A Day in the Life of Zoe Brain

I don't often post personal content on this blog. But today, I thought I might just give readers an idea what my life is like. I've already posted one article that's actually of interest, so feel free to skip this one.

Thought for the Day:

(Facebook Status) Zoe Ellen Brain hopes she never gets so angry that she loses her compassion. Hopes she never gets so sad that she loses all sense of hope. Hopes she remembers that she may never know if her words and actions have helped others.

...Stolen from Jude Stevens

Ego-Boo from a reply to a comment about Ms Lana Lawless and the LPGA's illegal discrimination:

"Well, thank you, Zoe for the kind words ... I have had my eyes opened and my mind broadened because of the information you have provided, but moreover by the way you have done so ... "

‎"I'm happy you are so forthcoming, because, I, for one, would never have had the opportunity to have my eyes opened in such a gentile[sic] manner as you have done ... I thank you for that and am indebted to you !!!"

Moving the Mountain, one teaspoonful at a time.

Today's Battle - I was a little less gentle with another article on The Bleacher Report.

Lawless and her attorney apparently insist that her birth certificate says she was born a woman. Well, I suggest somebody was paid to create a false identity. Maybe there are penalties for that kind of misrepresentation.

Grrrrrrr..... Ignorance. Arrogance. I rather lost my cool unfortunately, and was rather sarky.

There are certainly penalties for libel. And even the most superficial research of the law would show that in 47 of the 50 states, trans women are entitled, once they provide evidence (the details vary between the states) to have their inaccurate birth certificates corrected. In some states, they issue a new one. In others, they just amend them. This has been the case in some states since 1955 - it's not something new. So to suggest that "someone was paid to create a false identity" may not be deliberately malicious, but it certainly shows a reckless disregard for the facts.

Yes, Zoe, you could have phrased that with a rather less confrontational tone. Still, I am human. I apologised for the tone though in a later comment. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

I appreciate your point about ability - Ms Lawless' drive of 335 yds is astoundingly good, though not as good as some womens'. The record in 362 yds is it not? Or are you saying that the record-holder must actually be male?

Maybe if you compared the average drives of a group of trans women, with those of other women, you might find the difference is less than you think, and possibly not in the direction you think, either. I can understand your alarm at viewing someone who's exceptional, and naturally assuming they're average, as you have no experience with that group.

The thing to do then is to look at such studies though. Those comparing the two groups. They show that after two years on hormones, the abilities are similar comparing those of similar builds.

Kathy, I know that with your passionate commitment to the game, you don't want any outsider spoiling it, under the cover of "Politically Correct" laws. I can't possibly blame you for that. From what I've read about you and your work, you've done so much to help other women, and encourage young girls, to take up the sport, that no-one has the right to criticise, least of all me.

Looking over my posts, my words are far too confrontational - that bit about "fraudulent birth certificates" really got to me, I'm afraid. I apologise for the tone I used, it was inappropriate and unfair.

What I'm saying though is that the laws aren't just PC touchy-feely stuff that ignores biological realities.

I too have a passionate commitment. To Human Rights, even though my politics are conservative. I've seen too much - Intersexed women denied the right to marry, or fired simply because they had genital reconstruction at 6 months old (Wilma Woods vs C.G Studios) so were not "real" women. I've seen superstition and ignorance substitute for science and objective reality. I've seen too many women discriminated against because they weren't "pretty" enough, weren't "feminine" enough, and I'm even old enough to remember when they had to be "white" enough too. Some were Intersexed or Trans, but most were not. And should anyone like that dare to excel, their whole identity gets called into question, not to mention the malicious accusations of fraud, bribery and so on.

That is the reason for my inappropriate tone in my comments. It doesn't excuse them though, and I apologise.

An apology is worthless if not sincere. I meant what I said. I'm still livid about the birth certificate comment, but no excuse. The facts should speak for themselves, not be garnished with bile.

For my son Andrew. Added this video of hints to my YouTube favourites. The game is rated MA (Mature Adults), not even PG (Parental Guidance Recommended) but in reality, 9 year old kids are not immune to the effects of war. Better to expose him to them now, and discuss the ethics of killing people, executing prisoners, war crimes, and why shooting people is allowed, but flamethrowers are not any more. And what makes us and not those we fight, the Good Guys. It's the way we fight, not just the cause.

They're people too, Zeddie! he said, wondering at the discovery that the Enemy were human like him. Yes, my darling boy, my only child, my whole world, they are. And if you're forced to kill them, as you may be, recognise that those who massacred the villagers aren't Demons, they have mothers too. "Do unto others" and all that. We say "Tango down" to depersonalise them, to see them as targets, because that's necessary in warfare. But never forget that they're just like you. It could be you who explodes in a shower of blood when hit by a burst of fire, not them. I pray it never will be. But I pray even harder that you do not dishonour yourself by becoming who you fight against.



PhD work. I'm preparing a poster for the Supercomputer Conference I'll be attending in New Orleans shortly. It's based on this one, but with more data. Work continues... we have enough data now to predict the average number of calculations for each length of molecule - and have done a length 20 one. That's 3 orders of magnitude harder a problem than anyone else has ever attempted. And a length 17 one had an energy lower than the crystal form (determined by X-ray crystallography). So we know something no-one else on the planet knows.

Admin - Travel. Booking confirmed, but not going via LA after all.

Thursday 11-Nov-10
United Airlines. Flight: UA840. Confirmed
Depart: Sydney Kingsford Smith Apt at 15:25.
Terminal: TERMINAL 1 INTERNATIONAL.
Arrive: Chicago O`hare Intl Apt 11-Nov-10 at 18:04.
Terminal: TERMINAL 1.

Thursday 11-Nov-10
United Airlines. Flight: UA655. Confirmed
Depart: Chicago O`hare Intl Apt at 21:06. Terminal:
TERMINAL 1.
Arrive: New Orleans International Apt 11-Nov-10 at
23:31.

Saturday
20-Nov-10
United Airlines. Flight: UA239. Confirmed
Depart: New Orleans International Apt at 07:19.
Arrive: San Francisco Intl Apt 20-Nov-10 at 12:06.
Terminal: TERMINAL 3.

Saturday
20-Nov-10
Air United Airlines. Flight: UA863. Confirmed
Depart: San Francisco Intl Apt at 22:37. Terminal:
INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL.
Arrive: Sydney Kingsford Smith Apt 22-Nov-10 at
08:10. Terminal: TERMINAL 1 INTERNATIONAL.

Arriving just before midnight, and checkin at the hotel is 2pm the next day. Oh great. I won't be leaving the airport, at least, not before daylight. Then a shuttle to the hotel, and see if I can check in early - or at least leave my luggage there. Never mind, cross that bridge when we come to it. Oh yes, and a 10 hour wait in San Francisco. Maybe enough time to see something of the place.

Teaching - a student who was really struggling managed to get 10/11 in his first assignment. He's probably the hardest working of any of them, it doesn't come naturally to him. But yes, the lecturer and I go the extra mile for him, because he's going the extra light year just to pass. I think he may just get a credit, through sheer determination.

Dinner - Rare Roast Beef sandwich, mustard, Cos Lettuce from the garden. Food of the Gods. And a cup of tea from my partner of nearly 30 years. She also brought me a few squares of dark chocolate... We do things like that for each other.

Today's Embuggerances : My primary anti-virus program AVG's latest version (2011) is incompatible with Zone Alarm (my Firewall). So after diagnosis, wasted time uninstalling, rolling back to previous version, updating that to the latest pre-2011 release... restarting every half hour or so. Then the Registry was corrupt, so I had to use my Registry Repair tools. Tuned up, checked for spyware (just a few tracking cookies), and handed it over to my partner for her to use while I was at Uni. Oh yes, and one of my earrings broke. Drat.

Meh. While that's the worst thing that happens in a typical day, I'd say I was pretty darned fortunate, wouldn't you?

Blogging - You're reading it.

Now to have a bath, maybe read a book while soaking. So much to do, so little time. Answer some e-mails, then sleep.