Global Cooling Costs Too Much

Jonah Goldberg makes some interesting points in "Global Cooling Costs Too Much" (Presence, p. 686), but I found only one that was supported by a citation. He refers to an atmospheric scientist who suggested in Science magazine that we might need 30 international climate agreements to halt global warming.
For your response, pick an assertion Goldberg makes that you think needs more support. Suggest where Goldberg could find research to back himself up.

"Secret Society of the Starving"

For Monday, Nov. 8, please read Mim Udovitch's "A Secret Society of the Starving" in the Presence book, page 556.
Pick one of the "non-scholarly" sources the author uses and write a 200-word memo about its effectiveness. Does it do a good job of supporting what the author is trying to get across? If so, how? If not, why?

Solve the World's Problems

Please post your Nobel Prize-worthy topics here. The deadline is the start of class on Monday, Nov. 8. The topic should come from your major.

"Don't Do the Math"

Please read James Surowiecki's piece in Presence (pg. 676) and write a 200-word comment on a cost-benefit trade-off you've had to make. Was it worth it in the end?

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Bobby Henderson's e-mail to the Kansas School Board is written in a form we'll explore in Unit 4: It identifies a problem and proposes a solution. It drew attention to the School Board's assault on evolution and helped generate widespread derision. The board members eventually were voted out of office.
A visit to Henderson's Web site is eye-opening. Years after he wrote the e-mail, he still gets hate mail.
After reading "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" (Presence, pg. 348), tell us about a particularly effective bit of satire that you've read, heard, or seen (on television perhaps). What made it effective?
This response is due on Monday, Nov. 1.

"An Animal's Place"

Read "An Animal's Place" by Michael Pollan in Presence (page 204-221). Respond by listing one of the claims Pollan makes and a piece of evidence he uses to support it.

Vote for Candidate X! Post your race here!

The office responsible for running elections in Vermont is the secretary of state.
Click this link to go to the elections page of the secretary of state's website.
If you scroll down a bit, you'll find the following headline in the middle column:
FINAL General Election Candidate Listing.
Clicking PDF Format or Excel File will allow you to download a complete list of candidates running for public office across Vermont. If you see more than one candidate listed for one race, you've found a competitive race.
You may write your essay about candidates in a state other than Vermont; I knew about this link because I am using it in a journalism class.
Please choose the race you wish to write about and post it as a comment below. This assignment is due at the start of class on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

'Whole Lotta Cheatin'

For Monday, Oct. 11:
Please read Mark Clayton's piece, "A Whole Lot of Cheatin' Going On," in Presence (pg. 198) and join the debate.
Respond with your opinion and cite a fact Clayton brings up in his article.
The question we'll debate is this: Should LSC's student newspaper, The Critic, publish stories naming students who are disciplined for academic dishonesty at Lyndon State?
I'll go first:
Yes, The Critic should publish the names of cheaters. Academic dishonesty is the collegiate version of fraud. Our daily newspaper, the Caledonian-Record, frequently runs stories about people convicted of fraud. Publication serves two purposes: it informs readers about a matter of great public interest (crime), and it acts as a deterrent by letting potential fraudsters know they'll be shamed in public if they are caught. Publishing the names of academic cheaters would serve similar purposes. As Clayton points out (pg. 201), the student newspaper at the University of Southern California covers cheating cases. The Critic should, too.

Your turn!

Learn Statistics. Go Abroad.

Read K. Anthony Appiah's piece in Presence: "Learn Statistics. Go Abroad." Tell us in 200 words where you would wish to study if you could spend a semester abroad. What attracts you about that place?

Advice for Freshmen

Here's a link to a piece in the New York Times in which graduate teaching assistants give advice to new students.

The Gun Auction

Dan Williams
Essay 2: Observation
1080 Words

About 100 people filled the hall at Wrights Auctions in Newport. Appropriately for a gun auction, the hall was at the back of a sporting goods shop – also owned by the Wright family.
At least 80 percent of the people in the hall were men. Most were middle aged and wore the rural uniform of plaid shirts, jeans and baseball caps. Many knew each other.
As the audience waited for things to start, a snack vendor sold hamburgers and fries from a trailer in the parking lot outside the hall. A breeze blew the smell into the hall, ensuring a steady supply of customers.
The bidding sheet listed 120 guns and, incongruously, one gas-powered remote-control car. Many of the manufacturers were familiar: Winchester, Browning, Mossberg, Ruger. Some names were new, and expensive-sounding: Franchi, Stoeger, Benelli.
The shotguns included pumps, autoloaders, and single-shots; some were in new condition, still in their cases. The rifles ranged from lever-action weapons that would be at home in a Wild West movie to modern bolt-action hunting rifles with powerful scopes. The calibers on the handguns started at .22 and stopped at .50. There were revolvers and automatics, small .38s for the ladies and monster .45s for the Dirty Harry set.
The guns were front and center, laid out on tables. Prospective bidders moseyed from table to table, noting the condition of the guns, occasionally picking up a shotgun or rifle and aiming it at the ceiling to get a feel for it. If they liked a specimen, they noted the lot number on their three-page bidding sheet.
Handguns were kept in a glass case. An attendant showed each one individually and made sure they were all returned.
Twenty-five rows of folding chairs faced the front. The chairs were hemmed in on the sides by antiques and other items that would go under the hammer after the guns were sold. At the back of the rows of chairs, Wrights had placed a group of antique couches. Smart bidders grabbed those seats first and settled in with plates of fried food to await the start.
It came at 10:07, seven minutes late.
The auctioneer informed the crowd a computer wasn’t working properly, so winning bidders would have to wait 30 minutes before they could pay for their weapons. He also reminded everybody that each purchase would involve filling out a federal firearms form.
The date was Sept. 11, so the auctioneer asked everyone to bow heads for “a minute of silence for the victims of 9/11.”
Five seconds later, he said, “May God be with them all,” and the auction began.
He started the bidding on a Mauser rifle at $500. When he got no takers, he dropped the price $100, then $200, then $300, keeping up his auctioneer’s speed-patter all the while. At $100, someone finally raised a bidding slip. The auctioneer lifted the price in increments of $25, but only twice. It sold for $150.
He started the bidding on a Winchester Model 12 pump shotgun at $400. Getting no takers, he cut the price in half to $200 and got one bid. Another bidder jumped at $250. A third chimed in at $275, and won.
A pattern was emerging: The auctioneer started the bidding relatively high, then slashed the price when nobody raised a bidding slip. Occasionally, bidders would push the amount up to the original asking price, but this was rare.
A TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun caused a stir, but went for only $300.
A Winchester Model 1400 shotgun with a turkey choke sold for $250.
Another Winchester started at $500, then fell by half. However, the bidding heated up when a large gentleman in the rear jumped in. His bidding slip identified him as No. 147. He wore a camouflage cap and shirt. His jeans were held up by suspenders. The bidding quickly rose back up to $500, then $525, $550, $600, $650, $675, $700. The large gentleman finally won with a bid of $750. The auctioneer, who obviously knew Mr. 147, called out “I know your wife wanted you to buy it!”
Muzzleloaders begged for bidders. A .50-caliber Knight Big Horn started at $100 and sold for $100. A Goddard .50-caliber went for $75.
A J. Stevens single-barrel 12-gauge shotgun went for $85. The reason was stamped into the barrel: “Pat’d Dec. 11, 1900.”
But some antiques fetched handsome prices. A Winchester Highwall rifle went for $3,000 to a buyer who left a bid during the preview session the previous day.
One older man wearing a blue hat and blue checked shirt won the bidding for a .22 rifle, but then his attention wandered. The auctioneer called out, “Brian, what’s your number?” Brian’s neighbors had to poke him.
The auctioneer lost patience as the auction progressed. If a gun wasn’t getting much action, he cut the bidding short rather than try to squeeze another $25 out of the weapon. He made an exception when he thought the bidders were severely undervaluing a gun.
“This percussion cap rifle was made in Derby of local maple,” he said as the bidding for a handsome long gun stalled at $400. “It’s a matched set – percussion cap rifle and pistol. You’d pay a fortune just for the wood.” The pair sold for $500, with the auctioneer telling the winning bidder, “You got a really good price on that, a really good price.”
The computer problem was solved, and buyers could start paying for their guns. To do that, they had to stop at a counter at the back of the hall where a man and two women took their money and gave them a receipt. The younger of the two women had trouble working her computer because she was missing an arm.
Customers had to take their receipts into the sporting goods shop, where the auctioned guns were lined up against a wall according to bid-slip number. The rush hadn’t started, so the men behind the counter had time to chat.
“I’ve never done this before,” one clerk confided nervously. After a customer filled out the federal form, the clerk had to call the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and read the information to someone at the other end of the line.
The first transactions took 20 minutes. If the men behind the counter didn’t speed things up, they would still be there on Sept. 12.
“It’s going to be a long day,” the clerk said

Essay 2 Topic

Please post the topic of your Essay 2 here as a comment by the start of class on Monday, Sept. 27. Remember, you want to observe something you've never experienced before. Have fun.

Hornets' Nest Observation

Hornets’ Nest Observation
Dan Williams
1051 L04


Chelsea sits by herself in a booth in the Hornets’ Nest. She wears blue jogging pants and a black T-shirt that says “Just Do It.”
“This window’s too hot,” she says.
“Don’t sit there,” says Dylan, who sits at a round table with Kyle, out of the sun.
Chelsea and her classmates are at the snack bar working on an assignment. They are to observe their surroundings and write a short descriptive piece.
Chelsea watches, but writes nothing down.
“I can’t observe and take notes.”
She says she observed a soccer game over the weekend for an athletic training class. Her assignment was to analyze the players’ movements so her class could come up with a soccer-specific workout for them. She explains that a workout for, say, baseball players would emphasize core and upper body exercises, which would not be appropriate for a soccer player, who uses her legs.
Hilary, Amanda and Rachel sit at the booth next to Chelsea. They get up and go into the snack bar to buy food.
Amanda and Rachel return with a bagel each. Amanda also has a container of grapes; Rachel brings a carton of chocolate milk.
Hilary buys herself an omelet and a bottle of cranberry juice.
Talk turns to food.
Chelsea, who does not live in a dorm, gives tips on eating at LSC: Go to the dining hall as a last resort.
“You’d better be a chef with a microwave,” she says.
Dylan slides his chair over.
The group starts talking about microwave recipes.
Somebody mentions “Crackhead Soup” – ramen, pepperoni, cheese, and Doritos.
Dylan mentions something called “Heart Attack Salad”: pasta, kielbasa and cheese chunks.
The group talks about mixing foods. One says, “If my corn touches my mashed potatoes – if they’re touching, it freaks me out.”
At a nearby table, Matt, Diana and Joe discuss an incident that occurred over the weekend. Evidently, two young women got into a fight. Someone threw a bottle of Hawaiian Punch. Another person recorded the episode.
Soon, a young woman joins Matt, Diana and Joe. She has a shiner under her right eye. They talk about what happens next. As she leaves, she says, “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Read for Wednesday, Sept. 22

Please read Eric Schlosser's piece, "The Most Dangerous Job," starting on Page 654 in Presence.
Schlosser does a good job describing what goes on in meat packing plants.
Pick a descriptive passage from the story and tell us, in 200 words, what makes it so compelling.
This is due by the start of class on Wednesday, Sept. 22

Wednesday's reading

Read Linda Barry's "Common Scents" (Presence page 445) and write a 200-word note in which you recall the smell of someone else's house. Was it good, bad? What made it good or bad?
You can read "Common Scents" in color at Salon.com.

The Summer That Ended All Summers

Here is a link to the reading for Monday, Sept. 13. Josh Weil wrote it for the New York Times, where it appeared Aug. 21.
Choose your favorite paragraph. Post a 200-word comment explaining why it is effective and what would happen to its effectiveness if the sentences were rearranged.

Link to Hurston

Google Books was (were?) kind enough to store a digital copy of Zora Neale Hurston's essay, "What it Feels Like to Be Colored Me."

Test your commenting skilz

Please post a comment so we can determine that you can access the blog.