I was thinking of an out-and-out political rant, hence this post’s title. God knows, there is plenty to complain about what with wing-nuts of both stripes running wild in the streets these days. Good news from Dave, convinced me to temper my rant. So what you have left is a couple of political jokes and some exciting family news. Enjoy!
The good news is that last week Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak lost power. The bad news is that he is being replaced by his egregiously incompetent son, Hosni W. Mubarak. – David Letterman [Thanks Perma-Bear!]
Anne was the elementary school music teacher on Friday. In addition to band, she also did a little song and dance and then there was discipline: I don’t care if beans are the musical fruit; we do not make fart noises in class. The pictures with this post are Anne’s from her trip last Sunday to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Her photos have a decidedly wintry tilt. This is now much in contrast to the intervening week’s weather, what with highs in the sixties and seventies.
I am on a train to Baltimore right now for a conference. But I wanted to let you know that I got my first acceptance letter! Drexel [Philly] thinks I got what it takes. As of right now I’m just accepted and don’t have a research assistantship or any funding but the letter included a link I should go to apply for that. I’ll keep you updated as I find things out. – Dave
This is Dave’s first acceptance. He struck out last fall, but snagged an intern’s slot at NIH instead. He cast his net a bit wider this time. He applied to ten different institutions. Next week, he has a campus visit to Purdue.
And in Missouri, Republican state Sen. Jane Cunningham has introduced a bill that would eliminate her state’s child labor laws. Well, yeah, I mean, why should the 10-year-olds in China be getting all the good factory jobs? – Jay Leno
This bill would legalize employment for children under the age of 14, end inspections of facilities employing children, and remove restrictions on the number of hours a child may work. Cunningham represents the Saint Louis suburb of Chesterfield. I doubt that any of her constituents will be having their children work in factories, but as investment bankers, I could see that.
When I took those pictures last Sunday, it was in the high 60s, low 70s range, but it had only been a couple of days since we’d left below freezing temps. So there was still lots of snow and ice around. One of my favorite pictures is the reflection of trees in the melt water on top of the ice on the pond.
The female mallard was waiting patiently right near the post with the duck food vending machine. I’m sure she was thinking, “That’s right, put the coin in. Now turn the handle. C’mon, I know you can do it.”