Link Me Up, Scotty - Change on the Rise

Scientists are getting their first real look at black holes, which, when you think about it, are just the most bizarre fucking things ever.
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The field of Democrats pursuing the Presidential nomination just keeps growing and growing. For those of us who tend toward liberalism (or, to be fair, those who tend away from the dumpster fire that is our current administration), it's an embarrassment of riches. For myself, I will not be considering any candidate over 60 this year. The old white dudes have had their chance for the last 243 years, and I am Not Impressed. I want some new blood in there, with flexible minds and fresh ideas. Also: The first 45 fan-boi who tries to disparage any Democratic candidate for their lack of experience is going to get a crash course in the dangers of hypocrisy, as well as the point and laugh treatment for their lack of critical thinking skills.
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Have any of my readers used Groupon for travel? I'm digging the options and prices, but am hesitant to relinquish that much of the planning process to someone I don't know. And if you call me a control freak, I will say, "Yes. Yes, I am."
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Speaking of young Democrat Presidential candidates, I love the way Pete Buttigieg addresses his sexual orientation as an aspect of who he is, without making it ALL that he is. Aside from being a mayor, a war veteran, a Harvard graduate, and a Rhodes scholar, Buttigieg is a deeply faithful man, and it informs his positions, policies, and life. And strangely enough, I find it does not offend me or make me nervous. He doesn't want to legislate his faith on anyone else, he simply wants our country to behave in ways that are decent and kind (the fundamental message of Jesus, if I'm not mistaken), rather than otherwise. I can get behind that.
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And out of Texas (because of course it is), there is a state law under consideration which would "criminalize abortion without exception, and make it possible to convict women who undergo the procedure of homicide, which can carry the death penalty in Texas." I can't fucking believe we're still having this conversation. Margaret Sanger must be rolling over in her grave.
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In other news, 45 is losing his shit over his self-created "crisis at the border." I swear to Cthulhu, if there's a way for a leader of the free world to shoot himself in the foot, this chuckle-head will find it.
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New Zealand has passed a law banning most semiautomatic weapons less than a month after the mosque massacre. Because apparently the rest of the world doesn't rely on "thoughts and prayers" when violent events occur within their borders.
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From the "I love the universe" files: 21 of the year's best photos of our solar system and beyond.
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Video of the Week: My celebrity platonic boyfriend, Avi Kaplan, sings Change on the Rise.

Nutrition "Experts"

How to determine the scientific rigor and veracity of a self-styled nutrition "expert:"

1. Are they a certified Dietitian? Remember, "Dietitian" is a legally protected term. Any mouth breathing dolt with a web page and a 4th grade education can claim to be a "nutritionist." Just sayin'.

2. Are they trying to get you to try the latest Fad Diet? If so run away.

3. Do they receive commercial gain unrelated to their primary practice for recommending a product? "RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY!"

4. Google their name and "GMO." Their stance on this scientifically settled issue will tell you all you need to know.

This has been a Public Service Announcement, brought to you by Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men.

"I'm with Neil!"

The Phenomenauts singing about my celebrity boyfriend, here's "I'm with Neil!"

H/T to Skepchick.

Busy human (and another snake!)

I'm trying to catch up at work today after a multi-day absence, so you can just IMAGINE what things are like here.

So instead of original, scintillating content, have a photograph of the highly poisonous Eastern Green Mamba, currently on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science's "Lizards and Snakes" exhibit. If you live in the Denver area and have little people in your life, this exhibit is for you.

Miscellania

Today I was once again made aware of just how lucky my family is when it comes to access to quality health care and other employment related benefits. My total monthly out of pocket expense for health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, and long term disability insurance for me, the Smart Man and my Hot Daughter is $468.74. I know for a fact that other telecommunications companies in my region charge associates who make half what I do more than twice as much out of pocket for similar coverage. That's some shameful shit right there, when a skilled technician is paying more for family health care than their mortgage. But for-profit health care is GOOD FOR AMERICA. Just ask the Republicans. And the Democrats. And everyone else who's in the pockets of big business.
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To commemorate her birthday, Marie Curie is being honored today on Google's home page, which is cool. But I'm afraid I'm doomed to forever link this XKCD comic in my mind whenever I think of her. Which, come to think of it, is not necessarily a bad thing.
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You know how your kids will occasionally do something that suggests to you that not only did you not totally screw them up, but they may in fact change the world? Yeah.
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I recently bought additional workout clothes since my old yoga pants were getting a little thin for wear at our local Fieldhouse. I have decided that I really don't like the form fitting shirts that are commonly worn for yoga, although I love the pants. I much prefer looser fitting sleeveless tops that give me some air flow. Live and learn, and it's back to Kohl's to replace the one I bought last week.
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That huge deal I was working on last week in New Jersey? It's still not closed, and although we're getting closer, I'm still on the lookout for the stink bomb. I was able to use my fabulous raspberry bag, though. I've decided I really like it, especially once I started using the shoulder strap rather than the handles to carry it. The only negative: My laptop is a bit too large for me to be able to use all the space efficiently, and is also kind of heavy for a bag that doesn't distribute the weight evenly across my back. I'm long overdue for a laptop refresh, so I've requested a smaller device this time. As to when I'll actually get a new laptop, that's another matter. But the raspberry bag is a winner, especially the zippered side pocket, which is just perfect for my Kindle, iPod and other items I actually use in-flight. But until I get the smaller laptop, I'll probably stick with my backpack for business travel unless I'm attending an executive event.

Donors Choose, Science Rules!

It's that time of year again - time for the annual Donors Choose Science Project fundraising extravaganza over at Discover Blogs. For the fourth year in a row, I'm supporting Cosmic Variance, because I think physics is cool and The Big Bang Theory makes me laugh. I like to pretend I'm encouraging a young Sheldon Cooper with my donation. Or at least a Howard Wolowitz.

It's a worthy cause, because science is cool, and our kids deserve a chance to excel in STEM. Please consider a donation if you can.

Save the JWST, and Increase the Awesome in the World

You know, I love the Hubble Space Telescope. Love, love, love. Its images have stunned me to silence, inspired me, and opened my eyes to the vastness of our universe. The repair missions have awed me with the abilities of our astronauts and those who support them. But it's nearing the end of its life, and its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is in danger of being defunded.

I'm not going to talk about the loss to the scientific community if the JWST is scrapped. There are plenty of scientists out there that are qualified to discuss that issue. What I will say is that if the government scraps the JWST, they will decrease the Awesome in the world:

 

Please contact your Senator and Representative to encourage them to save the JWST. Because increasing the awesome in the world matters.

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Tip of the Heat Shield to Julianne at the Cosmic Variance blog.

Farewell, Spirit

Fair Winds and Following Seas, Little Rover

After six long years of amazing science, NASA has decided to suspend efforts to reestablish contact with the Mars Rover Spirit.

What an amazing accomplishment these little guys were. Designed to serve for only 3 months, they kept on going for six years, coming back year after year after year. The engineering teams who were responsible for their design, manufacture and deployment have a lot to be proud of.

As a fan of the space program, I can never decide which program is my favorite - the Hubble, or the Mars Rovers. The Hubble has opened our eyes to events that occurred millions of years in the past, and provided insight into our origins and the wider universe. Breathtakingly beautiful, the Hubble images have served not to make me feel small or insignificant, but to connect me to the universe in a spectacular way.

But the Rovers - the Rovers have stood as a testimony to the ingenuity and accomplishment of humankind. Like the Apollo missions that came before, the accomplishment of the Rover project team at JPL represents what's best about us as a species, and what we're capable of accomplishing if we commit to do so.

The Hubble connects me to the universe, and the Rovers give me hope for our future as human beings. 

Fortunately for me, and all of us, we have the new Rover Curiosity (scheduled to launch in November) and the James Webb Space Telescope (scheduled to launch in 2014). Hopefully these programs will measure up in providing not only amazing science, but inspiring new generations. They have big shoes to fill.

Unserious

One of the things that make me stabby (or shovel-y, if you prefer) is when people attempt to push their completely unserious ideas into a serious situation or conversation. It's almost like a corollary to the Dunning-Kruger effect, whereby someone who is completely unqualified to comment or participate in a specific conversation insists on pushing their way in, spouting incredible nonsense and turning the entire thing into a huge joke.

This irks me because while dumbasses who are chewing the fat with their equally dumb friends have a limited impact on public discourse and the direction of our country, such incidences appear to be on the rise in public life. Leaving aside the Shes Who Will Not Be Named, it's frickin' everywhere, and it's making me wish I had the necessary survival skills to live in the Alaskan interior with no contact with the outside world.

But since I don't have those skills (and I consider it a hardship to even spend the night somewhere where I can't shave my legs and wash my hair - I've done my time in the field, thankyouverymuch), instead I will list the things that will automatically label people as "unserious" in my mind, and thus not worthy of my consideration:

1. You think astrology has a scientific basis, and that the recent debate surrounding precession proves it. Whaa...?
2. You think there's some efficacy associated with homeopathy. It's water, you dumbshit.
3. Your political hero doesn't understand that the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are not the same document, and that one is the law of the land, and one is not.
4. Your political hero has no grasp of American history. At all.
5. You're an Ayn Rand apologist. Seriously - she was a hypocritical harpy with megalomaniacal tendencies. Emotionally mature people outgrow this sort of nonsense in early adulthood. Please join us.
6. You don't understand that "fascist" is a right wing position, not a liberal one. 
7. You think that "Ghost Hunters" and other paranormal reality shows actually have some basis in reality. Really?
8. You believe the entire American government is just one huge conspiracy whose only goal is to hide the imminent alien invasion/the cure for cancer/the REAL culprit behind the 9/11 attacks/fill in the blank. Seriously? The government's incompetencies are legion - and you think they can keep those kinds of secrets?
9. You think mental illness or homosexuality is a failure of will rather than a result of biology. 

I think I need to give myself an attitude adjustment before I hurt someone.

Count Down to Backpedaling...

Great Britain's Mike Deer is reporting in the BMJ, the Sunday Times and on Britain's Channel 4 Network that freeze-dried whackadoo Andrew Wakefield wasn't just WRONG when he published his study linking the MMR vaccine with autism, he was a liar, liar, pants on fire. That's right - he and his colleagues deliberately falsified the data to support the conclusion they wanted. I'm pretty sure that's called FRAUD.

How long do you suppose it will be until the anti-vaxxers, those CRITICAL THINKERS OF OUR TIME, begin backpedaling? I suspect their rationale will be along the lines of, "Just because our hero is a big fat liar, liar, pants on fire who falsified the data that started our movement doesn't mean that vaccines DON'T CAUSE AUTISM."

In 5...4...3...2...1...

A Month of Gratitude, Day 21

Today the Smart Man and I are taking his family to the Denver Museum of Nature of Science. I love that museum - for three generations my family has grown up there.

My Hot Mom spent her girlhood there, as entrance was free in those days, and she could walk there. When I was in elementary school, I took school trips there frequently, as well as outings with my parents. My own kids spent many happy hours there as youngsters, since we had a family membership and it was an inexpensive way to spend a Sunday in the years when I had no money.

Today, I'm grateful to have a high quality science institution in my city that makes a considered effort to support STEM among our population, and makes it affordable for families to take advantage of all it has to offer.

My Celebrity Boyfriend Makes Good

In case you live under a big rock, I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you that my celebrity boyfriend*, Phil Plait, has a very exciting new project out! That's right - the Bad Astronomer is hosting a new mini-series on the Discovery Channel called "Phil Plait's Bad Universe." Check out this fabu trailer:

I especially like the part where giganto cartoon Phil zaps the hostile spaceships with his LazerEyes™.  

Now I want LazerEyes™, too.

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*As distinguished from my celebrity seraglio. I've actually met Phil, you see. So I can't put him into the seraglio without moving into creepy, creepy stalker territory. Being my celebrity boyfriend, however, is a more platonic imaginary relationship.

Self-Determination versus Public Health

I believe that vaccines are the single greatest medical breakthrough of the last century. They are singularly responsible for the eradication of smallpox, and have prevented the death of hundreds of millions of people world-wide since they went into widespread use.

I firmly believe that those who believe that autism is caused by immunizations are willfully stupid in their belief system. The evidence - the scientific evidence - is absolutely clear regarding the lack of a causal relationship between vaccines and autism. The recent disgrace of that fucktard Andrew Wakefield, and the constant strategy of "moving the goalpost" by the anti-vax movement makes me sick to my stomach. It makes me sick because it results in avoidable sickness and even death in those who count on the adults in their communities to make informed and defensible decisions surrounding public health. As adults, we have an obligation to EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE, and make our decisions based on reality rather than wishful thinking or a desire to "find someone to blame" for our troubles.

I absolutely believe that people who choose not to vaccinate their children because "diphtheria hasn't been prevalent in the United States so I shouldn't have to immunize my child" are criminally stupid. Apparently these yahoos have no idea that people who may be asymptomatic may travel to the United States and actually infect their children. Which, because of their fuckwitted ignorance surrounding "herd immunity and their own complete lack of obligation to their community, will subsequently spread COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE DISEASE through the population like wildfire.

Public health matters. Providing herd immunity through vaccination thresholds protects all members of the community, and I believe informed, educated people should be maintaining their children's immunizations as well as their own. The reason I believe that is because I think we ALL have an obligation to manage preventable disease, and that includes administering vaccinations to our children for the good of the group.

I watched a Frontline special on vaccination the other day while on the Evil Machine of Torture. In it, parents explained their desire to "protect their children" from the risk associated with vaccines. These parents made it pretty damn clear that they thought it was perfectly okay for their kids to skip the risk associated with getting vaccinations, but they were also perfectly happy with their kids enjoying the herd immunity associated with living in a 1st World community. I'm not talking about kids who cannot be immunized due to immune deficiencies and such - I'm talking about people who choose not to expose their children to the risks of immunization, even though they're perfectly healthy. I cannot tell you how reprehensible I find this attitude. It's okay for me to expose MY kids to the (albeit small) risk of vaccination for the good of public health, but it's not okay for YOU to do so, provided you get the benefit?

You can fuck right off with that attitude. Right after I punch you in the throat.

And yet...and yet.

Tax-and-spend liberal that I am, I still place enormous value on self-determination. I believe people should have the right to make their own decisions regarding their health care (or lack of it), and a civilized society should not be permitted to force people to accept health decisions made by the state.

And yet...and yet.

Children are different. Children who have lost the genetic lottery by being born to nutbar parents should have the right to be protected from crazed and irrational ideas that negatively affect their health. In my opinion, that includes vaccination for those children whose health permits it.

So it appears that in spite of my small "L" libertarian, self-deterministic leanings, I do believe in mandatory vaccination for children, even when their parents don't agree with that decision. Our public health depends on it, and I'd rather abrogate the rights of parents on this issue (with adequate safety precautions) than see a resurgence of polio. Hard decision, to be sure, but it sure beats the alternative.

The Case for Evidence

I feel like dancing in the streets. Dancing, I say. Naked. With confetti made from abstinence only sex education pamphlets raining down upon my head.

Okay, maybe I'll spare you (and the neighbors) the naked part.

But guess what? The Obama Administration, through the Office for Public Health and Science, has announced their funding plan for Teenage Pregnancy Prevention. The key part of the announcement is the majority of funding will be going to replicate Evidence Based Programs. That's right - if your program works, then you'll be getting funding from the federal government. If you're program doesn't work, then you be getting an invitation to fuck right off.

Here's the part that has me dancing in the streets:

Under this announcement, a total of $75,000,000 is available on a competitive basis for the purpose of replicating evidence-based programs that have been proven through rigorous evaluation to reduce teenage pregnancy, behavioral risks underlying teenage pregnancy, or other associated risk factors. Funding is available for two broad program types: 1) curriculum-based programs that seek to educate young people about topics such as responsible behavior, relationships, and pregnancy prevention and 2) youth development programs that seek to reduce teenage pregnancy and a variety of risky behaviors through a broad range of approaches.

You get that? It doesn't require that specific ideology be taught. It doesn't require that the word "abstinence" be used (or stricken) from the curriculum. It simply requires that programs that request funding must "have been proven through rigorous evaluation to reduce pregnancy, behavioral risks underlying teenage pregnancy, or other associated risk factors." You want funding for your abstinence only sex education program? No problem. Simply prove that it ACTUALLY WORKS. and the federal government will consider your request. You want funding for your let-it-all-hang-out-leave-no-testicle-unturned sex education program? No problem. Simply prove that it ACTUALLY WORKS.

I love that the OPHS has announced that funding for programs meant to prevent teen pregnancy must be proven to actually work before they get the money. Using the evidence based approach helps to limit ideological bias in the process, and - BEST OF ALL - may actually help young men and women make better choices when it comes to love, sex and reproduction.

w00t!

Fraud

I'm a "STEM" worker. STEM, the abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, made its way into the common lexicon as grass roots organizations attempt to increase the number of college graduates who pursue these disciplines.

My official, HR approved title at my job is "Systems Engineer III." The title on my business card is "Senior Systems Engineer." I self-identify as an "SE." My boss is identified as an "SE Manager."

But it's a fraud.

I don't have an engineering degree. My immediate team-mates don't have engineering degrees. From where I sit, we're technologists, not engineers.

That's not to belittle what we do - we provide a valuable service to our customer base, and the breadth of knowledge required to do our jobs is considerable. We're required to pass professionally proctored certification exams as a condition of employment. In order to remain effective, we must maintain our technical skills and stay abreast of current technology trends.

But we're not engineers. 

I think one of the reasons the U.S. has fallen behind in our STEM education is because we've allowed labels like "engineer" and "scientist" to be watered down. When people like Walter L. Wagner are allowed to call themselves "Dr." without challenge as a result of attending an unaccredited Law School, and self-identify as a "physicist," again without challenge, as a result of a minor course of undergraduate study, then we cheapen the accomplishments of actual scientists. It takes work, and lots of it, to become a scientist, or a professional engineer, and to be quite frank - I haven't done that work.

Instead, I've done different work. I've spent my entire adult life (26 years, for those keeping score at home) learning the technology that allows me to make a living. I've worked damn hard to become an expert in Enterprise Telephony, and I'd put my skills up against my peers any day. In other words, I'm a proficient Technologist.

But I'm not an engineer. Not in the sense that is meant when people talk about STEM. And I think we'd all be better off if such loaded terms were applied a little more conservatively.

Matters of Fact versus Matters of Belief

I read an article the other day in the New Scientist, called "Living in Denial: Why Sensible People Deny the Truth." The author makes some excellent points regarding how denialism is the most natural thing in the world for humanity, and actually looking at the world with a critical frame of mind requires work, and lots of it. The basic hypothesis was that people deny the findings of science because to accept them would relinquish a level of control that makes them uncomfortable.

An extremely thought-provoking article, and I recommend it.

And I was thinking about it the other night while lying awake with no hope of recapturing sleep, and this quote from Pat Moynihan came to mind:

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

I realize I have a low tolerance for the woo and denialism - faith healing, homeopathy, dowsing, young earth creationism, climate science denialism, chiropractic - all of it drives me up the wall, because from my point of view, it seems so very ignorant. Willfully ignorant, in fact. And yet, people who choose to live their lives based on faith don't bother me. People who choose to believe in psychic phenomena don't bother me. I don't agree with their point of view - but they don't bother me.

What bothers me is when people attempt to confuse issues of belief with issues of fact. Issues of fact are those that can be settled by the scientific method. Issues of belief are those that can't. Seems simple enough, but I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who confuse this very simple rule of thumb in preference for what they FEEL. Here are some examples:

FACT: Vaccines do not cause autism. We know this is a fact because numerous scientific studies have proven it to be so.

BELIEF: Vaccines cause autism. We know this is a belief because when the evidence is presented, it consists of "mommy instinct" and logical fallacy, which does not meet the litmus test for the scientific method.

FACT: Evolution, or something very much like it, is the mechanism by which life developed on this planet. We know this is a fact because research and experimentation has proven it to be so.

BELIEF: Creationism, or Intelligent Design, or God Did It, is the mechanism by which life developed on this planet. We know this is belief because the hypothesis is based on religious dogma, which is by definition unfalsifiable. The scientific method does not support the hypothesis.

Conversely, I believe science and rationalism should keep its nose out of metaphysical hypotheses that cannot be falsified. I have no issue with the study of religion, and although I don't share the viewpoint of people of faith, I see value in learning about it. Like so:

BELIEF: God is real, and cares about each and every one of us.

FACT: There is no fact - the hypothesis is unfalsifiable, and as long as those who believe the hypothesis do not try to confuse their belief with FACT, there is no problem.

So what gets my goat about manufactured controversies such as vaccines or evolution is the deniers' predilection for attempting to confuse their BELIEF with FACT, and getting everyone else to do the same. The facts of a hypothesis have no correlation to a specific individual's (or group of individuals') emotional investment in the outcome - reality is king. If your point of view is so all-fired defensible, the logical shenanigans used by the anti-vaxers and the Intelligent Design crowd aren't necessary. Simply defend your position using the tools of the scientific method, and let the best hypotheses win.

I once had a devout friend ask me if I would change my mind about evolution and a creator God if I was confronted with irrefutable evidence that was contrary to the accepted scientific point of view. My response? "Of course." That's science, and to quote XKCD, it works, bitches.

I < 3 Hubble

I love the Hubble Space Telescope. Some of its images grace the walls of the Big Yellow House, and the wallpaper on my various computers are all Hubble images. I know it's nearing the end of its working life and scientists are now looking toward what the James Webb Space Telescope can teach us. But to me, "space telescope" will always mean "Hubble."

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This was shamelessly stolen from my celebrity boyfriend, the Bad Astronomer.

This is Made of WIN

Shamelessly stolen from the Rational Crank. A list of attendees can be found at the link.

HEE!

Symphony of Science FTW!

I love Symphony of Science. Here's the latest - The Poetry of Reality, featuring comments from a dozen different scientists, including members of my celebrity seraglio.

H/T to my celebrity boyfriend The Bad Astronomer.

The Unbroken Thread

I love the Symphonies of Science remixes. The newest is called The Unbroken Thread, and it's about what some have described as "the greatest idea in the history of the world" - evolution. It features three scientists and educators for whom I have the highest respect: Carl Sagan, David Attenborough and Jane Goodall.

Today, on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s remembrance, let's hope we continue to evolve in ways that bring out the very best in us, rather than the worst.



H/T to my celebrity boyfriend, Phil Plait, The Bad Astronomer.