Study Habits

I am constantly flabbergasted by the number of college students who think that reading their notes three times, or even five times, is a good way to study. No flashcards, no self-testing. Just rereading. This is a terrible way to study. My sense is that I came to this conclusion on my own. However, I had an excellent preparatory education, so it's entirely possible that someone along the way told me this. In fact, it's probable.

Students are really surprised when I tell them that they have to test themselves in some way before the test. I have only once had a student who was struggling come to me and say that she had self-tested. (And I've had lots of students come to me and say they are struggling.) If I were a betting person, I'd say that self-testing as a study strategy is probably what separates the successful students from the unsuccessful ones.

Anyway, this is all to say that there is a new study out that I can now point to and say, "See? Re-reading? It's no good."

Heather says "Yes Ma'am" to her two mommies

Census data suggest that gay parenting is more common in the South than in other geographical regions.

In addition, the data show, child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gay couples in Southern states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on the West Coast, in New York and in New England.

That information surprises me and makes sense at the same time. My first thought, which is also mentioned in the article, is that Southerners may be more likely to come out at a later age, more likely to get married, and more likely to have kids in heterosexual relationships before entering homosexual relationships. Maybe in other regions, people are more likely to have their first long-term, committed relationships be with someone of the same-sex. Having children then becomes a much more complicated, and often expensive, prospect.

This, however, was not surprising:

The pattern, identified by Mr. Gates, is also notable because the families in this region defy the stereotype of a mainstream gay America that is white, affluent, urban and living in the Northeast or on the West Coast.

And this makes this guy sound like an ass:

“We’re starting to see that the gay community is very diverse,” said Bob Witeck, chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications, which helped market the census to gay people. “We’re not all rich white guys.”

Lots of people believe that homosexuality is biological and not a choice -- was this guy under the impression that it was a genetic difference unique to rich, white people? Dumb.

Time Wasting Fun!

The scale of the universe.

That Is Cold

Word Cloud

A Dish reader created word clouds from the Arizona speeches by Palin & Obama.

It's the difference between a political speech and a eulogy.

Water Art

Art by Shinichi Maruayama. More here.

Ted Haggard

Oh my god, y'all! Ted Haggard is coming to TLC! He is my very favorite disgraced closet case. I hope it's on Hulu!