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Trip Update and a Few News Stories

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , , , 590 Comments

We’re home – yay!

Even with a temperature swing of 30°C to -19°C…even having to go from sleeveless dresses and copious amounts of sunscreen to layered clothing and chapstick…even going back to work instead of hiking through the rainforest…

It’s good to be home. It’s good to be in my own kitchen and near grocery stores with which I am familiar (and stocked with brands that I recognize). I am ecstatic to be reunited with fast and reliable internet. It’s good to be remembered and greeted by the pets that I had to leave for a month and a half. I was gone long enough that I have to relearn which side of the car’s steering wheel the windshield wiper and the turn signal sticks are on, and driving on the right feels a bit odd. Also, the science and logic part of my brain is very reluctant to depart from the metric system of distance and temperature.

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Trip Update and a Few News Stories
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Take Care, Jen.

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 3,914 Comments

It was with a combination of rage and helplessness that I read Jen McCreight’s post about how she’s taking a prolonged break from blogging. There was some sadness too, but above all else was anger and disgust. Well, and there was a good bit of relief that she’s taking time to care for herself.

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Take Care, Jen.

6 O’Clock BS – Carpooling

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 663 Comments

6 O’Clock BS – Today I learned about China.

I have a new carpool mate. I love carpools because I drive about 45 miles round-trip every day and sharing the ride (and the gas) is convenient. I hate carpools because you don’t always end up with the carpool mate you’d like. I like carpools because I get one to three additional cars off of the road, and that’s good for the environment and the roads. I hate carpools because I don’t get to listen to my atheist/skeptic/political podcasts.

My first carpool ever was with two young male professionals. One was laid back and casual, in that professional, don’t share too much way. The other lived for Jesus. He was young, hip, a bit of a goof and very friendly; we got along rather well all things considered. But he tried to get us to listen to bible readings (“It’s totally cool if you don’t want to, but it’s what I usually listen to during my drive and I think they make interesting stories and good conversation). He also believes in the whole “wife is to husband as husband is to god” family dynamic. His family believes that it is his wife’s place and responsibility to share her opinions and knowledge with her husband, but that ultimately it is his responsibility to make final decisions. He and his wife don’t use birth control; they believe that god will send them as many children as he sees fit. They’re up to four now. These are not ideas I can overlook in a friend, and when the carpool eventually ended it was a bit of a relief.

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6 O’Clock BS – Carpooling

6 O'Clock BS – Carpooling

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 598 Comments

6 O’Clock BS – Today I learned about China.

I have a new carpool mate. I love carpools because I drive about 45 miles round-trip every day and sharing the ride (and the gas) is convenient. I hate carpools because you don’t always end up with the carpool mate you’d like. I like carpools because I get one to three additional cars off of the road, and that’s good for the environment and the roads. I hate carpools because I don’t get to listen to my atheist/skeptic/political podcasts.

My first carpool ever was with two young male professionals. One was laid back and casual, in that professional, don’t share too much way. The other lived for Jesus. He was young, hip, a bit of a goof and very friendly; we got along rather well all things considered. But he tried to get us to listen to bible readings (“It’s totally cool if you don’t want to, but it’s what I usually listen to during my drive and I think they make interesting stories and good conversation). He also believes in the whole “wife is to husband as husband is to god” family dynamic. His family believes that it is his wife’s place and responsibility to share her opinions and knowledge with her husband, but that ultimately it is his responsibility to make final decisions. He and his wife don’t use birth control; they believe that god will send them as many children as he sees fit. They’re up to four now. These are not ideas I can overlook in a friend, and when the carpool eventually ended it was a bit of a relief.

Continue reading “6 O'Clock BS – Carpooling” →

6 O'Clock BS – Carpooling

6 O’Clock BS: Praying on the Street

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 548 Comments

Last Thursday night I was approached on the street by four puppy-eager teens. I was getting off of my motorcycle and heading to the 19 Club, a gay bar one block off of Nicollet Avenue and a few blocks from downtown Minneapolis. The four kids were all clean-cut and smiling kindly. One of the girls stepped forward and asked me if they knew of anybody or anything that they could pray for, and if I’d like to pray with them. I asked them to pray for the wall of church-state separation, because it has been weak as of late and it needs all the strength they could lend to it. They looked bemusified as I walked away.

6 O’Clock BS: Praying on the Street

6 O'Clock BS: Praying on the Street

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 1,195 Comments

Last Thursday night I was approached on the street by four puppy-eager teens. I was getting off of my motorcycle and heading to the 19 Club, a gay bar one block off of Nicollet Avenue and a few blocks from downtown Minneapolis. The four kids were all clean-cut and smiling kindly. One of the girls stepped forward and asked me if they knew of anybody or anything that they could pray for, and if I’d like to pray with them. I asked them to pray for the wall of church-state separation, because it has been weak as of late and it needs all the strength they could lend to it. They looked bemusified as I walked away.

6 O'Clock BS: Praying on the Street

Not just another bullet point.

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 582 Comments

Meet Rebecca Hostetler and Julie Redpath. They live in Chisago City, Minnesota; that’s about 45 miles north of me here in Minneapolis. Rebecca and Julie love each other very much and have been together for over 18 years. They can’t get married today, but perhaps someday soon that option will become available.

During this time in our country we are progressing toward marriage and legal equality for gay and lesbian people. So doesn’t it seem preposterous that we have to go to the polls in November and vote on whether to define marriage as between one man and one woman? Isn’t that a step in the opposite direction of where we are assuredly headed? It just. don’t. make. no. sense. The Minnesota Marriage Amendment was brought to ballot by a few vocal hold-outs who think it’s okay that Rebecca couldn’t visit Julie when Julie was hospitalized, who think that these two women’s relationship is imbued with some sort of magical property that somehow makes straight marriage less special.

The MN Marriage Amendment is a road block to progress, so in November let’s go knock it down and get on with our lives. And keep the door open for Rebecca and Julie to be getting on with theirs.

Not just another bullet point.

Damn it, Jar Jar Binks!

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 659 Comments

So, this conversation ensued after I asked someone about the Jar Jar Binks doll on her shelf.

Me: Jar Jar Binks was your son’s baseball team’s mascot? With all the issues surrounding that charcter? That’s an odd choice.

Her: What? Why? What issues?

Me: (Danger danger Will Robinson) You know, all the hulabaloo about Jar Jar being racist…err…that is (how to explain this) how he was a racist caricature of Jamaicans or of black people who use ebonics.

Her: WHAT? Are you kidding me? I’ve never equated Jar Jar Binks with racism.

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Damn it, Jar Jar Binks!

Unhappy Scientist

Brianne Bilyeu, , 577 Comments

I was speaking to one of the women in our lab yesterday about what we would do if we weren’t in the jobs that we hold. She’s about 10 years from retirement and can’t wait to get out of the “science business”. She says she regrets being a scientist because she doesn’t like who it’s turned her into. She says that her work at our company has made her over-analytical, over-logical, over-ordered, over-skeptical. It’s colored the way she experiences her life outside of work: interactions with friends and family, her finances, her purchasing decisions, her child-rearing, the way she’s handled crises, and she says it makes life too difficult. It’s not her job that makes her unhappy, it’s being a scientist, being unable to be satisfied until she’s sifted through all of the details, asked every question, delved into every aspect of every situation.

In short, she sees the world through the lens of science and doesn’t like the view.

I don’t think that science went wrong. I think she went wrong with science. I know a lot of people who aren’t scientists. Science doesn’t make them happy, so they go into a different line of work. She’s not anti-science, and she’s very good at her job, but it doesn’t make her happy. I feel sad for her that she’s gone so many years in a profession that doesn’t fulfill her.

I talk so much about science appreciation, about the joy and excitement that being a scientist brings me. I share this here because it’s a different story about someone else’s experience with science, one that I hadn’t heard before. Nothing more.

Unhappy Scientist