Archives for December, 2008
Posted by “Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed,” … [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.] “It’s up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct,” He said, telling reporters he would “step back” if he were in [his opponent's] position… Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that…
“Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed,” … [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.] “It’s up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct,” He said, telling reporters he would “step back” if he were in [his opponent's] position… Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that…
Coleman Offers to Bow Out of Senate Race ?!?!? :^\
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2008 “Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed,” … [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.] “It’s up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct,” He said, telling reporters he would “step back” if he were in [his opponent's] position… Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that…
Coleman Offers to Bow Out of Senate Race ?!?!? :^\
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2008 “Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed,” … [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.] “It’s up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct,” He said, telling reporters he would “step back” if he were in [his opponent's] position… Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that…
Coleman Offers to Bow Out of Senate Race ?!?!? :^\
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2008 “Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed,” … [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.] “It’s up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct,” He said, telling reporters he would “step back” if he were in [his opponent's] position… Oh. No, wait, sorry. I got that…
Multi Head Computers 4U
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2008 This, I’ve gotta try: Build a three-screen workstation for $230 or less. … This involves taking the video output of a laptop and running through a widget that gives you two (or four, for a bit more money) additonal screen, which, in turn, you’ve bought really cheap somewhere. There are open questions as to how…
Synchroblogging Contest Winner: Scicurious
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2008 From A Blog Around the Clock: Happy Anniversary, PLoS ONE! Today is PLoS ONE’s second anniversary and we’re celebrating by announcing that the winner of the second PLoS synchroblogging competition is SciCurious of the Neurotopia 2.0 blog. “This fluent post captures the essence of the research and accurately communicates it in a style that resonates…
This Photograph Needs a Caption
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2008 It Had to Be Snakes
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2008 It turns out that when you are about to die, the strangest things come to mind. In this case, hanging from the cliff over the rapids with the big snake about to get us, I remembered this Beetle Bailey cartoon. I promised you snakes; you’ll get snakes. But first there must be lions and, later,…
Secular Coalition for America on AM 950
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2008 Minnesota Atheists’ “Atheists Talk” radio show. Sunday, December 21, 2008, 9-10 a.m. Central Time Secular Coalition for America: 2008 & 2009 With Democrats soon to be in control of both the U.S. Congress and the Presidency, can we afford to relax our vigilance regarding Separation of State and Church? Not hardly. The presidential candidates fell…
Rick Warren at the Inaugural. Wrong in so many ways.
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2008 In my opinion, having Pastor Rick Warren give the invocation at Barack Obama’s inaugural is a mistake, but it is a complicated, meaningful mistake that calls for a certain amount of analysis. Rick Warren is a little different from most other well established Evangelical pastors. He is big, and famous, and powerful, and all of…
Darwin Day at the Bell Museum
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 The details are not yet worked out, but the Bell Museum in Minneapolis, thanks to the inspiration and efforts of DNA artist and Twin Cities’ answer to Ira Flatow, Lynn Fellman, and Bell Museum events organizer, Twin Cities Celebrity and spectacular Cafe Scientifique Host Shanai Matteson, will have a special Darwin Day Celebration and YOU…
Major Internet Severage: Three or four cables cut?
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 Internet connectivity between Europe, the Middle East and Asia is reportedly seriously affected by a series of cable cut. Jonathan Wright – director of wholesale products at Interoute which manages part of the optical fibre network – told the BBC that the effects of the break would be felt for many days. “This will grind…
LOL Scientist: Ben Franklin
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 Call For Submissions: Best Anthropology Blogging 2008
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 From Neuranthropology: We’ve decided to host something that has not been done before – the first yearly edition of The Best of Anthropology Blogging. An increasing number of anthropologists are blogging about their work and their ideas, sharing how anthropology in all its forms is relevant to the wider world. We are going to bring…
Franken Pulls “Way” Ahead in Recount
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 Update: Franken is ahead by 249 votes !!! UPDATE: DONE with the Franken re-entered (some withdrawn) … now looking at some ballots that were set aside earlier. UPDATE: … bam… the canvassing board just threw out consideration of all the duplicate ballots except seven that have some reasonable ‘on the face’ cases. UPDATE: The small…
Greg’s Movie List 100
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 One hundred movies that if you have not seen, perhaps liked, perhaps think represent something either important or entertaining, and remember, then you are probably not me. I’ll make a deal with you. You can tell me to watch any movie that is not on this list and if I have not seen it, I’ll…
Deep Throat Dead at 95
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 W. Mark Felt, who was the No. 2 official at the F.B.I. when he helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon by resisting the Watergate cover-up and becoming Deep Throat, the most famous anonymous source in American history, died Thursday. He was 95 and lived in Santa Rosa, Calif. details
Hmmm … A day without Atheists. Not a bad idea, you ignorant bit…
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 … This is why we fight the war on Christmas. Watch. Then lock and load, baby. Hat tip Doc
Facebook Movie “Get a Life” Meme
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2008 I’ve got a meme below the fold. This is lifted from Facebook, where it was posted by Miles Kurland. SUPPOSEDLY if you’ve seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 219 movies on this list. Copy this list, then paste it on facebook or on your blog. Then,…
Math
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 We’ve been doing a lot of math in our house lately. Amanda is working out the relationship between ATPase production and force in muscle (turns out that requires piles of math) and Julia is learning Algebra. Meanwhile, I’ve mainly been cooking dinner. Like this: OK, OK, so that one does not work so well. This…
Darwin Award Tunnel, Russia
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 Actually, it’s Lefortovo Tunnel, Russia. Don’t go to Russia. And if you do, stay out of the tunnel.
Leopard
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 Mala Mala, Limpopo Prov., South Africa.
Bloggers: Get your butts in gear. Blog readers, Enjoy the show!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 PLoS ONE Second Birthday Synchroblogging Competition is well under way with some sixteen sets of entries covering over twenty PLoS ONE peer science articles. Since the bloggers are working in the heat of competition, they are putting out extra good posts on a diversity of science topics. If you are a blogger and have not…
Critical Ruling in Franken Coleman Recount Case!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 Right now, the best estimate for the difference between Franken and Coleman in the Minnesota Senate Race Recount is between about two and five votes (Coleman leading). The challenges that are currently underway and that will be finished tomorrow come hell or high water will shift that mainly towards Franken. It is quite likely that…
When Norm Coleman Is Indicted …
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 Donors to Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman’s reelection campaign may be surprised to learn that [he] is planning to use their contributions to pay blue-chip criminal defense lawyers to defend him against a reported FBI probe into his dealings with a wealthy businessman. … Coleman and his wife, Laurie, have retained lawyers … to deal with…
How to make an elephant turn invisible
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2008 Dear reader, I know I promised you snakes in this particular post, but but before I get to the snakes, I have to make a digression to mention the elephants. The elephants in the Upper Semliki River Valley in the Eastern Congo at the time our expedition (late 1980s) are especially interesting because at the…
Further thoughts on the recount
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2008 Think back to Florida eight years ago. There is a reasonable argument that Al Gore was duly voted, even via the electoral college, to be President of the United States, but George W. Bush was placed in that office for one and only one reason: The recount process in Florida was transformed into a circus,…
LOL Scientist: Madame Curie
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2008 
, which is now available for the 
