Today, 3/14, is Pi Day. In honor of this day, here are some interesting math-related jokes and links for your enjoyment. Oh, and remember to eat pie at some point today.
http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/misc/miscellaneous/everybody_loves_a_math_joke.shtml
http://math.arizona.edu/~mcleman/CoolNumbers/CoolNumbers.html
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Recycling Light Bulbs
Does anybody know what to do with used incandescent light bulbs? Intuitively, I would think light bulbs couldn't be disposed with regular trash. The glass could be dangerous when it shatters in the trash, so I would at least be more comfortable depositing the bulbs in a sharps container. Also, it seems like the glass and the tungsten could be recycled somehow. After changing all of my old light bulbs for CFLs at the beginning of the year, I've been looking around to figure out what to do with the used bulbs.
It seems like nobody in Champaign-Urbana knows about light bulb recycling. Most of the information online is about CFL recycling due to the small amount of mercury that they contain, but there is virtually nothing about incandescent recycling. I've asked people at Loews, Home Depot, and even Strawberry Fields, but nobody seems to know. If anyone out there knows more about this topic, please let me know and I can acknowledge you on this post.
It seems like nobody in Champaign-Urbana knows about light bulb recycling. Most of the information online is about CFL recycling due to the small amount of mercury that they contain, but there is virtually nothing about incandescent recycling. I've asked people at Loews, Home Depot, and even Strawberry Fields, but nobody seems to know. If anyone out there knows more about this topic, please let me know and I can acknowledge you on this post.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The Cost of Ethical Living
Ethical and sustainable living are important issues to me, and I won't pretend that I can do the subject justice in one blog entry. However, I do feel a need to address the biggest objection that people raise when discussing these topics: money.
First of all, money is just a means to an end, and that end is the betterment of one's life and one's own pursuit of happiness. Many people are able to accomplish this by spending their own time and effort, thus it is important to recognize that money is not a prerequisite for happiness. After all, when you come right down to it, what is money but a representation of the time and effort that it took you to get that money? When people say they don't want to spend the money for ethical and sustainable living, they're really saying the extra effort that they had to go through is not worth the benefit.
This is where I disagree with people. When people buy stuff, the transaction isn't just their money being exchanged for a physical good. By purchasing one thing over another, they are sending their money, and thus their time and effort, to support the way the product was made. This would include such things as the way plants are grown, the way animals are raised, and the practices of the manufacturing company. If money keeps going towards companies that don't work to reduce gas emissions or continue to abuse cheap labor, they're not going to see a reason to stop. In my opinion, that is a price that I'm willing to pay.
[EDIT: 3/9/07] This week, a referendum for the institution of a sustainability fee was passed during student elections. This will be a $5 student fee that will go towards establishing a sustainable campus environment. The resolution passed 6997 to 1854.
First of all, money is just a means to an end, and that end is the betterment of one's life and one's own pursuit of happiness. Many people are able to accomplish this by spending their own time and effort, thus it is important to recognize that money is not a prerequisite for happiness. After all, when you come right down to it, what is money but a representation of the time and effort that it took you to get that money? When people say they don't want to spend the money for ethical and sustainable living, they're really saying the extra effort that they had to go through is not worth the benefit.
This is where I disagree with people. When people buy stuff, the transaction isn't just their money being exchanged for a physical good. By purchasing one thing over another, they are sending their money, and thus their time and effort, to support the way the product was made. This would include such things as the way plants are grown, the way animals are raised, and the practices of the manufacturing company. If money keeps going towards companies that don't work to reduce gas emissions or continue to abuse cheap labor, they're not going to see a reason to stop. In my opinion, that is a price that I'm willing to pay.
[EDIT: 3/9/07] This week, a referendum for the institution of a sustainability fee was passed during student elections. This will be a $5 student fee that will go towards establishing a sustainable campus environment. The resolution passed 6997 to 1854.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Unofficial Followup
It's been brought to my attention that the Wikipedia article on Unofficial was removed because it did not pass notability standards. Put in simplest terms, Wikipedia articles must be about something of note. Otherwise, anybody could put up an article about themselves.
Cast in that light, the whole situation makes a little more sense. Unofficial is still essentially a promotion or a gimmick that was organized by the bars in Champaign, so in that regard it is just a local event. The fact remains, though, that Unofficial is a big deal on campus. People from other universities come to Champaign to join in festivities; alumni and people from across the country have been known to make plans to come to campus for the day or the weekend. This definitely sounds like a notable event to me.
The situation might make some sense when discussed in terms of notability, but I still question the timing of the article removal. Think about the hundreds or thousands of people that post articles about themselves. How long does it take for those articles to be removed? I wouldn't be surprised if people from the University or the city of Champaign were involved with this.
Cast in that light, the whole situation makes a little more sense. Unofficial is still essentially a promotion or a gimmick that was organized by the bars in Champaign, so in that regard it is just a local event. The fact remains, though, that Unofficial is a big deal on campus. People from other universities come to Champaign to join in festivities; alumni and people from across the country have been known to make plans to come to campus for the day or the weekend. This definitely sounds like a notable event to me.
The situation might make some sense when discussed in terms of notability, but I still question the timing of the article removal. Think about the hundreds or thousands of people that post articles about themselves. How long does it take for those articles to be removed? I wouldn't be surprised if people from the University or the city of Champaign were involved with this.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Unofficial St. Patrick's Day
Today, the students and bars on campus celebrated (or are still celebrating)
Unofficial St Patrick's Day. The event was started several years ago as a promotion to get people out to the bars. However, in recent years the event has gotten out of hand, with people disrupting classes, or even worse, driving drunk.
This year, the University, the city, and law enforcement have instituted many policies to prevent the problems from past years, and I completely understand their efforts to do so. When excessive drinking gets in the way of education at a University, something definitely needs to be done.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out that the Wikipedia entry for Unofficial St. Patrick's Day was censored. Go ahead, look it up for yourself. There even used to be a page that said that the article was restricted and could not be edited or accessed in any way. Something fishy seems to be going on here...
Unofficial St Patrick's Day. The event was started several years ago as a promotion to get people out to the bars. However, in recent years the event has gotten out of hand, with people disrupting classes, or even worse, driving drunk.
This year, the University, the city, and law enforcement have instituted many policies to prevent the problems from past years, and I completely understand their efforts to do so. When excessive drinking gets in the way of education at a University, something definitely needs to be done.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out that the Wikipedia entry for Unofficial St. Patrick's Day was censored. Go ahead, look it up for yourself. There even used to be a page that said that the article was restricted and could not be edited or accessed in any way. Something fishy seems to be going on here...
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