the pod bay door

.: Tony made mention of a recent opinion piece in the London Times by William Ress-Mogg, called A pope for our times: why Darwin is back on the agenda at the Vatican. Ress-Mogg reports on a recent press conference by Cardinal Paul Poupard, in which the Cardinal advises the faithful of the Catholic Church to listen to what modern science say. Excerpt:

In The Times Martin Penner reported the cardinal’s argument. He had said that the description in Genesis of the Creation was “perfectly compatible” with Darwin’s theory of evolution, if the Bible were read properly. “Fundamentalists want to give a scientific meaning to words that had no scientific aim.”

He argued that the real message of Genesis was that the Universe did not make itself, and had a creator. “Science and theology act in different fields, each in its own.” In Rome, the immediate reaction was that this was a Vatican rejection of the fundamentalist American doctrine of “intelligent design”. No doubt the Vatican does want to separate itself from American creationists, but the significance surely goes further than that. This is not another Galileo case; the teachings of the Church have never imposed a literal interpretation of the language of the Bible; that was a Protestant mistake. Nor did the Church condemn the theory of evolution, though it did and does reject neo-Darwinism when that is made specifically atheist.

I was raised Cathlic, and while no longer a church-goer, Catholicism is still a part of me. It is refreshing to read this, especially after the previous note about the continuing idiocy in Kansas, and to know that the Catholic Church is trying to distance itself from fundamentalist nonsense like intelligent design.

.: It is so cool that the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917, a year after the Red Sox won their first WS since 1918. In 2004, the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four straight games, and the White Sox did the same to the Astros this year. So two very lengthy gaps between World Series victories, and a curse in Boston’s case, have been erased and ended in about a year. The announcers on Fox made mention of these dates shortly after the game ended tonight.

Now the pressure is on the hapless Cubs, who have not won since 1908. Big Guy called me after the White Sox clinched the game tonight, and we talked about how the Baseball Gods, wherever and whomever they may be, seem to be working some weird kind of magic, and it’s a wonderful thing. Now, baseball training camps open in about 14 weeks…

.: I returned home from dim sum today, determined to make some progress on house renos. I washed the downstairs bathroom door and door frame with T.S.P., a heavy duty cleaner, and then covered both with white primer. Following that, I installed a new face plate for my cable connection, and replaced the plugs and cover in the downstairs bathroom. Since April, when the work began, the main floor of my home has been littered with paint cans, brushes, rollers, pans, tools, wood, latex tiles, curtains, and more, and I am growing weary of looking at all of it on a daily basis. The next job is to paint the door and frame a semi-gloss white, and reinstall the door afterwards. Once done, I will call upon the help of friends to install the baseboards in the washroom, and the mouldings around the door frame.

.: I am at home on Sunday night, with the World Series on the tube. As a kid, I was an avid hockey and baseball fan, and my love of these sports continued into adulthood. I’ve also enjoyed NFL football over the decades. Growing up in Winnipeg, it seemed natural to cheer for the Minnesota teams, the Twins and the Vikings. As well, we had relatives living there since the 1950s, and we visited them often. My father was a Montreal Canadiens fan, so we followed suit as kids growing up in his house; despite having lived in Edmonton since 1978, I still cheer for the Habs.

Since the mid-80s, I’ve had few friends who share my interest in sports, so there are few people with whom I can discuss the latest developments. That said, I’m not sure it’s such a big deal anymore. (Aside: White Sox just hit a grand slam, with two out!) My interest in hockey began to wane as the game deteriorated in the 1980s – the NHL expanded to 30 teams and watered down the product, players showed no respect for each other, offense diminished as the emphasis switched to defensive style, and the game itself slowed down as players resorted to clutch-and-grab tactics. The recent lockout, which resulted in a cancelled season, may reinvigorate the game, but this is conditional on a number of issues, not the least of which is whether the referees will enforce the new rules, designed to allow for a more fluid, faster game. Regardless, while I will be a Habs fan for life, I am no longer interested in spending three hours in front of the tube to watch a hockey game. Baseball, however, continues to fascinate and intrigue me, and I will continue to follow it closely for years to come.

The 2005 WS features a team that has never won, the Astros, and a team that has not won since 1917, the White Sox. I’m rooting for the White Sox. Last year, the Red Sox won the WS for the first time since 1918; if the White Sox win this year for the first time since 1917, the two Sox championships would feel like bookends, and the White Sox would end a drought of similar proportions and agony shared by the 2004 Red Sox. Then in 2006, the pressure would be squarely on the Chicago Cubs, a team that hasn’t won the WS since 1908. If the White Sox win this week, and the Cubs perform a miracle in 2006, the three teams with the longest stretch between WS victories will have each one again, in three consecutive years. Lyrical, magical, mathematical. Now I hope I haven’t jinxed the White Sox.

.: I’ve been home from NYC for six days, and am still recovering from a minor cold I picked up late in the trip. I stayed home for three days, missing Access 2005, which from all accounts from my colleagues with whom I spoke on Thursday, totally rocked. I attended one day of NetSpeed 2005, and went to work briefly on Friday to teach a class. I’m doing my best to relax this weekend, but feel like I’m falling behind in work that needs to be done around the house.

.: Wikipedia, the free, online Encyclopedia by Committee, is coming under fire for its inconsistency, slipshod editing, and its many flat-out awful entries. Read “Wikipedia founder admits to serious quality problems – Yes it’s garbage, but it’s delivered so much faster!”, from The Register. I don’t think anyone should be surprised that Wikipedia’s quality is uneven and at times, atrocious. The Register article mentioned a post by Nicholas Carr, The amorality of Web 2.0, and it’s worth reading:

In theory, Wikipedia is a beautiful thing – it has to be a beautiful thing if the Web is leading us to a higher consciousness. In reality, though, Wikipedia isn’t very good at all. Certainly, it’s useful – I regularly consult it to get a quick gloss on a subject. But at a factual level it’s unreliable, and the writing is often appalling. I wouldn’t depend on it as a source, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to a student writing a research paper.

.: The Great Canadian Blog Survey is available, complied by U of Alberta Masters student Aaron Braaten. Details: “This survey was conducted by CanadianEconomist.com over a period of three weeks in September, 2005. It asked bloggers and blog readers various questions that enable in-depth analysis along 25 different variables. Overall, 1146 responses were collected.”

.: As mentioned earlier, it was my intention to attend the installation ceremony of the new president of the University of Alberta last Sunday, September 25th, and to participate in the academic procession into the Jubilee Auditorium, joining other faculty members for the event. This meant donning the academic dress of my degree, Master of Library Science. I arrived at the Jubilee and joined other faculty members, some of whom were being helped into their gowns by convocation staff. My gown had been misplaced, so I had to wait until it was found. I confess that I felt very special when the gown and hood were placed on me. The view from behind highlights the hood. I was not able to attend either of my convocations in the 70s. Now, twenty-eight years after graduating with my MLS degree, I was afforded a golden opportunity to wear the gown while participating in a ceremony important to my University.

The ceremony was glorious. Our new president, Dr Indira V Samarasekera, is, to be blunt, amazing. Her installation address was powerful, heartfelt and very moving. I urge you to read it, and to share in her vision for our campus. (Audio and video versions are also available.) I have worked at the U of A for 22 years, and look forward to a few more under her leadership. She is relatively young with energy and enthusiasm to spare, unpretentious, accessible, humble, and inspiring. One of my proudest moments as an employee of the University of Alberta was while listening to her speak of what lies ahead, her goals and visions, and of the University’s burgeoning potential.

But I digress. 🙂 A week from today I will be in NYC. A number of activities are already in place. On Saturday, friends from New Haven will come to Manhattan on the train, and meet me at a Dean and DeLuca’s somewhere near NYU. We’ll spend the day doing whatever, and try to see a Broadway show in the evening. On Monday night, ny friend Noella and I will see the Les Paul Trio at the Iridium Club. Les Paul is one of the electric guitar pioneers, having worked on prototypes and ideas in the 1940s. The legendary Gibson Les Paul model first appeared in 1952. On many a previous trip to NYC I have wanted to see Les Paul perform; now in his 90th year, I will finally make that happen.

The next night, Oct 11, my Baltimore-based friend Mary and I have tickets to see some band called U2 at Madison Square Garden. The seats are behind the stage, but whattheheck, it’s U2, and I can share the experience with a good friend. Wednesday night I’m off to Brooklyn for dinner with very special friends, Leo and Diane Dillon, whose latest illustrations appear in the new book, Earth Mother, which will be released in a few days. I hope to have a few copies for them to sign for me, along with other recent titles. Saturday I’ll attend Jessica‘s wedding in Summit NJ, with Noella if she can make it. The rest of the trip will fill in itself as the days progress: movies, maybe another play, walking, photography, visit with my friend Sekeena, two or three visits to the Strand, and on.

Tomorrow and Sunday I’m volunteering at the Edmonton International Film Festival.

.: I have made progress in writing the draft of my first column for IRSQ. I spent most of today in my office, and a couple hours this evening, working on the column. Writing for me is a painfully slow process, having never studied it formally, and I often feel like I am in way over my head. Relief will be the felt when the essay is ready for submission, because it will be one less thing to do before leaving for NYC on Oct 7. I am still working on four presentations, three of which will be delivered next week, and one on Oct 17, the day after I return from NYC. That day, I will be attending the first of two conferences over a five-date period, but will come to campus to deliver a lecture to fourth-year chemical engineering design students in the afternoon.

On Sunday, I will be attending the Installation Ceremony for our new University President, Dr Indira Samarasekera. Because librarians at the University of Alberta are academic staff, we are eligible to wear academic apparel, i.e., the cap and gown, at functions such as convocation. University staff members were invited to attend the installation ceremony, and I accepted. I also accepted the invitation to participate in the academic procession, meaning I will be in academic dress appropriate for my degree (Master of Library Science), and will enter and sit with other faculty in a designated area in the Jubilee Auditorium during the ceremony.

I believe in the celebration of an accomplishment. A little pomp and circumstance, an acknowledgement of an achievement, is deserved and good for the soul. I missed the convocation ceremony for each of my two degrees, one in 1975 (BSc, U Manitoba) and one in 1978 (MLS, U Alberta.) When I am in academic gown at the President’s installation on Sunday, it will be in her honour that I am doing so, and I will be proud to be there on her behalf. On a personal level, it will also be an quiet opportunity to gently honour myself for six years of university education between1971 and 1978, which have brought me to where I am at this very second. Here’s to me. Finally.

Speaking of work, I recorded my first podcast. It’s called the iPod Walking Tour – Main Floor Services, of the Cameron Science and Technology Library. BTW, it’s the English version. 😉