Archives for March 5, 2008
Blogospherics – Recommended reads
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Family Values; Obama’s Patriotism; Florida Creationists Won’t Go Away; Learn about the bird flu; The Beagle, under the hood.
I did TOO invent facebook!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 … oh, wait a minute, maybe I didn’t. I know I invented something, I just can’t remember what it was… Anyway, TUIB Guy is agitating to organize a meet and greet over either beer or coffee, using this Facebook thing. Among my new facebook friends are lots of people who I also know in real…
Turns out I’m a white guy
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 I’m kind of shocked. Well, whatever. Some moron just blew 70 bucks, or whatever it takes to register a domain name, to anonymously post photographs of most of the scienceblogs.com bloggers (without linkbacks, and therefore in violation of Blogging Ethics and possibly copyright laws), dividing the bloggers into “Aryan” and some other category. I don’t…
Nature News
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Climate Warming Could Lead to Tundra Fires; Preserving the Hemlock; Kangaroo Cull
Brokered Conventions
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Brokered Conventions do not happen too often these days. This is partly because everyone remembers 1968 as a nightmare. But we also have to remember 1968 as a key moment in a kind of revolution that happened. A very large number of voters today do not necessarily know what this is about. I’ve pulled together…
Clinton-Obama has a ring to it
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 At least, according to Clinton: Asked on CBS’s “The Early Show” whether she and Obama should be on the same ticket, Clinton said: “That may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it…
Are you involved in Mountaintop Removal Mining?
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 This, obviously, is the removal of an entire mountain to get at the coal, to ship to a power plant near you so that you can get electrictiy. There is a movement to reduce the amount of mountaintop removal mining, and you can get the details here at Bootstrap Analysis. You will also find a…
Wolves Among Us
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Several years ago, I had a conversation with a friend who at that time, like me, spent a lot of time in the Adirondacks in Update New York. This was in the 1970s. He had spent a week or so on cross country skis on the north slope (facing Canada) the previous winter. On his…
Hot German Science
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Our colleagues over at scienceblogs.com of Germany have a new cool video. My German is rusty but let me try to translate: If you mix warm and cold (liquid or gas) you get a temperature that is in between. But what if the “warm” is burning thermite (at thousands of degrees C) and the cold…
Microsoft Softening Up India
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Microsoft is encouraging its business partners to promote its Office Open XML specification (OOXML) to the Indian Bureau of Standards (BIS) and Ministry of IT. This move has incensed supporters of the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF) who fear that the “soft” Indian state may not be able to stand up to Microsoft pressure tactics. Open…
Are you a locavore?
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 I only heard this term recently, as one of my students is beginning a research project on the topic. The idea, of course, is that the more food you eat from local sources, the better your impact, or lack there of, on the environment. (Well, I had heard of this concept before, but not that…
Costly Placebo Works Better Than Cheap One
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Given two pills, one that costs ten cents and the other that cost $2.50, with both being simple sugar pills with no possible medical benefit, the more expensive pill works better to ameliorate certain conditions. I’m sure that the pharmaceutical companies will like this!
Can kids be scared off drugs?
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 In 1986, 22-year-old Boston Celtics forward Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose. This week, DrugMonkey argued that Bias’ death–as opposed to educational programs like DARE–was the major reason why self-reported rates of cocaine use by 20-year-olds dropped from 20% in the mid-1980s to 7% in the early 1990s. Go here to express your opinion.
“the Gods have no rectum
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Holy crap
Maybe I should have stuck with Clinton
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 The Obama Surge may still be real, but it has hit the hard rocky shore of the Clinton Campaign in Ohio and Texas. Or has it. I heard an alternative theory explaining the patterning of the election last night that I think is pretty interesting.
Myers, Musgrave, Attacked by Wells
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Jonathan Wells has launched a nasty attack on PZ Myers and Ian Musgrave on the discredited Discovery Institute web site.
Texas: Creationists Fail To Co opt School Board
Posted by Greg Laden on March 5, 2008 Voters told urologist Barney Maddox to piss off, leaving incumbent and former school teacher Pat Hardy in her position on the school board representing District 11. The people of that Texas District were too smart to be fooled by an excessively expensive campaign by Maddox who spent over $120,000 to Hardy’s $10,000. Incumbent Mary Helen…
, which is now available for the 
