Jun 22, 2016
An Engraved Invitation
It has suddenly become fashionable to assert that children must be taught cursive handwriting or there has been some sort of failure in their education. In fact, here's a New York Times…
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Archive page 36 of 73
Jun 20, 2016
Five Years at UMUC
At the door, when I got home, this evening, UMUC had sent a nice certificate celebrating my fifth year teaching there.
Jun 18, 2016
Duckpin Bowling for Dollars
As noted on Wednesday by trashy Howard County blogger Bill Woodcock, I will be taking part in duckpin bowling tournament next Saturday, June 25. My opponent in this tournament will be none…
Jun 17, 2016
Buddhist Meditation and Modern Science
I've been taking Robert Wright's Cousera course, "Buddhism and Modern Psychology," mostly because I didn't know anything about either. As Coursera is great fodder for blog content, here's my essay response to…
Jun 16, 2016
Terrorism Policysplainer
As part of the ongoing national discussion about the events in Orlando, I noted on Facebook that the shooting may not be terrorism. And, rightly, someone asked a simple question: What are…
Jun 15, 2016
Expanding the Market Through Fear
There's a good article in Vanity Fair about the scandal at Valeant, the pharmaceuticals maker. NPR has also covered this for those not interested in reading. ::embed{href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/the-valeant-meltdown-and-wall-streets-major-drug-problem"} The part that has everyone…
Jun 10, 2016
The Howard County Schools Are Very Sick
In a statement of blistering stupidity, Leslie Stellman claims the proposed school budget review committee violates state law. From the article, Stellman reportedly told the Board of Education, The county's fiscal authority…
Jun 8, 2016
Critical Information Acquisition
I love reading the blog Confessions of a Community College Dean, where the author descries the trials and tribulations associated with running a community college. In a current post, the pseudonymous author…
Jun 3, 2016
Hazard, Risk, and Expected Losses
NewHumanist has a great article on the difference between hazard and risk. Basically, the gist of the article is the hazard is what can go wrong. The risk is how likely it…
Jun 2, 2016
FEMA's Flood Maps Are Not a Scam
On May 3rd, this article ran in the Hamilton Journal-News. Long and short is, local business owner Mike Day was quoted as saying, "It just seems to be one more government-intrusive cost…
Jun 2, 2016
You Can Do Anything as a Math Major
This article on stemjobs.com popped up on Facebook the other day. ::embed{href="http://www.stemjobs.com/what-can-you-do-with-a-math-degree-besides-teach/"} That's a legitimate question. Most of us only encounter math teachers and never see what good mathematics is beyond that.…