Archives for December, 2010
Guess what Huxley did today!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 22, 2010 He started walking. The following video is his third or fourth real attempt, the first one that went beyond two or three steps and a dive.
Podcasts good and bad
Posted by Greg Laden on December 22, 2010 Do you have a favorite podcast? A podcast that you tried and hated? An idea for a podcast that should exist but doesn’t? And, do you know of a rating system for podcasts (and should there be one)? As a thought experiment, I propose a Podcast Quality index, or set of indexes. To start, let…
There are two species of African elephant
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2010 Everyone knows that there are two kinds of elephants in this world: Asian and African. The Asian is the only one that can be trained and the African ones live in harmony with their environment until hunters come by and shoot them. Scratch a little deeper, and the African bush elephant lives by destroying its…
Some good writing, some good acting in this clip. Good bye Steve Landesberg.
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2010 Looking at Landesberg’s tvography and filmography, I note that there must be an entire genre he was big in that I am utterly unaware of. But I did watch Barney Miller, and he was good in it as the Edgy Skeptic with Quirks. Was he the first intellectual cop in the modern era of US…
Cody Killed Logan. I suppose that’s OK if this is the only way you can have your toys.
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2010 Did I say toys? Sorry, didn’t mean to prejudice the case. I meant “Legal Firearms For Protection Against Intruders and a Repressive Government.”
A whole pile of Evolution Education news
Posted by Greg Laden on December 21, 2010 The annual Gallup Poll on how dumb Americans are has come out, and they got less dumb. A new Gallup poll on public opinion about evolution hints at a slightly higher rate of acceptance of evolution in the United States over the years. Asked in December 2010 “[w]hich of the following statements comes closest to…
A message from Mark Zuckerberg … er Julian Assange …
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2010 Hat Tip Rick MacPherson
What is the ideal camera for the person who… well, you know….
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2010 The person who never seems to be able to operate, or be happy with, these modern digital cameras. The person who more often says “Oh, I’m so upset, I couldn’t get a picture of that because this damn camera never works right” or the person who goes to take a shot but then quietly puts…
Help me nominate a non-profit
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2010 Move On Dot Org will be transferring funds to various non-profits, or otherwise be supporting them. Unfortunately, I don’t think Moveon has a rule against religious non-profis. But I do, and so do you. Please suggest a non-profit or two for me to nominate. If you area member of moveon as well, you can do…
This is your LAST CHANCE for holiday shopping
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2010 (If you’re mailing your presents and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg.) As part of my annual service to my readers who can’t think of what to give to those friends and relatives who insist on exchanging gifts this time every year, I present two categories of goodies, cheap and not so…
Study shows prayer helps
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2010 But the method must be adjusted if you happen to be an atheist. OMG. As it were. WARNING: your irony meter may break just after 2 minutes 10 seconds. Adjust your irony meters now. Do not drink coffee while watching this video.
Technology news and information
Posted by Greg Laden on December 20, 2010 Dropbox has reached version 1.0, which does not sound impressive, but is. Dropbox is a free or paid for file syncing service that totally kicks but. Try it out. The new version fixes various problems and significantly improves performance, but most importantly allows selective syncing, so you can have a subset of your files synced…
Pandemonium Looms in Minneapolis
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2010 The Minnesota Vikings will not be in the playoffs this year, but the team has nonetheless become interesting, possibly more interesting than if they were still in the running.
SOCIAL MEDIA AMBER ALERT
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2010 A friend of mine has asked me to spread the word that we are looking for a missing person, Joe Sjoberg (pronounced Show-Berg). He is probably in the upper Midwest somewhere. MISSING: JOE SJOBERG from MADISON, WI ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC:HERE FROM JOE’S BROTHER: Right now the last true piece of evidence had him in…
John Boehner’s Boner
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2010 John Boehner has appointed Michele Bachmann to the house intelligence committee. OK, let’s have a contest. I’ll start. Appointing Michele Bachmann to the Intelligence Committee is like …
How to make homeopathy work
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2010 Homeopathy involves the acquisition of a substance often chosen because of its harmful nature (but sometimes for other reasons) followed by the dilution of that substance, or an extract of it, in water numerous times until the substance itself is essentially gone, but the memory of the substance is retained by the water. This water,…
This photograph needs a caption
Posted by Greg Laden on December 19, 2010 source More captions needed
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Legislation Advanced
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2010 In a landmark vote for gay rights, the Senate on Saturday voted to advance legislation that would overturn the military ban on openly gay troops known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The 63-33 test vote all but guarantees the legislation will pass the Senate, possibly by day’s end, and reach the president’s desk before the…
How Quantum Mechanics Made Life Worth Living
Posted by Greg Laden on December 18, 2010 Jim Kakalios puts a very humorous spin on quantum mechanics, and while the video may be neither here nor there, the book, The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science that Made Our World, consists of the smallest possible number of words to explain the concept in a useful and entertaining…
New Wikileaks Release!!!11!!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2010 Below the fold. Ten points if you can identify the significance of the law firm mentioned in this recently released video.
Assange on the US Plan to capture, kill him
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2010 Alan Dershowitz to Mike Huckabee: Enjoy your new orifice!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2010 First, the video. Then, if you’re good, I’ll tell you an Alan Dershowitz story. It involves Stephen Jay Gould.
Last Minute Holiday Shopping!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2010 As I’m sitting here ordering things on line and last minute for people’s Christmas presents (there, I said Christmas. Take THAT Bill O’Really!) I thought I’d make a few suggestions for my readers.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is Done …. maybe.
Posted by Greg Laden on December 17, 2010 Good News and Bad News from the Large Hadron Collider
Posted by Greg Laden on December 16, 2010 The good news: Despite their best efforts, the folks at CERN failed to produce a black hole that sucked the entire earth into it! That would have been cool. The bad news is for string theory. What might be one of the few empirical tests for that tangle of math and stuff seems to have…
The Bible-Thumping Grinch who Pissed on Christmas
Posted by Greg Laden on December 16, 2010 A repost, of sorts: I am amazed at the giddiness amongst Christian Fundamentalists that has fomented from the mere utterance of a holiday greeting by Richard Dawkins. The counter-insurgents in the War on Christmas … the Red White and Blue, squeaky-faced smirking shits that call themselves commentators or preachers are creaming in their jeans. But…
Amelia Earhart’s Finger Found in Pacific?
Posted by Greg Laden on December 16, 2010 If you go to a place where humans have lived for hundreds of thousands of years and bone happens to be well preserved, you will find bits and pieces of people on a regular basis. If you go to a Polynesian island and look for bones you are more likely to find a turtle or…
Happy Day of Reconciliation!
Posted by Greg Laden on December 16, 2010 Formerly known as Day of the Vow, as South African holiday, and a time of reflection on dramatic historical and cultural changes.
Clay Duke: The Latest Poster Boy for Gun Control
Posted by Greg Laden on December 16, 2010 1) Clay Duke tried to kill several school board members, but missed from a distance of between 6 and 8 feet with his Smith & Wesson pistol. Indeed, over 25 rounds were fired in the small public space, all aimed from a short distance, and only one fatal shot occurred. This puts an end to…
Sitting Bull . 1831 – December 15, 1890
Posted by Greg Laden on December 15, 2010 This is the day, in 1890, that Sitting Bull died. He was fatally shot by two tribal police officers while being arrested in order to keep him from influencing an ensuing Native American movement that threatened the Great White Father (Benjamin Harrison at the time). He is probably most famous for his role in the…
, which is now available for the 
