Godspeed, Atlantis

Today for the last time, an American space shuttle took off for orbit.  In about twelve days, Atlantis will land, bringing a close to the shuttle program.  Good luck to the astronauts, and all those involved with the program.  Now, for a few thoughts:

• When I went to sleep last night, there was only a 30% chance of the weather cooperating with the launch.  Looks like things turned out well on that front (no pun intended).
• The launch pad almost didn't let the launch happen.  At T minus 31 seconds, control reported a failure.  The "beanie cap" for the liquid fuel tank had not fully retracted.  However, a quick check on the cameras showed it had retracted enough, and the countdown resumed.
• The major networks (ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC) cut it close when breaking in for the launch.  I think ABC cut in about a minute before the scheduled launch at 11:26.  For crying out loud, this was the LAST ONE!  Couldn't they have cut in around 11:15 at the latest?
• President Obama also cut things close with his address on the jobs report.  I'm sure people will complain about not waiting until the shuttle launched.

In more personal news, I have signed the lease at the new place, set up the accounts for electric and gas, set a date for discontinuation of service for my cable account, and given my 30 days notice here.  Next week, I will be moving things over each day.  So if anyone has any free time and wants to help...

Also, I found out I'm getting an extra thousand dollars this summer.  Yay for advisors' research grants.  However, I do have to have a first draft of my paper ready by next Friday.  At least I'm a third of the way there.

And So Begins the Summer

According to any of the calendars in my apartment, we have passed the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.  And I am beginning to realize just how much I have to do this summer.

1. Finish the calculations for my research project and write the paper.  This will also count as chapter one of ?? of my dissertation.
2. Move.  The paperwork allowing me to move in with Jon should be completed tomorrow.  I will almost immediately begin moving stuff into the new place, with the large stuff hopefully being moved around July 9th.  If it weren't for the bed and dresser, I might have been able to get away without renting a U-Haul.  So, who wants to help me move?  (The official call for volunteers will come later.)  The move will require a lot of change of address notifications, and will allow to (finally) get a passport (no sense in getting one with an old address right now).
3. Plan and help lead the orientation for the incoming first-year math graduate students.
4. Maybe help my sister move on July 23rd.  (I've helped her move before and she has never helped me, so I'll have to see.  My mom isn't exactly pushing hard for me to help.)

So, yeah, a good deal of things to do this summer.  At least it looks like I don't have to preach in the next few months.

Oh, yeah, I need to make sure I'm free on July 8th, the scheduled day for the last ever space shuttle launch.  Definitely want to watch that one.

False Prophets

It looks like Harold Camping did it again.  Just as when he predicted the end of the world in 1994, his prediction/mathematical calculations were wrong in 2011.  (I would love to know what "error" he found in his 1994 calculations, though.)  However, it didn't stop the media from making a huge deal out of the possible doomsday today.  But, Christians who have actually read their Bibles already knew there was a good chance today would not be the day of the rapture.

1. Jesus warns his disciples, and us, about end-times prophets.  In particular, Luke 21:8 (all Bible quotations are from the NRSV): And [Jesus] said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and 'The time is near!'  Do not go after them."  
2. On the subject of prophets, the Bible has a very good test for determining false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22): "If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken.  The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it."  Since we already knew Camping prophesied falsely in 1994, we knew we did not have to worry about what he said.  If God had wanted us to know May 21st was the day of the rapture, I imagine He would have found an honest broker.
3. Camping kind of put himself in the position of God (Mark 13:32): "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
4. Jesus uses the analogy of coming like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:42-44).  I find it hard to believe a thief would post advertisements in the New York City subway and on the National Mall giving the date and time he is going to rob your house.

Now, if those of us who profess Christ and have read the Scriptures knew this, why was there so little heard from us on this matter?  One, the media don't want to focus on reasoned discourse.  They focus on sensationalism anymore.  Two, we weren't sure May 21, 2011, at 6 p.m. local time, wasn't going to be the second coming.  As stated in point two above, we just don't know.  Camping could have gotten a lucky guess.  And three, this kind of thing has happened so many times in the past, we have been a bit jaded by it.

Unfortunately, Camping and his group have done damage to Christianity.  He has scared people, believers and possibly some unbelievers, without cause (well, except maybe his own fame).  And he has allowed the addition of skeptics who will question if Jesus is even coming again, and perhaps the entire Christian faith.  They will scoff and point out this false prophecy, even though it is hardly in line with true Christian belief.  And of course, there is the whole thing with the people who spent their life's savings or donated it to Camping.  They will have some hard times ahead.

Yet, I am convinced some good has come out of this incident.  First, I imagine many people at least paused and considered what they had done with their lives, and how they would feel if there was not going to be a tomorrow to make things right.  Second, we may have gotten a glimpse into why God won't let us know the date and time of the second coming.  We saw the believers of this false prophecy withdraw into their families and their churches, which is human nature.  When facing the unknown, we tend to withdraw into comfortable surroundings.  However, this is not what God wants of us.  He wants us out there in the world, being examples of His love.  Pleading the case of the widow and the orphan.  Working for justice for the oppressed.  He doesn't want us spending the last week of our lives huddling in churches waiting for Him to come again.  He wants us working for the "least of these," instead.

Third Year = Over

Minus some paperwork and final determination of grades for my students, my third year as a graduate student is almost over.  As a result, I now know that yes, doctoral candidates do get assigned grades for their dissertation research "course" and that our advisors just click the "A" button on the grade submission website.  Even more reason why grades don't matter to doctoral students.

In good news, my students did really well on their final exam.  Twenty-five out of seventy got a score of 90 or higher (out of 100).  As a result, at least 21 of them will get A's for the semester.  I may be able to argue a couple of more cases on Tuesday when we finalize the grades.

However, with the end of the school year comes a laundry list of things that I need to take care of.

1. I have to register for a conference my advisor wants me to attend in October.
2. I have to join SIAM, a professional organization for applied mathematicians (again, because my advisor thinks it's a good idea for networking and such).
3. I have to take the car in for the 108,000 mile service before
4. Reunion Weekend!  Now just to make it to the second weekend in June for my summer vacation.  It remains to be seen if I will bring work with me.
5. See my family's financial advisor.  My mom and aunt sold my late grandmother's condo a couple of weeks ago.  My mom cleared $65K, so she is paying $13K of my sister's student loans off and giving me the same amount.  Some will be used to open a retirement account; I'll talk to the advisor about what to do with the rest.
6. It looks like I need to prepare for a move this summer.  However, I'm not putting in a 30-day notice until paperwork is signed.
7. After the move, I need to (finally) get a passport.
8. Oh, yeah, I have that birthday thing in seventeen days.
9. And a get-together with grad school friends on June 3rd.

In any case, the performance of my students has made me really happy.  So it makes up for the not-so-happy things earlier this month.

Last Call

Monday, I start the spring semester, complete with teaching duties (Wednesday mornings are going to be a pain), but lacking in classes for me to take.  As such, a relatively low-productivity break comes to an end.  But, I did accomplish some things over the past five or six weeks.

• Spent Christmas (and completed the requisite shopping, etc.) with family, finding out some interesting facts in the process.
• Gave a sermon on some of the mistakes in traditional Christmas imagery (if you want an emailed copy, let me know).
• Read a paper my advisor wanted me to read over break.
• Finished half of the regular season academic tournament math questions.
• Proctored a qualifying exam, earning $60 for sitting on my rear end for four hours.
• Started using the online dating account.  Whether or not it shows any utility remains to be seen.
• Created a professional web page.  I just have to add the html files to the public folder on the department's network.
• Spent some time with friends.  Easily one of the more enjoyable parts of break.

So, break was more productive than I anticipated.  May the same be said for the spring semester.

Proverbs 11:29

Today, one of the more heinous crimes that can be committed against a democratic republic occurred in Arizona.  A crowd meeting with their congresswoman was gunned down outside a grocery store.  The congresswoman was shot in the head, but is expected to survive.  Six others, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, were not so lucky.  Almost immediately, the reader comments on CNN's website devolved into accusations of either the liberals or the conservatives being behind the attack.

As of the time of writing this post, the gunman's motives have not been made public.  But what does it say that people are willing to believe the opposite political side would be behind this attack?  It says that the level of political discourse in this country has hit rock bottom.  This is in no small part due to the rhetoric from the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, and others on the extreme right and left.  Using loaded terms such as "communist" and "fascist" only serve to dehumanize the other side.  Such a level of discourse does a great disservice to a republic committed to the civil debate of the issues.  Neither side is committed to the destruction of the country, as neither side has nothing to gain by it. 

Ultimately, it appears that the face of this tragedy will be the Arizona congresswoman, and to a lesser extent, the slain federal judge.  But maybe the face of this shooting should be the face of that nine-year-old girl.  A girl who was with her parents to do some shopping, or perhaps with her parents to see the democratic process in person as a lesson, but was sadly in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Now, it is a bit early to say if this shooting was politically motivated.  But from the reactions today, we all know it could very well be.  If it was not politically motivated, we should consider this a warning to tone down the rhetoric.  Take a few seconds and think of a couple of good things that the other political side has done for the country.  An adversarial system is okay, so long as it is not taken to extremes.  Otherwise, we may see more of these nine-year-old girls in similar situations. 

Abraham Lincoln once compared the United States to a house.  (That whole, "a house divided against itself cannot stand," thing.)  And this brings me to the title of this post.  These political pundits and "leaders" who demonize the opposite side at every turn should heed this verse from Proverbs: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind."  And probably lead to the destruction of more innocent people.

In the Beginning (of 2011)

The new year is off to an interesting start, and all indications are that this trend will continue, at least for a while.  So, here is a forecast of sorts for me for 2011.

• Last night, I went to a trivia night at a bar in Baltimore with Oscar, Laura, and some of Oscar's friends from Baltimore.  I definitely see a good probability of me going the next couple of weeks.  I'll have to see when I teach to make a decision about the semester.
• I have officially advanced to candidacy.  With this comes a step increase (read: pay raise).  I also will no longer be taking classes, at least for a grade.  I may sit in on the occasional class but not worry about the assignments.  But 2011 will be the first year since 1990 I take no classes for a grade.
• I may have to get a passport this year.  My advisor mentioned the possibility of sending me to a conference in Italy for a week during the summer.  Hooray for my advisor's grants paying for it.
• If I don't make some progress on the dating front this year, I'm probably in big trouble. If I do make it to 2012 with the streak of no dates still intact, I will hereby give my friends the authority to act on my behalf with no veto from me.  (There, you have it in writing.)  Not that you guys can't try set-ups this year, but in 2011, I will still retain veto power.
• It looks like I may be off the hook for preaching the rest of the year.  The council president thinks the council has found an interim pastor.  There are still some details to work out, so this could be a false stand-down.  But in any case, the sermon seemed to go well.  I've had to email the written copy out to about half a dozen people.
• Here's hoping we don't see the snowfall this winter we saw last winter.
• I now have a couple of weeks of boredom ahead of me since I finished reading that paper yesterday.
• One set of math questions sent out, six more sets to go.

After finishing this, I realize that December will be fun when I revisit this list and look at its accuracy, or lack thereof.

May everyone have an enjoyable 2011.