Mike Dunford
tqa
Posts by this author
April 16, 2009
After reading the torture memos, this quote seems somewhat apropos:
The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.
Douglas AdamsLast Chance to See
April 16, 2009
I just finished reading the torture memos that were released today. I cannot remember ever in my life being as ashamed of my country as I am at this moment. The contents of the memos are so insanely wrong that I'd like to believe that they're fiction, but they're clearly not. While I understand…
April 16, 2009
This one falls into the "silly-looking things we do in the name of science" category:
This picture was taken when I was helping a fellow grad student out with her project. She was banding and taking a blood sample from the Laysan Albatross that had been sitting on that nest. My job was to…
April 15, 2009
Because it's not too late to file yet if you're not on the East Coast:
I AM DEATH, NOT TAXES. I TURN UP ONLY ONCE.
Terry PratchettFeet of Clay
April 15, 2009
Portion of the personal library of Carl von LinnéLinnean Society, London
April 15, 2009
GrrlScientist and I are typically on the same side of issues, but this time that's not the case. She is very concerned about some of the implications of a bill that's currently making its way through the House of Representatives, and I think that the same bill is a good one that deserves to pass.…
April 14, 2009
I am all for honoring the common man at income tax time.
Aaron Copland
April 14, 2009
Over at Majikthise, Lindsay Beyerstein has a post up that takes a look at the Navy's handling of the attempted piracy/hostage standoff involving the captain of the Maersk Alabama. She makes some good points at the beginning and end of the article, but I think she misses to point a bit in the…
April 13, 2009
Maurice J. Minnifield, our generous host, friend, and employer. I'm sure I join everyone in saying thank you for these very fine eats and drinks. You are a real American. You're an ex-marine and astronaut, you are America. You're rich, you're rapacious, you're progress without a conscience, paving…
April 13, 2009
Hippo Musician, Delacorte Clock, Central Park Zoo, New York
April 13, 2009
As of when I'm writing this post, a Google News search for the words "Inhofe" and "treason" returns no hits. When I search on "Inhofe" and "sedition", I get the same results. That's also true for a search on the milder combination of "Inhofe" and "inappropriate". What the hell is going on here?…
April 12, 2009
If we long for our planet to be important, there is something we can do about it. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers.
Carl SaganCosmos
April 11, 2009
That's what life is like. You have to keep running on the treadmill of evolution or you fall off.
Bill Nye, The Science Guy
April 10, 2009
Science, plus beer, equals good!
Adam SavageMythBusters
April 9, 2009
In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the Old Oolitic Silurian Period…
April 8, 2009
Just wanted to give a quick shout-out to Wilkins:
Organic life, we are told, has developed gradually from the protozoon to the philosopher, and this development, we are assured, is indubitably an advance. Unfortunately it is the philosopher, not the protozoon, who gives us this assurance.…
April 7, 2009
"The secular humanist did it in the schoolhouse with misinformation!"
The Simpsons"Bart Has Two Mommies"
April 7, 2009
Yesterday, Phil posted a lego version of this scene, so I thought it would be a good time to post the real thing.
Atlantis on Launch Complex 39-A6 April 2009
This picture is obviously looking at the back side of the vehicle, but the orbiter would not have been visible even if I had a view…
April 7, 2009
Since I'm currently out of town, original content is going to be in short supply for a few days. Fortunately, there are a few things I've written over the years that I think people might still enjoy (or at least tolerate). Since they didn't get read much when I first posted them, I thought I'd…
April 6, 2009
The animals of the Burgess Shale are holy objects--in the unconventional sense that this word conveys in some cultures. We do not place them on pedestals and worship from afar. We climb mountains and dynamite hillsides to find them. We quarry them, split them, carve them, draw them, and dissect…
April 6, 2009
Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi)Ka'ena Point, Oahu
April 6, 2009
On Thursday, a Colorado jury found that Ward Churchill had been improperly fired, and awarded him $1 in damages. Right now, I've got very mixed feelings about the verdict. That's not a surprise, of course, since I've had mixed feelings about the entire situation almost since the start.
For those…
April 5, 2009
This is a short one, and it might not technically be a quote, but it was written down and it's wrong on so many levels I just had to share it:
Evolve. Use a condom every time.
Advertising slogan seen on a Trojans display
April 5, 2009
Since I'm currently out of town, original content is going to be in short supply for a few days. Fortunately, there are a few things I've written over the years that I think people might still enjoy (or at least tolerate). Since they didn't get read much when I first posted them, I thought I'd…