Stop Physics Experiment

2008.05.15 - Thursday

Stop Physics Experiment - The Petition Site

One of the great things about the internet is that it serves to expose every wackjob group of morons with every kind of ignorant, almost incomprehensible opinion. It sure makes for some great laughs for the rest of us. Be sure to check out the comments for some prime material.

"I am not versed in the way of science all that much but..."

"I do not support the Hadron experiments! Fortunately the atmosphere did not ignite during the first atomic blast."

These an a whole forty one, that's right, forty one other signatures will surely sway the planet's finest scientific minds. I'm glad I can sleep soundly knowing these kinds of watchdogs are out there, protecting me from the deadly, planet-killing experiments of scientists everywhere.

Carrier

2008.05.10 - Saturday

Carrier|PBS

I highly recommend watching this PBS documentary series. I watched all of the episodes online and enjoyed it enough to make a donation. While the series is low on technical information, that was okay by me since I've seen more than a few "how a carrier works" programs. The purpose of the PBS show is to give the viewer a sense of what life is like aboard the USS Nimitz during a deployment. The show does a good job of getting across the good and bad of life in the US Navy. I suppose people will see what they want to see, to some degree. For me, it simply gave me a greater appreciation for what these people go through to provide our security.

I was particularly heartened by the number of crew interviews where people give their reasons for joining the military in the first place. A good deal of the young, enlisted crew come from broken homes, a life of gang violence, drugs, and crime, or from poor rural towns with few prospects. They were able to recognize, either through example or common sense, where those lives were leading them. They made a choice to change that course, and almost all of them say that while the Navy may not be ideal, it has taught them to be better people. To be productive. To be responsible. "If it weren't for the Navy, I'd probably be in jail, or dead" is a common statement in "Carrier". It's nice to see hard evidence that, contrary to what some may preach, Human beings don't simply react to society's programming, unable to escape their pre-determined lot.

Serving during a deployment on a carrier is physically exhausting and mentally crippling. There seem to be a million things to hate about it. Yet these people recognize that whether they agree or not, whether they want to or not, whether they need to or not, it must be done. Some do it to serve their country, others to serve themselves. At the end of the day, I didn't get the impression that too many of them regret being there. That's a good enough endorsement for me.