"The true criterion of the practical, therefore, is not whether the latter can keep intact the wrong or foolish; rather is it whether the scheme has vitality enough to leave the stagnant waters of the old, and build, as well as sustain, new life." -- Emma Goldman
Thursday, November 17, 2005
A picture's worth...
One of the things that I remember from 2001 was pictures of the dead from the WTC. They were quite horrific. So, I have a question: why is it ok to do the same sorts of things to other people? Take a look at RadGeek's post on White Phosphorus.
Email Incident
I just received another ememo in my inbox. This time, it's about a hate email. The chancellor wants to assure us that "[s]uch hate-filled words do not reflect the values of this campus community."
Good, I suppose, but what about the recent queer hate grafitti on a bench? What about the anti-asian graffiti in the downstairs UMC restrooms? Why was someone told not to discuss her sexual harrassment case? Why, when someone wrote a lewd message on an RA's door, it was investigated fully, and with forensic experts, but when someone writes "learn to like dick you fucking dyke" on a (straight) woman's door because she has a "safe zone" sign up, nothing happens?
Why is it that these "efforts to build a welcoming and supportive environment for all members of the campus community" 1) only seem to occur when there is a bias-motivated "incident" and 2) only seem to be aimed at the black population? (With all due respect and sympathy to Ms. Gebre-Michael and other members of the black community... but you're not the only ones.)
Why is it that these ememos seem to be damage control; a way to (try to) avert further scandals, rather than tools to actually discover the root causes of the incidents? (That's not the same as figuring out whodunnit... cops can do that just fine. The administration at this school should be examining _why_ these occur in the first place, and working to end them.) Why do they only come out after the press gets involved?
Why do I feel that, to paraphrase Mr. DiStefano, such hate-filled words _do_ reflect the values of this campus community?
Because change doesn't come because those in power say it does. Change comes when you and I make it happen.
Good, I suppose, but what about the recent queer hate grafitti on a bench? What about the anti-asian graffiti in the downstairs UMC restrooms? Why was someone told not to discuss her sexual harrassment case? Why, when someone wrote a lewd message on an RA's door, it was investigated fully, and with forensic experts, but when someone writes "learn to like dick you fucking dyke" on a (straight) woman's door because she has a "safe zone" sign up, nothing happens?
Why is it that these "efforts to build a welcoming and supportive environment for all members of the campus community" 1) only seem to occur when there is a bias-motivated "incident" and 2) only seem to be aimed at the black population? (With all due respect and sympathy to Ms. Gebre-Michael and other members of the black community... but you're not the only ones.)
Why is it that these ememos seem to be damage control; a way to (try to) avert further scandals, rather than tools to actually discover the root causes of the incidents? (That's not the same as figuring out whodunnit... cops can do that just fine. The administration at this school should be examining _why_ these occur in the first place, and working to end them.) Why do they only come out after the press gets involved?
Why do I feel that, to paraphrase Mr. DiStefano, such hate-filled words _do_ reflect the values of this campus community?
Because change doesn't come because those in power say it does. Change comes when you and I make it happen.
Truly a Musician's Joke
Just thought this was funny...
A C, an E-flat and a G go into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, but we don't serve minors." So the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished and the G is out flat. An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.
A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, "Excuse me, I'll just be a second." Then an A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor.
Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims, "Get out now! You're the seventh minor I've found in this bar tonight."
The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender (who used to have a nice corporate job until his company downsized) says, "You're looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development." This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au natural.
Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he's under a rest. The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility. On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.
The bartender decides, however, that since he's only had tenor so patrons, with the soprano out in the bathroom, and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest, and closes the bar.
A C, an E-flat and a G go into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, but we don't serve minors." So the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished and the G is out flat. An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.
A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, "Excuse me, I'll just be a second." Then an A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor.
Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims, "Get out now! You're the seventh minor I've found in this bar tonight."
The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender (who used to have a nice corporate job until his company downsized) says, "You're looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development." This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au natural.
Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he's under a rest. The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility. On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.
The bartender decides, however, that since he's only had tenor so patrons, with the soprano out in the bathroom, and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest, and closes the bar.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
SIDDS - Sudden Instant Disk Death Syndrome
So, I've spent the evening, not working on homework or finding other amusing things to do, but dealing with a massive hard drive failure on my server. The server which houses my mailserver, the psp brothers-only website for my chapter, not to mention years of work by me and miscellaneous other things.
I'm kinda unhappy right now. It wouldn't be so bad, except that I don't have a recent backup. (Shut up.)
I guess it's not as bad as it could be, though. The mediawiki that acts as the psp brothers-only website was on a seperate drive, so it should be fine. Also, a number of other files were there, so that's not so bad.
Nevertheless, I bought a new harddrive and now have to completely (or mostly) reinstall Gentoo on it, which will take a long time. I'm going to focus on getting the brothers-only site up first, though, so that's Apache, MySQL, PHP. Maybe when I build the mailserver this time, I'll do it right. ;-)
I'm kinda unhappy right now. It wouldn't be so bad, except that I don't have a recent backup. (Shut up.)
I guess it's not as bad as it could be, though. The mediawiki that acts as the psp brothers-only website was on a seperate drive, so it should be fine. Also, a number of other files were there, so that's not so bad.
Nevertheless, I bought a new harddrive and now have to completely (or mostly) reinstall Gentoo on it, which will take a long time. I'm going to focus on getting the brothers-only site up first, though, so that's Apache, MySQL, PHP. Maybe when I build the mailserver this time, I'll do it right. ;-)
Friday, November 04, 2005
Collapsing Menu Thingies!
Yay! So, I just added collapsing menus to my blog, using the code from http://www.dustindiaz.com/dhtml-expand-and-collapse-div-menu/. It was relatively easy, but it took a little tweaking to get it right. Anyway, enjoy the new collapsiveness, unless you don't have javascript enabled, in which case, enjoy the non-collapsiveness!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Scott's Blog
A quick update to let you know that my good friend and PSP Brother Scott has started a blog here on blogspot, so check it out! http://ortmage.blogspot.com/.
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