Dan Pearce:
Hell, in the past (and to some degree in the present) I participated in it. I propagated it. I smugly took part in it. I’ll admit that.
And I did so under the blanketing term “Christian.” I did so believing that my actions were somehow justified because of my beliefs at the time. I did so, actually believing that such appointments were done out of… love.
A very personal and thought-provoking article that reminds Christians not to selectively embody the ideals they espouse.
This Saturday, Stillwater will play host to the 106th Bedlam Football Series matchup between the University of Oklahoma (OU) Sooners and the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Cowboys. In evaluating the previous 105 games, it is clear that the term Series is more apropos than Rivalry. I’ve compiled some statistics that illustrate just how historically one-sided the series has been in favor of the Sooners. These are especially interesting in light of the implications for #3 OSU (10-1) when they play #10 OU (9-2).
The overall record is 82-16-7 (.814) in favor of OU.
OSU is 6-37-5 (.177) at home.
Three of those wins occurred in the 1930s. The last win was in 2002.
OU has outscored OSU 2949-1063 (avg. 28-10).
OSU has been shut out 32 times, OU 11 times.
OSU has beaten a ranked OU team only three times, only once at home.
A ranked OSU team has never beaten a ranked OU team.
In recent years, OSU has talked about taking the next step and becoming a perennial football power. In fact, it may well be the case that OSU has the better team this year. This Saturday the Cowboys will again host the Sooners with a BCS (and potential national championship) bowl game at stake. Every time that opportunity has presented itself in the past, they have failed to take advantage. Until they prove it, what in Oklahoma State’s history would make you think they will?
Dr. Robin Tanamachi:
I’m thankful for having had the pleasure of watching several of my classmates pass their general examinations this semester. “The general” constitutes the last major hurdle before the dissertation defense, and a successful examinee becomes “A.B.D.” (all but dissertation). As a recent Ph.D. recipient, I have aggregated a few nuggets of advice for them. Some of these items may seem self-evident in hindsight, but may not be to those upon which the stress is piled higher and deeper. … Some of your biggest stumbling blocks may be internal. There will be days when you simply don’t feel like writing. You will suffer setbacks. There will be days you feel like throwing up your hands and walking away from the whole endeavor. Always remember that you are not the first Ph.D. candidate to feel this way (although many of us think we are).
As one of Robin’s classmates who passed the General Examination this semester, I found these valuable. As I enter the final year of my Ph.D., the advice on internal struggles especially hit home with me. There are days I want to quit. There are days I ask what the hell I am doing. There are days I struggle accepting the menial impact that my current work will have on science or humanity. There there are days that I have a razor-like focus and an unequaled motivation to do great work. It is always comforting to know others have shared these seemingly scattered feelings.
Also, if you are not following Robin’s blog, shame on you.
Marco Arment:
I choose to fit myself into most of Apple’s intended-use constraints because their products tend to work better that way, which makes my life easier. But that requires trade-offs that many people can’t or won’t make.
Previous-me tried to persuade everyone to switch to my setup, but I now know that it’s not worth the effort. I’ll never know someone else’s requirements, environment, or priorities as well as they do. I don’t know shit about Windows or Outlook or architecture.
You should use whatever works for you. And I no longer have the patience or hubris to convince you what that should be. All I can offer is one data point: what I use, and how it works for me.
A great summary that describes my own experiences. In the past, I was largely an asshole in recommending technology solutions - driven by an acutely myopic evangelism. I was passionate in describing what worked for me and openly disdainful toward anything else. In my view, when someone would disagree they were either too stupid to understand or willfully ignorant. In reality, it wasn’t others that failed to consider my suggestions, rather it was I that refused to consider their motivations. While I still struggle with an extremely black-and-white mentality, my hope is to limit my thoughts to what I use and why it works for me.
Michele Catalano at American McCarver:
Will forcing Paterno’s resignation mess up Penn State’s season? Sure it will. But anyone who puts the value of a winning college football season over righting a wrong has skewed priorities.
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said: “He’s the number one guy in college coaching and everybody looks up to Joe,” Bowden said. “When something like this occurs to his program all it just says is, ‘Joe, hey, you’re just like all of us. You have problems like all of us.’ “
Yea. Not many people have the “problem” of not having reported to the police their knowledge of the sexual abuse of ten year old boy.
There are moral victories and there are sports victories. Only one of them is important in the long run.
In 2002, then graduate assistant Mike McQueary witnessed a young boy being raped; innocence lost, soul destroyed. He didn’t call the police. Instead, he called his own father. The father didn’t call the police. The following day, the graduate assistant met with head football coach Joe Paterno to discuss what he saw. Joe Paterno didn’t call the police, he called the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a senior vice president, Gary Schultz. The two met with the graduate assistant over one week after the incident. They didn’t call the police. In fact, they merely told the alleged rapist, Jerry Sandusky, not to bring any children from his youth organization to the football building.
In summary, a child was anally raped. This was witnessed by an adult. The story was conveyed to no less than four other adults. Yet, instead of any one of these adults calling the police, they called each other. Instead of contacting the child’s parents, they remained silent. Instead of protecting this child, they protected themselves and their institution. Now people like Joe Paterno want us to believe it was okay for him to fail his moral obligation to this child because he did the minimum of what the law required. If Penn State University reciprocates this “protection”, if any one of these people continue to represent their institution, then we should all be disgusted.
UPDATED: Here is the complete grand jury presentation.
Michael DeGusta, via Matt Gemmell:
If you thought that entitled you to some support, think again:
- 7 of the 18 Android phones never ran a current version of the OS.
- 12 of 18 only ran a current version of the OS for a matter of weeks or less.
- 10 of 18 were at least two major versions behind well within their two year contract period.
- 11 of 18 stopped getting any support updates less than a year after release.
- 13 of 18 stopped getting any support updates before they even stopped selling the device or very shortly thereafter.
- 15 of 18 don’t run Gingerbread, which shipped in December 2010.
- In a few weeks, when Ice Cream Sandwich comes out, every device on here will be another major version behind.
- At least 16 of 18 will almost certainly never get Ice Cream Sandwich.
Also worth noting that each bar in the chart starts from the first day of release - so it only gets worse for people who bought their phone late in its sales period.
This follows news that Google’s flagship phone, the Nexus One, will not receive the latest Android 4.0 update.
Matt Warman, reporting for The Telegraph:
Owners of the first official Google phone, the Nexus One, will not be getting the upgrade, however. Barra said the hardware was simply too old to run the new operating system.
Too old? Contrast the Nexus One with the iPhone 3GS from Apple, a company that is often accused of forced obsolescence.
Apple often gets dinged for cutting support to older hardware, forcing users to upgrade if they want the latest and greatest software. So I feel it’s necessary to point out that the iPhone 3GS is 7 months older than the Nexus One. And guess what it runs? Apple’s just-released latest and greatest operating system, iOS 5.
The bottom line: this is bad for consumers, developers, and security. But hey, at least it’s open.
Apple recently posted video from the celebration of Steve Jobs’ life. The video is worth watching if for nothing more than Jonathan Ive’s speech (48:30). The enthusiastic and genuine manner in which he spoke of his friend and colleague I found most touching.
He used to joke that the lunatics had taken over the asylum as we shared a giddy excitement spending months and months on a part of a product that nobody would ever see, well not with their eyes. But we did it because we really believed that it was right, because we cared. He believed there was a gravity, almost a sense of civic responsibility, to care beyond any sort of functional imperative.
Now while hopefully the work appeared inevitable. Appeared simple, and easy, it really cost. It cost us all, didn’t it? But you know what? It cost him most. He cared the most. He worried the most deeply. He constantly questioned, ‘Is this good enough? Is this right?’
And despite all his successes, all his achievements, he never presumed, he never assumed, that we would get there in the end. And when the ideas didn’t come, and when the prototypes failed, it was with great intent, with faith, he decided to believe we would eventually make something great.
But the joy of getting there. I loved his enthusiasm. His simple delight. Often, I think, mixed with some relief. Yet, we got there, we got there in the end and it was good. You can see his smile can’t you? The celebration of making something great for everybody. Enjoying the defeat of cynicism. The rejection of reason. The rejection of being told 100 times, ‘You can’t do that.’
So his I think, was a victory for beauty, for purity. And as he would say, ‘For giving a damn.’
The Nielsen Company:
If it seems like American teens are texting all the time, it’s probably because on average they’re sending or receiving 3,339 texts a month. That’s more than six per every hour they’re awake .
On average, teens (aged 13-17) send more than one text message every ten minutes that they are awake. Females in this demographic are even more prolific, averaging 4,050 texts per month, or approximately one every seven minutes. I wonder how many of these are sent while driving?
This should also make it clear why cellular providers have little motivation to reduce SMS data charges, even though prices are absurd.
Berkeley Earth Project:
“Our biggest surprise was that the new results agreed so closely with the warming values published previously by other teams in the U.S. and the U.K.,” Muller said. “This confirms that these studies were done carefully and that potentlal biases identified by climate change skeptics did not seriously affect their conclusions.”
I wonder what will now take over as the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people"? Also, since fair is fair, someone please build Senator Inhofe’s family a tiki hut.
Today, Apple released iOS5, iCloud, and updated all associated software.
Apple also updated several of their apps for iCloud and iOS compatibility. You can check for updates on your iDevice or go directly to the App Store via the links below.
New Apple Software
Find my Friends - leverages location services to find your buddies
Cards for iOS - users create post cards and physically mail them
iTunes Movies Trailers - watch movie trailers on your phone
AirPort Utility - manage your Apple-based wireless networks
Updated Apple Software
Pages, Keynote, and Numbers - iCloud’s Documents in the Cloud
iMovie - iOS 5 compatibility and improved import
Remote - iOS 5 compatibility and bug fixes
Find My iPhone - updated to find your Mac
Check for other software updates on your device as third-party developers are now releasing iOS 5 and iCloud compatibility updates.
To update Apple TV 2, go to Settings -> General -> Update Software. Alternatively, you can grab the direct download.
To use iCloud on your Mac, you will need Mac OS X 10.7.2. To download the update, click -> Software Update. You can also grab the combo update directly from Apple (normal, server). Aperture and iPhoto were also updated with iCloud Photo Stream support. Those should also show up under -> Software Update.
If you are an existing MobileMe subscriber, you can migrate your account here. If you are new to Apple’s web services, or are unsure how to setup your iCloud account, go here.
