subjectivity

If you're shy, hesitant, or passive, you run the risk of leading a boring life marked by routine and unfulfilled goals. Most progress has been led by people who were bold--scientists, political servants, artists, and others who didn't wait for opportunities; they created opportunities. So if you want to be bold and unstoppable, here are some ways to kick start your momentum.

wow, this is amazing. Watch the video. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7354458.stm

We're almost there. The future. Within our generation's lifetimes, we'll probably be able to see regrowing of limbs and all organs, either this way or through stem cells. Can you imagine?  And will this allow the rich to be immortal? (you know, by replacing their hearts and lungs every 25 years? 

Only problem is this technology does nothing to help with and will likely only worsen overpopulation, environmental destruction, war, terrorism, famine, and inequality. So our grandkids might be living longer, in a far inferior world. If only we had some pixie dust that could solve those problems.

This charter school is also only paying the principal $90,000.  Doesn't say whether the principal will have the normal principal duties, but teachers will have more than normal teaching duties. They will work longer hours and more days of a year, and do more administrative stuff I think. There are no assistant principals and only 2 social workers. There will be 30 kids in each class. Also, the only electives will be Latin and music and everyone has to take them. I'm curious if there will be a library or science labs... where else are they cutting costs? He's just using public money and charter school grants. Plus, everyone wants to move up in life. If you start at $125,000, where do you go from there in a few years if all the teachers stay on?

Maybe this guy is being extra dramatic to prove a point that good teachers are the key ingredient to a good education, but I think the point could be proven for less...

In MY charter school, maybe I'd try paying the teachers $75,000. Have more social workers and guidance counselors. Not expect teachers to work longer hours, though, yes to more days of the year. Most teachers already work longer hours than many professions because of the time it takes to plan lessons and grade papers. Have a few fewer students in each classroom, and focus a lot on staff development -- mentoring programs for teachers, some kind of upward mobility, sending them to conferences whenever possible, bonuses and promotions based at least somewhat on student ratings of teachers, not just test score improvements.  I think Latin and music are good electives to start with, and this is only middle school. But it would be nice to have some kind of partnership with schools that offer different electives -- other languages, art, shop, etc., for students who do well in classes or have good behavior.

What would be in your charter school?  Wonder if there's a SIMS program for that?

Well, last night was disheartening. 

New York Times reports that tuna sushi has way more mercury than we even thought. More than canned tuna. More than EPA limits, which are probably much higher than safe limits anyway. So with a very heavy heart I am declaring a moratorium on tuna sushi until we can do something about this. Namely, shut down more coal power plants so that less mercury is polluting the water in the first place. Unfortunately, this has to be done all over the world for it to work. 

In the meantime, someone (Matthew) work on making at-home mercury tests for food cheaper and easier. And someone (me and the rest of us) work on getting laws passed that give the FDA more power and responsibility to inspect imported food. If we stop allowing polluted food (and products) to enter the U.S., other countries will have to do something about it. Apathy will just get us more pollution. 

Please spread the word to your friends and family to avoid tuna sushi. Mercury is no good for any of us, but especially for those of us women who may want to have children in the near future (and the potential babies).

Add to that the fact that Heath Ledger died, which I am taking harder than maybe I should, and it was just a sad, sad night where I wished none of the news was true.

• I saw the headline today "Poll: Giuliani, Clinton support slips" and spent half a minute trying to figure out what kind of slips they support. Undergarments? Pink slips? Some kind of notices for charter schools? I didn't figure it out until I clicked on the link. True story. 
• Chimps have a better memory for numbers than you do. How long before they can do our taxes? I can just see them whining, "When are we ever going to use this in the real world?" But really, what do you suppose they do use this skill for in the real world? 
• I hate micromanaging editors. Why can't an editor say about a story, "This section would be better at the top" and let me rearrange and rewrite it myself? I don't need you to write exactly, word-for-word, what you think it should say. My job is to write, not to transcribe whatever you wrote. If you don't want to let me do my job, why am I here?  
• I'm really happy Brad Pitt is following through on his plans to help rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans with affordable and environmentally sustainable housing. 

#1: President Bush got Lyme disease last summer and his doctors claim he is fully cured. Anyone who knows about Lyme disease knows it is nearly impossible to be cured fully, forever. And yet, the medical establishment has long claimed that two weeks of antibiotics does the trick, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Insurance companies decline coverage for more than that basic course of antibiotics. People with Lyme disease are likely to relapse and suffer cognitive and muscular problems. 

I started learning about Lyme disease after reading about my favorite author (Amy Tan)'s experience with it and frustration with treatment. I can't help but see the similarities to thyroid disease: chronic disease with huge range of symptoms (many overlapping with Lyme disease), doctor and insurance (and pharmaceutical company) recommendations insufficient to treat most patients; little research; lots of patient frustration. Lots of doctors blaming the patients for not being cured like they are supposed to be. 

Anyway, as bad as I feel for President Bush, (for once), what makes me most upset about this information is that he and his doctors refuse to say how Bush was treated. Did he have the normal 2-week course of antibiotics that doctors claim is the cure, and that regular folks like us would be expected to be satisfied with, symptoms or no? Or is it possible that he got something better, and they won't say because they don't want us to start demanding that treatment from insurers?

This article from the Guardian Unlimited discusses that oh-so-unlikely possibility: Bush and Lyme Disease: What's the Secret?

#2: The second piece of news is more fun. According to this researcher, there is a 20% chance we are living in a computer simulation that someone in the future with supercomputers is controlling. Like the Sims, or the Matrix. Discuss.

1) What's the most interesting thing you've done in 2007?

2) Out of your left foot, right foot, right hand, and left hand, pick the two you'd most like to keep

3) Share one of your current favorite recipes.

4) What do you wear in your hair (for daily pursuits)

5) What city would you least likely want to live in? (because of climate, inhabitants, whatever)

Comment if you want to be interviewed and I'll ask you some questions!