April 10, 2008
The Skeptic's Circle Number 84 is HERE.
April 10, 2008
Yes, and it probably should. The bill requires that the home schooled students receive instruction from qualified individuals, and that the students be registered with the state. Both are reasonable requirements for any educational program, home schooling or otherwise.
But this is considered…
April 10, 2008
The story goes like this: Paul Douglas was a back-room meteorologist for a local Twin Cities news show. He was one of the guys in the back that actually predicted the weather, which was then delivered by the pretty boy/girl weathermen/women on camera. One day the main weatherman was out of town…
April 10, 2008
Things are happening exactly as I predicted...(Expelled! The Movie To Be Pulled From Theaters Following Myers/Dawkins-Gate Screwup)
The movie "Expelled!" with Ben Stein (you may have heard of it) includes a segment consisting of the animation of the inside workings of a cell. It is said to look a…
April 10, 2008
A letter from Steven Ballmer to Yahoo:
Dear Members of the Board:
It has now been more than two months since we made our proposal to acquire Yahoo! at a 62% premium to its closing price on January 31, 2008, the day prior to our announcement. Our goal in making such a generous offer was to create…
April 9, 2008
Recently published research shows that individual humans will be nicer (more altruistic) when there is the possibility that the recipient of an act can respond verbally. The paper, "Anticipated verbal feedback induces altruistic behavior" is published in Evolution and Human Behavior for March.…
April 9, 2008
This is a brief overview of one school's foray into the OpenSource operating system Linux.
April 9, 2008
From FOX:
After seeing a new non-fiction film starring Comedy Central's Ben Stein, you may not only be able to win his money, but also his career.
Stein is that whiny little guy with the monotone voice that makes him seem funny and an unlikely "character" for TV appearances. But that career may be…
April 9, 2008
This is an argument from Steve Shives:
There are many, many things I find dubious about the practice of parents homeschooling their children. I wonder how a mother or father who has not been educated as a teacher, who in many cases has not even been to college her/himself, can possibly provide…
April 9, 2008
The Blog Carnival Four Stone Hearth, Vol. 38: The Early Bird Special Edition is now up at A Very Remote Period.
April 9, 2008
Just for fun:
April 9, 2008
Please Visit Expelled Exposed ... the National Center for Science Education's official response to the Ben Stein movie Expelled .. you will find this collection of resources helpful!!!!!!
April 9, 2008
The atheists are on the march like never before. Why? Because creation is also being discussed like never before and they are worried! This weeklong series of lectures and activities will equip you and your children with the necessary tools and information to dramatically affect this world for…
April 9, 2008
Cheeta, yoiu may not realize this, but it was YOU who got me interested in Africa and Anthropolology! Happy 76th birhday! You don't look a day over 50 or so.
And no, I don't say that to all the chimps, just some of them.
From Wikipedia:
Cheeta aka Jiggs (probably born in 1932) is a male…
April 9, 2008
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing edited by Richard Dawkins is now in pre-release state ... so you can order it with a discount from Amazon. Publisher's description:
Boasting almost one hundred pieces, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is a breathtaking celebration of the finest…
April 9, 2008
Monique Davis!
Hey, I didn't know Abe Lincoln was an Atheist. Cool.
Hat Tip: Pharyngula
April 8, 2008
Procavia capensis
April 8, 2008
Developmental dyslexia is a disorder affecting as many as 17% of school children. This neurological disorder involves an impairment in reading skills, and has been found to be "associated with weak reading-related activity in left temporoparietal and occipitotemporal regions" in English speakers…
April 8, 2008
Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU - BirdLife in Germany) is protesting vehemently against the planned destruction of Lake Constance's only colony of Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo.
"It is hard to believe that Freiburg local authority intends to commit such a destructive act,…
April 8, 2008
This is a photo of a Tympanuchus cupido male drumming away on the lek to find a mate. The lek is the traditional breeding ground of the prairie chicken (and many other animals uses lek's) on which the males display, and to which the females travel to pick a male with whom to mate.
This bird,…
April 8, 2008
A must read for those in the midsts of a decision about their operating system.
All your choices have their technical merits but, you really shouldn't select an operating system based solely on it technical merits. You should instead select one that best suits your usage case. To that end I have…
April 8, 2008
Do you know what the Monty Hall effect is? Let me explain.
OK, I'm Monty Hall and you are a hapless game show guest. I show you three doors and tell you that behind one door is a nice brand new car, and behind each of the other two doors is a goat.
You get to pick one of the door. Say you…
April 8, 2008
Iandthebird #72 is at Ecobirder Wow, this is a good one, and coming to us from Minnesota no less...
Festival of The Trees #22 is at Arvores vivas em Nossas Vidas.
Learning in the Great Outdoors Blog Carnival: Environmental Education Week Edition is at The Heard of Harmony
Zooillogix has the…
April 8, 2008
Whence public access policy, and why?
Flashback. The year is some time in the 1980s. The place, southern Indiana. The setting: A meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists.
We are being given a presentation, in the business meeting, by a publisher. The publisher points out that…
April 8, 2008
In a move that now sends the deceptively named "academic freedom" bill to the Florida Senate floor, the Senate judiciary committee voted 6-3 to approve it. It looks like some Democrats can see the potential (almost guaranteed) lawsuit pitfalls to come, but the bill marches on nonetheless. I'll have…
April 8, 2008
I've not been good about posting current carnivals over the last week or so ... thus, some catching up:
Scientiae Carnival: Fools and Foolishness at Women in Science
The Second Carnival Of Mathematics: The Math Geeks are Coming to Town! at Good Math Bad Math
Tangled Bank #102 at Further Thoughts…
April 8, 2008
Tim Pawlenty has demonstrated, in many ways and on many occasions, that he is the worst governor the State of Minnesota has ever had. The most recent proof was his line item veto of funding for the Bell Museum of Natural History, and his line item veto of the funding necessary to further develop…
April 8, 2008
Florida Senate Bill S2692 is up for discussion and a decision to pass to the floor by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
BELOW YOU WILL FIND LINKS TO EMAIL EACH MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE (except one, for whom I provide a phone number).
I'd say you don't need to be a Florida resident to let them…
