Sometimes science becomes snack.
We had to heat some water, as we're talking about heat transfer (remember that? convection, conduction, radiation?). So when we finished discussing our panful of water, I poured in a box of noodles and Track Star had some mac & cheese.
Yes, we're schooling on a Saturday. I've been a slacker lately, pretty much took Thursday completely off (it was our 15th anniversary, so I'm calling it a holiday), then didn't feel like working Friday. Dancing Queen still has some work left, but she's been sick so I'm not pushing too hard. Next week is Holy Week, so we'll have a lighter schedule, and we were off a couple weeks ago for our "spring break" so I really need to get them back on track. Plus my big strong man is off hunting & gathering (okay, he's making some kind of computer-related speech, but whatever brings home the bacon...), so school gives us something to do today.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
That word
You keep using that word - I do not think it means what you think it means.
I am SO tired of hearing the word "hate." To hate someone means to wish bad on them, to desire harm for them. It's a really terrible thing. But the word has come to mean any disagreement or disapproval, especially of a particular lifestyle. It has been adopted as a battle cry, and anyone labeled a "hater" is automatically discredited, no logic need apply. But it only works one way. The people doing the labeling can say whatever they want about the "haters" and somehow that's acceptable. They can even actively wish them harm (actual hate), and people think it's what the "haters" deserve. Nobody should be wishing anyone harm.
The worst part is that the majority of people are just caught up in this, swept away by the rhetoric, not analyzing any of it for themselves. They don't actually mean anyone harm, but they fear that someone is wishing harm to them, because they've been told that the other side is full of hate and is out to get them in some way. Our society has become very polarized: on every issue, everyone must fit in one box or the other, with no discussion between them, just namecalling.
Don't be fooled. If someone has nothing useful to say, no actual evidence, so that they have to resort to namecalling, that's someone you don't need to listen to. Read more. Think more. Make up your own mind. Even if you make it up to disagree with me - I won't wish you harm. We can agree to disagree, have civilized conversations, maybe one of us will change our opinion eventually and maybe we won't. I wish you well anyway.
I am SO tired of hearing the word "hate." To hate someone means to wish bad on them, to desire harm for them. It's a really terrible thing. But the word has come to mean any disagreement or disapproval, especially of a particular lifestyle. It has been adopted as a battle cry, and anyone labeled a "hater" is automatically discredited, no logic need apply. But it only works one way. The people doing the labeling can say whatever they want about the "haters" and somehow that's acceptable. They can even actively wish them harm (actual hate), and people think it's what the "haters" deserve. Nobody should be wishing anyone harm.
The worst part is that the majority of people are just caught up in this, swept away by the rhetoric, not analyzing any of it for themselves. They don't actually mean anyone harm, but they fear that someone is wishing harm to them, because they've been told that the other side is full of hate and is out to get them in some way. Our society has become very polarized: on every issue, everyone must fit in one box or the other, with no discussion between them, just namecalling.
Don't be fooled. If someone has nothing useful to say, no actual evidence, so that they have to resort to namecalling, that's someone you don't need to listen to. Read more. Think more. Make up your own mind. Even if you make it up to disagree with me - I won't wish you harm. We can agree to disagree, have civilized conversations, maybe one of us will change our opinion eventually and maybe we won't. I wish you well anyway.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Armed, not dangerous
I carry a gun. Pretty much all the time. Most people don't know this about me (so I'm putting it out here for all the world to see, certain that most of them won't look).
My mom knows. I was at her house when a police officer came over, because she had been the victim of a crime, and state law says I have to notify an officer when they interact on official business. Her only comment was, "But there's no lump or anything." I explained that that's exactly what "concealed carry" means. I was very impressed at how she didn't freak out at the news, but she was already (legitimately) freaking out about something else at the time, so I kinda squeaked by under the radar.
A few of my friends know. Two of them were out with me on a Saturday, and we decided to go to a movie, but the theatre has a sign posted saying that it has a capacity of 2500+. Only those with a concealed pistol license would recognize that as one of my state's nine "no carry" zones, so the sign doesn't mean anything to most people. But that day it did mean something to me, so I had to disarm and leave my gun in the car, and of course my friends saw me do that. Two more friends know, one of them carries, but they live on a military facility so when we visited I had to ask to leave my gun locked in their house under their authority for the duration of the visit, because I was not allowed to possess it on the base and not happy leaving it unattended at our nearby hotel.
See how I follow the laws? When we travel, I look up the laws of the states we'll be passing through, because they are all different. I also look up carseat laws for the kids (thankfully they're old enough now that they don't need boosters in most states). Based on the mainstream media, the mere fact of my gun ownership means I'm an anarchist or homicidal maniac or (best case) a redneck. Actually, I'm a thirty-something mom in a small town. I'm not even biker chic: I drive a minivan, mostly to take my kids to sports or to fetch groceries.
If I've been to your house, I was probably armed. Right there in front of you. Don't freak out. I didn't kill anyone (even when you said something mean about me), I didn't hand my pistol to your toddler, I didn't get drunk and start shooting at the moon or the squirrels or your dog (which is not actually your child, by the way, but that's another post). I'm no more dangerous than you are. I don't especially enjoy carrying a gun, any more than I enjoy wearing a seatbelt. Sometimes it gets in the way, much like a seatbelt. But I do it for the same reason that I wear a seatbelt, the same reason there's a fire extinguisher near my kitchen, the same reason I take my phone upstairs with me when I go to bed. Every day, when I get dressed, I pray for wisdom and protection - asking that I would never have to use it, but for guidance if I do.
If you don't want to carry a gun, fine. Really, if you don't want to, then I totally agree that you shouldn't. But don't tell me not to, because of how somebody else acted one time. That wasn't me. That won't be me. Those people were crazy, and no law is going to prevent crazy. Taking away my defense doesn't make you safer. I'm armed, not dangerous.
My mom knows. I was at her house when a police officer came over, because she had been the victim of a crime, and state law says I have to notify an officer when they interact on official business. Her only comment was, "But there's no lump or anything." I explained that that's exactly what "concealed carry" means. I was very impressed at how she didn't freak out at the news, but she was already (legitimately) freaking out about something else at the time, so I kinda squeaked by under the radar.
A few of my friends know. Two of them were out with me on a Saturday, and we decided to go to a movie, but the theatre has a sign posted saying that it has a capacity of 2500+. Only those with a concealed pistol license would recognize that as one of my state's nine "no carry" zones, so the sign doesn't mean anything to most people. But that day it did mean something to me, so I had to disarm and leave my gun in the car, and of course my friends saw me do that. Two more friends know, one of them carries, but they live on a military facility so when we visited I had to ask to leave my gun locked in their house under their authority for the duration of the visit, because I was not allowed to possess it on the base and not happy leaving it unattended at our nearby hotel.
See how I follow the laws? When we travel, I look up the laws of the states we'll be passing through, because they are all different. I also look up carseat laws for the kids (thankfully they're old enough now that they don't need boosters in most states). Based on the mainstream media, the mere fact of my gun ownership means I'm an anarchist or homicidal maniac or (best case) a redneck. Actually, I'm a thirty-something mom in a small town. I'm not even biker chic: I drive a minivan, mostly to take my kids to sports or to fetch groceries.
If I've been to your house, I was probably armed. Right there in front of you. Don't freak out. I didn't kill anyone (even when you said something mean about me), I didn't hand my pistol to your toddler, I didn't get drunk and start shooting at the moon or the squirrels or your dog (which is not actually your child, by the way, but that's another post). I'm no more dangerous than you are. I don't especially enjoy carrying a gun, any more than I enjoy wearing a seatbelt. Sometimes it gets in the way, much like a seatbelt. But I do it for the same reason that I wear a seatbelt, the same reason there's a fire extinguisher near my kitchen, the same reason I take my phone upstairs with me when I go to bed. Every day, when I get dressed, I pray for wisdom and protection - asking that I would never have to use it, but for guidance if I do.
If you don't want to carry a gun, fine. Really, if you don't want to, then I totally agree that you shouldn't. But don't tell me not to, because of how somebody else acted one time. That wasn't me. That won't be me. Those people were crazy, and no law is going to prevent crazy. Taking away my defense doesn't make you safer. I'm armed, not dangerous.
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