worldsfair
Posts by this author
July 27, 2006
Pure Pedantry (link)BABY STUDIES BIO
Baby studies bio, and I study biochem.
Baby studies bio, and I study biochem.
She likes her bio buddies,
But they don't like me and I don't like them...
Pharyngula (link)LIMULUS & CHARLIE
Charlie wears broken glasses held together with tape and toothpicks.…
July 26, 2006
Uncertain Principles (link)PHYSICS ENVY AMONG BIOLOGISTS: FACT OR FICTION?
Physicists often state their belief that all biologists would rather be physicists, but became biologists only because they were not very good at math. As evidence for this, they point to such findings as the fact that the…
July 25, 2006
Well, I'm on vacation as of today and thought now was as good a time as any to show off my primary online love affair. That is, the Science Creative Quarterly of which I am the editor. For the next week or so, I've chosen a piece on the SCQ that I think fits well with a particular blog on the…
July 24, 2006
The question posed this time:
Are there any children's books that are dear to you, either as a child or a parent, and especially ones that perhaps strike a chord with those from a science sensibility? Just curious really. And it doesn't have to be a picture book, doesn't even have to be a children'…
July 24, 2006
A few months ago, I attended a conference called Writing Home, Science, Literature, and the Aesthetics of Place, which had a nice byline written by Gary Geddes. It read:
"Philosophy," Novalis said, "is really homesickness, it is the urge to be at home everywhere." The home-place assumes many…
July 23, 2006
It's ironic but having just answered a scienceblogger question about preservation, I'm aware of a personal predicament that addresses some of the same ideals. Namely, I've got a critter in my backyard. This is what I saw on my lawn this morning:
This isn't so surprising in itself, since we live…
July 22, 2006
I've been so busy writing about children's books, putting up silly lists, and presenting puzzles that I feel the need to write about one of the things I'm most comfortable with - that is, genetics:
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The price of cloning your beloved pet cat recently dropped from $50,000 to $32,000. If you're…
July 21, 2006
So I'm a teacher type right? And what do I think of powerpoint? Well, it's certainly convenient, although to be honest, I'm partial to good old real time pen and projector or chalk and blackboard lectures (a good way to pace yourself). Anyway, I've had ongoing requests to put up some of the…
July 21, 2006
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Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids!
I disagree. Figure skaters are mean sons-of-a-bitches.
Whoa! We're halfway there! Whoa! Livin' on a prayer!
And I would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!
You got me. Here's your scratch-n-sniff sticker.
You know. I do feel like…
July 20, 2006
Looks like an appropriate time to put this one up on the blog. I have to say that this was the one of the easiest pieces I've ever written. It's also the only one that got published at McSweeney's with no additional editing whatsoever.
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IT'S A LUCKY THING FOR STEM-CELL RESEARCH THAT THE…
July 19, 2006
Someone passed on this link to the National Film Board of Canada lately, and I've spent a good twenty minutes checking the site out. It doesn't have the "Cosmic Zoom" animation, which is one I've been after for the longest time (it's the one that goes from boy on a boat and zooms out to universal…
July 19, 2006
Recently, I took out three of my colleagues for lunch. These were folk who were brave enough to take the plunge and participate in an opportunity to travel to Nigeria. Here, they would teach a course on molecular genetics to burgeoning Ph.D students, Faculty and the like in the vicinity of Lagos…
July 18, 2006
A little late on this one, but the scienceblog question of the week (of last week), reads:
"Is every species of living thing on the planet equally deserving of protection?..."
If you take the question at face falue - that is in an empirical sense - then the answer is of course not. You could, I…
July 18, 2006
This use to be circulating the web back in 2001. Never did figure out if it was real (it was presented at http://objective.jesussave.us/creationsciencefair.html), but good for a laugh or looks of disgust anyway.
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2001 Prize Winners:Elementary School Level:
1st Place: "My Uncle Is A Man Named…
July 17, 2006
Here presented is the final clue in our little experiment. It being the start of a story, a novel to be precise. In fact, we're getting tingles just thinking how lovely it all comes together, and the challenge, of course, is to see whether you can break our mystery. We will present the answer…
July 17, 2006
This particular piece has had a long and storied past, originating as far back as my term as an Immunology lecturer during my Ph.D. days (we're talking back in 1997 or so). Essentially, one of things I did (and still do) with my lectures is incorporate graphics that are both visually interesting…
July 16, 2006
A few months back, I forgot to pay for parking and was dinged with a $50 fine. It was completely by accident so very annoying overall. Anyway, because it was an accident, I thought I would have a go at writing a silly letter to get out of paying.
Well, I found out it worked, so it just goes to…
July 15, 2006
Quick and fast today.
Pavlov's Brother by Andy Borowitz
Here's a great piece from the New Yorker - I hear it's a pretty good place to present your work.
Conversations with my mother which suggest she may secretly be a primatologist by Kevin Zeidler
When John referred me to Yankee Pot Roast, I…
July 14, 2006
So, today is the last day of the Children's book workshop, and it's been a nice change of pace for sure. The instructor, Susan Juby, was excellent and the content generally helpful and did I say, nice change of pace? I also picked up a few great quotes about children in general, and in children's…
July 14, 2006
Mr. Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is easily one of the best loved children's book on our planet, but it may surprise you to know that his first published illustrations were done in the name of science. Of course, you'll need a big wallet to get those illustrations, or get the book rather.…
July 14, 2006
This book is a lovely piece of prose with geat artwork that looks at the power of how certain experiences, and more specifically certain teachers can provide the inspiration that ultimately makes a person who they are.
Although the book presents this theme in the context of a musical experience, I…
July 13, 2006
...
"Oh, it's just a parade"
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O.K. O.K. really more to do with the children's theme rather than science per se, although perhaps fanangling these types of quick responses is a science in itself. This is actually something that happened in real life, and the quick response was my wife, Kate.…
July 13, 2006
Peter Sis is probably best known for his Madlenka series, which I believe, have even been made into a few Sesame Street shorts. But in my view, his prowess in producing these intricate and pretty pictures are well used in two of his books that focus specifically on the life and times of two…
July 12, 2006
This book makes the cut, not necessarily because I find it particularly endearing (although it is a lovely story, and ever so British in a Paddington Bear sort of way), but because this is the book responsible for my kids, 2 and a half and almost 5 in age, stomping around the house like dinosaurs,…
July 12, 2006
Wondrous theories have been brewing over the three clues so far. Here is another. The fourth actually, a video too (Quicktime required).
And in case you like visual things, like to see things all at once. Here are the first three images.
July 11, 2006
As eluded to earlier, the concept of snot holds a special place in my teaching armada. As well, it appears that scienceblogs has reached their 1,000,000th comment. Obviously, this is due to the hard work of our unpaid interns, which is why Ben and I have decided to waive their photocopying and…
July 11, 2006
In Norway, you say "buse."
As a geneticist, I am a lot more familiar with the concept of snot than one might suspect. And although this may appear to be a sort of an odd soundbite, it can be quickly explained by the simple fact that pure genomic DNA, isolated from any and all variety of nature's…
July 10, 2006
I thought I would start with this great picture story book, although in truth I could have easily started with another by the same author (the always irrepressible, but sadly missed away Shel Silverstein). The other, of course, is The Giving Tree, but I'll assume most of you have actually heard…
July 10, 2006
As alluded to earlier, I'm attending a Children's Book Workshop this week. So to stay in theme (hence also the post about the Von Trapp Children), I thought I would try to provide a children's book review for each of the days in this week. Not going to be easy though, since my intent is to choose…
July 10, 2006
Despite the recurring theme of rejection with many of the pieces I submit, I find you still get the sense that you were (nevertheless) in good hands. In other words, you'd like to think that the editors who take the time to read your material and then leave generally ambiguous statements about your…