Bleah. Can't sleep

It's 3:30 in the morning and I can't seem to fall asleep. I woke up, my brain full of trivialities: a snippet from a Jethro Tull song, an oddly viral ad for a beer I do not drink, another snippet from the old Grammar Rock song Verb, a curious impulse to discover if there's a Japanese translation of MegaTokyo (in theory there is, but it seems to be down right now).

Nothing about solving a story problem, or a code issue, or life, or the kids. Nothing about love, romance, sex. No suggestions for what to cook tomorrow. Obviously, my brain is installed backwards.

I seem to have strained my left wrist at the gym. Not sure how. On fallenpegasus's suggestion, I only did eight reps on the first circuit doing 40lb flys, and I could do eight on the second (previously, I did 10/7, which shows that I was lifting too much the first circuit through). I don't remember feeling strained while I was lifting, but that's probably when it happened.

I also bit my lip a couple of days ago, and the injury seems to have coalesced into a callus. I keep biting it, too. Really annoying.

W00T! Templeton Foundation zorches the Discovery Institute

I've never been one to be happy with the Templeton Foundation, that multimillion-dollar thinktank dedicated to reconciling the gap between science and religion. I'm with Steven Weinberg: "I am in favor of a dialogue between science and religion as long as it is not constructive." The Templeton Foundation kindly disagrees with Weinberg, but they've always been civil about it.

Not this week, however.

The Templeton Foundation released a letter to the press this week stating that, "We do not believe that the science underpinning the intelligent-design movement is sound, we do not support research or programs that deny large areas of well-documented scientific knowledge, and the foundation is a nonpolitical entity and does not engage in or support political movements." (The letter is behind a paywall at the L.A. Times.)

Kudos to the Templetons for recognizing that there's no science in Intelligent Design, that it is a political movement and a public relations effort. It was only a year or so ago that the Templeton Foundation publicly complained that after funding some ID conferences, they asked for papers supporting the science claims, and none never came.

The Discovery Institute really needs to find a new hobby.

Oh, Grief

News outlet CNN had a "round table" with three talking heads, two Christians and Muslim. Behind them on the big display was the topic under conversation: Why are Jews So Hated? Their conclusion was that Jews should just shut the fuck up and stop discussing their point of view in public, it bothers people.

Only the names have been changed. Damn, who knew CNN would prostitute itself like that?

Reality is weird.

The other day I spotted this sign on a strip mall down in Kent, and I have to admit to getting mixed messages from the place. It's even weirder if you realize that the door to the place has a big crucifix on it, and the "Vet." there is indeed for "veterinarian."

And there's just something delightfully ironic about this. I walked in; the place was pretty trashed, mostly stripped down to a third of its original volume.