School Colors: Red, not Blue!

via University Diaries:

“[A student] brought a blue kickboard to the pool and Winslow became upset because blue was a [Brigham Young University] color. She said the coach threw a metal chair into the pool …”

Districtular leadership: no rat bastards!

Let's face it: this is likely the best board the district has ever had.

Below: for no particular reason, stills from video of the last board meeting

Gary Poertner, Chancellor.
He's likely plenty pissed about the board's tenure recommendation rejection switcheroo.

Trustee Dave Lang. He's pretty quiet these days. He gave no report.
They say he has a personal hotline to Beelzebub.
Area 1: Includes parts of Irvine

Trustee Jim Wright. Seems like a really good guy, but his words always
act as a powerful soporific. I do believe that he even puts himself to sleep.
Area 6: Includes Lake Forest, parts of Irvine and unicorporated area

Trustee Bill Jay. They say he meant to vote the other way.
Oops. I call 'im "Wrong Way Jay." (But I got confused too.)
Area 3: Includes Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Dana Point and parts of Laguna Hills, Newport Beach, San Clemente and unincorporated areas

Board Prez Nancy Padberg: runs a tight ship, but never gets tight, I guess.
She gets peevish instead.
Area 4: Includes San Clemente, Ladera Ranch, San Juan Capistrano, Coto de Caza, parts of Ranch Santa Margarita, Las Flores and unincorporated areas

Trustee Marcia Milchiker: always brings something
special to board meetings.
Area 5: Includes Laguna Woods, Laguna Niguel,
Laguna Hills and parts of San Juan Capistrano

Trustee Tim Jemal: the new guy. Stirred things up, at first.
Seemed pretty quiet last month. I'm guessin' he'll pounce again soon.
Area 7: Includes Mission Viejo
and Rancho Santa Margarita

Trustee "TJ" Prendergast: evidently, the only trustee
with a sense of humor
Area 2: Includes parts of Tustin, North Tustin, East Santa Ana, Irvine and unincorporated area.

Student Trustee Heather Park. Seems nice enough. I do wish, however,
that, just once, she would put marbles in Nancy's overhead

NEXT BOARD MEETING:

Monday, March 18, 2013

Closed Session 5:00 p.m.
Open Session 6:00 p.m.

UC Irvine offers free online chemistry classes, but not for credit (Daily Pilot)

The anti-science nation

Anti-scientism: both
conservative and liberal

• Mark Lynas: truth, treachery and GM food (The Guardian UK, Mar 9 13)
     Mark Lynas spent years destroying genetically modified crops in the name of the environment. Now he's told the world – and his fellow activists – that he was wrong. So why did he change his mind? And does he have any friends left? (here)

• Sunday Dialogue: Science and Politics Is anti-science sentiment threatening public health policy? (New York Times, Mar 9 13)

• THE SEED WARS (The New Yorker, Nov 2 12) - Listen to reason!

• SEE ALSO Even their confusion is confused (OC Blue Philosopher, Aug 1 09)
Excerpt:

     ...Take farming. Liberals can generally be counted on to embrace “organic farming” and to reject “genetic modification” of foods (GM).
     First, just what is liberal about these stances? Do pesticides prevent free expression? Are science and technology the enemies of equality?

Listening to the science? Nope

     Now, in fact (see below), the organic farming philosophy is shot through with myth and fallacy; logically speaking, embrace of this philosophy is similar to the embrace of, say, alternative medicines or conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of JFK. File under “people thinking poorly.”
     GM foods? Again, the rejection of this technology depends largely on myth and fallacy. In fact, given the likely (and unfortunate and probably avoidable) facts of world population, a rejection of GM would be catastrophic....

Hail

This morning in the canyons: crack of thunder then hail, serious hail.

Judge: Chriss Street must pay $7 million judgment (OC Reg)

Greer

Excerpt:

     U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson rejected the first appeal, which argued that Neiter wrongly applied the law, in May 2011. Street filed a second appeal in November 2011, arguing that he had been hobbled at trial by incompetent counsel, Newport Beach attorney Phillip Greer.
     Greer is a politically prominent attorney. At the time of the Street trial he also represented four of the five Orange County supervisors.

     Long-time SOCCCD observers will remember that, during the Fuentes years, Street dropped by board meetings now and again to give us the low down on County tax revenue. These visits were entirely unnecessary, of course. But they served Tom's purposes and bolstered Street's career.
     Tom was also a political guru of some kind to Don Wagner, John Williams, Dave Lang, and Raghu Mathur, among other familiar names. Owing, no doubt, to Fuentes' demands, the district paid Phil Greer $25K to help Raghu negotiate a lucrative exit from the district. Greer also represented John Williams during his last, ignominious days at the County.
     That Tom sure had an eye for rat bastards.

A College Degree Sorts Job Applicants, but Employers Wish It Meant More (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Excerpt:

Sine Nomine Associates, Mr. Boyes's firm, works with high-tech companies like Cisco and IBM. However, it's fundamental abilities that he says recent graduates lack, like how to analyze large amounts of data or construct a cogent argument. "It's not a matter of technical skill," he says, "but of knowing how to think."