Bryan is CHEESE!

Naturally, that makes Meagan Bloo.

ONOZ! OMG!

(click for the full effect)

Mankind 'shortening universe life.'

This 'story' annoys the crap out of me. First, there's the ridiculous supposition that somehow we're shortening the life of the universe. C'mon! It's bad enough people slurp up global warming kool-aid, but now our study of the cosmos has reduced the probability of survival of the universe? Please. The universe was around well before we showed up, and it'll be here long after we die out or evolve into something else. Whatever the case, observing something, whether it's a cat in a box or 'dark matter' doesn't physically change something. An object might change due to the circumstances surrounding the observation, such as being exposed to heat or light, but inanimate objects and mere matter don't change simply because they can be sensed in some sense.

What also irks me is the author's claim that quantum theory is the "most successful theory we have." Wha? By whose measure? In the very same article is a link to the Garret Lisi, the "surfer dude" physicist who has supposedly given us a "theory of everything"--the "Holy Grail" of physics. But M-theory, which combined five super-string theories (all supposedly the theories of everything), was supposed to be the "Holy Grail" of physics. Not only does the multitude of "Holy Grail" theories tend to undercut the author's position, but none of these theories work unless you make shit up. Case in point; Lisi's "exceptional theory of everything" only works if you include 20 "theoretical" (read not real) particles. M-theory falls on its ass because it fails to predict anything empirical (read real). In my unscientific lay opinion, this reliance on the unreal makes these theories less than successful.

The irony in all this is that science embraces the "unreal" when it's convenient, leading to absurd notions like this, yet it mocks religion when it does the same thing. Thing is, a notion like a supernatural (not explainable by science) entity makes way more sense in explaining the origins of the universe and life than anything science has come up with. The universe has a certain order and predictability that seems rather improbable if you accept that everything we know of came from the explosion of a primeval atom. After all, where did the atom come from and why would you expect order out of what was ostensibly a chaotic event? Order is the product of intent. Life also has a certain order and predictability that is very improbable if you accept that all life, from a bacterium to a human, including every plant and animal in between, originated from RNA (the current fashionable theory). So, we're to believe that life on Earth originated from RNA, which doesn't exist naturally in the absence of life? That's quite a chicken-egg paradox ya got there, Dr. Bunson Honeydew.

I like science. I like that it offers answers to fundamental questions, and when applied through engineering, makes really cool stuff. What I don't like is when science comes up with grandiose theories that rely on 2 + 2 = 5 math or makes up theories that are wholly umprovable... or makes whack claims, as is the case here.

Fall Color

Who said there was no fall color this year? Oh yeah, KSDK's Cindy Pressler. Something about it being too dry. And yet a few weeks after she proclaimed the end of fall before it began--BOOM--fall color! Brilliant color! As brilliant as any I've seen here. In fact, while most of the trees have already peaked, this one is, by far, the most brilliant I've ever seen.



My camera phone doesn't do it justice, but this tree popped out from behind the others as if it were on fire. Just... wow.

Snap!

Bowling sucks.


But I did make a strike.

Disturbed...

...and infuriated. Maybe it's the geographic proximity, or the similarity in age and name, or because I've seen my daughter hurt. I don't know. All I do know is that I feel for this family. Sympathy has an odd way of sneaking up on you, especially for someone like me, who tends to maintain emotional detachment from all but my family and friends. But then, so does anger.

There are two sides to every story, and in some sense, I could make an argument for either side. That's the danger of becoming a lawyer. You find yourself willing to consider positions you find repugnant simply for the sake of argument. There are limits, though, and this is one of them. "But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year- old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile." I can't argue with that.

Mom: MySpace Hoax Led to Daughter's Suicide

[Edit]

I agree with Professor Turley, although in some way it was better not knowing. Now that the real identity of "Josh Evans" is known, the net is lashing out with its own brand of frontier justice. I admit that some part of me thinks "well, it sucks to be them," and that they deserve whatever grief they've brought upon themselves. But another part of me recognizes that there's another 14 year-old girl who is hating life now because of what her mom did. Maybe Lori Drew's daughter was complicit in the scheme, but lashing out at her strikes me as another line crossed.

The problem with frontier justice, in whatever form, is that it lacks the objectivity and dispassion, which are key ingredients to American jurisprudence. Of course subjectivity plays a part in deliberation and jurors and jurists may be outraged by the crimes of the accused, but the legal system works because of its rules that are carefully designed to obtain a fair outcome. There are no such rules to regulate mob mentality; consequently, the result is vengeance, not justice.

There are no criminal penalties for what Lori Drew did, and I can't even envision how a workable criminal statute could be drafted to address something like this. You can't outlaw meanness or mean words. But, I hope the Meiers file a civil action. It obviously won't bring their daughter back, but if successful, it would set a legal precedent that establishes a much-needed line that shouldn't be crossed.

There's a party in my tummy!

I'm a bit of a Rain Man when it comes to catch phrases. Something will stick in my consciousness and I'll go around repeating it. For weeks. Incessantly. My latest is "because you're soft. Like pudding." Of course, I watched Office Space afterwards and Bill Lumbergh crept in. Aahh, now, are you going to go ahead and have those TPS reports for us this afternoon? Ah. Yeah, I’m gonna be the one who breaks you. You know why? Because you're soft. Like pudding.

So it's no surprise my kids do the same thing. Hopefully they'll stop parroting Yo! Gabba Gabba before it becomes socially crippling.

Law Students & Legos

My favorite; ahhh...I had to punch him to survive! :)

Captain's [B]log, Director's Cut...

...with never before seen stuff! Buy it now on DVD!

Ok, maybe not. I just thought I would point out a few new things I've added. First, a link to my lovely wife's blog, JediMom. Lisa's professional life now seems to center on all things social on the internet. Whether it's digg, del.icio.us, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Yelp (to name a few), she has her finger on the pulse of it. As you can see, her blog has a point--a purpose--whereas mine doesn't (not like I had to point that out).

One of the social networking sites that I haven't scratched my head at is Yelp. I see the value of consumer opinion, particularly if it's the opinion of friends. Lisa is my only "friend" on Yelp, and I've written all of one review (reiterating my love for Whataburger), so it's not all that "social" for me. But I thought the Yelp applet was kinda nifty, so check back for thoughtful commentary about the places where I stuff my pie-hole.

Another new link of interest is The Simmons Family News, where Rob (law school and golfing buddy) and his wife Kristina share their view on life as proud new parents of their adopted daughter, Evelyn. Credit the high production value to Kristina, as Rob has demonstrated difficulty in simply turning on and off a computer.

The last new link of interest is to Neo-Neocon. I don't recall how I stumbled across this site, but I was intrigued by her story of transformation from liberal to conservative--a real neocon (a term regularly misapplied these days). What made her story even more intriguing is that she was a New England liberal and is a psychotherapist to boot. Ya don't see that every day. Anyway, I forwarded the link to Kelley in the hope of broadening her horizons, but thought I would share it with everyone else. She's an incredibly prolific writer, but well worth the time to read. It also cracks me up to think that behind that apple, she's really Lilith Sternin.

More posts soon. I'm getting back in the saddle and am currently fired up about IQ tests. More on that later.