Illegal Imigrations Lowers Ed Levels in US and Mexico

A male Mexican migrant worker with little or no education can earn more in the US then an educated Mexican who stays home. This lowers the need for the average Mexican to invest in an education. There is also a gender imbalance with the hardships of crossing the border and the physical work once they are here causes more males then females to immigrate.

This gender imbalance worsens the problems of immigration. Large numbers of young Mexican men have scant prospects for marriage or family in the United States. Men who marry tend to earn more money, behave more responsibly, commit less crime and assimilate more readily. Much of the so-called “immigration problem” stems from the illegality of immigration rather than from immigration itself.

The solution proposed is to tighten the border but increase the number of legal immigrants with at least a high school education. More

Riddle Of Ancient Compter

A mass of encrusted bronze from a 2,100 year old ship wreck turned out not the first iPod as originally hoped but just an elaborate celestial computer that performed calculations that made Issac Newton head hurt. The technology was lost and would be unmatched for another 1,000 years. The instrument found on a Roman wreck was created by the Greeks showing that outsourcing technology is not a new phenomenon.

The "aww, mom, everyone else is playing this one" list

At the risk of spoiling a good time on Christmas morning for some gamers.

Nov. 29, 2006 — The National Institute on Media and the Family has released its 11th annual Video Game Report Card, which rates violence, aggression and sexual content in video games.

The group has released a list of games they say is inappropriate for children and teens and a list of games they recommend for children and teens.

How many tyrannosaurs in a gallon of gasoline?

Nice example of Google Answers If you don't want to go there the answer is 0 because oil didn't come from dinosaurs but if you want to play along 460 gallons from each T-Rex. Now who says this web site isn't useful?

Bracelet Monitors Alcohol Intake

In East Texas people who have committed crimes while under the influence are being ordered to wear an ankle bracelet. Known as the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor — or, more commonly, a SCRAM bracelet — the device is strapped to an offender's ankle 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to monitor whether the person has consumed any alcohol.

Now if you combined this with GPS tracking, you would have a great way to keep track of teenagers. Slap the gizmo on when they turn 13 ,keep it on till they turn 21 and sleep a little easier.

Now for the rest of the story

Earlier today a link to how men's creativity lessens after marriage. In a related article the reason for it.

Women talk three times as much as men, says study

It is something one half of the population has long suspected - and the other half always vocally denied. Women really do talk more than men.

In fact, women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man.

And, if that wasn't enough, the simple act of talking triggers a flood of brain chemicals which give women a rush similar to that felt by heroin addicts when they get a high.

Who can think with all that racket? If you have a quiet moment you can read the article.

Marriage and children kill creativity in men

News In Science
Dr Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, reports in the August issue of the Journal of Research in Personality that a man's age and unmarried status appear to drive success in his field.

His study was based on the analysis of a biographical database of 280 scientists considered 'great' by their colleagues, noting their age at the time when they did their greatest work. He found the data remarkably concurs with the observation made by Albert Einstein in 1942: "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so."

"Scientific productivity indeed fades with age," Kanazawa said. "Two-thirds [of all scientists] will have made their most significant contributions before their mid-30s."
...
The energy of youth and the dampening effect of marriage, he added, are also remarkably similar among geniuses in music, painting and writing - and even among criminals.

Previous studies have documented that delinquents are overwhelmingly male, and usually start out on the road to crime in their teens. But those who marry will subsequently stop committing crime, whereas criminals at the same age who remain unmarried tend to continue their unlawful careers.

Oh' The Humanity

Forget about your World Series, World Cup or Superbowl In Bonn Germany this week it is one man fighting the machine for the rest of us in World Chess Challenge 2006. It ain't a looking so good for the carbon based player. After Saturday's match ended in a draw, In one of the worst chess blunders of all time Vladimir Krammik let the second game get away, because he had to go to the rest room. Deep Fritz running on a standard 2ghz laptop had no such need and quickly checkmated his opponent. Game 2 Recap

Looks like it is time to find a good seat in the Matrix.

der cowboy - German Speaking Communities in Texas

When thinking of Texas a bilingual person is normally thought of as one who can speak Spanish and English. In the hill country of Texas a once large group of German immigrants lived in virtual isolation for over 150 years preserving their language while adding der cowboy, or der fenzposten, "the fencepost." The Houston Chronicle looks at what appears to be a dying group and attempts by the University of Texas to preserve the dialect. Be interesting to see how it evolved in comparison to PA.

Sen. Schumer "Make College Less Affordable" Act

The party of the "we mean well" is at it again. Sen Schumer has introduced a bill that will give a tax credit of up to $12,000 to offset ever rising college cost. As the NY Sun points out this will just be treated by the colleges as free money, allowing them to raise rates and escape criticism. The victims will be the lower income families who will now have higher rates and can't use a credit because they don't pay taxes. The only way to make colleges more affordable is for them to increase their productivity and move away from their current reward system from the middle ages. See kids voting does help, since the idealistic upper income college student crowd along with university professors is a major democratic voting block.

Happy Deer Day

Why Mice Don't Sing Its A Wonderful Life

Kid tries to make a movie about his pet mouse but inadvertently learns about the food chain and why you don't want to be small and on the bottom, especially when a hawk is nearby.

No Property Taxes For Retirees

Benefits also include 20 percent off professional services such as those provided by lawyers, architects and physical therapists; no income tax on income earned and a 50 percent discount on real estate closing costs.

And that's only the beginning. The list of discounts goes on and on, including price breaks on telephone service, surgery and domestic airfares and a one-time waiver of duties on imported household goods up to $10,000.

All it takes to qualify is pension income of $500 or more per month -- at any age and from any source and relocation to the new Florida -- Panama. Full Story on the bidding war for retirees dollars

When Grandma Runs Over A Raindeer

Wisconsin-based Custom Robotic Wildlife can turn it or your hunting trophy into an extreme decoration.

President and taxidermist Brian Wolslegel mounts hides on foam and rigs up parts to move with batteries and computer boards. (Just flip the switch.)

The end product, with subtle movement of the head and tail, could hold its own against anything at Bass Pro Shops — or Chuck E. Cheese's. Article

100 is the new 65

"Time is valuable," Charles "Hap" Fisher says, and he's proud to have witnessed 100 years of technical revolutions. Fisher, an adjunct research professor at Roanoke College, turned 100 on Monday. He has announced he will retire at the end of the month. A 1928 graduate of Roanoke College he led a productive life both at the college and away. Fisher's 200 scientific publications and more than 70 patents. Among the developments stemming from Fisher's work, he said, are flame-resistant cotton and frozen orange juice.

For relaxation, he said, he reads. He has recently enjoyed best-sellers such as "The DaVinci Code" and John Grisham thrillers, but there's a twist: He reads the Spanish translations, not the English versions. ARTICLE

Bad Punctuation On Display

Most people reserve the right to abuse the quotation mark and the apostrophe to internet postings and IMs. Others proudly display their lack of knowledge on public signs. Flicker has a collection of both: Apostrophe link and Quote marks link

What 2 year olds already know

In the scientific and medical communities, the technical name for using one's finger to extract boogers is rhinotillexis, and doing so compulsively is termed rhinotillexomania. The act of eating the resulting harvest is called mucophagy.

There is an Austrian doctor who has gained notoriety by advocating the picking of one's nose and the consumption of the resulting bounty, particularly in children. Dr. Friedrich Bischinger, a lung specialist working in Innsbruck, would have us believe that people who pick their noses with their fingers are healthier, happier, and more in tune with their bodies. His argument stems from the notion that exposing the body to the dried germ corpses helps to reinforce the immune system. The good doctor feels that society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking, and encourage children to take up the habit.

Dr. Bischinger has been quoted as saying (in an Austrian accent), "With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system." He then added, "Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine." Article

The Great Escape

or maybe they are just trying to visit their relatives at Jaindl for the holiday.

RAMSEY, N.J. (AP) - Some wild turkeys, it appears, were trying to get out of New Jersey before Thanksgiving Day. A spokesman for the NJ Transit said train officials reported a dozen or so wild turkeys waiting on a station platform in Ramsey, about 20 miles northwest of New York City, on Wednesday afternoon. The line travels to Suffern, N.Y.

"For a moment, it looked like the turkeys were waiting for the next outbound train," said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit. "Clearly, they're trying to catch a train and escape their fate."

Transit workers followed the bird's movements on surveillance cameras. "I have no idea how they got there," Stessel said.

A Ramsey police dispatcher said the department had received three calls about the traveling turkeys who also were blamed for causing morning rush hour traffic problems on a roadway.

"From time to time, I've heard calls that there are turkeys on the loose," said Erik Endress, president of the Ramsey Rescue Squad, a volunteer group. "Maybe they're trying to make a break."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

If you become tired of the relatives go see the 007 movie recommended by Miss Emily (scroll down)

President Bush On The Importance Of Reading

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000


"We expect the states to show us whether or not we're achieving simple objectives—like literacy, literacy in math, the ability to read and write."—on federal education requirements, Washington, D.C., April 28, 2005


"[T]he illiteracy level of our children are appalling."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

"And if you're interested in the quality of education and you're paying attention to what you hear at Laclede, why don't you volunteer? Why don't you mentor a child how to read?"—St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 5, 2004 "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''—Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

"One reason I like to highlight reading is, reading is the beginnings of the ability to be a good student. And if you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams; it's going to be hard to go to college. So when your teachers say, read—you ought to listen to her."—Nalle Elementary School, Washington, D.C., Feb 9, 2001

"I want it to be said that the Bush administration was a results-oriented administration, because I believe the results of focusing our attention and energy on teaching children to read and having an education system that's responsive to the child and to the parents, as opposed to mired in a system that refuses to change, will make America what we want it to be—a literate country and a hopefuller country."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 11, 2001

"We want our teachers to be trained so they can meet the obligations, their obligations as teachers. We want them to know how to teach the science of reading. In order to make sure there's not this kind of federal—federal cufflink."—At Fritsche Middle School, Milwaukee, March 30, 2000

The Complete Bushisms

Review by Emily Trosprel
9th Grade BHHS Senior Entertainment Editor

Casino Royale

Doing away with the fancy gadgets and cartoonish nature of some of its predecessors, the 007 franchise returns in the gritty, back-to-basics “Casino Royale” that’s sure to delight old fans and generate scores of new ones. For a nearly two and a half hour movie, the plot is pretty simplistic, and in a nutshell has James Bond (Daniel Craig) trying to track down and capture Le Chiffre, banker to the world's terrorist organizations. It’s Bond’s first mission, and the film even starts with a black and white scene that has him making the two kills that are a requirement to obtain ‘00’ status. Of course just because Craig’s Bond is a little less experienced and suave then we know he’s destined to become, he’s still quite deadly and, apparently, already is a masterful poker player. For when he learns that Le Chiffre is to participate in a high-stakes poker in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale, Bond signs up to play against him hoping that if Chiffre loses, he will be in so much debt to the worst kind of people the he’ll have to give himself up to the authorities. In a Bond movie there’s guaranteed to be a love interest at this point, so here enters Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) as a beguiling accountant sent to keep a watchful eye over Bond to make sure the government’s investment in the mission is prudent (although, there's obviously more to her then meets the eye).

Many may have their doubts about blonde, blue-eyed Daniel Craig as Bond, but any concerns will immediately cease within the first five minutes after they see the realism and presence Craig brings to the role. He might not have that effortless cool that was a trademark for James Bonds in the past, but when you look at him, it is actually possible to believe that he can pull off the stunts that previously have been taken for granted. The Bond Craig portrays is also more human, not invincible and indeed gets scratched and battered after fights (true, the cuts on his face mysteriously disappear within a day, but we’ll take what we can get). For the most part, the film is all Craig’s show as the supporting roles aren’t very large. Eva Green has the only other lead role. The chemistry between the actors isn’t extraordinary, merely acceptable, but the excellent writing makes up for it. The Oscar-winning screenwriter of Crash and Million Dollar Baby, Paul Haggis, was brought in to polish the drama in the script, and his effect is plainly evident in the tender moments of the film. Although there aren’t too many of those for even at the longest running time of any Bond film, the movie hardly ever slows down its pace. Indeed, by the final climax (all I’ll say is that it involves an “unstable” house in Venice), you won’t find yourself missing the gadgets, humor, or idealistic Bond of the earlier films for “Casino Royale” has defined itself as being a new breed of the 007 franchise.

Three out of four stars for Casino Royale.

Somewhere Dickens is Being Revised

(Rotherham,England) A school that wanted to offer only halal chicken on its Christmas menu has been forced to back down after a revolt by parents and pupils.

Children at the 1,000-strong comprehensive, where one in five is of Asian origin, will now have the option of traditional turkey with trimmings.

Oakwood School, in Rotherham, said its halal decision had been made to bring "a spirit of inclusion" to the Christmas meal.

But Rachel Johnson, who has two daughters at the school, said: "It has really rocked my boat because I feel my culture is being stolen away from me. I have no objection to halal meat being on the menu so long as there is a choice of traditional Christmas fare.

"Our culture and religion are being trampled on and it is not right

Article

25 Greatest Science Books of All-Time

You may not or ever intend reading any of them but these books have changed how we view the world and our place in it. They unlock the joy of scientific creation removing the mystery and unlocking the knowledge from all but a few informed colleagues. The majority of these books give truth to the adage "If you can understand it, you can explain it."

It was disappointing to see Silent Spring make the list. A little bit of facts and a lot of scare that launched the modern environmental movement. The book resulted in a total ban on DDT causing malaria, which at one point was nearly eliminated, where it now infects between 300 and 500 million people annually killing as many as 2.7 million.

Bad Spelling Can Cost You

and other peoples bad spelling can reward you. Good site to find misplaced bargains on e-bay is eBooBoos . A lot of creative spellers place items for sell at the site that become lost and sell at a fraction of the cost for similar items, so spelling does count. A more in depth article can be found here.

After School Events Cancelled

According to the school's web site:

All after school events for today have been canceled due to inclement weather.

Interesting one spell checker said cancelled was misspelled and to use one "l". Another one didn't flag the supposed error on the school's part. Resorted to the spell checker on dead trees to find that both spellings were correct. Why can't more words have alternative spellings?

The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher

Despite the constant cry of teaching to the test curriculum delivered from on high, one teacher manages to stick to the fundamentals. An essay by the 1991 New York teacher of the year John Taylor Gotto.

Read it tonight and you will want to keep your children home tomorrow. ARTICLE

Autism And Assortative Mating

When two minds think alike explores the problems that arise when geeks marry geeks. The rise in autism is correlated to the rise in females pursing technical degrees and careers making contact with similar males more likely. In 1950 women at MIT were 1% of the student population now they are around 50%. There is also a strong correlation when at least one of the grandparents was an engineer. Correlation is not necessary causation but it does point to factors other then environmental.

Over the years I've been struck by a pattern among the parents of children with autism. The mothers often say things like "my child is a lot like my husband—just writ large. My husband has to watch the weather forecasts every night, and my son has to watch them every hour." When I ask about their parents, the mothers comment, "Well, my father was rather similar to my husband—he collected model trains and knew everything there was to know about each one."

Such observations don't amount to evidence about the cause of autism, but they do give us clues about where to look. Autism is at root genetic, but new research from my lab at Cambridge University implicates genes inherited from both parents. From this and other observations, we've formulated the "assortative mating theory." Its central idea is that both mothers and fathers of children with autism (or its milder variant, Asperger Syndrome) share a common characteristic and have been attracted to each other because of their psychological similarity.

Best Geek Programs

Twenty-five courses of study from colleges around the world that offer some of the nerdiest programs. From game software design to bioinformatics courses that are offered online or at brick and ivy campuses. The online nuclear engineering program offered by the Univ. of TN doesn't seem that great of an idea, especially if it has lab requirements.

New Longswamp/Rockland Principal

The replacement of Ms Smith who is retiring in December is underway. Prospects will first be interviewed by a committee of teachers. Two finalist will undergo further interview(s) by the administration and board.

2 HOUR DELAY TOMORROW

Due to a train problem which is blocking the crossings in Topton tonight, the school district was informed that it will take at least 12 hours to fix the problem which has caused the need for a 2 hour delay tomorrow morning. It has been posted on the website and all efforts have been made to contact the media.

Libertarian Driving

In a counter-intuitive move a town in the Netherlands removed almost all of their traffic lights and in some places even the road markings to make driving more dangerous yet safer. Even better why it forces people to drive slower they actually reach their destinations sooner.

"It works well because it is dangerous, which is exactly what we want. But it shifts the emphasis away from the Government taking the risk, to the driver being responsible for his or her own risk.

"We only want traffic lights where they are useful and I haven't found anywhere where they are useful yet."

Mr Monderman, 61, compared his philosophy of motoring to an ice rink. "Skaters work out things for themselves and it works wonderfully well. I am not an anarchist, but I don't like rules which are ineffective and street furniture tells people how to behave."

In short, if motorists are made more wary about how they drive, they behave more carefully, he said.

Voters Are Not Fiscal Conservaties

Last Tuesday three states, Oregon, Nebraska and Maine had TABOR initiatives were soundly defeated. TABOR "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" where spending caps are imposed upon the state based on inflation and growth in population unless approved by the voters or 2/3 of the legislature. In other states faced with the severe decline in education and other public services have repealed them. In Colorado the first state to do so in 1992, after falling behind in needed service suspended the provisions for five years to play catch up.

Faced with this evidence what does Pennsylvania do we enact one when it comes to funding education. People keep demanding new services, refuse to eliminate older ones and don't want to pay for either.

Good Citizen Time

Time for the standard don't forget to vote for your favorite rascal today reminder. Seems to be considered the responsible thing for TV stations, newspapers and concerned blog site. Still not convinced it is in the public interest to encourage people to vote. First it only seems to encourage the scoundrels to keep running. Secondly if a voter has to be encouraged, just means that they haven't taken the time to become familiar with the issues, so it is just a random irrational guess. Seems to be a bad way to run a country.

Have to wonder what this country would be like if voting patterns changed. If young people voted at the same percentage of senior citizens there would be less talk of lowering property taxes and more talk on lowering the cost of college. Then there are some of us are stuck in the worst of both worlds.

Anyway go vote it is a nice day good time to chat with your neighbors and spread some rumors.

If You Eat What You Kill

Never worry about chipping a tooth on steel shot again with seasoning shot. In this ammo the steel shot is replaced by hardened seasoning pellets. Besides lowering your dental bill the Pheasant, quail, duck, turkey or other game bird is seasoned from the inside. When cooked the seasoning is slowly dissolved spreading your choice of seasoning throughout the fowl.

If The Real World Ran Like Public Education

Next Week Schedule:

Monday - There will be no electricity because all the power company employees will be attending power generating class.

Tuesday-Be careful all the hospital emergency rooms will be closed after lunch so the staff can brush up on the latest medical techniques.

Wednesday-Hope you have your cupboards filled because grocery stores will be closing early for their monthly training on how to stock shelves.

Thursday- No surfing you will actually have to spend all day working. The internet will be closed as network administrators and webmasters attend their regional monthly classes.

Friday- No Happy Hour bartender convention.

Inspired by The Bleet

The National Nanny

BY JAMES LILEKS
"The gavel of the speaker of the House is in the hands of special interests, and now it will be in the hands of America's children." Make them wash off the jam first. She went on: "I don't mean to imply my male colleagues will have any less integrity. ... But I don't know that a man can say that as easily as a woman can."

Without bursting into laughter? Look, everyone's in favor of children, but it's not as if the Bush administration shuttered schools and whipped the waifs back into the coal mines. Many people with children, moreover, believe children are a personal responsibility. They believe the federal government should devote itself to things it is better equipped to do, like building an anti-missile shield to keep squat Korean sociopaths from dropping nukes on elementary schools. (Pelosi is opposed to missile defense, apparently preferring to deploy teachers who would scold the missiles off target.)

He Should Have Went With HIs First Impression

An Aberdeen, Washington fourth grader was suspended for 5 days for refusing to finish a standardized test.

In May 2005, he'd completed five of the six days of the Washington State Assessment of Student Learning exam, called WASL, part of the state's No Child Left Behind test.

Then Tyler came upon this question: ``While looking out the window one day at school, you notice the principal flying in the air. In several paragraphs, write a story telling what happens.''

The nine-year-old was afraid to answer the question about his principal, Olivia McCarthy. ``I didn't want to make fun of her,'' he says, explaining he was taught to write the first thing that entered his mind on the state writing test.

In this case, Tyler's initial thoughts would have been embarrassing and mean. So even after repeated requests by school personnel, and ultimately the principal herself, Tyler left the answer space blank. ``He didn't want them to know what he was thinking, that she was a witch on a broomstick,'' says Tyler's mother, Amanda Wolfe, sitting next to her son in the family's ranch home three blocks from Central Park Elementary School in Aberdeen, Washington. Article

Fact Of The Day

As election day nears it is interesting to note that the common word "gullible" isn't an official part of the English language. For various reasons it is still not in the dictionary and it isn't recognized by any spell check software. There is strong bi-partisan support to keep it that way.

Testing School Security

A study of two newspapers that looked into confirming school security measures were in place.

Minimum Wage Logic

During this election cycle a lot of ads on who and who did not support minimum wage increases. The incomparable Dr. Walter Williams discusses on how people of good faith both looking to help low-skill workers can look at the issue from different perspectives and reach totally different conclusions. His conclusion is what we all should agree on.

Congress can easily mandate higher wages, but they cannot mandate higher worker productivity or that employers hire a particular worker in the first place. Those of us who truly care about the welfare of low-skilled workers should focus our energies on helping them to become more productive, and a good start would be to do something about the rotten education that many receive.

Tomrrow Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life

It is also National Cliche Day, so when posting go the extra mile and think outside the box.

With Your Kind Of Help

U.S. Senate candidate Bob Casey Jr. today defended Sen. John Kerry over what he referred to as a botched joke.

However Junior didn't forgive him enough to want to be seen with him today. The conclave he was having tonight in Philly with Senator Kerry has been canceled.

Dead Woman Wins Coin Toss and School Board Seat

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A dead woman won re-election to a school board in rural Alaska after her opponent lost a coin flip meant to break an electoral tie.

Katherine Dunton, who died of cancer on Oct. 3, the day of the local election, was re-elected to the Aleutian Region School District board after her opponent, Dona Highstone, called "heads" on a coin toss that landed "tails," state and local officials said.

"This is the first that I have ever heard about, not only in our state but in any other," said Whitney Brewster, director of the Alaska Division of Elections.

The coin toss was held on Friday, in accordance with state law, to break the tie since both candidates had 19 votes.

The school district, which covers an island region stretching 600 miles and has jurisdiction over about 50 students, has not yet decided how to fill Dunton's seat.

Article

Brandywine with 50 square miles and 2,000 students is considered rural. This district has 600 miles and 50 students they must spend more then 45 minutes riding a bus.