+ 5 - 9 | § ¶The Three Strategies of the Anti-Evolution Movements
Last night, my alma mater's Assembly Series hosted a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson on the topic "From Dayton to Dover: A Brief History of the Evolution Teaching Controversy in the U.S." I really enjoyed the talk as an overview of the evolution vs. creation debate over the past century or so.The main structure was an analysis of the three strategies that anti-Evolution activists have used over the years:
- Removing evolution from the classroom
- Balancing evolution with some form of creationist instruction
- Teaching that evolution itself is "just a theory"
+ 21 - 26 | § ¶My Sister's House is Famous
I just found out that this classic 1975 Pepsi commercial was filmed at my sister's house! They've done a huge remodel, so the porch isn't there anymore, but it's the same house.+ 20 - 28 | § ¶I Guess I Could Get Used to Poutine
Fareed Zakaria just introduced me to another pair of interesting ideas: the ease with which I could legally live outside the United States, and the artificial hurdles the United States puts up to expanding our skilled and educated workforce.When we lived in Germany in 2005, we had to come back from that great experience earlier than I would have liked because we couldn't get long-term legal status. We looked into the possibility of getting legal status in other European countries, but all of them built their requirements on close family connections. While this makes some sense, it's not really a system designed for the future economy, is it?
Of course, I'm lucky that I don't have to worry about trying to get into the USA. Our immigration policy is just a mess, I'm glad I don't have to navigate it, and it's not designed to build our economy, either.
And then there's Canada. (more)
+ 38 - 20 | § ¶How St. Louis Makes use of Snow
This is right outside the Cardinals' Busch Stadium, in the area that used to be the previous stadium.
(Thanks to Matthew Porter for the image)
+ 28 - 29 | § ¶My Favorite word of 2008
- Recombobulation Area
- An area at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee in which passengers that have just passed through security screening can get their clothes and belongings back in order.
+ 29 - 33 | § ¶The Reality of Vaccines.
It's good to see the forces of reality fighting back.Many doctors now argue that reporters should treat the antivaccine lobby with the same indifference they do Holocaust deniers, AIDS deniers and those claiming to have proof that NASA faked the Moon landings. "
+ 37 - 26 | § ¶If programming languages were religions...
If programming languages were religions... is funny. And surprisingly accurate.+ 14 - 20 | § ¶Matthew is home now
We brought Matthew home from the hospital this morning - everything is going well. He's spent the afternoon sleeping, nursing, and trying not to be smothered with love by his big brother.I'm posting here one of our favorite pictures from the hospital and a couple videos. The picture is one of many at http://matthewfinney.shutterfly.com/, and the videos are from my YouTube channel.
