I recently discovered that the NASA "Sex in Space" article I posted and commented on earlier this year was in fact false. I didn't do a very good job of researching the story, so I would like to apologize for the false information. From now on, I'll do a little more investigating, especially with such a seemingly-strange story.
PS - Dr. Hanson (our JMC professor) gave me a great website where you can check if a story is really true or not: snopes.com
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Foxes on a trampoline
A friend of mine showed this video to me last week (with my last name being Fox, I get a lot of this sort of thing) and I loved it so much I just had to share it with everyone. It really has nothing to do with anything (except maybe to demonstrate how many random things you can find on YouTube), but it made me laugh. Hope you all enjoy it too!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Nebraska issues for editorial
Nebraska troops returning to overseas duty
Many Nebraskan soldiers will be shipping out for a year to Kuwait and Iraq, likely not to return until early 2010. Half of the soldiers have already completed at least one tour of Iraq or Afghanistan. How much longer will our men and women be leaving their families to go overseas? Does President Obama have any plans that will soon be put into action to start bringing troops home from overseas?
Nebraska banks are strong compared to others around the country
John Munn, director of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance says that Nebraska banks are in good shape compared to other banks around the nation. Munn credits Nebraska's large agricultural economy as a saving grace. How long will Nebraska's booming economy keep its head above water in today's economy?
College students awarded over $12 million in grants
Nebraska's neediest students were awarded over $12 million in college grants in the 2007-2008 year. Funding for the grants comes from Nebraska lottery proceeds, among other things. Will the declining economy, will college students ineligible for grants and scholarships be forced to re-evaluate their educational plans?
Many Nebraskan soldiers will be shipping out for a year to Kuwait and Iraq, likely not to return until early 2010. Half of the soldiers have already completed at least one tour of Iraq or Afghanistan. How much longer will our men and women be leaving their families to go overseas? Does President Obama have any plans that will soon be put into action to start bringing troops home from overseas?
Nebraska banks are strong compared to others around the country
John Munn, director of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance says that Nebraska banks are in good shape compared to other banks around the nation. Munn credits Nebraska's large agricultural economy as a saving grace. How long will Nebraska's booming economy keep its head above water in today's economy?
College students awarded over $12 million in grants
Nebraska's neediest students were awarded over $12 million in college grants in the 2007-2008 year. Funding for the grants comes from Nebraska lottery proceeds, among other things. Will the declining economy, will college students ineligible for grants and scholarships be forced to re-evaluate their educational plans?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
presidential sugar rush
I ran across this video and wanted to share it with everyone. I might come back and write a more in-depth blog about it later, but for right now I just wanted to comment on his level of enthusiasm (no more Red Bulls for this kid!) and how impressed I was with his question for President Obama. I didn't realize how much people his age (and my age) actually paid attention to this sort of thing (maybe it's just me).
Maybe Miss Daisy needs a new driver
You slam on the brakes and hit your horn, yelling a few choice phrases at your dashboard. You quickly change lanes, fully intent on teaching the jerk who just cut you off a little sign language as you pass, but instead you see the sweet old couple from Perkins puttering along in their Buick. So instead you sigh in resignation and drive on. You can't flip the bird to Granny and Gramps, they're old!
I was on my way to Wal-Mart the other day (which is an entirely different blog in itself) and while I wasn't in a huge hurry, I still wanted to get where I was going in decent time. So I'm cruising down 2nd Ave at around 37 mph when I see almost every car in my lane switch suddenly to the other. Once the traffic cleared, I saw why. A white Taurus was puttering along ahead of me, and from the back, all I could see was a puff of white hair just barely above the seat.
I slowed down, thinking the person must be turning soon, but their blinker never came on. Their brake lights did though. Repeatedly. On every. Single. Hill. The speed limit along that stretch of 2nd is 40 mph. We were racing along at the whopping speed of 25 when they would hit their brakes and slow down to a more-cautious 20 mph while going downhill (because roads are so dangerously slick on bright sunny days). Finally, their right blinker started to flash...the only problem was it flashed for a good two blocks straight. We approached a green light and I exhaled a sigh of relief that maybe they would finally turn. Well, not quite. The car stopped. It came to a complete stop, and I slammed on my brakes while fighting back the urge to honk my horn and yell obscenities out my window. We paused at the green light for a couple seconds before the car began to inch its way around the corner just as the light went from green to yellow. I didn't make it through the stoplight.
Now, I know that someday I am going to be a senior citizen and I would be extremely upset if someone told me I was "too old to drive," but I really do believe that after a certain age, drivers should have to retake the driving test (I don't mean the written part, I mean the actual driving part) more often just to make sure they are still suitable to have a driver's license. That's my opinion anyway. If you would like to read a little more on the senior citizen driving debate, check out this article.
I was on my way to Wal-Mart the other day (which is an entirely different blog in itself) and while I wasn't in a huge hurry, I still wanted to get where I was going in decent time. So I'm cruising down 2nd Ave at around 37 mph when I see almost every car in my lane switch suddenly to the other. Once the traffic cleared, I saw why. A white Taurus was puttering along ahead of me, and from the back, all I could see was a puff of white hair just barely above the seat.
I slowed down, thinking the person must be turning soon, but their blinker never came on. Their brake lights did though. Repeatedly. On every. Single. Hill. The speed limit along that stretch of 2nd is 40 mph. We were racing along at the whopping speed of 25 when they would hit their brakes and slow down to a more-cautious 20 mph while going downhill (because roads are so dangerously slick on bright sunny days). Finally, their right blinker started to flash...the only problem was it flashed for a good two blocks straight. We approached a green light and I exhaled a sigh of relief that maybe they would finally turn. Well, not quite. The car stopped. It came to a complete stop, and I slammed on my brakes while fighting back the urge to honk my horn and yell obscenities out my window. We paused at the green light for a couple seconds before the car began to inch its way around the corner just as the light went from green to yellow. I didn't make it through the stoplight.
Now, I know that someday I am going to be a senior citizen and I would be extremely upset if someone told me I was "too old to drive," but I really do believe that after a certain age, drivers should have to retake the driving test (I don't mean the written part, I mean the actual driving part) more often just to make sure they are still suitable to have a driver's license. That's my opinion anyway. If you would like to read a little more on the senior citizen driving debate, check out this article.
Monday, February 9, 2009
"Hard News" on Yahoo!...try again
I realized this morning that I have fallen very far behind in my weekly blog posts (as I'm sure my class grade will show) so I logged on to Yahoo! news to see what I could dig up to blog about. Well, I'm afraid I don't have any one topic just yet, but rather a whole list of them. The "Featured Stories" on the Yahoo! homepage were the following: "New 'Dancing' Cast Revealed," "Tiger Woods and Wife Welcome New Baby," "Best and Worst Dressed at the Grammy Awards" and "NBA Team Scores 7 Points in 1.4 Seconds."
I'll admit, I'm just as much of a sucker for what we dubbed "soft news" and the next person, but even I am starting to think this is a little overboard. The different news tabs read "Featured," "Entertainment," "Sports" and "Video." I looked through each one of those tabs, and not one of them had anything other than "soft news" stories listed. What is the point of having those different tabs if they all list the same stories? "Featured" is pretty much the same thing as "Entertainment" and "Sports" and even "Video" looked like the YouTube homepage. But then, maybe that's what I get for relying on site called Yahoo! for my "hard news" (I don't mean to knock Yahoo! as a whole, it's just a little disappointing). It makes me wonder, are we really so detached from the major issues going on around us that all we care to read about is the latest American Idol scandal?
I'll admit, I'm just as much of a sucker for what we dubbed "soft news" and the next person, but even I am starting to think this is a little overboard. The different news tabs read "Featured," "Entertainment," "Sports" and "Video." I looked through each one of those tabs, and not one of them had anything other than "soft news" stories listed. What is the point of having those different tabs if they all list the same stories? "Featured" is pretty much the same thing as "Entertainment" and "Sports" and even "Video" looked like the YouTube homepage. But then, maybe that's what I get for relying on site called Yahoo! for my "hard news" (I don't mean to knock Yahoo! as a whole, it's just a little disappointing). It makes me wonder, are we really so detached from the major issues going on around us that all we care to read about is the latest American Idol scandal?
Monday, February 2, 2009
"That's so gay"
"Oh my God, that's so gay."
Very few phrases annoy me more than that little one right there. Not only do I find it incredibly annoying (every time someone says it, all I hear is the stereotypical blonde valley-girl voice in my head: "Like, oh my God, that is like, so gay!") I also find it incredibly ignorant. I'll admit, I've been guilty of saying this atrocious phrase a time or two as well which may or may not make me something of a hypocrite, but it was never something that just casually slid out of my mouth without my noticing as it does so many people around me. I had to MAKE myself say it (which should have been enough to stop me from saying it in the first place).
When you're trying to say something is stupid, would you ever consider saying "that is so Asian" or "that is so Jewish." Absolutely not, you might offend somebody with that kind of talk! Um...hello?!?! In my opinion it would be easier, less-offensive, and it would sound much more intelligent to say "that is so stupid" or "that is so lame" rather than "that is so gay" or even worse, "that is so homosexual." From now on, every time I hear someone say one of those things, I'm going to try and say "that is so straight" or "that is so heterosexual" and see how long it is before someone notices (or stops).
A friend showed me these ads, and I think they are awesome! Maybe they'll help people see this "casual phrase" from a different perspective.
Very few phrases annoy me more than that little one right there. Not only do I find it incredibly annoying (every time someone says it, all I hear is the stereotypical blonde valley-girl voice in my head: "Like, oh my God, that is like, so gay!") I also find it incredibly ignorant. I'll admit, I've been guilty of saying this atrocious phrase a time or two as well which may or may not make me something of a hypocrite, but it was never something that just casually slid out of my mouth without my noticing as it does so many people around me. I had to MAKE myself say it (which should have been enough to stop me from saying it in the first place).
When you're trying to say something is stupid, would you ever consider saying "that is so Asian" or "that is so Jewish." Absolutely not, you might offend somebody with that kind of talk! Um...hello?!?! In my opinion it would be easier, less-offensive, and it would sound much more intelligent to say "that is so stupid" or "that is so lame" rather than "that is so gay" or even worse, "that is so homosexual." From now on, every time I hear someone say one of those things, I'm going to try and say "that is so straight" or "that is so heterosexual" and see how long it is before someone notices (or stops).
A friend showed me these ads, and I think they are awesome! Maybe they'll help people see this "casual phrase" from a different perspective.
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