Working out

The body hold around 50,000 to 200,000 calories as fat. Enough energy for 200-400 hours of exercise.
Meaning the displeasure from abstaining from cake is far more temporary then the effort needed to "work" it off

Wabi Sabi

nothing lasts,
nothing is finished,
and nothing is perfect.

Christian Missionary Deconverted by Tribe (proteanview)

why science fiction is great

short 3 part documentary that examines the roots and social commentary science fiction gives us.
parts one and two are the best showing that good science fiction is not always about green aliens from mars but instead science fiction provides a backdrop for important and relevant social commentary of moral or cultural issues.
part three is an examination of why star wars fails to provide strong social commentary and is thus a poor example of science fiction and instead a fantasy story.

Sage on the Stage

lecturing has never been an effective teaching technique now that information is everywhere

great article on lecturing and its ineffectiveness in the classroom. I for one agree with the article, with information at our fingertips it makes it unnecessary for a teacher to lecture and instead should allow for more open and flexible forms of teaching. Technology should be leveraged to maximize the opportunities to educate. With digital media ubiquitous it should be no problem to record the lectures for the students viewing out of class which then frees the teacher to provide opportunities to apply knowledge or if needed provide further instruction to those who need it. Salaman Khan of khanacademy.org I think has a great model and approach to teaching that I think would not be a huge obstacle to implement.

I have noticed in many of my science classes which are lecture based that pure memorization over reasoning tends to be emphasized. It is all too often in my science classes that I get the feeling that I am learning the "Story of Science" instead of gaining the firsthand experience gaining the knowledge through an experiment or teaching someone.

click to embiggen

Carl Zimmer Profiles Neil deGrasse Tyson

The voice is deep and loud--not loud from shouting, but from some strange acoustic property that gives it a conversational boom. It comes from a man who looms in the dark at the edge of the crowd.

awesome read done by Carl Zimmer on Neil deGrasse Tyson. It is inspiring to read such a well written piece on such an accomplished and recognized voice in science. Just as Carl Sagan inspired a generation so too has Neil.

the cyclists ten commandments

Romney’s top contributor: Goldman Sachs, Ron Paul’s: US Army

Democrats are shocked to see President Obama treat Wall Street's top banks with respect and kindness. In order to predict his kindness (Obama's justice department has failed to prosecute the crimes that helped lead to the financial crisis of 2008) towards the top financial institutions it didn't take a crystal ball, all it took was a list of his top donors which included Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Citigroup. Applying this same logic to the GOP primary election Romney is the candidate that will likely be buddy-buddy with Wall Street. Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

 Obviously Goldman Sachs and company donate heavily to Romney not because they like his stance on the social issues but because he will continue the rigged game of crony capitalism. The revolving door from Wall Street (particularly from Goldman Sachs) to the White House will remain open and Goldman and company will maintain not only their rigged game but their influence.

while I don't necessarily agree with Ron Paul on a majority of his positions I think this article makes it clear that Romney is hardly the candidate to alter the dynamic between Wall Street and Washington*.
source

*this does not mean that Obama has any better of a track record.

Global warming

Regardless of if humans are causing global warming or not, the benefits to reducing humanities impact on the Earth is a goal worth working towards

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person. "
-Benjamin Franklin

2012

first post of the new year!
to kick things off I think this video is awesome. I crack up every time I see it.

I love how this kid is just so excited about everything in this video and I think it is great. If only we were as excited as this guy.
Lets make sure 2012 is about finding the excitement and joy in life.