Thursday, December 24, 2009
merry christmas everyone
i can smell the pepperoni bread...
i'm off to the shore, driving with two million other people. probably should have gotten gas yesterday.
i'm off to the shore, driving with two million other people. probably should have gotten gas yesterday.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
how to fix the economy
via email. i find this amusing:
Dear Mr. President:
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy.
Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.
Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
Dear Mr. President:
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy.
Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.
Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
the success of production is dependent upon how you measure it
i have not been working on my papers lately. instead, things like shopping, wrapping, and football has consumed my time. at first, i was bothered by this, but i have come to realize it is okay. it is the holidays.
football came three days in a row this past weekend, but i am bit sorry that i missed 'men of a certain age.' especially just to see the redskins get killed anyway.
football came three days in a row this past weekend, but i am bit sorry that i missed 'men of a certain age.' especially just to see the redskins get killed anyway.
Monday, December 21, 2009
cookies, dirt, and kissing cousins
this is funny, for the sadistic baker.
i never thought about the social construction of dirt before. but this is a very good point!
did you know that marriage between two first cousins is legal is about half of states? i certainly did not realize that.
i never thought about the social construction of dirt before. but this is a very good point!
did you know that marriage between two first cousins is legal is about half of states? i certainly did not realize that.
Friday, December 18, 2009
waiting for snow
although i know we probably just get rain, as usual.
Monday, December 14, 2009
tv stuff: happy and not happy monday
i'm happy about watching Men of a Certain Age on TNT tonight. i watched the series premiere last week and was excited about a show about men - of a certain age - that focused on real thoughts (how much weight you lose after you pee), hardships (you cannot quit work to find yourself because you have a family to support), and emotions (fear in regards to landing a job/audition) and not catering to the traditional image of men. with that said, one of the characters has a gambling addiction, but i do feel this is more fresh and less stereotypical than a drinking problem.
i am not happy about GMA and the absence of Chris Cuomo this morning. with him and Diane gone (with no disrespect to Robin, Sam, and George), i may not watch. who am i kidding? i'll watch. but i may not be happy about it.
i am not happy about GMA and the absence of Chris Cuomo this morning. with him and Diane gone (with no disrespect to Robin, Sam, and George), i may not watch. who am i kidding? i'll watch. but i may not be happy about it.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
end of semester
yesterday was consumed with grading papers. this morning, i dropped the kid off at a synagogue in portsmouth to go play laser tag with their youth group. fun for her, i hope.
again today, i am spending my day grading (today's batch is evaluating the final project, where i had students create webpages and write annotated bibliographies) which has its up and downs. but this lousy, rainy day is a good one to do it. my goal is to get them all done early so my attention can be turned to sunday night football later (fly eagles, fly).
update: i feel compelled to tell the world that i just ate a peanut butter, banana, and marshmallow fluff sandwich for lunch.
again today, i am spending my day grading (today's batch is evaluating the final project, where i had students create webpages and write annotated bibliographies) which has its up and downs. but this lousy, rainy day is a good one to do it. my goal is to get them all done early so my attention can be turned to sunday night football later (fly eagles, fly).
update: i feel compelled to tell the world that i just ate a peanut butter, banana, and marshmallow fluff sandwich for lunch.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
local news
michael vick's uncle is arrested in a heroin ring.
a flash mob stormed through ODU, hundreds of students strong. apparently it is to relieve end-of-semester stress.
a flash mob stormed through ODU, hundreds of students strong. apparently it is to relieve end-of-semester stress.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
lines from my dissertation proposal*
We have become increasingly dependent on the criminal justice system, evidenced by the quadruple increase in prison populations in America over the last 25 years (Travis 2005). Criminological attention has recently turned to examine the consequences of these actions, especially in the realm of offender reentry (Travis 2005; Urban Institute 2006). Research has found that two-thirds of released prisoners are rearrested within three years (Langan and Levin 2002), over a million children have a parent incarcerated (Mumola 2000) and four million people are disenfranchised (Fellner and Mauer 1998; Urban Institute 2006).
Former inmates face a variety of risk factors including unemployment, low education, substance abuse, disease, and homelessness. “With limited assistance in their reintegration, former prisoners pose public safety risks to communities” (Urban Institute 2006:2). New legislation such as residency restrictions on sex offenders have made life increasingly challenging across the nation and in California. Although many believe that sex offenders are due these challenges, “there is good reason to believe that the real-world consequences of residence restrictions are actually decreasing public safety because the conditions associated with homelessness are directly associated with increased sexual recidivism” (Delson, Kokish, and Abbott 2008:2). The general consensus is that sex offender recidivism is quite high (Thompson 2006), although this is not actually the case. In addition, to say that sex offender recidivism is high implies that the commission of a sex crime is repeated, (as opposed to some other type of crime); this is not the case either. Successful reentry is impacted by a lack of social capital, education and work experience, and waning mental and physical health (Visher and Travis 2003).
* since this is all i have been working on [not just these lines, of course], this is what you get.
Labels: crime and social justice
Saturday, December 05, 2009
eggo shortage
a few weeks ago, i saw via a sign in the grocery store that there was a shortage of kellogg's eggo waffles. this, for my family, was devastating since eggos are the kid's favorite thing in the world. it seems the shortage is due to flooding in the atlanta and mechanical problems in tennessee plants.
for my daughter, store brand is fine. however, due to the shortage, the store brand is often sold out. who would have thought...
for my daughter, store brand is fine. however, due to the shortage, the store brand is often sold out. who would have thought...
Friday, December 04, 2009
death penalty update
as we are coming to the end of the year, here are the capital punishment stats. there have been 48 executions thus far in 2009 [six more are scheduled, with two likely], up from last year when there were 37.
an increase in the number of executions this year is somewhat surprising, given the movement in recent years for reform or abolishment of the death penalty in the US. the increase, though, may be an anomaly, as 2008 marked a 14 year low in executions. there were 42 executions in 2007, going back to a high of 98 in 1999.
an increase in the number of executions this year is somewhat surprising, given the movement in recent years for reform or abolishment of the death penalty in the US. the increase, though, may be an anomaly, as 2008 marked a 14 year low in executions. there were 42 executions in 2007, going back to a high of 98 in 1999.
Labels: crime and social justice
Thursday, December 03, 2009
shhh... you blog too much
i've been quiet lately with all that has been going on. hopefully this will change soon.
i found christmas sixlets tonight at the store and was so excited! eating a little package tonight made me feel like a kid again.
i found christmas sixlets tonight at the store and was so excited! eating a little package tonight made me feel like a kid again.
you made it down here?
what? you want a reward?
