Jwill's Log

Source: boston.com
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The stem-cell treatment restored sight to more than three-quarters of the 112 patients treated, Pellegrini said this week at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting. The patients were followed for an average of three years and some for as long as a decade, Pellegrini said.

Science is amazing. It’s a very short read; go check it out.

Source: Washington Post
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Michele Kerr talks about criteria that should be met if teachers are assessed by student test scores. I agree with her completely. One of my favorite parts is what she says about her first point, only including students in teacher evaluations that are present at least 90% of the time:

Without the missing students, the tests won’t yield a complete picture of learning. But the tests’ purpose is to yield a picture of teaching, which isn’t the same thing as learning. Teachers can’t teach children who aren’t there.

And further, her reasoning for positing that students who cannot score at a “basic” proficient level should be “prohibited from moving forward to the next class in the progression:”

Students who can’t prove they know algebra can’t take geometry. If they can’t read at a ninth-grade level, they can’t take sophomore English — or, for that matter, sophomore-level history or science, which presumes sophomore-level reading ability. Not only is it nearly impossible for these students to learn the new material, but they also slow everyone else as the teacher struggles to find a middle ground.

That point alone could solve the issues of high school students who can’t read at a high school level. If they can’t read that well, why are they in high school? Who failed to do their job by promoting them? They will just fall through the cracks more and more until someone actually sits them down and gives them intensive reading programs until they get it. Because they can be taught, no matter what it takes.

There’s so much more good stuff in this article and I could quote every word she says. It’s a really good read.

Source: boston.com
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James Alan Fox’s view of the bill that’s going through the state Legislature regarding a monthly limit on gun purchases. He hits the nail at the end:

In my first post on this topic earlier last week, I did indeed ask why anyone would legitimately need to buy guns in bulk or purchase more than one gun in a month’s time. The clearest statement came from one gun owner who indicated that he might want to take advantage of a sale to stock up firearms. Sorry, but maybe you can ask for a rain check for that extra guns, or put it on a month’s lay-away. The interests of public safety come first.

Being able to stockpile on anything should be a freedom, but stockpiling on guns can very easily create a risk because of gun traffickers. Read the rest of his post, and also read my previous post on the matter.

Source: boston.com
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A proposal to limit the number of guns a person can buy in Massachusetts is being mulled by the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee today, sparking hope among supporters that the bill may finally come to a vote.

Proponents of the bill say it would make it difficult for gun traffickers to obtain weapons in bulk, then sell them illegally on the streets of Boston. Right now, people licensed to buy guns can buy an unlimited number of weapons. Gun control advocates said that allows for “straw purchases,” in which people who are legally able to buy guns are hired by gun traffickers to purchase weapons.

The limit would be one gun purchase a month. In the wake of recent shootings (and shootings in general), I think it would be a very good thing. Why do you need to buy more than one gun anyway? That last line about “straw purchases” is very important and I think a big reason why a bill like this should pass – these illegal gun sales are the problem. With this bill, gun traffickers would have to search for many more people to gain their stock and it would make it much more difficult to get as much money from their “trade”.

And yes, according to one of the gun control opponents quoted in the article, it does hurt people who honestly buy guns and aren’t doing anything wrong – but I’d rather have their toes stepped on just a little to curb gun trafficking and these unnecessary injuries and deaths. While the Constitution does say that you have a right to bear arms, it never said how many, and I really don’t think you need more than one or two if you have any at all.

Source: Release Candidate One
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This is an awesome post about having a sort of “Services” menu for the iPhone so you can take things from one application and use them in another (for example, send an e-mail with the selected text or upload a selected image to Facebook). Having a universal menu such as this would be amazing because it would reduce the need for app developers to create these “droplets” and services on their own and simply make something that any application can use right out of the box. I hope Apple’s listening.

Read it for yourself, and if the jargon gets to you, just watch the video.