May 18, 2009
Scientific American names the 10 most important leaders in science and technology
... a press release from the National Center for Science Education
OAKLAND, CA May 18, 2009
Barack Obama and Bill Gates are in good company. The NCSE's Dr. Eugenie C. Scott joins Obama and Gates as members of the…
May 18, 2009
Every place is different, and some places are more different than others.
... So we're channel surfing and working at the same time ... Amanda is working on her Transitive Phosphorescent Anisotopy or whatever the heck it is she's working on, and I'm messing around with making networks work, and…
May 16, 2009
Sexual topics are largely taboo in China, so as a result, many people walk around not knowing what they really need to know about this important topic. Recognizing this problem, the Chinese Government has decided to build a huge, totally OTT sex theme park. Presumably all Chinese citizens will…
May 15, 2009
Just in case you need one...
No, this does not mean that this blog is going that way. But a lot of blogs are, so this may be useful.
May 15, 2009
You will of course be supplying your own drinks and party food, as we are a strictly non-profit institution. The party is for the launch of the new blog Quiche Moraine.
When should this party be? Where should it be?
Now is your opportunity to let us know what you think. We hijacked the thread…
May 15, 2009
I hope you always, daily, check out Bora's list of new and exciting on PLoS.
The Carnival of Space is here.
Please submit your science posts to Scientia Pro Publica
May 15, 2009
It was May, 1992, and I was in a stupor of post thesis-completion cortisol letdown and alcohol-induced lethargy, and Mark Pagel was talking to me as I slouched in a large comfortable chair in the Peabody Museum's smoking lounge.
"It's obvious what they need to do," he was saying, and I could tell…
May 15, 2009
Pierre Curie (photo from wikipedia) ... husband of Madam Dr. Maria Sklodowska-Curie, and famous scientist in his own right. Curie was an early explorer of the method of crystallography, and studied electromagnetic energy including "radioactivity."
May 15, 2009
More proof that Republican = Loon. And I'm not talking about birds.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
May 15, 2009
Important note: This 'gaff' (=offensive remark) was made in a private meeting but 'got out' via Twitter, and eventually nailed down by a blogger.
Welcome to the 21st century.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
May 15, 2009
Jason Rosenhouse, of the Evolution Blog, has written a book and it is now seemingly available for pre-order. It is The Monty Hall Problem: The Remarkable Story of Math's Most Contentious Brain Teaser. The book was recently reviewed very favorably, and you can learn more about that here.
I've not…
May 14, 2009
Maria Reiche was an archaeologist and mathematician who worked on the Nazca lines in Peru. Originally, she worked with Paul Kosok, who discovered the remarkable drawings, and starting in the mid 1940s, Reiche mapped in the drawings. She believed that the lines represented a calendar and a sort of…
May 14, 2009
But if you must know ....
May 14, 2009
This is very funny (as you might expect). Chad Orzel posted it because of the references to CERN's super duper collider. (Go see Chad's commentary.)
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
M - Th 11p / 10c
Tom Hanks
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes
Economic Crisis
Political Humor…
May 14, 2009
Or, putting it another way,
"Why does our energy system face security and environmental challenges?"
Please visit ScienceBlog's new blog, The Energy Grid, which is one of those shorter term issue-driven blogs we do at Sb nwo and then.
This particular iteration is moderated by Jonas Meckling, from…
May 14, 2009
Why does a soldier throw himself on a hand grenade to save the lives of a half-dozen unrelated fellow soldiers? Why does someone run into a burning building they happen to be passing to save a child they don't know? From a Darwinian perspective these seem to be enigmatic behaviors that would "…
May 14, 2009
Readers, as I look back at the last TWO years (as I did with one year, yesterday) I find that May 2007 was ALSO a slow month for my blogging, even though job related effects could not have been at play (my job has changed since then, IIRC).
So whereas yesterday was Stephanie Zvan Day, I declare…
May 13, 2009
First, the video, then the discussion:
Sean claims that 'cat' is short for 'concatenate' ... which is what I always thought (I'm sure 'cat' is 'concatinate' in at least one relatively common computer language other than bash).
If you man cat you do indeed get a statement that says "cat -…
May 13, 2009
American politicians, some parents, and a few others have previously expressed the concern that learning more than one language muddles the mind. This is, of course, absurd, and it is hard to believe why anyone really thought this. In fact, it could be said that having more than one language…
May 13, 2009
It would appear that Rocket Scientist Steve Jurvetson has moved into Photo Synthesis, the photogenic science blog. Check it out!
May 13, 2009
Unlocking the mysteries of cups ...
May 13, 2009
The 'Atiras'
The first asteroid ever discovered that has an orbit completely inside the Earth's, found by an MIT Lincoln Laboratory telescope in 2003 (with multiple exposures marked in red), has been formally named Atira by its discoverers. Seven more such inner-Earth orbit (IEO) asteroids have…
May 12, 2009
Most of you already know this, but just in case:
May 12, 2009
Not all proprietary software is actually evil. However, very few people who prefer proprietary software over OpenSource software will admit how evil it can be. So this is like having two societies. In one, by convention and social norms we don't hit the kids. In the other, we spank the kids now…
May 12, 2009
The Spirit Mars Robot is getting stuck in the dust, but it is still sending back data. But mostly about dust.
From NASA:
PASADENA, Calif. -- The five wheels that still rotate on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit have been slipping severely in soft soil during recent attempts to drive, sinking…
May 12, 2009
Attorneys for Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) have asked the Federal Election Commission for permission to use campaign funds to pay his legal bills stemming from allegations that a Coleman confidante funneled improper payments to the lawmaker via his wife.
Coleman and his wife have denied any…
May 12, 2009
I think this is how my wife does it. I'm not sure. All I know is that every morning she's gone and I'm laying somewhere unconscious.
How To Put On A Bra 101 - The funniest home videos are here
Hat Tip: Miss Cellania
May 12, 2009
The answer will shock and amaze you.
At the moment, we don't officially have a state level Democratic Party, but rather, a hybrid known as the Democratic Farm Labor (DFL) party. But there used to be a Democratic Party, and it provided the state with a total of four governors. The Farm Labor party…
May 12, 2009
I always liked Jesse. I didn't agree with about half of his policies, but I did not have the automated lefty knee jerk reaction against him that almost everyone I know had. Hey, he did after all, beat Norm Coleman in that governor's race!
Of course, he also beat my candidate, Humphrey. But in so…
