retrospectacle
Posts by this author
April 2, 2007
The first "smart" robotic micro-drill has been used on a handful of patients in the UK, with very positive outcomes. It was developed by Dr. Peter Brett from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Aston Univ. and first used in surgery by an ear, nose, and throat doctor who found the drill…
March 30, 2007
The world's biggest flying parrot is the beautiful Hyacinth Macaw, a bluish-purple macaw with yellow around their eyes and mouth. I say "flying parrot" because the ground-bound Kakapo can sometimes weigh the same or a bit more. However, the Hyacinth also is perceived as bigger due to its extremely…
March 29, 2007
When my family moved to South Carolina from Florida, we looked at houses in the cities of Simpsonville and Clinton. We, looks like it was a good thing we settled in Simpsonville. Just take a look at whats going on in Clinton....
Now, what I remembered of Clinton was beautiful old antebellum houses…
March 29, 2007
Poor Al Gore, no good deed goes unpunished in his quest for climate change awareness. Only a few days ago he went before the Senate on a hearing on global warming. During which, climate change's biggest political foe, Senator James Inhofe and Gore argued heatedly.
Now, the Republicans are moving…
March 28, 2007
Hard to know what to make of this, or even if what they propose--to prenatally interfere with sexual orientation--is possible.
Mr. Mohler [president of a Baptist seminary] said in the article that scientific research "points to some level of biological causation" for homosexuality.
That suggestion…
March 27, 2007
An interesting article ("Why You Rarely See Your Professors In Church") which appeared in the University of Michigan student paper was forwarded to me by its author, Kingson Man. Its tagline went something like this:
Studies show that professors are three times more likely to be atheists or…
March 27, 2007
UM Hospital has an excellent cancer facility, and as breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, many cases of breast cancer are treated here at UM. However, many post-operative women choose not to go through breast reconstruction. Why?
A study here at UM (Comprehensive Cancer Center…
March 26, 2007
Not sure if there's any other watchers of the show "24" who read, but me and my friends usually get together on Mondays to watch it and enjoy some home cooking. We take turns cooking, and its my week this week. I was trying to think up something to whip up, and came across this website: Cooking for…
March 26, 2007
Remember Bush's speech last year where he denounced "human-animal hybrids"? Well, I don't know about you, but I about fell off the couch laughing. But now it looks like his worst fear has come to pass: a chimeric sheep with 15% human cells, engineered with the hope of animal organs one day being…
March 24, 2007
Check out the latest "I Am A Scientist" podcasts, which every week interviews a scientist about their research topic. Last week, I was a guest, and this week's guest is Jane Lawrence. She discusses two types of imaging techniques: real-time fMRI and fMRI of the spinal cord. Check it out!
March 24, 2007
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream has been known for both delicious treats (Cherry Garcia....mmmmm) as well political activism. They have a fun application on their site which allows you to slice up the budget as YOU see fit. What are your priorities?
Whats even more fun (well, kinda) is that you get to…
March 23, 2007
After gazing at the cute owlet all day, I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be fun to have a pet owl, like a pet parrot?" Now deep down I figured that was a horrible idea on a LOT of levels (and turns out, yeah, its a BAD idea). But I'm sure that with the huge popularity of the Harry Potter movies, quite…
March 23, 2007
I'm going to take a bit of a departure for parrot-related news this week to focus on owls, which are solitary, nocturnal birds of prey. Recently a very rare species of owl, the long-whiskered owlet, was observed in the wild in Peru by an American ornithological team. The owlet, first discovered in…
March 23, 2007
Sooooo, turns out that pop/soda/Coke *does* rot your teeth. Um, now they listen? Where was this press release during the 1989 school year when a burgeoning nerdlet conducted (not so) scientific examinations into THIS VERY FACT?? Its a conspiracy I tell you!
Interestingly, the high-falutin'…
March 22, 2007
I've probably had dozens of sinus infections. This is partially related to my genes; I got some good ones, but sinus problems and severe allergies run in my family. I ended up with both, with the result being a cycle of allergies triggering infections. In fact, I've got one now (receding thanks to…
March 21, 2007
He's got cunning and perseverance. And look how proud he is at the end!
March 21, 2007
Sparkles and bunny ears are fun.
(More pictures below the fold.....)
A tiny beer mug, yet still so functional.
Green beer only tastes good on St. Paddys.
Jello shots, anyone?
My friends are weird.
I'm not very good at quarters.
March 20, 2007
Sorry for the lack of blogging or comment response, but me and my sinuses have not been the best of friends lately. I think it *may* have had something to do with St. Paddy's Day (so my doc says) but I think thats just utter nonsense. Obviously.
Anyway, its been me, Zithromax, Gaterade, and lots…
March 19, 2007
Which are you? Which am I??!?
My PC, a 2 year old bottom-of-the-line Averatec is on life support. As in, I gotta start planning its funeral quite soon. I can't say that our life together has been blissful, or that I'm even sad to see it go. And if you wanna know the truth (shhhh), I may have even…
March 19, 2007
So, I'm trying to learn Mandarin right now, in order to be able to communicate when I go visit my parents in China. I'm learning from a student here at UM, for a modest per hour wage. However apparently some people think that all those tones and characters will just jump into your brain if you…
March 18, 2007
A few days ago I was tagged by Perfectly Reasonable Deviations as a "Thinking Blogger" which apparently comes with a nifty picture and the responsibility to tag five more bloggers for the award. The tough part is *just* nominating five blogs, I think I could easily rattle off 25 which deserve the…
March 18, 2007
The podcast I did with Nick (Neurocontrarian) is up now, here. Just a warning, its silly, but check it out anyway. Thanks Nick!
March 16, 2007
It is not uncommon for a small population of exotic parrot species to flourish in a new niche in the United States. My old home in Sarasota, Florida had a large population of lories and Amazons which lived wild, making their homes in holes in palm trees in my neighborhood. Legend was that an…
March 16, 2007
I've never really talked about religion on this blog before, at least not directly. But there's trouble a-brewin' at ScienceBlogs which has worked more than a few of our ranks into tizzies of knotted panties and carpal tunnel blogging. I figure this is as good a time as any to tackle the topic,…
March 15, 2007
Emotions have been running high on this thread, and the comments piling up and becoming unmanageable. So, if you'd like to continue the discussion, please do it here.
March 15, 2007
I have weird music tastes, which sometimes makes it hard to find new artists that really knock my socks off. I've often wondered why no one creates a musical "family tree" of related bands and music, and I've found some passable attempts, but none so useful as Pandora.
The point of the website is…
March 15, 2007
Would you rather have a completely happy life, or a meaningful life? And are the two mutually exclusive? The topics, as well as recent neuroscience research, is addressed in a fascinating podcast over at Governomics. The podcast is here, with the transcript here.
As mentioned in the podcast,…
March 14, 2007
It could be a LOT worse.
You'll die from a Heart Attack during Sex.
Your a lover not a fighter but sadly, in the act of making love your heart will stop. But what a way to go.
'How will you die?' at QuizGalaxy.com
As seen on Sorting Out Science.
March 14, 2007
Like most nerdlets, the concept of pi has always fascinated me: a number, yet undefinable, infinite. Of course, there was also the supurb movie Pi by Aronofsky, which only furthered its cult status. So rejoice pi-lovers, for today is Pi Approximation Day. This day is also Einstein's birthday and…