Stan Taylor

This morning, I ran the 3M Half Marathon for the third time. I’m happy to report that I’m getting faster as I age. I ran it in 1998 and finished in 1:40:00. In 2001, I finished in 1:38:30. This morning, however, I finished in 1:36:00! That’s a 7:20 min/mile pace. Here are my general results and detailed results:

The half marathon is always a lot of fun. Here are some of the things I saw along the route this morning:

• a lederhosen-clad accodianist
• a kilt-clad bagpipe player
• unicyclists
• jugglers
• a juggler riding a unicycle
• a live band
• a terrified whitetail buck (with a big rack) next to Anderson high school

Keep Austin Weird bumper stickers are all the rage these days, but this morning this bumper sticker made me smile:

(Round Rock is a suburb of Austin)

I really have no idea how many people read my blog. If you do, I’d like to hear from you. Either add a comment to this post or drop me an email. I’d like to know:

• How long you’ve been reading my blog
• What you like and dislike about it
• How you found my blog, if you remember
• What you’d like to see more of

Thanks, Stan

I’ve forwarded the link to The Clergy Letter Project on to my pastors and other liberal Christian friends. From the project’s home page:

For too long, the misperception that science and religion are inevitably in conflict has created unnecessary division and confusion, especially concerning the teaching of evolution. I wanted to let the public know that numerous clergy from most denominations have tremendous respect for evolutionary theory and have embraced it as a core component of human knowledge, fully harmonious with religious faith.
In the fall of 2004, I worked with clergy throughout Wisconsin to prepare a statement in support of teaching evolution. We were called to action by a series of anti-evolution policies passed by the school board in Grantsburg, WI. The response was overwhelming. In a few weeks, nearly 200 clergy signed the statement, which we sent to the Grantsburg school board on December 16, 2004. Additionally, groups of educators and scientists sent letters to the Grantsburg School Board and to the Superintendent of Schools protesting these policies. In response to all of this attention, as well as the efforts of others, the Grantsburg School Board retracted their policies.
The outpouring of support from clergy around the country encouraged me to make this a nationwide project. If you want to read more about it or join us in sharing this important perspective, click here. Encourage your clergy to consider signing the statement and please feel free to link to these webpages. And, while the current focus is on Christian clergy, please let me know if you are willing to write and/or host a statement from other religions.
Sincerely,
Michael Zimmerman
Dean
College of Letters and Sciences
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

As a side note, I notice that University United Methodist Church in Austin is already signed up to celebrate Evolution Sunday. Makes me wish I were still a member there.

I don’t usually read science fiction, but I’ve been reading writer John Scalzi’s blog for several months, so I decided to give his fiction a try. Old Man’s War was a nice, imaginative and compelling read. Nothing earth-shattering about it in any way, but I enjoyed it.

On Saturday, Samuel and I had a male bonding experience. We installed wire fencing around the bottom of our picket fence to keep his puppy Penny from escaping the back yard under the fence. Samuel and I went to Home Depot together to get the supplies, and then he helped me cut the fencing into strips and staple the strips to the bottoms of the pickets. He worked willingly and got tired before he got bored. Afterwards, he told Katie that he and I had had a really good time together.
I just wanted to document this experience to read again in eight or ten years when, I suspect, Samuel will not be so forthcoming with his help.

Taking the advice of my friend Rafe Colburn, last night I signed up with eMusic.com. I was not sure about it, since I couldn’t view their catalog before signing up, but since they offered a no-strings-attached trial (I scrutinized the entire agreement), I decided to give it a try. Last night, I ended up downloading ALL of my trial songs (for the curious, I downloaded songs from Richard Shindell and They Might Be Giants) and converting to a subscription. I was impressed with their selection, their price and the fact that the MP3s aren’t encumbered by DRM. The price and lack of DRM beats iTunes hands down.
As for their selection, it’s not as extensive as iTunes, but it fits my music tastes perfectly. This is from eMusic’s FAQ about their music selection:

Do you…
a) Already buy or download about one CD per month?
b) Listen to college radio or other non-profits? (Like KEXP or WFMU?)
c) Read music criticism? (Like Pitchfork, NYTimes, or Salon.com?)
d) Already troll the ‘net for legitimate free Mp3s? (At Epitonic, BetterPropaganda, Insound?)
e) Go to three or four live performances a year?
f) Ever listen to stuff that is not pop, rock, or hip-hop?
If you answered yes to at least one or two of these questions, eMusic is probably for you. You’ll be able to find plenty of stuff to listen to. Start by *browsing* rather than searching and check out what’s really here. Also, you can ask on these message boards and you’ll get a lot of recommendations, fast. And, of course, even if you aren’t a hardcore music addict yet, eMusic is a great way to become one. You’ve been warned.

I find Signs of Life oddly fascinating

In a new blog post, John Scalzi recounts his move from print to online writing back in 1995. This is what John learned from the experience:

The most important thing the move taught me was simply this: There is always another way. What is required is the will to confront change from without and roll with it so it becomes change from within. My job came crashing down on me, and I had a choice of accepting it or finding another way. I found another way and and took it. My editors forced change on me; I turned it around and worked to make it a change on my terms. In this particular case I was fortunate that work I had been doing had prepared the way, so I could move quickly — but even had I started from zero, with work another way would have presented itself in time.

I learned a similar lesson back in 1992-3. As I was getting closer to completing my Ph.D. in German, I realized that I no longer had a passion for my academic work and that my personality and work style were not well suited to an academic environment. I also noted the glut of freshly minted humanities Ph.Ds relative to the academic job openings. So, I made a conscious decision to be open-minded about other career opportunities. Because of this decision, I jumped at a part-time opportunity to work as a computational linguist. One thing led to another, and here I am today.
Some of my grad school associates think that I couldn’t cut it in the academic world. Others think I sold out. There’s some truth in both of those judgements, but there’s also a certain amount of narrow-mindedness. But as I’ve aged, I’ve realized that my professional life is only a relatively small part of my identity. I’m very thankful to be able to provide for my family and to have a career that I find rewarding and intellectually stimulating in its own way.

We are a group of evangelical pastors, academics and mission executives who have been disturbed by the growing influence of Christian Zionism on the political scene in America recognizing this ideology to be a major factor in the stalled peace process in Israel / Palestine. We hope to offer an alternative biblical view, one that reflects the true nature of God as a God of compassion and justice. Christian Zionism and the dispensationalism which undergirds it distorts this.

Challenging Christian Zionism offers a lot of resources to fight the right-wing Christian theology and political agenda.
NOTE: If you don’t know what Christian Zionism is, check out this article. It’s a little wordy, but not too long.