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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Robin Zimmermann" journal:

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Thursday, Jan. 1st, 2009
12:00 am
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 Open Thread 2008!
Buoyed by the terrific success of last year's, I offer you: another open thread! Post! Question! Answer! Flame! (Not too much flame, though - the extinguisher hasn't been recharged in a while.) Anything doesn't reply to regular posts can go here.

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Tuesday, Oct. 7th, 2008
12:17 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 10:26 Y'know what I deplore? The "anyone from 100+ years ago brought forward to today would be terrified" meme. Humanity hasn't changed that much. #
  • 11:25 @fadeaccompli Doubly so when there's a trash bin. I've seen a healthy young man standing less than ten feet from it drop a peel at his feet. #
  • 11:41 @fadeaccompli Granted, there's not a great supply of ashtrays around these days. Cup lids, though - there's no excuse. Always carry out. #
  • 11:54 @fadeaccompli I've a lot of tolerance for addicts - probably be a horrible enabler. But at minimum I'd want them to grind out their butts. #
  • 17:23 @kirabug I think you have to click on the thumbnail pictures in the thing on the right - one is the next one, the other is the previous one. #
  • 18:25 @fadeaccompli ...hm. They should have a system to say: "yes, for the next [time period], you may make the same decision on identical cases." #
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Monday, Oct. 6th, 2008
12:26 pm
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 If I Were A...
Original to me, for once:

Most people have the same religion (or lack of religion) as their parents. That something this large in the life of an individual should even appear to be so much up to chance invites the question: what would you be like if you changed that one variable? And how would you interact if you met?

If I were a Christian:
  • I would play Christian rock. (But possibly good Christian rock, if my church were liberal enough to give me my Joni Mitchell et al.)
  • I would go on missions to third-world countries and donate generously to charity.
  • I would play by the rules with a passion, and deplore the hypocrisy I see in others, also with a passion. (Probably to excess on both counts - I would still cross at the crosswalk were I the last person on earth.)
  • I would debate theology for fun - possibly even go to seminary.
  • The Man Who Was Thursday would still drive me nuts.


If real-me met Christian-me:
  • We'd get in long arguments about the justifications of belief and foundations of morality.
  • We'd exchange mixtape-CDs. I would be very nervous about putting anything anti-religion or anti-Christianity on them.
  • He'd badger me to take up playing the piano again. I would promise, and then forget.
  • He would be appalled that I could lose my Eagle Scout for being an atheist.


God bless, as he would say, and wind to thy wings, as I would reply.

Current Location: school\engineering_lab\office
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Like the Weather - 10,000 Maniacs
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12:13 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 09:19 Checkit: the XBox360 wireless controller draws as much power as *a flashlight*. When I swapped the batteries, it barely warmed the filament. #
  • 15:02 I talked about "Planned Obsolescence" by 10000 Maniacs earlier, but *d-mn!* - the harmony on "with wealth and prominence" is just ... *mmm!* #
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Sunday, Oct. 5th, 2008
03:37 pm
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 Writer's Block: United Nations World Teachers Day

In recognition of United Nations World Teachers Day, let us reflect on the subjects we hated most in school but must now grudgingly admit were useful. What subject will today’s students find most useful when they’re older?


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...wow, the question has nothing to do with the setup.

Now, English was a pain in the butt, but I have to admit that it is extremely important.

Current Location: home\west_bedroom\south_bed
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman - Aretha Franklin
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12:10 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 08:02 Morning. Most everyone is asleep/hungover - one roommate and myself are up. Waking them now. #
  • 09:26 About to see who we're paired against for Round Four. #
  • 11:07 Another eloquent loss, my PM. Did should-Truman-have-should-Truman-have-nuked-Japan opp-choice, they chose yea. Next: watch Swat-Jeopardy. #
  • 11:22 After an Adolf Hitler question: "I think that's the first time that got applause!" #
  • 14:26 5th rnd Gov: "Repeal Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell". We tried & failed. -- After was the 'banquet'; they showed a humor tape of interviews, incl. ... #
  • 14:37 The break - which teams make the quarterfinal. No MD teams. #
  • 15:54 Watched one debate in quarterfinals. Wasn't bad - if skill displayed was typical, can see why we missed the break. Waiting to see what next. #
  • 16:53 Escape! (But got kicked out of big van, so am stuck in back of car for 2-1/2 hour ride home.) Experienced debators disappointed. #
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Saturday, Oct. 4th, 2008
10:16 pm
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 Back from Swat!
Further information later. For those of you who skip Twitterposts: my team (it's two-on-two) went one for five. But, as they say, you win or your learn.

Current Location: home\west_bedroom\south_bed
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon
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12:11 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 15:18 On way to debate tournament @ Swarthmore. Team name: Murder Inc. (Current loc: just passed Whitemarsh.) #
  • 19:40 Round one: good by both sides, but gov was better - we lost. I was leader opp, so Alex will PM next. Let's do this. #
  • 21:30 Round two - another near loss. Alex PM'd a cool case, but opp was too sharp. Key takeaway: exude confidence: stand up straight. #
  • 23:38 Alex: We deserved to lose that round. (We won.) #
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Friday, Oct. 3rd, 2008
07:40 am
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 Writer's Block: Day of German Unity

It’s the Day of German Unity, marking the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany. In our current period of global instability, do you ever feel nostalgic for the seeming simplicity of the Cold War?


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When the Cold War was at its height, nobody expected to survive. (Just read Farnham's Freehold and try to disagree.) I'd rather have a future.

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12:16 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 15:30 Question: if you were the last person alive on Earth, would you still cross at the crosswalk? #
  • 15:55 A thought: God is the word people say when they should be silent. #
  • 16:27 @kirabug ...I still haven't read it. *is ashamed* #
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Thursday, Oct. 2nd, 2008
11:13 pm
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 Swat!
Oh, hey, I'm going up to Swarthmore tomorrow for a novice parliamentary debate tournament! Yeah, late to be mentioning it, but there it is!

Anyway, my laptop will be staying home, so expect only text-message Twitters between tomorrow morning and Saturday night. As for the format, Wikipedia's description of American parliamentary debate is mostly accurate.

See you Sunday!

Current Location: home\west_bedroom\south_bed
Current Mood: awake
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08:47 am
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 Supreme Court: Lemon v. Kurtzman
Via [info]demiurgent, a little meme in honor of our dear Alaskan governor:

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic, to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade. Preferably your own country, but SCOTUS acceptable.) For those who see this on your f-list, take the meme to your OWN lj to spread the fun.

(Full disclosure: I looked up the decision on Wikipedia. It's mostly my own wording, though.)

One of the most important decisions in the battle over the wall of separation between church and state is Lemon v. Kurtzman. This decision is famous for being the source of the well-known Lemon test, requiring that any measure involving the government in religious matters meet three simple criteria:

1. There must be a compelling state interest secular purpose,
2. It must not have as its primary effect the advancement or inhibition of a particular religion, and
3. It must not result in excessive entanglement between state and religion.

Reposted to [info]peri_renna.

Current Location: school\student_union\basement_lounge
Current Mood: amused
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Tuesday, Sep. 30th, 2008
12:13 am
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Sunday, Sep. 28th, 2008
10:54 pm
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 Planned Obsolescence - 10,000 Maniacs
As you may recall, I recently mentioned to the world Livejournal that my brother is the best brother ever - in that particular instance, thanks to his generosity in purchasing and letting me rip a tremendous stack of music CDs. One of the most awesome songs in a generally fantastic batch is 10,000 Maniacs, "Planned Obsolescence" from Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983. It's a great spaced-out synthy track with cleverly layered vocals in clever harmonies - a little like "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" might be if it was orchestrated by Eurythmics, to grotesquely misdescribe it.

But the lyrics are about the conflict between science and religion.

Really, I kinda hate it when this happens. Sometimes, when I'm staying up too late on a school night (he-e-y-y...), I feel things like, "all those people talking about elephants in the room must be talking about religion - it's the biggest one here." You get almost everyone repeating one or another of the same dozen or so platitudes that don't make sense but at least don't offend most people, or repeating one of a different couple dozen which offend one half or the other of the population but which everyone already has a standard response for (usually involving foaming at the mouth and insults either to one's character or to one's intellect, depending on which side is being offended - and yes, the whole "condemn 'both' sides" schtick is one of the "don't make sense" class).

So when I want to talk about this song, I can't even go "is this irony like 'Shiny Happy People', serious like 'Both Sides Now', or something else altogether?" without feeling like I'm walking onto a landmine. I have to lay down a few hundred words of insulation just to mention the question.

...so, what is this song saying? Is it bemoaning the materialism (in the dual-meaning sense) of the worldview now replacing primitive animistic belief, or is it simply observing the death of outdated modes of being? ...I think it is the latter, but I'm not sure!

Current Location: home\west_bedroom\south_bed
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Planned Obsolescence - 10,000 Maniacs
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Saturday, Sep. 27th, 2008
12:09 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 11:46 Seen in the notebook of a *mechanical engineering college student* (some numbers changed to protect the guilty): 743.57 < mu < 794.63 = .96 #
  • 16:33 I'm looking at tinyurl.com/53aju6 from yesterday, and I gotta say: that line from Paulson impressed. #
  • 20:07 Okay, in Test Drive Unlimited, in the "Alfa Romeo day" race, using the stock GT 3.2 V6 24v, my best time is 1:23.15. Just for the record. #
  • 22:43 @kirabug Hey, it's not like the debates will go bad overnight... #
  • 22:51 @kirabug Probably healthier to stay away, then. :/ (There weren't any cool explosions anyway.) #
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Friday, Sep. 26th, 2008
12:19 am
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 Tweets for Today

  • 12:44 Hey, it just hit me. If Paulson et al just *made up* the $700b figure, why spend all that money? What's the *cheapest* plan that would work? #

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Thursday, Sep. 25th, 2008
12:12 am
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 Tweets for Today
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Tuesday, Sep. 23rd, 2008
12:11 am
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 Tweets for Today
  • 11:18 @baxil I would have, but I was playing Test Drive Unlimited. :/ #
  • 19:59 Definitions are theories & evaluated thus. Example: the definition of "fish" includes seahorses and excludes dolphins - vice-versa is wrong. #
  • 22:42 There are in nature neither rewards nor punishments - there are only consequences. -Robert G. Ingersoll #
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Monday, Sep. 22nd, 2008
10:48 pm
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 "The Controversial Survey".
Because I just haven't posted enough today. (;

[01] Do you have the guts to answer these questions and re-post as The Controversial Survey?

Almost!

( Cut for politics. )

Current Location: home\west_bedroom\south_bed\
Current Mood: angry
Current Music: Because the Night - 10,000 Maniacs
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09:01 pm
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I have the most awesome brother ever.

Current Location: home\west_bedroom\south_bed
Current Mood: rippin a foot-high stack o'CDs
Current Music: Headstrong - 10,000 Maniacs
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