the good old days

Next year, I’m paying for grad school by participating in a program which puts graduate students in science or engineering (like me) in middle school classrooms every week, to do demonstrations which help translate often vague scientific concepts into a form that kids can understand. So I’ve been scouting around for ideas of how to present science in ways that are both fun and educational.

Here’s an example… Let’s look at the concept that “The Universe is Regular and Predictable”. This is very important to science, because it means when we discover something (such as the law of gravity), we know it will always work the same way. Stuff always falls down due to gravity; it doesn’t sometimes float, it doesn’t sometimes fly up to the ceiling, it always goes down at 9.5 meters per second squared. Science WORKS because things are predictable, as long as we can figure out HOW they are predictable.

Now, please watch this little video below, and tell me if it helps you understand that idea.

It’s all so much clearer, isn’t it?

The sad thing is, the Science Cheerleader wants to make science more relevant to public discussion and policy-making choices. That’s a goal I completely support, and something that is desperately needed — but this series of videos, even though they are posted at the Science Cheerleader blog with paragraphs describing the science concept, make science look dumb and desperate in addition to obscure and confusing. It should be able to succeed on its own merits — there are plenty of ways to make science sexy without resorting to cheerleaders. The many, many women in science and engineering are not going to like this, at all. Many (hopefully most) men in science aren’t going to like it. It doesn’t even teach anything about science. So WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?

According to the site the Della can change a woman’s life. “Once you get beyond how cute they are, you’ll find that netbooks can do a lot more than check your e-mail.” Yes you can “find recipes online” and you can use them “to track calories, carbs and protein with ease, watch online fitness videos, map your running routes and more.” — Fudzilla

Wow. I totally can’t do that with my high-powered built-from-scratch non-Dell(a) computer. I better go alert my friend who’s head of tech support, because I bet her laptop totally doesn’t constantly stream online fitness videos and map her running routes for her. And wow they have a featured artist! Just what a girl needs.

Let me know when it babysits.

Those who feel that their cooking skills are sub-par might want to watch young bride Margie in the instructional film Cooking Terms and What They Mean from 1949. She makes anyone look better.

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Margie has clearly never been in a kitchen before (come on, she decides to make chocolate cake for dinner?) and even needs to learn what the term STIR means. “No, Margie, your cake didn’t turn out so well — because you didn’t understand a term in your cookbook!” Wow. Maybe Margie should suggest to Tim that they eat out. Frequently.

I assume this comprehensive film was shown to students on the first day of Home Ec class, reassuring them that cooking was really incredibly hard and they needed to take this class… otherwise, they ran the risk of being incompetent wives like Margie. (It’s interesting to note that this specifically Home Ec film made no pretense of the lessons being useful for a career outside the home, unlike others I’ve watched.)

Luckily, Margie discovers her cookbook has a glossary, and learns how to make a delicious cake instead of chocolate bricks. (How this poor woman dealt with an icing that called for boiling syrup to the soft-ball stage, I don’t know — the film conveniently glosses over that difficult culinary challenge.)

My daughter has a tendency to pick difficult birthday themes. When she turned three, she wanted Hello Kitty and trains — easy separately, difficult combined. This year, her fifth, she wants Batgirl. Think for a moment about how easy it is to find Batman paraphernalia for kids parties, then think whether you’ve ever seen Batgirl… well, at least she didn’t pick Manbat or Poison Ivy.

Sadly, I can’t put this video clip on a cupcake. (ZZLONK! ZLOPP! You’ve gotta love the Adam West Batman.)

The best part is neatly hanging up her jacket before going out to fight thugs.

Dear GameStop,

I buy computer and video games for myself. I buy them for my spouse. Over the next twenty years, I expect to buy quite a lot of them (and new gaming consoles) for my two children.

I used to shop at your store a lot. I’ve always been treated politely by the staff, whether I was simply purchasing an item or whether I needed help.

Then today, I saw this.

WOW.

Your corporation doesn’t seem to have the basic sense that the staff at your local store manages to display, and I don’t plan to continue subsidizing outdated nonsense about women not understanding gaming or being attracted to your store only because of a free Oprah or Cosmopolitan subscription. You’ve lost my business for life.

Regards,
Me

This afternoon my daughter insisted she did not want to learn math. ANY math. At all. We asked what she wanted to be when she grows up; she replied doctor, and I explained doctors need to know math — for example, to figure out how much medicine to give somebody. She frowned and said she would “just be a mom, then.” I pointed out that moms need to know math so they know how much money to spend on clothes and food and toys. So she decided she would never grow up…

I frankly don’t know where the math-hatred is coming from, since she’s only turning 5 next month and hasn’t learned addition, let alone anything hard. She has had to watch me struggle with thermodynamics homework for the last few weeks, and I suppose that’s been scarier to watch than I thought.

But I want to keep her excited about kindergarten next fall, and I’ll be showing her this later today — then do some age-appropriate math lessons. (Right after she gets home from her super-girly ballet lessons.)

Let’s face it — perfume was incredibly necessary in centuries when nobody bathed. Back then, it was vital to douse yourself in something to distract from your personal funk. But when you wash off the sweat and grime, there isn’t much odor to cloak.

The actress in this Avon commercial (instructional video?) has more fun than anyone should have when applying perfume — and also apparently wears far more perfume than is appropriate. (After all, “everone in the room” notices it…) Let’s face it — perfume was incredibly necessary in centuries when nobody bathed.

There’s a good reason you don’t see Mr. Perfume in this video — he’s died of asphyxiation. But don’t worry, her guests won’t notice the rotting body odor, thanks to the gallon of perfume on her pulse points!

OK, there are a lot of things disturbing about this comic book panel. But look at their faces. (No, not the registration errors which gave her a white moustache, look at the expressions.)

She’s obviously manic. ‘Nuff said.

But him — Depressed? Disappointed? Actually a zombie who’s “wait” was not eating her brain until their wedding night? It’s kinda hard to tell.

It’s also worth noting that they tell you the wait WAS worth it, implying that after the tedious religious formality was over they dashed off to a convenient closet and — um — “stopped waiting,” then came back out to pose for this PSA picture.

My Own Romance #31 via Lady, That’s My Skull

As you recover from holiday indulgence, you may wish to consider this advice before hurrying to start a diet.

Why Fat Women Are the Happiest

Fat women, especially those in middle age, are usually happier than thin women because they are better equipped to withstand the nervous strain brought on by the active pace now required of middle age women, according to Dr. McPhedran, of Toronto.

Women of 40 and 50 are expected to manage the household, take an active part in club and civic affairs, and still be fresh for parties in the evening.

All this is contrary to nature, and a reasonable degree of plumpness cushions the body against physical shocks and strain.

I am guessing the authority for that tidbit is Dr. Alexander McPhedran, who pops up in various medical literature in the early twentieth century. He appears to have been a cardiologist. He was head of the Canadian Medical Association for a while.

He also appears to be unable to understand that fat doesn’t function as a pillow for the soul. I must admit, it’s one of the more intriguing argument against having women involved in “club and civic affairs”, at least the skinny ones… but it still comes down to “Ahhh, feeble women!!”

It’s not my favorite “I’m a woman and I rock” classic song, but everything is better when Miss Piggy helps Raquel Welch sing…