Gravity is Now Arbitrary

Do rules still apply when there is no one around to enforce them? Yes? No? Sometimes? How do you know? Driving down the road, I always get a kick out of the people who slow down whenever they see a policeman in the vicinity and then, as soon the officer turns a corner and disappears, accelerate like there is no tommorrow. If a person is doing something that would make them feel ashamed and guilty with an officer of the law around, why are they doing it at all? Entonces, what about the insanely stupid laws, like a 25 mile per hour speed limit on a country road surrounded by corn fields? Should those always be obeyed? How about jay walking? It is so much easier to cross a street without having to make the long journey down to the crosswalk everytime. Is it okay to jay walk when there is no one around? Hmmmmm?

Popping M&M's

Yep, it's that time of year again! Time to plant the M&M's (know around here as "cold pills") and the rest of the junk food and see what grows! For those who like nasty, salty, dry, unhealthy popcorn that gets stuck in your teeth and makes you suffer with unquenchable thirst, the people at Purdue University have discovered why those last few kernels at the bottom of the bag remain un-popped. It is due to leaky hulls. It sounds like something you would get from buying a really cheap ship, but it seems that a few rebel kernels of corn have tiny holes in their exterior that allow too much moisture to escape for enough pressure to build up inside. Popcorn growers and manufacturers are supposedly using the new findings to try to figure out how to breed the best corn varieties to keep the stragglers from remaining unpopped and hard as a rock. I suppose that is good news for all those popcorn eaters out there! According to popcorn.org, Americans today consume 17 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year, or about 54 quarts for the average American! Enjoy it!

The Bard's Birthday

April 23, 1564. Historians believe that was the date, 441 years ago, on which one of the most famous men in history was born. Throughout his lifetime, William Shakespeare wrote approximately 38 plays and as well as 154 sonnets. Shakespeare-online says that, even today, "Shakespeare is the most widely read author in English speaking countries. His works are second only to the Bible in popularity." His birthday comes at a fitting time, as I am currently reading his tragedy "Othello." It is the sad tale of a general, Othello, who is tricked by his "friend," Iago--as revenge for not being made a lieutenant--into thinking that his wife Desdemona and good friend Cassio are having an affair behind his back . Othello ends up killing his wife right before finding out that Iago was lying to him and his wife was completely faithful the entire time. Not all of Shakespeare's stories were as tragic as that one, and, in fact, he wrote many comedies and historical plays as well, which are, in my opinion, much more enjoyable. Happy Birthday, Will!

Piety, Tradition, Power, and Change

I watched a debate on the viability of the resurrection of Jesus not too long ago, and, although I disagreed with practically everything else he said, the man arguing against the literal resurrection brought up an interesting point. He basically said that, in some churches, the parishioners are so stuck on tradition that if God himself said that they should change the color of their carpet, they would refuse to do so. I have, in fact, heard of churches breaking up over that very thing, except for the fact that the voice of God didn't come over the loud speaker telling them what to do. It seems rather silly, but many people refuse to listen to what God says that they should be doing because it would mean changes that they do not necessarily want.

Most of the Jewish religious leaders did the same thing when Jesus was crucified. Everything pointed to him being the messiah that they had taught about in the synagogues and whom everyone was awaiting, yet they refused to believe it. Instead, they accused him of blasphemy and had him put to death. After Jesus conquered death and came back to life, they bribed the soldiers guarding the tomb to tell a different story. Why? My theory is that, by acknowledging Jesus' authority, they would lose their own. They had a lot of power that would be taken away if the traditions and the laws were no longer the people's only hope. The change was not in their favor, and thus they did not want it to take place.

There is a famous chapter in Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" in which one of the brothers tells a story that takes place during the Spanish Inquisition. Thousands are being burned to death because they were suspected of witchery. In the midst of it, Jesus comes back. The bishop of the time does not fall down at Jesus' feet and worship Him, but instead gets mad at him for coming back when everything is going so well. He does not want things to change and for his power over the heretics to be taken away. He was pious to the point that it gave him power, but when it came to really obeying God when it would mean less glory for himself, that was where his "piety" stopped.

We still live our lives that way. Comfortable in our homes, neighborhoods, and churches, we do not want to have our power over our lives taken away. We would rather stick to empty tradition than let any real change come into our lives that might be out of our control and put us into uncomfortable situations. Sure, we talk about it, saying someday we will start living for someone other than ourselves, someday we will make changes around here, but, for today, we will put it off until that someday and be content and comfortable just talking about how we should be living and looking like good little people for doing so. As long as we are still in charge, we are happy with our unchanging tradition and "piety."

Computer Gamers Anomynous

Hi, my name is Becky, and I was a computer game addict. A "Bubble Trouble" addict to be specific. My only goal in life was to make it to level 25 (although I only ever reached the heights of level 15). After attending no meetings, and doing so on a regular basis, I am now proud to declare that I am completely cured (a.k.a. tired of the game) and have moved on to better obsessions during my freetime as I continue to wait for a new "Lost" episode and the new "War of the Worlds" movie. Aahhh, tis life.

Today in History...

Yesterday, April 11, 2005, was the forty year anniversary of the Palm Sunday outbreak of tornadoes back in 1965, the worst, according to this article, in the history of the United States. It was a major factor in changing how tornado warnings and watches are put out to the public. Thankfully, meteorology and the technology that makes the science possible has come a very long way since the sixties, even since the early nineties. The major difference between the tornado in the Plainfield, Illinois area in August 1990 and the one in Roanoke, Illinois last year was the fact that there was a better warning system and much better radar. A model from the 1950's, the radar from the Plainfield tornado showed hardly anything happening due to a lot of ground clutter, when, in reality, there was a huge storm blowing up. Since it didn't look like a typical, ice cream cone-shaped twister and the radar was not showing much of anything, the tornado was not reported until some time later after it had done most of its damage. However, the Roanoke tornado was a different story. The newer technology, such as the Doppler radar, and better knowledge allowed meteorologists to have a much better view of the situation and to issue warnings before the citizens were hit. Hopefully, things in the weather community will continue to improve so that severe weather like this can continue to be predicted and people warned before it strikes.

Booga, Booga, Booga

Well, it seems that I have made it without posting for an entire week! Ooops!

That time of year again. Birds, sun, green grass, flowers, tornadoes... Yesterday was the annual Severe Weather Seminar that Tom Skilling puts on at Fermilab and, as usual, it was awesome. The entire five hours was very fascinating with discussions on lightning, tornadoes, and flooding and some awe inspiring weather footage. The power of the storms is always amazing.

Speaking of lightning, Frankenstein and his Creature have finally passed on. I do not know what it was about the book, but it came across to me as being rather stupid. Do not get me wrong, it was intriguing and gave a lot to think about, but it just seemed incomplete and to have its foundation on rocky premises. When one thinks of Frankenstein, an image comes to mind of a mad scientist in a white coat turning knobs and pushing buttons in his lab while a storm rages outside. Lying tied down on a table is a large, green monster with bolts coming out of his neck and a scar on the side of his face. With a bright flash of lightning the evil monster comes to life, wrecking havoc by murdering all those with whom he comes into contact and going "Booga, booga, booga." What is that monster's name? Surprise, surprise: he has no name. He is not "Frankenstein" as the common misconception, but a nameless entity created by science student who goes by that name. Also, he is not evil, his only wish is to help others and to be "good," and he becomes a menace only through the abandonment of his creator and the fact that society will not accept him because of his hideous features. He is innately good and a victim of his circumstances. When Frankenstein refuses to make him a companion for fear that they will destroy human society, the monster swears revenge and starts a campaign of making his creator as lonely and miserable as himself. He kills everyone near to Frankenstein, which in turn makes Frankenstein swear revenge on him, and they eventually die. The End. An interesting investigation of human nature, scientific ambition, societal norms and acceptance, and the need for companions, but full of improbable holes. Why did not the dead body parts that Frankentstein was piecing together to create the monster decompose? Did not the scientist see how hideous the creature was before he woke him up? Why didn't he destroy him when he first saw him? Why didn't Frankenstein tell anyone else about his discovery and error before it was too late? How did the creature learn so much about the world from sitting outside a small French cottage and peering in? Frankenstein had no foresight and created a creature much smarter, more cunning, stronger, faster, and altogether more than his match. Frankenstein was just stupid. I am surprised that he didn't go completely insane and start doing the "booga, booga, booga."

Why Sleeping Beauty Didn't Wake Up

According to this article, scientists have discovered that sleep habits, such as whether a person wakes up early or late, depends on the person's genes. Unfortunately, the "early bird" gene is supposedly the mutant one. Being a morning person myself, I would rather have it be the norm rather than the exception. The word "mutant" sounds like some slimy, disproportionate, evil creature that might come crawling out of the swamp. While it is difficult being different than most people, at times it has its rewards since the mornings when there is nothing going on generally tend to be fresher, quieter, and more relaxing that way. This is a phenomena that late sleepers hardly ever get to experience. As to why Sleeping Beauty didn't wake up: I guess she was more normal than the rest of us in getting her beauty sleep.

Don't Forget to Check the Date

It is that time of year again. For this one day every year it is difficult to believe what anyone says. National Geographic ran an article about famous hoaxes throughout history that many people believed before it was revealed that they were not true (such as spaghetti harvests, changing the value of pi, and the discovery of the missing link "the piltdown man"). Unfortunately, rumors such as these spread very quickly even though the evidence was quite faulty and often missing logic. The stories were quite radical and, as the old adage says, "too good to be true," and yet large numbers of people were led to believe them. I guess the lesson is to be careful what you say and what you accept as true from other people without testing it first.

By the way, fans of college sports will find this article very interesting. ; )