Archives for June, 2008
Gotha!!! Big Goof in Press Report
Posted by Greg Laden on June 24, 2008 We anthropologists love this stuff. This is why we go to zoos. So we can stand around near the ape cage and say to people .. “No, that’s not a monkey. It’s an ape….” and so on. Look a this cute little guy: Obviously, this is an emperor tamarin, Sanguinus imperator. But the news report…
Ken Hubert, Hero of Life Science Teaching
Posted by Greg Laden on June 24, 2008 Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference … Yet another item from the first day of the conference, the pre-conference teachers day sponsored by Evolution 2008 and the Minnesota Citizens for Science Education (MnCSE) … The Minnesota Citizens for Science Education presented Ken Hubert with an award. I am blanking on the name…
… too sexy for my blog … (Birthday wishes)
Posted by Greg Laden on June 24, 2008 I had the strangest dream last night: …The DHS girl had picked up that something was amiss, but a strategically placed index finger run from just behind her ear down to her throat while I explained the situation alleviated her concerns. She was suddenly quite helpful, and half a ton of red tape miraculously disappeared.…
Technology Tidbits
Posted by Greg Laden on June 24, 2008 A new thing called “sporn” hits the intertubes Erv writes a post: SPORE: Obvious happens, EA shocked which points out a flaw in the plan by EA games to take over the world … they may be causing the “The Internet is ruining society” scenario du jour. You see, spores (entities that users, players of…
My own personal spore saga
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 Yes, I too was asked by EA games to install and test Spore. That is their hot new product. I have run into certain hurdles. This is the best I could do for spores:
If Marriage is a Sacred Bond between Man and Woman ….
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 This finger needs a ring! (soure) … then it’s OK if the ‘woman’ is a guy in drag, right? The couple walked into a Norfolk courthouse on a spring day, exchanged a few words, and within 10 minutes, were seemingly husband and wife. It was an unremarkable ceremony – except that several weeks later, officials…
The American South, Urban Areas, People of Color, Native Americans … In short, the poor and disadvantaged … suffer greatly from poverty-caused neglected diseases
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 Triatoma infestans, Chagas vector This is the conclusion of a report to be published in the June 2008 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal. The report, by Peter Hotez of George Washington University and the Sabin Vaccine Institute, is a clear indictment of economic disparity in the United States. The bottom line: Many poor Americans are,…
NASA’s Got a New Web Site
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 NASA’s JPL has a new web site which focuses on surface conditions on one specific planet: The Earth. It has a Sea Level Viewer which is basically a very fancy menu for a number of multi-media presentations, and a list of current or proposed missions. I am not overly impressed with this, but it may…
Monarch butterflies in the classroom
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference … Karen Oberhauser talked about the “single species” approach to pedagogy. This involves focusing on a single species and using it throughout an entire course. Karen has taught classes on this approach for teachers’ professional development programs. The species she uses is the Monarch Butterfly. Karen…
Carnival
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 Encephalon #48: The Usual Suspects is now up at Neuroanthropology
Today’s List of Things To Do
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 Ruin this poll on abortion UPDATE: This one too. Look at cute pictures of cute birds and cute mammals and shit. Read this unbelievable post at Larry Moran’s site about a professor who sued her students for being unenlightened. Which would be cool if they really were, but is totally uncool because clearly it is…
George Carlin Isn’t Getting Any Younger …
Posted by Greg Laden on June 23, 2008 Or older. In fact, my hero is dead. For me, George Carlin was inspirational, influential, even formative, on a personal level. For society, Carlin was extraordinarily important. He should have gotten a Nobel for making people think even when they did not want to. He was about to be awarded the annual Mark Twain Prize…
Drs Myers and Decker: Advice on Teaching Evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference … many things have been going on and I have more to report than time to report it. But I will get to all of it, I assure you. Tonight, I just want to cover part of today’s Education Symposium (moderated by your’s truly) … not…
The odd logic of home school jingoism
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 It has been said that home schooling is a bit suspicious because it is possible for people to keep their kids home to abuse them. This is probably very very rare, but yes, it is possible and there are examples of it. however, home schoolers often (at least the most vocal amongst them) insist this…
Happy Birthday The Computer and Other Tech News
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 It was actually yesterday, June 21st, but sixty years ago, when the first “modern computer” which in this case is defined as a computer that could store it’s own memory, as born i Manchester, England. It’s name was Baby. The Small Scale Experimental Machine, or “Baby”, was the first to contain memory which could store…
This photograph needs a caption
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 Genome Size and Flight in Bats
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference, I was hoping to meet T. Ryan Gregory yesterday. He is listed on the Evolution 2008 program as an author of a talk on genome size. Goodnews/badnews: Gregory did not show, but the talk, given by his coauthor working in his lab, was excellent, so we…
Michael Estes and Eric Harmon on Air America Minnesota Ahteists Talk Radio Today
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 Minnesota Atheists’ “Atheists Talk” radio show Sunday, June 22, 2008, 9-10 a.m. Central Time In honor of Juneteenth, Michael Estes will discuss “African American Freethinkers in the Civil Rights Movement.” He will then be joined by Eric Harmon to discuss “The Affects of Religion in the African American Community.” “Atheists Talk” airs live on AM…
Uri Geller is a Fraud. The Amazing Randi is Amazing
Posted by Greg Laden on June 22, 2008 Obviously, Uri Geller is a fraud. Always has been. He had tricks he uses to make people think he’s bending a spoon using super natural powers, or moving compass needles, etc. Mainly, he uses cheap tricks to fool gullible ready-to-be-fooled people. Don’t be a ready-to-be-fooled person! Here’s are three videos that are currently popular on…
Biology Never Was The Same: Mark Borrello
Posted by Greg Laden on June 21, 2008 Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference, I’d like to relate at least the essence, as I saw it, of an excellent talk by Mark Borrello. I’ve seen Mark speak at least three times including yesterday, and soon after his talk we continued on the topic in a conversation over lunch and beers,…
Blogospherics: Recommended reads
Posted by Greg Laden on June 21, 2008 A few items of interest: Ken Ham: Biology Professor Calls me Wackaloon” … here. The flying spaghetti monster appears at the Fremont Solstice Parade … Here. This steamy novel is coming along quite well… Today, get your Africa news and perspective from here: “But they’re fightin’ terrorists, so it must be okay” .. here Somebody…
I got my tee shirt!
Posted by Greg Laden on June 21, 2008 I’m at the Evolution 2008 Conference. It’s great. And I got a tee-shirt. Here’s what the front looks like:
Phoenix IS twittering….
Posted by Greg Laden on June 21, 2008 Remember a while ago, I joked that NASA is twittering Phoenix? Well, either they were listening to me, I’m psychic, or …. or maybe it is just a totally obvious thing to do. Point is … THEY ARE! Here.
How birds fly (Book review)
Posted by Greg Laden on June 21, 2008 Birds: Nature’s Magnificent Flying Machines is a book by Caroline Arnold and illustrated by Patricia Wynne for, I’d say, Pre-Elementary School kids and first/second grade. This is a good book to read to a pre-literate kid. Then put it away for later when the first grade academic report on birds is due … it will…
New Development in Zimbabwe: Syphalitic leader Robert Mugabe claims only God can remove him from office.
Posted by Greg Laden on June 20, 2008 Well, now it’s official. The leader of Zimbabwe is an out of control nut-job who will probably linger in office until very slow moving pressures from outside push him out, or until there is a bloody coup of some kind. This comes after his opposition has publicly considered pulling out of a contested electoral process…
Ice! Ice I say! IIICCCEEEEE!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on June 20, 2008 To stop this obnoxious flashing, just hit the ESC key! It’s like gold, but better. It’s ice! On Mars! If there’s ice, there is water. If there is water, there cold be life. Maybe. I’m pretty sure the presence of H2O on Mars is not that surprising. But what are the chances of scooping up…
Biology Will Never Be the Same Again: Scott Lanyon
Posted by Greg Laden on June 20, 2008 The Evolution 2008 conference started out today with a special program for K-12 teachers (mainly life science teachers) organized by the Minnesota Citizens for Science Education (MNCSE). The opening speaker was Scott Lanyon, director of the Bell Museum of Natural History. (The Bell hosted this event.) Scott’s objective was to outline several areas of evolutionary…
Christian Teacher Violates and Abuses Ohio Children
Posted by Greg Laden on June 20, 2008 This is unbelievable. I go away for a few hours to attend a conference and this kind of crap happens: The school board of a small central Ohio community voted Friday to fire a teacher accused of preaching his Christian beliefs despite staff complaints and burning the image of a cross on students’ arms, according…
, which is now available for the 
