March 15, 2010
Or at least that is what we may infer from the recent legislative activity in one of America's most socially backwards states, Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma State Senate passed a bill Thursday that would limit what authorities can do when prosecuting hate crimes.
The bill would prohibit local and state…
March 15, 2010
The most unpatriotic woman in America, Michele Bachmann, is starting to get all loud and obnoxious again (she goes in cycles, like red tide and bad influenza years). Now she is saying that if a health care bill is passed under certain procedures that she happens to not like, it should be ignored,…
March 15, 2010
I am annoyed with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
I'm annoyed for a lot of reasons that I won't go into now, but mainly for one aspect of this problem: The idea of a mat of solid garbage extending across a portion of the Pacific Ocean that is the size of Europe (or whatever) is startling. It is…
March 14, 2010
I have several dark things to report. Two really bad things happened to me this evening; Some news about how bad Microsoft is; And an underwater robot meets Davey Jones' locker.
First an update on the knee. The good news is that the swelling is reduced. The bad news is that the swelling seems to…
March 14, 2010
It was already known that we were totally doomed, but now there is a new and exciting scenario. In this one, comets rain down on us from the Ooort Cloud, said comets loosened by contact and interaction with a star called Gliese 710.
Gliese 710 is one of a handful of stars that have had recent…
March 14, 2010
"But they are sinners," I can hear the preachers and politicians say. "They are choosing a life of sin for which they must be punished." My scientist and medical friends have shared with me a reality that so many gay people have confirmed, I now know it in my heart to be true. No one chooses to be…
March 14, 2010
Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, has a fighting chance of beating the incumbant Republican, Roy Blunt, in the upcoming Senate race in Missouri.
According to Rasmussen:
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Blunt leading Carnahan 47% to 41%. Four percent (4%)…
March 13, 2010
A few days back, the phone rang and I stupidly answered it. I usually don't unless I know who it is, but lately I've been getting a lot of phone calls from health insurance adjusters and therapists and whatever-whatever, so I've taken to actually answering the damn thing sometimes.
So this lady…
March 13, 2010
Yet another meta thingie for your meta amusement.
Hat Tip Miss C via Ana
March 13, 2010
I'm not sure how good this is, but if you are a Star Wars Geek you are obligated to watch it and complain about it.
Hat Tip: Miss Darth Vader C.
March 13, 2010
Accoring to Aubrea Wagner, the 17 year old winner of the Christian World View essay contest in which students were asked to write an essay on the following theme:
Write a letter to Charles Darwin explaining why you believe biblical creationism is more plausible and reasonable than Darwin's theory…
March 13, 2010
Plastic in the oceans is probably a problem, but it is probably not the problem you think it is.
For one thing, it is not as big a problem as deforestation, and I am unhappy that we hear a lot more about the Pacific Garbage Patch than we hear about deforestation these days. For another thing, a…
March 13, 2010
Vaccines that contain a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal cannot cause autism on their own, a special U.S. court ruled on Friday, dealing one more blow to parents seeking to blame vaccines for their children's illness.
story
March 12, 2010
It's a poll.
hat tip: Jafsica
March 12, 2010
Have a nice day, pervert ... Bwahahahahahah!!!!!
March 12, 2010
After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers' commitment to a purely…
March 12, 2010
A current study in Science from the Tokyo Institute of Technology seems to demonstrate how Thalidomide causes birth defects. Here's the abstract from the paper:
Half a century ago, thalidomide was widely prescribed to pregnant women as a sedative but was found to be teratogenic, causing multiple…
March 12, 2010
Fundamentalist Christian dentist promotes drastic curriculum change.
Click here then click "Texas Textbook Controversy part way down the middle column.
March 12, 2010
A lesbian student wanted to wear a tuxedo and accompany her girlfriend to the prom in a Northern Mississippi school district. Chaos ensued. It turns out that Itawamba County school district has an explicit policy requiring that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex. (This is the same school…
March 12, 2010
In which the Isis and Zuska Tag Team takes down Laden (temporarily) and a free for all breaks out on the blogosphere.
Is this another intrablogule iron cage death match? No, it's the real thing! In cartoon form....
March 11, 2010
It's been a long time coming. While Arthur C. Clarke's satellites have taken to space, and James Bond's futuristic mobile technology has become common place, still the dream of sustained personal flight has eluded us. But the future is here! Finally we can all take flight as Martin Aircraft in New…
March 11, 2010
I have yet to see a computer language that offers anything not available in Basic, in so far as the language itself goes. But Basic has been maligned as the ruination of computer coding. There is an alternative opinion out there.
March 11, 2010
As we all know, the Skepchicks are all about boobs and nothing else. Typical chicks. Can't think of anything else. And their boobs have commanded me to make one more request from my readers to consider donating some money to the senseless no-account purpose-free orgy that they will be hosting…
March 11, 2010
A while ago, I complained that the people running the LHC did not have their act together when it came to managing and disseminating information for the interested public. I took a little flack for that (see comments) but I was right. And I'm still right. We (the interested public) were just…
March 11, 2010
If you are old enough to have seen the original release of The Empire Strikes Back at the cinema in 1980, you almost certainly remember the extraordinary short film that preceded it. Otherwise you won't know a damn thing about it: with not one picture or accurate plot summary anywhere on the web,…
March 11, 2010
The information in this post has been updated, expanded on, and moved to THIS LOCATION.Please click through, and sorry for the inconvenience.
March 10, 2010
Well, you could be dead, I suppose. But the American Family Association says that you can X-out your gayosity by starting a relationship with Jesus Christ. They don't specify the nature of the new relationship you'd be having.
Anyway, Joe My God suggests that you Freep this poll.
March 9, 2010
One of my blog heros, the author of Urban Science Adventures! (TM), has been very bravely and openly discussing her thesis progress on line. Now, she is ready to defend her thesis, and it is going to be presented live on the internet. I direct you to her blog for details. This is going to be…
March 9, 2010
This is a piece by Rolf Heuer, Director General of CERN explaining what is happening over at LHC. A must read.
