Monday, July 31, 2006
Morning-after pill may be available without prescription
FDA reverses course on morning-after pill
Proposal would allow Plan B sale to women over 18 without prescription
Monday, July 31, 2006; Posted: 12:52 p.m. EDT (16:52 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government revived efforts Monday to widen access to the morning-after pill, but only to women 18 and older, issuing a surprise announcement that it was reconsidering over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed.
Full article
I am pleased that the morning-after pill is being reconsidered for over-the-counter sale and hope it becomes a reality as soon as possible.
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Proposal would allow Plan B sale to women over 18 without prescription
Monday, July 31, 2006; Posted: 12:52 p.m. EDT (16:52 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government revived efforts Monday to widen access to the morning-after pill, but only to women 18 and older, issuing a surprise announcement that it was reconsidering over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed.
Full article
I am pleased that the morning-after pill is being reconsidered for over-the-counter sale and hope it becomes a reality as soon as possible.
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/31/2006 01:56:00 PM 
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Final grades for my class
A: 1
A-: 1
B+: 0
B: 1
B-: 0
C+: 4
C: 4
C-: 4
D+: 1
D: 1
F: 6
WU: 3
I feel bad about having to fail some of my students but I require at least a "plurality" (i.e., 51%) for a D.
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A-: 1
B+: 0
B: 1
B-: 0
C+: 4
C: 4
C-: 4
D+: 1
D: 1
F: 6
WU: 3
I feel bad about having to fail some of my students but I require at least a "plurality" (i.e., 51%) for a D.
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/29/2006 04:59:00 PM
Monday, July 24, 2006
God and critical thinking
A foul miasma of ignorance hangs over Peezee’s blog, which arises from his posts and the oleaginous comments of his many encomiasts. Among the offal, I noted a comment concerning God and critical thinking that asserted to date no one has attained belief in God via critical thinking.
Now, I happen to know of this commenter, and I would attribute his bull**** remark to his incomplete education.
We live in an ordered, rational universe that obeys mathematical laws. There is no reason why this should be so. To quote a famous physicist, "The most incomprehensible thing about our universe is that it is comprehensible." There is no reason why exp[i*(pi)] should equal -1, or why the integral of an analytic function around a simple closed contour in the complex plane should equal 0, or why many other incredible results from the mathematical and physical sciences should be so. Thus, thinking men (and women) have reasoned there is an Intelligent Causal Agent behind it all, and they are justified in so doing.
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Now, I happen to know of this commenter, and I would attribute his bull**** remark to his incomplete education.
We live in an ordered, rational universe that obeys mathematical laws. There is no reason why this should be so. To quote a famous physicist, "The most incomprehensible thing about our universe is that it is comprehensible." There is no reason why exp[i*(pi)] should equal -1, or why the integral of an analytic function around a simple closed contour in the complex plane should equal 0, or why many other incredible results from the mathematical and physical sciences should be so. Thus, thinking men (and women) have reasoned there is an Intelligent Causal Agent behind it all, and they are justified in so doing.
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/24/2006 12:10:00 AM
Sunday, July 23, 2006
The Resurrection and the Laws of Thermodynamics
Over at his blog, I noticed Peezee uncritically pimped this article by Natalie Angier, a "science reporter" for the New York Times. In reading her diatribe, the following stood out:
"Nor do the researchers wring their hands over the 80 percent who believe in the resurrection of Jesus, the laws of thermodynamics be damned."
Apparently, actually knowing science is not a prerequisite for reporting on it. Here are the laws of thermodynamics in their various formulations:
As you can see, there is nothing that pertains to the Resurrection in those laws. In fact, her statement reminds me of the old creationist claim that the 2nd law of thermodynamics rules out evolution.
I previously established that Peezee can't count, and since he pimped this article without reservation or objection I must conclude that he is inept when it comes to thermodynamics as well. (This comes as no surprise, given the developmental biology bull**** he concerns himself with.)
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"Nor do the researchers wring their hands over the 80 percent who believe in the resurrection of Jesus, the laws of thermodynamics be damned."
Apparently, actually knowing science is not a prerequisite for reporting on it. Here are the laws of thermodynamics in their various formulations:
0. If two systems are separately in thermal equilibrium with a third system, they are in equilibrium with each other.
1. The heat supplied is equal to the increase in internal energy of the system plus the work done by the system. Energy is conserved if heat is taken into account.
2. It is impossible to construct a device that operates in a cycle and whose sole effect is to transfer heat from a cooler body to a hotter body. (Clausius)
It is impossible to construct a device that operates in a cycle and produces no other effect than the performance of work and the exchange of heat with a single reservoir. (Kelvin-Planck)
3. All reactions in a liquid or solid in thermal equilibrium take place with no change of entropy in the neighborhood of absolute zero. (Nernst)
The entropy of a true equilibrium state of a system at absolute zero is zero. (Planck)
It is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero using a finite number of processes.
As you can see, there is nothing that pertains to the Resurrection in those laws. In fact, her statement reminds me of the old creationist claim that the 2nd law of thermodynamics rules out evolution.
I previously established that Peezee can't count, and since he pimped this article without reservation or objection I must conclude that he is inept when it comes to thermodynamics as well. (This comes as no surprise, given the developmental biology bull**** he concerns himself with.)
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/23/2006 10:03:00 PM
Friday, July 21, 2006
MAD TV Terminator Clip
I love the following clip. It is a MAD TV skit from some years ago where the terminator is sent back in time to protect Jesus.
"Forgive him Father. He is a robot from the future."
ROFL!
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"Forgive him Father. He is a robot from the future."
ROFL!
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/21/2006 10:10:00 PM
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins
Excerpt:
The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.
Full Article
(Thanks to my CF friend Voegelin for posting this to CF.)
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The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.
Full Article
(Thanks to my CF friend Voegelin for posting this to CF.)
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/13/2006 09:21:00 PM
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Results of my first exam
A: 2
B+: 1
B: 1
B-: 1
C+: 4
C: 2
C-: 2
D: 4
F: 8
As you can see, this distribution is skewed to the left. :-)
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B+: 1
B: 1
B-: 1
C+: 4
C: 2
C-: 2
D: 4
F: 8
As you can see, this distribution is skewed to the left. :-)
# posted by O'Brien @ 7/02/2006 03:08:00 PM
