Apparently some idiot named Paulette Caswell was awarded a Ph.D. for a dissertation that claimed there’s no such thing as Deaf culture and that it’s really just a cult. Oh please! This woman got a doctorate for this?! Aren’t you supposed to do research to get a doctorate?

It seems the Theatre Development Fund is making it possible for deaf people to enjoy Broadway shows by providing onstage open captioning at a number of performances. At each show, there are between 100 and 150 half-price seats reserved for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons, and the captioning is done by someone hunched over a laptop running modified CART (computer-assisted real-time captioning) software.

I’ve posted a message on the Monocacy Canoe Club’s message board and looked through the Canoe Cruisers Association’s site, but I just can’t find anywhere to go kayaking or anyone to go with. How am I supposed to improve my skills if I can’t get out more? I see people driving around with kayaks on their cars all the time, how do I get in touch with them and say hey! let me go with you! It’s frustrating.


In better news, I got the interpreting gig! It took so long for the woman to respond that I was afraid she didn’t want me to do it, but apparently I’m the only person she’s asked, so it would just be the two of us! She’s been signing for about 20 years herself but thinks I’ll be better than she will (I’ve no idea why). She attended the original Deaf Way because she was a student at Gallaudet at the time, and she thinks I should go…but she’d be alone for the entire time I was gone. She’s not a certified interpreter either, and apparently the one person we’ll be interpreting for is hard-of-hearing and learning ASL, but lipreads a lot too so I’ll be expected to do more a SimCom setup rather than just strict ASL. This will be so great…now I just have to figure out the Deaf Way bit. But gosh, I’m giddy over getting to do it at all.

Well, I’m not sure why it’s called the Blogger Pride survey, but it sure took a long time to complete!


Ethics/Personal Life


Has a blog post ever got you into trouble?

Into trouble with what? I suppose I’ve been up too late blogging or blogging when I should have been working, but nothing has ever directly gotten me into trouble with anybody.

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Pinging the ONU entry didn’t work, but I think that’s because Promo hasn’t set up TrackBack yet. I just followed those instructions myself, and it seems to have gone well; I’m pinging the official test entry with this post. But I see now that if TrackBack is installed, it would show up on the entry that is set to allow pings - just like on the entry before this one. I set that ONU entry to allow pings and it’s not showing the info, so my guess is that TrackBack just isn’t set up. Anyway, blah blah blah - it’s at least working here now.

I’m going to let this post accomplish a few things.



First, I’m advertising for One Nation, Under… which is a new group blog run by Promo for discussion of the “under god is unconstitutional” issue. When A came downtown for lunch today I had ranted about it to her, and she suggested I get involved somewhere and do something - and this afternoon I discovered the new group blog, so I signed up.



Second, I’m going to mention the only thing I’ve mentioned there but not here. It seems that back in May, Virginia Governor Mark Warner signed a law requiring public schools to post the national motto. Of course it was only announced yesterday, the day after the “under god” announcement. Dammit! I’d known somebody was pushing this idea, but I never thought Warner would sign it. That’s not the guy I voted for!



And finally, I’m testing out the TrackBack feature for the first time. I told my post there to allow pings and I’m telling this post to ping that one…we’ll see what happens. I’ve also told this post to allow pings, though I’ve no idea what to do with them.

In an article from today’s Washington Post (the Style section), Senate Chaplain Lloyd John Ogilvie is quoted thus:

We acknowledge the separation of sectarianism and state, but affirm the belief that there is no separation between God and state. With gratitude we declare our motto “In God we trust.” Though that trust may be expressed in different religions, we do proclaim You as ultimate soverign of our nation.

What?! No! I am an atheist. I don’t consider anybody the “ultimate sovereign” of my country. That’s what the whole checks and balances system is for: so there isn’t an ultimate sovereign to have the final say. And how can multiple deities - each with its own set of laws - possibly form the basis for a national law, when the people of that nation are of different religions?



(On a vaguely related note, our National Archives have made it possible for you - yes, you! - to sign the Declaration of Independence. I didn’t bother doing it myself.)

This is the other Friday Five, which recently I’ve been trying to promote because I just like it better than the one at smattering.org. I have nothing against that one and obviously I do them both, but I just like this one better.


1. Describe your typical day on July 4th. Do you have to work? Do you spend it with family? What are some of the activities you plan?

I’ve never had to work on July 4th, but it’s not a particularly special day to me. I seem to remember that when I was younger and my aunt and uncle lived in the area, they’d come up for a barbecue or something.
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Morning squirrel count: 21


This morning I got free 16.9oz bottle of water from some people outside the metro station promoting CVS. I guess they’re finally trying to recover from the City Paper’s March article about how awful CVS is, especially downtown.


Also this morning, in the little variety shop inside the metro station, I came across a single copy of High Times magazine. They certainly do carry a bizarre selection of magazines!

Today’s Friday Five.


When was the last time you…



1. …sent a handwritten letter?

I don’t even remember. Much too long ago. I’ve sent things through the mail, but not actual letters.
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