Ramblin' with Roger

Insomnia-writing post

A study suggested that 7, not 8 hours of sleep, is optimal. Less than that, for most people, is suboptimal.

I know Dustbury sometimes has trouble going to sleep. He once wrote: “For some reason, around 10 pm, when I should be shutting down the brain for the night, I seem to start new projects. It’s almost like I’m daring insomnia to descend upon me. Somehow this seems counterproductive.”

Probably true; most of those advice columns suggest getting away from the TV, computer, or electronic device of your choice 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. Almost never happens with me.

I got this from SOMEWHERE:

If, as researchers report, people with insomnia could not turn off a “mind wandering” region of the brain irrelevant to tasks of working memory, then is it possible that this mind wandering function in the sleep deprived person is 1. A compensatory “dream while awake” mechanism; and 2. A possible compensatory strength in cognitive fluidity and creativity? Are some tasks better approached on a full night’s sleep, while others on vapors? And can you surmise on what basis this is written?

So, it’s 3:30 a.m., and I’m looking through ideas for blog posts that I never used. Or maybe I DID use them and forgot. It’s 3:30 – too tired to check!

Did I use this? Religious People Tend to Be More Racist, Study Finds. This is TOTALLY believable, unfortunately. (And when it’s really early in the morning, I tend to repeat myself. Such as the use of the word TOTALLY. I’d not allow that when I’m wide awake!)

I need to rant about how stupid changing the clocks is, I believe, but too tired for that.

Ferguson, from a conservative’s view

Even if you read only the parts of the Ferguson DOJ report that come directly from the files of the FPD, the report paints an incredibly damning picture.

Attorney General Holder meets with local residents and community leaders of Ferguson at Drake's Place Restaurant — Attorney General Holder meets with residents of Ferguson, MO

As usual, I read a variety of points-of-view on political issues. This was one of the items I read this week about the US Department of Justice’s report on the police of Ferguson, Missouri:

People are highly resistant to changing their minds and they become impervious to new evidence, often dismissing out of hand outright facts just because they are reported by a given source (e.g., “the media is untrustworthy” or “you can’t trust the Holder Department of Justice.”) Perhaps nowhere has this phenomenon been more obvious (or regrettable) than in Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown…

Conservatives…have become highly resistant to assimilating information that strongly suggests that the Ferguson PD – as with many other municipal police departments in the country – truly is out of control, in that it recklessly violates the constitutional rights of the citizens of Ferguson and does so in a manner that has a clearly disproportionate impact on minorities…

Even if you read only the parts of the Ferguson DOJ report that come directly from the files of the FPD (which is to say, files that would be most favorable to the Department), the report paints an incredibly damning picture of the Ferguson Police Department. No conservative on earth should feel comfortable with the way the Ferguson PD has been operating for years, even according to their own documents.

This report did not come the left-of-center Daily Kos, which DID note this month, If you think ‘reverse racism’ is worse than what blacks face, read the Ferguson report.

Instead, it came from the right-wing publication Red State, written by the noted conservative ~~Erick Erickson~~Leon Wolf. It was titled “Many Conservatives are Blowing it on the Ferguson DOJ Report,” with the subhead: “Their reaction is neither fair, accurate, nor good for America.”

Meanwhile, The Weekly Sift noted:

Both the city manager and the police chief have resigned, but the mayor is determined to hang on. He isn’t even convinced the city has a serious problem:

The report stated there was probable cause to believe the police and court routinely violate people’s civil rights. But, [James] Knowles [III] said, “that’s not proof.” He added that “there is probably another side to all of these stories.”

One might suggest that Mayor Knowles didn’t read the same report Leon Wolf did.

Surname of Green

Sometimes the surname Green can be of Irish origins.

Someone in my office recently asked me the derivation of my last name. I instinctively knew it was rooted in Great Britain and/or Ireland, but I had not looked it up in a while.

This is what I found HERE.

Recorded in the spellings of Green and Greene, this is one of the most widespread of English, and sometimes Irish, surnames. It is usually of pre 7th century origins, and derives from the word “grene” meaning green.

As such it may be topographical for a person resident by a village green or even a place called Green, or as a status name for a young man who played the part of the mystic and fertile “Green Man” sometimes known as “Jack in the Green”, in the May Day fertility celebrations. In this context “green” was symbolic of youthful ardour, spring, and the re-growth of nature.

Sometimes the surname can be of Irish origins, and a translation of the ancient Gaelic given name “Uaithne”. As this also means “green,” it probably has the same basic meaning and origin as the English form.

Green is the 37th most popular surname in the United States, I’ve read multiple places.

Truth is that I’m not certain of my English and/or Irish roots, though surely I have one or both, based on family lore. But on St. Patrick’s Day, I’m willing to yield to the wearing of the green, just in case.

J is for Office JEOPARDY! #3

I’ve been participating in an e-mail version of JEOPARDY!, the TV game show that has been on the air in its current incarnation for over 30 years. Earlier versions makes the run more like four decades.

There has been some interdepartmental game of the TV show Jeopardy going on around here. I was invited to join by this guy, not in my department but in my building, who told the organizer “Alex” that I’m really smart; thanks for the pressure. I wonder if “Alex” knows I was was once on the real JEOPARDY?

Here are some of the rules.
* All the answers and questions come from the Jeopardy Desk calendar of the current date.
* Don’t cheat. NO looking at the desk calendar, NO looking up the answer anywhere (i.e. internet, dictionary, etc), NO discussing or giving it away with anyone.
* The Answer must be in the form of a question or you will lose points
* Only those with positive points can play Final Jeopardy.

I won the first round, and tied for first the last round, so maybe I was feeling a tad cocky. BTW, no real money changes hands.

Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Theater Lingo
The Jeopardy game answer is: To be “Born in” one of these suitcases means you’re born into an acting family.

My first instinct was to say in a trunk, but I wasn’t sure, so I passed.

Six people got it right, two got it wrong, 11, including me, passed.

What is a trunk?

Nuts, didn’t trust my instincts.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $400 and the category is: Hey, Sailor!
The Jeopardy game answer is: On September 20,1519, this Portuguese navigator headed West on a trip around the world.

Not only did I know this straight off, I knew he didn’t make it, but died in 1521. Talk about your useless trivia.

Who is Ferdinand Magellan?

There’s a five-way tie for 1st place, and I’m in a three-way tie for 7th place.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: Hey, Sailor!
The Jeopardy game answer is: He served at the Civil War Battle of New Orleans before becoming a naval hero of the Spanish-American War.

My first guess was David Farragut, who fought in the Gulf of Mexico during the Civil War. Fortunately, I wasn’t confident enough to guess, and a good thing: Farragut died in 1870, long before the 1898 war.

Who is (Admiral) George Dewey?

The leader has $1600, and I’m in a three-way tie for 6th, still with $400.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Notable Places
The Jeopardy game answer is: Two battles near this “Springs” city of upstate New York are often called the turning point of the American revolution.

This should have been a gimme for everyone, for this was only 30 miles from here!

What is Saratoga (Springs)?

The leader has $2200, and I’m in a three-way tie for 6th with $1000.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $400 and the category is: Title Role Playing
The Jeopardy game answer is: Dr. Strangelove

I have actually never seen this 1964 film – for shame! – but feel I ought to. Seen a lot of clips, though, and knew right away.

Who is Peter Sellers?

The leader has $2600, and I’m in a two-way tie for 5th with $1400.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: Title Role Playing
The Jeopardy game answer is: The Great Gatsby (2013)

Never saw the movie, but I remember reading that one actor had good roles in two films that year, the other being The Wolf of Wall Street, which I ALSO did not see.

Who is Leonardo DiCaprio?

I have $2600, still tied for 4th.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $200 and the category is: Words & Their Meanings
The Jeopardy game answer is: This is the indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle, or a kick on fourth down in football.

That’s AMERICAN football.
I think EVERYONE knew this.

What is a punt?
***

Today’s Answer is worth $600 and the category is: Words & Their Meanings
The Jeopardy game answer is: As well as a summary or account, it can mean an explosive noise, as from a rifle.

I got this straight away.

What is a report?

Leader with $4600; I’m in a three-way tie for 3rd with $3400.
***

Today’s Answer is worth $1200 and the category is: “Aire” Time
The Jeopardy game answer is: The Physiocrats, 18th Century French Economists, were in favor of this, the government staying out of economic affairs.

I wonder if “Alex” penalized for misspelling, since “aire” is in the clue?

The question to Friday’s answer was: What is Laissez-Faire?

A new leader at $4800, and I’m in a tie for 2nd with $4600.

That was the last question before the Final Jeopardy. Based on this category, we wager with the amount of money you have, but we don’t know the question.

The Final Jeopardy Category is: Annual Events

I bet it all, because the person I’m tied with will bet it all, based on previous experience.

The next day:

Your answer to this category is: Forefathers Day, December 21, celebrates the 1620 landing here.

Really? I suspect EVERYONE will get this right.

What is Plymouth Rock?

Sure enough, the winner had $9498, with me tied for second at $9200.
***
From the REAL JEOPARDY!
What’s it like to be one of the Jeopardy! clue writers?

The episode of March 12, 2015 was just awful. And very lonely for one contestant.

ABC Wednesday – Round 16

Put a women on the $20 bill

His face on our money implies an honor that Andrew Jackson’s legacy doesn’t deserve.

Only very recently, I came across the website Women On 20s, which “aims to compel historic change by convincing President Obama that NOW is the time to put a woman’s face on our paper currency… With at least 100,000 votes, we can get the President’s ear. That’s how many names it takes to petition the White House for executive action.”

I got here late, so participants have already winnowed down the list from 30 to 15 candidates.

The process is quite self-explanatory:

1. Primary Voting. You may vote for three of 15 candidates…

2.Final Round Voting. When the Primary winners are announced, return to the voting booth to cast your ballot for one of the top three finalists.

3.Decision Day. On Decision Day, we will announce the people’s choice for the woman we’ll propose to President Obama for the new face of the $20.

Why the $20?

“The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote. So it seems fitting to commemorate that milestone by voting to elevate women to a place that is today reserved exclusively for the men who shaped American history. That place is on our paper money. And that new portrait can become a symbol of greater changes to come.”

Why boot Andrew Jackson from the $20?

As this Slate article from 2014 put it:

Andrew Jackson engineered a genocide through the “Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears, [his] campaigns to force at least 46,000 Cherokees, Choctaws, Muscogee-Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles off their ancestral lands.”

Moreover:
“He was a fierce opponent of paper money and the central banking system, and would probably be horrified to see his face on our national currency. Leaving him on the bill as a form of mockery could be the best insult. But complicated historical slights don’t translate: His face on our money implies an honor that Jackson’s legacy doesn’t deserve. Worse, it obscures the horrors of his presidency.”

Here are the candidates:

ALICE PAUL (1885 – 1977) – women’s suffrage movement leader
BETTY FRIEDAN (1921 – 2006) – author of the Feminine Mystique
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM (1924 – 2005) – first black woman elected to Congress
SOJOURNER TRUTH (C.1797 – 1883) – famous for her journeys on the underground railroad
RACHEL CARSON (1907 – 1964) – writer of the important environmental book Silent Spring

ROSA PARKS (1913 – 2005) – civil rights activist
BARBARA JORDAN (1936 – 1996) – first black woman in the South to be elected to the US House of Representatives
MARGARET SANGER (1879 – 1966) – opened the first birth control clinic in the US
PATSY MINK (1927 – 2002) – first woman of color elected to the House, and the first Asian American elected to Congress
CLARA BARTON (1821 – 1912) – the founder of the American Red Cross

HARRIET TUBMAN (C.1822 – 1913) – women’s rights activist and abolitionist
FRANCES PERKINS (1880 – 1965) – Secretary of Labor under FDR, first woman appointed to the US Cabinet
SUSAN B. ANTHONY (1820 – 1906) – women’s suffrage movement leader
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (1884 – 1962) – human rights activist and former first Lady
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON (1815 – 1902) – women’s rights activist and abolitionist

The organizers claim they have mechanisms in place to prevent “stuffing the ballot.”

The Washington Post noted that “the group has been ‘sort of surprised at the lack of opposition’ to the campaign, and… hopes it will ‘get this conversation going.'”

Women on $20s executive director Susan Ades Stone added, “We wanna be the hashtag that says #sorryAndrew.”