August 12, 2010
I know Marc Hauser, and I trust him. I worked with him for a few years as a colleague on the faculty in the Anthropology department on various administrative matters (such as graduate admission and undergraduate program development) and we taught together. We are very different kinds of people,…
August 12, 2010
... can be found here, in this talk by William Phillips speaking at the AAAS:
at 1:08. The implication is that we will only see grief if we don't give religious people the origin of life and the origin of the universe. Presumably we fire the scientists working on these issues.
I found this in a…
August 12, 2010
Did you know that galaxies can die? They are apparently declared dead by astronomers when they stop making new stars. But a recent finding suggests that this kind of death is not the end of the road for at least some galaxies.
Astronomers have found mysterious, giant loops of ultraviolet light…
August 11, 2010
... which begs a number of different questions that I will think but not say out loud.
This surprising 'result' (which you should not take seriously as stated) comes from a fascinating bit of on -line research and reporting in which Christian Rudder qualitatively tested photographs taken with…
August 11, 2010
It is possible that a much earlier than previously known date for the use of flaked stone tools has been established in Ethiopia, dating to prior to 3.39 million years ago.
A paper just out in Nature by McPherron et al suggests that a set of marks found on two bones recovered from the surface very…
August 11, 2010
The newly reported Saadanius hijazensis may or may not be a "missing link" but in order for this monkey to climb onto the primate family tree, a new branch had to be sprouted. So, not only is Saadanius hijazensis a new species, but it is a member of a new taxonomic Family, Saadaniidae, which in…
August 11, 2010
I don't use OpenOffice unless I have to, but sometimes I have to and it's nice to know that a PDF importing extension is available. But there are some tricks to using it, which are nicely addressed here.
One problem related to the extension, but it is not the extensions fault, is that Oracle…
August 11, 2010
No, no, probably not, although I did receive my first BP Oil Spill denialist comment this morning. Nonetheless, we have had very little in the way of storms that might develop into hurricanes.
The best I can do for you now is Tropical Depression FIVE, which is sitting in the Gulf and heading for…
August 11, 2010
Wyoming, which is a pretty stupid state sometimes, although you don't hear about it too often because almost no one lives there, has a candidate for governor who
... wants teachers to be required to teach creationism. "I think it is as valuable a theory as any other theory."
... is opposed to…
August 10, 2010
Today was primary day in Minnesota. Amanda and I are wearing our "I voted" stickers. We wore them to the grocery store. We were the only ones there wearing them. Of course, there were a lot of mullets, and I ain't talking fish, which is like voting with your hair. And, the sound of the country…
August 10, 2010
Neurodegenerative diseases (i.e. Alzheimer's and Huntington's) often involves the formation of aggregates of proteins in a patients' brain, correlated with the process of degeneration. Some of these proteins are unique to the specific disease and others are commonly found in healthy individuals…
August 10, 2010
They both voted against HR 1586, as expected.
I'm voting for Meffert. Right now, as a matter of fact.
August 10, 2010
When I met the Chechen president in the capital's football stadium last summer, he told me: "Women are so much more interesting when they are covered up."
Officials nearby smiled awkwardly as Kadyrov boasted that Chechen men can take "second, third and fourth wives" and that polygamy, illegal in…
August 10, 2010
The former Senator from Alaska was one of five killed in the crash of a small plane on which were nine people. Former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe is among those who may or may not have. NPR is reporting this.
Earlier in his career, Stevens was an AGW denialist, but later got on board and…
August 10, 2010
Apropos a discussion on Jaf's facebook page regarding the efficacy of leaving one's car window open while driving on the lake-ice (to escape in the event the ice breaks), I decided I needed one of these Emergency Hammers, just in case. Little did I realize that this versatile tool can also be used…
August 10, 2010
Jeff Medkeff died of liver cancer in August 2008. This year, the Atlantic Area Skeptics will hold the annual Star Party event in his honor, and with the intention of raising money for cancer research.
Jeff Medkeff, also known as the Blue Collar Scientist was an astronomer, writer, skeptic and…
August 10, 2010
In Robert Gardner's documentary film Dead Birds, the men of a highland New Guinea village guard the perimeter of the territory, watchful for men of the neighboring group who may be intent on sneaking into the gardens to capture and kill an unwitting child or woman in order to avenge a prior death…
August 10, 2010
The chorus of support for the teaching of evolution continues, with three statements from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the American Statistical Association, and the Union for Reform Judaism.
In its statement, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists endorses "the use of evolution in…
August 9, 2010
"There are the obvious effects like oiled birds and saltmarshes, but it seems many of the effects will be more insidious. Scientists I spoke to are particularly concerned about the larval phases of fish and invertebrates, which are planktonic and not able to avoid patches of oil the way free-…
August 9, 2010
... and 2010 Amendments to The National Academies' Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research:
In 2005, the National Academies released the book, Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, which offered a common set of ethical standards for a field that, due to the absence of…
August 9, 2010
Yeah, I used to go to the Town Hall a lot, when I worked a couple of blocks away. I still stop there for lunch now and then when I've got something to do on the West Bank campus of The U or nearby downtown. But no longer. Recently, an atheist-linked event was scheduled there, and the owners of the…
August 9, 2010
Oh sure. Like I'm going to click on THAT!
All I did was to plug in a USB memory stick.
August 9, 2010
From Skeptically Speaking:
We talk to author Christopher Ryan about his new book Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. We'll discuss the most recent science and theories, and how social norms compare to our biological impulses.
This Friday. Details here. I may have to read this…
August 9, 2010
Or, more specifically, will my rep, Erik Paulsen, vote against the Recovery Act extension today which will fund, in part, Medicade and Education (167 mil in Minnesota)? We need this. But we don't meed Erik that much. If he votes against it, I may have to do something about that.
Which will…
August 9, 2010
Untrained people (that would be YOU) often fail to recognize drowning. In this way, people often drown mere feet away from those who could rescue them. One in ten children who will drown this year will drown with their parents watching the process, not knowing what they are looking at.
The…
August 9, 2010
An adjunct community college professor had a bit of a problem when it came time to teach evolution, according to certain sources:
Student Bryan Jaden Walker wrote on his blog, ... that the professor "glossed over the scientific explanation very quickly (less than 20 seconds), then explained…
August 9, 2010
A tight little disturbance currently known as "Area 1" in the absolute middle of the Atlantic, and bering a 70 percent chance of forming a nameable feature.
If it does, it will be a "D" ... so consulting the list, that would be ... Danielle.
August 9, 2010
... and sundry related topics.
If you use a Kindle to read these mostly older and thus free-ish books, please add your favorites in the comments.
Africania, history, and other early works
Conrad: Heart of Darkness
Burton: First footsteps in East Africa
How: People of Africa
Kingsley: Travels in…
August 8, 2010
Georges Bank is a very large shallow area in the North Atlantic, roughly the size of a New England state, that serves as a fishing ground and whaling area (these days for watching the whales, not harpooning them) for ports in New England, New York and Eastern Canada. Eighteen thousand years ago,…
