I read a news article about a CDC scientist who was asked to go to China during the SARS outbreak, to help identify the virus. He suspected that a new pandemic was in the making, and feared that he would not return. Before he left, he gave his wife instructions to monitor the news reports, and to go to their cabin in the mountains if his fears were correct. She was to stay there and have no physical contact with other people until it ran its course.

The thing about this story that struck me was that the scientist had no official obligation to go to China. The trip was, in some ways, a professional courtesy to colleagues who needed his expertise to help isolate and identify the pathogen. He felt that, in spite of the risk, he had a humanitarian obligation to provide any assistance that could reduce the impact of the disease; even if it would cost him his life.

I greatly admire this person, whose sense of responsibility extends beyond political and personal borders.

OK, when I was in high school, I kind of collected sugar packets. Actually, whenever I went to a restaurant with friends, I passed around a sugar packet and a pen, and had everyone sign it. I have a small tin with packets from various restaurants, mostly places open 24 hours, covered with signatures.

My favorite is the packet signed by fellow passengers of a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The packet was passed up and down the airplane, and finally made it back to me.

Of course, every dry ton of Kudzu represents greenhouse gasses (gases?) sequestered from the atmosphere. Kudzu should be harvested and then buried in tectonic subduction zones, to be carried into the earth's core!

Ok, I got 5 out of 8, but I accidentally clicked the wrong answer once (twitchy finger on the mouse).

I figured the US had more people!

No excuses for Afghanistan. I just didn't know where it was. I knew where Syria and Iraq were, and I figured the big thing was Arabia and the little countries at the straits were Yemen and something else. So, what's the big country that I hit with the pin (west of Afghanistan)?

Aaagh! It's Iran? Now I feel dumb as dirt! I no longer deserve to live. (My daughter cheated and looked it up on a map.)

It was a toss-up on the languages. I knew there were a lot of Chinese (got that part of the population question right), but I also heard that Arabic is widespread, but not necessarily as a "native" language.

RE: Cartographer. I read in a news article that cartography was slated to be a lost and obsolete discipline, until Geographic Information Systems (GIS) suddently became important. Now, cartography is cool, and everyone wants to do it. For myself, I need to use GPS just to get around town, or to find my car in the parking lot at the mall.

Well, anyone who's eaten a squid can tell you that! When you nibble on the beak, the back part is soft, and gradually becomes harder toward the tip.

Mordicai:
"learning to deal with bullying & ostracism, & the denigration of the exceptional"

That's why we named our son "Sue"

(Humor notice: We don't have a son, actually.)

I am always amazed at arguments promoting public school socialization as a compelling reason to discourage homeschooling. Certainly my own children are quite well socialized. We don't lock them in the closet, nor do we require them to wear a funny, archaic costume (oh, wait. That's a public school uniform).

When our local elementary school had to go into emergency mode when a student was found to have a gun in his backpack, I was very relieved that my youngest daughter was no longer attending.

My own experiences in the social environment of the playground leads me to characterize public school socialization as "The Lord of the Flies". Bullying and ostracism are the rule, and children who show academic aptitude are often denigrated. The pressure to conform is also very strong, while the norms of behavior, then and now, are not always positive.

OH, by the way, while I am a Christian, and our family is active in church (look up my previous posts on our homeless outreach), we are not creationists. I suppose we are kind of hippie-evangelistic.

As a parent, I'd worry that the kids would fall off and end up in another dimension.

Hooray for Mario! Truly the Hero of the People against the decadent bourgeois oppressors!

I request that you remove the graphic from your main page, add a warning, and include a link, instead. The picture may trigger seizures in those susceptible to such things (like some in my family).

If you want to include the graphic in the front page, tone down the contrast and brightness levels until it no longer triggers the effect. This would give some hint of what the link will show.

Sorry for being such a downer, but it's an important issue for me.

Thanks

Wait a minute! Does white wine go with tortises?

He needs an eyepatch and a hook on one wing.
This parrot would make a great extra for the next Pirates of theCaribbean movie.

Reminds me of the story of Rudy the cat.

If you "suck" at something, one of the best ways to improve is to examine your own work with a critical eye. Such an evaluation can reveal areas that can be improved, reducing the overall suckiness. If Shatner really never viewed his own finished work (I can't blame him for not watching TJ Hooker), it is rather like a cook who never tastes his own meals. They will remain bland, at best.

The performance was haunting. The interaction between the two dancers was very detached. I wonder how it would work with a dark background, and the man in black mask and outfit, making him essentially invisible.

They have a few brief moments of contact, but mostly his facial expression is neutral but benevolent.