Daily Archives: Feb 12, 2015

View from Chaos Manor, Thursday, February 12, 2015

Was scheduled to meet with Niven and Barnes to discuss the new Avalon novel. In which we incorporate Grendels and Cthulhu’s with a number of other new aliens. If that makes no sense, read The Secret of Blackship Island, only it won’t make sense unless you have read Legacy of Heorot and its sequel Beowulf’s Children. And if you don’t know about those you ought to: they’re part of a series about the first interstellar colony in slower than light, with new aliens, and lots of adventures: the kind of science fiction I like to read as well as write. Good stuff.

Anyway, Niven will be here shortly and we’ll lunch while working on concepts and characters. I’ll post this before we go.

There is a flood of concern over the latest territorial dispute in Europe, and everyone seems to want to make it our business. Exactly why the eastern Ukraine is our business is not known to me. Putin has Imperial ambitions, but that is no surprise nor is it much of our concern. I remember in Cold War days my friend Rolfe, a science administrator and grant progress monitor, said he felt as safe in Moscow in the 70’s as in Washington. He wondered why I was so concerned with the Cold War. I didn’t agree, then; Russia was exporting Communism. But it no longer does. It’s now an imperial republic run by a bureaucracy like most of Europe; why is it our concern? Russia and the US have common objectives: why do we ring it with NATO? I have sentimental concerns about the Baltic Republics, but they are mot threatened, and NATO without us can handle their problems.

NTO is an entangling alliance. More later, and we will also tackle the declaration of we don’t like ISIS that the commander in chief sent to Congress

If I can’t have it, neither can you!

Harvard and M.I.T. Sued Over Failing to Caption Online Courses      nyt

By TAMAR LEWINFEB. 12, 2015

Advocates for the deaf on Thursday filed a federal class action against Harvard and M.I.T., saying both universities violate antidiscrimination laws by failing to provide closed captioning in their online lectures, courses, podcasts and other educational materials.

“Much of Harvard’s online content is either not captioned or is inaccurately or unintelligibly captioned, making it inaccessible for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing,” the complaint said, echoing language used in the M.I.T. complaint. “Just as buildings without ramps bar people who use wheelchairs, online content without captions excludes individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

Otherwise known as the dog in the manger position.

Freedom is not free. Free men are not equal. Equal men are not free.