Quote of the Day

If life was certain, it would be called math...

-- Bob Tipton on FB quoting "Jerry"

Anthropocene: a Man-Made World

Geology has never been my passion or my strong suit, but I can glean enough from this article to appreciate the tremendous implications of an EPOCH that is primarily characterized by the impact that we humans have on the World (with a capital "W"). It makes some other arguments appear pretty inconsequential. http://www.economist.com/node/18741749?story_id=18741749

Quote of the day -- A.A. Milne

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

— A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Quote of the day -- Anonymous

Enthusiasm is like a ripple in water ... it spreads.

-- Anonymous

Quote of the day -- Jimmy Carter

The test of a government is not how popular it is with the powerful and the privileged few, but how honestly and fairly it deals with the many who must depend on it.

-- Jimmy Carter (Governor Inaugural, 1/12/71)

Don't confuse me with facts

"...it’s never been easier for people to be wrong, and at the same time feel more certain that they’re right."

Interesting article in the Boston Globe that talks about the relationship between our beliefs and opinions , on the one hand, and our ability to incorporate conflicting facts and possibly change our opinions, on the other hand. Bottom line, we rarely change our opinions, especially when confronted with evidence that contradicts them.

Read the article here

Quote of the day -- Frugal Traveler

To travel well, you need to pack an open mind, a lot of energy, infinite patience and a willingness to embrace the awkward and unfamiliar.

Not-so-trivia for the day

From Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity taught by Professor David Christian

To put timelines in a perspective that we can more easily grasp, try compressing the 13 billion year history of the Universe into 13 years instead:

• Earth would have been formed about 5 years ago.
• The first multi-celled organism would have evolved about 7 months ago.
• The dinosaurs would have flourished for several weeks and then be wiped out about three weeks ago.
• Our species would have appeared about 53 minutes ago.
• The first agrarian civilization would have appeared about 3 minutes ago.
• And industrial societies would have emerged in the last 6 seconds.

Touring Target Field -- an unexpected treat

Most members of my family (husband, son, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, one daughter, and even my mom) are avid baseball fans. I'm pretty lukewarm about baseball. I go to the occasional game because my spouse LOVES baseball, and I try to share his interest. I can even keep an accurate scorecard with minimal assistance. (It's a good way to pay attention to the "action" that occurs sporadically in a typical game.) So when I joined spouse, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson for a tour of Target Field (new home of the Minnesota Twins) yesterday afternoon, I was truly surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how impressed I was. (There I am, smiling at a seat in the press box, almost 90 minutes into the tour.)

The designers of Target Field have built a venue that has broad appeal -- to avid fans and to the more casual attendees who just want to enjoy a good time without watching every single pitch. It's a great field for watching the game, and it's a great place for taking a break from the action to wander around the park and absorb the atmosphere. Constrained by the space available for a downtown park, the designers couldn't build an adjoining "Twins museum," so they sprinkled history and memorabilia throughout the park instead. Here we have the three generations of Heidelberg men (boys?) posing in front of Harmon Killebrew in the Legends Lounge. The attention to every detail (like the original flag pole from old Met stadium, a golden glove sculpture on the plaza at exactly the distance of Harmon's longest home run, gates numbered for all the "retired" Twins numbers, and much more) rival a Disney theme park. During a typical Twins game, the public concourses are clogged with fans wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere (and buying tons of concessions).

And the park is an architectural marvel -- a 10 acre park sandwiched into 8.5 acres of space at the edge of downtown. The plaza leading to the park is built over a freeway. Some of the stands are cantilevered over adjoining streets and the freeway, as well. While it can't rival the view of Lake Washington from Husky Stadium at UW, the view of downtown from Target Field is pretty impressive.

And the designers have included lots of exclusive places for extravagant fans --- clubs, special seats, even a display case with World Series trophies (yes the Twins have two of those) -- while still ensuring that the average fan has a great time. I will probably still scoff at the idea of outdoor baseball in Minnesota when the temperature dips to 40 in late September or the snow flies in mid April, but for now, I'm convinced this ballpark is a great thing for the Twin Cities and Minnesota.

Quote of the day -- Jeff Yeager

"The Joneses can kiss our assets"

Heard in an interview on public radia with Jeff Yeager (author of The Cheapskate Next Door).

I'm not a cheapskate and, in fact, excessive frugality really annoys me. On the other hand, I also get annoyed at excessive PDA (public display of assets), which is why I enjoyed this quote.