Don’t Push Your Agenda [Because It Threatens Ours]

All throughout Christian circles, one will hear whispers and discussions about why LGTBQ behavior is immoral/sinful and those people are trying hard to push their agenda all over the US. One cannot go without hearing disapproving remarks about Gay Pride Day, snarky or mean remarks about protests to legalize gay marriage, or abhorrent exclamations when state after state legalize alternative forms of marriage.

I want to say this post is not in favor of “traditional marriage” nor does it support “alternative marriage” or sexual behavior. It is a conglomeration of thoughts on some concerning characteristics about how some Christians confront these issues. Specifically, Patrick Henry College’s (famous/infamous for its uber-conservative values) recent action against “non-biblical sexual behavior” and its surprising hypocrisy with regards to open thought, academic discussion, and handling real-world issues.

Since July, anonymous alumni and current students of Patrick Henry College (PHC) have been running QueerPHC, a collaborative blog that discusses real-world issues about sexuality. These students prefer to remain mostly anonymous however because, according to PHC, students are forbidden from “advocat[ing] non-Biblical sexual practices”. Yet PHC claims to be a staunch advocate of open-minded, academic discussions and supposedly encourages their students to wrestle with tough issues.

The college fights the idea of “non-biblical sexual behavior” with more than the words of the student manual, however. Over the past weekend, as QueerPHC write on their blog, “we received [a] message on our Facebook page…from Michael Farris’ official Facebook page.” (Farris is the Chancellor of PHC and a Constitutional Lawyer.)

“This page is in violation of our copyright of the name Patrick Henry College. You are hereby notified that you must remove this page at once. On Monday we will began [sic] the legal steps to seek removal from Facebook and from the courts if necessary. In this process of this matter we can seek discovery from Facebook to learn your identity and seek damages from you as permitted by law. The best thing for all concerned is for you to simply remove this page.”

In their words,

“The demand that we stop using the school’s name is really a thinly disguised demand that we shut up.”

Although Farris did send another message removing his threat to sue, Patrick Henry College has not only threatened to take serious legal action against former students over their blog (designed for students at PHC about experiences at PHC), but they have attempted to block the site on all campus servers and any URL’s linking to the site.

Time out—isn’t PHC supposed to be fostering open-minded discussions? Or do they want students who lead alternative lifestyles to “shut up” and stop “forcing their agenda” unless it’s the agenda that PHC agrees with?

NYMag wrote a short article on the whole incident in which they quoted an interview with one of the blog’s authors who goes by “Kate Kane”. “Kane” said,

“Despite the college’s claims that they foster open dialogue on tough issues, their first response on this has been to attempt to bully and censor us through the misapplication of copyright and trademark laws. We find that incredibly disappointing.”

I’m not going to draw any conclusions because this post is not supposed to convince or persuade but instead inform and foster a discussion (mental or verbal) about the words that PHC speaks compared with the actions it takes.

Graphing the Sierpinski Gasket (TI-84 Plus)

Part 1: CREATION

[PRGM][NEW][ENTER]

[LN][x2][SIN][x][8][x2][LOG][LN] “Sierpins” (abbrv. Of Sierpinski)

[2ND][DRAW] -> ClrDraw [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[2ND] [DRAW] -> POINTS -> 1: Pt-Off( [ENTER] (X, [ALPHA] [1] )
[ENTER]
[2ND][FORMAT] -> AxesOff [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[0][STO][VARS] -> 1:Window -> 1:Xmin [ENTER] [ALPHA][.][1][STO][VARS] -> 1:Window -> 1:Xmax [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[0][STO][VARS] -> 1:Window -> 1:Ymin [ENTER] [ALPHA][.][1][STO][VARS] -> 1:Window -> 1:Ymax [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[MATH]-> PRB -> 1:rand [ENTER][STP] [X,T,O,n][ALPHA][.] [MATH]-> PRB -> 1:rand [STO] [ALPHA][1] [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 4:For( [ENTER] [ALPHA] [ ( ] [ , ] [1] [ , ] [3000] [ ) ] [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[MATH] -> PBS -> 1: rand [ENTER] [STO] [ALPHA] [LOG] [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 1: If [ENTER] [APHLA] [LOG] [2ND] [TEST] -> 6: [ENTER] 1/3 [ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 2: Then [ENTER]
[ENTER]
0.5(0.5+[X])[STO]X
[ENTER]
0.5(0.5+ [ALPHA] [1] ) [STO] [ALPHA] [1]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 7: End [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[PRGM]->1: If [ENTER] 1/3 [2ND] [TEST]->5: [ENTER] [ALHPA] [LOG] [2ND] [TEST]->6: [ENTER] 2/3
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 2: Then [ENTER]
[ENTER]
0.5(0.5+[X]) [STO] X
[ENTER]
0.5(0.5+ [ALPHA] [1] ) [STO] [ALPHA] [1]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 7: End [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 1: If [ENTER] 2/3 [2ND] [TEST] -> 5: [ENTER] [ALPHA] [LOG]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 2: Then [ENTER]
[ENTER]
0.5(1+X) [STO] X
[ENTER]
0.5 [ALPHA] [1] [STO] [ALPHA] [1]
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 7: End [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[2ND] [DRAW] -> POINTS -> 1: Pt-On( [ENTER] (X, [ALPHA] [1] )
[ENTER]
[PRGM] -> 7: End [ENTER]
[ENTER]
[2ND] [DRAW] -> STO -> 2:RecallPic [ENTER] [6]

Part 2: EXECUTE

[PRGM] -> EXEC -> 1: SIERPINS [ENTER]
[ENTER]

Don’t Smell That? Psychopath.

New research discovers that poor scores on smell tests are a new weakness of psychopaths.

Methodology:

“In the study, psychologists at Macquarie University in Australia tested the noses of more than 70 college-age participants, all without criminal records. The researchers had the subjects try to identify common odors (like orange, coffee and leather) and distinguish between different scents.
The participants then were given personality tests to check for their level of empathy and psychopathic tendencies. For example, the subjects were asked to rate on a 5-point scale how much they agreed with statements such as: “I purposely flatter people to get them on my side;” “People sometimes say that I’m cold-hearted;” and “I have broken into a building or vehicle in order to steal something or vandalize.”

Personally, I’m still a little unclear as to how you would rate your B&E tendencies on a 5-point scale. Either you have, or you haven’t. No “maybe”, or “it depends”. But, whatever. The reports from the study outlined a correlation between a poorer sense of smell and psychopathic personality traits.

Ah, but they have another Achilles heel: speech. Research presented in 2011 (by this same study group or another one, the original article didn’t say) found that criminal psychopaths’ speech patterns can also give them away. When speaking of their crimes, psychopaths use less emotion and focus more on their basic needs than non-psychopaths, that research found.

Not to worry: Psychopaths are believed to only make up approximately 1 percent of the general population. And…that doesn’t include the potential psychopaths—the study group that the entire article was actually talking about.

Maybe psychopaths just suffer from perpetual head-colds, making it hard to smell and talk (to an extent). You know how it’s hard to pronounce your “m” and “s” letters when you’re stuffed-up. …just an idea.

Rose Colored Blindfold

I know it seems
Like this one could be
A love to set you free

But count to ten
Before diving in
You might see clearer then

You want it so badly
You’re falling so madly
in love, You just can’t stop

You’ve acted so guarded
Killed love when it started
Yet now you want romance

Take off your blindfold
Your rose colored blindfold
Return to who you once were

Don’t waste your days wanting
Wishing, thinking, dreaming
She’s just not the one for you

You want to love
To live, laugh, and love
But now is not your time to shine

Forget, and move on
Don’t linger here long
Continue to live what you’ve called life

And then maybe some day
You’ll find a reason or way
To wear your rose colored blindfold

iPhone 5: The iShizzle

Months and months of speculation and anticipation have finally come to an end. It’s official: Apple’s iPhone 4S is now a piece of trash. Phil Schiller has just officially announced the new iPhone 5 in San Francisco, less than a year since the 4S was unveiled. Here is everything (actually, hardly anything) on how cool this new gadget it.
.
> OVERVIEW

1. Offical name is iPhone 5 (no sh*t!). It’s 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S, 18% thinner, and crafted out of (what else?) glass and aluminum.

2. Pre-orders begin on Friday, September 14, and the device will ship to lucky consumers starting on September 21. It’s available in 16, 32, and 64GB models for the respective prices of $199, $299, and $399 when accompanied with a two-year contract from AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint.

3. There were rumors of a shnazy two-toned design. And it’s real. That 16:9 display runs at 1136 x 640 with five rows of icons. According to Apple, it’s “the most accurate display in the industry” because the touch sensors are embedded in the display as well.

4. As expected, Apple has also unveiled a brand new chipset for the iPhone 5: the A6, which Apple says is a full two times faster than the A5 chip in the iPhone 4S.

5. The iPhone 4S’s battery life wasn’t necessarily special, but the iPhone 5 has 8 hours of 3G talk time, as well as 8 hours of 3G and LTE web browsing to be precise.

6. Sound: audio system has been bolstered with a smaller, improved speaker, and there are also now three microphones in the mix: one on the front, one on the back, and another on the bottom.

7. There is a new connection port/cable called “Lightning.” We’ll look at that later. It’s cool too, no worries.

> THAT COOL NEW CONNECTOR CABLE/PORT
So, what is up with this, huh? For, like, EVER…Apple has used virtually the same USB connection cable for ALL of its devices; iPods, iPhones, iPads. But now the iPhone 5 gets its own, new cable, huh? Affirmative action blows.

TechCrunch.com:

Apple changed its long-standing 30-pin dock connector out for an 8-pin new standard called Lightning. But what does that actually mean for users? Well the advantages are mostly passed on through hardware design — not necessarily around performance.

Here’s the skinny: Apple made claims on-stage about improved speed and reliability, thanks to an “eight-signal, all-digital” hardware design. The speed could be better, but this is still based on USB 2.0 specs, not 3.0 or Thunderbolt. That means gains will be modest, not magical. And given that Apple recently made sure that its latest notebooks all have USB 3.0, that seems strange.

But it isn’t that bizarre, really. Apple would have had to do significant redesigns on the inside of the iPhone itself to make that change, and that would have cost more money and affected margins. Engadget senior columnist and long-time mobile industry analyst Ross Rubin told me via email that, while USB 3.0 seems like a logical way to go, that likely won’t happen for a while yet, but is probably an easy switch in terms of the tech in the cabling itself.

> A FREE IPHONE?

Yessir! The iPhone 5 will be sold for the same price as the current model it is replacing. The 4S will be sold for $99. And Apple is setting a price of $0.00 on all iPhone 4 models, provided it is accompanied with a 2-year service plan. …damn.

It is a good move because it now puts the iPhone 4S in direct competition with entry-level smartphones, such as the Motorola RazrM. These phones have (or, had) the advantage of price over the iPhones. But now…the game has changed. Apple wins quality and price.

The iPhone 5 looks fantastic, has the insides or a terrific machine, typical pricing, and allows older models to remove compeition from pathetic but cheaper phones.

And it has solidified one major question in the minds of Apple consumer and the company itself: the company will survive without Jobs. It will never be the same without him. It will never forget it. But it will be fine.

The Mask of Bane

Why does Bane wear a mask? (and does Tom Hardy have a problem with being masked while he plays a major roll in one of the largest blockbusters of Summer 2012?)

[second question first.] Actually, in several different interviews, Hardy said he has simply no problem with being masked. He loves the character, and is looking forward to the release of The Dark Night Rises. And seriously…its Tom Hardy! Mask or no mask, he’s awesome. No question.

But about the mask-thingy. In the comics, Bane is known for wearing a this mask. It’s something that is part function in addition to fashion, providing conduits which Bane uses to pump an enhanced steroid known as “venom” into his body. The venom serum gives Bane wildly augmented strength and stamina, but as a side effect it also makes him dangerously psychotic (kinda a bad thing). This makes complete sense when you think about the fact that Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Shadows uses psychotropic materials in their rituals and practices, as seen in Batman Begins with the blue flower that Bruce Wayne was tasked to carry to the League of Shadows hideout, and the hallucinatory vapor that was derived from that flower and used by Scarecrow for his fear gas.

On a different topic, something I learned about relating to Batman that I hadn’t not heard of before are the Lazarus Pits. Rumor has it (#adele) that these will possible be included int The Dark Knight Rises. In the comics the pits were used as “Fountain of Youth” sources for League of Shadows master Ra’s al Ghul to rejuvenate himself at key intervals. All of the pits, except one, were supposed to have been destroyed. But really, there are about five still in existence.

Point: Tom Hardy is a stud. His mask is awesome. The Dark Night Rises is going to be a fantastic superhero film.

X-Class Solar Flare, Approaching at 3.1 Million MPH

Yesterday, the Sun (that big planet that provides light and warmth and facilitates photosynthesis) unleashed a huge flare/solar storm. This is not an isolated incodent. Two other smaller, but still large solar flares have erupted in less than a week. The solar flare peaked at 12:52 P.M. in the state of an X-class sun storm, the most powerful type of flare the sun can have. [anything with x-class in it probably isn't good]

This particualr solar flare erupted from a part of the Sun named Active Region 1520 (or AR1520…for short). AR1520 is a part of the Sun currently facing earth. But the good news is that the eruption is still not completely finished. Dean Pesnell, Goddard Center, Greenbelt, MD:

It’s certainly not done. It’s only halfway across the face of the sun right now. We’ll be able to watch it from the Earth for at least another week.

Terrific. But here’s where it gets…better. As far as classifications of enormous explosions on the Sun are concerned, X-class is the worst. When aimed at Earth (like this one is), the most powerful X-class flares can endanger satellites and astronauts in space, interfere with navigation and communications signals, and damage power system infrastructure on our planet. (i told you anything with “x-class” was bad news)

Solar astrophysicist C. Alex Young of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center comments on the situation.

Because the solar flare erupted toward Earth, it sent a wave of charged particles toward our planet that could slightly amp up northern lights displays. It caused a strong radio blackout for some high-frequency communications systems, according to SWPC officials.

Yet, Young remains optimistic.

At this point, I think the impact is going to be relatively minor.

Oh, terrific. A solar flare/Sun storm in the worst classifications of Sun storms just took place yesterday in a region of the Sun currently facing our planet which results in radio outages, communication disruptions, particles of various/unknown sizes flying at us, and other fantastic stuff. But things are probably going to be okay.

So sleep well tonight. NASA has our back. They are watching the storm. And reporting on it. And then watching some more. Concluding that…the damage will be minimal.

Source.