Monday, January 31, 2005

pro-life, pro-choice

The argument the the pro-life folks present is that a fetus is a person with a soul and shouldn't ever be killed/murdered, like any human shouldn't ever be. The argument the pro-choice folks present is that a person who is not prepared to deliver or care for a new life should be able to choose not to, with the idea of "lesser of two evils". They are two arguments regarding abortion that do not address the same issues. But anyway . . .

I've just been reminded that, even though the problem is as complex as is stated above, it gets more complex. This article discusses the idea that, if a fetus is to be given human standing, how many responsibilities that we have regarding humans should be transferred to fetuses? We strive to provide the best health care for young children, for instance. If we don't provide this care, we can be officially declared to be neglecting the child. And we don't want to give our children things that are bad for them (like whiskey) for the same reason. So, if we were to transfer this argument to fetuses, and a pregnant person chose to drink whiskey or smoke, etc., do they get cited for neglect as harshly as a parent of a child would?

addition, 2/1: the comment on this entry had me going to Dr Forbush's blog, where the author made mention that illegal abortions would be highly likely in a society where abortions were illegal. This is a good example of how we SHOULD NOT FORGET HISTORY. History shows that, before Roe vs. Wade, the proliferation of illegal abortions DID cause death to the pregnant women in some cases. Good add.

addition, 2/2: I'm naive. I didn't know, in my previous post on abortion, that people ARE voicing opinions that they want more strictness on pregnant women, and when bad things happen, they get prosecuted. This blog pointed it out for me. There's always stuff to be better understood . . .


Sunday, January 30, 2005

Attention Deficit Trait

I'm reading this article in a special issue of Harvard Business Review. It talks about an ADD-like problem that business folks can get due to information overload. Seems to me it's plain-old stress; but there are excellent tips for avoiding it.

Problems of Philosophy

I like the free course info at MIT. This is one of the classes described: Problems of Philosophy

I read with interest the first lecture note: "The Ontological Agrument". I found that this assumes a definition of God that embraces only traditional western thought; er, only the "God the Father" (creator) meaning. There's no "Holy Spirit" consideration (similar to Taoist "chi" or Buddhist "loving compassion").

backburner blog





I think I'll read through this blog more. I found it when browsing around user blogs by searching on things I'm interested in (in the personal profiles). This person and I both liked the book Brothers K.

Postlude 2/1: I did go back to this one - good writing!

Iraqi voting

just found this site. very insightful

careful . . .

There's a risk one takes when having a blog. Blogs are so very spontaneous, and generally present very opinionated opinions. Because the author "lets her hair down" when writing a blog, it is possible that employment status could be put at risk.

Here's an article about it: the article
Here's one woman's story about being fired because of her blog: the life-story
Here's a blog on blogging: the blogging blog

How to live

May I be an instrument of peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
May I not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive.

adapted from Beliefnet.com

Saturday, January 29, 2005

online karaoke

there's karaoke to be had online! My friend's been thinking of going to do karaoke at a bar, so I have it on the brain.

article on atheism

I was pointed to this article by my favorite Article Portal, Arts & Letters Daily. It reminded me of some of the thoughts going around in my house when I was growing up. I don't know if we were atheist or agnostic or what, but we didn't go to church (or any temple) and Easter meant searching for M&Ms in the morning (we had cats who weren't interested in such things).

Clean Slate - not born into sin; born innocent
Self-Sufficiency - no one is going to save us but ourselves

I have since become a very active Episcopalian. I pray (hope, cross-fingers, meditate, hang out in neutral). I've found that some things I thought were gigantic thoughts are actually not that big. To miss someone is to notice that they're not with us. That can be a REALLY sad thing, or it can be a small thing. To be thankful doesn't necessarily mean to grovel at anyone's feet, kissing them (although it could). To notice that something is good or nice is a way to be thankful (or to have gratitude). A sin is not eternal damnation. It can be something considered to be a shame. It's really some sort of separation between people. If a person pulls away from others continuously and is generally miserable, it is a sin (it's a shame). If a person disregards the needs of others, it is a sin (and a shame).

I've found that translating these metaphors has added to my life. I believe that someone who is atheist or anti-religious is missing out when they don't notice those things.

I don't know what to think of the clean-slate. But self-sufficiency is something that I would suppose anyone values.

change your face

Upload a picture of yourself and you can see what you might look like with a different age or ethnicity. I wasted a good amount of time on it; it was fun.

I'm a wimpy peace-monger

and yet, I do not hate the US (isn't that the question that gets asked the most when someone proclaims the above?). I believe in our Constitution, and think that, when it's executed the way our founding fathers intended, it's COOL.

Note, I DO support our troops (recalling the bumper sticker). I even participate in "operation welcome home" when I am able. I just don't know how fighting helps fix arguments.

American Presence in the World

This kind of article reminds me why I did not vote for Bush. It makes me sad, and I have seen other articles proclaiming that this is "how Americans think". It is a stereotype, and forgets the folks who are generally embarassed at the presence that Bush provides to the world. He presents a jingoistic America that has little regard for the customs of other peoples. While I would never condone behavior that is considered to be morally wrong, I would prefer that the side of America which is pluralistic and accepting of diversity. I wonder how to help non-Americans remember the rest of us?

Friday, January 28, 2005

integrating computer learning with math, science, etc.

I just found this website. They've attempted to organize all the ways that computer use can enhance learning in other areas (innovative ways of doing research, etc). The article is for parents and teachers, thinking about their kids' advancement in these abilities.

anger is contagious

I knew it! This article talks about how a person cannot be immune from anger when hearing someone else speak in an angry manner. There are various folks I work with who are usually angry. Whenever I hear them commiserating, I put my headphones on LOUD.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

quality management system

So I'm looking around for tools for process management and process quality. The company I work for does some work for Boeing, so I went browsing around on their public website for info. I found the following: Boeing Quality Management System Requirements for Suppliers Actually, what I'd been looking for is the tool they use for managing projects. I believe I found it when I saw they link to: CDG's On-Demand Information Manager

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

beautiful

I went on the web in search of beautiful pictures today. I am an amateur painter, and like to look at photos for inspiration. Here are some of the sites I found especially inspiring:

from visual-reality.org/pamsflowers:

Saturday, January 22, 2005

stereotype of my political thoughts

Just took the Political Compass test. I was reminded of it by blog Military Transformation. While I am opposite of the author of the Military Transformation blog in my political thinking, his blog is interesting. Here's my location in that profile "survey":

I do find it interesting that most classical music composers are in the same quadrant: composer political stereotypes