dimland radio 2-20-16 show notes

Amy's Jury Duty And Hayden's Step Into More Independence

So, Amy had jury duty for the first time this past week. She got on a jury and deliberated on a civil case making the determination of the amount of damages to award a fellow injured in a car accident. I won't go into all the details, but the fellow was asking for half a million in addition to the medical costs of $23,000.

 

I think the best way to say whose side the jury was more sympathetic to will be to tell you what they decided to award the plaintiff. He was asking for $523,000, they awarded him $43,000. The plaintiff really didn't establish he deserved much more. Amy didn't want to give him anything, but agreed with the other jurors that $20,000 in addition to the $23,000 in medical costs was fair. Even the defendant's lawyer suggested they thought an additional $25,000 would have been fair. The jury came in under that, so you know for whom they felt more sympathy.

 

Our dilemma was that we have a 12 year-old son. Amy meets him at the bus stop each day and walks him home. Perhaps we are over-protective. We decided to give Hayden the chance to get himself from the bus to and in the house on his own. He would also call me at work to let me know he made it.

 

He did fine. But I was pretty anxious up until I got his call.

Shame On You Celebrators Of Scalia's Death

Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly, leaving a vacancy on the US Supreme Court. Many have stated how shocked and saddened they are by his death. However, his death was also greeted by more than a few of my Facebook friends' expressions of joy. Shame on them!

 

This is all part of that tribalism that disgusts me so. Scalia was conservative. His opinions were conservative. So, of course, some of my FB friends who tend to be very liberal couldn't stand him. They painted him as one of the worst people ever. And they were relieved when he died.

 

A law professor, Paul Campos, has written a piece for Salon.com voicing his displeasure at people lauding Scalia as a brilliant jurist. Campos disagrees and sites a few examples of what he thinks show Scalia not being so brilliant and having phony principles.

Well, Campos is a law professor and I'm just some ignorant cartoonist with an internet radio show to which no one listens, so what do I know about Scalia and his juristic brilliance?

 

However, the person who wrote the following must certainly know better than I and, maybe, even a law professor writing for Salon.com. She wrote, 

 

"...'We are different, we are one,' different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve. From our years together at the DC Circuit, we were best buddies. We disagreed now and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received a Scalia dissent, the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial circulation. Justice Scalia nailed all the weak spots - the 'applesauce' and the 'argle bargle' - and gave me just what I needed to strengthen the majority opinion. He was a jurist of captivating brilliance [emphasis mine] and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh. The press referred to his 'energetic fervor,' 'astringent intellect,' 'peppery prose,' 'acumen,' and 'affability,' all apt descriptions. He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader's grasp."

 

I'm sure Prof. Campos disagrees with this statement. Well, he's the law professor who writes for Salon.com and the person who wrote this was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's just a US Supreme Court justice who has known and served with Justice Scalia for decades. So,what does she know?

 

Read the statements of the Justices of the US Supreme Court on the death of their colleague here.

 

Jared Allen Rides Off Into The Portrait Format

ARRRGGGGGHH!!!

 

Landscape! Landscape!

 

If you are going to announce your retirement from the NFL by making a video of you riding off into the sunset (or just riding off) as it's done in the Westerns, make god damn certain the person taking the video holds the camera the right way!

 

Westerns are filmed in landscape! Not portrait!

Dawkins Is Re-invited To NECSS And Has A Stroke

No, he didn't have a stroke because of the re-invitation. The stroke did happen after Richard Dawkins received an apology and a re-invitation to appear at NECSS. This has been quite a roller coaster. NECSS seems to have been having difficulty figuring out how to deal with divisive people such as Dawkins. Although, why is he divisive? Is he really divisive?

NECSS, I'm sure, had been getting an earful ever since they first announced Dawkins was a guest speaker.

 

Anyway, he's been re-invited and those who were pissed off by his invitation, but happy with his dis-invitation, are probably pissed off again. Oh, well. I guess they won't be attending NECSS.

 

And neither will Richard Dawkins. He had that stroke.

 

Did I Dream This?

Was it all just a dream? Did I see that Charlie Sheen had returned to the Dr. Oz show to follow up on the whole quack HIV/AIDS cure that snake oil salesman, Samir Chachoua was selling? Did I see Dr. Oz and Sheen's doctor calling out Chachoua for his claims? Did I see Dr. Oz showing and responding to clips from Bill Maher's HBO show Real Time, on which Maher lapped up all of Chachoua's bullshit? Did I see that?

 

Maybe I did. If so, kudos to Dr. Oz. Damn! Did I just say that?

 

Movie Recommendation: Sleuth (1972)

 

2oth Century Fox

I may have recommended this one before, but I blogged about it this week on Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone, so I'm recommending it again.

 

It's terrifically entertaining. The acting is a treat and the twists and turns are great fun. Watch this movie!

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Creatures Of Love' by Talking Heads & 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' by George Jones

Second ad break bumpers: 'Lonely Is As Lonely Does' by The dBs &  'Achin' To Be' by The Replacements

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com
 
You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

dimland radio 1-30-16 show notes

Work On Spec Sucks

I briefly touched on a video on the internets giving examples of how other businesses and professionals scoff at being asked to do work on spec. Working on spec is mainly something asked of creative people working in the graphic arts. They'll be asked to do a design or illustration and, if it is liked, they might get paid. Or they get another project from the client asking for work on spec and that will pay. Maybe.

 

I can't think of any other fields in which working for free to see if you're any good is so prevalent as in graphic arts. Internships not withstanding.

 

Check out this video and you'll get the idea.

The New X-Files And My Complaint About Men's Suits

I also gave a brief mention to my excitement for and enjoyment of Season 10 of The X-Files. It's great to see Scully and Mulder back and going after the truth. But, as a skeptic, the shows can be hard to watch. I keep rolling my eyes and saying, "Come on, Mulder. Really?"

 

Seriously, I am enjoying the show so far.

 

I made this to demonstrate that the suits are too small!

What I'm not enjoying is seeing how uncomfortable Duchovny (Mulder) looks in his suits. I've gone on about this before, but today's "fashion forward" men's suits are TOO SMALL! The jacket strains at the buttons even when the man is just standing. In the series so far, Duchovny has taken to not even buttoning the suit jacket. And his tie looks ridiculous.

Maybe not the best example, but you can see it's unbuttoned.

More Problems With Skepticism/Atheism/Humanism/Feminism

I know I'm not going to have the answer to this schism that exists within skepticism, atheism, humanism, and feminism. It's been rather frustrating watching all the sniping back and forth since "elevatorgate". I find reasoned thoughts on both sides and unreasoned thoughts on both sides.

 

The latest outrage has centered around Richard Dawkins and his dis-invitation as a speaker at NECSS. NECSS is one of the bigger science and skepticism conferences taking place these days and it is in close association with the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe (SGU). One the January 23rd episode the speaker line-up for NECSS was announced on the SGU.

 

First name mentioned was Richard Dawkins (biologist, science popularizer, atheist, and one of the central figures of "elevatorgate"). The members of the podcast all "ooooo'd" with excitement as host Dr. Steven Novella announced Dawkins' name. My reaction was, "Uh, oh."

 

I knew of the rift between Dawkins and Rebecca Watson (former SGU co-host and originator of the story that sparked "elevatorgate") and the subsequent side-taking of those in the skeptical movement, so I was doubtful Dawkins' inclusion would go over well with Watson and her camp.

 

Days after the announcement, Dawkins retweeted an offensive (to many) video of a cartoon featuring a stereotypical Islamic terrorist and a specific feminist (Chanty Binx) singing a song about how similar Islamists and feminists are. The video goes so far as to suggest rape is OK when done by a Muslim. Huh?!

 

The video is supposed to be satire, but it is so very poorly done. It really doesn't make sense, but Dawkins thought it was worthy of sharing. His retweet set off a torrent of internet complaints and counter-complaints and quickly led to Dawkins' dis-invitation to NECSS.

 

What a mess. I've often stated that any group, movement, club, or society that consists of more than one person is going to have internal strife. Skeptics are not immune.

 

I found this examination of Dr. Dawkins and the incident to be the most reasoned. 

Common Core Math

 

I then discussed something a little less complicated and controversial: Common Core Math.

 

I'm not mathematician. I'm a cartoonist, so what do I know?

 

That didn't stop me from discussing this image:

 

 

This image has a lot of people confused. By not doing math the way they were taught, many people are thinking Common Core math doesn't make sense and is ruining our children. Not only did the kid not understand the task being asked of him or her, but most people looking at this didn't get it either. It's not saying the sum should be 13. It's asking the student to demonstrate how to make a 10 as part of the process of getting to 13.

 

My friend Chris Brown brilliantly explained it this way

 

"QUICK! What's 23 + 42?

 

 "You can do this the old paper and pencil way, adding the right side first, then the left OR you can take 2 away from the 42, add 23 + 40 to get a pretty easy 63, the add 2 to it to get 65.

"These CC Math problems that are so often derided as 'ridiculous' are NOT teaching the kids a 'new' way to do math problems. They are teaching the kids a whole bunch of different ways to do them, many of which are sill at this stage, but will be critical later. This is just one of many approaches.

"How about 4276 + 5964?

"You can do this fairly easily in your head if you try. Add 4276 + 5000 to get 9276. Now add 900 to get 10,176. Now add 60 to get 10,236, now add 4 to get 10,240. With a little bit of quick practice, you can add these numbers mentally far quicker than you can do it on paper.

"THAT'S what this lesson is trying to teach. It's impractical for 8 + 5, but it's extremely practical as the numbers get bigger. Teaching concepts at earlier stages sets the kids up for success in more advanced math.

"The U. S. is the wealthiest nation in the world, but has ranked around 30th in math scores for decades now. The math WE were taught as kids doesn't work well, plain and simple. New teaching methods are going to seem strange to us. Instead of deriding it and lamenting the fact that our kids aren't being taught the same way we were, why not make a bit of an effort to understand what's going on?"

I then took this image:

 

And used it to verbally demonstrate how the Box method is quicker and easier explain.

 

Movie Recommendation: None

 

I ran out of time. You are on your own this week.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'How Soon Is Now?' by The Smiths & 'Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?' by The Ramones

Second ad break bumpers: 'Did You Steal My Money?' by The Who &  'Who Dunnit?' by Genesis

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com
 
You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

dimland radio 2-23-13 show notes

I Am Not A Doctor

I started off stating that I really am not a doctor.  Really.  I'm not.

I also took a shot at other doctors who have Phds, but aren't medical doctors.  I'm not one of those either.  I mentioned Dr. OZ, who is a medical doctor, but he does so much anti-science medicine stuff that maybe he shouldn't be considered a doctor.  And then there's the father of the anti-vax movement, Andrew Wakefield, who isn't a doctor anymore.

 

Space Might Be Attacking Us

The asteroid and the booming meteor over Russia might make you thinking we're being attacked, but we really aren't.  I reviewed some of the recent space invading events that took place just recently and at what seemed to be at the same time.

It's neat stuff, but space really isn't attacking us.  Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, wrote about the awesomeness here.

 

Something else I learned from the event: Russia's pop music is just as crappy as ours.

 

Ten Minute Topic With Chris Brown

Chris and I talked some politics and statistics.  Chris referred us to the book 'The Drunkard's Walk', which sure sounds like an interesting read.  I'll be putting it of my reading list.
 

We also mentioned NECSS and Nate Silver.

 
The Movie Hobo

I have been made an admin for the Facebook page The Movie Hobo.  The Movie Hobo is a group page of movie enthusiasts making various comment about our favorite entertainment medium.  I encouraged my listeners (all four of them from last night) to like that page.

And would it hurt you to find Dimland Radio's Facebook fan page and give it a like?

The Good Life

 

The star of the British television series 'The Good Life' died recently.  His name was Richard Briers and he played Tom Good on that very popular (in the UK anyway) show.

I took that opportunity to talk about that show, which is my all-time favorite sit-com.  Not because it is the funniest , but it has become like comfort food for me.  I just like the characters so much.

 

You might as well.  In fact, I made 'The Good Life' my movie recommendation.  I know!  It's not a movie, but it is available on Netflix  and it's only 30 episodes, so it's really worth watching.

Movie Recommendation: None This Week Again (See Above)

Yep, you're on your own again this week, but 'The Good Life' is a good suggestion.

Music heard on the show (Whenever Possible, I Will Link To The Song)...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'Big Brother Muscle' by The Screaming Blue Messiahs & 'Cooks County' by The Who
Second ad break bumpers: 'Like It Or Not' by Genesis & 'No More Lonely Nights' by Paul McCartney
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.