Military Sexual Assault - How it Keeps the Ladies Away

When I was a high school senior in 1995, military recruiters called my house about once a month.

I am a smart lady; I would have been a good soldier, but I would not consider joining the military. You could not have paid me enough to join.
 
I learned about Tailhook and other sexual harassment and sexual assault cases through the news. The military was not safe then. It is not safe today.

Sexual assaults will happen - to women, men, boys and girls.  It is what society does about these crimes that matters. The military has a history of doing basically...........nothing.
 
In today's news we learn that Lt. Col. James Wilkerson is one lucky man- convicted of rape but set free by his boss. From the Washington Post: "The pilot, Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, had been found guilty in November by an all-male jury at Aviano Air Base in Italy in what was seen as a test case of the Air Force’s willingness to tackle such crimes."

Why is the composition of the jury mentioned?  One supposes that an all-male jury wouldn't convict one of its own for a frivolous wishy-washy rape accusation. Since a group of men convicted him, Lt. Col. James Wilkerson must have committed Rape Rape.  Since it was Rape Rape, it is all the more shocking that Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin, commander of the Third Air Force in Europe, acquitted him and set him free.

Congress is all upset, but Congress sets the rules for the military. If it is not happy with the system it has created, change it.

The Invisible War by Kirby Dick details the stories of men and women who survived sexual assault only to face condescension and outright hostility from their peers and superiors. If this documentary helps change the Armed Forces, and the chew-women-up-and-spit-them-out culture no longer thrives, the pool of young women willing to join will expand.

We Are All On The Warm Side Of The Color Wheel

Unfortunately had to steal the image from Jezebel.

Lose yourself in Humanae by Angelica Dass.

From the palest pink to rose to mauve to tan to copper to chocolate, we are all on the warm side of the color wheel. A similar project based on eye color would be awesome.

Just had to smile today because I have six wonderful men in my life, friends I've met through work, my vanilla life, and my kinky life. All of them non-judgemental and kind to a fault. I'm doing something right!

Citizen Science: The Zooniverse!!!!

Zooniverse is one of my absolute favorite websites- a citizen scientist's paradise. I don't think I'm so good at analyzing cancer cells, determining the diameter of a cyclone's eye, determining the shape of galaxies imaged by the Hubble Telescope, or spotting solar flares. I also get frustrated categorizing bat and whale vocalizations. I've tried, and I can't even tell what I'm seeing or hearing. More power to those who can.

I'll write soon about four projects that I love involving WWI British Navy weather logs, sea life, pictures of the Serengeti, and ancient Greek papyrus fragments. At the office instead of playing spider solitaire and 3d mah jongg exclusively, I work on these when I need a break from my spreadsheets. I use my brainpower for good while seeing interesting artifacts and amazing animals.

Citizen Scientists: BOINC

For a almost a decade now I've had BOINC on my computer, allowing it to analyze data while I'm not using my computer. The program takes care of the download and upload itself.  All I have to do is provide parameters for its use of of the internet.  From their website:

Use the idle time on your computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux) to cure diseases, study global warming, discover pulsars, and do many other types of scientific research. It's safe, secure, and easy. 

After a minute and a half of inactivity, BOINC runs data from one of the four projects I've selected. From their websites:

Climateprediction.net runs climate models to forecast changes in climate

SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

The malariacontrol.net project is an application that makes use of network computing for stochastic modelling of the clinical epidemiology and natural history of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Rosetta@home needs your help to determine the 3-dimensional shapes of proteins in research that may ultimately lead to finding cures for some major human diseases. By running the Rosetta program on your computer while you don't need it you will help us speed up and extend our research in ways we couldn't possibly attempt without your help. You will also be helping our efforts at designing new proteins to fight diseases such as HIV, Malaria, Cancer, and Alzheimer's.

There are so many other projects involving quantum physics, astronomy, medical research,  ecosystem studies, and mathematics.  I'd love to add them all but I'd never be able to get the assignments back on time. This is a great way to use electricity and computing power that would otherwise be wasted to benefit society.  It makes me a little warm and fuzzy.