July 17, 2011
The International Atomic Energy Association issued its last report on Fukushima on June 2nd and appears to not be keeping their web site up to date any more. This is the last time I'll be checking with them unless I hear otherwise. The email scandal reported last time continues "Analysts say the…
July 17, 2011
This from Julie at 10,000 Birds:
Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources unanimously passed its sandhill crane hunting proposal. All eight hunters on the commission think it's a good idea to shoot cranes in Kentucky. The proposal now goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for final…
July 16, 2011
When I first arrived in the Ituri Forest I was shown a camp a group of Efe Pygmies all typically lived in, and told "everyone lives here but the old man and his wife ... he's a bit contentious and there was an argument." Having read all the literature written in English about Pygmies, I was aware…
July 16, 2011
People on Google+ are discussing what to do with their circles. Here, I'm not going to explain what circles are; I wish merely to record for the moment what I'm doing with them on my account for others to consider and criticize. If you don't know what circles are, join Google+ and find out, and…
July 16, 2011
If you are annoyed with Michele Bachmann's racism and anti-gayism please donate to a candidate that opposes her. She is using the video you watched to raise money. Good idea.
Do spread this video around, please.
Below the fold: Michele Bachmann's gay step sister and her friend in DC…
July 15, 2011
Below the fold because it is too wide:
Stolen from Deep Sea News
July 15, 2011
At about this time in 1931, a black family moved into an all white neighborhood. The resident whites tried to stop it from the beginning, even offering to buy the house at a price over that paid by Army vet Arthur Lee and Edith Lee. When these early efforts failed, the denizens of the segregated…
July 15, 2011
... no matter how we interpret what happened for Darwin on his route from Potential Country Pastor to First Evolutionary Biologist, the mocking birds figured in because they impressed young Charles when he first saw them....
Read about Darwin's Other Birds
July 14, 2011
This is not new but it is current. In 2009, Michele Bachmann donated several thousand dollars to an organization that carries out exorcisms mainly on teenagers who have bee posessed by multiple demons. This has become increasingly popular among Christians ... the idea that demons posses people on…
July 13, 2011
The twain shall never meet. Below the fold. Not work safe. Do not be drinking coffee. Sex with demons!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
I always thought homosexual were savage. Glad to see the Illuminati are in charge still.
Thank you Right Wing…
July 13, 2011
Siblings of those diagnosed with autism are more than 20 times as likely as members of the general population to also have autism. Some of these siblings also show evidence of autism-like but less marked cognitive and social communication problems. This suggests that autism has either an…
July 13, 2011
Before you vote for this woman, make sure you are prepared to die in the nuclear holocaust. Because she is.
July 12, 2011
Hat Time Class M
July 11, 2011
How much does politics affect teaching evolution? How is the "fairness" argument exploited to undermine evolution education? Genie Scott explores these and other antievolution strategies in a recent speech before the Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Where: Scottsdale, AZ. When:…
July 11, 2011
I woke up this morning and the world was slightly different than it was the night before. Well, it probably always is a little different each day, but there are certain times when you notice this. I'm not talking about the bits of siding, roofing, and trees scattered about the landscape because of…
July 10, 2011
The Fukushima Update #30 has been translated into German. So if German is your preferred language, you can go read it here. Thanks Frank Braun for the translation.
July 9, 2011
Perhaps the most interesting single thing on the table in today's update is the revelation that at least one of Fukushima's reactors suffered sufficient damage from the earthquake that hit the region ... prior to the tsunami ... to have likely gone out of control or melted down. This is hard to…
July 8, 2011
Humans appear to have a reasonable amount of diversity in their sexual orientations, in what is often referred to as "gender" and in adult behavior generally. When convenient, people will point to "genes" as the "cause" of any particular subset of th is diversity (or all of it). When convenient,…
July 8, 2011
A big todo was made a while back about the possibility of life based on arsenic. In science fiction we often see worlds created in which life is based on one strange thing or another. But years ago, Darwin found a place were life was based on the Booby. And the Noddy. Let's not forget the Noddy…
July 7, 2011
Behaviors are not caused by genes. There is not a gene that causes you to be good, or to be bad, or to be smart, or good at accounting, or to like bananas. There are, however, drives. "Drives" is a nicely vague term that we can all understand the meaning of. Thirst and hunger are drives we can…
July 7, 2011
In this visually dazzling talk, Jonathan Drori shows the extraordinary ways flowering plants -- over a quarter million species -- have evolved to attract insects to spread their pollen: growing 'landing-strips' to guide the insects in, shining in ultraviolet, building elaborate traps, and even…
July 6, 2011
In case you have not heard we are having an internet-wide discussion of ... well, just click on all of the links below and read everything then you'll know. I've included all the current links that I know of. If I've left something out, please put it in the comments and I'll add it.
Meanwhile a…
July 5, 2011
Yesssss!!!!! .... This is what you have been preparing for all this time.
You know the classics ...
"Evolutionists do it with increasing complexity"
and
"Honk! If you understand punctuated equilibria"
These are the National Center for Science Education Bumper Stickers so far. The NCSE is not…
July 5, 2011
Darwin developed his theory of evolution from a famously simple tree of life drawing. How has the study of evolution and the inter-connectedness of species changed with modern DNA technology? How has exploring genetic relationships shaped how we now view ourselves and how might that be expressed in…
July 5, 2011
Scientific American has launched a new blog network.
Here is a post by Bora Zivkovic announcing the network, and here is the press release.
Today Scientific American launched a new blog network which unites editorial, independent and group blogs under the magazine's banner. The community of 60…
July 4, 2011
Recently, Richard Dawkins said (full quote below) that a woman should not be concerned about her own safety if she finds herself in an elevator (under some sort of threat, presumably), because it is trivially easy to get out of an elevator if you are under attack. I'm sure Richard is a very smart…
July 3, 2011
And thus, structurally, Richard Dawkins, or his distant cousin Richard D. Poe (I am still not sure) has shut down the argument that the Elevator Guy acted inappropriately when he asked Rebecca Watson over for a cuppa joe at four O'clock in the AM, in an elevator, while she was on her way to bed.…
July 2, 2011
Charles Darwin did a lot of work with birds. Darwin was a consumer of information, constantly attempting experiments, interviewing locals, making observations, and so on. For this reason, his writing about birds provides not only interesting information about birds, but also insight into his…
July 2, 2011
Rebecca Watson did the right thing when she spoke about McGrew's response too her (Watson's) response to the Elevator Guy, and Barbara Drescher's response to all of that is amazing. If you don't know what I'm talking about here, it might be best to move on. Otherwise, here's my two cents (and…
July 2, 2011
Good morning.
I'm afraid to go to the SkepchiCON party tonight because I might get into a conversation with someone and since it will be loud, and we will have to shout to be heard, we will be shouting at each other.
At the "evolution from the experts" panel, I want to spend more time talking…
