December 8, 2011
I'm not sure exactly what this means, but ...
A respected scientist from the Cern particle physics laboratory has told the BBC he expects to see "the first glimpse" of the Higgs boson next week.
...Next Tuesday, two separate teams will each reveal the outcome of trawling through their latest data…
December 8, 2011
That's a large number of grants.
As of today, the National Geographic Society has issued 10,000 grants funding research and exploration since 1890--including ten National Geographic grant projects that, according to an internal panel, "have made the greatest difference in understanding the Earth."…
December 8, 2011
TV show Mythbusters has apologized after an experiment it conducted to measure the speed of a cannonball went wrong, leaving a trail of destruction across a California suburb. Instead of hitting its intended target, the cannon misfired, sending a six-inch ball of lead careening through one house,…
December 8, 2011
This is very, very cool.
Geologically, there are ways in which minerals move around and get deposited with rock. A common phenomenon is for a crack to form due to cooling of molten rock or an earthquake or something, and then this space gets filled in. Stuff might just fall into it. Liquidizer…
December 7, 2011
First, I should say right away that the planet that has been in the news so much lately is not known to be "earth like" ... depending on what you think "earth like" is. What we know is that the planet orbits its star in a position that allows for the possibility that water on its surface could be…
December 7, 2011
I'm enjoying James Lawrence Powell's book "The Inquisition of Climate Science" Powell's book specifically addresses the clilmate change denialist movement and the global warming deniers themselves, and does so severely. He documents and discusses who is paying for climate change denialism…
December 7, 2011
The Linux Journal reader's choice awards have been announced. You'll recall that I suggested to you some time ago that you contribute your vote. Now, you can find out if you won!
The number one distro is Ubuntu, as I thought. Gnome won the best desktop, also as I thought, but now I am also…
December 7, 2011
Opening Our Oceans With Data.Gov
Today, we are pleased to announce the release of ocean.data.gov, the newest community on Data.gov. This effort is the result of two important initiatives of the Obama Administration: the development and implementation of the National Policy for the Stewardship of…
December 7, 2011
Why we still have to take creationism seriously:
Adventures in Defending Evolution:
December 7, 2011
There is a lot of news in Ana's Feed about the nuclear power industry world wide, as well as across Japan, and especially disturbing news related to the Fukushima plant in particular. In brief, the main reason that the situation at these reactors seems to be kinda-sorta under control (as in the…
December 6, 2011
You probably know by now that I named my blog, "The X Blog" after "The X Club." Want to know more about The X Club? Click here!
December 6, 2011
Chrome Passes Firefox, Google May Pull Out Support: I stopped using Firefox around the 20th time it made me do something I shouldn't have had to do because it sucked as a browser. Firefox used to be my hero, now I regard it as somewhat dangerous, and I only use Google Chrome. My productivity has…
December 5, 2011
... and probably has been there for months, but new research is confirming the nature of this very interesting phenomenon. It is the outer edge of our solar system, where fast moving stuff heading away from the sun has slowed down because it's movement is stifled by gravity, but some extra-…
December 5, 2011
Maybe. Well, not really. But it could be ....
NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously…
December 5, 2011
Just go to a google search bar and type in a function.
For instance, cos(pi*x/5)
You'll get a graph that has some interactive features.
Separate multiple functions with commas.
Details here.
December 4, 2011
This video has been going around. If you are not emotionally reasonably well shored up at the moment, don't even think about watching it.
Most societies that practice extensive warfare, have a fair amount of violence, etc. often owing to the concentration of resources and vulnerability of those…
December 4, 2011
The pardon process relies on the recommendations of a special office of the White House, which takes a number of factors (not skin color) into account overtly, including things like level of remorse or financial or family factors. The process was, wisely one would have thought, depoliticized by…
December 3, 2011
The idea is that if you hear or see the same phrase or symbol again and again you grow habituated to it. For instance, right now, think about where you work or go to school (or some other non-residential interior where you spend considerable time) and tell me where the Exit signs and fire…
December 3, 2011
Everyone knows that the number of pages per book in the famous series by J.K. Rowlings increased over time, but was this increase steady? Was it consistent? The answer seems to be no.
Looking at this graph, is is probably more accurate to say that the early books were a certain length, around…
December 3, 2011
The The Manga Guide to Relativity might come in especially handy these days, what with faster than light neutrinos, Republican candidates and other science-defying entities zooming around. And, it is one of those Japanese anime things, which makes it cool. This is a story set in Tagai Academy…
December 2, 2011
It is illegal to shoot a cougar in Minnesota unless it is about to eat you. This did not stop Bruce Ihnen and Daniel Hamman from killing one of these beautiful beasts. Ihnen and Hamman need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Which, unfortunately, is not much. A hand slap, really…
December 1, 2011
Four students in one of our local junior high schools were involved in an uncontrolled fire and/or explosion a few hours ago. It was in a physical science class. One of the students was burned severely and is in the Hennepin County Hospital burn unit. His injuries are not life threatening by my…
December 1, 2011
These are books that I've reviewed here, and would like to recommend that you seriously consider picking up if you are looking for a cool present for someone and you think they should read more science.
I'm including a couple of bird books in this list, but I also recently wrote up a summary of…
December 1, 2011
NCSE's Josh Rosenau and Steve Newton sit down with the West Virginia University freethinking, inquiring, secular humanists, and chat about the rise of science denial, the ongoing battles with creationists, NCSE's new climate change initiative, and more. Where: Morgantown, West Virginia. When: 4/5/…
December 1, 2011
Get out your 3D glasses and have a look at Vesta.
Coolest pictures of dinosaur nest ever.
Best science books of 2011 according to a Science Librarian
December 1, 2011
Nature's beauty can be easily missed -- but not through Louie Schwartzberg's lens. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day.
November 30, 2011
Hat Tip Scott Brophy, who also wrote this great blog post: OMFG. WSJ Gets Loopy. Me, Too.
November 30, 2011
Britta Riley wanted to grow her own food (in her tiny apartment). So she and her friends developed a system for growing plants in discarded plastic bottles -- researching, testing and tweaking the system using social media, trying many variations at once and quickly arriving at the optimal system.…
