jlynch
Posts by this author
September 11, 2006
Western societies are losing their souls to scientific rationality and frightening believers in the developing world who still fear God, Pope Benedict told an open-air Mass in Germany yesterday.
Benedict -- on the second day of a visit to his native Bavaria-- said that spreading the word of Jesus…
September 10, 2006
College football has been back for a while but I haven't been free to post much. Last night, ASU (ranked 25th) beat Nevada 52-21 with Rudy Carpenter throwing a career-high five touchdowns. Much to be happy about after an unimpressive win the previous week against the NAU Lumberjacks. While the…
September 8, 2006
See the moon is once more risingAbove our our land of black and greenHear the rebels voice is calling"I shall not die, though you bury me!"Hear the Aunt in bed a-dying"Where is my Johnny?"Faded pictures in the hallwayWhich one of these brown ghosts is he?
Fare thee well my black haired…
September 5, 2006
Then
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02
Subtext ... we're too busy figuring out excuses for invading Iraq
Now
"History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a…
September 5, 2006
It is to our deep national shame--and ultimately it will be to the President's deep personal regret--that he has followed his Secretary of Defense down the path of trying to tie those loyal Americans who disagree with his policies--or even question their effectiveness or execution--to the Nazis of…
September 4, 2006
Denyse O'Leary is an ID shill and journalist. Today she's touting a "new evo devo spoof site". "New" as in online since at least 2001 and I remember seeing this in the late 90's. (The original "Science Made Stupid" book was from 1986, round about the time scientific creationism was morphing into…
September 3, 2006
Gabriele Amorth, Benedict XVI's senior exorcist, president of the International Association of Exorcists, and a man who claims to have exorcized over 30,000 demons, says:
"I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler - and Stalin did. Almost…
September 1, 2006
The first two weeks of the semester are usually hell, and this year they did not disappoint. Unfortunately for me, the coming week isn't going to be any easier. I have a workshop on argumentative writing to prepare, along with a presentation to the ASU Biology & Society group (on my research…
September 1, 2006
Talking In Bed
Talking in bed ought to be easiest,Lying together there goes back so far,An emblem of two people being honest.Yet more and more time passes silently.Outside, the wind's incomplete unrestBuilds and disperses clouds in the sky,And dark towns heap up on the horizon.None of this cares…
August 30, 2006
Apparently, I'm a liberal. Whoda thunk it?
Liberals represent 17 percent of the American public, and 19 percent of registered voters.
Basic DescriptionThis group has nearly doubled in proportion since 1999, Liberals now comprise the largest share of Democrats and is the single largest of the nine…
August 30, 2006
Long-time readers may remember that over the summer my SciBlings and I raised funds for K-12 science projects using DonorsChoose.org. With the start of the school year, we're hearing back from the teachers. Below are two notes I recently received:
Dear Dr. Lynch, I cannot thank you enough for…
August 29, 2006
Contrary to the claims of certain IDologists, the new director of the Vatican Observatory, Fr. Jose Funes, has stated that the rumors that Fr. Coyne was replaced because of his stance on Intelligent Design were "absolutely false" and that Coyne requested in May to be replaced (source). Kind of…
August 28, 2006
In May I reported on marmots allegedly killing cats in Washington. Now it seems the raccoons are in on the action and "a gang of raccoons that shows no fear has killed at least 10 cats and attacked several more."
But, they look so cute ...
August 28, 2006
The maintenance of intellectually sound K-12 science standards involves the work of people at many levels - scientists, educators, school board members, and the general public. I have been privileged to work with numerous great people over the years here in Arizona on just this issue, one such…
August 27, 2006
I first posted this picture on September 8th 2005 in the wake of the ineptitude shown by the administration with their handling of Hurricane Katrina. As we approach the anniversary of the hurricane's second landfall on August 29th 2005 at Louisiana, we've little to convince us that the boy king…
August 27, 2006
Some of you may have read this New York Times article about a 23 year old Korean by the name of Jeong-Hyun Lim who plays a mean version of Pachabel's Canon in D. I'm not a huge fan of electric guitar, but this is certainly impressive.
August 26, 2006
To A Child Dancing In The Wind
Dance there upon the shore;
What need have you to care
For wind or water's roar?
And tumble out your hair
That the salt drops have wet;
Being young you have not known
The fool's triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won,
Nor the best labourer dead
And all the…
August 26, 2006
Jonathan Wells is at it again. Erstwhile "developmental biologist," he has taken time off "working on a book criticizing the over-emphasis on genes in biology and medicine" to present a Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, one that is approved of by Ann Coulter, who…
August 26, 2006
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has once more taken a stance on evolution and once more illustrated his lack on knowledge:
"What I desire intensely is that, also in school programs, questions be explained, at the scientific level, opened by the theory of evolution, such as the famous question of the…
August 24, 2006
Some readers may recognize this image - BBC test card F, shown since 1967 while the station was off the air. As one BBC reporter noted, a "never-ending game. The poker-faced, Alice-banded girl locked in eternal combat with the gurning stuffed clown. It's reminiscent of the feudal knight taking on…
August 23, 2006
Things have been quiet here - start of the semester is alway hectic. Tomorrow (Thursday) sees my last class of the week, so I hope to get back on the wagon Thursday evening. As Pooh used to say "Ta Ta For Now".
August 21, 2006
John Wilkins notes that Fr. George Coyne was been removed from his post as head of the Vatican observatory. It's not clear from the news reports that I have read whether Coyne was removed due to this stance on ID, which he described as a "kind of paganism". He has been replaced by Fr. José Funes…
August 19, 2006
If, like me, your teenage years were spent listening to 80's music, (and you thus remember when MTV used to play music) this site will probably bring back memories - a listing of 80's videos available on YouTube. Prepare to walk down Amnesia Avenue.
August 18, 2006
Bought some more catfish today. I've now got two tanks going, so I decided to go with a few more South American species - three Emerald cats (Brochis splendens Castelnau, 1855) and a single pictus cat (Pimelodus pictus Steindachner, 1876). The former are in my main tank with the peppered corys (…
August 18, 2006
The Fall semester officially starts tomorrow with the Fall Convocation - a meet and greet with the incoming class and their families. Next week will, like every first week, be chaos with teaching coupled with getting students back on track with their thesis research. As always, I can't decide…
August 17, 2006
Your Friday poem ...
"Epic"
Patrick Kavanagh
I have lived in important places, times
When great events were decided, who owned
That half a rood of rock, a no-man's land
Surrounded by our pitchfork-armed claims.
I heard the Duffys shouting "Damn your soul!"
And old McCabe stripped to the waist,…
August 17, 2006
Following a tagging from Janet:
Five random quotes from here that "you think reflect who you are or what you believe." As Janet did, I just picked the first five that seemed to work ... no point in searching the whole database.
What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally…