and are probably relevant.

Herpes is a Hell of a Disease

2007-02-13T13:49:00.000-05:00

I had heard that the herpes level is high in our population. I have never confirmed this for myself until today. I looked on the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website and found the following:

Results of a nationally representative study show that genital herpes infection is common in the United States. Nationwide, at least 45 million people ages 12 and older, or one out of five adolescents and adults, have had genital HSV infection. Between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, the number of Americans with genital herpes infection increased 30 percent.

Genital HSV-2 infection is more common in women (approximately one out of four women) than in men (almost one out of five). This may be due to male-to-female transmissions being more likely than female-to-male transmission.

Here is the original link:

http://www.cdc.gov/std/Herpes/STDFact-Herpes.htm#common

I think that given these numbers, you can pretty much assume that your typical at risk person has herpes. To put this in laymen's terms, the typical ladies man, whore, slut, stud, or anyone who has earned a similar term probably has some shit.

What I think that Colts Should Do

2007-02-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

Franchise Freeney - Which they already said they will. They probably won't be able to sign him for less than 7 million. If they franchise him it will cost about 9 million. essentially most of the salary cap increase is going to go to Freeney. Hopefully some of it will be left to address some of these other issues. If they can't get Freeney to sign low, they will have to cut some of the OL next year which will probably happen anyway.

Cut Simon - They have DTs that are working and Regor will be back next year, they will have a solid rotation. I am 90% sure that will happen anyway.

Cut Mungro - They have Klecko who doubles as a FB and DT.

Cut Stokley - The lineup is so much better with two tight-ends because of the versatility of Clark and Fletcher. They just need a backup and Stokley make about a million per year.

Trade Harrison - I know this will never happen; however, he does nothing in the post season and refues to make contact. The Colts would be better off with less expensive free-agents or rookies. The Colts need more physical young talent at WR. What they need most in Harrisons absence are two young receivers. One to come in and start and one to be a backup.

Take a hard stance with June - To be exact, don't let him break the bank. Only resign him for reasonable money. I would not resign him for more than 2.5 million period. He really didn't play that well last year and missed a lot of tackles. The only good thing about him is that he makes a lot of tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Colts aren't a great team at linebacker. Essentially, the guys that are starting aren't much better than the guys on the bench so while June might be a better linebacker than everybody else on the team, I don't think that he is that much better. I know he made the pro-bowl, but he can be replaced by a number 1 pick, or sign him for one more year with the intention of letting him go next year to be replaced by a number 1 pick.

Resign Rhodes for a reasonable deal - Since he plays a lot now he deserves 1 - 2 million. If he wants more than that, I would take my chances in the draft or the low-end free agent market. They could also backload his contract. I think that Harper becomes a free agent next year. I would let him go to give Rhodes a better contract. The Colts are pretty deep in the secondary. Sanders is the only franchise player in the secondary.

Draft
Round 1 - A large and quick LB t or DE. I know. why would I draft a DE? If they find a better pass rusher than Mathis, I would move Mathis to LB because he would be a hell of a linebacker. However, the Colts aren't much for developing players at new positions so that may never happen. However, Polian said that it was considered this season.
Round 2 - Oops I forgot that the colts traded their second round pick for McFarland.
Round 3 - Back-up WR or a RB to replace Rhodes. (you know that the Colts won't get rid of Harrison so to get a back-up to replace Stokley, they have draft or get a low-end free-agent). Moorehead is the first back-up, but they need one more.

Side Note
On ESPN.com they mentioned that they Colts might try to find some larger backups to deal with power-running teams. That may work espespcially at linebacker. I doubt that much will happen at DT though. Granted they are still light in the DT department, but, I think that with a 4 man rotation, and 3 of the guys being pretty solid, that they will be okay at this position. However, a supergiant DT on Freeney's side to stop the double teams would be nice. If they could find somebody past their prime, on the scrap heap, or in the draft who wouldn't cost a lot.

Jeremy Green Idiot on Freeney

2007-02-05T21:52:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Green says that it is unlikely that Freeney will be back next year because the Colts don't have the cap room and they need to address holes in their defense. However, John Clayton (a reliable reporter) says that the Colts have cap room and intend to franchise him if he does not sign a contract. In additon, the holes in the colts defense were created by injuries early in the season. The Colts do not need free agent signing at all.

Jeremy Green of Scouts Inc. ESPN.COM

2007-02-04T02:19:00.002-05:00

Jeremy Green is an idiot. He sounds like an idiot when he talks, and he constantly gets football predictions wrong. I am sure that he has sub .500 prediction success. In addition, he buys into everything that I hate about sports media.

I can't stand predictions overly based on media constructs like, Belachics's genius, Peyton's inability to "win the big one," and various mystique factors. Granted some coaches are better than others, players can choke, and emotion can play a role in games. I don't deny that; however, I think that we have to evaluate talent and match ups more heavily not all this other stuff.

Colts Receivers

2007-02-03T23:17:00.000-05:00

I have to tell you that I get a little bit annoyed with all the criticism of Peyton Manning and hit so called inability to win the big game. If you ask me it is the inability of Marvin and Reggie to get open that causes more problems than anything. Moreover, Marvin is just unwilling to sacrifice his body at all. I have not seen him go up and fight for a ball even once this year. In fact, I have witnessed quite the opposite. Twice this year; he caught passes and was stripped only to have them ruled interceptions. Reggie just seems to be a non-factor a lot. The bottom line in my estimation is that they definitely lack the mental toughness and maybe the physical ability as well. Sure, in the regular season, stay healthy don't kill yourself, but in the playoffs you have to get tough. Granted any professional football player is tough; however, until I see Marvin and Reggie get tough and make some catches where they take some hits, and snatch balls from corners, they will never be great.

Super Bowl Colts over Bears by 10

2007-01-27T20:44:00.000-05:00

Strength of Schedule (edge Colts)
The Bears are a good team and can win against anybody on every given Sunday; However, the NFC is a weaker conference than the AFC. This amounts to two things. One, the Bears have a weaker schedule which inflates their statistics on both defense and offence. Two they have a weaker strength of victory meaning that they have beaten weaker teams so it is unclear whether or not the Bears are a strong enough team to beat the Colts especially when we consider common opponents.

Common Opponents (edge Colts)
Th Bears are not ready to play the top-notch competition. The Bears lost two meaningful (i.e. the Bears hand not clinched a playoff spot) games this year: They lost to the Dolphins and the Patriots; both are AFC teams. The Colts played both of these teams. The Colts beat the Dolphins once and the Patriots twice.

Proven to be able to move the ball against top AFC defences (edge Colts)
The colts defeated the Dolphins, Ravens, Patriots, and Jaguars. The Bears were defeated by the Dolphins and Patriots. The bears might be able to do this but in my mind they have not proven it. By beating top NFC defenses.

Special teams (edge Bears)
There is no doubt that the Bears have a better kick return game which could be the difference in this game. However, Vinitieri for the Colts is a proven clutch kicker so if it comes down to a last second field goal for the Colts, it is lights out for the Bears. I would suspect that manning will go deep on some 3rd down passes to that might get intercepted. An interception of a 40-yard pass might be better in terms of field position than punting to Devon Hester.

Other factors (edge Colts)
The Bears are not used to the Colts no-huddle. Division opponents of the Colts draft players to deal with it. It is unlikely that the Bears may not have the personnel to deal with it.

The Bears throughout the season have run the ball about as well as the Colts. Controlling for AFC NFC differences, the Bears needing to run more due to their suspect passing game and so on. The Bears are not a good running team.

If the Bears stop the Colts from running that is okay because the Colts have Peyton Manning. If the Bears get stopped from running they have to rely on a suspect QB, defense, and special teams to score points.

The Bears will not be able to force turnovers on the Colts like they have on sub-par NFC teams.

Saints Bears

2007-01-21T15:35:00.000-05:00

I know that the game has already started, but right before the game, I have decided that the bears will win. Love has those guys believing that they are the underdogs, and he has done a lot to hype up the defense.

Colts By 13 Over Patriots

2007-01-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

The Pats are not who they once were. The Colts will be firing on all cylinders. The first time this year that they met the Pats O line could not stop Freeney or Mathis. Expect more of the same. Expect Marvin and Reggie to show up big.

-The Genius [of Bill Bellichick] is a myth created by the media. Greatness is real and can't be stopped- Mike Ditka on LT in Pats vs. Chargers.

The Pats have no answer for the Colts.

Colts leaving Baltimore

2007-01-13T09:33:00.000-05:00

They have been making a lot of this in the media. I thought that their had to be more to it. The Colts left because the city of Baltimore would not build a new stadium, and they threatened to use eminent domain against the owner forcing the team to stay in Baltimore, and removing the Irsays as owners. The bottom line is that they had it coming. The city of Baltimore had lost their fucking minds and forgot who owns the team.

Here is the link to the full article.
http://wbal.com/sports/ravens/story.asp?articleid=52773

KC/Baltimore/ Indy/ Ohio StateUpdate***

2007-01-07T02:26:00.000-05:00

Well, It went like I thought. The weakness in the KC line was exposed. Apparently, they have a good center and two good guards, but the tackles are weak. Although Peyton was not patient the defense unexpectedly stepped-up.

I don't have a Baltimore prediction because I think that it will be too close to call assuming that the Colts' defense comes to play. However, the Colts can win if they limit turnovers, Vinatieri plays great, and the defense plays reasonably well. Baltimore's defense is great, and we don't want to turnover the ball so that the, By can score. Alsoaltimore's offense is incredibly weak. They only score because the defense gives them extra chances.

Update***
I think that on paper (i.e. based on the season statistics), Baltimore has the advantage. However, the Colts have made changes to bolster special teams, and Sanders is back on defense. They just flat out put it to KC. I think that it is hard to know what to expect out of anything but the Colts offense right now.

Ohio State
A sports commentator said it best when he said that I thought that Ohio state could win until I saw what USC did to Michigan meaning that Ohio State has similar speed to Michigan which just ain't that fast.

KC at Indy Prediction

2007-01-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a good game. In my opinion any playoff game can go either way, but having said that, I think that the Colts will take it. Indy specializes in pass rush and KC has given up 41 sacks this year. If Indy gets sacks they can stop drives. Indy can't stop the run and Larry Johnson is a good back. However, If I recall he was on pace to break a rushing attempts record. The bottom line is that KC has a weak offensive line which will make Indy's weak front 7 look better than it is. it is a fact that Johnson will rush for over 175 yards. However, I can't see KC having much of a passing game if the Indy comes with a good game plan.

Tales From the Gym 1

2006-12-30T19:26:00.001-05:00

I have said it before, but I mean it this time. Squatting is such a waste of time for me that I am just not going to do it anymore. I think that squatting well is more about torso, femur, and tibia length than strength.

These statements are in no way an attempt to be advice of an kind and are meant to be used solely for entertainment purposes. Consult a doctor before starting a workout program or taking dietary supplements.

Tampa II Defense

2006-12-19T07:26:00.000-05:00

I am getting a little tired of people saying that Tony Dungy's Tampa II Defense sucks. There are other teams in the league that run it. Lovie Smith of Chicago is was the linebacker coach in Chicago and helped develop it and uses it in Chicago. The defense can leave you susceptible to run because it does require top-notch tackles and at least one good linebacker. Chicago has Urlacher and a couple of good tackles so they are not that easy to run on. The beauty of the Tampa II is that even if you give up the run to some degree, teams can't pass they are screwed.

The Colts are still a middle of the pack defense even with all of their injuries because they can stop the pass. The pass is where the most yardage is typically given up. Second, teams will have to pass if the Colts have a lead which just makes the situation worse on an opposing team. The only concern with the Colts is not that they become run-stopper extraordinaries, but how will they stop people from scoring in goal-line situations.

Carmelo Anthony Suspension

2006-12-19T05:54:00.000-05:00

I am not shocked that he got suspended over the fight, but I was surprised to learn that players don't get payed when they get suspended. He is losing $640,000.00. Granted it may not be much of his salary, but that is a hell of a lot of money. If it were me I wouldn't care how much I make or have made, I would not want to just throw a half of amillion dollars down the drain.

Powerlifting

2006-12-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

I do not profess to be a powerlifter, but I follow the sport to some degree. Anyway this video is an interesting introduction to the sport.

Bodybuilding/Weightlifting Supplements

2006-12-13T16:31:00.000-05:00

I am going to post this in my links, but I just thought that I would say something about it. 1fast400.com is the best supplement site on the web. I cant think of anyplace that is cheaper. For example, sixty 6-OXO capsules cost around $50 at GNC you can get them at 1fast400.com for about $30. I got a bottle of 180 capsules for $80.

Many Are Unaware of the Kung Fu Haymaker

2006-12-08T00:17:00.000-05:00

Hey Yolanda What Happened to Yo Mutha fuckin' Eye?

2006-12-08T00:16:00.000-05:00

Colleges Have Crappy Gyms

2006-12-07T21:55:00.000-05:00

Since people don't like reading a bunch I am going to keep it short.
Colleges gyms suck because:

-They have incorrect safety rules that make no sense (i.e. it is not always safer to use "safety clips.")
-They have staff who don't understand weightlifting. I asked a gym staff member to give me a spot one time and he said, "What's that?" And, you definitely don't want to ask most college gym staff how to workout.
-They never have the correct equipment, or won't let you access the equipment that you need so that you can train the way that you would like. You usually can't use the studios, there is no boxing equipment, neck equipment, or deadlift jack.

Fight Science

2006-12-06T21:53:00.000-05:00

I don't agree with everything in here, but it is nonetheless interesting. There are some problems with the show. For instance Kung Fu is touted as being weaker than Tae Kwon Do; however, the Kung Fu man is much smaller. Let's face it they are both equally weak. What I find telling is that the the boxer who is less fit than the other fighters has the hardest punch.

Finally, not to go into every detail, but I have to say something about Ninjitsu. While I agree with the general point that some parts of the body are weaker than others, there is no mystery to pressure points. I would suspect that any tough-guy or athlete could name at least one or two. These weak spots require tremendous force from a strike, timing, appropriate technique, and fitness. I have never known of a ninja who possessed all the necessary elements. Case in point, the ninja in this program strikes the solar-plexus but picks the worst strike to do so a horizontal hammerfist.

part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Tae Kwon Do Sucks

2006-11-29T20:54:00.000-05:00

Basically Tae kwon Do Sucks. If you see some good Tae Kwon Do, look again cause it ain't traditional Tae Kwon Do.
Here is an example. This guys is a good fighter and is supposed to be a Tae Kwon Do Stylist, but How much of this is Tae Kwon Do?

This is what happens if you try to use Tae Kwon Do on someone.

Here is what I would call a very inexperienced Kickboxer against a fairly competent Tae Kwon Do man.

For All of You Who Think Dim Mak is Real.

2006-11-29T20:06:00.000-05:00

This is probably the only real pressure point that I know of in terms of a nerve strike. However, it requires tremendous force ro have an effect.

YouTube - George W Bush Memoirs on Letterman

2006-11-29T19:43:00.000-05:00

Bush

2006-11-29T19:24:00.000-05:00

Kurt Warner

2006-11-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

You know, I think that he gets the shaft. It seems that he keeps getting replaced by young QB's that are not as good as him. If you ask me it is so that the teams can loose to get higher picks. I think that this is especially true for the Cardinals. I promise you that this is what they will do. I look for them to get a top receiver and safety in round one and two of next years draft. Then they will draft a offensive linemen 3rd round plus. Finally, they will unload Warner for a veteran offensive lineman.

"Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print -"

2006-10-12T06:36:00.000-04:00

I have been checking this forever, and now it is finally here, and it is better than being in the phone book.

Current Graduate Students

Pedagogy

2006-10-04T13:33:00.000-04:00

You know what? Today is going to suck. I have to teach kids how to calculate a two-sample t-test when they have not even done the basic one-sample z-test. I am going to make their heads hot.

A Great Day

2006-09-28T02:00:00.000-04:00

My Stats instructor is really cool and she gives me enough information to explore some of my mathematical interests. So, today I was able to prove the central limit theorem which is one of the fundamental ideas in statistics. It is to some extent a bridge between theoretical probability and sample probability. That is, it is the basis for inferential statistics.

Links and Junk

2006-09-17T19:41:00.000-04:00

I found a cool link to a human factors psychology program directory. As I find stuff like that, I like to post it in my links section. I just remember when I was searching for something to do with my life after getting a bachelor's degree in psychology. I was pretty of human factors and industrial-organizational psychology. I thought that I was going to have to go into counseling to avoid working at a university. I/O and human factors are very research oriented and practical. There aren't too many careers that will get you involved with the military, NASA, or some Fortune-500 company. People often go into science to add to the body of knowledge in a scientific way, but I am telling you psychology is wide-open and theses fields are highly scientific. Moreover, there are still many grand discoveries to make.

Teaching

2006-09-17T07:55:00.000-04:00

I have to say that one of the biggest concerns of mine was whether or not I would be good at teaching in graduate school. I thought that I would just teach the introductory psychology lab, but because of my experience and second-years and beyond getting internships, they gave me a statistics lab which is a second-year or master's level position. This made me extra nervous. My first class was terrible. After it, I was a bit discouraged. However, in graduate school, it is do or die. My funding comes from teaching so I have to do it. Well, the next class went well. and the third class was awesome. I got up there and forgot about being nervous, and mathematical and statistical knowledge just flowed out of me.

How School is Going

2006-09-17T07:45:00.000-04:00

School is pretty hard. All of my class-mates are really smart. However, I have to admit that the extra year and a half of math and all the tutoring really shows. I might be tooting my own horn, but I am light years ahead of most of them. Not that I think I am a super-genius or anything, I just have the experience and background. Anyway, statistics is pretty easy so far. However, my other classes that require a lot of reading are difficult. It is a big adjustment to go from reading 40 to 60 pages per week to 200+ pages. Inters tingly, since I am in an experimental field we will mostly use text books for statistics and research methods. I have a book for introduction to I/O, but it is only for the first part of the semester. The emphasis is on reading journal articles.

Self-Promotion

2006-08-13T05:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I ran into a pretty cool person whom I wish I were better friends with. Among the many things that we discussed, we talked about how self-promotion seems to go a long way. Like the old philosophical debate goes: If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to see it, did the tree fall? It is the same way with success. If success happens and no one is there to see it… In that vein, I think a little bit of self-promotion is necessary. You don’t want to close the big deal at work and let no one know about it. Some of the people who are your peers now could be your future employers so it would be wise to let them know that you have done some good work. Having said that; self-promotion is necessary and important. However, I think that it is all too tempting for people to report that they closed the big deal when it was really a routine deal. Moreover, it is far easier to contrive success stories all together or exaggerate another’s flaws than it is to do real work.

The most note-worthy examples of the use of exaggeration comes from my days as an aluminum-foundry employee. There was a third-shift group leader who earned the nickname God because of his unceasing self-promotion and belittling of other people’s work. He was the highest paid employee in the factory not because he did the best or most work. He got his raises because he ran to the department supervisor who worked first shift and told him about how little was done on second shift and how he made sure that we third-shift employees got everything caught up.

One of the most striking examples of contrived success comes from a martial arts instructor I know. He started a martial arts organization lest just call it the Made-up Martial Arts Association or the MMAA. Then, he establishes a championship tournament with the divisions organized in such a way that he is guaranteed a victory and a title. Therefore, he becomes the MMAA Master’s Light-Heavyweight Division World Champion.

I suppose that there might be more ways to self-promote. I just wanted to cover what I see happen most often. Granted, these examples are pretty striking. However, I have never worked a job that didn’t have an exaggerator and/or contriver. Typically exaggerator’s just try to bring into sharp relief other’s flaws, and contrivers just make stuff up. It is rare that a contriver will go thtough the trouble of giving the appearance of legitimacy.

I Locked My Keys in My Car!

2006-07-30T06:23:00.000-04:00

I was laughing almost uncontrollably today because I locked my keys in my car which hasn’t happened in a while. It reminded me of the scandal I caused at my undergraduate alma mater when I would do something like that. I don’t know the full details, but It is my understanding that there was a group of people who took great joy in keeping track of whether I left my lights on, locked my keys up, or spilled mustard on my shirt. I guess; you could say that I had paparazzi.

Thinking back on it, I am not quite sure what was wrong with these people. The nearest that I could figure is that they really did not have enough to do. I had transferred from a more traditional campus where I had gotten used to what I would call grinding exhaustion. Throughout most of my undergraduate career I worked about 25 to 30 hours per week, taught martial arts, took several 17+ credits semesters, and took a lot of time intensive courses. My paparazzi on-the-other-hand typically took 12 credits per semester, worked less, took less time intensive courses, and missed out on achieving some of their goals.

Why was I laughing? The answer is simple; I laughed because I could not be more pleased with myself and how things are going for me, and I find it infinitely hilarious that my paparazzi just never got it.

Overused sayings: "IT Takes All Kinds"

2006-07-29T22:29:00.000-04:00

There are many overused and misused sayings that I don’t like; however, I think that, “It takes all kinds” is the one that I hate the most. Of course, there are several different mutations of “it takes all kinds” like, “different strokes for different folks,”” we all have our problems,” or “if God wanted us to all be the same he would have made us that way.”

In my estimation, these sayings are meant to point out that it is okay to be eccentric or different when it is harmless. The sayings point out that when someone is doing something like wearing high-water pants to work everyday, we should not gossip about them or pay their behaviors any mind because they really don’t matter.

The problem comes in when people try to use these saying to justify anything. For example, I worked with a guy who was coming to work drunk. This is clearly a problematic behavior. When I mentioned it to another coworker he said, “We all got vices.” I did not respond because he was a waste of air who was not worth me correcting. Clearly, I could have said something like, “So you think that anything is okay? It doesn’t matter if he is a danger to himself or others? Do you think he likes not being able to hold a job?” "Do you think that he planned it out as a little boy to get so drunk that he pisses the bed?" It's a shame that the guy was a drunk, but anything but excusable.

My point is I hate the, “it takes all kinds” genre of sayings because people use them as a means to justify nearly any behavior. The bottom line is everything is not okay, and there is nothing wrong with making judgments about people and situations, especially, if a person or situation is causing harm to someone. The fact is, these sayings should only be applied to situations that involve eccentricities and not raving stupidity.

Jitters

2006-07-22T05:29:00.000-04:00

I went and paid my last rent today which means that I have one month left before moving to Dayton for school. It just hit me how close all of this is. I am getting really nervous. I worked really hard as an undergrad. However, it is all about the next five years and not the previous five. I guess that is what makes me nervous. I have to start over really. The work that I did or did not do before really means very little beyond the fact that it brought me to this point. I googled some of my future classmates. All of them have impressive backgrounds. I do too; I guess, but like I said, none of that means anything now it's all about the future. Maybe I should feel that way about my classmates. Noting that they have done in the past means anything either. Other than the occasional nausea, I am pretty excited.

Charts that Show the Relationship Between the GRE, SAT, and IQ.

2006-07-14T07:45:00.000-04:00

I found some charts on the net that relate IQ to GRE and SAT scores respectively. I thought they were an accurate estimate of my IQ so you might have fun with them too. However, I don't think that I would put too much stock in the charts because we do not know much about the site that displays them, and the GRE and SAT are achievement tests meaning that they require a level of academic preparation for a person to score well. At any rate, I think that you might find the charts interesting and useful in estimating your IQ if you were prepared for the GRE and/or SAT. If you where not prepared for either test or have never taken either one and you know what your IQ is, you can get a rough idea of the score you could expect with the proper test preparation.

http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/GREIQ.html

http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/SATIQ.html

Are K-12 Teachers Dumb Like Stumps?

2006-07-10T16:28:00.000-04:00

Interestingly, the author of the article on the other side of this link says, Yes, many K-12 teachers are dumb like stumps. Okay maybe they aren't dumb like stumps, but according to this author there are many teachers who are on the "left of the GRE bell curve."

THE LINK

Originally, I had a long-winded post script here, but in its place, I just want to say two things. First, I am not so sure that the GRE general test is an accurate predictor of one’s competence to teach K-12. As far as I know, the GRE has only been shown to predict success in certain types of graduate programs. Teaching requires certain personality traits like patience and charisma which aren’t tested on the GRE general test. While a GRE subject test could provide graduate programs with more accurate information about a person’s potential for success in a given field like education, there is no GRE subject test for education. However, teachers must pass exams like the Praxis to be certified. The second and final thing that I want to say is that I do not think that this society is willing to do what it takes to attract the best and the brightest to education. People in education are held to the highest moral standard. God forbid that a teacher may have been a stripper or porn actor/actress. Both are legal, but there is a story almost every week about a teacher getting fired for some past "transgression." When you apply for a teaching position, do not dare have a criminal record of any kind. Let’s not forget that teaching has little autonomy; it is a profession that is under constant scrutiny and forced to conform with every fad teaching method that comes down the pike.

Basically it boils down to two things. One, teachers have their own standards and tests to measure success in their field so it is unclear to me why the GRE is important. Two, education is a field with rampant with moral conservatism and arbitrary capricious methods and measures of success so how many high GRE scorers can the field really expect to attract?

Graduate School Admissions

2006-07-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

I suppose that this post serves two purposes. First, I have just gone through the graduate admissions process so I have a need to convey what I have learned. Second, I want to see everyone from my undergrad alma mater in a successful and happy situations. I would like nothing more than to see every IU East student who wants to get master's or doctorate get one so that they can become leaders in the community.

I was looking around today, and I found the Ball State graduate admissions statistics. Admissions standards are very reasonable there. In addition, I think that Ball State is a decent university. I think its reputation is not nearly as good as its programs are which means students get a good education without competitive weirdness. Anyway, here is a link to the admissions statistics. I hope this helps someone. http://www.bsu.edu/provost/graduate/partii04.htm

Grammar (Subjunctive Mood & Inflection)

2006-07-07T10:51:00.000-04:00

This is for a particular person who chose to criticise my grammar.

Here is a tutorial on subjunctive mood (i.e. the correct use of verbs when a statement of possibility or intent is made)
http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.html

Here is an elementary website on the use of inflection to ask a question.
http://www.english-online.org.uk/elem5/ques1e.htm

Graduate School

2006-07-03T11:51:00.000-04:00

This is an E-mail that I sent to an undegraduate professor of mine, but I think that it does a good job of communicating the information that I got from my visitation at Wright State. However, it really cannot express my nervousness enough.

Concerns put to rest
I went over to Wright State on Friday. It was really something. They boasted that they probably have the best physical facilities in the country. They said, “If someone has a better plant than us, I could not imagine who it would be.” I would not doubt it. Plus, the HF people have access to even more equipment at the air force base.

Everyone was very nice over there. Although it has more competitive admissions than Xavier (the only other school I visited), they seemed to be for the students. They mentioned several times why the department was so small. They said that they wanted to create a situation where an instructor has just 5 advisees. Plus, they wanted to make sure that they could provide funding for all of their students for 5 years. Yes you read that right, 5 years of funding. I will be able to work part-time for the department and finish my dissertation on time. They also said that the size of the department makes a good situation for students; to keep their Ph.D. program, Ohio law mandates that they produce so many Ph.D.’s/year so they cannot afford to loose people which means that they do their best to make sure the students get good advisement. I spoke to a student who said that the only reason that he is aware of that prevents people from graduating is that they get lured away by job offers.

I know graduate school will be a lot of work. However, going over there alleviated some of my anxiety. I was concerned that the faculty would be apathetic towards students; I would not fit in, or worse my advisor would not like me. However, he faculty members are great, I liked the students, they have a really collaborative environment , I can switch majors or advisors if I want to without any hard feelings, and my advisor chose me because he thought I was the best fit for the program, and not just based any one aspect of my record.

Specialization
I have decided to specialize in personnel selection which I believe to be the Lord’s work. I am pretty excited so I am going to start reading up on the topic. I see poor personnel selection as one of the major problems in the workforce today. We can do a lot to improve job satisfaction, training, and group dynamics. However, in my mind unless you have the correct people in the job in the first place, much of that work is for nothing.

Diversity
Here is an interesting thing that I found out. When I arrived at the psychology office at WSU, I asked where everyone was. Although I was a little early, for such an important event, I assumed that others would arrive early. She replied, “You must be Jason.” I then said, “How would you know that?” She said, “You are the only African American.” She handed me my packet, and I sat down in the lounge next door. I thought about what she had just said and returned to the office and asked, “Have you ever had any black students.” She said, I suppose that this will make me their poster boy for diversity. I just may get a number of pictures on their website to show how “diverse” they are.

Human factors is sexy
Human factors has to be the sexiest field in psychology. I can’t think of a single field that uses so much equipment. It’s amazing. They where all like “Come into my lab and see my million dollar virtual reality machine or look at my $200k eye motion tracking device. Almost all of the human factors people were talking about how they were developing this or that for the military or NASA. You would think that everybody would at least be interested in human facrots on some level. Maybe it’s too much for people to envision as a career, or maybe they don't like the science?

Jason

Why the URL and Blog Name

2006-07-01T23:21:00.000-04:00

I know that this will come up eventually so I thought that it would be a good idea to write something about it. I chose themindsnewsciece.blogspot.com as my url and the cognitive revolution as the title to my blog for particular reasons.

The short answer is that Minds New Science is a book by Howard Gardner (the multiple intelligence guy) that chronicles the cognitive revolution. The Minds New Science had a dramatic effect on me and my interest in psychology as did the cognitive psychology course that I read it for. So I am giving a nod to cognitive psychology and that book. Lastly, I think that the cognitive revolution makes a cool title for a blog especially since I like to think that I occasionally have new and interesting things to say.

I suppose that you are wondering why I like cognitive psychology so much; well, the answer is simple. Before the cognitive revolution mainstream psychology was basically two fields. There was behaviorism which is hardcore experimental and comparative psychology. Then there was the personality/social theory stuff like Freud which I often call soft psychology because of its emphasis on theory rather than experimentation. When I took cognitive psychology, it was the first time that I saw psychology as something that had an independent body of knowledge that was based on experiments conducted with human participants. Behaviorists spent their time. torturing rats and monkeys to make judgments about human behavior while soft psychologist made stuff up.

Finally, while I/O, human factors, and areas like neuroscience and psychophysics have been around for a long time, they are not what I would call mainstream disciplines in psychology. I/O and human factors don’t have chapters in most intro books and are hardly mentioned in schools that don’t have faculty members of either specialty. In addition, most departments have positions for social, cognitive, and clinical psychologists and not I/O or human factors. Psychophysics and neuroscience are/were often conducted by people who have no real affiliation with psychology. They are/were M.D.s and physicist who happened to make some discoveries that pertained to psychology. There for a time, I thought that the way to be a good experimental psychologist was to study something other than psychology, and then to later make the switch.

Why Homosexuality is Considered to be Biologically Based

2006-06-25T21:10:00.000-04:00

The purpose of this post is to point out the biological basis of homosexuality. For religious and political reasons this is a topic that seems to always be in hot debate. It is really nothing more than the nature nurture argument, and we find that people who are in the extremes in this argument are usually wrong.

All human traits are on two continuums. They are on a continuum for the particular trait, and they are on a nature nurture continuum. For example, for the trait sex, we have male on one side, female on the other, and intersexed individuals in the middle. In the case nature nurture, biology is the primary factor that determines sex. Sexuality is a trait like all others and is on the two continuums. It is on a continuum for the trait itself and a nature nurture continuum. The source of hot debate is that people with their own political agendas want to show that homosexuality is either all nature or all nurture. However, it is believed by the scientific community that sexuality is more biologically based than environmentally based this is not so say that environment does not play any role. Lets face it, in extreme situations like prison and some other historical situations, homosexuality is or was a consequences of environment. However, these are extreme and oppressive environments and the choice ins't/wasn't whether to be hetero or homo, but whether to have sex or not. In today's society, it is more difficult to be homosexual so I would say that not many would want to choose to be that way. Admittedly, there is a certain amount of bumper sticker logic to that statement, and I am always afraid to apply such logic to any situation. The fact is, many people choose to do things that are counter productive. I think the important thing to remember is that homosexuality is a difficult lifestyle so there must be more than simple choice involved.

I would like to apologize because this is really nothing more than a book report from here to the conclusion. I am too lazy to look through the journals on this particular topic so I am going to rely upon a text book called the Biological Psychology Seventh Edition by James W. Kalat. Second, I would like to make it clear that I am not claiming that homosexual behavior is 100% biological. My point is simply that there is a strong biological basis for homosexual behavior

Genetic Evidence
Here Kalat combines several studies into a chart on page 327 that shows the genetic basis of homosexuality. These charts show the likelihood of siblings of a twin being homosexual if one twin reported being homosexual. Notice that there is a very high likelihood for a monozygotic twin to be homosexual if one twin has reported to be homosexual.

Related to a Homosexual Man
Monozygotic Twin
52% homosexual

Dizygotic Twin
22% homosexual

Adopted Brother
11% homosexual

Related to a Homosexual Woman
Monozygotic Twin
48% homosexual

Dizygotic Twin
16% homosexual

Nontwin Sister
11% homosexual

Adopted Sister
6% homosexual

Prenatal Environment
Kalat later goes on to sight a comparative biology study where with the use of testosterone during sensitive times in pregnancy researchers were able to induce homosexual behavior in female rats. Next he mentions that there have been several studies where prenatal stress was induced to increase the likelihood of homosexuality. In the stress studies they did find that with different environmental factors it was possible to induce bisexuality versus strict homosexuality.

Differences between men and women
Finally Kalat points out that there are differences in the male and female brain. Heterosexual woman have several areas of the brain that are larger than in heterosexual men. This comparison includes the interstitial nucleus which has a relationship to sexual behavior. It has been found that homosexual men have greater similarity to heterosexual women than they do to heterosexual men in these brain areas.

Conclusion
Finally, while there is still work to be done in this area to clear up specific questions about the role of biology, it is apparent that social psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, and others with a vested interest in disproving the biological nature of homosexuality have had little success. There is meager evidence that environment can induce bisexuality versus strict homosexuality, but it does not lessen the central idea that it is primarily nature that determines one’s propensity to engage in homosexual acts. Finally, I do not see the occasional person reporting that he or she has chosen heterosexuality over homosexuality as being evidence of the environmental nature of homosexuality. Since sexuality is on a continuum, logically those on the extreme ends will claim to have had no choice as to their sexuality while those individuals who have sexuality that is in the middle of the sexuality continuum, may report that they chose their sexuality or environment may have played a role.

Religion Leading People Astray in the Nature Nurture Debate

2006-06-21T06:12:00.000-04:00

I spoke with someone the other day about nature vs. nurture. She was approaching the argument from a particular religious standpoint so she took the position of nurture being the most important. I think that her belief stems from the idea of God being just. For God to be just, people must have freewill (the ability to choose right from wrong) before they can be justly punished. If we have freewill the only thing that can set us off track is bad environment/nurturing. Of course, I could be giving her undeserved credit for being consistent. She may just be one for confabulation, or maybe I am?

I do not want to digress too far, but I happen to disagree with any notion of freewill. It is odd to me that religious people accept the idea of freewill; as Max (a scholarly friend) has often pointed out, God’s omniscience and therefore omnipotence rest upon the idea that we do not have freewill. Max and I, like good scientists or Calvinists, are determinists. Nonetheless, many religious people believe that we have freewill which means that we cannot be biologically determined to behave in a certain way, so it then follows that nurture must supersede nature.

I then pointed out to her that they are both important, and depending on the issue one may be more important than the other. I explained to her some of the results of twin studies and how certain traits seemed to have stronger biological components.

She then said in her mind, "facts smacts you can prove any ol' thing with the facts," and changed talking points. She then said aloud, “If environment causes any change at all in a behavior or trait then environment is the most important.” I did not quite get it at first, but after thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that she meant that environment is the only thing we can control so genes and inheritance do not matter as much.

Finally, I think that it is a silly debate. People can argue back and forth about which is more important, but they work together. Whether one can be manipulated and the other cannot they are together. It is like saying that the Earth is more important than the Sun to life on this planet because we have some control over the Earth.

Why "Intelligent Design" (ID) Is Not Science

2006-06-20T06:02:00.000-04:00

"ID is not a scientific theory and should not be taught alongside the Theory of Evolution. It offers nothing to help students understand how science works. It is merely a statement of how complex life seems to be - not even worth an hour of classroom time."
Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#707 WHY "INTELLIGENT DESIGN" (ID) IS NOT SCIENCE
Folks:
The posting below is a nice, succinct, statement on what science is, why "intelligent design" isn't science, and therefore why it has no business being taught as such in high school or college science courses. It is by Dr. Pennilun (Penny) Higgins, a research associate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester. It is reprinted with permission from the Creation & Intelligent Design Watch hosted by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) http://www.csicop.org/intelligentdesignwatch/index.html
Regards,
Rick Reis reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Getting the Big Picture of How Things Work in the World of Higher Education
Tomorrow's Research
-------------------------------------- 916 words ----------------------------------
WHY "INTELLIGENT DESIGN" (ID) IS NOT SCIENCE and why, therefore, it should not be taught in a science curriculum By Penny Higgins
Science is a tool used to describe our world, to understand why the world is the way it is, and to predict what the outcome of a mixture of characteristics may be. Science attempts to do this by studying only phenomena that are "material," meaning countable, measurable, visible, tangible things, and by making the fewest assumptions possible. By being this way, scientists hope to eliminate faulty thinking and conclusions due to matters of opinion, professional conflict, personal experience, or biased knowledge (among other things).
Scientists approach their work by asking testable questions (hypotheses), running the tests (experiments), and by always providing within the hypothesis some means by which the hypothesis can be unequivocally disproved. Most experiments test the predictive power of the hypothesis: "If I mix chemical A and chemical B, I should get chemical C and a flash of light", or "People who hate tomatoes also hate ketchup."
In their experiments, scientists seek to validate their hypotheses - that is, to make observations that support their hypothesis and never once observe the evidence that disproves their hypothesis. If ever, even for a microsecond, that one thing that disproves the hypothesis is observed, then the whole hypothesis has been shown to be false. At this point, the scientist starts over with a new or revised hypothesis.
The most important point is that only one tiny little event can falsify a hypothesis: "I got chemical D" or "This person who hates tomatoes absolutely loves ketchup." However, absolute proof can never be achieved, since there is always the chance that the single falsifying observation may have been missed.
If a hypothesis is subjected to test after test over many years and by many different people and does not fail, it will most likely be elevated to the level of "Theory." The term "Theory" is science-ese for "we are pretty darn sure this is absolutely true, but since absolute proof is impossible by the nature of science, we'll just call it something besides 'absolute truth.'" This is basic scientific honesty; you can't run every experiment or make every observation.
One of the most harassed theories today is the Theory of Evolution, which posits that all organisms on this planet are related through a common ancestor, and that it is gradual change over extreme spans of time that accounts for the diversity of species today. With this theory, we can predict and understand how and why organisms behave the way they do. If a person wants to understand why dogs, wolves, and coyotes are capable of interbreeding, but they generally don't, one only has to look to evolution. To understand why birds' "knees" bend backward - look to evolution. Why do we sometimes, when we're particularly upset, find ourselves behaving like apes, and what can we do about it - turn to evolution. How can DNA from a virus infect a human cell - we're talking evolution.
As noted earlier, science restricts itself to material knowledge. And it seeks to develop hypotheses that will assist us in understanding and predicting the nature of our world. Recently, the concept of "Intelligent Design" (ID) as been brought forward as an alternative "theory" explaining the origin of the diversity of life on Earth. The key to ID is the notion that many of the basic parts that all organisms share are too complex to have arisen from gradual change. ID proposes that some external agent or intelligence is responsible for making these critical bits.
But is ID Science? Should it be taught in a science classroom alongside the Theory of Evolution? Well, can it be tested? Are there falsifying observations? ID could potentially be disproved by observing a more primitive intermediate form of some part that has been touted as 'too complex' to be natural. But then, the individual running the ID experiment can alter his hypothesis to say that this new structure is that which was installed by the Intelligent Designer. Because of this, there is no part of ID that can be unequivocally falsified by material science.
The second part of ID calls for an external Designer. This idea is neither fully supported nor fully falsified by material observation. There is no scientific way to test for the presence or absence of the Designer, as the Designer is defined as unobservable, or at least, only observable by a chosen few.
One of the most important characteristics of scientific hypotheses and theories is the predictive power they provide. ID does not offer any new explanation or observation about these complex structures that the Theory of Evolution does not already provide. The observation that some structures in organisms are too complex to have originated from gradual change will not help scientists to develop a better antibiotic, for example. In fact, the idea that "some things are too complex" is anti-scientific, since it seems to suggest that we shouldn't try to understand the origins of the complex structures. ID discourages us from looking and asking questions. True science, however, moves on. If it is later found to be the case that some structures in organisms do not have more primitive counterparts, science will observe and recognize this fact, and the new knowledge will be incorporated into evolutionary theory.
ID is not a scientific theory and should not be taught alongside the Theory of Evolution. It offers nothing to help students understand how science works. It is merely a statement of how complex life seems to be - not even worth an hour of classroom time.
---------------------------------------------
Dr. Pennilyn (Penny) Higgins is a Research Associate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester. Penny's research interests include: Stable isotope geochemistry of biogenic apatite and of carbonate minerals; annual-scale studies of ancient climate and dietary sources of fossil vertebrates using stable isotopes of tooth and bone apatite; atmospheric CO2 concentration and effects on plant metabolism through geologic time; uranium geochemistry and its relation to uranium ore deposition and fossil preservation; vertebrate taphonomy; and application of GIS to problems in paleontology.
You can write Dr. Higgins directly at: paleololigo@yahoo.com or phiggins@paleopix.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TOMORROW'S PROFESSOR MAILING LISTis a shared mission partnership with theAmerican Association for Higher Education (AAHE) http://www.aahe.org/The National Teaching and Learning Forum (NT&LF) http://www.ntlf.com/

What I Dislike About Hippies

2006-06-18T23:23:00.000-04:00

I know that this seems a bit mean or harsh, but I have a good deal of pent-up frustration when it comes to hippies. After attending a hippie college and dating hippie chicks, I suggest to all that they choose their hippie friends wisely. I suppose that it is safe to say that a true hippie is someone who practices ultraliberalism/postmodernism. While, I suppose that there are certain individuals in the white population who smoke marijuana and think they are hippies, I tend to think they are posers.

In scientific debates, hippies tend to support postmodern ideology claiming that there is no absolute truth, and they tend to seek odd reconciliations between religion, science, and other disciplines. Furthermore, hippies like throwing around words like paradigm hoping that no one knows the meaning.

Also, hippies are often backstabbers. Since hippies like to avoid confrontation, they find that the best approach is passive aggressive behavior. If you anger a hippie, don’t expect a face-to-face talk or confrontation. Expect to have your car keyed. Expect to be talked about behind your back, and I don’t mean just about what did happen; expect many lies to develop. If you work with one or many, expect Machiavellian meetings unbeknownst to you plotting your termination.

The Google Toolbar

2006-06-18T08:01:00.000-04:00

I know that this may seem frivolous, but I used the Yahoo toolbar for about a year, and when I installed Google Earth on my computer, the installer clandestinely installed the Google toolbar. I began comparing the two and Wow! Yahoo has a lot of fluff on its toolbar, but when it comes to searching, Google's toolbar is the best, and I guess, not surprisingly.