June 3, 2008
Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (DIY Science) is a new book by Robert Thompson. The premise is simple. The coolest thing in the world is a home chemistry set like this one from Gilbert, which combined both chemistry and microscopy:
Chemistry Set Combine the…
June 2, 2008
Look at the following image.
Look in particular at squares A and B. A appears to be dark grey, B appears to be white or whitish. But in fact, they are the same exact color.
Don' t believe it? Me neither! Or at least, I didn't until I went ahead and deleted most everything that is not A or B…
June 2, 2008
My student who claims to be at Philosophy Camp just sent me this video of what goes on there. I'm not sure if I believe it:
June 2, 2008
Thank you Joshua Zelinsky for pointing out my error regarding the Florida Democratic Party. Yes, SuperKufr, you may not like the sound of the word "Punish" but as a Democrat (Active, Matt) I do.
Throw the slob into the gravel pit. Then let the Floridians vote. Oh, and Hillary Campaign Guy?…
June 2, 2008
Surveyor 1 Lunar Lander On June 2, 1966, a robot alien sent from the United States landed on The Moon. This was the first US "soft landing" on Moon (the Soviets had a previous soft landing, known as Luna 9, four months earlier).
Surveyor transmitted 11,237 photographs to earth.
June 2, 2008
[Hat tip: Bunny]
June 1, 2008
A video that purportedly shows a living, breathing space alien will be shown to the news media Friday in Denver.
"It shows an extraterrestrial's head popping up outside of a window at night, looking in the window, that's visible through an infrared camera," he said. The alien is about 4 feet tall…
June 1, 2008
Or should I say "Hysterical Woman OR South LA Looters"
I spotted a video on Ed Brayton's site (Hillary Supporter Comes Unhinged showing a woman at the recent Rules Committee meeting being very hysterical about the outcome of that meeting. The money quote from her tirade is
.throwing the election…
June 1, 2008
Dinosaur tracks are reported for the first time on the Arabian Peninsula. These new tracks are located in Yemen. This find is interesting and important for several reasons.
You can place all the dinosaur remains from Arabia on one table, which is what they used to say about human fossil before…
June 1, 2008
Or, is the Clinton Campaign painting that picture as a threat?
Are women being pushed out of the Democratic Party by latent sexism bubbling to the surface everywhere?
Or are women not strong democrats? (It has been argued that women elected Bush, twice.)
Or is this all a Vast Right Wing…
June 1, 2008
The Party's rules committee has met, deliberated, and decided to seat Florida and Michigan, but with only half a vote each. This is an odd compromise that serves to preserve and ruin democracy at the same time. it is a nineteenth century compromise that may be viewed as an anti-Clinton move, but…
May 30, 2008
water spout Check out this series of photos of a water spout up on Leech Lake, Minnesota.
These were shot by Roger Underwood, of Ames, Iowa.
May 30, 2008
Bill Thompson's Young Birder's Guide The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guides) is a book that I highly recommend for kids around seven to 14 years of age. (The publishers suggest a narrower age range but I respectfully disagree.)
This is a new offering…
May 29, 2008
Is this funny, or is it sexist? Probably depends on who you plan to vote for...
[Hat tip: GrrlScientist]
May 29, 2008
Mark Madden ESPN shock jock jock Mark Madden made the following remarks on his radio show the other day:
I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated.
...…
May 29, 2008
Adam and Eve with a couple of pterosaurs in the Garden of Eden before The Fall The whole issue of LOL Pterosaurs came up (here and here), so of course, I went looking for them. In the process I found something even funnier. This is a web site at Objective Ministries on pterosaurs in the bible…
May 29, 2008
I and the Bird # 76 is up at Wanderin' Weeta (with Waterfowl and Weeds)
May 28, 2008
Photograph of Francis S. Collins Just passing along the details from Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is losing its gene guru: Dr. Francis Collins, who helped lead the breakthrough unraveling of the human genetic code -- and found common ground between the belief in God and…
May 28, 2008
This just in from NASA:
This image shows a ghostly ring extending seven light-years across around the corpse of a massive star. The collapsed star, called a magnetar, is located at the exact center of this image. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope imaged the mysterious ring around magnetar SGR 1900+14…
May 28, 2008
In Boy Scouts, a person must agree to sign a 'Declaration of Religious Belief,' in which he must agree that "only a person who acknowledges his duty to God can be the best kind of citizen".
Freecamp thought is an alternative where you don't have to sell your soul ... which is good, because you don…
May 28, 2008
Special Events; Summer Camps; Exhibits' Field Trips; Nature Play; Nature Tots
Read all about it:
BioBlitz
Friday, June 13, 5 p.m. through Saturday, June 14, 5 p.m.
BioBlitz is part scientific survey, part community event, and part festival. This year, BioBlitz participants will help survey…
May 28, 2008
Every few minutes I get an email from NASA telling me which button they've pressed on the Phoenix Robot, recently landed on Mars. And I'm only slightly exaggerating. OK, I'm exaggerating a lot.
The latest: Phoenix has been commanded to move its arm:
Scientists leading NASA's Phoenix Mars…
May 28, 2008
... But don't panic. Apparently, this is normal.
It turns out that bacteria living at the bottom of the sea are far more abundant and diverse than scientists had previously thought. These bacteria appear to be consuming the planet's oceanic crust. This raises several interesting questions…
May 28, 2008
Encephalon - 46th Edition
Grand Rounds, 4.36
Carnival of Political Punditry - May 25, 2008
Carnival of the Liberals #65: Skepticism and Politics
Gene genie #32 - googling the genie
Carnival of the Green #129
Carnival Of Homeschooling #126
May 28, 2008
Lead What causes some individuals to be more violent than others? Obviously, being male is a risk factor for violence and more broadly for criminal behavior. The behavior of one's parents or other adult caretakers, as one is growing up, has been implicated in some studies as well. Poverty is…
May 27, 2008
This:
Is a picture of Phoenix landing on Mars, taken from above.
One always wonders where the camera operator is during these things....
PASADENA, Calif. -- A telescopic camera in orbit around Mars caught a view of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander suspended from its parachute during the lander's…
May 27, 2008
A very large Azhdarchid shown with a human for scale. Azhdarchids were pterosaurs (flying reptile-like creatures) of the Cretaceous. These included some gigantic critters with up to a 10 meter wing span, but also some little ones (2.5 meters or so). Most reconstructions of these flying animals…
May 27, 2008
The 92nd Carnival of the Godless is Here at Jyunri Kankei
May 27, 2008
The Answers in Genesis Creation Museum of Kentucky is planing to expand. Some of the expansion will be internal ... the construction of additional kiosks. Some will be external, including the construction of a playground. All of the planned expansion efforts will be targeted towards children.…
