Awww, just what I wanted!

Yeah, it’s my birthday. So? What you gonna make of it, huh?

Anyway, some of you got together and got me a most excellent birthday present, exactly the thing I wanted: credit with no effort on my part. You made charitable donations to exactly the kinds of organizations I support!

Perfect! Thanks everyone!

Victor Stenger and I are identical twins

In Orlando last week, I was on a panel to talk about what the objectives of secularism ought to be, and it was eerie: Vic Stenger and I talked about almost exactly the same things, except he came at it from a physicist’s perspective, talking about energy and nuclear power, while I came at it from a biologist’s perspective, talking about diversity and preservation of habitats…but we were both all science-driven and promoting the necessity of secular reasoning to recognize important problems and develop rational solutions.

Now Vic has put his talk on the FluffPo (unfortunate venue, but a good talk).

I’d put mine here, but I’m using it as the foundation for a talk I’ll be giving at the University of Utah on 7 April. So you’ll just have to wait.

Who are you going to believe? The geologist or the professional pageant contestant?

I’m from the Pacific Northwest, and I am horribly biased — it’s the most beautiful place on the planet. So I quite like Dana Hunter’s tour of the geology of a subduction zone. It’s a perspective with which I’m unfamiliar, focused as I usually am on complex shorelines and soothing rain showers and slugs and salmon.

And then I learn that the recently crowned Miss Seattle, a carpetbagger from Arizona, hates the place.

Ew, I’m seriously hating seattle right now Take me back to az! Ugh can’t stand cold rainy Seattle and the annoying people.

I say run her out of town on a rail and hand the tiara over to Dana.

Next week is Spring Break for me!

Yay! Taking it easy, lolling about on a sunny beach somewhere, sipping pina coladas and forgetting about classes and responsibilities…oh, wait. I booked trips to South Dakota and Alberta? WHAT WAS I THINKING??!?

I shall try to make do. Monday evening, on 12 March, I’ll be in Brookings, SD to talk about creationism. It’s only 3 hours away, I don’t know why I haven’t popped in there before.

On Thursday, 15 March, I’ll be in Calgary to talk about aliens to astronomers. This is a revamp of the talk I gave at TAM last summer; I’ve added some new stuff, though, which apparently requires a warning that the lecture is recommend for people over 14 years old. (I think that means Brownian may not be able to attend.)

Also…it’s my birthday on Friday. Due to the apparently quantal nature of human aging, I will be abruptly Old. Or Older. Something, anyway.

And yet another also…Mary and I have an anniversary next week! We’ll be celebrating separately in Calgary and Morris, but we can still party on the weekend when I get back.

THERE IS BUT ONE “E”!

I am grading the first exam of my first year introductory biology course. The first question on the first exam is always a gimme, just to ease them in and lighten the mood a little. Here’s that first question:

The correct spelling of PZ Myers’ last name is
A. Meyers
B. Meier
C. Myers
D. Mayr

12% of the class answered “A”.

<sigh> I shall carry on with the rest of the exam. I hope the students don’t mind that I return them spattered with my tears.

It’s not too late yet!

A nurse who counseled the dying has compiled a list of popular final regrets. I have to confess…I was disappointed. These aren’t very interesting, but I suppose they are sincere and honest.

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

I have no problem there. No problem at all.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

OK, maybe that would affect me…but I don’t know what I’d do otherwise. I have a job I enjoy, so there’d have to be some other alternative activity I’d rather I’d been doing.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Heh. Not a problem, again. Although I do admit that I’m quicker to criticize than to praise.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Huh? They should be regretting that they haven’t kept in touch with me!

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I’m pretty happy, but I can’t imagine feeling this way at all. If dying happy was what mattered about your life, I’d have to plunge into the ‘hookers and blow’ cliche.

So I thought about what regrets I might actually have.

“I regret that I have not eaten the hearts of all of my enemies.”

“I regret that I still don’t understand X,” where X is whatever the latest concern in my field of science. Right now it would probably be the totality of mechanisms responsible for translating genes into form. I’ll only have to change that question if I live another century (I’m optimistic).

“I regret that those physicists still haven’t delivered on my time machine.” That’s right, physicists, I might curse you with my dying breath.

“I regret that you haven’t brought me a priest to strangle.”

“I regret that I’m fucking dying. STOP IT!”