Archives for December 8, 2007
Children’s Books for the Holiday Season
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 I don’t know about you, but I always wait until the last minute to get obligatory holiday gifts. And then I hate going to anything like a mall or shopping center. Praise be to Amazon.com and UPS.
Dinosaurs
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 With all the recent news about dinosaurs, I thought you’d like to see a video of actual dinosaurs:
A Street Should be Named for Douglas Adams
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 The question is, which street? I mean, that is quite a difficult question. Which … street … should … be … named … for … Douglas … Adams. (That was me thinking very carefully.) What is the ANSWER to this most difficult and intriguing question….
Creationism Book on Display in US Gov. Agency Waiting Room
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 From this blog at harpers.org, yesterday: I’m not sure if Secretary of the Commerce Carlos Gutierrez is cheap or cuckoo, but it comes as something of a shock to learn that the controversial book The Atlas of Creation is prominently displayed in the waiting room to his office. Written by the Turkish writer Adnan Oktar…
Larry Brilliant: The case for informed optimism
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 Google.org director Larry Brilliant uses a clip from an old Frank Capra movie to show that we’ve known about global warming for 50 years — yet in half a century, we’ve done almost nothing to solve it. He explores this and other megatrends that could inspire pessimism. But, he says, there is a more powerful…
Teen Sex Video: Why Fund Abstinence-Only Programs?
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 Coturnix points out that the following video of Dan Abrams speaking with two women about sex among teenagers is a good example of reporting about a scientific issue mired in a political quagmire. Keywords and phrases: Well, what that study actually reveals is… Well, in a number of cases…. The study said it didn’t work.…
How to Turn Linux Calendar Output Into a Blog Post
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 I know all my fellow bloggers are jealous about my Linux calendar posts (like this one) and normally I don’t reveal my secrets. But this is so cool I have to share it. The Linux calendar command (in the terminal window) puts out, by default, a listing of events, etc. from today and tomorrow. The…
Cool and sometimes odd stuff from my neighbors in the blogosphere
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 A message from God John, hear me. What? Who said that? It is I, God. Oh come on. PZ, is that you? I’m not buying it. It is I, God. Look, I’ll prove it. [Clouds in the sky form the letters "Yep, It's Me" for a minute and then evaporate.] Ummm, OK, for the sake…
Two Local Bits
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 Don’t Forget: The Listening Project, December 13, at the Oak Street Cinema! The City of St Paul is a Free Speech Zone Some inside info on the upcoming Republican National Convention from our own blogospheric correspondent on the East Side… I have deep roots in the East Side of St. Paul. It is where I…
Jesus Loves Darwin
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 The Rev. Michael Dowd is preaching a surprising message: Evolution is real and science points to the existence of God. For the last five years, the author and former evangelical pastor has lived out of a van with his wife, crisscrossing the nation to deliver the good news. His latest book, Thank God for Evolution,…
Rio Rancho Creationism Policy Overturned
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 The School Board for Rio Rancho, New Mexico has rescinded “Policy 401″ which is said to have supported the teaching of creationism. Let’s have a look.
Today’s Linux Calendar Output
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 Dec 08 Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) born in Venosa (Italy), 65BC Dec 08 James (Grover) Thurber born in Columbus, Ohio, 1894 Dec 08 First Ph.D. awarded by Computer Science Dept, Univ. of Penna, 1965 Dec 08 Blessing of the Water in Uruguay Dec 08 Mother’s Day in Panama Dec 08 Our Lady of the Cacupe…
Germany may illegalize a Religion
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 … or a cult…. But really, aren’t they all cults? Germany’s federal and state interior ministers have declared the Church of Scientology unconstitutional, clearing the way for a possible ban. The ministers have asked Germany’s domestic intelligence agency to examine whether the Church’s legal status as an association could be challenged. Scientology is not recognised…
Robots, Robots, more Robots
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 What is going on with this Robot thing. There are too many stories per day about new robots to keep track of. I’ve been trying to keep up, but it has been difficult. Here’s the latest.
Memed!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 I have been tagged with the Seven Random and Weird Things Meme. But as an anthropologist and a scientist, I find randomness dull. Randomness is the null model. I seek patterns. So, I will pass the meme on as required by The Law of the Internet, but not without some analysis.
Happy Birthday Jim Morrison
Posted by Greg Laden on December 8, 2007 
, which is now available for the 
