Archives for March, 2008
Myers-Dawkins-Expelled-gate: Mooney and Nisbet, Framers of the Absurd, Have Stepped Over a Line and Owe an Apology
Posted by Greg Laden on March 24, 2008 Myers? Myers? …. Myers? ….. Myers? (He’s not here, Ben … Your producer threw him out.)You know about the incredibly ironic dust up, whereby Expelled! producers kicked PZ myers out of line at a pre-release showing, but failed to notice that Richard Dawkins was standing right next to him. The evidence suggests that this major…
Homosexual Geneticists Isolate Cause of Christianity
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 Clues that it is time to call Dr. Phil
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 I’m happy to say that Amanda still read my blog every day. Almost. [Stolen from here.]
War in Iraq: History Repeats Itself
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 Or at least, as Mark Twain said, “… it rhymes.” When George Bush invaded Iraq, I was immediately reminded of Julian the Apostate. I’ve read about Julian the Apostate, and I can tell you, George Bush is not Julian the Apostate. But, Julian died during his ill fated campaign in the region, so that is…
Easter Eve and Easter Tidbits
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 I always like to spend the evening before Easter surrounded by atheists, as a sort of preparation for the holiest day on the Christian calendar. Easter is the day that Jesus Christ (“Christ” as in Christ-ian … get it?) is said to have risen from the dead. You have to be suspicious of a holiday…
War On Easter Surprise Attack
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 News outlets are reporting a surprise attack on Easter. War weary from epoch fighting in the War on Christmas, only recently suspended, most analysts had predicted that there would be no War on Easter this year. But they were wrong. From the front:
Technology Tidbits
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 Mostly Linux stuff below the fold…
Open Access Beer
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 Generally, inhabitants of Bohemia (western region of the Czech Republic) are known to drink more beer than people from Moravia (eastern region of the country). This difference was confirmed for my sample of researchers: researchers from Bohemia drank significantly more beer per capita per year (median 200.0 litres) than those from Moravia What’s it all…
Happy Easter
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 But wait, there’s more….
The Boneyard
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 Bone Yard XVI Blog Carnival is now available at The Dragon’s Tales.
The election is getting dirty.
Posted by Greg Laden on March 23, 2008 Genetics of Behavior: Fire Ants
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 A common presumption is that behavior is part of phenotype, and since phenotype arises from genotype (plus/minus Reaction Norm), that there can be a study of “behavioral genetics.” This is certainly an overstatement (or oversimplification) for organisms with extensive and/or complex neural systems, such as humans and mice. Neural systems probably evolved (not initially, but…
Here Fido …. AAARRRGGG!! You’re a Robot!
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 Hat Tip: Zooillogix
The Boomerang Experiment Worked
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 … and, gave positive results. I know you have been waiting in anticipation for the results of an experiment in which an astronaut was going to toss a boomerang in space to see if it came back. Well, it worked: Boomerang works in space: Japanese astronaut from PhysOrg.com In an unprecedented experiment, a Japanese astronaut…
MS Down, Mac, Linux Up
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 For the first time in ages, the sale of new PCs with Windows as a percentage of the PC market is declining sharply. The new winner is the Mac, but, while no one does a good job of tracking the still-new, pre-installed Linux desktop market, it’s also clear that Linux is finally making impressive inroads…
Evolution does have a direction after all
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 .. according to a forthcoming article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Specifically, this paper argues for a trend in increasing morphological complexity, observed in several different parallel lineages of Crustacea.
Carnival Stuff
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 I and the Bird # 71 is here. I am covering both Gene Genie and Berr Go Round, so please send me your gene and plant submissions over the next couple of days!
“I can see!!!!” says space robot
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 New Robot Gets Eyes, Tools in Spacewalk from PhysOrg.com (AP) — Now that the space station’s new robot is fully assembled, astronauts prepared to attach the giant machine directly to the orbiting outpost for the first time on Tuesday. [...]
Myers and Dawkins Speak Out on Expelled Expulsion
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 This little video, very nicely done, should be shown in all social studies classes in America, discussed at length, and it should be on the exam. From now on. Source: Richarddawkins.net Lord Privy Seals All The Way Down … arf arf. See also: PZ Myers Expelled, Gains Sainthood Expelled! The Movie To Be Pulled From…
UPDATE on Expelled-Gate
Posted by Greg Laden on March 22, 2008 More links have been added to the ever growing sampling of commentary on the Myers-Dawkins Expelled-Gate Event. As e we move ever closer to the self destruction of the Intelligent Design Movement, I note that the Expelled Gate Even now is now competing for space in the Wikipedia Entry on Irony (but some help may…
Expelled! The Movie To Be Pulled From Theaters Following Myers/Dawkins-Gate Screwup
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 There once was a librarian who was an absolute horror, a bitch, a true shit of a person. Her name was Nancy. No one liked her, she liked no one else. Her employees suffered greatly, and the only people who could work with her for more than a few months were Morris and Igor (assumed…
Chocolate Rain
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 And the winner for best music video: “Chocolate Rain.” Tay Zonday morphed from an unknown musician to an Internet superstar who got booked on national TV shows after his song “Chocolate Rain” – an amateur clip of his baritone crooning – went viral last year. Now he’s among the 12 winners of the second annual…
Genie Scott Scores Another PhD
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 Genie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education and author of Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction and Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong for Our Schools, will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Science, from the University of New Mexico. This will be her sixth honorary degree. Had she…
Opposition to Antievolution Bills in Florida
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 From the National Center for Science Education The antievolution bills recently introduced in the Florida legislature continue to elicit opposition. The bills closely resemble a string of similar bills in Alabama — HB 391 and SB 336 in 2004; HB 352, SB 240, and HB 716 in 2005; HB 106 and SB 45 in 2006…
Robots Advance in Cognitive Domain
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 New breed of cognitive robot… a puppy? from PhysOrg.com Designers of artificial cognitive systems have tended to adopt one of two approaches to building robots that can think for themselves: classical rule-based artificial intelligence or artificial neural networks. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and combining the two offers the best of both worlds, say a…
pre-Columbian use of rafts to transport goods
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 Oceangoing sailing rafts plied the waters of the equatorial Pacific long before Europeans arrived in the Americas, and carried tradegoods for thousands of miles all the way from modern-day Chile to western Mexico, according to new findings by MIT researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. … [This] supports earlier evidence documented by…
This Blog Endorses Ashwin Madia for US Congress
Posted by Greg Laden on March 21, 2008 The Third Congressional District from Minnesota, in which I live, has been a Republican seat since the districts around the Twin Cities were Jerrymandered some time ago. The Republican incumbent in this district is retiring this year, and there is a reasonable chance of flipping the district to a Democrat. Ashwin Madia is moving quickly…
, which is now available for the 
