Archives for September, 2009
New research changes our view of the origin of the Komodo Dragon
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Depending on what your view was, originally, of course. I’ve got a review of the piece published in PLoS here at Surprising Science. Where I am blogging for this week and next.
Who used the “Confndus” spell on George Bush?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Turns out, according to a new book by a speechwriter during the Bush administration, there was talk of honoring [J.K. Rowling] with the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom a few years ago but the idea was a non-starter in the White House. The former administration had decision-makers who spoke up to “actually object to giving…
Gay? Don’t die in Florida.
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 A news report from back a year ago: The latest:
The Scientific Case for Intelligent Design
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 A lecture, by Dr. Don Bierle of FaithSearch International…. Sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ at UW-Superior. Dr. Bierle is a “former skeptic” and everything. Location: Kathryn Ohman Theater, McCaskill Hall U. Wisconsin-Superior Superior, WI 54880 10/04/2009 · 07:00 PM – 09:00 PM · (715) 394-8320
FreeBSD 8.0 vs. Ubuntu 9.10
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 These two OpenSource operating versions, to become available over the next several weeks, demonstrated improvements over prior versions and compare well to each other. I woul like to tell you that my preferred operating system, Ubuntu, came out on top …. and it did! But if you are selecting an operating system where speed is…
What has Michele Bachmann done for the voters in her district?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Here is what one Minnesotan says: Also, find out about the Michele Bachmann Action Figure, and Michele Bachmann’s spread on the latest Conservative Calendar.
Holy Christ on a Stick! I’ts goddamn blasphemy day!
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Blasphemy Day is the 30th of September. Don’t read this blog post in Ireland because there’s a 25 thousand pound fine there for the blasphemer .
Princeton, Minnesota Bomb Threats
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Princeton, Minnesota, about five miles north of Zimmerman and thirty or so miles north of me, is the site of a rather odd event. Three “suspicious packages” were found around town, one by the post office, one at the high school, and one at the public utilities building.
The Roman Polanski Drama: “Then” vs. “Now” effects.
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 The Roman Polanski story has certainly gotten interesting. Well, actually, the story is still only mildly interesting, but the discussion about it has developed in interesting ways. So, I thought I’d muddy the waters by throwing in a few thoughts.
Google Wave begins testing today
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 According to Google, this is what wave (which is OpenSource) is: A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point…
A few things to read:
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Which is better, Cats or Dogs? From a religious perspective, that is. The Best of Me Symphony, a blog carnival. And get your Godless LOL’s here.
Bringing Guns to Obama’s Talk in Minneapolis
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 I discussed the Hendrickson Incident here (and now Josh Henderson has come to Quiche Moraine to defend himself from the Hippies from Uptown) but I had missed, until Hendrickson himself pointed it out to me, this coverage from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. To see Hendrickson’s response, and some great “examples” of the use…
Long Live the Public Option
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 Rachel Maddow on yesterday’s failures and successes in the Senate Committee. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Bell Museum October Schedule
Posted by Greg Laden on September 30, 2009 For those of you in the Twin Cities area:
Two Sblings and their forthcoming books
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 Coming Soon: Written in Stone “Hey, PZ, how’s the book coming along?”
Intelligent Design vs. Evolution: Evolution wins again.
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 An international team of researchers, including Monash University biochemists, has discovered evidence at the molecular level in support of one of the key tenets of Darwin’s theory of evolution. … that it happened …
Mars Climate Change Patterns Seen in Ice Caps
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 You may know that much of the climate change on earth over the last two million years-the coming and going of ice ages-is caused by the “orbital geometry” of the planet. The amount of planetary tilt and the time of year the tilt occurs change over time. When the Northern Hemisphere is less tilted towards…
Excellent Reading in the Blogosphere
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 Whatever she wants – sexual selection …. A post translated by Igor Santos from the original published by Atila at the Brazilian blog Rainha Vermelha. Check out what is New and Exciting in PLoS ONE, including “The Genome of the Stick Insect Medauroidea extradentata Is Strongly Methylated within Genes and Repetitive DNA” Will ants trump…
Maddow on Acorn
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 The De-Fund Acorn Act of 2009: Shame. Maybe even illegal.
How to fly using your Wii (but you have to flap fast enough)
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 Do not watch this if you can’t handle geeks wearing viking hats.
Boycott the Pure Sensia digital radio
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 It runs Linux as its OS. But …
What makes a perfect day at the lake?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 When the wind stiffens it blows the fog off the lake and replaces it with a biting spray. And when the wind slackens the sound of air rushing though the leaves and around the cabins is replaced with the crashing of the white caps that stand off from the more protected bay. Either way it…
Sagan and Hawking’s new music video
Posted by Greg Laden on September 29, 2009 Here at The Lake I don’t get enough intertubules to watch a video reliably. So I can’t separate the DJ effect from the Slow Connection effect in this video, but it looks good:
Cuban rapper busted, released.
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 The Cuban Rapper AL2 of the bad Los Aldeanos has been arrested by the Cuban Police, and released. Meanwhile, some of his personal effects including a computer were confiscated. Rappers are considered very dangerous by the Cuban government. You may recall a major bust up of a concert there a few weeks ago. I think…
Bird Life International’s Position on Climate Change
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 The scientific evidence is overwhelming and unequivocal, climate change is a stark reality. It is largely caused by human activities and it presents very serious global risks for people and biodiversity around the world and it demands an urgent global response. Human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, are releasing rapidly increasing levels of…
John Wilkins Applies to the Library
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 As a youth. Before he went silver. Hat Tip Miss Cellania
Do you find science surprising? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 Did you ever wonder about what I do in my spare time? Did you ever wonder about The Eastern Pacific Black Ghost Shark? Well, these things are connected….
xkcd guy to be on radio
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 Randall Monroe, creator of the webcomic xkcd, discusses stick men, math, science, relationships and what it’s like to be an internet meme. … on Skeptically Speaking, October 2nd. Details here.
Plants should not tweet
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 I don’t want my plant twittering me. It is bad enough that they are alway staring at me. Especially the one in the kitchen.
Chance of god existing = 50% – 50%
Posted by Greg Laden on September 28, 2009 If you really want him to exist. If he wants you to want him to exist. Or to want you to think that he wants him …. Oh, never mind, just watch. Hat Tip Colloquy
, which is now available for the 
