text:
Certainly men dominate current academia, with 70% of mathematics Ph.D.s going to men; however that figure is down from 95% in the 1950s. Indeed, while there remain gaps in achievement between the genders, the study shows that not only are these gaps closing, but the size of the gap varies over differing cultures and correlates with the general degree of gender inequality in the culture (as defined by World Economic Forum measures).
Of course, the study was done by a team of female mathematicians/statisticians, so we really can't trust the results.
I'm kidding, don't flame me.
How about showcasing the widening gender gap in BA/BS degrees in Western culture? Women are earning more degrees almost across the board, and yet there is almost no measures being taken to call attention to that disparity.
How about showcasing the widening gender gap in BA/BS degrees in Western culture? Women are earning more degrees almost across the board, and yet there is almost no measures being taken to call attention to that disparity.
There are more moderately-high paying jobs not requiring a BA/BS degree that men traditionally hold, rather than women. Building trades, for instance.
And since women tend to work less than men (as a whole, due to traditional family roles), some of them have the luxury of more time for education.
FWIW, since this is a relatively recent development, I think it's fine... it'll help undo centuries/millenia of male domination in Western culture.
There are more moderately-high paying jobs not requiring a BA/BS degree that men traditionally hold, rather than women. Building trades, for instance.
Nearly all of which have collapsed under competition from guest workers or foreign countries since roughly the '90s.
FWIW, since this is a relatively recent development, I think it's fine... it'll help undo centuries/millenia of male domination in Western culture.
Male domination my ass. Men don't dominate. The top men dominate. [fsu.edu]
FWIW, since this is a relatively recent development, I think it's fine... it'll help undo centuries/millenia of male domination in Western culture.
No, you are wrong. This is a terribly serious problem.
This isn't simply a case of more women getting degrees. It's also that fewer males are getting degrees. Look at the dropout rates in high school for men vs. women, particularly among inner city kids and many ethnic minorities. It's absolutely devastating.
And this isn't about jobs, this is about education
Sorry, we only study gender and race when it fits a pattern of traditional bias. Biases against the traditional more powerful groups are welcomed and encouraged.
This is good to hear. Now we can start to address other gender issues.
The 10:1 gender ratio in prisons is obviously driven by sociocultural factors rather than innate differences.
We need affirmative action to address this imbalance. To get the ball rolling, I propose a 12 month minimum sentence for parking across 2 bays.
How about we close that gap in CS now.
Im so lonely
You want to date a programmer? Are you nuts?
You want to date a programmer? Are you nuts?
Obligatory XKCD [xkcd.com]...
Dang, moderators give you +2 Funny now just for posting a link to an XKCD?
...as many girls as boys now taking high school calculus
My problem is the number of **attractive** girls taking my class. There are girls, and then there are girls.
My problem is the number of **attractive** girls taking my class. There are girls, and then there are girls.
I'll bet the girls in your class are saying the same thing about the guys. No, I'm not trying to be a smart ass: the fact is that people interested in higher math tend to be geeky because they're more interested in math than say, what Gina wore to the party last night.
And I say this as a fellow geek.
In every field which was once exclusively male, but is now no longer, it's been claimed first, that no woman can perform alongside men; second, when the first claim is disproven, that hardly any woman can; and third, when the second claim is disproven, that maybe a few women can, but a majority lack the ability or the inclination. And every single time, as the residual sexism fades, the third claim is shown to be false as well. Business, politics, medicine: it's a familiar pattern. Now math is next on the list.
In short, if there's a difference, it's not the sex, it's the sexism. Anyone who can't acknowledge this is a bigot and a twit.
Men and women are different, yadda yadda. Yes, they are, and they may be even be different in ways that affect performance at certain jobs. But every time the issue is put to the test, we see that those differences are not nearly as signficant as the bigots desperately believe. The difference in means between the sexes, or any other groups into which people can conveniently be divided, is far smaller than the variances between individuals.
Well, I'd argue that its pretty well established that women can't compete in raw strength to the same level as men, so in many athletic fields they can't. But for anything not involving muscle mass, the evidence (overwhelmingly) indicates that aptitude discrepancies between genders is a problem of social expectations.
Well, I'd argue that its pretty well established that women can't compete in raw strength to the same level as men, so in many athletic fields they can't.
I'd say that's inaccurate, too. It would be more accurate to say that the top end of all women can't reach the level of raw strength as that of the top end of all men. There are many women who are stronger and faster than a number of men.
Testosterone helps build muscle mass. Men have higher natural testosterone levels
Men and women will get equal physical strength when equal amounts of steroids (anabolic or androgen) circulate in the blood stream.
But how many women are willing to have manly looks to achieve equality?
I'd say that's inaccurate, too. It would be more accurate to say that the top end of all women can't reach the level of raw strength as that of the top end of all men. There are many women who are stronger and faster than a number of men.
Completely accurate but incomplete. Men on average have significantly higher upper body strength than women. Aside from being simply obvious there is a vast amount of data to support this thesis. Men overall also have greater ability to build muscle than women. One simply has to watch a bodybuilding competition to see the difference in potential. There are some women that exceed many/most men in a given sport but no women that exceed all men when strength matters. Outside of a few niche sporting events, men hold virtually all athletic world records where strength is a meaningful factor. This holds true at every level of competition and every age past puberty. Even at relatively low levels of performance and even with adequate training most women measurably under-perform their male counterparts in most sports. If these differences did not exist, there would be little reason to have women compete separately from the men.
I cannot reasonably address the mental differences between men and women but there is NO question that men are physically stronger on average or in peak potential. It's ok to admit that there are at least some differences between men and women.
These days, women are intentionally given advantages over men, so it is NOT fair to say that women have proven equality with men.
For example, my school had all sorts of scholarships available only to women (not men). It had free math tutoring for women (not men). It had many programs available only to women to help them academically and financially.
If women want to display equality, they need to compete on equal ground.
If women want to display equality, they need to compete on equal ground.
By which you mean; accept the multitude of barriers and prejudices I and others put against them.
Male's natural advantage in aggression causes a difference over time unless society actively corrects for it.
Trivial case,
Two scientists make the same amount of money.
One asks for raises and pursues them.
The other hopes the boss will notice and give them a raise.
One leaves and gets a job paying 25% more.
The other stays and gets an 8% raise.
One leaves and gets a more prestigious position.
The other stays and competes for the few positions available.
Now run that cycle for a few generations and we are right back where we are now.
In the real world, in those fields where aggression matters, it still demands a premium or gains extra success over time.
Physical strength no longer demands a premium.
In some cases, aggression is a draw back-- in those fields, men do worse.
I agree there is a ton of built in sexism, racism, and historical privilege and that is slowly being rooted out.
But having gone from low aggression to high aggression- (via hormone therapy), I see the difference it makes for me.
At a previous workplace there was a role in one of our sister IT departments for a new middle manager. There were 8 candidates, but only 2 ever real had a chance, one was male, the other female, the male far more experienced, a much better work ethic and simply much better suited to the job. The female got it however, the interview team consisted of 2 males and 1 female, the female was the existing helpdesk manager. The two males she'd spent day in day out flirting with (in fact, that's pretty much all she did, she was a crap worker). I got on quite well with the helpdesk manager and she said she'd actually voted for the male who deserved it, but was told by one of the other two (who was her superior) that she was to change her mind to the female to support equality in the workplace.
Realistically, situations like this I do not believe are massively uncommon. Some females argue that using their sex to get further in the workplace is fair game, but I do not see how this can be true when it puts males at a real inherent disadvantage - even if there were more female managers in the workplace for males to flirt with in reverse the reality is that males are far more receptive to flirting than females most the time.
Females then have to accept that if they truly want to see equality that they must refrain from this kind of view of things, they cannot on one had suggest they are treated unfairly in a bad way, then on the other take advantage of their sex to get treated unfairly but in their favour.
I'm all for equality, but a lot of what's sold under the equality banner is really just more inequality.
If women want to display equality, they need to compete on equal ground.
That presumes that the ground IS actually equal which I would argue it probably is not equal - not yet anyway, though it is headed in the right direction. Nevertheless I agree with your sentiment that for true equality to exist the playing field should be level and many old prejudices need to die. Personally I'll concede that things are equal or nearly so when women in the US have to register for the draft.
I've always found it ironic that most women who claim to be for equal rights never seem terribly eag
Yet I've NEVER heard a single self-described feminist clambering for the right to be drafted into military service.
Why would they? A feminist is someone who strives for the betterment of women and signing up for the draft doesn't appear to fall into that category. What you search for is the equalicist. They're terribly few and far between but if you ever see one confront a feminist it's well worth the watch.
I don't believe you about the tutoring, but normally students who need full blown tutoring are lost causes.
It's just basic biology, males are the "disposable" gender who might have zero children or might have massive armies of kids, while women are biologically constrained in heir reproductive output, and so their genes benefit more from playing safe. In particular, women have an innate advantage that "they do what society tells them" while men try to buck the system. It's hardly surprising that women do
For example, my school had all sorts of scholarships available only to women (not men).
Let me clarify this with a data point/anecdote. Here at UMass Amherst, there are a great many scholarships available for Computer Science students. The small minority that don't require that the applicant have membership in a racial minority or have female sex all explicitly state that they still prefer it. It's actively frustrating hunting for scholarships as a "white" male, since everyone figures that you must be rich, fat, and happy enough to pay for everything in life all on your lonesome, or at least that you deserve their money much less than someone who happens to speak Spanish natively or lacks a Y-chromosome.
For a variety of reasons, my school [wm.edu] tries to shoot for a 55/45 female-to-male split.
However, the applicant pool is split 65/35 (F/M)
In other words, admission for females is considerably more competitive than it is for males.
In my experiences as a student (I recently graduated), I witnessed virtually no anti-female sexism, but plenty of anti-male remarks, many of which were praised and even applauded. (I find it very difficult to take Women's Studies seriously as a field of study, particularly at the underg
Men and women are different, yadda yadda. Yes, they are, and they may be even be different in ways that affect performance at certain jobs. But every time the issue is put to the test, we see that those differences are not nearly as signficant as the bigots desperately believe. The difference in means between the sexes, or any other groups into which people can conveniently be divided, is far smaller than the variances between individuals.
Chemically, testosterone and estrogen have different, powerful effects on the brain and body. Be careful not to call people "bigots" because they celebrate this diversity and seek out the advantages it contains, or you must call yourself a bigot for your intolerance toward anyone who thinks that any notable differences are an evil that needs to be squashed. Yes, with extra effort, one sex can almost always measurably outperform the opposite sex where the opposite sex is more fitted, biologically, to a purpose -- but that doesn't reinforce your point; it contradicts it. If a woman and a man can perform equally at math, but the woman has to study n% longer, then the man is inherently better at math. That's what inherency means. It's not politically correct, but it's nature... however, I vehemently agree that the product of nurture and identity should always have the
If a woman and a man can perform equally at math, but the woman has to study n% longer, then the man is inherently better at math.
As a mathematician, I can assure you that the time a student must spend to learn the material is no indicator of their ability with it.
Malcolm Gladwell and others [wordpress.com] say that you are incorrect and that in fact practice is a huge factor. Now, I suspect that a certain level of talent or inclination is necessary for someone to be willing to put in the 10,000 hours necessary to become exceptional. People don't tend to put in that much time if they have no aptitude and show no improvement. But there is a strong indication that you can't rely on talent; you really do have to practice a lot to get to Carnegie Hall. Also read the first comment here [blogspot.com].
Now, you can put in a lot of time without any progress. There's a saying that you have dancers who have been dancing for twenty years, and you have dancers who have danced for a year twenty times. One can even refer to the old schoolyard taunt, "Yeah, and I bet Grade 7 was the best 3 years of your life!". Time is not equivalent to effort. The GP referred to one and you confused it with the other.
Yes, I definatly agree there are excellent students who need a fair bit of time to digest material and there are quick but not deep students as well but are you really going to claim that there is NO relation between the time it takes to pick up a piece of math and mathematical ability.
Hell, in modern mathematical practice a great deal of what we do is spend time trying to digest the work of other mathematicians so we can profit from their techni
Chemically, testosterone and estrogen have different, powerful effects on the brain and body. Be careful not to call people "bigots" because they celebrate this diversity and seek out the advantages it contains, or you must call yourself a bigot for your intolerance toward anyone who thinks that any notable differences are an evil that needs to be squashed.
That's not why they're called bigots. They're called bigots because they assume that demonstrable differences between sexes naturally and obviously caus
You see, in the 200+ year history of our country, we've sent our strongest, mentally stable and most intelligent men to die in wars and left the weaker and less intelligent and mentally unstable at home to breed.
Bullshit. The army doesn't recruit our most intelligent students. Infact, Army Recruits with a High School diploma were at an all time low in 2007 [boston.com]. That isn't to say army recruits are not smart, or that having a diploma necessarily means you're intelligent. But it's not a case of taking our best and brightest to wars and leaving our worst behind. Throughout history, America's army has drawn it's members from all backgrounds. It has not exclusively selected intelligent people.
In short, if there's a difference, it's not the sex, it's the sexism. Anyone who can't acknowledge this is a bigot and a twit.
That comment is just as ignorant as anything a bigot would say.
I'd say it's not boys stopping girls from taking maths in school and it's not boys stopping girls from taking programming. In fact, from my experience in school, and what I've seen, most school aged boys would love to have a girl that was into something that they found cool.
Sure sexism plays a part in some instances but like everything else it's not black and white. A lot of girls don't do math because that's not where the cool boys are. Their social standing would take a hit if they were caught carrying a calculator and hanging around the nerds and yes believe it or not, a girl's self image means a lot. Hence the market for make-up, push-up bras, high-heel shoes, fad diets and anything else that will make them feel like they're something they're not.
And no those things aren't forced upon girls either. Which is why girls with a lot of image issues (and especially food issues) go through a lot of boyfriends because the guy gets fed up listing to them talk about what they're not going to eat today.
It's not the case with all woman, because again, not everything is black and white, but a lot of girls compete amongst each other to attract boys and math will only attract nerds in their eyes.
So let's not be ignorant and just blame everything on men being some sort of evil being because it's simply not true.
In short, if there's a difference, it's not the sex, it's the sexism. Anyone who can't acknowledge this is a bigot and a twit.
If I had modpoints I would certainly downmod you for injecting kneejerk hysteria into what should be a reasonable and empirical discussion. Preemptively calling anyone who doesn't share your beliefs bigots and twits is really incredible bad form.
In every field which was once exclusively male, but is now no longer, it's been claimed first, that no woman can perform alongside men; second, when the first claim is disproven, that hardly any woman can; and third, when the second claim is disproven, that maybe a few women can, but a majority lack the ability or the inclination. And every single time, as the residual sexism fades, the third claim is shown to be false as well. Business, politics, medicine: it's a familiar pattern. Now math is next on the list.
I think we can all agree that there has been real sexism in certain careers, and that it's been detrimental to society. We're moving to a better place now. It's not perfect, but it's getting better.
I'm all for equality in opportunity. But I cringe when I see people pointing to an unequal distribution of genders in a career as evidence of evil discrimination. It seems to be outside the realm of allowed possibility that perhaps men, on average, enjoy being computer programmers more than women? Or that women enjoy being preschool teachers more than men? We'd be absolutely wrong to hinder in any way people who wish to pursue any career path, whether it's traditional for their gender or not. And we should encourage both genders to pursue all sorts of goals, especially when there's institutional intertia in the equation. But I think it's naive to think that, different as men and women are, that all careers will equalize out to a 50/50 distribution over time. Men and women are stochastically interested in different things. And that's okay.
Anyway, there's also the possible issue of differing standard deviations in traits between the sexes, which may or may not play into these questions of achievement, and is a scientific, empirical question (and a two-edged sword for any gender with the larger standard deviation, of course).
I don't really care whether there is a gap or not, but I am a stickler for accuracy. Taking the course is not the same thing as passing or excelling. It's an important metric, but not the only one. Perhaps we have a "traditionally disadvantaged" group being pushed, in the name of equality, into an area they dislike because it doesn't come natural, and they're barely passing. That's not success - that's a failure because these people probably would be more successful in life playing to their strengths rather than weaknesses.
I'm not saying that's the case. But it's a plausible explanation for the results in TFS, while not dismissing the myth, I'd say they have to do more work and study to proclaim this myth busted.
Congratulations. The plural of anecdote is not data.
I have a degree in Electrical Engineering. I hated it. I'm not using it in my career (other than on my resume to say "I have a Bachelor's Degree.") I did more than barely pass (well, most of my courses - the arts electives weren't so hot). I'm not data, either.
In short, one article neither proves nor disproves. I'm neither convinced the conclusion is true nor false. And, like many episodes of the MythBusters (entertaining though the explosions are),
Not necessarily. At the architecture school I attended, foreign students routinely received credentials and adjusted grades for sub-par work. Usually because the culture at the school was to attribute the deficiencies to the "language barrier" instead of individual aptitude or skill. I also routinely saw professors advancing and showing bias towards students because of gender (in both directions).
It's the same thing as people complaining the IE thread earlier today. If your website statistics show no Opera users, it's not necessarily because there are no Opera users, but could be because your site doesn't work for Opera users.
Statistics regarding gender/ethnic/any type of diversity within a field do not in and of themselves negate myths or pre-conceptions regarding gender/ethnic/any type of diversity and ability in that field. This was the point the grandparent was making. Essentially correlation != causation, but with a more directed focus than the generalized meme.
Take for example basketball and American football, sports dominated by African-American players. Are African-Americans genetically more predisposed to athletic ability than whites, latinos, asians, or polynesians? Or is the prevailing African-American socio-economic culture of poverty and poor education provide primarily athletic means of escape and is geared more towards rewarding that route? Arguments can be made in both directions, and certainly both factors play a role, but simply looking at the number of players in those sports does not prove or disprove any speculations or myths regarding innate tendencies, nor does it prove or disprove the existence of bias or bigotry.
Try reading TFA instead of just TFS. It goes into a reasonable amount of detail, and should help dispel some of your doubts. (Unless, of course, you're already determined to reach the opposite conclusion, in which case there's no reason you should confuse your pretty little head with facts.) Girls perform at least as well mathematically as boys in a number of countries, including those where there's a lot less worry about "traditionally disadvantaged" groups than there is here in the US. You'll have a hell of a time pinning this on political correctness in Korea
That's maybe true when you're talking about high school math programs, but TFA also mentions the gaps closing in under and post graduate work as well. The guidance counselor might convince you to take calc your senior year, but I don't think anyone is going to convince you to make a career out of a subject you hate.
Obligatory XKCD:
http://xkcd.com/385/ [xkcd.com]
We have a statistic, 70% of PhDs in Mathematics go to men and up to 30% go to women.
But does this tell us anything about the abilities of both men and women to compete at that level? It might, but it also could be social. Boys are from a very young age encouraged in Maths, Engineering, and Sciences while a lot of girls are encouraged to embrace their social and emotional sides.
If you look at a Psychology, Social Science, or English they have an extremely disproportional amount of women in them. Just as Maths, and Science often has a disproportionate amount of men.
PS - Too few women in Maths/Engineering is "broken." Too few men in Social Science/Child Care/Psychology is "fine."
Too few women in Maths/Engineering is "broken." Too few men in Social Science/Child Care/Psychology is "fine."
That's not true. Specifically, I know that there has been a big push to get more men involved in education. The motivation for this is that young boys (and even teenage boys) who are behaviorally disruptive in class respond very well to a male teacher. And that's a win for everyone. Unfortunately, teachers are not well-payed, so it's hard to get people into the field, period, let alone men.
Also, re:
If you look at a Psychology, Social Science, or English they have an extremely disproportional amount of women in them.
Try taking a look at MA/MS/PhD enrollment in those fields. Much closer to 50/50. No one really cares about undergraduate degrees.
(not meant to necessarily have any correlation with reality)
People seem to assume that what is happening is that previously, cultural norms dictated gender inequality when there was no biological basis, and now that those norms have changed, biological equality is restored. Couldn't it be the other way around? I.e. that there is a biological inequality, that is being altered by cultural factors to produce equality?
I'd support that. The obvious biological difference is that women can bear children. Since at least some women are going to be in their gender exclusive career (kids), of course they're going to be fewer women in careers available to both men and women. What we have here culturally is a mistaken notion that women are somehow inferior if they don't imitate men. Feminists have long been trying to get women to imitate men in every way, and it's causing a serious problem with the birth rates. Women were designe
Women were designed to have children, not be breadwinners. That's primarily the man's job.
And they can't do both because? A bunch of my friends are supporting their husbands (it's a cultural thing in certain branches of orthodox Judaism that has to do with learning Torah all day) while having tons of kids. One of 'em had her first while getting her engineering degree and had 2 more while working on construction sites. Lots of girls I know manage at least two before their husbands ever start working. It's difficult, but doable.
Your statement that I was designed to have children and not be a breadwinner is insulting. These two things are by no means mutually exclusive.
I have a PhD in a science field. I work at the intersection of science and IT. Through a combination of luck, work, and ability I have done pretty well in my field, and have a good career that pays well. If you define breadwinner as the person bringing home the majority of the household income, that would be me.
I also have a daughter and am pregnant with my second ch
I was a sports broadcasting and psychology double major in my undergraduate studies. When I was taking sports broadcasting classes it was a total sausage fest. Thirty guys talking about sports in an academic environment as if it was a locker room. Meanwhile in psychology it was always majority female in classrooms ranging from 60% to 90%. It was because sports writing and reporting is a male dominated field, whereas psychology was a necessary field of study for many female students who wanted to teach elementary or middle school, a field traditionally occupied by women. Also my school was 60% female so a typical class would have 60% women which really emphasized how incredibly one sided sports broadcasting was a major regarding gender divide.
While men and women solve problems differently, our brains are made up differently so that is to be expected, most studies conclude that even though we solve problems differently men and women reach the same conclusions eventually but they take different paths. Both genders are equally smart but think differently to solve the same problems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_intelligence [wikipedia.org]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_differences [wikipedia.org]
In most fields with a gender disparity in either direction, the minority sex is generally, under any reasonable attempt to measure inherent "ability", just as able to do it. The real gaps seem to be in interest: fewer men than women wish to enter psychology as a field, and fewer women than men wish to enter mathematics as a field, to take two examples. Why is that? It's not entirely clear, but it starts pretty early. For example, boys are much more likely than girls to play ad-hoc games that involve numbers and math, even at ages where girls tend to do better in school. Boys are also much more likely to build electronics or program computers as a hobby. Probably much of this is cultural, but that's where the real disparity lies, and you're never going to get parity unless you figure out how to change interest.
On the other hand, changing interest is always tricky, because you run the risk of trying to tell people they ought to be interested in something they really don't seem to be interested in.
Why oh why would you ever want to change interests? That's my whole problem with this debate whenever it comes up.
The real "solution" to this "problem" is to allow boys and girls to go into whatever field they so choose and encourage them no matter what.
Probably much of this is cultural, but that's where the real disparity lies, and you're never going to get parity unless you figure out how to change interest. On the other hand, changing interest is always tricky, because you run the risk of trying to tell people they ought to be interested in something they really don't seem to be interested in.
There's the real problem. Why should we pursue parity for parity's sake? What's wrong with just having a level playing field and letting people decide what they want to do with themselves. If more women want to do elementary education, and more men want to do engineering, why are we so antsy to push them into something else? On the other hand, if both sexes are equally inclined and have equal ability, then with time they will approach numerical equality. I agree that it doesn't make sense to edge somebody out of a career path because of race or gender or whatever. If Sally wants to be a mathematician, good for her. Let her be a mathematician, and let all of her friends who have the inclincation and ability be mathematicians too. But I don't think it makes any sense to try to force somebody into a field because some social scientist arbitrarily decided that certain career fields need to be 50/50 so that we can have some vague Social Justice.
And while I'm at it, who's working to close the gender gap in sanitation workers? I don't know if I've ever seen a female garbage collector in my life! Or do the Great Social Scientists only wring their hands about equality in vocations that they deem, in their boundless wisdom, to be worthy of equality? Do they have a list of jobs that need to be equal to achieve Social Justice? Is it on Wikipedia or something?
And while I'm at it, who's working to close the gender gap in sanitation workers?
Warren Farrell [wikipedia.org] is a somewhat controversial author on men's issues who has actually spent quite a bit of time exploring this exact question. He proposed, with appropriate evidence, that while women have made great strides in reducing the effects of the "glass ceiling", they tend to ignore the "glass floor" in which men tend to occupy undesirable and often dangerous professions. Examples of these sorts of male-dominated professions include sanitation workers, miners, construction workers, oil rig roughnecks, sailors, farm laborers, police officers, firefighters, and lumberjacks. The reason he proposes for this is really quite simple: the women most involved in feminism tend to be fairly wealthy, and that means that the millions of working-class men in those undesirable professions are essentially invisible to them, whereas the men who are at the top of the food chain are very visible to them, creating a perception that all men are doing better.
By the time you are 20, your brain has gone through several "windows of opportunity" which are the best time to learn specific skills. For example, the window of opportunity for foreign languages for most people is in preschool.
If a given culture discourages certain members from learning certain skills until after the window closes, these individuals are now stuck with what might as well be an innate disadvantage in that area.
For these individuals, it's not important whether they could have been good at this or that if only they had taken classes when they were younger, the important thing is that if they do try to learn it, it will be relatively hard for them.
Plus, there's the whole issue of experience, someone who starts learning a skill at age 5 will have a 15-year head start on someone who starts learning a skill at age 20.
As societies, we need to accept the fact that there are very few if any things beyond giving birth or being a wet-nurse that either gender has an inherent advantage in if both are given equal opportunity and encouragement when they are young. All or almost all "gender-specific" advantages are created by the environment in which we live.
This is an extremely dishonest story which does not address the most basic issues involved.
What Summers said at Harvard is supported by the evidence and remains the best explanation
for the "gender gap." Indeed, he felt confident that he could "get away" with his statements
because the evidence is so overwhelming and the facts so obvious.
Consider any number of physical traits the measurement of which is not controversial
(for instance, height, weight, ratio of arm length to leg length, etc.) A few empirical observations
can be readily made:
(1) the distributions are roughly Gaussian --- this make sense as these traits are controlled
by multiple genes and some version of the central limit theorem is operational
(2) the means vary by gender and ethnicity
(3) the standard deviations vary by gender and ethnicity
(4) a pattern quickly emerges: for virtually all traits the STANDARD DEVIATION
of the male distributions is somewhat larger than the female distribution --- although
not by much. Again this makes some intuitive sense --- men are biological more expendable
then women so more variation in male traits can be tolerated.
I can hardly be expected to believe that physical traits (the measurement of which is generally
not controversial) are unique in having property (4). Especially when the observable
data available for mental traits exhibits a difference in standard deviation.
This difference in standard deviation predicts what we see in practice --- if we set
a high threshold and look at the number of men and women with ability above
that threshold we expect the ratio of men to women to be large. Because this
is an effect of differences in standard deviation, it is not observable near the
middle of the distribution --- only at the tails.
There are many many articles which conclude that there is no gender gap
in mathematical ability because the mean of the male and female distributions
are the same or similar. I am not familiar with every such article,
but every one I have read --- including the two famous Science articles ---
presents observational data showing a difference in STANDARD DEVIATION.
An issue none of them seem to address.
Incidentally, any one familiar with the error function can easily
see that the variations in the ratio of men to women whose
mathematical ability exceeds a given threshold by ethnicity are
also predicated by this approach (to startlingly high accuracy --
do the math!) This again follows simply from the fact that
the mean and standard deviation of biological characteristics
vary by ethnicity
Everything I have said can be verified to a ridiculously high level of
certainty by someone with basic knowledge of Stat 101 and a copy
of Excel.
I'm still amazed that you can CHOOSE to opt out of high school calculus. I live in the US now and I know some youngsters that chose to minimize mathematics in their school schedule and then they wonder why they are stuck at pre-calc in 10th grade. Where I went to school in Europe, the girls or anyone didn't really have the choice. It was 8 hours of mathematics a week portioned between statistics (1h), geometry (1h), calculus (3h) and algebra (2h) and sometimes statistics was interchanged with small episodes of chaos theory or applied mathematics or whatever was necessary for a particular group.
I believe that the US schooling system needs a complete overhaul in order to create a better knowledge economy. First thing to do is add at least 1h per day to the school day. I see most kids get home at 2 or 3 in the afternoon even if they have to travel 2 hours because they're in an intercity exchange program. I remember being at school until at least 4pm and then you had to do homework and study for the next day too and if you were going to a specific specialty (eg. art, electronics, sports), traveling could also take 1 or 2 hours. The second thing to do is reduce sports activities during school hours to a maximum of 4 hours per week and fill those voids with science, mathematics and art. And for all those living in rural areas it would be interesting to expand electronic schooling so they only have to go to physical building two or three times a week (hybrid of home schooling and standard schooling). Those times should be devoted to a short overview, lab time and testing to make sure nobody is slacking at home.
The article is confused about where most of the real differences are purported to be.
No one credible claims that females have less ability to learn mathematics or crunch numbers in most cases, which is what this article is contesting. In other words, they built themselves a strawman. The differences involve application, not learning.
What *is* credibly claimed, in the sense that there is not insignificant quantities of direct and indirect evidence in literature, is that females are markedly poorer at certain classes of applied mathematical problems, notably applications involving complex, high-dimensionality metric spaces. Females understand the mathematics just fine, they have relative difficulty applying it to real-world problems when system complexity exceeds a certain threshold. This is largely attributed to male brains having more neurons dedicated to conceptualizing and manipulating spatial relationships.
There are real differences, but it is mostly in specific areas of the applied side and there is a relatively straightforward causal theory related to brain structure. That people feel it necessary to repeatedly trot out the strawman that women have less ability to learn math while conveniently ignoring supportable arguments for differences in practical ability reeks of a political agenda. There are other biases in application spaces strongly favoring females that also have straightforward causal links related to differences in brain structure but which say nothing about the ability of males to learn.
This is missing an important point.
Males have greater brain specialization. (In particular, right handed males have the most.) This is why savants are more likely to be male. Head injuries to males (and especially right-handed males) are more likely to cause the complete and utter loss of some function.
So you can have female savants, you can have female geniuses, you can have just as many females doing just fine in math, but the overall likelihood is that at the very top of the field, where the people are often badly broken people who specialize in math and seem oddly incapable of anything else, the ratio of males to females will be higher.
Is this a societal phenomenon rather than a genetic one? While it might be a mix of factors, you absolutely cannot argue that male brains are just like female ones. You need only look at the prevalence of autism in males vs. females to see this. (Unless you're going to argue that autism is all about rearing technique -- in which case we ought to be dressing all our children uniformly in pink.)
A big problem with your argument is that you are assuming that math professors are all "at the very top" of the math field. I am not qualified to assess mathematical genius, but I don't think this is true- certainly in fields in which I can assess ability, not all professors are at the very top of their field.
Whether you like to accept it or not, women and men are psychobiologically different. Meaning, there are observable, quantifiable and consistent physical differences in the brain and its chemistry based solely on gender.
As a result, women consistently perform worse at spatial-based tasks than men. Women consistently perform better at communications-based tasks than men. There are millions of well-conducted experiments and studies that re-prove the existence of these and other gender-based differences over and over again.
It frustrates the hell out of me that the loony 'Politically Correct' regime is so enforced on us and continues to reduce to denial any innate gender difference even in the face of hard evidence.
Most 'normal' people now feel they can't even openly raise the possibility, much less the FACT that we actually are mentally differently-abled BECAUSE of gender.
Society as a whole will not properly develop until we accept the existence of gender-based ability differences, including mental, as a fact and move on.
Of course the statistical properties of groups don't tell you anything about the qualities of a given individual. Men are on average taller then women, but I'm male, and only 5'6" while one of my previous girlfriend was 5'10". I make my living in a mathematical field, and I work with plenty of women who are much better at math then me. The question is, when we see large group disparities between genders is it nature, nurture, or some combination of the two?
I did an undergrad degree in physics back in the ea
There are a couple of things being conflated in this type of research, which to me muddies the water. One question has to do with performance of people not too far from the median. For this question, I believe it's reasonable to look at how achievement test scores vary with factors like gender, race, culture, nationality, socioeconomics, and so forth. The original research cited here involves data of this type. And the conclusion isn't so surprising: Female performance relative to males is very situationally-dependent. Anecdotally one only needs to look at the gender gap (if one exists) in east Asian students vs. the gender gap in white students. *Maybe* white women are at some genetic disadvantage relative to asian women -- again relative to their respective male counterparts -- but it seems unlikely relative to a cultural factor.
What these lines of research don't really show -- because there isn't enough comparative data available -- is what are the external factors that most correlate with the gender gap within different groups. Is it culture that drives the variation? (Asians have higher expectations on daughters? Asians don't propagate the "geek stigma" as much for girls?) Is it economics? (Poorer people cannot educate all their kids, so preferentially educate the boys?) Or something else? Who knows.
The second question being conflated is performance at the far, far, end of the performance spectrum. Fields medal winners represent the 99.999+ percentile. Who knows what defines people out there? There aren't enough of them to really study as a statistical emsemble. It's fair to say that at the high end of any performance curve, a lot of things have to come together simultaneously: Raw talent, motivation, opportunity, persistence, environment, dedication. It could be for example that men have no more innate ability than women, but are just more single-minded in their approach to life. I.e., more men than women are willing to do what Andrew Wiles did, namely hole up in an attic for 10 years to prove Fermat's Last Theorem (with a low probability of success).
Finally, I think with regard to this sort of research it's important to maintain a dispassionate attitude. When I get the feeling the authors are trying to *advocate* for a particular conclusion, that makes me a bit queasy. There seems to be this unstated assumption that an unequal outcome is indicative of unequal opportunity. Would anyone argue that the relative lack of white men in the NBA is indicative of low opportunity or discrimination? Probably not. Perhaps white women don't pursue math at the highest levels because they simply don't want to, compared with other uses for their time. Is this a bad outcome? Within the scientific enterprise it's a very slippery slope to start asserting value judgments about these things.
Always leave room to add an explanation if it doesn't work out.


text:
An online portfolio allows you to compile what makes you employable — it should include things like your resume, cover letter, references, certifications, transcripts and any examples of your work (including writing samples, press clips, artwork or lesson plans). Plus, you should include basic contact information, such as a phone number and email, and more modern information, like a Twitter handle, LinkedIn profile, or Facebook URL. Put all of this into one online package that's easy to browse and voilà — you have an online portfolio!
Scooped by
Frédéric DEBAILLEUL
onto Time to Learn

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This from the DA's office:
LOS ANGELES – The District Attorney's Justice System Integrity Division announced charges today against a former Glendora police officer accused of taking money.
Timothy Radogna, 33 (dob 07/10/75), is charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, possession for sale of a controlled substance and grand theft exceeding $400.
Radogna could be arraigned as early as tomorrow in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. The defendant was charged in a felony complaint for arrest warrant on May 14. Radogna is being held on $150,000 bail.
If convicted as charged, the defendant faces a maximum term of nine years and eight months in state prison.


text:
Summerhill Square Businesses Burglarized in Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana, Texas Police are asking for your help in solving several business burglaries that ocurred this week in a local shopping center.Police were called around 6:50 a.m. Thursday morning in connection with three businesses that had forced entry and various items stolen.
Authorities say if you have any information on possible suspects to please call Texas Side Police Detectives or Texarkana Area Crime Stoppers. That Crime Stoppers number is (9030 793-stop. Crime Stoppers wants your information and not your name. You can remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward for your information.


text:
Namco Bandai's fighter sequel, which as far as we know does not feature any of these athletes in any capacity beyond this promotional campaign, hits PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 27. A handheld edition of the game is due on PSP later in the fall. BOOM video 2667
Here's what Namco had to say about the video. It doesn't help much.
World Heavyweight and MMA Pros Hit Social Networks and Online Sites with High Impact Trailer
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (September 28, 2009) - TEKKEN 6, the latest installment to the top-selling video game franchise from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., comes out swinging today with a new trailer packed with the world's fighting greats. Featuring vignettes of fighters from different disciplines and stages of their careers, the trailer highlights real warriors executing signature TEKKEN 6 moves. The video debuting exclusively online at www.tekken.com includes four-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield, MMA standout Josh Barnett and professional boxer Vicente Escobedo, who recently vied for the WBO Lightweight World Boxing Championship title.
"TEKKEN showcases a diverse cross-section of martial arts styles, varying cultures, and a deep storyline as distinct as the characters in the franchise," said In Joon Hwang, brand manager at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. "The chance to feature the unique sensibilities and motivations of real professional fighters was a fun, authentic and effective way to underscore the legacy that drives the TEKKEN brand in a way that's cool for existing and new fans alike."
The three-minute-plus, live-action trailer will appear on the web through www.tekken.com, as well as social media outlets such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. The trailer will also be posted on sites in conjunction with the company's media partners and TEKKEN fan base.
The complete roster of fighters featured in the trailer includes:
- World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield
- MMA standout Josh Barnett
- Professional boxer Vicente Escobedo
- 1984 Olympic and Pan American Games Gold-Medalist Henry Tillman
- 6th-Degree Kenpo Practitioner Tommy Wish
- Four-time World Muay Thai Champion William "The Bull" Sriyapai
- Defending World Youth Boxing Champion Peter "Lil Pete" Duran
- Light-Welter Weight MMA Champion Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy
- Five-time National Boxing Champion, 2010 Pan American Games team member and 2012 Olympic Team hopeful Patricia Manuel
- MMA fighter and professional skateboarder Jason Ellis
- TapouT Clothing founders Punkass and Skyscrape
- Professional sumo wrestler Tamir "the Giant Killer" Dolgormaa
- 2008 Olympian and professional boxer Javier Molina


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I love these shoes and you can't beat Beautifeel for comfort- put them on and can wear them all day. Simple, flattering style (nice oval vamp- not that squared off thing!)) with a sensible heel. The shoe would have been a bit more attractive without the silver "Beautifeel" stamped buckle right in front on the top, but I solved the problem by covering it with some buttons (you could probably paint the buckle black and it wouldn't be so noticeable, but I was amazed at the selection of buttons at the fabric store that did the job- even got a few different kinds!)
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text:
MORRIS – Local firefighters crawled through narrow hallways on hands and knees unable to see, feeling their way through a wall before having to shimmy through electrical wires.
Each member shouted out directions to the one behind them, guiding them safely through the hazards.
Luckily, there was no immediate danger, it was all part of a training exercise.
The Morris Fire Protection District recently took advantage of training in the new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) trailer built by Morris Lt. Rob Blair with money from the Chief Shabbona Fire Association.
"They are going through training on and off using different situations," Capt. Dave Wiechen said. "It's a confidence booster."
The trailer is used by both seasoned fire veterans, as well as new staff as a way to learn to navigate through a house with their breathing packs on, which adds not only bulk to their body, but also has knobs and cords that can get hooked on things in a house as they search.
The firefighters put a wad of waxed paper inside their face shield, rendering them basically sightless as if the building were filled with smoke – the best and safest way to simulate the lack of vision in a fire situation.
They then go in either with a partner or in teams and start the maze inside the semitrailer. The trailer can be changed each time with the shift of a wall or a swing of a door to create a new maze so they don't grow accustomed to the layout.
Noise is piped in through a sound system to further replicate an actual fire scene, and to raise the heart rate of the trainees to simulate an actual fire.
"Using the trailer helps to keep their skills sharp," Wiechen said. "It's tough to get through at times with all the gear on. They have to learn to dump their air pack and put it back on blind so they don't get caught on stationary items or wires."
The SCBA trailer training has been going on for several years, but after 10 to 12 years of service, the wear and tear made the old trailer unusable. So they used money set aside from Chief Shabbona Fire Association trainings to buy a new one and rebuild it a bit differently.
"He took the same layout of the old trailer," Wiechen said. "When you go through the SCBA training, you have to go through the maze completely and come out with air. To keep the standards the same we used the same layout. But we did make some changes and built it sturdier for wear."
It simulates most of the hazards firefighters can face in a house, including collapsed spaces, walls with electrical wires going through and cramped spaces they may find as they work their way through a room filled with large furniture.
"It's a strenuous workout, and halfway through some men are running out of air," Wiechen said.
While they may all go in with the same amount of air in their tanks, how heavy they breathe and how hard they are working to get through can mean the difference of running out of air or not.
Morris firefighters Cody Post and Keith Jurek both have trained in the trailer at least 10 times in the time it was at the Morris fire station from December to January.
"It benefits us tremendously, it's a great training tool," Post said. "The tunnel is the most difficult part for me. It's not a lot of space to move."
Jurek said it has taught him that if he can keep calm, he can get out. Keeping calm as they navigate a tight space filled with wires intended to snag their gear is one of the more difficult aspects.
"The wires have a lot of snags," Jurek said. "If you and your teammate can work together as a team, it makes it easier to get through."
The firefighters are in constant contact throughout the maze just as they would be in an actual fire, warning each other of what they are about to face as the lead member goes through a difficult area. The leader then can advise the men behind him the best way through.
Fire Chief Tracey Steffes said being able to pull the trailer into the firehouse for around-the-clock training is a great benefit to the fire department.
"It doesn't take us out of service to go to training. They can go through any time – day or night," Steffes said. "It's inside, out of the cold and we don't have to go off site to train."
The trailer travels to all of the fire departments associated with Chief Shabbona Fire Association and is stored at the Coal City Fire Protection District. The trailer is typically hauled using a tractor trailer provided by one of the family members of a firefighter.


text:
(CNN) -- One moment they were reeling in a fish, and the next they were shipwrecked .
Two American siblings, Dan and Kate Suski, are recovering on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia after a weekend fishing trip turned into a harrowing experience.
Their charter boat sank Sunday, and the pair endured many hours in the water before reaching a beach, a Saint Lucia police detective said.
Four people were on the boat -- the two Americans, a captain and one crew member.
A Saint Lucia resident found the Suski siblings on the beach and called police, the detective said. The captain and crew member were found hours later.
"We are feeling stronger each day and looking forward to reuniting with family and friends," Dan Suski told CNN via e-mail. He and his sister expect to return to the United States by Sunday.
"They told me they had a fish on the line, and were fighting the fish, then heard a noise," said David Suski, an older brother who was not on the trip but was briefed by his siblings.
The captain checked out the engine room, which was filling up with water, David Suski said. It was only about "three to five minutes from the time they heard the noise to when they had to abandon the boat and it sank," he said.
The sea was very rough, and it soon became dark, David Suski said. Officials later told them their boat sank about 12 miles off the coast.
"They are feeling lucky to be alive -- it was quite an ordeal -- both my brother and sister were treated for dehydration and when they made it shore, they drank from a stream, so they also were given antibiotics in case the water wasn't clean," David Suski said.
Both Dan and Kate Suski can swim and had life jackets on, but that didn't make it any less scary.
The pair spent two days in a hospital after reaching land.


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PowerSquid; $20-$85; www.powersquid.com
Jean Aw, Founder, Notcot
I don't know about you, but I've finally had it with the standard five-socket power strip. The bulky chargers for my PDA, laptop, Bluetooth headset, iPod, and digital camera hog at least two slots apiece, forcing me to clutter my office with multiple outlets.
But not anymore. The PowerSquid Power Multiplier has flexible rubber tentacles of different lengths so I can plug in all my gadgets--even those with unwieldy power sources--in one location. Each tentacle is three-pronged so devices lie flat, and the mouse-shaped power source easily tucks in the shelf next to my desk. My basic model has five sockets, but the top-of-the-line squid has six (plus surge protection). I'm so glad that staying connected no longer means having to rearrange my office.


text:
Eden Hazard is loving life at Chelsea - but admits it will be tough to maintain his stunning start to the Barclays Premier League.
The 21-year-old Belgian midfielder has been Chelsea's outstanding performer in their 100% start to the domestic league campaign and although Roberto di Matteo's men were brought up short by Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, Hazard insists they can return to winning ways.
Hazard, signed for £32million from Lille, said: "Everything's going really well for me. I've been well received by everyone. It won't be easy to keep up that level in every game, I know that, but I always knew what I was capable of."
The 4-1 defeat to Atletico in Monaco on Friday night exposed the fact that Chelsea are still some way from being the finished article, but Hazard argued it could do the club some good in the longer term.
He added: "Perhaps it will make us work even harder when we all return to training. Perhaps the change of environment will do us good and we will all come back stronger. We just need to forget about it and move on.
"From a personal standpoint, it certainly won't get me down. I'm a pretty natural guy and just take one game at a time. I'm already looking ahead to the next adventure."
Hazard will now turn his attention to the international scene and he declared that it is time that Belgium's array of hugely-promising talent delivered some goods.
It is a decade since the country last qualified for the World Cup or the European Championships, but with players such as Thomas Vermaelen, Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini and Hazard himself there should be little excuse for another failure.
Belgium open their World Cup qualifying campaign against Wales in Cardiff on Friday followed by Croatia three days later and Hazard said: "For the country and fans, the next two games are really important.
"With the squad we have now, we should be able to do something. In a way it's now or never for Belgium."
Source: PA


text:
|Send News. Want a reply? Read this. More in the FAQ. News Forum - All Forums - Mobile - PDA - RSS Headlines Twitter
In what's starting to take on that surreal nightmarish quality, reports of further advertising problems rolled in yesterday. After cleaning up the mess from my head exploding, I am endeavoring to address this once and for all. On a positive front, at this point the brain trust at advertising high command seems as alarmed by problem as I am, and are committing to removing every external campaign that could be causing problems so that this can be straightened out (you may well experience blanks in place of some of the ads here as this is worked through). The necessity of the advertising here has been discussed at length in the past, and the level of understanding most people have expressed about this is heartening, making me feel that much worse about ads that are causing people problems. My sincere apologies.
I can only hope that the next time I discuss this issue, it will be because this ridiculous situation is resolved.
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Dell Vostro V13
A business box to get your pulse racing - surely not?
Upgrading is a potential problem as well. It's unlikely you'll want to change the spacious 320GB hard drive, but getting at the Ram and battery is a real challenge. Both are concealed under a solid slice of aluminium, and even with all the visible screws removed we couldn't figure a way to get the bottom plate off without employing a small crowbar.
Nice looks, shame about the performance
Those who have fallen for the V13's slim charms shouldn't despair, however. True to form, Dell offers a number of configurations for the system, starting at a 1.2GHz Celeron (shudder) and going as far as a well-specced 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 with 4GB of memory for around £105 more than the review unit.
The V13 isn't flawless. The features list is rather bare – Dell says an optional HSDPA 3G module is "coming soon", and a fingerprint reader is standard issue on most business laptops but absent here. The top-end model begins to look distinctly pricey at a shade under £600, but you're getting a laptop with capable performance, good looks and excellent portability. The single-core models may be cheaper than the dual-core V13, but we'd pick the latter every time for its greater performance.
Business PCs aren't supposed to evoke a little shiver of pleasure each time you pick them up. In the V13's case, the pleasure is doubled: there's usually a significant premium attached to this kind of design and it's pleasing to see that you can spend – at the bottom of the range – almost netbook money on a machine with looks that give Apple and Sony's finest a run for their money. And it comes from Dell. Who would have imagined? ®
More Compact Laptop Reviews...
Vaio X
Sponsored: Minds Mastering Machines - Call for papers now open


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2003 Women's Soccer
Weekly Recap
BC women's soccer gain experience, but lose two
By Riordan McClain, SID assistant
September 8, 2003
The Bluffton College women's soccer team had matches against two tough foes this past week in Tri-State and Heidelberg. Although they lost both they gained much needed experience for this young team. Having only one senior on the roster, the beaver's younger players unfortunately had to learn on the run as they opened with a very good Tri-State team. Tri-State prevailed 6-0 in the opening game for Bluffton. Rachelle Saccomen recorded 26 saves in the game for Bluffton.
In the second game of the season Bluffton hosted Heidelberg and showed signs of improvement from the loss to Tri-State. Gina Berelsman led the beaver's with two shots on goal followed by Jenifer Byrne with one. Saccomen had ten saves but the beaver's fell again 2-0.


text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Recruiters, Latin Am etc Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Recruiters, Latin Am etc Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Newbie Forum View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message kootenayJoined: 24 Oct 2012Posts: 6 Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 3:31 pm Post subject: Recruiters, Latin Am etc Hi everyone, I learned alot reading your post & replies. Thanks to the 'old-timers' for their generosity. This industry appears to be fraught with fraud. (Is this an exaggeration?). I've been warned to never pay for recruitment, yet can see some value to a broker having some responsibility to you. However, I've had a recruiter virtually guarantee me a job in the Middle East, when I understand now no BA is a deal breaker. Does anyone have any experience with trustworthy recruiters? Any comments or suggestions? I'm a newbie ESL teacher with a TESOL CERT., Instructor's Diploma, 5 courses short of a BA & 6 months experience teaching in VietNam. I'm looking for a paid job in Latin Am., preferably Nicaragua, hopefully in Jan or Feb. Beginning to understand I probably need to just go with C.V. in hand, but a little leery. Anybody teaching in Nica right now? Any suggestions re school/institutions? How much of a barrier is no BA? Whats average pay/classroom hours? Any suggestions/info is much appreciated. Back to top nomad soulJoined: 31 Jan 2010Posts: 11202Location: The real world Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:01 pm Post subject: Re: Recruiters, Latin Am etc kootenay wrote: However, I've had a recruiter virtually guarantee me a job in the Middle East, when I understand now no BA is a deal breaker. Does anyone have any experience with trustworthy recruiters? Any comments or suggestions? I'm a newbie ESL teacher with a TESOL CERT., Instructor's Diploma, 5 courses short of a BA & 6 months experience teaching in VietNam. I'm looking for a paid job in Latin Am., preferably Nicaragua, hopefully in Jan or Feb. Beginning to understand I probably need to just go with C.V. in hand, but a little leery. Anybody teaching in Nica right now? Any suggestions re school/institutions? How much of a barrier is no BA? I have no knowledge about TEFL in Nicaragua (try the Latin Am. forums); however, I suggest you finish your BA before applying for positions abroad. It will increase your chance of getting a legit TEFL job while avoiding sketchy recruiters. Back to top tttompatzJoined: 06 Mar 2010Posts: 1951Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: Recruiters, Latin Am etc kootenay wrote: Hi everyone, I learned alot reading your post & replies. Thanks to the 'old-timers' for their generosity. This industry appears to be fraught with fraud. (Is this an exaggeration?). I've been warned to never pay for recruitment, yet can see some value to a broker having some responsibility to you. <edited for brevity> NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay for a job. Recruiters are paid for by the school. Understand the roll of the recruiter or agency. They are head hunters paid for by the school to find a suitable candidate to fill a position. They are all good. They are all the best. They are all bad. They are all the worst. The good one is the one who gets you a "DECENT" job. They are all good and they are all bad. They all have some proponents and they all have some complaints. Search yourself and you have access to perhaps 20-50 potential employers who may be able to actually READ your resume and perhaps can get you through the visa confirmation process (not always easy for 1st time applicants). Use 20 recruiters and that number jumps up into the many hundreds or potentially over 1000 jobs, even if the employer himself doesn't speak English (lots of academy jobs, MOST private placement PS jobs and virtually ALL private K-12 jobs fall into this category). The problem lies in the fact that most people do NOT understand the role of the recruiter. They are an introduction to a potential employer that you yourself would not otherwise be able to find. Then, if they are any good at their job, they guide you through the placement and assist with the paperwork necessary to get you as far as the employer. They are NOT your friend. They do NOT work for you (they are paid for and work for the employer). They are like a used car salesman. You walk onto their car-lot (website), peruse the cars (available jobs), if you see one you like you inquire about it. After you listen to the sales pitch you let YOUR mechanic have a look at it (due diligence checking out the school). If it is all good then you make the offer (accept the contract) and complete the sale (begin the paperwork for your visa application). A good salesman will ensure that the paperwork is in order to make the sale and allow you to register the car. (A good recruiter will make sure your paperwork is in order and help get you through the paperwork to get your visa.) I have no problem with using a recruiter or telling anyone else to use one (or more the case, many). They are often your best option for finding the BEST fit when it comes to a job in abroad. For someone who is abroad, had no connections and no ability to communicate in the local language then recruiters are a necessary evil. That doesn't mean it is a crap shoot. Please allow a quote from the "other board". ttompatz wrote: Really, when it comes to a recruiter, who cares where they are from or where they are based? A recruiter is nothing more than an introduction to an employer. Unless you have an extensive network of friends and/or colleagues in your target country OR can read/write and speak the local language and can apply directly they are a necessary evil. REPEAT: A recruiter is nothing more than an introduction to an employer. Hello Mr. English speaker this is Mr Hakwon owner. Mr. hakwon owner, this is Mr. English speaker. Mr. English speaker, here is the contract. Please read and sign. School, here is the signed contract. Pay me. Good bye. -You are not paying them anything (or you shouldn't be). -THEY DO NOT WORK FOR YOU! - They work for the school. -They owe you nothing once you get here. -They are not your friend. -They are not your baby sitter. -They cannot help you if things go to *beep* after you get here. Beyond that it is YOUR responsibility to check the school out. Do NOT trust ANY recruiter. They are like used car salesmen. They will lie and sell their soul to get the signature on the contract. Do your own DUE DILLIGENCE in regards to the school or get burned. Use the recruiters for what they are. Use more than one and keep going until you get what you want. There is no rush and there is certainly no shortage of jobs. When it comes to the school - again - repeat - Do your own DUE DILLIGENCE. 1st - READ the contract over very carefully. If that doesn't scare you away then... The best you can do is minimize the risk by talking to MORE THAN ONE of the foreign staff and ask POINTED AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS (*when the boss is NOT listening over their shoulder). Don't accept non-specific answers and broad generalizations. No foreign staff references to talk (directly and via e-mail) to = walk away now. Accept NO EXCUSES for any reason. ONE CAVEAT: if it is a public school there may not be a Native English Speaker to talk to but there is a chain of command OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL (your POE liaison) if you have problems and they are more strict in following the terms of the contract. 7777 .................................. And to answer your BA question... NOT having a degree means being stuck at the entry level wherever you go (usually subsistence wages). Spend the time to complete the degree (EFL jobs aren't going away any time soon) and a LARGE part of the globe opens up to you (for LEGAL work). Higher level and better paying jobs become an option (an average EFL wage in Asia as an example pays $1500-2000 and may also include airfare and housing). The days when a high school completion and a 30-day TEFL cert would get you a decent job with the ability to travel and earn as you go to fund your way around the world on a few gap years before returning to home and a career are largely going the way of the Dodo Bird and will soon be just as extinct. As to hours and conditions: I can't speak to central America specifically but, as an example, k-12 teachers should be spending about 20 hours in front of the class and language academy teachers about 30 hours per week is pretty standard for full time jobs. In addition to those classroom hours you can expect just about equal time being needed for classroom prep if you are doing a good job although, in far too many language academy settings, prep is often as poor as 5 minutes at the copy machine prior to class and a printout of a work sheet from bogglesworld. . . Back to top MotherFJoined: 07 Jun 2010Posts: 1434Location: 17°48'N 97°46'W Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:41 pm Post subject: I would contact the university/college that you studied at. Tell them who you are, how long it's been since you dropped out or withdrew, ask them to check how many credits you need (it might be different than what you remembered) and in what areas you need those credits then ask them what your options are. Most univerisities have some sort of "finish up later" program that they don't necessarily advertise because they want all their students to finish the normal way. But a graduate is a graduate, so there are often options you didn't know about (a correspondence couse), or that didn't exsit when you were a student (online classes), or some sort of evening course with mostly working professionals in it. If you are that close to finishing the BA, it's probably worth it. Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Newbie Forum All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. 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Posted 6 years ago
(167 items)
Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Keyes, Manitoba.
The image is 6" X 10", on 10" X 14" card stock.
Railway gardens began in the early 1860's in Britain, by the late 1860's they were being copied in Canada. When the CPR established its cross country connection, the railway garden began to creep along the line. Western railway companies, especially the CPR, were well aware of the need to "fill up" the west. Immigration, would certainly benefit their financial position. Revenue would be generated by increased passenger rail traffic, by the sale of railway land to settlers, by shipping manufactured goods from eastern to western settlements, and by shipping western agricultural produce all over Canada. To set this process in motion, the CPR, in particular, invested heavily in a campaign (through the media, excursion trains, and an active immigration policy) to promote the richness of prairie land. Station gardens, characterized as effective advertisements for prairie fertility, were a prominent part of these campaigns. The station, especially in the west, was often the focus of the community and a major link with the outside world. Civic boosters said the only evidence of a town's worth immediately seen by a prospective settler was the condition of town's railway station.


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Totally random thread, but in the past week I've seen or been sent three pretty awesome space-related links. Thought I would share them. Figured there had to be posters who loved astronomy and/or physics as much, if not more, than I do.
Oh yeah, and I advise you go as high in resolution as you can.
New NASA video that's very cool (Mainly 3D rendering of hubble photos, as well as some really awesome views of Mars/the Moon/Earth):
A video of Saturn that totally made me cry. It was made out of high def images from Cassini and Voyager, and strung together by a Dutch artist.
The Scale of the Universe interactive... thing.. I don't know what to call it. But it lets you zoom in/out to the smallest theoretical area all the way to the size of the universe, comparing sizes and such throughout. Pretty amazing, how much work went into it.
Going into space is probably my biggest dream. Unfortunately, I was born too early for that to be a realistic one. So it's lucky I'm at least late enough that I can look through the little windows we have, even if they aren't portholes.
[EDIT] Borked link.
Edited, May 4th 2012 10:22pm by idiggory


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Submission + - Assange & The Guardian's Complicated Relations (vanityfair.com)
Sonny Yatsen writes: Vanity Fair has published an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the unlikely and tumultuous working relationship between Wikileak's Julian Assange and The Guardian as the Iraq War Logs were being published. The piece highlights the differences and conflicts between the Guardian's journalistic standards and Wikileak's transparency. Particularly interesting is the revelation that Julian Assange threatened to sue The Guardian if they publish a portion of Iraq War Logs leaked to them by a disgruntled Wikileaks volunteer, claiming "he owned the information and had a financial interest in how and when it was released."


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Keith William Newton
Keith William Newton, II, 66, of Midland, previously of Titusville and Kane, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. He was born on July 1, 1945 in Titusville to the late Dorothy (Bauer) Reynolds. He graduated from Titusville High School in 1963.He is survived by five children, Fran Newton Dougherty and husband, Jeffrey of Titusville, Pamela Newton Haux and fiance Jeffrey Oswalt of Titusville, Keith Newton III and wife Sandra of Ludlow, Linda Newton Detsch and husband Allen of Kane, and Karen Newton Brumbaugh and husband Ronald of Venango; grandchildren include Brian and Eric Snyder, Mark Dougherty and Lacey Dougherty Gill, Ian, Sean and Katharina Haux, Angela, Maria and Joseph Newton, Jacqueline and Michael Detsch, and Nicholas and Lawrence Brumbaugh; and one great-grandchild, Ella Snyder. He is also survived by his special friend, Penelope Jones, of Midland.Over the years he was employed as a truck driver and mechanic at various businesses in Titusville, Kane, and Midland areas. After retiring, he enjoyed gardening and working on cars.He was preceded in death by his mother, Dorothy Bauer Reynolds in 2005 and his stepfather, William J Reynolds in 1998.At his request, there will be no calling hours or funeral service. The family will hold a private memorial service at a later date.


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Crime Naperville
Oct 21
Car broken into
An suv parked in the driveway in front of my boyfriends house was broken into last night. No sign of forced entry. Items and money both stolen. He lives in northeast part of Naperville. Has anyone else had this happen?
EveryBlock collects 22 types of news in Chicago — including articles, real estate listings, meetups and conversations neighbors are having — and organizes it by location. Here is all the recent news and discussion near 4-69 W. Bauer Rd.


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October 29, 2012Everyday
Halloween for Dummies
Halloween's in two days and you still don't have a costume? It might be too late to pull together an ornate Cleopatra and too cold to work Malibu Barbie, but there are a few looks you can whip up with whatever you have at home. Read on for the easy path to working something spooky (but still pretty) into your Wednesday.
The makeup at Prabal Gurung's S/S 13 show may have been natural, but the nails? Sally Hansen's Creative Director, Tracylee, took Gurung's inspiration--sculptor Anish Kapoor's Blood Collection--quite literally. "He wanted something bloody!" she said. So Tracylee took one of the colours from Gurung's new collection for Sally Hansen, Angel Bite, and dripped it down the nail. "Sally Hansen Complete Salon manicure has base coat in it already, so a base coat isn't necessary," she explained. Use a small brush, like Winning Nail's Sable Nail Brush Oval #5 ($5), using the drop at the end of the brush to make the blood drip. "Then pull the brush up and drag into a squiggly line." (Hansen's new shades won't be available until spring, but try Red Zin ($6.50) in the meantime.)
Emma Stone may have gone French for Miu Miu's S/S 13 show, but Dianna Agron turned Twiggy. The Glee actress accessorized her retro blue dress with a mini beehive and clumped lashes. Ramona Eschbach, one of Oribe's hairstylists, prepped her hair with the brand's Foundation Mist ($22). After blow-drying it, she cut a deep part in line with the end of Agron's eyebrow and combed it flat against the head, over her left ear, and secured it with a bobby pin. Eschbach sprayed Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray ($39) on the roots of the rest of Agron's hair before backcombing it into a bouffant. Then she tied the hair into a low ponytail--which you can either tease, or twist into a knot and secure with bobby pins--before finishing with Superfine Strong Hair Spray($34).
When all else fails, wrap a piece of lace around your head. Seriously. Guests were supposed to go all out for the launch of Lady Gaga's debut fragrance, Fame, so Vensette founder Lauren Remington Platt topped off her Calvin Klein Collection suit with the easiest mask ever: "It's a piece of lace I bought for five bucks!"
Scott Sternberg's S/S 13 show was inspired by Battle Royale (the Japanese film that in turn inspired The Hunger Games), but we can't help but see football. Shiseido's Artistic Director Dick Page used concealer to paint those peachy warrior stripes. "Scott said something a little bit feral, sort of sporty, like a reverse football thing," Page said. "Originally at the test we did it with white, but it looks a bit nicer like this parchment-like colour." Page whipped up a custom formula for the show--"You could seal a house with this stuff if you wanted to"--but swing by the drugstore and buy the palest concealer you can find.
-Britt Aboutaleb
-Britt Aboutaleb


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Hachiōji (八王子) [5] is in the western part of Tokyo.
Gained city status on the 1st September 1917. Population in 2004 was about 530,000.
Get in
By air
If coming from Narita Airport, take the JR Narita Express to Tokyo station, and change for the Chuo Line for service to Hachioji (about 2 1/4 hours, ¥3670). It is a real climb all the way up to the Chuo platforms, but since Chuo line trains start at Tokyo station, odds are you will probably find a seat. The alternative is to continue on the Narita Express to Shinjuku and from there board the Chuo Line, or the less-expensive Keio Line.
If you have a Japan Rail Pass, and if the timing is right, you may be able to reserve a Kaiji or Azusa train from Shinjuku and have a more comfortable journey to Hachioji.
One daily Narita Express does run from the airport straight to Hachioji in the evening, and there is one Narita Express from Hachioji to the airport in the early morning.
Six daily airport limousine buses run from Narita to both the JR and Keio Hachioji train stations in about 2 hours, 40 minutes (¥3700). As of September 2008, departures from Narita are at 7:50, 9:10, 15:10, 16:40, 18:10 and 20:40.
From Haneda Airport, the easiest way to Hachioji by train is to take the Keikyu Line to Shinagawa, from where you can take the JR Yamanote Line in either direction, to either Tokyo or Shinjuku station, to pick up the Chuo Line for Hachioji. It costs ¥1180 no matter which way you go; allow about 1 3/4 hours. Slightly faster, but requiring an extra transfer, is to travel via Yokohama.
Six daily limousine buses go from Haneda to the JR and Keio Hachioji train stations in about 1 1/2 to 2 hours (¥1700). As of September 2008, departures from Haneda are at 12:30, 15:40, 17:25, 19:25, 21:00 and 22:25.
By train
From Tokyo Station, hop on a JR Chuo Line train departing from platforms 1 and 2 for the ride to Hachioji (50-60 minutes, ¥780).
From Shinjuku, you can reach Hachioji in as little as 38 minutes, either via the Chuo Line, or via tokkyū trains on the Keio line (¥460 on JR; ¥350 on Keio).
By car
Chou Express onramp and exit From Akirunoshi through the number16 road to Hachioji.
By bus
Overnight buses run into and out of Keio Hachioji station. Services run from Kyoto (Tama Bus/Keihan Bus; ¥7950 one way; ¥14310 round-trip), Osaka (Tama Bus/Kintetsu Bus; ¥8250 one way; ¥14770 round-trip) and Kanazawa (Tama Bus/Hokuriku Railroad; ¥8250 one way; ¥14850 round-trip)
Get around
By Train:
-Chuo Line: Toyoda, Hachiōji, Nishi-Hachiōji, & Takao statiions. -Yokohama Line: Katakura & Hachiōji-Minamino stations. -Hachiko Line: Kita-Hachiōji & Komiya stations.
-Keiō Line: Naganuma, Kitano, & Keio-Hachioji stations. -Keiō Takao Line: Keio-Katakura, Yamad, Mejirodai, Hazama, Takao, & Takaosanguchi stations. -Keiō Sagamihara Line: Keiō-Horinouchi & minami-Osawa stations.
Other Modes Of Tranportation
in autumn,those colours change and it is very beautiful.
Mt. Takao is a 600-meter peak that is easily accessible by a combination of cable car and hiking, giving a little taste of nature in Tokyo. It is popular in the fall to see the changing color of the leaves, however springtime is also a nice time because you can see many beautiful cherry blossoms.
Start at the Takaosan-guchi (高尾山口) station of the Keio Line (this is the last stop). Just outside of the station a large map indicates hiking trails in the area. The first part of the main trail is steep, this can be avoided with a cable car or chairlift ride (6 min./¥470, ¥900 round trip). Once you get off the cable car, there are shops selling food and souvenirs. There is also Monkey Park, where for ¥400 yen (children ¥200) you can watch a demonstration (in Japanese) and learn about Japanese Macaques in this zoo-like exhibit. There is also a beer garden which offers an all-you-can-eat-and-drink course for around ¥3000, a welcome reward on the return trip for a couple hours of hiking. From there, it is about a 50-minute walk to the top of Takaosan (高尾山頂). However, there are many lesser traveled routes also available that may take longer but are more scenic. On the main route (Path 1) there are shrines and more food vendors. The entire path is paved, although there are steep stairs in places.
At the top of the mountain there is a visitor center, restaurant, and viewing platform where Mount Fuji is visible.
Leaving from Shinjuku, board a Keio Line express or semi-express train bound for Takaosan-guchi station (47 minutes/¥470), which is the end of the line. Note that not all Shinjuku departures go to Takaosan-guchi. Some semi-express trains bound for Kitano actually switch to local trains for Takaosan-guchi, which are convenient. Round One We can play bowling, and there are some amusement or games. Hachioji Festival in august
-Hakubi Kyoto Kimono Gakuin -ABC cooking Studio -KAWAI Music School (カワイ音楽教室) -AEON
- Various large corporations have factories, branches, and head offices in Hachioji.
Tukinoshizuku japanese restaurant kind of tofu. (Asahimachi2-5 Hachioji twin tower 9F tel:042-620-3920
Tokubeis soba restaurant. (Ohwadachou 4-15-6.) tel:042・644・9098
Azigen(味源) Ra-men restaurant 5-12,Misaki-cho,Hachioji-shi,0426-27-9043, Open:Everyday, 11:00AM to 5:00AM (About 5min from north exit of Hachiouji station)
Torattoria Campagna Italy restaurant 1-5,Misaki-cho,Hachioji-shi,0426-27-1201,
Open: Tu to Sun,11:30AM to 14:30PM, 17:30PM to 21:30PM, Close:Mon
Bold text
Bane Bagus 12-15, Higashi-cho,Hachioji-shi,0426-46-9631, Open:Everyday 6:00PM to 5:00AM This is Darts bar.
Blue A Bleuthere is big Water tank, so you can drink waching beautiful fishes. (Misakicho 5-22 EKbillding 4F) tel:0426-23-8284
There are many love hotels close to JR/Keio hachioji Stations, and can even be found in less populated and mountainous areas. Normally love hotels operate on an hourly/bi-hourly system, but are also known to have a cheaper overnight charge.
Single rooms ¥13,382.
Stay safe
Get out


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Tuesday, April 10, 2012 12:49 am
Ichiro impressed by Darvish debut, 11-5 over Ms
By STEPHEN HAWKINSAP Sports Writer
Suzuki and the Seattle Mariners jumped out to a quick four-run lead before Darvish settled down and got some help from his powerful offense as the Rangers went on for an 11-5 victory Monday night.
"My impression was good, not his pitching but just in general after he was taken out of the game, you saw the crowd did a standing ovation and he didn't tip his cap," Suzuki said. "He wasn't very happy or satisfied with his pitching, and that shows pride. That's a good mentality, that's what I liked about him."
After giving up four runs while throwing 42 pitches in the first inning, then allowing another run in the second, Darvish (1-0) later retired 10 in a row while pitching into the sixth.
Darvish walked leadoff hitter Chone Figgins on four pitches to start the game before striking out Dustin Ackley.
Suzuki then blooped a single just over third base, and Justin Smoak lined a single to right before Kyle Seager's two-run single. Another walk and an RBI single by Miguel Olivo reloaded the bases before Munenori Kawasaki, an eight-time All-Star in Japan who was the only Mariner to previously face Darvish, walked on four pitches and put Seattle up 4-0.
There was also a wild pitch thrown so hard that it ricocheted off the brick backstop right back to Napoli.
And the Mariners still couldn't beat him after jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Texas even batted.
It wasn't the first time Seattle manager Eric Wedge watched a pitcher give up four first-inning runs and still get a win after avoiding being knocked out of the game early.
"I'm not crazy about it when it's against us. We were about to that point," Wedge said. "They're going to be careful with him and they had somebody up. We were close to getting that done."
Darvish insisted he had a feeling of calmness when he took the mound for his much-anticipated major league debut. He just had to settle down his big right arm to match how his mind felt.
"Mentally, I was very calm, but my body felt like it wanted to go and go and go," Darvish said through his translator. "At the beginning of the game, my mind and my body kind of weren't on the same page. ... It was pretty much a battle all night. Just knowing my offense, if I could string those zeroes together, they would answer for me."
Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer in the third for Texas to tie the game at 5, then Mitch Moreland and Josh Hamilton both went deep in the fourth to give Darvish an 8-5 lead. Ian Kinsler added a three-run blast in the eighth.
Darvish was Japan's top pitcher before the Rangers committed more than $107 million to acquire him, including his guaranteed $56 million, six-year contract. Despite the early struggles in his first start, the 25-year-old right-hander is undefeated in Texas.
"Going through warmups and everything, he felt fine," said catcher Mike Napoli, sporting a "Yu is my Homeboy" T-shirt after the game. "He got out there and was over-amped. I don't think he was scared, he was excited to be out there."
When manager Ron Washington replaced Darvish with Alexi Ogando - who struck out Smoak to end that inning - Darvish got a loud ovation from the crowd that was also chanting "Yuuuuuuu!" as he walked to the dugout without acknowledging the cheers.
Darvish, who struck out five and walked four while throwing 59 of 110 pitches for strikes, called it moving to get that kind of reaction after his tough performance. He said he wasn't aware it was customary to tip his cap to the crowd.
"I guess we'll tell him," Napoli said with a smile.
Seattle starter Hector Noesi (0-1) only made it into the fourth. The right-hander was gone after Napoli drew a leadoff walk and Moreland followed by pulling a 382-foot homer down the right-field line for a 7-5 lead.
Noesi struck out three and walked three and gave up six hits in his three-plus innings.
Michael Young and Cruz had consecutive two-out RBI singles in the first off Noesi, but Seattle got another run in the second when Suzuki doubled and scored on a double by Seager.
Erasmo Ramirez made his major league debut with three innings after he replaced Noesi. Ramirez allowed only one run, on Hamilton's homer to center.
Notes: Ogando, a 13-game winner and All-Star as a starter last season, went 1 1-3 innings. He has appeared in three of four games, with 3 1-3 scoreless innings. ... Neftali Feliz, the Rangers' closer-turned-starter, makes his first start Tuesday night against Seattle. He faces right-hander Blake Beaven, the former top prospect for the Rangers who was traded to Seattle two seasons ago in the Cliff Lee deal.


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By Jeff Edelstein
The Trentonian
It's rare when you can look at a current moment in pop culture and know in 10 years it's going to be seen as a turning point for all of America.
It's also equally rare when you can look at a current moment in pop culture and know in 10 years we're all going to be laughing at ourselves for thinking that moment was going to be a turning point for all of America.
It's even more rare when you can look at a current moment in pop culture and know it's definitely going one way or another.
So maybe in 10 years we'll look at "Thrift Shop" by rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis and realize the folly of our consumer-driven ways, or maybe in 10 years we'll look at "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and treat it like a 21st century version of "Ice Ice Baby." A joke. A blip. A non-starter. (BTW, if you decide to watch the video at work, lyrics NSFW.)
It can go either way. We're at the rarest pop culture moment imaginable: A pop culture event horizon. We're being sucked into the black hole, and what comes out the other side is anyone's guess.
For those who aren't aware -- or those just coming online to the whole Macklemore phenomenon -- quickest explainer ever: Macklemore is a rapper from Seattle. Has the number one song in America right now, a paean to all things second hand and inexpensive, "Thrift Shop." Sample (and key) lyric: "They be like 'Oh that Gucci, that's hella tight'/I'm like "Yo, that's fifty dollars for a t-shirt'/Limited edition, let's do some simple addition/Fifty dollars for a t-shirt, that's just some ignorant (bleep bleep)/I call that getting swindled and pimped, (bleep)/I call that getting tricked by business.
To be clear: In a country where 70 percent of our gross domestic product comes from consumption, the No. 1 hit single across the Billboard pop and rap (and ringtone, download, streaming, R&B, digital and on-demand) charts is a love song to an austere lifestyle.
Jeff Edelstein can be reached at facebook. com/jeffreyedelstein and twitter.com/jeff edelstein.


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