May 28, 2010
Today is the big day!
And not merely because it is TGIF* day.
The theme "everything you know is sort of wrong" is familiar to readers on this blog. It is an underlying theme for much of what happens here. Every now and then that theme is manifest overtly, as in the Falsehoods posts, which are,…
May 28, 2010
You probably know that there is a new primate fossil, nicknamed "Ida," and that there is quite a buzz about it. (Well, you certainly do know by now because this is a repost!)
Darwinius masillae, aka Ida
Ida comes from fossil deposits in Germany, and was originally excavated in two different…
May 27, 2010
Do male geniuses outnumber female geniuses? Yes, of course, if you define geniuses in such a way that they do. See commentary here and here about this topic.
On a related note, here is a post that is closely related: The interrelationship between bias in biology and bias in education: High…
May 27, 2010
Think of penguins as ocean sentinels, says Dee Boersma -- they're on the frontlines of sea change. Sharing stories of penguin life and culture, she suggests that we start listening to what penguins are telling us.
May 27, 2010
Many years ago, a sudden event occurred that changed everything. Or at least, that is what we think now. But in truth, the event took longer than many today believe, and many of the specific details, the exact order of events, the actual meaning of each detail, are not fully understood. Indeed,…
May 26, 2010
As the world's attention focuses on the perils of oil exploration, we present Richard Sears' talk from early February 2010. Sears, an expert in developing new energy resources, talks about our inevitable and necessary move away from oil. Toward ... what?
May 26, 2010
is at the Prancing Papio (= Dancing Baboon) at THIS LINK HERE. click it. enjoy.
May 26, 2010
Today, many biotechnology blogs focus on genomics (especially personal genomics) and the business side of biotech. The blogs listed below are produced by professors, students as well as law firms and researchers. One other focus in these top 50 biotechnology blogs is bioinformatics, represented in…
May 26, 2010
According to a study just coming out in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, "variations in emotional intelligence--the ability to identify and manage emotions of one's self and others--are associated with orgasmic frequency during intercourse and masturbation."
In short, the study found:
Emotional…
May 26, 2010
Or, on the other hand, this may be a good thing:
You know about the [ooh.. something spooky just happened. tell you later] Adolph Hitler video memes, where conversation about pretty much anything (the new iPod, the latest ballgame, whatever) is superimposed over german dialog from Downfall (the…
May 26, 2010
Check out this meta app. It runs fully functional in an iPad (I'm told), and is a super fancy reference library for the iPhone OS.
It is a web app that you can see on any web browser but, when it senses that it is on an iPad, shifts into super-duper mode.
Here's the links you need to pursue this…
May 26, 2010
It has been 100 days since I accidentally severed my right patellar tendon. I'm bending my knee to 105 degrees or so, I can now use my quads (though not for much), and I usually walk around with no brace or crutch. On the other hand, if I take a long walk (as in a full grocery store shopping, up…
May 26, 2010
From Sociological Images (Hat Tip: Ana):
May 25, 2010
Copyright law's grip on film, music and software barely touches the fashion industry ... and fashion benefits in both innovation and sales, says Johanna Blakley. At TEDxUSC 2010, she talks about what all creative industries can learn from fashion's free culture.
May 25, 2010
OMG. Go to the sign on page. Look at the "select an avatar" part. What is that all about? I think I'll be an Asian Girl then they'll know I'm smart but non-threatening. No, wait, maybe I'll be a non-white non-hispanic, like in the Census. No wait ...
Well, I tried to register but their…
May 25, 2010
VSP EyeFiles Webisode #1: Do 3-D Movies Cause Motion Sickness
May 25, 2010
I was talking with a friend from another country yesterday and she indicated that whenever she caught herself up on American politics, she would become frightened.
She was underestimating.
Apparently, the 1964 Civil Rights act is "UNCONSTITUTIONAL, PROGRESSIVE and HITLER." according to one of…
May 25, 2010
(sorry about the commercial at the beginning)
May 25, 2010
Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.
May 25, 2010
I previously noted that to survive as a Westerner, you can get away with participating in a culture that asks of you little more than to understand the "one minute" button on the microwave, while to survive in a foraging society you needed much much more. Moreover, I suggested that the level of…
May 25, 2010
The Diversity in Science Carnival will be hosted at Quiche Moraine. Today is the submission deadline, but I'm sure posts submitted tomorrow (the 26th) will also be considered.
Here is the theme:
We are inviting all posts that challenge pre-conceptions and mis-conceptions of who scientists/…
May 25, 2010
Erik Paulsen is my representative to the US Congress. This is his first term. He replaced a very centrist Republican (Jim Ramstad) who retired honorably. I worked for the Democratic Party (DFL, we call it in Minnesota) candidate, Ash Madia during that election. Ash was a good candidate but he…
May 25, 2010
WebMage is an interesting book if you are a computer geek. For one thing, the title of the book uses CamelCase. For another thing, the main characters are a hacker and his laptop. But since this is also a fantasy book, the main character is also a non-human (but you wouldn't' know to look at him…
May 25, 2010
Kenya court rules Islamic courts are illegal
Kenya's Islamic courts are illegal and discriminatory, a panel of judges has ruled.
The three judges said the Islamic "Kadhi" courts favoured Islam over other faiths, and that this was unconstitutional as Kenya was a secular country.
South Africa's…
May 24, 2010
Those are the words of UCLA's Ned Wright, a PI with NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.
NASA is putting out a press release summarizing the results of the project so far. For example:
"We are taking a census of a small sample of near-Earth objects to get a better idea of how they…
