Vindicated

Aug. 24th, 2006 10:03 am
astra_nomer: (Default)
The astronomical community has finally come to its senses.

A small, petty part of me is glad I don't have to re-teach DS1 about what is or isn't a planet. And maybe now I won't be bugged by acquaintances and distant relatives every time a new Kuiper Belt object is discovered about whether or not it counts as a new planet.
astra_nomer: (Default)
I've been getting kind of tired about all the news stories about thousands of astronomers meeting in Prague to determine whether or not Pluto is a planet, as if that's the only thing that will happen at the IAU meeting this week. So it's kind of a relief to hear what the actual news is, which is that the IAU is proposing to create a new class of planet, "dwarf" planets as they've been dubbed by the media.

To summarize, there would be the 8 "classical" planets.

The dwarf planets would include Pluto, Ceres (the largest asteroid), 2003 UB313 (Xena), and Charon (Pluto's moon). Furthermore, there would be a class of object called plutons that include all of the above except asteroids.

Except there's already a name for the class of objects that characterize plutons, which is "Kuiper Belt objects." Is is just an issue of size in that case?

What about the Earth's moon and the Galilean satellites, which are all bigger than Pluto?

Really, I think the only people who care about planet nomenclature are schoolchildren and Michael Brown, the discoverer of 2003 UB313, who would much rather be known for discovering a planet rather than a large Kuiper Belt object.

I think this quote by Geoff Marcy sums up my own attitude quite nicely:
“I am not attending the I.A.U. meeting, nor do I care about the outcome of any vote about whether Pluto and Xena are ‘planets.’ ”


*This is what DS1 would tell you about Pluto if you asked him about it, prefaced by the statement, "Pluto is a Kuiper Belt Object."
astra_nomer: (Default)
Pepsico's new CEO is a woman. Which is great, because so few Fortune 500 companies have women CEOs. On the other hand, it's kind of sad that this kind of thing is still big news in the 21st century.

I heard an interesting report about Indra Nooyi on the radio yesterday, and one of the comments that stood out was this: "Nooyi is respected by colleagues for being smart, funny, and very female."

It's a dilemma that successful women face: if you're competing against men and you start competing like a man, that turns people off and you end up losing. And often it's uncharted territory: how do you figure out how to succeed as a woman if you have no role models to go by?
astra_nomer: (Default)
This news story pisses me off in so many ways. Should we really be worrying about obesity in infants under 6 months old?!?

The dangers begin before birth if an expectant mother develops gestational diabetes, a temporary condition.

Gillman said that animal studies have shown that this results in the fetus absorbing too much blood sugar from the mother. The fetus produces more insulin to counteract the sugar, which can lead to the formation of more fat cells. The baby is born heavier than is healthy.


Okay, so I had gestational diabetes with DS2. And yes, he was quite the chubby baby -- 9lbs 11oz at birth. However, the health risks were greater for me trying to birth that 9lbs 11oz, rather than to DS2 for obesity. He's now extremely skinny, to the point where I regularly get asked if I feed him enough.

The study found that 5.9 percent of infants under 6 months were overweight in 2000-2001, compared with 3.4 percent in 1980-1981. As babies pass through infancy, they can develop weight problems if they're fed formula instead of breast milk, and if their first solid foods include such unhealthy, habit-forming fare as french fries.


Well, okay, I can agree that breast milk is superior to formula and you shouldn't be feeding french fries to your 6 month old infant.

But, I have anecdotal evidence and assertions from the pediatrician saying that breastmilk contains more fat in early infancy, and becomes less rich over time. So much so that breastfed infants tend to be fatter than formula fed infants early on, but that trend reverses after about 6 months.

There are enough alarmist health guidelines for pregnant women and for feeding your kids, it's enough to drive a mother insane. Infant obesity is about the last thing I want to worry about.

ETA: see also this article.
astra_nomer: (geekchic)
This news is a tad old by now, but there's a very interesting article in last week's issue of Nature (requires subscription to read full text) written by Ben Barres, a scientist who used be known as Barbara Barres, about how sexism in the scientific community keeps women from succeeding. He cites a number of studies documenting gender bias in addition to his own anecdotes. A particularly choice one:
Shortly after I changed sex, a faculty member was heard to say, "Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but then his work is much better than his sister's."


The NY Times had an interview with him. (thanks to [livejournal.com profile] fredrickegerman for the tip.)

Loving Day

Jun. 13th, 2006 03:55 pm
astra_nomer: (Default)
Apparently, yesterday was Loving Day in Washington, DC, in celebration of the Surpeme Court's decision that "God says you can't get married" is not a good reason to illegalize certain kinds of marriages. Like mine. Or any other interracial couple.

This quote from Caroline County Circuit Court Judge Leon Bazile is priceless:
"Almighty God created the races, white, black, yellow, Malay, and red and placed them on separate continents, and but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend the races to mix."


Let's hope that today's Supreme Court can see reason, too, and extend the right to marriage to gays and lesbians, too.
astra_nomer: (Default)
Ah yes, yet another way I can worry about how I might screw my kids up for life: how I parent them might make them fat.

Notice that the study only really looked at white mothers. So perhaps I can say that it doesn't apply to me, since I'm not white and DH does his share of the parenting, so I don't need to worry if I'm being too strict, too permissive, or too neglectful. Or maybe it's too late, and it's already been added to my mental list of angsts about trying to be a good mother.
astra_nomer: (Default)
Maryland Democrats might actually have backbones. The Washington Post reports that a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage failed to pass the Maryland House of Delegates.

(Sorry about not providing a link to the article, but I don't like it when they link back here.)

Of course, across the Potomac, Virginians will be voting on a constitutional ban on gay marriage this fall. *sigh*
astra_nomer: (Default)
As an epilogue to my previous post, I present you with this commentary on boys wearing skirts in school. I personally find it more funny than offensive, especially this line:

Where Coviello's ensemble goes wrong, however, is with the scuffed New Balance sneakers. They take the tough, rebellious edge off the look and send it spiraling into the land of soft-serve suburbia.


Have a good weekend, everyone!
astra_nomer: (Default)
So, apparently, a student at a New England high school is claiming gender discrimination. The interesting thing is, the student is a boy. A white, middle-class male, suing for discrimination.

Certainly it's true that more women are entering college these days than men. But shouldn't we be saying, "You Go Girl!" instead of "ZOMG!! Save the boys!!!"

I cannot believe that education has changed so dramatically in this country over the last 10 or even 20 years that it's suddenly become biased toward girls. The educational system in this country was originally just for white males. Just 40 years ago, Harvard University did not allow women in some of its libraries. At the same time, the majority of elementary school teachers over the last century or more have been women, and while I won't rant about that issue now, it didn't seem to have hurt the legions of boys who were educated by them and went on to become successful men within the patriarchy.

Yes, it's true that boys have more behavioral issues than girls, and that will affect their educational opportunities. But is this really more of an issue today than in the past? Has boyhood really changed that much?

I recall being one of just a handful of girls in my high school science and math classes. I recall that when my calculus teacher handed out M&Ms to highest achievers in her class, that my candy was sometimes stolen when I turned my back, and at least one student complained that the girls always got the awards, even though we were vastly outnumbered by the boys.

Now I'm the mother of two boys myself. But I expect them to exert self-discipline in school. I expect them to do their best with their studies. I will help find opportunities within the educational system for them to get ahead. I will not tolerate them making excuses for themselves by saying they were discriminated against. If I've managed to succeed against the odds, they can too.
astra_nomer: (Default)
Judge Rejects Md. Anti-Gay Marriage Law

A Baltimore judge ruled this morning that Maryland's law banning same-sex marriage "cannot withstand constitutional challenge," throwing open the possibility of a ferocious legislative battle over a constitutional amendment on the issue.


That's the second time that the state I'm living in has decided that banning gay marriage is unconstitutional. Clearly, I should keep moving around the country in the hopes of spreading judicial activism.
astra_nomer: (Default)
I caught this great story on the radio this morning. It talks about working mothers who choose to start their own businesses and work from home so they can spend more time with their families. The articles cites inequity in pay between mothers and childless women. Not like I'm surprised that such inequities exist, but look, people are talking about it!

The trouble is that scientists don't really have the option to start their own company and work from home. Well, okay, I do know one woman who started her own company (Extrasolar Research Corporation) when she was unable to land a faculty position, but I don't think she did it for family reasons. In fact, I'd bet that starting your own research company would take more time away from family than working for some lab or academic institution.

I worry about the statistic about mothers earning less than childless women. But the blurb on the radio didn't say if they took into account time away from the workforce due to maternity leave and such. And I'll be damned if I'll let anyone cut my salary just because I have kids. Hmphf.
astra_nomer: (Default)
This is just so exciting. I had to share.
astra_nomer: (Default)
I have to say, as frustrated as I sometimes get with DS1, I would never leave him on the side of the road.
astra_nomer: (Default)
Since I don't seem to be the only one interested in losing weight and getting in shape, I thought I'd share this article on tips for losing weight.

Basic message: cut calories, get active. Real weight loss involves a lifestyle change, but keeping it up gets easier as you go along. It's mostly common sense really, but it's useful to see things spelled out. Other tips include enlisting support, eating breakfast daily, setting small goals, expecting weight loss plateaus, and rewarding yourself.

Profile

astra_nomer: (Default)
astra_nomer

January 2018

S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21 222324252627
28293031   

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 12th, 2025 06:15 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios