Facebook Posts: Nov 2010

November 2010

NOVEMBER 30
Scott updated his status.
On Friday, I will discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life.
NOVEMBER 28
Scott updated his status.
in the Blue Mountains, where we have moved from summer to fall. Sitting by a fire while torrents of rain pelt down outside.
NOVEMBER 27
Scott updated his status.
Family jetlag is contagious — I had almost none this time, but Benji’s jetlag kept me and Jill up most of the night, just as Jill and Jessica appear to be getting over their jetlag. Poor Benji, at 2AM he was jumping on me, trying to get me to come play.
NOVEMBER 26
Scott updated his status.
Loving Sydney. Spent the the day with the kids at the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Center while Jill did her talk. And loving the fantastic weather. Hope everybody had a great Turkey day back home.
NOVEMBER 23
Scott updated his status.
Feel like I could use a lung replacement before 4 flight journey to Oz. My plan is to load up on the nighttime cold medicine and sleep through most of it. Jill might be stuck with the kids, but at least she’s not wheezing.
NOVEMBER 22
Scott updated his status.
suffering from some sort of bronchial awfulness — Benji doesn’t sound so hot either. Hoping we hold up ok for tomorrow’s travel, though I’m certain getting out of the poison gas clouds will be an improvement.
NOVEMBER 21
Scott shared a link.

Satser på tiltak som ikke virker
www.bt.no
Poison skies. Glad we’re getting out of here for a while.
Scott shared a link.

Luftkvalitet.info – luftkvalitet i Norge
www.luftkvalitet.info
It’s interesting how my colds almost always seem to correspond to periods when Bergen has air pollution problems. Interesting in a “Winter makes me think about moving somewhere where I won’t die coughing up blood” sort of way.
NOVEMBER 20
Scott shared a link.

Exquisite Code – a set on Flickr
www.flickr.com
I participated in a collective writing project driven by constraints called Exquisite Code (exquisite-code.com)
as part of the Piksel festival in Bergen on Nov 20. 2010. The project
involved a lot of walking and writing. Directions sent me to arbitrary
locations and then determined certain cutup modifications to the texts I
was writing. All of the writing was then put into a system with writing
by 10 other writers who writing according the same procedures at the
same time. Something else will then become of this collective text. Here’s a photoset documenting my 8 hours of walking and writing.
Scott updated his status.
Laid up with a cold the past couple of days, but read The Raw Shark Texts — a good book, worth a read.
NOVEMBER 17
Scott shared a link.

More Colleges Are Using Hand-Held Devices as Classroom Aids
www.nytimes.com
Awesome. I want clickers for my students too.
Scott updated his status.
My children have nearly driven me to an Apollonian style of life. I crave order and take pleasure in clean surfaces, well-mopped floors, silent rooms.
NOVEMBER 16
Scott updated his status.
“For Majesty Magazine, this is absolutely wonderful.”
Scott updated his status.
My condolences to the family of Dick Cheney. He does not look good. Should he die, I hope that he is treated to a full state funeral at an undisclosed location underground.
NOVEMBER 15
Scott updated his status.
The plumber comes, what was allegedly going to be a minor repair turns into a main replacement. Numbers are thrown about and enlarge. Shower and toilets will be out for me for a number of hours, apparently.
NOVEMBER 14
Scott updated his status.
My daughter is “building a car” by moving every chair in the house into the family room.
Scott updated his status.
A week and half until we leave for Oz.
Scott shared a link.

As Glaciers Melt, Scientists Seek New Data on Rising Seas
www.nytimes.com
While congressmen fiddle, Greenland melts.
Scott wrote on Scott Hermanson’s timeline.
I’m never sure if you are playing soccer or conducting an acid test. Your league’s team names suggest that it was founded by Timothy Leary.
NOVEMBER 11
Scott shared a link.

Education Protest in London Turns Violent
www.nytimes.com
Conservative education reforms turn London protesters French.
NOVEMBER 10
Scott updated his status.
Just booked tickets to Naples in January. Looking forward to eating in Italy. Sometimes I like my job.
NOVEMBER 9
Scott wrote on Talan Memmott’s timeline.
Talan I have been meaning to say you have aged well. Since shaving and adapting a 19th century panache (the short silk scarf tied about the neck is a nice touch) you look 20 years younger.
NOVEMBER 8
Scott updated his status.
Just finished reading Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom — pretty good novel, in a Franzeny social realism sort of way.
NOVEMBER 7
Scott updated his status.
Just had a nice dinner with people from the US embassy and the Fulbright foundation. We’re looking forward to hosting some Fulbright scholars here next term and for the next couple of years.
Scott updated his status.
We’re going to be traveling on Thanksgiving so we made Thanksgiving dinner tonight — the works: pumpkin soup, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce.
NOVEMBER 6
Scott shared a link.

Rachel Maddow Explores Right Wing Lying Echo Chamber
gdata.youtube.com
Rachel Maddow has a point, I think. As we puzzle out how right wing lies become right wing realisms, we need to step back and take a look at how these lies spin out of control. She blames the echo chamber. I am operating with a new thesis: most white people are stupid. Now I’m not saying that you are personally stupid, just because you are white. But I think that a good majority of white people in the United States are dumber than dirt. It is not your fault. But you need to spend more on your education system, or your children will also turn out stupid.
Scott wrote on Eirik Oliver’s timeline.
Well aged, like a fine wine.
NOVEMBER 5
Scott wrote on Leonardo Flores’s timeline.
Have a great one, Leonardo.
Scott updated his status.
Got some actual toys as presents for my 40th — a little remote control helicopter, a remote control car, and one of them fancyass nespresso coffee machines — and had fun playing with them this afternoon. The helicopter made Jessie shriek with joy, and Benji yowl with terror.
Scott shared a link.

Norway investigates reports of U.S. spying
www.cnn.com
Just for the record, I’m totally not involved in any of this activity. Sure I may have been asked to keep tabs on one well-known Norwegian-Australian blogger in a sort of deep deep uncover operation but I never report my findings to the embassy.
Scott updated his status.
I am now a fan of the IRS and the child tax credit. I can’t believe the IRS sent me a letter to tell me they might owe me some money. After spending an hour filling out a form, it appears they somehow rather incomprehensibly do. God Bless America, and three cheers for the Internal Revenue Service.
NOVEMBER 4
Scott wrote on Davin Heckman’s timeline.
Happy B-Day, Davin.
Scott updated his status.
I’m in favor of letting the jetlagged baby stay up and watch TV with us, but Jill thinks the screaming a necessary curb. Aussies are tough.
Scott shared a link.

WTF has Obama done so far?
whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com
BFD. He didn’t get in a constitutional amendment guaranteeing me the right to hunt and fish.
Scott updated his status.
Lost amid the political theatre: voters in Arkansas and Tennessee now have a constitutionally guaranteed right to hunt! In the crush towards socialism we often lose sight of the important things. You never know when the govt of Arkansas or Tennessee might go trying to take away your right to hunt so you may as well put it right there in your damn constitution.
NOVEMBER 4
Scott updated his status.
Today I received a letter from the IRS. I opened the letter with a certain amount of dread, and yet it suggests that I may be entitled to some money. I do doubt it, but it was a pleasant surprise, as if the USA were whispering “Don’t give up, we will pay you to remain steadfast.” Or it may be a coded message from my CIA handler.
Scott shared a link.
How Obama Saved Capitalism and Lost the Midterms
opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
A few stubborn facts the right wing forgot on their way to the hill.
Scott shared a link.

Ok GO * We Dug a Hole * 2000 (UNSIGNED)
gdata.youtube.com
A song for the American 2010 electorate: “We dug a hole, and put our heads in it.”
Scott updated his status.
It’s mourning in America as ignorance and bigotry reign again.
Kyle Rettberg posted something via mobile.
Hey look, they made a video of one of your debates with your friend Chuck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnUfPQVOqpw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Scott updated his status.
The question is not *if* the American middle class will impale itself at the voting booth, but how deeply and how irreparably.
Scott updated his status.
Voted against the right wing insurgency.