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Geocentrism? Seriously?

• Sep 14, 2010 from badastronomer(Phil Plait) in *
  In my long, long experience as both a scientist and an active skeptic, I have seen people believe in a lot of seriously, um, odd stuff. In many cases, it doesnt matter how overwhelmingly the evidence is against them, or how even simple logic will unravel their tangled theories. They cling to these beliefs like a drowning man clings to a life preserver.
  And even with all this, I have to scratch my head over Geocentrists.
  These are people who believe that the Earth is fixed in space, unmoving and unmovable, and the Universe literally revolves around it. Without exception, in my experience, these followers of Geocentrism believe in it due to a literal interpretation of the Bible. Finding passages in the Bible to support this belief isnt hard; Genesis is loaded with them.
  However, like young-Earth creationism, the problem here is in that "literal" part*. If you take the Bible to be true word for word, then you have to deny a vast amount of reality, and almost everything weve learned about the Universe since the Bible was written.
  That has not stopped some people, nor even slowed them down. A group of Geocentrists is holding a conference this November in Indiana. Called "Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right", it features a veritable whos who in geocentrism not that theres a lot of them. The meeting flyer is presented above; click it to see the conference details. The conference website is full of all sorts of claims saying Geocentrism is real, science is wrong (except where it supports them; cherry-picking is something else they have in common with creationists), the Bible is the only truth, and so on.
  Well, as you might expect, I have something to say about that.
  As much as Id love to attend that meeting in much the same way Id love to extract my own tonsils with a spork and a pair of pliers I dont need to. Geocentrism is so wrong, so amazingly wrong, that it falls apart with just a little thought. What follows below is a little thought.
  
  Geocentrism is a valid frame, but not the only one
  I have two things to say that might surprise you: first, geocentrism is a valid frame of reference, and second, heliocentrism is not any more or less correct.
  Surprise! Of course, the details are important.
  Look, Im human: I say "The Sun rose in the east today", and not "the rotation of the Earth relative to the rest of the Universe carried me around to a geometric vantage point where the horizon as seen from my location dropped below the Suns apparent position in space." To us, sitting here on the surface of a planet, geocentrism is a perfectly valid frame of reference. Heck, astronomers use it all the time to point our telescopes. We map the sky using a projected latitude and longitude, and we talk about things rising and setting. Thats not only natural, but a very easy way to do those sorts of things. In that case, thinking geocentrically makes sense.
  However, as soon as you want to send a space probe to another planet, geocentrism becomes cumbersome. In that case, its far easier to use the Sun as the center of the Universe and measure the rotating and revolving Earth as just another planet. The math works out better, and in fact it makes more common sense.
  However, this frame of reference, called heliocentrism, still is not the best frame for everything. Astronomers who study other galaxies use a galactic coordinate system based on our Milky Way galaxy, and the Sun is just another star inside it. Call it galactocentrism, if you want, and its just as useful as geo- or heliocentrism in its limited way. And none of those systems work if I want to know turn-by-turn directions while driving; in that case I use a carcentric system (specifically a Volvocentric one).
  You use coordinate systems depending on what you need.
  So really, there is no one true center to anything. I suppose you could say the Universe is polycentric, or more realistically acentric. You picks your frame of reference and you takes your chances.
  Relatively speaking, youre still wrong
  So geocentrism is valid, but so is every other frame. This is the very basis of relativity! One of the guiding principles used by Einstein in formulating it is that there is no One True Frame. If there were, the Universe would behave very, very differently.
  Thats where Geocentrism trips up. Note the upper case G there; I use that to distinguish it from little-g geocentrism, which is just another frame of reference among many. Capital-G Geocentrism is the belief that geocentrism is the only frame, the real one.
  Geocentrists, at this point, fall into two cases: those who use relativity to bolster their claim, and those who deny it.
  Those who use relativity say that geocentrism can be right and is just as valid as heliocentrism or any other centrism. Thats correct! But the problem is that using relativity by definition means that there is no One True Frame. So if you use relativity to say geocentrism can really be Geocentrism, youre wrong. Youre using...

Why Our Schools Suck, The Movie

• Sep 20, 2010 from techcrunch(TechCrunch)
  Whether its this post or Oprah, today may be the first time you hear of the movie Waiting for Superman but it wont be the last. A flood of pissed-off parents, Charter Schools and reformers and deep-pocketed billionaires and millionaires will make sure of that.
  But the other reason youll keep hearing about this documentary on the state of Americas public education system is that its just a really great documentary.
  Ive never quite understood how the public school system of the wealthiest country in the worldone where every President pledges to fix education and one where education spending continually goes upcould be so intractably horrible. The problem seems too big, bloated, complex and confusing to even have a smart debate around, much less try to fix. Fortunately, since Im not a parent, its an issue where I can just throw up my hands, assume any politician saying theyll fix it is lying, and start saving for the private school Ill one day need when I do have kids.
  But the brilliance of Waiting for Superman is in how it breaks the problem with education down into mostly one simple problem: Bad teachers cant be fired, good teachers cant get rewarded for being good, whether thats promotions or merit-based raises. Two of the most shocking scenes depict both sides of this coin. One showed a rubber room where teachers awaiting disciplinary hearings accused of crimes as extreme as sexual assault get paid a full salary to do nothing for as long as eight months. Another told the story of Michelle Rhee, who proposed that teachers in DC could double their incomes if they swapped to a merit-based rather than tenure system. It was so threatening that the labor unions wouldnt allow the issue to come to a vote. Equally shocking was something called the Lemon Dance where public schools in one district just swapped their horrible teachers they couldnt fire in hopes of getting a less-worse lemon.
  Its absolutely antithetical to the way Silicon Valley and Americas private sector at large operates. And thats the biggest reason a hoard of Silicon Valley big-wigs have gotten behind the film. Ali Partovi of iLike saw it at Sundance and immediately Tweeted it was the best documentary hed ever seen. At an after party he reached out to the producers to help get the word out, hosting several screenings locally. Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, venture capitalists John Doerr and Bill Gurley and San Francisco mayoral candidate Joanna Rees have all hosted screenings to raise awareness of the film. Bill Gates of Microsoft is interviewed in the film, and has attended high-level screenings. And Jeff Skoll, formerly of eBay, was one of the producers. Part of it is, as Gates says in the film, America needs a smarter work force if were going to be a knowledge economy not to mention one that is becoming more hostile of letting in immigrants. But the bigger thing is the cultural disconnect of a system that isnt based on merit or performance where people who do a bad job cannot be fired.
  Silicon Valley elites were horrified by the bailout nation days post recession, but theres a big difference between loathsome banker fat -cats keeping their jobs or even the outrage over job banks at large automobile companies where people are paid full salaries to not work. The impact of those bail-out examples is just wasted money and ultimately a failed company with disappointed shareholders. The impact of the lack of accountability in schools is it hurts children, especially in inner cities. The film shows this in a dramatic, heart-wrenching detail by following a handful of kids who are desperately vying to get picked in a lottery to attend better schools. Most of them dont win. Theres something tragic about watching kids try to break their own cycle of poverty and self-interested adults propping up a broken system that stops them.
  The movie is opening in selected cities this week and expanding later on. I hope everyone who has the chance sees it. Get ready to get mad and get motivated.

Dancing in the Dark

• Oct 11, 2010 from LizBonds1982(Elizabeth) in Entertainment
  Matt and I got my new sofa (new to me) all moved in last night. I just need to give it a good vacuuming, because it is a bit dusty.
  I am really happy with it. It looked just like the picture of it that I saw on Craigslist. It only has two very small minor stains, and the arms covers cover them up. There is no odor, aside from a mild garage-like smell, because the sofa was being stored in the prior owners garage. Nothin a little Febreze cant fix.
  Today is Nala Sues 1st birthday! Nala Sue is the youngest of my five girls, I have three cats and two dogs. She was SUCH an adorable puppy. I cant believe a year has gone by already. Look at how little she once was, yall! I love the pictures of her with Oakley. She was once so tiny compared to her big sister, and now she is bigger than her!!
  
  { Click on the image above to view it at full scale in a new window. }
  By the way, Mini Ann turned 8 years old in September. September 25th to be exact. I adopted Mini when she was a kitten along with Bru, they were found and rescued together. 8 years. WOW!
  
  { Shown above is Mini Ann. }
  
  { Shown above is Bru. }
  That means Bru will turn 8 years old in a few days, give or take. We rounded her birthday to mid-October based on Mini Anns age, because Bru was a few weeks younger than Mini. I cant believe my oldest girls are flippin 8 years old! Where does the time go?! I so remember them as kittens.
  *sad mommy pout*
  Nala turning a year old means its been nearly a year since my life turned upside down and changed (for the better), too. My ex-fiance, whom I was with 6 years, and I split shortly after we adopted Nala. We split December 2009, Nala was a few months old at the time. So, Nala turning a year old really reminds me of how far Ive come and how much time has passed since then.
  There is a rat at work, I am a manager at a pet store, up for adoption that I really want! He is the sweetest thing. We call him One-Eyed Willie, because the poor lil guy only has one good eye. We believe he lost his eye to a bully. Sad.
  
  { Click on the image above to view it at full scale in a new window. }
  I talked to Matt, my boyfriend, about it and the conversation didnt go over as I hoped it would. LOL!
  We are at the point in our relationship where talking about living together one day comes up regularly in casual conversation. I think he is already wondering what life will be like with FIVE pets, my girls, being that he doesnt have any pets of his own. Going from none to five is a big change. So, my wanting to add more pets to the mix might have him slightly freaked. Haha!
  The conversation went a little something like this . . .
  Me: Babe, there is this rat at work that I really want to adopt.
  The man: You dont need anymore pets.
  Me: But babe, hes REALLY sweet.
  The man: You DO NOT need anymore pets.
  Me: But he only has one eye!
  The man: You do not need ANYMORE pets!
  *sigh*
  So, I am respecting his apparent wishes and not adopting One-Eyed Willie. I am determined to find him a good, loving home, though. He is the sweetest rat, and rats make awesome pets. They really do. They are smart, and gentle, and calm.
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Will It Go Round In Circles

• Sep 20, 2008 from hiscity(...)
  Collider down for 2 months. "I've got a lil' story ain't got no moral, Let the bad guy win every once in a while" Melt down fail let the helium out. "I've got a lil' dance ain't got no steps, I'm gonna let the music move me around" Failures occur frequently in particle accelerators "I've got a song I ain't got no melody, How I'm gonna sing it..."

How to get rid of black circles under your eyes

• Aug 28, 2006 from clevelandflash
  Ever wake up in the morning, face sagging, eyes puffier than a pair of MC Hammer's best dancing pants? Well then this article's for you! Covers many possible sources for dark circles under your eyes as well as some viable solutions to fix the problem.