Greg Laden's Blog

Top Ten Internet Videos Countdown: #9

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:22 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Medical Matters: H1N1, Science Ignorance and Cancer Screening

Category: H1N1 Novel Swine Flu

I have a few non-authoritative comments regarding recent and current medical developments. This concerns the flu (esp. the H1N1 Swine Pandemic Flu), and the two recent changes in screening recommendations, for breast and cervical cancer and related issues....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 7:03 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Top Ten Internet Videos Countdown: #10

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 6:22 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Artificial Intelligence on Collective Imagination ...

There is nothing in the term "Artificial Intelligence" that implies that "intelligence" be human, but the implication is clear that such a thing as "intelligence" exists and that we have some clue as to what it is. But it might not, and we don't.

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:03 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Electricity Gone Wild

A high-voltage arc caused by a 500kV Switch opening up in the Nevada Desert. An enormous Jacob's Ladder...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 2:17 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Creationist-Kootied Origin Comes to the Twin Cities

Some guy named David (but he would not give his last name) and his friends were handing around Ray Comfort's tricked-out version of Darwin's Origin of Species on the University of Minnesota Campus today. Thanks to my former student Becky for sending me these links:...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 1:45 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

LOL Texans! You banned all marriage, dudes!

All marriage was accidentally banned in Texas when Texas banned "Gay Marriage." What a bunch of morons. Details here....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 10:27 AM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

JPEG vs PNG

A zillion funny computer images are here....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:00 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

New way to back up files?

Send an email to yourself in the future! This service allows you to send an email to yourself in the future. This is a little like an assignment my daughter was given this year in school: A letter to yourself that you are then forced...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 6:00 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Interesting ethical question: When a DNA testing firm closes, who gets the data?

An Icelandic firm that offers private DNA testing to customers has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., raising privacy concerns about the fate of customer DNA samples and records, according to the Times of London. DeCODE Genetics, a genetics research firm, began offering personalized...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 5:02 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Captain Disillusion

Category: Skepticism

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 2:52 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The bartenders were standing on the bar looking past the crowd ...

Category: Events

Every chair in the bar area had one or two people standing on it, as did most of the tables. ... models moved a couple at a time out onto the open stage, walked around and sometimes did things to make the crowd laugh or scream ...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 11:23 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Church of Scientology is a Criminal Organization

Category: Religion

According to an Australian Australian Senator Nick Zenophon....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 10:32 AM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Atlantis Launch

Category: Cosmos

There are not going to be too many more of these:...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 10:31 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Pabst Blue Ribbon is Hip?

I was sitting at a very hip bar in a very hip joint the other day speaking with a couple of very hip people. Then one of the hipsters asked the bartender for a couple of "PBR's" "PBR," I thought. That must be the hip...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:45 PM • 46 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Make Lava at Home: Don't try this with your good microwave

Do not try this at home unless you are a certified physics teacher. Try not to think about what all the crap is in this guy's microwave. And do wear goggles. The really interesting part is after five minutes. That's where the science starts....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 6:20 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Bachmann Violated Rules with Tea Party Event

Category: Michele Bachmann

You probably heard about Michele Bachmann's "Whites of their eyes" event last week, where she urged reporters to arrive en masse at the US Capitol, to swarm the halls and glare at their congresspersons in the eyes until the blinked. Or voted against health care...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 5:36 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Amazing Example of Misplaced Maternal Behavior

Hat Tip: Julia...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:27 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

More on cooking a turkey

Category: Cooking

Cooking turkey is actually kind of a dumb idea. Most people don't ever cook turkey. Turkey is like chicken ... it's a domestic bird that is familiar to all Americans ... but it is very difficult to cook in a way that does not ruin...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 3:13 PM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Gah!!! ack... gasp .... ok breath, ok breath.... phew....

Wow. My internet connection was down for a few hours. Did I miss anything?...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 11:59 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Milky Way Rising Video

Milky Way Rising from Dean Rowe on Vimeo....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 10:00 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Help with writers block.

I'm writing an academic article and I have writers block. Lets see ... what shall I do.......

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:52 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The Top 15 Excuses Religious People Give for the Horrible Behavior of their God

Category: Atheism

From an "unknown greater good" to "evil is necessary to prove God's existence" it's all a lot of hooey and post hoc justification. August Berkshire has a new version of his list, here....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:53 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Mastering IPTables: The Movie

First, blotto one light bulb to appease the gods: Then......

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:25 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Nova: Becoming Human Hour Three: I'm speechless.

Category: Human Evolution

It is one thing to get a thing wrong now and then. It is not terrible to occasionally use language that might be improved. But it is unacceptable to produce a documentary where the first ten or more minutes will require hours to undo in the classroom if a potential future student actually watches this third installment of the three hour tour through human evolution. Three hour tour.

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 2:57 PM • 22 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Check these out.

I never realized that George Bush had such a bald-fetish until I saw THIS. Follow the money Fully automatic cute fuzzy thing....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 2:14 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson

on Skepchick Podcast.....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 2:07 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Don't forget: Nova Becoming Human Three tonight.

My review will be ready in about two hours from now....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 11:52 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Bergman vs. Myers Debate: Should Intelligent Design be Taught in The Schools?

Category: Creation Science

Long after it was clear that Myers had trounced Bergman and Evolution had won the day, near the end of the evening, as the very last questions were being asked, Bergman played the Holocaust card. He actually made the statement that it had been well proven that Evolution (and atheism, by his model) had caused the Holocaust.

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 12:28 AM • 58 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Nobody ever said the war on drugs was going to be ... serious.

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:28 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Check it out

Guy Jumps Off Pier To Save Dog "Programming is like sex: one mistake and you're providing support for a lifetime." Logical Fallacies and How to Spot Them...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:00 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Check out the new Charles Darwin Cooking Show

Category: Charles Darwin

I believe they are trying to keep it secret, but that's Robert Luhn swinging around the big knife while raging about Ray Comfort: The source of this video is the new NCSE Don't Dis Drwin site, HERE....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 5:44 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

NCSE Responds to Ray Comfort

Category: Creationism

Tomorrow, the NCSE will release a response to Ray Comfort's tricked-out version of Darwin's Origin of Species. I got a sneak preview of the web site and if you are good, I can let you see it too. (a GLB exclusive!)...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 5:31 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The Physics of White Board

This Is A Cool Computer Program - Funny video clips are a click away...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:49 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Identity of Pseudonymous Blogger, Scientist, Prostitute Revealed

Category: Blogging

Anonymity was no fun, she claimed, stating "I couldn't even go to my own book launch party"...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:32 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Braaaains!!!! Bloggg Carrrrnival!!!

The Blog Carnival Scientia Pro Publica # 16 is up and running here, at Sharp Brains. Braaaains!!!! Braaaiins!!!...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 3:31 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Astonishingly, Sarah Palin does Not Believe in Evolution ...

Category: Creationism

In Going Rogue: An American Life Sarah Palin make sthe claim that she does not believe in evolution. She has not been so straightfoward in the past on this topic, according to think progress. ...she talks about creationism, saying she "didn't believe in the theory...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 3:30 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Please have a look at the MnCSE web site

Category: Creationism

MnCSE stands for Minnesota Citizens for Science Education. If you are a Minnesotan, this will of course be of direct interest to you. If you are interested in science education issues (read: defending our children against the onslaught of the Creashunist Foes!!!1!!) then you will...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 1:21 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

I have two invitations for you

The first is in virtual space, the second is in meat space. Both are cool....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 11:27 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

How To Make Gravy

I will tell you how to make excellent gravy with no stress and guaranteed success. Without lumps....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 4:42 PM • 28 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

More violent christian rhetoric from Michele Bachmann and cronies

Category: Michele Bachmann

A controversial ministry that says it preaches Christian doctrine in public schools held a fundraiser in Bloomington Thursday night, drawing a crowd of about 400. At its "Appeal to Heaven" fundraiser, You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International offered attendees a preview of its...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 2:44 PM • 16 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Did Michele Bachmann violate House ethics rules again?

Category: Michele Bachmann

From Mn Progressive: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) may have gotten herself into even more ethical trouble. In her efforts to promote her healthcare protest that occurred last week, she used her official House website to promote it. Check out the details....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 1:01 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Who's better at the physical comedy, Penguins or Pandas?

Penguins: Pandas:...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 12:18 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Un-be-Flockin'-lievable (birds)

Category: Birds

These are starlings: Bonus Video:...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 11:24 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

When John Almost Died of Naturopathy

Category: Skepticism

Recent discussion of Canadian Naturopathy caused this old memory of mine to surface, regarding a friend who nearly died because he had a treatable illness but was attended to only by a Naturopath. A stupid, badly dressed Naturopath who couldn't drive for shit....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 12:59 AM • 21 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Check out these links

Skloot on the Cover of Publishers Weekly & Advance Praise for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Did Low-Dose Desensitization to Allergens Make Me a SuperMan? Mumps redux at White Coat Underground...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 8:03 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

More Coffee Shops Blues

I look around me and I don't see even one anarchist. Oh, wait, no, there might be an anarchist over there beyond the pillar...no, no, just another guy in a suit. Never mind. Read all about it here....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 7:19 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Matthew Hoh on Afghanistan

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 7:00 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis

Category: Environment

Al Gore talking about his new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis....

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 6:55 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Canadian Magicians Will Write Prescriptions

The other day, I went to a magic show. The magician manipulated energy fields, pulled toxins out of my stomach, and then gave me a remedy - but there was nothing inside. Then he pulled out a prescription pad, prescribed some Tamiflu, and sent me...

Read on »

Posted by Greg Laden at 3:16 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks