Commencement Week Humor, Part II

Courtesy of Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury comic strip.

An Engineer’s Guide to Cats

Enjoy!

Hey Professor! That iPod Took My Seat…

As college professors post lectures online, they’re seeing a rise in absenteeism.  Wow, what a shock.

And what is becoming a common response?  The use of a low-tech device to reduce no-shows: more pop quizzes…

Heh.

An update on the Sichuan earthquake

As I mentioned in a previous post, I spent several days last October in the region where the Sichuan earthquake was the worst. Sadly, I’m certain that the casualty figures will rise quite a bit over the next few days.

The region has very steep mountains which are intersected by narrow valleys and gorges with occasionally roaring rivers.  Not surprisingly, the region can suffer from landslides even in the best of times.

From the reports that I have seen (both CNN and CCTV-9 at home) and e-mails that I have received from colleagues in Beijing and Ningbo, it is apparent that many, if not most, of the roads north of Chengdu have been rendered impassable by the damage from the earthquake and the concomitant rock slides.

From Xinhua

Right now, time is critical for those buried under collapsed buildings.  Unfortunately, it will likely be days before help can get through.  And… just to make matters worse, it has been raining in the affected area for the last 24 hours.

The Shanghaiist blog has more updates and relief information:

“For those who are looking to contribute to current aid efforts underway, you can now donate money to the Red Cross Society of China which has formed a disaster relief working group to be dispatched to the earthquake-stricken Wenchuan County in Sichuan. They have also published an emergency relief hotline, along with bank account information to receive donations to assist their cause:

Account name: Red Cross Society of China
开户单位：中国红十字会总会

For those who want to donate in RMB: you can send money to the RMB account at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch below:
人民币开户行: 中国工商银行 北京分行东四南支行
人民币账号: 0200001009014413252

For those who want to donate in foreign currency, you can send money to the foreign currency account at the CITIC Bank branch below:
外币开户行：中信银行酒仙桥支行
外币账号: 7112111482600000209

Hotline: (8610) 65139999
Online donations: Red Cross Society of China website: www.redcross.org.cn

Click the tab for online donations “

PoliSci Philosophy Smackdown: Rawls vs. Nozick

A recent article by David Lewis Schaefer in the New York Sun discusses the great philosophical battle between Political Scientists Robert Nozick and John Rawls — which is at the heart of a still contentious debate between proponents of libertarian and left-liberal political philosophy in our discipline…

Schaefer is Professor of Political Science at College of the Holy Cross and author of the book “Illiberal Justice: John Rawls Vs. the American Political Tradition.”

Nota Bene: Today’s Reading Assignments

• The U.S. Role in a Mexico Assassination — Mary Anastasia O’Grady, Wall Street Journal
• History Gives Hope to Republicans — William Moloney, Human Events
• How to end a presidential campaign — Ben Smith, The Politico
• Five Reasons why 2012 is a No-Go for Clinton – Five Thirty Eight Blog
• The Libertarians Are Coming — Tobin Harshaw, New York Times Opinionator Blog
• 1958: The War of the Intellectuals — Rachel Donadio, New York Times
• Genetic Discrimination: Unfair or Natural? — Michael Kinsley, Time
• An Oil Bubble? — Kevin Drum, Washington Monthly
• Hot For Professor? — Phoebe Maltz, Doublethink Online
• Millennial Messianism — Matt Frost, The American Scene
• Ron Paul’s forces quietly plot GOP convention revolt against McCain — Andrew Malcolm, L.A. Times Top of the Ticket Blog
• The Cult of the Presidency - Gene Healy, Reason
• Dems gain ground in the Deep South — Tom Curry, MSNBC
• Economics and the Entrepreneur — Carl Schramm, Real Clear Politics
• Will Whites Vote for Obama? — John Judis, The New Republic
• Why We Need Nukes and Gitmo - Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times
• Obama Braces for WV Setback — Amy Chozick, Wall Street Journal
• GOP Tries to Avert Mississippi Train Wreck — Aaron Blake, The Hill
• Procrastination: A Special Report — Slate.com

Hillary Clinton Deathwatch Update

The Hillary Clinton Deathwatch… down to 1.6%…