Shooting at NIU Campus in DeKalb, 5 Dead
February 14, 2008
At approximately 3 p.m. Thursday, February 14, 2008, a gunman, carrying one shotgun and two handguns, opened fire in a geology class at Cole Hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
NIU Police officers were on the scene in less than two minutes and the gunman was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a short time later. Police have not released the identity of the gunman. At this time, there is no known motive. Campus Police Chief Donald Grady also confirmed that the gunman was not a student at Northern Illinois University.
Eighteen students were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb.
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Skin Color Map
January 31, 2008
Skin color map. The twin role played by the skin – protection from excessive UV radiation and absorption of enough sunlight to trigger the production of vitamin D – means that people living in the lower latitudes, close to the Equator, with intense UV radiation, have developed darker skin to protect them from the damaging effects of UV radiation. In contrast, those living in the higher latitudes, closer to the Poles, have developed fair skin to maximize vitamin D production.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!National Holidays for 2008
January 23, 2008
Following is the list of National Holidays for 2008 Calender year.
January 1 New Year’s Day
January 21 Martin Luther King Day
February 18 Presidents’ Day
May 26 Memorial Day
July 4 Independence Day
September 1 Labor Day
October 13 Columbus Day
November 11 Veterans Day
November 27 Thanksgiving Day
December 25 Christmas Day
Below is an image of National Holidays for 2008 which you can take a print out of
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Kyoto Protocol Participation Map
December 28, 2007
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the international Framework Convention on Climate Change with the objective of reducing Greenhouse gases that cause climate change. It was agreed on 11 December 1997 at the 3rd Conference of the Parties to the treaty when they met in Kyoto, and entered into force on 16 February 2005.
The Kyoto Protocol now covers more than 170 countries globally and more than 60% of countries in terms of global greenhouse gas emissions. As of December 2007, the United States and Kazakhstan are the only signatory nations not to have ratified the act.
Click for a larger picture
Source : Wikipedia
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December 28, 2007
The editors of the American Heritage® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know.
“The words we suggest,” says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, “are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language.”
The following is the entire list of 100 words Every High School Graduate Should Know:
abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
[Read more]
Penn & Teller: Bullshit — Intelligent Design
December 5, 2007
Penn & Teller debunk Intelligent Design as a possible scientific theory, even while it is being added to science curricula across the U.S.
This program originally aired back in March of 2003, and Cobb County’s “intelligent design” policies were stricken down by a federal judge in Atlanta as unconstitutional in 2005.
But, scientifically speaking, creation is not a theory. It’s not even a hypothesis. It can’t be disproven. Hell, I’m not sure it can even be tested. Evolution was a hypothesis. Supporting evidence was gathered and it became a theory. For nearly 150 years it’s been tested and has not been disproven. Sure we’ve made adjustments and corrections, but the core concept remains.
Evolution will never advance beyond a theory in science, because it’s impossible to prove. That’s how the scientific process works. The more we fail to disprove a theory, the more likely its accuracy. People are free to believe in creation, but it can’t be a scientific theory because you can’t devise an experiment to disprove it. It cannot be tested. This makes it useless, whether true or false. Evolution theory can be used to make predictions and advances. So long as those predictions and advances hold up, the truth of the theory is actually fairly irrelevant, though it is obviously strengthened each time it is successfully used.
It’s always possible that something will come along and throw a wrench in our ideas on evolution and we’ll need to *ahem* evolve new ways of thinking.
What I don’t think ID/Creationism proponents ever really contemplate is this… Do you believe in survival of the fittest? Do you believe that an animal that is better suited to its life and environment will produce more successfully/frequently than one that is less well suited? To me, that’s just simple logic and observation. Of course it will. It’s no different than the best college basketball team making it through March madness and taking the NCAA championship. Yes, in any given season the best team might have a bad game at a bad time, but on average over the course of years, the best teams come out on top.
Now if you’ve accepted that, the logical next step is that those animals with advantages will pass those advantages on, and over time that can shift the attributes of the species.
We see evolution happen all the time, but opponents choose to ignore it. New strains of influenza pop up every year, for example.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Hispanic Students under performing at School
November 28, 2007
The Charlotte Observer reports that Hispanic students are under performing at school and in academics in general. For example, the drop out rates for the Hispanic students is nearly 9% compared to only 4.5% in white students in North Carolina. Even worse is that the study indicates that nearly 50% of the girls are expected to be pregnant before their 20th birthday.
The cause of Hispanic Students under performing at School is being attributed to a number of factors. However, the one that ranks right at the top is the lack of support from their in general uneducated parents and the lack of support at home. Also, there is a steady migration of the youth to gangs in order to gain acceptance with almost 40% indicating that they are or facing ethnic discrimination.
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