Honoring Veterans

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Irresponsibility

No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood.

-- despair.com

Potentially Destructive Pursuits

I couldn't help notice Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's comments during Bill Gates' testimony before the House Committee on Science and Technology.

the other huge challenge we face is the challenge of getting more of our best and brightest into careers as science, math and engineering. Increasingly as I talk to audiences and ask our kids what degrees they're going to pursue - they're pursuing what I tell them are potentially destructive pursuits. They're becoming lawyers and political scientists.

We've got enough of both - of each of those, thank you. I think that both of these maladies are the symptoms of a common disease and that is that a society gets what it appreciates. Our society just does not appreciate academic achievement and as a society we do not appreciate scientists, mathematicians and engineers.***

The culture really needs to change and I'll believe it's changing when the White House invites academic achievers and scientists, mathematicians and engineers and slobbers all over them they way they do entertainers and sports figures. What can we do, sir, to change the culture out there?

--- at ~ 1:14 in Webcast

Has it already been a year?

It's hard to believe almost a year has gone by since I've had the chance to blog, but life has a way of reprioritizing what you do with your free time, whether you want it to or not. An update may be in order.

I've been spending most of this year in Florida, making up for some lost time with family and geeking out on some really cool technical projects. I managed to squeeze in enough study time over the summer to pass the Florida Bar exam, but did not have the benefit of a Declaration of Intent while in law school, so no practicing until the background check is done.

Thanks to the folks who called my attention to the class notes in the Fall issue of UH Magazine and Parameters from the College of Engineering. Unfortunately, it was not entirely accurate as I received the 2006 Legal Professionalism Award from the State Bar of Texas and my liaison and committee positions were with the American Bar Association Secton of Antitrust Law during the 05-06 and 06-07 Bar years, resp.

Needless to say, you don't get to blog much when you're splitting time between Texas and Florida with a lot on your plate. I hope that will improve soon.

I blog because I can

A career-limiting move? I'm thrilled I can move

Tech Central Station has an update today on an Egyptian blogger (and former law student) jailed in Alexandria for speaking his mind.

Kareem Amer was remanded to over a month in prison for allegedly "defaming the President of Egypt" and "highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt." Where did Amer commit these supposed felonies? On his weblog. ***

Regimes accustomed to control have struggled to respond. In Tunisia, web publisher Zouhair Yahyaoui was dragged from an Internet café by security forces and tortured into revealing his site's password after he posted a quiz mocking President Zinedine Ben Ali. In Bahrain, the Information Ministry blocked the blog of entrepreneur Mahmoud Al-Yousif for covering a political scandal. In Iran, authorities arrested student Mojtaba Saminejad after he condemned the arrest of several fellow bloggers and "insulted the Supreme Leader."

Some people wonder why I would willingly call myself a geek and publish information about my life, my interests, and maybe even some politically incorrect opinions from time to time. I do it because I know there are too many women in the world just like me who literally can't without risking jail, torture, or even death for themselves or their relatives.

I can be serious, I can be silly, and I can be geeky. I'm sure I've probably missed out on some opportunities because I said something somebody didn't like. In my world, that's a small price to pay for the luxury of being able to speak freely in the first place.

Why do I blog? Because I can.