June 22, 2009
Citing recent killings in Arkansas, Kansas and the nation's capital, Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday said new hate crimes law were needed to stop what he called "violence masquerading as political activism."
The attorney general's call for Congress to act came as a civil rights coalition…
June 22, 2009
This is a struggle I can relate to:
Perez Hilton thinks that hot chicks can't do math. I have taught math to children of a variety of ages. It is difficult to convince young women in our society that they can do math. Young women often lack self-confidence about mathematics. Many of them think that…
June 22, 2009
While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.
Clay Shirky: Clay Shirky's consulting…
June 22, 2009
Republican Congressperson Dan Burton calls for a Plexiglas shield to be built over the congressional chamber to protect the congresspeople from attack. This is the same guy who carried out the famous and embarrassing reconstruction of Vince Foster's suicide:
Burton gained attention for re-enacting…
June 22, 2009
UPDATE: There are reports that the missing governor is tweeting. These reports are unconfirmed.
His wife does not know where is his. The lieutenant governor does not know where he is. It is said that "he needed some time away from his children to write something." It is said he is working on a…
June 22, 2009
To a dog, a balloon is a rock that floats.
To a dog, a lever is a perch for stoats.
To a dog, particle decay1 is not about nooks
To a dog, gravity is just another way to puke.
To a dog, a quantum is a kibble
To a dog, a quark is to nibble.
To a dog, where the yard ends begins the cosmos
To a dog,…
June 22, 2009
I wanted to know about Iran, and she told me. I was curious, because I had a feeling that there was more to the story than we were getting from the news. There had to be reasons that the students were rebelling against the Shah and pushing for an Islamic Revolution. She explained it to me, and…
June 22, 2009
Lately I've been reading the 19th and early 20th century traveler's accounts of what is now known as the Western Rift Valley and the Ituri Forest, Congo. Some are written by the famous 'explorers' such as H.M. Stanley, others written by scientists on expeditions in the area, and still others by…
June 22, 2009
I've always lived among trees and gone to the woods for quiet, but it took a change of scenery to discover just how much trees mean to me....
Turns out, it was the trees!
June 21, 2009
... where she's the scientist attending the crazy Sci Fi conference where everyone is dressed as Star Wars characters. That's because I'll be doing something at Skepchickcon Convergence Skeptics Track 2009
All the cool bloggers and some cool non-bloggers will be there, including Pamela Gay, PZ…
June 21, 2009
hat tip: Miss Cellania
June 21, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
I'm reminded of this work of literature owing to a recent discussion on another post. I like to point this text out whenever I get a chance, and since I've got a blog, this is an excellent chance!…
June 21, 2009
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is seeking class action status for a 2006 federal lawsuit that accuses drug manufacturer Eli Lilly of discrimination against African-American employees. The plaintiffs include nine current and former employees who allege that…
June 21, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
Scene: Berkeley, California, April 1986. A bar. Five conference attendees, myself included, grabbing a hamburger and a beer in a fern-bar on or near Telegraph.
All eyes are on the TV's mounted…
June 20, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
I had a dream last night that I was in the kitchen cooking Calamari, when several medium sized octopi crawled out of the pot and led me to the basement, beckoning me to come near the computer. They…
June 20, 2009
"The ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report sheds light on the faces of modern-day slavery and on new facets of this global problem. The human trafficking phenomenon affects virtually every country, including the United States. In acknowledging America's own struggle with modern-day slavery and…
June 20, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
The only place I've ever seen Great White Sharks in the wild (I'm not a SCUBA diver!) is in South Africa, where you can see them from cliffs, swimming back and forth looking for penguins (and seals…
June 20, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
Admit it. Once you discovered Alta Vista's Babel software you did this: You entered a phrase to translate from your native language to some other language, then translated it back again to see what…
June 20, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
... are probably normal. I remember an HBES conference in which we were subjected to a very boring talk. It was not boring at first. The speaker, a well known evolutionary psychologist, started…
June 20, 2009
Check it out:
ATLANTA - A suburban Atlanta principal who resigned during an investigation into cheating on students' standardized tests was arrested Friday and accused of altering public documents.
The school's assistant principal also turned herself in to local police Thursday night in a case that…
June 20, 2009
The first time I ever caught a bowfin (Amia calva)I was shocked and amazed at this fish. It was green .... really green like beyond fresh water fish green .... with a fancy spot on the upper part of the back of its dorsal fin. And it had one impressive dorsal fin. It was whopping big and took a…
June 20, 2009
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
June 20, 2009
First, let's suppose that Jehovah God is real. Good News for the religious, right? Then, let's twist it a bit and see what happens should Jehovah die. This would cause a major problem for at least the Abrahamic religions. After all, how could we hope for eternal life if the Provider Himself is…
June 19, 2009
... than previously reported. The word from his assistant, interviewed earlier today with the report coming out in the last ten minutes or so, indicate that Cronkite is going to be fine. Really old and stuff, but fine.
"he is aging. He's suffering the challenges of age, but he's not gravely ill…
June 19, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
This is brilliant. A bunch of Orca, incorrectly known as Killer Whales because, well, they would never kill anything, right? Anyway, a bunch of Orca either trying to eat a baby seal or playing with…
June 19, 2009
You really must give up seafood from the ocean. Or at least, there is an argument that says this, and you can read it here.
Wolverines. I once saw a wolverine in a state that was known to not have wolverines anymore. That was a long time ago and I think they are recognized as having returned to…
June 19, 2009
Through the filter of time ... a repost that may still be interesting to you from two years ago.
In an essentially Christian society, we expect governmental or other social organizations to disrespect non-Christian belief systems. An example of this is the widespread positioning of official…
June 19, 2009
Sadly, we hear the news that Walter Cronkite is gravely ill. Well, not so sadly really, since he appears to have had a great life and in living that life, managed to get quite old. So good for him.
I have one Cronkite story (below the fold) and only one, and I'll tell it to you below. I also…
