October 2, 2010
Human societies tend to be at least a little polygynous. This finding, recently reported in PLoS genetics, does not surprise us but is nonetheless important. This important in two ways: 1) This study uncovers numerical details of human genetic variation that are necessary to understand change…
October 1, 2010
The Jaguar C-X75 (not to be confused with te Siemens CX75 cell phone) will go almost 70 miles on its battery pack, using one 145kW electric motor attached to each wheel, accelerate faster than most hot cars, and reach top speeds that are greater than most fast cars. You can plug it into you wall…
October 1, 2010
Fossils of a newly discovered species of dinosaur -- a 10-meter-long, elephant-weight predator -- were discovered in 1996 along the banks of Argentina's Rio Colorado, and are now being reported after a long period of careful study. This dinosaur dates to about 85 million years (which falls within…
October 1, 2010
By now you've heard of the Pew research poll testing American's knowledge of religion. You may not have learned about the poll's evolution and creationism questions, as they've gotten much less press. In the poll...
[r]espondents were asked, "Which of these people developed the theory of…
October 1, 2010
A federal U.S. judge is asking the Vatican to cooperate in serving the Pope and two other top officials with court papers that stem from decades-old allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in Wisconsin.
The request is an incremental - and long shot - step in a lawsuit that accuses the officials of…
October 1, 2010
My local congressional race is getting interesting.
October 1, 2010
In the latest version of Ubuntu, the development community decided that they needed to look more like a Mac, so they randomly decided to move the window controls (to close, maximize, minimize etc.) a window, to the left (incorrect) side of the window rather than the right (correct) side of the…
October 1, 2010
In regards to Jim Russell, Republican Congressional candidate.
October 1, 2010
The old man crouched slightly as he took small tiny steps forward towards the woman's ass. I didn't see what was in is raised right hand, it was hidden from my view by his body draped with a colorful sarong. He crept closer, still crouched and still silent. She didn't see him coming, but when he…
October 1, 2010
Nobel physicist George Charpak died on the 29th. From Teh Wiki:
In 1992, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his invention and development of particle detectors, in particular the multiwire proportional chamber". This is the last time a single person has won the physics prize.
September 30, 2010
I've heard of "carrion beetles" but this is more like a "carry-on beetle":
Amanda and I were outside the cabin in Cass County, Minnesota last week, cutting pieces of plywood for sub flooring, and we saw this creature among the debris. At first I thought it was some kind of wasp covered with tiny…
September 30, 2010
And let's start with some inspiration, fear, and loathing:
Bwahahaha!!! Patriotic Amerikans don't Demonize Fox Nooz!!!
Can Obama Pull a Victory in the Midterm?
Will the Tea Party Sink the Republican Party?
Here's what it looks like when a Democratic politician commits .... politics:
September 30, 2010
And Delaware's Tea Party O'Donnell caught in major resume education lie.
More on Paladino:
September 30, 2010
If only Paul and Art were this good with Lyrics!
Hat Tip Bora
September 30, 2010
It was Blasphemy that led me to Atheism by a somewhat circuitous yet in the end well marked path. This is the story of my first step on that path.
It was the lies they kept telling me.
You can do whatever you want, god will forgive you if you ask for it. That did not seem logical or fair.
If you…
September 30, 2010
Fisher-Price recalls more than 10 million items
Fisher-Price is recalling more than 10 million tricycles, toys and high chairs over safety concerns.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday that two of the products being recalled involved injuries.
In the recall of about 7 million…
September 30, 2010
Read this blog post ONLY IF YOU DARE!!!!
I was just reading the latest edition of "Ripley's Believe It or Not! Enter If You Dare!" which was sent to me by the Ripley people to have a look at. Let me tell you right away that if you are a skeptic, you have to get a hold of this book and try to…
September 30, 2010
Except Atheists and Jews. They know stuff. Watch Penn Jillette take a quiz on religion:
I love this quote: "I gave my daughter a bible. That's how you make atheists."
September 30, 2010
According to Goldman Sachs puppet California Republican and eMagnate pro-CEO gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, who apparently ... well, you can guess...
September 30, 2010
The world's most famous cross dresser has died at 85. Tony Curtis received numerous Oscar nominations, made more than 120 films, played several TV roles, and was an accomplished painter.
And, she went to a conservatory.
September 29, 2010
There is a recent "PC Pro" magazine article comparing Windows 7 to Ubuntu, which concludes that Ubuntu is almost as good as Windows 7.
This would be roughly like Michele Bachmann comparing Ronald Reagan to Edward Kennedy and concluding that Edward Kennedy is almost as good. So, we can safely…
September 29, 2010
This is an excellent guest post by Scott Rowed on the use of Linux in K-12 schools, including strong evidence that school districts that do not have students using the Linux operating system are placing their students at a disadvantage, as well as a description of one outstanding success story in…
September 29, 2010
We haz 'em (9 megabyte PDF download from the National Academies of Science)
September 29, 2010
A young man with dark skin attracts the attention of a white police officer. The police officer, not busy with anything else, takes the opportunity to develop his own particular style of neighborhood relations, stops the young man's car and shakes him down. One thing leads to another, and the…
September 27, 2010
The next named storm in the Atlantic will be Nicole, and it is possible that it will form in the Caribbean. This mess of clouds and storms with a strong but now well organized low pressure system is unlikely to become a named storm over the next couple of days, but keep an eye on it.
Oddly, it…
September 27, 2010
Sherlock Holmes news: Stephen Fry, who played IIRC the psychiatrist on Bones who treated Seeley Booth after he shot the clown off the ice cream truck in a conniption of annoyance, will play Mycroft in the second Guy Ritchie Holmes adaptation (with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law) due out in December…
September 27, 2010
Other items of interest for teachers: "Back to school special"
September 27, 2010
While riding around his North Yorkshire estate on a Segway, [Jimi Heseldon] reportedly drove straight off a cliff and into the River Wharfe. A spokesperson for West Yorkshire police confirmed his death: "He was pronounced dead at the scene."
source <--- warning, web site may be poorly behaved…
