Monthly Archives: May 2008

Higgins Road

For those of you who live and/or work in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, you probably have noticed how bad Higgins Road is between Golf and Route 53. The potholes are absolutely horrendous.

The potholes were created after this last winter … and there doesn’t appear to have been any effort to repair them yet.

I contacted someone at the village of Schaumburg, and was told me that Higgins Road is owned and maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Highways.

I agree with your assessment of Higgins Road and can assure you that we have previously contacted them many times regarding this issue. I think that it will help for them to hear from as many people as possible, to get this road repaired.

My car has been in the shop at least twice now for suspension and alignment issues (recently getting a new set of tires) … I’m fairly confident that the condition of Higgins Road either caused, or contributed, to the damage.

I encourage everyone to contact IDOT and ask them to get the potholes repaired as soon as possible.


Update 5/30/08:

I sent email to my state senator, Michael Noland, and representative, Fred Crespo, asking that they look into the mater. No response yet. I was quite surprised when I found that the state does not seem to provide email services for state senators and representatives.

Annoying Software

ZDNet UK has a great summary of some of the most annoying software products around.

I pretty much agree with them on all counts … although my personal annoyance with anything that tries to install the Yahoo tool bar goes way beyond what they indicate.

I also really dislike Java’s insistence on a background task that’s constantly checking for updates. Personally, I think that any stand alone product that requires Java should install it’s own copy. Updating Java without considering the requirements of the software that is dependent on it is asking for trouble.

32 Percent

One in eight U.S. high school teachers presents creationism as a valid alternative to evolution, says a poll published in Public Library of Science Biology.

One in Eight High School Biology Teachers Still Teach Creationism

The article states that 32% of the 900 teachers, who responded to a poll conducted by Penn State University political scientist Michael Berkman, agreed that creationism and intelligent design should be taught as scientifically unsound. Forty percent said that such explanations are religiously valid but inappropriate for science class. EXACTLY!

However, 25% said they devoted classroom time to creationism or intelligent design. Of these, about one-half — 12% of all teachers — called creationism a “valid scientific alternative to Darwinian explanations for the origin of species,” and the same number said that “many reputable scientists view these as valid alternatives to Darwinian theory.”

Excuse me? ‘valid scientific alternative’??? What’s scientific about the bible? Where is the proof?

Personally, I think that any teacher who is found teaching Creationism or Intelligent Design should loose their teaching certificate. They shouldn’t even be allowed to be a substitute teacher.

I’ve said it before … I’m saying it now .. and I’m sure I’ll say it again … science class is for teaching FACTS … not religion.