Links for March 18th through April 6th

This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on April 6, 2010). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

Sometime between March 18th and April 6th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Flickr: Teabonics: "Teabonics- the bizarre, mutant variant of English used by self proclaimed members of the Tea Party when making their protest signs. The TEABAG Movement sweeping across America has forged a new English language vernacular. A phenomenon that linguists are calling TEABONICS."
  • FINALLY: The Difference Between Nerd, Dork, and Geek Explained by a Venn Diagram: "To all of you nerds and geeks who–like me–have been unfairly and inaccurately labeled 'dorks,' only to then exhaustively explain the differences among the three to a more-than-skeptical offender, I say: You're welcome. This nerd/dork/geek/dweeb Venn diagram should save you a lot of time and frustration in the future."
  • An Open Letter to Conservatives: "You're going to have to come up with a platform that isn't built on a foundation of cowardice: fear of people with colors, religions, cultures and sex lives that differ from your own; fear of reform in banking, health care, energy; fantasy fears of America being transformed into an Islamic nation, into social/commun/fasc-ism, into a disarmed populace put in internment camps; and more. But you have work to do even before you take on that task. Your party — the GOP — and the conservative end of the American political spectrum have become irresponsible and irrational. Worse, it's tolerating, promoting and celebrating prejudice and hatred. Let me provide some examples — by no means an exhaustive list — of where the Right as gotten itself stuck in a swamp of hypocrisy, hyperbole, historical inaccuracy and hatred."
  • Waterloo: "No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the 'doughnut hole' and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parents' insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there — would President Obama sign such a repeal?"
  • How today’s college students use Wikipedia for course–related research: "Findings are reported from student focus groups and a large–scale survey about how and why students (enrolled at six different U.S. colleges) use Wikipedia during the course–related research process. A majority of respondents frequently used Wikipedia for background information, but less often than they used other common resources, such as course readings and Google. Architecture, engineering, and science majors were more likely to use Wikipedia for course–related research than respondents in other majors. The findings suggest Wikipedia is used in combination with other information resources. Wikipedia meets the needs of college students because it offers a mixture of coverage, currency, convenience, and comprehensibility in a world where credibility is less of a given or an expectation from today’s students."