He's very excited!
25.3.07
Another article, another dime
John found out a few days ago that his article Moral Status in Virtue Ethics was accepted for publication in the journal Philosophy. It may come out as early as July.
He's very excited!
He's very excited!
Spring Break
We had a fun spring break. It was a kind of de-tox from working too hard Spring Break.
First, we went to Chicago for a few days. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where there was an exhibit by Rudolph Stingel. One of the main pieces was a Bouddha with useful objects in its many hands. Cliché but entertaining and fun.
The view from our hotel window:
We also went to Millenium Park and saw that crazy shaped mirror sculpture.
Then, we went to Ohio to visit Erin and Sara.
We had a great time!
First, we went to Chicago for a few days. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where there was an exhibit by Rudolph Stingel. One of the main pieces was a Bouddha with useful objects in its many hands. Cliché but entertaining and fun.
The view from our hotel window:
We also went to Millenium Park and saw that crazy shaped mirror sculpture.
Then, we went to Ohio to visit Erin and Sara.
We had a great time!
23.2.07
Science Fair
We just finished the Science Fair at the school.
I created a blog for the school a couple of months ago.
I posted some pictures of different projects on the blog:
Science Fair!
You can't really tell much about the projects from the pictures, but I thought I'd post something about it, anyway.
I created a blog for the school a couple of months ago.
I posted some pictures of different projects on the blog:
Science Fair!
You can't really tell much about the projects from the pictures, but I thought I'd post something about it, anyway.
14.2.07
7.2.07
16.1.07
Homemade pasta
Last week, I thought it would be fun to make homemade pasta using a recipe from an article in Bon Appetit magazine that featured a chef from southern Italy.
Gray cat sat in the chair while I rolled out the dough, and John helped me form the dough into smaller shapes.
These shapes are called orrechiette: "little ears", but they look more like small pea pods.
Gray cat sat in the chair while I rolled out the dough, and John helped me form the dough into smaller shapes.
These shapes are called orrechiette: "little ears", but they look more like small pea pods.
13.1.07
Conference on Heresy, Blasphemy, and Freedom of Expression
I'm heading off to a conference at the University of Central Florida this Thursday. The conference is on Heresy, Blasphemy, and Freedom of Expression. These issues have received interest from folks interested in ethics and communication, given the issues raised by Muslim outrage over unflattering depictions of Muhammed.
In my paper, I argue (surprisingly perhaps for those who know me) that blasphemy should be taken seriously, but that it's not strictly concerned with the divine. For instance, Ward Churchill, the phony Native American UColorado professor blasphemed, I think, when he said that those in the WTC on Sept. 11, 2001 were 'little Eichmanns.' My argument for that claim is in the paper. Also, there's a succint overview of Thomas Aquinas's views on blasphemy, on which I draw. Anyway, here it is:
Blasphemy Paper
In my paper, I argue (surprisingly perhaps for those who know me) that blasphemy should be taken seriously, but that it's not strictly concerned with the divine. For instance, Ward Churchill, the phony Native American UColorado professor blasphemed, I think, when he said that those in the WTC on Sept. 11, 2001 were 'little Eichmanns.' My argument for that claim is in the paper. Also, there's a succint overview of Thomas Aquinas's views on blasphemy, on which I draw. Anyway, here it is:
Blasphemy Paper
1.1.07
Corn Muffins
Today we made black eyed peas for lunch. We also made some corn muffins using a recipe out of The Rather Sweet Bakery Cookbook that Marianne gave us for Christmas.
These muffins were the best corn bread/muffins we had ever put in our mouths.
They were slightly crunch on the outside, and the insides were as light as air.
I had one with peanut butter in it for a snack this afternoon. I drank some milk with it, but I didn't need it to unstick the peanut butter from my mouth. That is how moist, light, and fluffy these muffins are.
This was the first recipe we tried from this cookbook. We are excited to try more, since this one turned out so well!
These muffins were the best corn bread/muffins we had ever put in our mouths.
They were slightly crunch on the outside, and the insides were as light as air.
I had one with peanut butter in it for a snack this afternoon. I drank some milk with it, but I didn't need it to unstick the peanut butter from my mouth. That is how moist, light, and fluffy these muffins are.
This was the first recipe we tried from this cookbook. We are excited to try more, since this one turned out so well!
28.12.06
a less goofy picture?
This is another picture that we took using the built-in camera on Tammie's new lap top. We hope that she will look upon this one with more approving eyes.
On a different note, I just received the scores from the Praxis II French Content Knowledge test that I took a little over a month ago. This is a standardized test that is given to people who want to teach French. The Praxis II is given in most subject areas- if you want to teach at the high school level, you have to take this test in the subject matter you'd like to teach. It is necessary for certification, but simply passing it is not equal to being certified.
Anyway, I scored a 200 out of 200. But this will probably go unnoticed by anyone who has the power to give me a job teaching French.
24.12.06
Tammie requested a nice picture
This may have the unfortunate effect of making Brett hungry. Oh well. Here's the result of the bunny when cooked.
17.12.06
An interesting article
We post without comment:
"FRIDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests.
British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say.
"Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre of the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital.
Recent studies suggest that vegetarianism may be associated with lower cholesterol, reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might explain why children with high IQs tend to have a lower risk of heart disease in later life.
The report is published in the Dec. 15 online edition of the British Medical Journal.
"We know from other studies that brighter children tend to behave in a healthier fashion as adults -- they're less likely to smoke, less likely to be overweight, less likely to have high blood pressure and more likely to take strenuous exercise," Gale said. "This study provides further evidence that people with a higher IQ tend to have a healthier lifestyle."
In the study, Gale's team collected data on nearly 8,200 men and women aged 30, whose IQ had been tested when they were 10 years of age.
"Children who scored higher on IQ tests at age 10 were more likely than those who got lower scores to report that they were vegetarian at the age of 30," Gale said.
The researchers found that 4.5 percent of participants were vegetarians. Of these, 2.5 percent were vegan, and 33.6 percent said they were vegetarian but also ate fish or chicken.
There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who said they ate fish or chicken, the researchers add.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, of higher social class and better educated, but IQ was still a significant predictor of being vegetarian after adjustment for these factors, Gale said.
"Vegetarian diets are associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in a number of studies, so these findings suggest that a such a diet may help to explain why children or adolescents with a higher IQ have a lower risk of coronary heart disease as adults," Gale said.
One expert said the findings aren't the whole answer, however.
"This study left many unanswered questions such as: Did the vegetarian children grow up in a household with a vegetarian parent? Were meatless meals regularly served in the household? Were the children eating a primarily vegetarian diet at the age of 10?" said Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
"In addition, we don't know the beliefs or attitudes of the parents of the children, nor do we know if there was a particular event that led these children to becoming vegetarian in their teens or adulthood," Sandon said.
As the study showed, more women than men chose a vegetarian diet, Sandon noted. "Other research shows that women in general will focus more on their health than men. So, if they believe that a vegetarian diet will have health benefits, they are more likely to follow it," she said.
Given these factors, "we cannot draw any solid conclusions from this research," Sandon added.
Another expert agreed that a vegetarian diet is healthy.
"The evidence linking vegetarianism to good health outcomes is very strong," said Dr. David L. Katz, the director of the Prevention Research Center and an associate professor of public health at the Yale University School of Medicine.
"Studies, for example, of vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists in California suggest that they have lower rates of almost all major chronic diseases, and greater longevity, than their omnivorous counterparts," Katz said. "Evidence is also strong and consistent that greater intelligence, higher education, and loftier social status -- which tend to cluster with one another -- also correlate with good health."
"FRIDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests.
British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say.
"Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre of the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital.
Recent studies suggest that vegetarianism may be associated with lower cholesterol, reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might explain why children with high IQs tend to have a lower risk of heart disease in later life.
The report is published in the Dec. 15 online edition of the British Medical Journal.
"We know from other studies that brighter children tend to behave in a healthier fashion as adults -- they're less likely to smoke, less likely to be overweight, less likely to have high blood pressure and more likely to take strenuous exercise," Gale said. "This study provides further evidence that people with a higher IQ tend to have a healthier lifestyle."
In the study, Gale's team collected data on nearly 8,200 men and women aged 30, whose IQ had been tested when they were 10 years of age.
"Children who scored higher on IQ tests at age 10 were more likely than those who got lower scores to report that they were vegetarian at the age of 30," Gale said.
The researchers found that 4.5 percent of participants were vegetarians. Of these, 2.5 percent were vegan, and 33.6 percent said they were vegetarian but also ate fish or chicken.
There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who said they ate fish or chicken, the researchers add.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, of higher social class and better educated, but IQ was still a significant predictor of being vegetarian after adjustment for these factors, Gale said.
"Vegetarian diets are associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in a number of studies, so these findings suggest that a such a diet may help to explain why children or adolescents with a higher IQ have a lower risk of coronary heart disease as adults," Gale said.
One expert said the findings aren't the whole answer, however.
"This study left many unanswered questions such as: Did the vegetarian children grow up in a household with a vegetarian parent? Were meatless meals regularly served in the household? Were the children eating a primarily vegetarian diet at the age of 10?" said Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
"In addition, we don't know the beliefs or attitudes of the parents of the children, nor do we know if there was a particular event that led these children to becoming vegetarian in their teens or adulthood," Sandon said.
As the study showed, more women than men chose a vegetarian diet, Sandon noted. "Other research shows that women in general will focus more on their health than men. So, if they believe that a vegetarian diet will have health benefits, they are more likely to follow it," she said.
Given these factors, "we cannot draw any solid conclusions from this research," Sandon added.
Another expert agreed that a vegetarian diet is healthy.
"The evidence linking vegetarianism to good health outcomes is very strong," said Dr. David L. Katz, the director of the Prevention Research Center and an associate professor of public health at the Yale University School of Medicine.
"Studies, for example, of vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists in California suggest that they have lower rates of almost all major chronic diseases, and greater longevity, than their omnivorous counterparts," Katz said. "Evidence is also strong and consistent that greater intelligence, higher education, and loftier social status -- which tend to cluster with one another -- also correlate with good health."
6.12.06
What's the point?
A note from a very good student in my Christianity and Tyranny course:
"By the way, let me tell you how much I've really enjoyed Yoder's book. To be honest, the other ones I could care less about, but his argument is so interesting! Its a really good choice for the syllabus!"
This semester we've read: Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Roger Williams, John Locke, Reinhold Niebuhr, Gustavo Gutierrez, and John Howard Yoder. This student could care less about them all, but for Yoder!
"By the way, let me tell you how much I've really enjoyed Yoder's book. To be honest, the other ones I could care less about, but his argument is so interesting! Its a really good choice for the syllabus!"
This semester we've read: Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Roger Williams, John Locke, Reinhold Niebuhr, Gustavo Gutierrez, and John Howard Yoder. This student could care less about them all, but for Yoder!
30.11.06
SNOW DAYS!!!
It's like Thanksgiving Break two weeks in a row!
I didn't have to go to work today or to my night class, and I don't have to go to work again tomorrow!
John's night class was cancelled last night and he didn't have to go to school today, either.
Because we had the day off today, we thought we would just walk down to the pizza place for lunch. We put on our coats and scarves. We took two steps out the door and decided to turn around because it was just too too cold and snowing too too hard.
john doesn't know yet that i don't have to go to work tomorrow because he's at the gym. when he finds out he's going to be so jealous!
24.11.06
thanksgiving photos
The stuffed squash, green beans, and dressing.
John is sad because the operation to have our bodies
permanently sewn together resulted in
his neck having to be constantly bent.
This apple pie is huge.
John is sad because the operation to have our bodies
permanently sewn together resulted in
his neck having to be constantly bent.
This apple pie is huge.
23.11.06
thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving Menu:
Breakfast:
French Bread with Cranberry Butter, Yogurt Cheese (both Homemade) and Honey.
Clementines.
Coffee.
Cooking Snack:
Roasted and Spiced Acorn Squash Seeds.
Granny Smith Apple.
What We Listened to While Cooking:
Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
Music of My Mind, Stevie Wonder
Main Course:
Acorn Squash with Wild Mushrooms, Potatoes, Goat Cheese, Rice and Spinach.
Contorni:
Green Beans, Grilled with Radicchio and Garlic.
Rustic French Bread Stuffing, with Rosemary and Thyme.
Dessert:
Apple Pie, hand made by john.
Accompanied by:
the Nouveau Beaujolais (2006, of course). slightly chilled.
pictures to follow.
Breakfast:
French Bread with Cranberry Butter, Yogurt Cheese (both Homemade) and Honey.
Clementines.
Coffee.
Cooking Snack:
Roasted and Spiced Acorn Squash Seeds.
Granny Smith Apple.
What We Listened to While Cooking:
Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
Music of My Mind, Stevie Wonder
Main Course:
Acorn Squash with Wild Mushrooms, Potatoes, Goat Cheese, Rice and Spinach.
Contorni:
Green Beans, Grilled with Radicchio and Garlic.
Rustic French Bread Stuffing, with Rosemary and Thyme.
Dessert:
Apple Pie, hand made by john.
Accompanied by:
the Nouveau Beaujolais (2006, of course). slightly chilled.
pictures to follow.
4.11.06
John Locke: Faith and Reason
In my Christianity and Tyranny course, we are currently reading Locke's Second Treatise Concerning Government. Some of my students are disturbed by Locke's appeal to reason above scripture. On Monday, I'm going to show them these passages from Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding:
Reason is natural revelation, through which ·God·, the eternal father of light and fountain of all knowledge, communicates to mankind that portion of truth that he has put within the reach of their natural faculties. Revelation is natural reason enlarged by a new set of discoveries communicated immediately by God, the truth of which is supported by reason through the testimony and proofs it gives that they do come from God. Thus, someone who takes away reason to make way for revelation puts out the light of both – like persuading a man to put out his eyes so that he can better to receive the remote light of an invisible star through a telescope! (IV, xix, 4)
….
In any matter of divine revelation the only proof we need is that it is an inspiration from God. For he can neither deceive nor be deceived. But how can we know that a proposition in our minds is a truth put there by God - a truth that he declares to us and which we ought therefore to believe? This is where enthusiasm fails. For the enthusiasts boast of a light by which they say they are enlightened and brought into the knowledge of this or that truth. But if they know it to be a truth, they must know this either through its being self-evident to natural reason or through rational proofs that show it to be true. If they see and know it to be a truth in either of these two ways, it is pointless for them to suppose it to be a revelation; for they know it to be true the same way that any other man naturally can know that it is so without the help of revelation. . . . If they say they know it to be true because it is a revelation from God, that is a good reason; but then we should ask how they know it to be a revelation from God. If they say ‘By the light it brings with it, which shines brightly in my mind and I can’t resist’, I ask them to consider whether this amounts to anything more than ‘It is a revelation, because I strongly believe it to be true’. For the ‘light’ they speak of is only their strong though baseless conviction that it is a truth. . . . What easier way can there be to run ourselves into the most extravagant errors and miscarriages than in this way to take fancy for our only guide, and to believe any proposition to be true, any action to be right, simply because we believe it to be so? The strength of our convictions is no evidence at all of their own correctness; crooked things can be as stiff and inflexible as straight, and men can be as positive and peremptory in error as in truth. (IV, xix, 11)
Here Locke argues thus:
1. The only reasons to be convinced of the truth of some claim is that it is either self-evident to natural reason or that there is some rational proof supporting it.
2. The claim that something is revealed by God is like any other claim.
So, 3. To accept that that something is revealed by God it must be either self-evident or have rational proof supporting it.
4. It is not self-evident that any claim is revealed by God.
So, 5. There must be a rational proof that any claim is revealed by God.
So, 6. Those who accept a claim as revealed by God because of an inner light have no grounds to be convinced of the truth of the claim.
Locke’s ultimate conclusion in that the rational acceptance of any claim be on the grounds of its self-evidence or rational proof, and that another claim is revealed by God is subjected to the same scrutiny as any other claim.
1.11.06
My favorite animals.
It has been awhile since anyone has been treated to lovely images of John and the kittens. In the middle one, John is holding the kittens. I think they are loving it. In the lowest one, we see gray cat sleeping in the spice box that Marianne sent for John's birthday. After we removed all the delicious spices and put them on the counter, Gray immediately took to lounging in the box.
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all about our milkshakes
- john/laura
- we like to go the park, play, go to crema for treats, and to have fun.