In case you were wondering…

No, the Minnesota recount is not over yet, and we still don’t know whether Franken or Coleman will be our senator. At last word, Coleman held a 192 vote lead, but thousands of ballots are awaiting a verdict on eligibility from the state Supreme Court. It’s the most mind-numbingly tedious process ever, so far.

However, scrutiny of the ballots has revealed one vote for the Flying Spaghetti Monster for Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor, and another for Franken and Lizard People for US Senator. The latter was rejected as an overvote, but the former did also have a vote that counted for Al Franken.

If you want a deeper discussion of the recount progress, go to Greg Laden. I’ve got the news off until my grading is done.

Digging out

The blizzard is over, and now we’re just buried knee-high in snow. It’s also finals week at UMM, and we’ve just received a note from the administration that classes are not cancelled, but that “students, faculty, and staff should use their judgment when deciding whether or not travel to campus”. Nice way to dodge any responsibility at all!

Fortunately, the first final I have to give is tomorrow, so we may be dug out by then.

Blizzard!

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Our first blizzard of the season is hitting us right now: snow is pouring down, the wind is howling, temperatures are in the single digits °F and dropping, and we’re nearing white-out conditions. We’re staying indoors.

I don’t think our snowflakes look anything like the picture above (from this gallery of snowflake photomicrographs). They’re tiny and powdery, and flying by horizontally at 30 or 40 mph.

Bad timing

I just looked up all bleary-eyed from staring at papers all day to notice that we suddenly have an inch or so of snow piled up on the ground. I was wondering why my wife was so late getting home from work — she’s probably creeping along on slushy roads trying to make it home safely.

And—oh, no—I have to drive to Minneapolis tomorrow!

YEC comedy show coming to the Big City

One of my students picked up this flyer in Minneapolis this weekend. It looks like the creationists are visiting the University of Minnesota this Wednesday and Friday!

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They do love to book that auditorium in the Physics building — don’t be fooled, though. None of the science departments on campus endorse this nonsense, and I know from talking to some of them that the faculty cringe at this use of their facilities…and you know the creationists do this for the faux-sciencey illusion that they’re actually presenting their work in the heart of academia.

This talk is being presented by Dave Nutting of the Alpha Omega Institute, which, despite the grandiose name, is two wackaloons operating out of a small rental office next to a storage unit and behind the pet clinic in a Grand Junction, Colorado. They’re doing a tour through central Minnesota, and are being promoted by our local collection of kooks, the Twin Cities Creation Science Association. I have no idea why it says Coca Cola at the bottom of the flyer; I hope they aren’t sponsoring this silliness.

Unfortunately, I’m going to be in Washington D.C. this weekend, so I have to miss the circus. If you are in the neighborhood, please do show up, laugh, and report back.

How low can Norm Coleman’s campaign sink?

Really low. Here’s an anti-Al Franken brochure that’s being mailed around here in Minnesota—that’s aimed at kids, with childish illustrations, while accusing Franken of some contemptible acts.

“Come on in, kids… Senator Franken’s going to tell a few jokes!”
“We shouldn’t have to be ashamed of Minnesota’s senator!”
Al Franked tackled a protestor at a political rally- and bragged about it
“We shouldn’t have to wonder what he will say…”
Al Franken wrote a pornographic column in Playboy- and thought it was funny.
“We shouldn’t have to apologize for his actions…”
Al Franken has written so-called comedy routines about raping women.
Al Franken: A bad example for our kids; completely unfit for public office

Charming. Man, but I hope Coleman sinks into the sewage permanently next week — but apparently this is still a very close race.

It’s snowing!

We’re having our very first snowfall of the new winter. It’s kind of comforting to see, but a) my wife has an hour long commute each weekday, and b) this usually marks the descent of the region into the deep freeze for the next 4-6 months.

Franken in Morris

We were just talking about Al, and now I learn that he’ll be making a campaign stop on my campus on Monday, 27 October, at 10:30am in Oyate Hall in the student center. I don’t even have classes at that time, so I’ll be able to stop by and join the cheering crowds — if you’re somewhere nearby, come on around.