Shad

I know you all probably already knew this, but the Sun does NOT revolve around the Earth. Quite the inverse actually. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have brought it up at all, but the NY Times is running an article that just made me want to clarify.

One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth…

Um. So. Yeah.

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Loppemarket, originally uploaded by Shad Reynolds.

Some concepts really are universal. The loppemarket is the Norwegian equivalent of a flea market: a little bit of everything for everyone. There’s just something about other people’s cheap junk that brings out that hunter/gatherer instinct in all of us.

This is an absolutely amazing internet phenomenon. Wikipedia has become an incredible resource for ongoing information about current events. The July 7 London Bombings was one of the first “events” where the Wikipedia community really showed what was possible. You could go there to find current information, phone numbers & lots of other information. It was even covered in a resent edition of On the Media.

Well now there’s a page for Hurricane Katrina and it’s really quite incredible how much information is there. Want to know the history of this storm? Where it came from? All the info is there and updated by the minute.

If it maintains its current central pressure, Katrina will be the most intense named hurricane to impact the United States since the naming of storms began in 1950 (and second overall since the recording of hurricanes began in 1851), being larger in size and slightly stronger than 1969 Hurricane Camille’s central pressure of 909 mb. It is compared with Camille since that hurricane was also a massive Category 5 storm which made landfall in the same general area. As of 10:00 PM CDT, Katrina’s central pressure is 904 mb (26.70 inches). It is also much stronger than the other Category 5 hurricane to hit the United States, Hurricane Andrew. The unnamed Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 that hit the Florida Keys was slightly more powerful, with a minimum central pressure of 892 mb.

To say that Wikipedia is a fundamental shift in how the internet “works” underestimates the importance of this shift. Wikipedia is more than another internet site, it’s a powerful new form of “Media”. Books, Newspapers, Radio, TV, Internet, Podcasts, Wikipedia.

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This letter has been getting a lot of publicity in the online world over the last week or two. I personally think that it’s pretty brilliant. The Kansas School Board has been debating whether or not “Intelligent Design” should be taught along side of Evolution. Apparently, the rule as currently written has a major loophole. Basically, it just states that alternative theories of Intelligent Design should be presented to students so that they can make up their own mind.

Well, the always well informed and thoughtful internet community has come up with a pretty incredible response to this. Basically, this page proposes a theory whereby the world was actually created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. What’s more, Pastafarians, as they’re called, claim that the FSM is angry due to the decline in recent years in the population of pirates.

Now, according to the rules being considered by the Kansas School Board, this alternative theory would need to be given the same treatment as Evolution and Christian Intelligent Design (it IS an alternative theory after all).

The best part is reading the responses from 3 of the (more liberal) Kanas School Board members. They actually think that if Intelligent Design is to be part of the curriculum, then it only makes sense to include FSM.

So, what do you think? Should these alternative theories of Intelligent Design be taught along side of cold, hard, scientific fact?

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Well, I’m finally back from my travels in the Fjords. Norway really is an incredibly beautiful place. I hope to get some pictures up in the near future so keep a look out.

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Hellesylt, originally uploaded by Shad Reynolds.

I’m in Norway! It’s fjord-tastic!

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An evening in Marrakech, originally uploaded by Shad Reynolds.

This man sells spices. He also apparently tells stories (or so I’m told). The vendors with the best stories sell the most spices. A pretty amazing business model if you ask me. I wonder if that would work here?

Holy crap that was cool. If you haven’t senator Joe Biden’s (D) appearance on the Daily Show, it was incredible. He suggested that there was a possibility of a ticket including himself and John McCain (R)! If this happens, it will fundimentally change the way American politics are done.

John Stewart hooks a little message onto the end of the European broadcast of the show. It’s his little message to the rest of the world to show them that not all Americans are caught up in this bizarro world. At the end of this show he said something to effect of…

Senator Joe Biden. Remember that name cause I think you’re gonna like him. Let me rephrase that… PLEASE LIKE HIM!!!

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off for a ride, originally uploaded by Shad Reynolds.

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Party!, originally uploaded by Shad Reynolds.