Warning: Contents Under Pressure

Okay, time to vent on some things.

First, a group of conservative "Christians" wants to revise the Bible. They say it is too liberal, so they want to revise it to make it more conservative. Uh, guys, if you are Christian and you think the Bible is too liberal, then maybe you should at least consider the possibility that the beliefs you hold are not in line with Christ. Yes, I know it is easier to follow Christ when you put your words into His mouth, but I am quite sure that is not the way things are supposed to work.

Second, I wonder if there is a recall provision for the Frederick County Board of Education. On tonight's "Board Chat" (a show the school board has for the general public to call in to get answers to questions on a predetermined topic), a woman named Donna called in to ask how much money the school system carried over on June 31 (and no, that's not a typo). First, there is no June 31. Second, the woman's last name is Crook, as in the Board of Education member Donna Crook. Yes, a member of the BOE had to call in because she did not know the budget for FCPS. Unfortunately, she enjoys favor from the county's resident Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh/black-book-celebrity Blaine Young and the other "tea-baggers." But for those of you who still have voting rights in Frederick County, do NOT vote for Donna Crook.

So that takes care of the venting for the past week or so. Now back to more mathematical things.

Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?

Now that I have Linux successfully installed on my laptop, thanks to Adam and Jon, I am left with a quandary: why did I wait so long to put Linux on here and scrap Windows? The computer runs more smoothly, the fan actually gets to stop running every once in a while, and it uses even less of the hard drive (I am using maybe seven gigabytes right now). Plus, I can easily install the LaTex compiler.

So, yes, I waited too long to act on something. It's not like this is the first time it has happened. Nor do I think it will be the last time.

However, Linux has now allowed me to delay making a decision on what to get for my new computer that my parents have offered to pay for. I'm still leaning toward a Mac, though.

And for those who haven't heard, I have (stupidly?) volunteered to give a lecture to 200 or so calculus 2 students on L'Hopital's Rule on the 23rd. I should probably think about preparing for that at some point in the near future.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

Yesterday definitely was a good news/bad news day.

Good news: for the first time as a graduate student, I aced an exam.

Bad news: my six-and-a-half-year-old laptop has "died." It still boots up and runs most programs, but doesn't want to connect to the Internet. So, I take this as a sign that it is time to get a new computer. I am thinking of either a Mac or a netbook. The Mac, so I don't have to deal with Windows but still get some compatibility with programs, or the netbook because of the price. I will shortly visit the campus tech store and also ask around.

As such, if you need to get in touch with me, the phone is probably a good idea for a while. I will still check email and such at school, though.

(Just About) Everything Seems to Be Coming Together

Well, I apparently get out of teaching next semester. My adviser has offered me a research assistant-ship in the spring. That means I get to read a whole lot of research papers on fluid dynamics, which will provide a way for me to get started on my preparation for my preliminary exam. And, no getting to campus for 8 a.m. discussion sections. Add this to the qualifying exam results, and it appears that I am hitting my stride in grad school. Finally.

So really, the only part of my life not going decently as of now is, of course, the dating part. However, in light of the other things, I can't say that I feel incredibly upset over that. Still, I'm kind of hoping something will work out, preferably soon.

Has This Nation Lost Its Mind?

A year or so ago, a Russian scholar predicted that in the next decade, the United States would fracture into six separate nations. I'm not so sure he's a nutcase anymore.

• Apparently, a lot of parents do not want their kids listening to a speech from the President of the United States because it could lead their children to "socialism." Yeah, that socialist ideal of taking responsibility for your own education will destroy this country. Unfortunately, several school systems capitulated to this vocal minority. Washington County would not allow schools to show it at all; Frederick County let the individual schools decide, leaving the teachers and principals high and dry. Funny, I seem to remember having to sit through several of President Bush's speeches in high school. I must have missed the outcry.
  
• The town-hall meetings/shouting matches. Nothing more needs to be said.
• Frederick County Commission John Thompson has proposed that Frederick County secede from Maryland because not enough money comes back to Frederick County. Yeah, the great state of Frederick. From my experience of living most of my life in Frederick County, I'm not convinced the state will be viable, even ignoring all of the constitutional issue of it actually happening.
• In what may be an unprecedented event, a congressman shouted, "You lie!" to President Obama during his speech last night. If he had done this while a fellow representative was speaking, rules of the House specify that he would most likely to be censured. However, there are no rules for the president, probably because previous generations could not imagine a time when a representative would have so little respect for the office. But, never ones to turn down a political opportunity, the Democrats have seized on the fundraising opportunity.

Unfortunately, the last point gives the media an excuse to avoid the hard work of investigating the health-care proposals and fact checking, and lets them focus on the "gentleman from South Carolina." This brings me to my hypothesis regarding one of the major causes to the "unrest" in the United States. The media do not focus on the facts of the issues. They focus on the horse race. They spend much of their time on polls and who has gained ground in the polls, what the people think, and who should be worried, rather than whether the people's feelings are founded in fact. There was even a poll out today on how people felt about health-care reform immediately after last night's speech. Really?

Since people focus on the horse race, and most people identify with one party or the other, they may feel they have a stake in the outcome. Therefore, their side has to win, regardless of the consequences. While competitiveness is sometimes appropriate, it cannot be the end-all in politics in a republic. Either the "my side has to win all the time at any cost" feeling or the republic must give. They cannot coexist. Unfortunately, I fear the former may have the upper-hand at the moment.

But, I am but a doctoral student in applied math. What do I know about politics?

Drumroll, Please.

The qualifying exam results are in. By some miracle, I passed not only the analysis exam, but the PDE exam as well. So, as long as I pass the fluid mechanics courses I am taking this year, I will probably be taking my preliminary exam next school year and start working on that dissertation thing. But as long as the AMSC committee approves the exam results (in what is very rarely not a mere formality), I will be finished with the written qualifying exams. I'm still not sure how I passed that PDE exam, though.

But, yeah, I'm still kind of on a high from the results. My students may be glad, since I'm more likely to be generous when grading their assignments.

Well, That Was Interesting

Only one word can explain this weekend: interesting.

• I gave sermon number two today. I was more nervous than I anticipated since a former pastor of the church was there, as was one of my sixth grade teachers.
• My mother's cat has yet to learn to keep his distance from me. I caught him trying to play with the zippers on my suitcase. Unfortunately, he doesn't mind being squirted with water.
• Both loops of the beltway had accidents near Silver Spring about the time I was heading back to the apartment. Fortunately, the time I've spent looking at Google Maps paid off, and I was able to figure out a bail-out route.
  
• The United States has become complacent about its manned space program. I went to watch the shuttle launch Friday night/Saturday morning, and discovered that CNN covered from about 45 seconds before liftoff to booster separation. MSNBC just showed video (no audio) of the launch in the lower corner. All so these two networks could show (again) documentaries on Ted Kennedy. They can't even take ten minutes (two minutes before liftoff, and MECO at about 8 minutes after liftoff)? Especially considering that not only is this the COLBERT mission, but Discovery, the launched shuttle, lifted off on its maiden voyage 25 years ago today.
• I think I started repairing some damage to something from some time ago today. We'll see how that goes.

Now it is time to start the new year. Tuesdays and Thursdays this year are going to be bad.

And, do people in the DC area want to get together and do something for Labor Day weekend?