Knology changes its name to WOW!; lifts usage caps on Internet service

That's nice to hear. We switched to AT&T U-Verse when it became available in our neighborhood because of data caps on Knology. We're pretty happy with the AT&T service, except that we only get KC information - no Topeka stations, Weather Channel info is all KC, and no 6 News (I miss 6 News in the early morning) - and we no longer have the Hallmark channel (tradeoff is that we now have BBCA and Doctor Who). But currently, we get more channels for less money than we did with Knology, so unless package prices and channels within the packages become roughly equivalent, we probably won't switch back.

May 14, 2013 at 1:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

A or A-minus? KU students want a straight answer

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for uniform grading systems, not just within one school, but across all schools. When you look at a total GPA, a +/- system in CLAS and non-+/- system in a business school course are going to create the same sort of issue. I don't know why the University allows two different scales to be used to start with.

Personally, I think letter grades and GPAs should be done away with entirely. How hard it is to see and interpret that the student made 100%, 97%, or 50% of the total grade? Even if one wanted to stick with GPAs, scaling 4.0 to 100%, 3.0 to 75%, 2.0 to 50%, 1.0 to 25%, and 0 to 0 doesn't seem that difficult.

That whole curved-grade thing shouldn't be allowed, either. Just grade people for the work they've done, quit comparing them to each other - their grades will speak for themselves.

April 15, 2013 at 12:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Under bill, concealed carry of guns would be decided by school boards, university leaders

You really think adding guns to a riot situation is a good idea? Talk about a recipe for even more unnecessary death.

March 8, 2013 at 2:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: Rejecting God

Bull. Complete and utter.

As somebody raised in a Christian manner, I find the notion of God being so petty that he would allow something like this to happen because he's not foisted upon others who don't believe the same thing you do to be reprehensible. What you're basically saying is, "You've abandoned God, so you deserve it." News flash - it wasn't just atheist children that were killed, and people don't suddenly become non-believers when they walk through the doors of a school. This line of reasoning is as moronic as it gets.

Furthermore, it puts the blame on the shoulders of people who don't believe the way you believe, whether they be atheist, agnostic, Buddhist, Hindu, multi-Deist, Jewish, Islamic, or any other variety of non-Christian. "It's not my fault, it's yours!" Guess what? It's everybody's fault. We're a nation that refuses to help the mentally ill, worships violence, and refuses to regulate the sale and possession of an item that is designed *specifically to kill*. We regulate cold medicine more heavily than we regulate guns, and it's ok for our kids to play violent games but heaven forbid a woman breastfeed her toddler on the cover of a magazine.

So, Mr. Burkhead, please take your letter, wad it up, and stick it where the sun doesn't shine so that it can mix back in with that from which it came.

By the by, the most rational response I've seen to this sort of drivel is here:
http://educatefortexas.wordpress.com/...

December 21, 2012 at 11:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: School Scrooge

Ohmigosh, they're right! banning yoga does make people more Christian! I'm an atheist and suddenly feel the need to shout "Good, God!" and "Jesus H. Christ!"

December 17, 2012 at 3:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Letter: Dissonance

As somebody who has been through bankruptcy, I can confirm that while chapter 7 can/will dismiss many debts, one can still choose to make payments under an augmented payment arrangement. I think it's commendable of him to opt to do so though even though the court is not requiring it. I think the letter writer in this case is the one demonstrating a lack of comprehension about bankruptcy.

December 17, 2012 at 3 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

8 percent state cut to higher education could put KU jobs at risk, chancellor says

"She also added that a cut would add to what's already been a 40 percent reduction in state funding over the last 15 years at KU.

'We are doing more with less state funds,' Gray-Little said."

No! don't tell them that! They'll get it in their heads that negative funding will yield positive results.

December 17, 2012 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

New poles may be installed in Lawrence neighborhoods as part of Black Hills wireless meter-reading project

That...is unsightly. Not that utility poles are usually nice to look at, but that is particularly eye-sore-ful.

December 17, 2012 at 1:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Kansas to adopt standards for cursive writing

"Anybody who has done historical research or studied history knows how much has been lost and how difficult it has been to crack much ancient language/writing---or even to read early American English."

But that's to be expected to some extent. Language and handwriting evolve everywhere. It's impractical to say they shouldn't just because it makes it harder for past writings to be interpreted.

Besides, it gives anthropologists something to do.

December 13, 2012 at 2:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Kansas to adopt standards for cursive writing

I do wish they would be a little more accurate when they're discussing this topic. Handwriting = characters drawn by hand with one medium upon another, typically to form words; cursive = style applied. Handwriting, very important skill; cursive, meh, not so much.

As far as reading it: Saying that if one can't write cursive then one can't read cursive is a false argument. You learn to read print long before you can write it. And people don't have to be able to draw hieroglyphs to be able to decipher them. I would venture to say that reading can exist entirely well without learning to write, though learning to write is highly dependent upon reading.

I'm not saying it shouldn't be taught - it's an art, and I believe in art - but the hue and cry is a bit much to take. Nobody's castigating the downfalls of calligraphy and illuminated text, after all.

December 13, 2012 at 1:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )