The 2006 Word of the Year

"Plutoed" was chosen 2006's Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society at its annual meeting Friday.

To "pluto" is "to demote or devalue someone or something," much like what happened to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto didn't meet its definition of a planet.

"Our members believe the great emotional reaction of the public to the demotion of Pluto shows the importance of Pluto as a name," said society president Cleveland Evans. "We may no longer believe in the Roman god Pluto, but we still have a sense of personal connection with the former planet."

This comes from Yahoo News. I got to admit, the planet didn't get any respect, but now it will be remembered. I can't help but wonder if it would be a bit of an irony if someone were to pluto the International Astronomical Union one day by showing Pluto really IS a planet. Only time will tell.

Did Tigger Really Punch A Kid Out?

I've watched the video and listened to a couple of stories on this. I'm not too sure if the kid is totally innocent in all of this. His arm I think is far enough to grab the tail or maybe a zipper. The problem is that there is no real way to tell exactly. As for Tigger's reaction, I am not too certain if he did or didn't do the right thing. So I pose these questions: Is Tigger at fault? Did he do the right thing? Was the kid really at fault? Do you think the dad might be seeing dollar signs in all of this?

Cutting Through the Spin on Cloning

As I mentioned yesterday, Father Tad presented our school with why cloning is not something Catholics should be in favor of. In reality, this whole presentation seemed to be to me a rehashing of his presentation stem cell research, but with a new angle that involved cloning. In addition to that, his audience of about 1500+ only had maybe 200-300 awake the entire time. Everyone else was out like a light, including a number of faculty.

So here is what we got when it came to the presentation:

-We start with Embryonic Stem Cell research by showing that the stem cells are retrieved from a five day old embryo. This is a background piece for those who might not remember or never knew that to begin with.
-We move on to cloning and his different myths. Before going into this, we need to know what cloning is. Imagine plucking a hair from your head and at the tip is where the DNA is. One takes the DNA cells and places it into an empty egg cell. After some stimulation to the fertilized egg, a human being is created. This human happens to be you. This is what is known as Reproductive Cloning. The problem with this is that there are inherent risks to cloning a straight human being. As Father Tad put it, it is like trying to flip thousands of genetic switches at once. The other type of cloning which is out there is Therapeutic Cloning. In this particular aspect, we would clone organs and tissue to help people. Problem, as Father Tad shows, is that you till create a life with the embryo and are killing it in order to harvest the human being.
-The other myth he discussed was Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, which is just another name for cloning but sounds different so as not to freak out voters. The key element to all of this is that it does involved a lot of egg harvesting, which can negatively affect 35% of women who do it with pelvis pain, infertility, stroke, and death.
-Father Tad also discussed fetal farming, and how this could be done with cloning so that people would have extra organs. The plan to get these organs would be to have the baby go to 9 months and then abort it before birth, thus getting the organs.

After listening for an hour to his speech, I got to admit I was getting sleepy. Even typing this out is getting me sleepy again. However, for me, my concerns to embryonic stem cell research and cloning comes from a different angle. I will be the first to admit that stem cell research can have a lot of good for people. It can most likely help cure people of diseases. The problem is a scientist WILL eventually come along and decide to go one or two steps further in the name of science.

The doctor might say, "Why don't we offer parents the ability to create the perfect child." See the movie Gattaca for that scenario. Or, what if Kim Jong Il or Al queda, or someone even worse decides to go with cloning and clones their leader? See The Boys from Brazil on that one. The biggest concern though is what happens if we combine both of these where doctors create the perfect people and one of them develops the cognitive reasoning that says, "Wait a minute! We are better than flawed humans. Our strength, our intelligence, everything which makes us unique makes us the master race." Sound familiar? If so, then it would seem science would let Hitler's dream of the Aryan race come to life.

I know alot of what I am saying sounds like science fiction, but what other crazy notions have sounded like science fiction? Flight, airplanes, going to the moon, computer that fit on a desk, small hand held communication devices, organ transplants.

My point here is that while there are new medical fields being opened to us to help cure diseases, perhaps we should spend more time and resources isolating the EXACT causes of the diseases we are battling and then work on neutralizing it. It sounds pretty simple to me.

Father Tad Pacholczyk and Cloning

Tomorrow will be a pro life assembly at the school I teach at. For those wondering, it is a private Catholic school, thus explaining why we are having this assembly. Last year, Father Tad showed up to talk about stem cell research and why embryonic stem cell research is a bad idea. The general review by the students was simply the following: ZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ. I wish I was kidding on this, but if you need confirmation, ask James Martin at Virginia Progressive on this one and he will confirm it.

I will talk about what he has to say on cloning tomorrow. Personally, I am interested in what he has to say namely because cloning is something (being the sci fi junkie that I am) that interests me. There are a number of practical applications and concerns that need to be addressed on this issue. So stay tuned tomorrow for my report on this assembly.

What I got for Christmas

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. Everyone is probably enjoying their presents right now, but I got to admit I got an awesome on this year. I show you my vending machine.

That's right folks, a vending machine. It comes with 12 tokens and can hold ten cans of soda in it. In the event you run out of tokens, quarters work just fine. Yes, you can retrieve the coins from the inside of the machine and it is both easy to set up and operate. I got to admit, it is awesome to use! In the event anyone is interested in ordering one for themselves, you can get the awesome gift here. I think it would be awesome for the child who is about to hit the double digit age not to mention the college dorm kid.

How often can you say your roommate has a vending machine in their room? Or you own a vending machine? In a word, this gift is AWESOME!

Virginia Time Travel

After a month of hard waiting, Virginia Time Travel is officially on the air. The first episode just finished and I am pleased to say it went over very well. There are a few little spots to be fixed here and there for future show ideas, but that is what happens when you have a first show. Also, I am accepting any show ideas so as to come up with upcoming episodes for possibly Season 2 or Season 3.

While we have the Fairfax County Public Access scene all taken care of, we hope to expand by getting the show out to the rest of the state. So for all of you who are in the rest of the state and like reading my blog, please visit the Time Travel 21 website and check out some of the things there and email us the contact info for any and all public access stations you may have. Include universities in your area which might have an channel on television in your area.

Let's see that VA grassroots movement at work again with this show. Call the stations, get them to call for the show to be aired in your area. It's Viginia History!

Robots will have rights!

That’s right folks: robots will have the same rights as humans. According to an article written by the Financial Times, by the year 2056 the world will be having a new group of citizens brought into the fold. Robots are currently seen as inanimate objects; however, computers are currently being given artificial intelligence systems and becoming more powerful by the day.

Think back to the old days of the computer. Back in 1966, the idea that we would have a computer that would fit on a desk and could be carried around with you everyday was something that could only be seen on Star Trek. Today, we have everything Star Trek came up with. Interestingly enough, Star Trek even asked the question as to whether or not a robot should have rights.

In a previous post I did called “The Measure of a Man,” I stated in regards to an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation the following on Lt. Commander Data:

“The key element to the hearing is whether or not Data is a sentient being. Maddox contends there are three criteria in order to be declared sentient: intelligence, self awareness, and consciousness. So let us examine the three elements of sentient beings.

Intelligence-the ability to learn, cope, and deal with new situations.
Self awareness-conscious of your existence and actions, aware of one’s self and ego
Consciousness-as Webster’s Dictionary defines it as the state of being aware especially of
something within oneself.

The whole array of the argument is something which is very unique. Can a machine be sentient? The argument Captain Picard used when dealing with the idea of a race of Data’s was that these androids would become a race and possibly achieve sentient status. If that were to happen, then these new people would be effectively slaves, all in the name of the betterment of humanity. In the end, the judge in the hearing rules that Data has the right to choose and is, in effect, sentient.”

Where we decide to draw the final line on where robots receive rights still has yet to be determined, especially since this moment has yet to occur. The most important element to remember is that if we do not acknowledge the fact that we are building a workforce to do everything for us, NOT to give them some kind of protection under the law means we are purposely creating a slave race. In addition to this, saying what can and cannot be considered intelligent or have the ability to learn would liken us to the days of slavery.

Now as for robots themselves, I for one hope the first one built is named Bender. How is he powered up? Beer. In the event you want to see how entertaining he is, check him out on Futurama. He is awesome!

There is a man....

and his name is Charles Foster Kane.

And the Man of the Year is........

Since 1927, Time Magazine has chosen one person to be their Man of the Year. For better or worse, some of have been great individuals while others were, to be honest, Satan's cabana boys. So here is the list. I like the 2006 winner the most.

1927 Charles Augustus Lindbergh
1928 Walter P. Chrysler
1929 Owen D. Young
1930 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
1931 Pierre Laval
1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1933 Hugh Samuel Johnson
1934 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1935 Haile Selassie
1936 Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson
1937 Generalissimo & Mme Chiang Kai-Shek
1938 Adolf Hitler
1939 Joseph Stalin
1940 Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1942 Joseph Stalin
1943 George Catlett Marshall
1944 Dwight David Eisenhower
1945 Harry Truman
1946 James F. Byrnes
1947 George Catlett Marshall
1948 Harry Truman
1949 Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
1950 American Fighting-Man
1951 Mohammed Mossadegh
1952 Elizabeth II
1953 Konrad Adenauer
1954 John Foster Dulles
1955 Harlow Herbert Curtice
1956 Hungarian Freedom Fighter
1957 Nikita Krushchev
1958 Charles De Gaulle
1959 Dwight David Eisenhower
1960 U.S. Scientists
1961 John Fitzgerald Kennedy
1962 Pope John XXIII
1963 Martin Luther King Jr.
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson
1965 General William Childs Westmoreland
1966 Twenty-Five and Under
1967 Lyndon B. Johnson
1968 Astronauts Anders, Borman and Lovell
1969 The Middle Americans
1970 Willy Brandt
1971 Richard Milhous Nixon
1972 Nixon and Kissinger
1973 John J. Sirica
1974 King Faisal
1975 American Women
1976 Jimmy Carter
1977 Anwar Sadat
1978 Teng Hsiao-P'ing
1979 Ayatullah Khomeini
1980 Ronald Reagan
1981 Lech Walesa
1982 The Computer
1983 Ronald Regan & Yuri Andropov
1984 Peter Ueberroth
1985 Deng Xiaoping
1986 Corazon Aquino
1987 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
1988 Endangered Earth
1989 Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev
1990 The Two George Bushes
1991 Ted Turner
1992 Bill Clinton
1993 The Peacemakers
1994 Pope John Paul II
1995 Newt Gingrich
1996 Dr. David Ho
1997 Andy Grove
1998 Bill Clinton and Kenneth Starr
1999 Jeff Bezos
2000 George W. Bush
2001 Rudolph Giuliani
2002 The Whistleblowers
2003 The American Soldier
2004 George W. Bush
2005 Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, & Bono
2006 ME!

A Dinner to Remember...

I was talking with Mason Conservative about what if you could meet one figure in history and get to talk with them. The problem with a scenario like that is there are SO many people to choose from in history that you almost have to pick more than one person to meet.

So I am going to propose this scenario: you are sitting at a table. There is a chair to your left, right, and in front of you. You are going to have dinner with three historical figures you would love to meet. The only condition to this particular dinner is that the three other people you are going to be meeting could not have met with the others in question. By doing this, you are guaranteed a great discussion throughout the entire evening.

Errol Flynn (Across)
George Washington (Left Seat)
Robert E. Lee (Right Seat)

There are my choices and where I would sit them. As many know, I am a great admirer of Washington and would love to meet him. I am also a great admirer of Lee, and would be curious to see how the two men would see each others causes and what they may think of their respective scenarios. As for Flynn, he was one of the most charasmatic individuals around in Hollywood and would provide for a degree of bravado that would makethe evening complete.

So who would you want to have dinner with?

Get a Trunk Monkey

Trunk Monkey, the most advanced anti-theft system available.

Who would have thought....

From The Independent:

"Meet the world's top destroyer of the environment. It is not the car, or the plane,or even George Bush: it is the cow.

A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs.

The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.

Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it - and clearing vegetation for grazing - produces 9 per cent of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. And their wind and manure emit more than one third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.
Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world's emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain.

Ranching, the report adds, is "the major driver of deforestation" worldwide, and overgrazing is turning a fifth of all pastures and ranges into desert.Cows also soak up vast amounts of water: it takes a staggering 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk.

Wastes from feedlots and fertilisers used to grow their feed overnourish water, causing weeds to choke all other life. And the pesticides, antibiotics and hormones used to treat them get into drinking water and endanger human health.

The pollution washes down to the sea, killing coral reefs and creating "dead zones" devoid of life. One is up to 21,000sqkm, in the Gulf of Mexico, where much of the waste from US beef production is carried down the Mississippi.

The report concludes that, unless drastic changes are made, the massive damage done by livestock will more than double by 2050, as demand for meat increases."

What Reindeer am I?

You Are Rudolph

Sweet and shy, you tend to be happiest when you're making someone else happy. Why You're Naughty: You sometimes stick that nose where it doesn't belong Why You're Nice: Christmas would be a sad affair without you!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Wednesday Main Event

This week, we bring to you a match from the WCW Monday Night Nitro.

Outsiders vs. Ric Flair and Chris Benoit for the WCW Tag Team Titles. One thing to note in the match is that Chris Benoit is sporting a pretty mean looking mullet. It is a good match overall and the crowd is pretty into it. Enjoy!

Strange but True

It must have been a pretty big fart...

What does history teach us?

ASG poses an interesting question through his blog Time Machine.

He asks "Does a knowledge of history help us make better decisions? And if so...why?"

Click here to leave your views on the subject

Are You Sick Of Those High Paid Teachers?

I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers. Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do... baby-sit! We can get babysitters for less than minimum wage.

That's right...

I would give them $3.00 dollars an hour and only for the hours they worked, not any of that silly planning time. That would be 15 dollars a day. Each parent should pay 15 dollars a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now, how many do they teach in a day......maybe 25.

Then that's 15 x 25= $375 a day. But remember they only work 180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations.

Let's see...that's 375 x 180 = $67,500.00 (Hold on, my calculator must need batteries!)

What about those special teachers or those with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Let's round it off to $6.00 an hour. That would be.......$6 times 5 hours times 25 children times 180 days = $135,000.00 per year.
Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!!!

Make a teacher smile; :-) send this to him or her.
-------------------------------------------------
I wish this were true. If that were the case, then I will do some stats of my own. I have 112 students and a real teacher work day is 8 hours, not the five as posted in the email I placed here. So...here is what we go:

6 x 8 = 48
48 x 112 = 5376
5376 x 180 = 967,680

So my yearly salary should be almost 1 million dollars!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sadly, I don't think a lot of people would be willing to pay a teacher that much money. Does anyone have a reason? The obvious is that this is a lot of money, but I am flexible. I am willing to take only a tenth of that per year as a salary. Sound like a deal?

From the Desk of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Today, the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released a letter to the American people, where he outlines his own ideas as to how the United States can better its image with the world and do things better within our own borders.

Read the letter here

It is very clear Ahmadinelad is an intelligent man and has a very good writing prose about him. That is a simple fact that cannot be denied. From my own interpretation, I would argue that he is calling for the United States to abandon its support of Israel and side with the Palestinians. if we were to do this, the Middle East might turn its views around on us.

Anyone else have an interpretation on the letter?

Virginia Time Travel

A while back I mentioned I was working on a television show entitled Virginia Time Travel. After doing all our filming, I am happy to announce that the premiere of the show will be occurring on Thursday at 530 pm!

Season One of the show has the following episodes:

George Washington (Premiere)
Pirates
Alexandria Archeology
The Economy of the South
Carlyle House Movies
John Carlyle
War of 1812
The Legend of Braddock's Gold
Patrick Henry (Season Finale)

The show will air new episodes every month on the fourth week of the month: Tuesday 600 am, Thursday 530 pm, and Friday 930 pm.

In addition to the show, we have a website up: Time Travel 21 and it is here you can get a lot of news and information pertaining to Virginia history and historical events. If you have any show ideas, let me know or email us and we can try to develop the idea.

Sage Father Advice From Bill Cosby

Is there ever any doubt as to why Bill Cosby is so great? This clip could be called Child Raising 101. Just classic.