Chopping Block

I’m more active over on another url…working on determining it…sigh

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly discussed “Pi Day” in posts timed to align with 3.14. Here’s another of them. In many of them, I’ve cited Vi Hart, the wonderful meta-mathemuscian who’s explained so many things so well. This is another such post! Vi Hart has a new composition and features that I think people will admire. Now, ahem, where to find them? Well, I think the best way to do so is to go…

Special Education Today (and the old blogs)

Sorry to have been absent so much, loyal readers (are there two of you or fewer?). You might wonder into what I’ve been putting my Internet efforts. I’ve devoted almost all of my personal Internet time in creating the new-and-revised version of Special Education Today. Check it out! Some readers with interests in individuals with disabilities and special education may remember the previous…

I missed Pi Day 2020. I was staying in a hotel near my mother’s residence, providing support for her in what turned out to be the last 50 days of her life. She was elderly, had dimentia, lacked teeth, and lots more…and the scourge of CoVid-19 was rapidly coming to be recognized. In a few days, I would return home traveling through mostly empty airports, wiping handrails with treated cloths as I…

The team representing the USA in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) championship for 2019 has lost two games in a row and will, even if it wins the next game, qualify as the lowest finishing team in international competition ever. People will search for scapegoats. We want our team to win it all every time!

It’s not going to happen, folks. Sure, if the USA could create a team of the…

So, it’s Π Day again! For my friend Michael, that would not be ampersand-pound-928-semicolon. It would be ampersand-pound-127829-semicolon, which is 🍕!

Meanwhile, please be sure to watch Vi Hart’s video for 2019-03-14

Readers who enjoy their history presented in graphic format might enjoy The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage by Ellen T. Crenshaw and Eleri Harris. It’s a comic that appeared in The Nib. Does there seem to be a (cough-cough) parallel (cough) story unfolding in contemporary times?

In addition to being International Women’s Day, today is the anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s testimony to the U.S. Congress supporting suffrage for women. According to the U.S. Library of Congress:

On March 8th, 1884 Susan B. Anthony appeared before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. Anthony began her statement thus:

“We appear before you this morning…to ask that you…

Women’s Day!

It’s wonderful to celebrate International Women’s Day today! Thanks at least in part to Theresa Serber Malakiel for her contribution in founding a predecessor, Women’s Day, International Women’s Day has a social vibe with which I resonate.

One can get a sense of Ms. Malakiel’s social views in her fictionalized diary of a seamstress out on strike in the early 1900s: Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker.…

Among the many wonderful colleagues I have had at U.Va., Julian Bond was special. We didn’t know each other well, but when we would encounter each other on a walk across the grounds or at an eatery on the downtown mall, he would raise a hand and nod, tilting his chin just a bit toward his right shoulder, one time as we greeted each other in passing.

Professor Bond may not have had any idea who I…

It’s Mole Day 2018. Today’s the day to commemorate that basic measure in chemistry, the mole, Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 1023). Check the Web site for an explanation. One can follow @nationalmoleday on Twitter.

Happy Mole Day! It’s the day to celebrate Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 1023) from 6:02 AM to 6:02 PM…I guess in whatever time zone one finds oneself. It’s a rather weighty commemoration.

Body Armor with School Spirit!

You know how important it is to be safe, right? With so many U. S. states enacting laws to permit guns on college campuses, folks might consider body armor…and why not body armor with a little school spirit? “Protect your student body!” Body armor emblazoned with the names of state universities of states promoting campus carry laws. What could be cooler? StudentBodyArmor.com.

Happy birthday, Mr. Jefferson!

At the University of Virginia (U.Va.), today is called “Founder’s Day.”

At the same time that I temper my admiration for him with the knowledge that he kept people in bondage, bought and sold them, and abided their maltreatment, I also want to remember that Mr. Jefferson was among the principal architects—if not the lead author—of many socio-cultural, governmental,…

At Representative Garret’s town hall

I’m not an expert on estimating crowds, but I’d say there are a 100 supporters of Mr. Garret outside U.Va’s Garrett Hall. There are about 900-1000 protestors. It’s rainy.

There is a substantial number of folks working crowd control. Many are familiar yellow-clad folks from the firm that works sports and similar events. However, there are maybe three dozen VA state troopers and local officers…

A prime pi day

Silly: This year’s pi day is a prime pi day.

Today is Julian Bond’s 77th birthday. He may not be able to hear me singing, but I’m going to do it, anyway. He may not hear me wishing, but I’m going to wish anyway. Happy birthday, anyway.