Unqualified Offerings

By Thoreau
Another post in my continuing inside look at peer review in the scientific community. (I promise this won’t be as long as some of the others.)
I spent much of today reviewing a manuscript for an optics journal. The paper was on a problem that I hadn’t worked on before, but I’ve worked […]

By Thoreau
I’ve noticed a lot of people saying, in regard to immigration, “Cultures have a right to preserve themselves.” This is said by a lot of people, including those who support allowing more people in but still retaining some limit. Now, there are lots of things to be said for or against allowing […]

By Mona
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Oh yes, that “liberal” sentiment is one that this libertarian has always held, and is also one of the areas in which a good many on the left seem unaware that many if not most of us “capitalist tools” largely concur with them. Certainly I recall few libertarians disputing that Gideon […]

By Thoreau
My wife got me a crockpot for Christmas. It’s been a while since I’ve had one, so I was pretty stoked. Here’s the first thing I made:
Braised Beef With Cinnamon
3-4 lb rump roast
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cloves
olive oil
1 large sweet onion
2 medium tomatoes
6 oz […]

When Bill Kristol was born and they were handing out brains, he thought they were saying “trains” and he said, “I’ll bomb the shit out of them!”

I spent the evening rooting for the New England Patriots, which means I spent the evening rooting for myself. Everyone likes to be right. I like it more than most people. Bill Belichick’s organization plays like they believe a lot of things about football that I believe, and disdain much of the conventional wisdom I […]

By Mona
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Ron Paul is soooo horribly frightening that the “fair and balanced” network is blacking him out of a GOP prez candidate forum it is hosting on 1/6. Says Paul:

“They are scared of me and don’t want my message to get out, but it will,” Paul said in an interview at a […]

I present the funniest football-related quote in forever:

Larry Csonka, the ‘72 Dolphins’ fullback and primary offensive weapon, went on record two weeks ago saying Belichick was risking a Super Bowl title by playing his starters too long, particularly quarterback Tom Brady.
“He isn’t pulling his people out,” Csonka said before ceremonies Dec. 16 honoring the ‘72 […]

So it’s our last night in Barb City, and I’ll be engrossed in football very soon, but I have to say, those friendly small-town midwesterners of fable seem to be . . . everywhere. People in stores and on the street and even in the old folks home have been super super nice. Now, I’m […]

Nepal consecrates itself a republic:
King Gyanendra - who heads a dynasty that dates to 1769 - dismissed Nepal’s parliament and seized power in February 2005, claiming he needed to eradicate corruption and end the long-running communist insurgency. But rebel attacks increased, the economy faltered and Gyanendra used heavy-handed tactics to silence opposition, while banning criticism […]

By Thoreau
As a tribute to Bill Kristol’s profound wrongness, I feel the need to start a list of Bill Kristol facts, similar to the Chuck Norris facts. (But the Jack Bauer facts can kick the ass of the Chuck Norris facts.)
Bill Kristol packed skis for a December vacation in New Zealand.
Bill Kristol’s SAT score […]

By Mona
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Thoreau, I know absolutely nothing about physics beyond junior high science, and guarantee I’d earn an F- on any exam you administer. Does your Physics Dept. need any more profs, cuz like, I could use the job; by today’s standards I am very qualified and you couldn’t find better.
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Which bring […]

Leon Hadar, in an article completed before the Bhutto assassination, writes about the utter failure of Bush Administration Pakistan policy, and about the utter fraudulence of Benazir Bhutto as tribune of liberal civilian rule.
There is an Iraq angle here. Five and six years ago I understood that al Qaeda’s grand strategy centered on Pakistan, because […]

By Thoreau
William Kristol, a man who is so profoundly wrong that he looks West each morning to see if the sun will come up, is going to be a NY Times columnist. Say what you will about the Times, but that’s a pretty sweet gig for a guy whose SAT score was lower than […]

By Thoreau
I have a confession about something that I’ve alluded to: As intrigued as I am by a lot of the new curriculum reforms out there, and although I’ve made a few tentative steps in those directions myself, I’m deeply skeptical of the Physics Education Research community. Now, a good friend of mine […]

By Thoreau
As I understand, it’s being said by some (for reasons of fact and/or convenience) that Al Qaeda is behind the attack on Benazir Bhutto.  Now, normally I’d be the first to remind everybody that Al Qaeda is just a name of convenience that the authorities attach to any group of 2 or more angry […]

Lawrence Kaplan writes about the US Army’s acclimatization to - and enmeshment in - Iraq.
Thanks to D. Moon for the pointer.

By Thoreau
Just because Benazir Bhutto was killed, that doesn’t mean there has to be any political fallout. They could still pretend that she’s alive, couldn’t they?
I’m thinking something like “Weekend at Bhutto’s.” A buddy comedy about two losers from Peshawar who save Pakistan from extremists and negotiate a transition away from military rule, […]

By Thoreau
The latest issue of the open-access journal Public Library of Science Biology has an article comparing mathematical abilities in monkeys and college students.
Was somebody poaching data from my final exams?
(Just kidding, they actually did pretty well.)