December 27, 2008
Minnesota Atheists' "Atheists Talk" radio show.
Sunday, December 28, 2008, 9-10 a.m. Central Time
Exploring Your Inner Zebrafish
Listen this Sunday to Geneticist Dr. Perry Hackett and Evo Devo Biologist PZ Myers as they discuss the Top Life Science Stories of 2008.
Big genome stories were…
December 26, 2008
We went out to cross country ski this morning. Never got to ski because it got to warm and rainy, so we went instead downtown and eventually to the Walker to appreciate some modern art.
People do not go to the Walker museum of modern art in Minneapolis to appreciate the art as much as to affect…
December 26, 2008
This post arose as a convoluted experiment in internet perception, curious motivations, and blogging ethics. Almost none of the objectives of this post were met, but it does include three photographs of sexy naked ladies, so you probably do not want to go there. Don't. Click. Here.
December 26, 2008
Children from low-income families in the US and Britian are disadvantaged in school, according to research just now coming out from the University's Centre for Market and Public Organisation. From a press release:
...According to the study, children from low-income backgrounds are raised in…
December 26, 2008
This is one of those cases where our language gets the logic of biology backwards (or otherwise wrong) and at the same time potentially causes inappropriate human responses. Also, this approach to "morning sickness" is dripping with adaptationism. Which is good. Got a problem with that?
Have a…
December 26, 2008
One of my most widely read posts became widely read mainly by being linked to by a very popular blog. I'm not normally including such posts in this retrospective Year in Review, for obvious reasons. However, in this case, because I think this post is good for you, I am going to send you there…
December 25, 2008
This Year in Review item was not written by me, but rather, Guest Blogger Stephanie Zvan of Almost Diamonds.
...Once again, we discover that there are differences between bloggers. What hasn't been borne out is the idea that writing about things other than science requires that there be less…
December 25, 2008
"I don't mind that they work over at the factory, but I don't want one of those lactose intolerant people moving in next door..." or "Some of my best friends are lactose intolerant. But I sure don't want my sister marrying one...."
Say what? (this is a Year in Review post)
December 25, 2008
An out of this world Year in Review item:
One day, the Emperor sentenced a man to be beheaded, and the man was executed immediately. However, it was not entirely clear that this was an act of justice or an act of anger. The historian recorded the event:
"The Emperor, on becoming angry at so and so…
December 25, 2008
Another Year in Review Item:
"I don't think creationists are stupid. I wish people would not attribute that to me, because I simply don't believe it. In fact, most of the active creationists are pretty darn smart."
Who said that?
December 25, 2008
Did you get a gift card for a bookstore from Santa? Consider this new item (Thanks Virgil Samms for the tip!): Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book: Revived and Illustrated
A cookbook based on notes by Charles Darwin's wife is to be published.
Mrs Charles Darwin's Recipe Book features more than 40…
December 25, 2008
There IS a conspiracy ...
If you analyze the language that is bandied about by the creationist children and parents, it is clear that they are all on the same page. They are getting their information from their local creationist group, or their pastor, or particular internet sites. If fighting…
December 24, 2008
From whence the humble chicken? Gallus gallus is a domesticated chicken-like bird (thus, the name "chicken") that originates in southeast Asia. Ever since Darwin we've known that the chicken originated in southeast Asia, although the exact details of which one or more of several possible jungle…
December 24, 2008
It is common knowledge that most Americans are creationists, and prefer creationist stories of human origins and evolution in general over the findings of evolutionary biology. But this is only true if you ask the questions a certain way, and a new study shows very different results.
Year In Review…
December 23, 2008
I like to cook, and I am good at it and know something about it. So I therefore am somewhat attracted to certain information streams including, for instance, Lynne Rossetto Kasper's "The Splendid Table" on National Public Radio. (Although this show comes out of the Twin Cities, Kasper and I have…
December 23, 2008
It has long been known that incest is not as bad as you think. Anti-cousin marriage laws are like prohibition laws and blue laws. They arise from a Christian conservative movement that swept Western Civilization from the late 18th century through the 19th century, up to about the time of the…
December 23, 2008
This is from a news report of a paper I've not yet seen:
More than two-thirds of volunteers in the research study had to be stopped from administering 150 volt shocks of electricity, despite hearing a person's cries of pain, professor Jerry M. Burger concluded in a study published in the January…
December 23, 2008
Most of the work related to the ongoing recount in the Minnesota Senate race ended week when the canvassing board went through almost all of the challenged ballots, assigning them to either Franken, Coleman, or "other." Many ballot challenges issued earlier by one campaign or the other were…
December 22, 2008
The following is actually a Facebook group, but now I'm turning it into a sort of internet meme. I believe this is an accretitive list: People have added to it. You can tell by some of the redundancies. I myself have edited it slightly.
I was born and raised in Upstate New York, but lived in "…
December 22, 2008
Last night, I had a horrible dream... and no, this isn't the famous "I Had a Dream" speech. Frankly, I think that one could use a rest.
No, in my dream it was 12 noon, so naturally I tuned in for my daily dose of conservative news and commentary from the greatest political talk show host in the…
December 21, 2008
The largest waves in the Pacific Northwest are getting higher by seven centimeters a year, posing an increasing threat to property close to the shore. And the strange part is: Scientists aren't sure why.
...
"Over a decadal scale, the increases in wave height ... have significant impacts on both…
December 21, 2008
Drillers accidentally hit a pocket of molten rock underneath a working geothermal energy field in Hawaii, a lucky break for geologists that could allow them to map the geological plumbing that created everything we know as land.
The unprecedented discovery could act as a "magma observatory,"…
December 21, 2008
Read the background on this video at BirdLife.
December 21, 2008
From feministing.com via Ana
December 21, 2008
"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," ... [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.]
"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," He said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in [his opponent's] position...
Oh. No, wait, sorry. I…
December 21, 2008
"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," ... [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.]
"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," He said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in [his opponent's] position...
Oh. No, wait, sorry. I…
December 21, 2008
"Yesterday the voters spoke. We prevailed," ... [my opponent could opt to waive the recount.]
"It's up to him whether such a step is worth the tax dollars it will take to conduct," He said, telling reporters he would "step back" if he were in [his opponent's] position...
Oh. No, wait, sorry. I…
December 21, 2008
This, I've gotta try:
Build a three-screen workstation for $230 or less. ... This involves taking the video output of a laptop and running through a widget that gives you two (or four, for a bit more money) additonal screen, which, in turn, you've bought really cheap somewhere.
There are open…
December 19, 2008
The details are not yet worked out, but the Bell Museum in Minneapolis, thanks to the inspiration and efforts of DNA artist and Twin Cities' answer to Ira Flatow, Lynn Fellman, and Bell Museum events organizer, Twin Cities Celebrity and spectacular Cafe Scientifique Host Shanai Matteson, will have…
December 19, 2008
Internet connectivity between Europe, the Middle East and Asia is reportedly seriously affected by a series of cable cut.
Jonathan Wright - director of wholesale products at Interoute which manages part of the optical fibre network - told the BBC that the effects of the break would be felt for…
