The fear of expatriating

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Wednesday May 11, 2011 · 2:46 PM PDT

2011/05/11 · 14:46

I have been job hunting since January 2009. I have been (very) under-employed since January 2010. I guess that is better than unemployed though. At least my wife had a job that helped us make ends meet for our family.

I finally found a job. Not just a job, but a great job. The job that I have been training so long to get. The only scary part about this job is that it is overseas.

This diary doesn't really add anything to any discussions. I am mainly hoping to get a few ex-pats telling me that it will be okay.

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Friday March 25, 2011 · 8:20 AM PDT

2011/03/25 · 08:20

We often hear about the effects that polling can have on the population. How it can help drive the narrative if the results are sufficiently skewed in one direction (see: Rasmussen; Scott Brown). How it can be used to sway the opinions of the electorate if the questions are not worded carefully (see pretty much every poll showing the populace against health care reform). If people don't have a basic understanding of polling, and a poll is taken out of context there can be another consequence entirely: misinforming them of basic facts.

Poll

38 votes Show Results

Did Neanderthals and modern humans ever co-exist?

38 votes Vote Now!

Did Neanderthals and modern humans ever co-exist?

Yes

30 votes

8 votes

"Global warming is beneficial to the ... state of Montana"

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Thursday February 17, 2011 · 10:22 AM PST

2011/02/17 · 10:22

This will be a really short diary as it is bringing attention to an article I just read over at TPM. My first reaction: Holy Crap! My second reaction: I am not surprised in the slightest. There is a silver lining in the story though.

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0 votes Vote Now!

Paleoclimatology Primer 2

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Tuesday February 15, 2011 · 1:57 PM PST

2011/02/15 · 13:57

About 6 months ago, I wrote up a summary of how paleoclimatologists determine the temperature of the past, focusing primarily on oxygen isotopes Paleoclimatology Primer. It was relatively well received, so I figured I would continue the lessons on paleoclimatology. Today we will focus on the problems/opportunities inherent to the oxygen isotope system, and a few other systems that help us get a stronger handle on the climate of the past. I highly recommend you go back and read that post first, as this post builds upon what we learned 6 months ago.

As a warning, almost all of the links I have provided here require a paid subscription (with a few exceptions), but almost all of the links are from major journals (Science, Nature, Geology, etc.) and your local library is likely to have a subscription. The abstracts of each paper are always free though.

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Common Scientific Misconceptions That Irk Me

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Friday January 28, 2011 · 12:28 PM PST

2011/01/28 · 12:28

Despite the general rejection of science by American society today there are still many of us who delve into whatever science we can find and enjoy it. However, even among the well educated, there are a number of scientific misconceptions that have penetrated the popular consciousness. I believe that these incorrect ideas largely come from science classes in middle and high school, and are then perpetuated by a largely scientifically illiterate media. We all have heard and believe ideas that are probably incorrect, as we can't all be experts in everything.

Below I have listed a handful of them that bug me with the hopes that I can spread a little enlightenment. I don't mean to insult anyone if they believed one of these misconceptions, they have persisted because they make intuitive sense, even if they are wrong. Hopefully I can straighten things out a little bit.

Poll

132 votes Show Results

Which misconception have you heard most often?

132 votes Vote Now!

Which misconception have you heard most often?

Survival of the fittest

25 votes

Reproduction number

1 vote

Glass as a liquid

16 votes

Super-massive black holes

2 votes

It's just a theory

78 votes

I am perfect and every idea in my head is 100% correct

10 votes

The bad math of astrology

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Tuesday December 21, 2010 · 6:16 AM PST

2010/12/21 · 06:16

Last night, we had a once in a lifetime event, the first total lunar eclipse during a solstice since 1683. Unfortunately, 2/3 of the article about it on CNN is about the astrological significance of said event.

This drives me nuts. I felt the need to post the very simple math that debunks astrology once and forever (the same math that has been put forward for generations now) just so someone else can use it when yelling at people who believe in astrology. And since commenters over at CNN often times seem barely literate, I thought I would post it at a community of free thinking people.

If you want the mathematical ammunition, follow me over the fold.

Poll

120 votes Show Results

Do you read your horoscope?

120 votes Vote Now!

Do you read your horoscope?

Yes, and I believe it, the math be damned!

23 votes

Yes, but only from the Onion.

26 votes

No, why waste my time?

60 votes

Printed newspaper? Of what do you speak old-timer?

11 votes

Paleoclimatology Primer

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Monday July 12, 2010 · 1:19 PM PDT

2010/07/12 · 13:19

There is a good diary currently in the rec list today about global warming (Intro to Basic Science of Global Warming). I noticed among the comments was a request for a primer in paleoclimate work. When the poster said that he would leave such posts for more experienced people, I realized I wouldn't be stepping on any toes by stepping in. As it turns out, I posted just such a primer on my facebook page solely for my family a few months back, but I see no reason that I can't share it with the community at large. I have a number of these that I put together for my family so they could understand what I do. If there is interest maybe I will get around to posting the rest.

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Monday September 15, 2008 · 5:11 PM PDT

2008/09/15 · 17:11

I love my state, and for three years out of every four I don't mind being one of the very few blue dots in this very red state. Unfortunately, we are in that one year of the cycle where the state drives me nuts. I have a few Obama t-shirts that I wear, and, aside from the occasional stare, people seem to just ignore it around here. And I tend to do the same for pro-McCain t-shirts. But this I cannot abide.

Poll

131 votes Show Results

The shirt to the far right is...

131 votes Vote Now!

The shirt to the far right is...

Offensive

61 votes

eh... whatever

45 votes

Funny

25 votes

Why ignoring Palin and targeting McCain is a mistake, hockey edition

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Monday September 08, 2008 · 1:47 PM PDT

2008/09/08 · 13:47

We all know that Sarah Palin talks about how she is a hockey mom and how tough she is. But there is a lot of discussion about how we should just ignore her and focus on McCain. I agree that she is a distraction, but Sean Quinn over at fivethirtyeight.com got me thinking in his piece comparing her to a "4th String Agitator" While I agree with his premise, I disagree with his conclusion.

Poll

73 votes Show Results

How should we deal with Sarah Palin?

73 votes Vote Now!

How should we deal with Sarah Palin?

Ignore her.

9 votes

Take her down.

64 votes

The Great Experience Conundrum

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Thursday September 04, 2008 · 7:52 AM PDT

2008/09/04 · 07:52

Here is what I don't understand, and maybe someone can explain it to me. If Sarah Palin has more experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined because she spent 8 years as a mayor and 18 months as Governor, both executive positions, does that mean that she also has more experience than John McCain? I mean, after all, he has never held an executive position either. It seems like this attack could work against them. But judging from the convention the last couple days, you would think that the ticket was Palin/McCain.

BlueberryTomatoSoup

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Friday June 20, 2008 · 11:48 AM PDT

2008/06/20 · 11:48

Texas A&M University vs. University of Texas. University of Michigan vs. Ohio State University. Duke University vs. University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. They make for great Thanksgiving games, and for good football (and other sports, but really football gets the most attention). We, as a nation, have grown up on rivalries and division. It defines us as Americans, and the fact that we don't riot at every game makes us different from the British. But the division is unhealthy in our politics, and Obama has urged us to be better, to be united as Americans. So I have a proposal for everyone of you liberal elite in the ivory towers across the nation (I know you are reading this). Let's overcome our traditional rivalries for Obama.

BlueberryTomatoSoup

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 30, 2008 · 12:03 AM PDT

2008/05/30 · 00:03

No matter what hundreds of posters on blogs across the web are saying, the democratic primary is as good as over. But among all of the speculation of what went wrong and what went right, people have a tough time agreeing on what the critical moments in the race were. I believe that we can look to the super delegates to identify those critical moments. Without going into details of why they are so important, the Potomac primaries and the May 6th primaries are clearly the two most important moments for Obama by this metric. March 4th was a significant blow to Obama despite not hurting his delegate lead significantly, and as it turns out, Pennsylvania was not that important.

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The fear of expatriating

A possible unintended consequence of polling

"Global warming is beneficial to the ... state of Montana"

Paleoclimatology Primer 2

Common Scientific Misconceptions That Irk Me

The bad math of astrology

Paleoclimatology Primer

Texans wear their politics on their chests

Why ignoring Palin and targeting McCain is a mistake, hockey edition

The Great Experience Conundrum

College Unity for Obama

History through the eyes of the supers