Sunday, October 30, 2005

Pueblo and CSU-P: Some Suggestions

The local university seems to be having problems relating. Here’s some suggestions.

In Thursday’s Chieftain there was an article about Colorado State University-Pueblo and the Hispanic community. A consultant found that CSU-P did not communicate well with the Hispanic community.

On the other hand, I’ve heard faculty and administrators from CSU-P complain that they didn’t feel the school is “embraced” by Pueblo. (This was at a Neighborhood Partnership meeting.) So this problem is seemingly a two-way street. Let’s look at the problem objectively.

At the Pueblo Neighborhood Partnership meeting the CSU-P faculty seemed think that the way to get Pueblo to “embrace” the college was to send students out to “help” in the neighborhoods. I found this attitude rather condescending. So the first thing is for CSU-P, as an institution and as individuals, is to lose the preconceived attitudes that will interfere with open and healthy communications.

Next, if the university wants more acceptance and support from Pueblo then it has to start by offering an excellent education. To Puebloans this means that graduates will obtain a job in their field of study at a median or above salary within two months of graduation. Got that? An excellent education means the student got a good job upon graduation. It does not mean they had an “intellectually stimulating experience” or some other academic smoke for “we had a good time teaching your kids nothing of real world value.”

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Friday, October 28, 2005

Dear Abby: It’s Time for a Re-test

Dear Abby gives some bad advice to someone with a genius IQ.

The Dear Abby column in the Chieftain today addresses a concern by a young person with two bachelor degrees who finds people reacting negatively to her “overeducation.” (2nd item on linked page.) The writer (I’m guessing a young woman) wants to know if it’s her or society. Abby tells her it’s “her” and not society. She advises the writer:

...find a psychologist who can help you figure out why, with so much to offer, you are not able to fit in.

I’d like to tell Abby, “It is not all this young woman’s fault and your suggestion is insulting. Why not just tell her to “act dumb?"” There are definitely forces at work in society that sow suspicion of, and cause rejection of, bright people. Many columnists have noted this in the Black community, for example, but it appears in other parts of society. (Black youngsters who are smart and get good grades are ridiculed for “acting white.") A court upheld a Connecticut police department’s decision not to hire someone who scored “too high” on a test. Look at politics: the obviously bright are criticized for “not being in touch with the common man.” Or they’re accused of “over-intellectualizing” the issues. There are very few career fields where putting a Mensa membership on your resume is a good idea.

I’ve been in this young woman’s shoes. I remember having a pleasant conversation with a young man in a bar, and all of a sudden his expression got wary and and he said, “You’re really smart...aren’t you?” I remember interviewing for a promotion at work, and all the director did was carry on about how I had a master’s degree and he didn’t, and then he found some spurious reason not to hire me. A woman I worked with freaked out when I mentioned I was a member of Mensa. She recovered, and apologised for her reaction, saying she had realized it was HER problem, not mine.

Nevertheless, Abby is right in saying it is this young woman’s problem to deal with. My advice to her: a) Join Mensa. You’ll find people just like you who won’t be intimidated and who will be able to help you by telling you about their experiences. b) Find out what your Myers-Briggs personality type is and read up on it. c) Do some reading on communications styles. I tended to use “masculine” phrases at work, which put some people off. You also might need to consider the (not very obvious) fact that some people complain about problems, but don’t really want advice on how to deal with them. They want sympathy, not a solution. If you’re asked about your education in a casual conversation, you can always say, “Oh, I have way more education than I know what to do with.” These are skills you can learn. You don’t have to change your personality as Abby implies.

BTW, if any of you feel a need to respond to Abby, here’s the link.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Thursday Recipe — Louisiana Red Beans

Another fine recipe for the coming Winter.

Yeah....I know....they don’t have Winters down in bayou country like we do up here along the Front Range. They get hurricanes instead. But this stuff is the sort of comfort food that goes best with a cold and gloomy day. We’re not having one of those today. I’m just thinking ahead and doing a large batch. I think I finished the last canned jar of it that I’d made some time ago last Winter. Time to make up another mess of the stuff.

Here’s the recipe....

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Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Jokers and Riddlers

On could think that just simply destroying Denver Mensa would be a bad thing in the first place. But someone thinks there are scenarios that are far worse.

Another Denver Mensan writes....

I like the Joker analogy, but I find Mario to be a bit more like the Riddler, as his impulsive, in your face nature will eventually be his downfall.  Like Edward Nigma, Mario wishes to harness all the mental energy of Denver Mensa to make it his very own. He probably even has some sort of machine that will suck the intelligence out of the members. After all, he would have to have some sort of intelligence sucking machine in order to get Denver Mensans to support him for LocSec.

I know some people who have joined Isolated M as a result of what has been going on in Denver Mensa of late.

I disagree with that particular tactic. It always results in defeat. Better to BE than not to be. Again, this points to issues I have, personally, with apathy. I loath it. And I think it is essential for people to get involved in something. What was it some wag said...

All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

The same applies at all levels of life; family, school, city, county, state, federal, fraternal, associative. It makes no difference. As Scientologists know, evil people will be attracted to the top of any organization. And, once there, corrupt it to their own purposes. Not the purposes of the organization as a whole.

So, what is Mario? Joker? Who would destroy the organization? Or Riddler? Who would make it into an appendage of his own will?

Hard to say. I guess the key indicator here would be if Mario has been making sounds like he’d run for Regional Vice Chair or a place at the national level. Not having talked with him of late, I can’t tell. Maybe someone could provide some additional information.

The More Things Change the More They Remain Insane

Thoughts on the pernicious activities of Microsoft.

Monday afternoon, and it’s another glorious autumnal day here, along the Front Range. Not a cloud in the blue sky. The Sun, shining brightly does not overheat the air. I’ve got a fire in the back porch firepit dematerializing some of the small branches shaken out of the trees by windstorms. A fine Cohiba and a glass of bourbon.

I’ve had enough reverse engineering a poorly documented database for one day; brain-fried, core-dumped. Time to think about the doings in the so-called ‘real world’.

Today’s observation....Microsoft (MS); is there anything they won’t stoop to in order to expand market-share?

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Monday, October 24, 2005

A Money-Making Idea for School District 60

I might even tune in.

I’ve got a great idea for raising funds for District 60, and it won’t cost taxpayers a dime. Really.

It’s this simple: sell the rights s to School Board Meetings for a reality TV show. Seriously, you can’t make up drama this, well, dramatic.

You’ve got fired employees suing the district for shenanigans by officials. The school boardcensuring its own members for inappropriate conduct. District officials quitting because they aren’t given enough power. Ex-board members suing because they got kicked off the board for moving out of town. Charter school principals trying to get on the board of the district they’re trying to leave. Mysterious, critical flyers floating around, hot off someone’s copy machine. Plus a lot of the characters are attorneys, which is always a big draw on TV.

Let’s face it, when they announced Christine Pacheco-Kovaleski’s seat vacant, there was a stampede to fill out applications that rivalled a casting call for a major Broadway show. While I’m sure many candidates told themselves “Heck, I can do better than that,” I’m sure there were others thinking, “It’s the only way to find out what’s really going on.” So put it on TV and let us all find out.

Personally, I’ve got some questions I’d like to see answered, and I think they might be on reality TV.

For example, would the law have some precedent that says a wife’s (husband’s) primary residence is automatically assumed to be with her (his) spouse, unless they’re getting a divorce or are legally separated? Especially since their local joint domicile has been sold.

Since the law says that a board member’s primary residence must be within the district in which the member serves, can you accept conducting business within the district as evidence that the member still resides within the district? I wouldn’t think so. Where you live and where you work are two different things. But I suppose that if the board wants to say accepting a job in another state is evidence that you’ve moved, then they have to accept that you’re still doing business here as evidence that you haven’t. So, the next question is, has the ex-member accepted new business in the last few months? That, to me, seems pertinent. And what mail is being forwarded where? And how many days have been spent inside the district as opposed to outside it?

And finally, since Ms. Pacheco-Kovaleski said she was going to resign by a certain date anyway, why is she forcing the district she supposedly cares about to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees, not to mention time spent away from the real business of the district, teaching, to defend itself in this lawsuit saying she was illegally kicked off the board? Just for the principal of the thing? If she knew she was going to resign in a few months anyway, why didn’t she do it in time to have her seat filled by the voters in the election, rather than by the Board she’s been at odds with for over a year?

And then you’ve got an ex-employee, a secretary, who was fired about a year ago, suing the district, claiming some of her boss’s expenses weren’t valid. The question is, of course, was she fired for disagreeing with her boss about his expenses, or is she complaining about his expenses because she was fired?

I tell you, this reality show will be a major hit; something to revive a genre that is supposed to be waning.

Author’s note: I was going to pepper this with all kinds of links to The Pueblo Chieftain’s web site, but they’re having problems today.  Just do a search on “District 60 School Board,” and you’ll pull references in context.

The Bird Flu Pandemic II

Odd thoughts on what to do if it goes ballistic.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the current threat with respect to Bird Flu, as it is reported today, is a dramatic rise in the price of chicken. We’ll have to kill off chickens like never before in order to contain a localized outbreak. In light of the current industrial process of raising the birds, this means whole industrial plants will be purged of all birds. The resulting lack of product will drive the price of bird flesh trough the proverbial roof.

On the other hand, there are other aspects as well. The human ones.

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Sunday, October 23, 2005

Speaking of Batman

Batman Begins. Get it!!!

Got the DVD of this prequell to the Batman movie I mentioned below.

We watched it the night that Mario sent his one-over-the-world e-mail campaign letter. A few days after we had watched the original Batman movie.

I was highly impressed with it. I recommend it to everyone. Indeed, come January, we’ll offer it for Movie Nite.

Also got the DVD of The Mask of Zorro. No idea as to why they took so long in getting it out in DVD format. We’d had it for years in VHS. I suspect some money-legal wranglings were at the root of the delay. It’s a good movie too. And, based on the sticker on the case, it looks like they’re planning a sequel, The Legends of Zorro. Looking forward to that.

Denver Mensa Imitates the Movies….

Welcome to Gotham City of the Front Range.

Heck. The Library looks like it was inspired by the city overview set.

I should not have watched Batman, the movie, the other night.

Here comes Mario, with his e-mail campaign as to why HE should be LocSec for Denver Mensa in ‘06.

1)  Which one of the three candidates organized this years election committee?
2)  Which one of the three candidate has proactively worked, and is continuing to work, to solve any election related problems?
3) Which two candidates have sat on their respective lazy asses and not done one damn thing to facilitate this election?
4)  Which candidate is Arrogant!! ?
5)  Which current LocSec has exhibited a complete lack of leadership? 
(Hint:  He!! has not called for a single ExComm Meeting this year.  It was me, the Publicity Officer, who is having to call next months ExComm Meeting.)
6)  Which candidate is completely whacked out and doesn’t have a clue?  (At least no one can say that Mensa discriminates against the handicapped.)
 
I look forward to meeting with you on Sunday and also look forward to working with you.  By the way, will your tall, stunningly beautiful, super model girlfriend be joining us?

—E-mail from Mario, the other day.

I’m having flashbacks to the Joker’s television announcement of the parade, where he derides Batman.

My personal experiences with Mario have determined he is highly intelligent, energetic and mercurial. Just like the Joker. Look at Joker. Has a girl and kills her. Has a Number 1 Guy, his good right hand hit-man. And, in a moment of pique, kills him too. Not that Bill had done anything wrong, himself. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; vicinity of the Joker.

Then there’s the business of projection.

In the movie, Joker is continually projecting on Batman the bad traits he has himself. Here we seem to have Mario doing essentially the same, e.g., “arrogant”, “wacked out”, “clueless”.

And what happens next? We have Mario sending signals out about a ‘stunningly beautiful, super model girlfriend’. Again, we see the Joker parallel. Actually Joker had a girl, but as I mentioned, he killed her and was going after Kim Bassinger, who was interested in Batman’s alter-ego, Bruce Wayne.

Talk about interesting parallels. I wonder how many television sets Mario has destroyed. Hopefully, Mario does not have a degree in chemistry.

Halloween is just a few days away. I wonder what sort of costume Mario has in mind for this year.

ADDITIONALLY....

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Friday, October 21, 2005

Men, Migs and Municipal Airports

Life is interesting on the final approach flight path.

I love living in Pueblo. There is hardly a dull moment. Between managing this old house, watching the machinations of local government—the D-60 school board has been VERY interesting, of late—and hoping that the corporate cretins at the 8,000,000 pound 4-story gorilla a block away won’t destroy the neighborhood—like it did the Thatcher House—something is always happening. I guess that song from the Shrek sound track, All Star, is so appropos....

That’s the way I like it and I’ll never get bored.

Now, the airport has thrown in a new twist.

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Thursday, October 20, 2005

Of Mensans, Money and Mojo

Powerball fever has gripped Mario. According to an e-mail sent to the Denver Mensa Announcements listserv, that is....

Howdy Folks,
 
The jackpot of tonight’s Powerball drawing is 340 million dollars.  Even if 100 people were to split that prize, it would still be 3 million, four hundred thousand dollars each. 
 
So here is the plan:
Everybody buy a ticket with these numbers:
02   07   31   42   43   and Powerball number  22
Here is a quotation from the page http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew18.htm :

Matthew Chapter 18
 19   Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
 20   For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
God helps those who help themselves! 

To which Doug!! asked....

Mario,
Are you suggesting we pray for the jackpot? ! recall you once chastising someone for praying for you and condemning it as some sort of black magic that shouldn’t be forced on anyone. Or words to that effect. Should ! assume that the after-tax residue of $3.4million handily exceeds your “price” to sell out what sounded then like a stand on principle? !’ve gotten the impression that you are an atheist. Of what use is prayer to you in that case? Prayer requires faith. Windfalls of that magnitude generally turn out to be less of a blessing than one would expect. Final question. If GOD gives this to you what are you going to do w/ it to further HIS glory? As this is the “announcement" list further discussion should be taken off line. Anyone interested is certainly welcome to e mail me and/or Mario? and ask to be included. 

Meanwhile, Rebecca is having fun and maybe learning something as well. She writes…

I listen more than I speak, which is probably evident from my complete lack of emails to the group.  As an athiest, I find religion a bit puzzling, but I’m fascinated by it and people who practice.  Please continue to include me in this conversation

Then from out of left field, Jim Wallace chimes in with a proposed visit to the spiritualists in his blog entry below.

What’s driving all of this sudden interest in getting closer to Big Juju; be He hairy thunderer or cosmic muppet? Are we getting into silly season? Is it because All Saints’ Eve is just a fortnight away? Is it a sign of the [finally] coming apocalypse!!?!?!?

I donn know, but it makes for interesting discussion, provided no one actually puts an axe through their monitor, trying to get to someone they disagree with on such matters.

So....what are YOUR thoughts on Cosmic WooWoo?

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ten Cosmological Powers Brian Swimme Video Series

Brian Swimme, one of the co-founders of Creation Spirituality and author of the Canticle to the Cosmos video series has co-authored a new series emphasizing Comprehensive Compassion.

Ten Cosmological Powers is Brian Swimme’s new video series. It will be shown for four successive Wednesday evenings, October 19 through November 9, 2005, from 6 to 8 pm, on the big screen television in the Library room at 1400 Williams Street. The discussion facilitator will be Jane Kopp. As this is a nine hour video, it may be continued after the holidays, if there is sufficient interest. There is a suggested donation of $10, but this is only a suggestion. Many of the regulars are students or unemployed, but still welcome.

Brian Swimme, mathematical cosmologist, and Pamela Eakins, sociologist, combine their knowledge to elucidate the “Ten Cosmological Powers of Love.” These powers are: Centration, Allurement, Emergence, Homeostasis, Cataclysm, Synergy, Transmutation, Transorganization, Interrelatedness, and Radiance.

Brian Swimme received his Ph.D. in 1978 from the University of Oregon in gravitational dynamics. His research focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of the universe, the relationship between scientific cosmology and more traditional religious visions, the cultural implications of the new evolutionary epoch, and the role of humanity in the unfolding story of Earth and Cosmos. In 1998 he founded the International Epic of Evolution Society, a forum for artists, scientists, ecofeminists, ecologists, religious thinkers, and educators interested in the new story. He is on the graduate faculty of California Institute of Integral Studies. He is the author of The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos (Orbis, 1996) Manifesto for a Global Civilization (with Matthew Fox) (Bear and Company, 1983),The Universe is a Green Dragon (Bear and Company, 1984), and The Universe Story (Harper, 1992), which is a culmination of a ten-year collaboration with cultural historian Thomas Berry. Brian has presented his ideas on the new cosmology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Museum of Natural History, and the United Nations conference on Peace. He is also the creator of the video series Canticle to the Cosmos and The Powers of the Universe.

Pamela Eakins, Ph. D., is a sociologist, mediator, and spiritual teacher. She has taught at the University of Colorado, Stanford University, and California Institute of Integral Studies. She teaches community peace studies, and is a mediator with Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. Pamela is the author of The American Way of Birth; Priestess; and The Tarot of the Spirit.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Brian Swimme by Susan Bridle in What Is ENLIGHTENMENT? Magazine.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Swimme and having the vistas of my imagination stretched to infinity at Harvard University last October, where he was participating in a conference on ecology and religion. As we sat down to begin the interview, he told me he had just that minute returned from a conference event at Thoreau’s Walden Pond. As Swimme brought the grandeur and majesty of the cosmos to life, speaking about the birth of galaxies with the intimacy and amazement and eloquence of the Transcendentalist poets when waxing ecstatic about leaves of grass or a Concord pond, I knew I was meeting another nature mystic, but a nature mystic of the twenty-first century, whose sphere of nature includes the farthest star.

A Simple Little Experiment

Something people can do at home in their free time.

Someone, somewhere else in the blogosphere, was questioning the efficacy of homeopathic techniques. Actually, a lot of people do that sort of thing. I used to do it myself....before I learned better.

Here’s a simple little experiment that people can do in the privacy of their own home, to prove whether or not homeopathic techniques can really work. It’s completely private. You can do it all by yourself. It only takes a little time. And no one will laugh at you....unless you leave your doors and windows open.

[1] Buy a bottle of cantharis, 6X to 30C ‘miracle dilution’ should work.
[2] Bring your oven to 400°F.
[3] Put a stainless steel skillet or pan in the over. I recommend stainless steel because it has greater conductivity than most other materials, save copper. And most people don’t have copper skillets. Too pricey.
[4] Bake the skillet at 400°F for one hour.
[5] Remove the skillet from the oven and put it on the top of the stove.....USING YOUR BARE HANDS.
[6] After you’ve stopped dancing around the room and screaming obscenities, take four tablets of cantharis of the ‘miracle dilution’ you’ve purchased. The process is to put them UNDER your tongue and let them dissolve on their own. Do NOT swollow them. Don’t drink or eat for about 15 minutes.

If your experience is the same as MINE—and this has happened to me on four occasions, but strictly by accident—the pain will go away in 15 minutes and there will be no scar tissue.

First instance while cooking for an Alpha Course dinner. Someone put a stainless steel pan in front of me to dish up food from without telling me where the pan had been; straight out of the hot oven. Instant 2d degree burns. Since I had no cantharis with me at the church, I had to wait until I finished the supper and drove home. All the while experiencing very interesting pain in both hands. Fifteen minutes after taking the cantharis, no pain. Blisters went away without any scar tissue.

Another instance, a small fire in my candle making shop. Hot wax got on the electric burners which had been red hot. I tried to put the small fire out by smothering it with a towel. Unfortunately, I had not covered my hand completely and a pinkie finger came into contact with the burner element. Instant 3d degree burn. Not to black, but rather a nice crispy mahogony brown.

Took cantharis. Pain gone in 15 minutes. Pain tried to return two hours later. More cantharis, no more pain. No scar tissue.

Now, if someone can explain why no scar tissue developing is a psychosomatic response or a placebo affect, I’d like to hear it.

Admittedly, physical injuries are markedly different from severe illnesses. However, it’s easier to do an experiment with a physical injury, one that can be brought on oneself, than trying to do it with a horrid disease. And I figure that if people can realize that these techniques will work against physical injuries, they might consider the idea that they will work against a deadly illness that might spring upon us in the not-too-distant future.

ADDITIONALLY, I DO recommend you try it in treating an accident instead of on purpose. A bottle of cantharis can be had at any good health food store, e.g., Vitamin Cottage, for about $7. Is that too much to invest in first aid? Or an experiment in furthering the cause of science?

The Bird Flu Pandemic I

Thoughts on the pandemic.

Initial thought? The price of chicken is going to go UP.

Caught between a rock and a hard place; brain rotting Mad Cow or a lack of chicken? My advice, like Eddie Murphy’s in Trading Places, is to put your money in sow bellies.

Seriously. With the report of Nine Dead from Mad Cow in Idaho. You get the distinct impression that all is not quite safe with respect to eating beef. Yes, a good friend of mine says ‘stay away from hamburger’. But that’s just to reduce the dosage. It doesn’t prevent being dosed in the first place. Only avoiding the contaminated food source prevents getting dosed with Mad Cow prions.

Then we have the approaching bird flu pandemic. And YES, it IS a ‘pandemic’. It’s just killing off the birds, for the most part....at the moment. And what’s the immediate consequence? There will be fewer chickens available for dinner. Not to mention what will happen with eggs. The price of both will probably sky rocket, where the bird flu is killing large numbers of birds.

So without beef or chicken or even eggs to eat, pork is going to become something other than “the other white meat”. If the fish go bye-bye too, it’s going to be the ONLY meat.

UPDATE: This is going to put some kinda pressure on the Jews and Muslims.

ADDITIONALLY: I think Cox & Forkum did a cute job with the aspect of Bird Flu vs. Humans. More on THAT idea, later.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Barbie® Dolls and iPods

What do Barbie® Dolls and iPods have in common?

For months I have been telling the light of my life that iPods are the Barbie® dolls of the electronics world. iPods have accessories, and more accessories, just like Barbie®. However, I didn’t realize how close the analogy was until James Lileks pointed out this site .

Yes, boys and girls, the iPod, which many considered nothing more than a fashion accessory, now has fashions of its own.