Entitlement babies

Entitlement babies, who does not know them. I work at a university, and many many kids are work hard, doing their best to get good or at least sufficient grades. And now and then, you encounter an entitlement baby. This are the kids that by default come complaining that they did not receive an A-grade. if a student has a legitimate argument, you change the grade. but some kids cannot deal with the fact that they did not get a better grade.

University is supposed to be for the best students. Unlike high school, it is not for everybody. Unfortunately, some kids who have grown up very protected (home schooled, inferior high school) and always get their way. Every request at home get fulfilled, when they are 16 they of course get a brand new car, working for that car, what is that? So, by the time they leave the house, they only know one way of living, and that is that all their requests are fulfilled immediately.

Enter real life......

Suddenly, the source of instant gratification, mum and dad, is gone. Why does that stupid teacher not understand that I deserve an A? I am sorry that I am late for work, but I went only to bed at 4 am, and I really needed the sleep, don't tell me that this is a issue, right? No? O well, someone else will appreciate me more. No problem officer, my dad will pay the speeding fine. O, you impound my car? He will buy me a new car. Have a nice day officer.

Sometimes, it does not stop there. Mum and dad keep actively helping. The only effect that it has is that they postpone the inevitable drop the kids are going to experience unless mum and dad have enough money to keep the entitlement going. If the parents are rich enough, some of those kids will just continue to waste the rest of their lives in entitlement, and they never learn to deal with reality. Because in reality, you do not always get immediately everything you want. Sometimes, you will never get something you want.

When we grow up, we learn that the answer at times will be no, and learning to deal with disappointment is a crucial aspect of growing up. A parent who really loves their child will not stand in the way of that learning experience, but teach their child coping skills so it can handle disappointment.

In Memoriam: Randy Pausch

I just heard this horrible news. Randy Pausch died Friday, July 25 after a long fight against pancreas cancer. So see why this hits me so badly, have look here at "The Last Lecture"

The God Delusion desecrated

Yes, PZ has done it, he desecrated The God Delusion from Richard Dawkins! That man does not know any shame!

DelFly Micro

Today, I found this, the DelFly Micro:


This is a mechanic dragonfly, with a small tail for steering. The coin is a one euro piece, a bit larger than a US quarter. It is based on the principle of the dragon fly. See it flying here and here

Lesbos and Lesbians

Ha, we gay women are still allowed to call ourselves Lesbians! A court case in Greece was thrown out! Not that lesbian would not have been used for gay women any more if the court had ruled against using the name, but anyway.

Suppose they had won and the Athens court ruled that the word Lesbian could not be used for a gay woman? Would they after that have gone to court in all remaining countries in the world to request similar prohibitions?

And it has been served

Yesterday, I was talking about upping the stakes. And today, we have been served. Bill Donahue has just released a new press release, now with an e-mail address to someone at CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Seems that Mr. Donahue does not get the point. Someone like PZ is not going to back down. He is just going on with his plan, whether you like it or not.

But suppose for a minute he would back down under these treats... The only thing that would happen is that Bill Donahue would be rewarded for his aggressive behaviour, and that is about the last thing you want to happen. In this stage, nobody can afford it any more to loose, because loosing would give the other party a win. You cannot have that!

So, there is a perpetual need to up the stakes, over and over again. Unfortunately for Bill Donahue, he seems to run out of options, and needs now the help of the Muslims. Because they of course are much more dangerous. Maybe they will KILL PZ. No, Bill Donahue is smart enough not to ask for PZ to be killed, but he is using the general fear for Muslims (all Muslims are terrorists of course) as a tool for his own war. Unfortunately, it is not going to work, because the impression I get from PZ Myers is that is is not going to back down from treats, no, it will make him just more determined to do so.

Upping the stakes

Ha, how do you get someone not to do something? You up the stakes. At least, in theory.

So, what is in the eyes of many Catholics more dangerous that desecrating a communion wafer? A Koran. So, many Catholics have made this request to him, in the hope he would not dare to do something like that, and back of, or at least be able to show that he is a coward. Unfortunately, it just escalates further. Congratulations, the dispute has just escalated a step further. So, what will be the next demand to him so that the requesters think they can show he is a coward/moron?