jlynch
Posts by this author
November 22, 2006
This illustration of a rather jovial looking Bradypus tridactylus (three-toed sloth) comes from Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber's Die Saugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen ['Mammals Illustrated after Nature with Descriptions', 1774, Vol I II & III].
(HT to…
November 22, 2006
David H. Price writes:
In San Jose, on Saturday evening, November 18, 2006, the rank and file members of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) attending the Association's business meeting approved resolutions condemning the occupation of Iraq and the use of torture. ...
The first…
November 22, 2006
The U.N. is reporting that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October and the AP notes that this toll, the highest monthly so far, "is sure to be eclipsed when November's dead are counted." October also saw the death of 106 US soldiers, two from the UK and two others. 767 US soldiers were wounded.
November 22, 2006
Others have noticed that John Horgan has presented his own personal list of the ten "worst science books." Many of his choices aren't science books per se and he obviously ignores his own excerable The End of Science which was, frankly, drivel that brought much joy to postmodernist critics during…
November 20, 2006
Friend Fruit asks:
Has any of those people [Ed mentioned], Dawkins, Myers, et. al. advocated the elimination of religion and religious believers by stoning, disembowlment, burning at the stake, or other forms of auto de fe?
I do agree that perhaps Ed's original phrasing is a little inflammatory…
November 20, 2006
Ed Brayton writes something that I have suspected for some time now:
To be honest, I'm rapidly becoming convinced that there are two very different groups involved in fighting against the ID public relations campaign to distort science education. The distinction between the two groups is that one…
November 20, 2006
From here. The top ten are:
1. and 2. The Voyage of the Beagle (1845) and The Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin [tie]
3. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) by Isaac Newton (1687)
4. Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems by…
November 19, 2006
We bought one of these for my daughter yesterday - a Venus Fly Trap, Dionaea muscipula. Of course, the one we bought doesn't look as good, probably due to mishandling by the retailer. I hadn't realized that Dionaea only naturally grows in southern North Carolina and our big problem is finding a…
November 19, 2006
Bob Henderson is an 80 year old retired electrical engineer who thinks "Albert Einstein was a dunce." So convinced is he of this that he has written a third book on the subject: Einstein and The-Emperor's-New-Clothes Syndrome: The Exposé of a Charlatan. Notes the AZ Republic:
Henderson was, and is…
November 18, 2006
It is Saturday and that can only mean college football. It should mean grading as I got papers yesterday, but I like to prioritize.
Obviously everyone is looking forward to the Michigan v Ohio State game. I have only one thing to say .... GO BLUE! Apart from my connections to Michigan, I developed…
November 18, 2006
I haven't done one of these in a while ... this week's AaSb asks "Who would you nominate for Scientist Laureate, if such a position existed?"
The answer that immediately sprang to mind was Ed Wilson (but then I noticed Razib mentioned him). So treat this as a second vote for Wilson. Frankly, after…
November 17, 2006
Larry Moran says it well:
I am not a Darwinist, just as most of my colleagues in the Department of Physics are not Newtonists, and most of my friends who study genetics are not Mendelists. All three of these terms refer to the ideas of famous men (Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Gregor Mendel) who…
November 17, 2006
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Carl Sandburg
November 16, 2006
Todays featured photo on Wikipedia is a classic - "Migrant Mother" (1936). Read the full story here.
November 15, 2006
Buzzcocks, 1978
I was ten ... and loved this one.
And while I'm at it ...
November 15, 2006
Birdwatchers rushed excitedly to see a swallow that hasn't been seen in Britain for 20 years - then got a nasty surprise when eaten by a hawk in front of their eyes.
The twitchers had been watching the red-rumped swallow for 20 minutes when it stopped to rest on a TV aerial.
It was then that the…
November 13, 2006
RPM writes that "they're not as stupid as we thought they were."
This seems apt:
November 12, 2006
One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the…
November 12, 2006
Carl Buell, a.k.a. Olduvai George, is back after an eight month hiatus. Wander on over
November 11, 2006
The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution Saturday that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out of the territory. Whoda thunk it.
November 11, 2006
Wilkins had hit a good one here: the Evolution Crackpot Index. Rumor has it that the denizens of Uncommon Descent, ISCID and suchlike score in the high thousands.
November 11, 2006
Let's start with some good news. ASU's ranked (#13) women's basketball team took their season-opener 87-60 against Nebraska. The men open their season (under new coach, Herb Sendek) on Monday against Northern Arizona.
Back to football. The Sun Devils (5-4, 2-4 Pac-10) play Washington State (6-4, 4…
November 11, 2006
The National Gallery has reportedly bought Thomas Eakins' painting "The Gross Clinic" for $68 million.
Update: On December 21, 2006, a group of donors agreed to pay the sum in order to keep the painting in Philadelphia. It will be displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania…
November 11, 2006
It has been a while since I posted some science-related material (October 22nd to be precise ... you can blame the recent election if you like), so here goes ...
The little yellow dots you seem above are a series of minor earthquakes that occurred last week in southern California, overlayed on…
November 10, 2006
I'm wondering where my regular visitors come from. I know about my regular commenters, but am interested in those regulars who may not comment, but still regularly read the blog either by browser or RSS feed. So, if you are a regular reader (defined by visiting at least weekly), can you wander over…
November 10, 2006
Outgoing Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin thinks that the upcoming Microsoft Vista "is the most secure system that's available, and it's certainly the most secure system that we've shipped." The latter, of course, is likely to be true, but the former ... not so much. As proof, Allchin offers the…
November 10, 2006
On this Veterans Day, it is worth remembering that it started as the American version of Armistice Day, the day that marks the end of World War I (the "War to End All Wars"). It has subsequently become a memorial for living rather than dead veterans.
Dulce Et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old…